Some winter photos

We haven't done much worth writing about, except running and snowboarding but all have lacked photos. So here are some pictures I shot last winter, I hope to get back to taking the camera along more often soon.





Snowshoeing in the dark coming up at Blue Mounds this weekend and Zack is ready to go. Scroll down a bit past the blank calendar to see all the different parks offering candlelight activities.

The Boys Home Alone

Saturday was a busy day for the boys and I. Jen was off at a practice test in Chicago for her job, boring if you ask me since it doesn't involve real fire or cool tools. With a long work week behind me the first thing I needed was to get some exercise. After three days of just work and sleep I headed out for a run. It was a little slick but a got 4 miles in.

We had some Christmas shopping to do before our afternoon plan of snowboarding could start so off to Madison. After three stores and lunch we were back home to get our gear.

Zack was on and off interested in going but after I convinced him the chairlift was his call we went. With our snowboards in the Baja's bed and everything else inside and we were off. At least for now plans to get a roof rack for the boards are on hold. The Jeep will take 4 or 5 people and gear and the Subaru does 3 easy and 4 in a pinch. I'm concerned the Jeep might not fit in the garage with boards on the roof which would be a drag.

Since Zack is bunny hill only for now I left my board in the car so I could help him. Kevin surprised me by saying he was heading up the chairlift right away. The one thing I forgot was Kevin's cellphone, the coverage is poor but it beats waiting at the chairlift for him.

Zack is learning to stop and make heel edge turns so far. Last year he just went straight downhill and fell to stop. We made a few runs before Kevin showed up to say hi. Zack and I watched Kevin go up the chairlift again and waited to see him come down what it turned out was his second intermediate level run of the day. I had figured it would be all green runs for day one at least. After a final bunny hill pass we headed for the snack bar and called grandma to pick Zack up.

Hot chocolate at the car while we waited for Zack's ride warmed the boys up and gave me time to realize my board should have been waxed. Oh well it is ready now no harm done.
Once Zack headed home with grandma, now I could help Kevin. I was able to talk him into a green run to work on turns as we rode the lift up. I just wanted to help him get pointed more down hill for now rather than side slipping most of the run. He was getting the idea but early season legs limited us to just a couple runs. Next time I hope he can get started trying to turn on his toe edge.

Here the boys are, cell phone video again sorry. Next time I'm taking Zack's Flip Mino. If I get brave I might be able to shoot Kevin from the front. I wasn't ready to do that on the first day this season.




Sunday we sat around doing nothing, I did get a project done for winter running. I own two pairs of Yak Traks but they squeeze my toes too much. Also unless the surface isn't all snow or ice I find they don't grip well. So Sunday night I built my own ice cleat shoes with some #6x3/8 hex head screws. I had seen pictures on Twitter early in the week and figured for a dollar in screws why not. Yesterday I was able to get out for 3 miles of testing and so far I'm happy. On ice and compacted snow they seem to grip well. At first I noticed them on bare pavement but they didn't bother me or affect my stride, the Yak Teaks seem slippery by comparison. The only surface that I didn't notice improvement was thick loose slush where I would slide on push off. I'll edit this later as I get more time on them and as the temps drop again providing more ice to test on.

Snow Biking

So I decided to hit the trail with the Tricross Singlecross before the big storm makes the trail less passable for a while. With the 32c tires it is more of a cut to the bottom than float on the top, I'll switch to the mountain bike for deeper snow. My guess is if the forecast for big snow is right the snowmobiles will be out to pack the trail soon enough. I'm actually looking forward to that happening since right now running is pretty uneven as well due to the crust and holes from walkers when it was warm on the weekend.

Just a few pics from the trail and Blue Mounds State Park.





My Garmin 305 is now my favorite training gadget, $150 I think for elevation and heart rate plus easy to upload to online tracking sites.

A short blurry video as I one handed down the trail. Helmet cam needed if I want to do any more.

Running

So for the second year in a row Jen and I headed out early Thanksgiving morning to run the Berbee Derby 10K run. The weather was cold and breezy but once we got moving we warmer up and were comfortable. We got parked about 10 minutes before the start so by the time we made the mandatory stop at the restroom (port-a-potty) the wait in the starting chute was short.

Our plan was to go out slow and keep a steady pace or pickup the pace in the second half of the run. The first mile is pretty crowded so since we had lined up near the back we had no trouble keeping the pace at 10 minutes per mile. Mile 2 was into the wind more but by the time we turned west at the second timing mat before mile 3 we were plenty warm and the wind had died down. We both had our Amphipod bottles so we only picked up water at the stop during mile 3 to top Jen's bottle off. We continued to keep right on our 10 minute pace ending with a time of 1:02:14, the best part was Jen felt way better than last year with about the same finish time.

We had seen a coffee shop along the start of the run so we headed there, lights went out as we approached so we turned for the car. The only other coffee shop nearby was packed so we jumped in the car and headed off to find a shorter line. The third shop we came to was open and not swamped so despite it being s Starbucks we went in and ordered a couple of flavored drinks, I forget exactly what but it had a long name and was expensive compared to the shop we frequent near home.

The rest of the day we ate, first brunch at my mom's followed by Thanksgiving dinner with Jen's family. I think everyone made a commitment to join us next year at the run by walking the 5k course. One other commitment may have been made by Jen, I have a 20k in May I plan to run and I think she is going to join me which will be fun.

There goes the lawn

So after a cold ride Monday on the bike trail the last 15 feet were the most fun. Thanks to the downhill coming home I had good speed when I hit the grass, I'm not sure why but I grabbed the rear brake and locked the rear wheel. Instant skid, instant smile, then it was over. Now the only question is if the grass will hold up to repeated abuse because I see myself doing it again soon. If I wear a dirt path in the lawn I'll post a picture.

Not much else went on this past weekend to talk about. Zack and I placed a travel bug in the geocache near our home. Grand plans to move it hours away fell through with the poor weather forecast.

Now back to thinking about snowboarding and picking events for next year.

Me and my son got new shoes (ghost written by Zack)

Zack helped me with the title, and is helping me write this blog entry.

Zack helped me pick my shoes out. (That's all Zack can think of to say, so I will take over now)

Zack and I headed to buy him new shoes tonight, as his current pair was getting too tight. Of course, when I go into a shoe store I can usually find something for myself too. After I helped him pick out a pair of "cool" shoes, I scanned the clearance room for shoes in my size. I spotted a couple pairs of Nike Frees on the shelf. Both sizes fit well, and after deliberation and talking to Chad on the phone I picked up a pair to purchase. I had researched the shoe after my knee injury, and it is to simulate barefoot running. I'll try them out next spring.

Spending time alone with Zack is usually eventful. I usually end up laughing out loud at some point. On the way home from the shoe store we were talking about near everything. Somehow we got on the subject of counting and counting grades in school for Kevin. He is in seventh now and when we got to thirteen I told Zack high school stops at twelve, and he correctly stated that Kevin would be in college then. He asked what Kevin would go to college for, and I told him I wasn't sure but he had time to figure it out from classes he likes taking in school now. Zack said he wanted to be a firefighter, or drive a truck like Dad, but for any company. He then said...."or I could be whatever Kevin decides to be." Not sure where this was going because they can never agree on anything, so I asked. He said, "Well then I could still see him everyday, except on the weekends, but I guess we could see each other on the weekends too if we are both living at home." How cute is that? I'm guessing by the time they both hit teenage years this idea will be far from any thoughts. I did tell him, the living at home thing after college, not going to happen!

A Short Ride

Sunday I went on a 15 mile ride, sure short for me but I wasn't alone. Zack was along on the trail-a-bike pulled behind my mountain bike. We had not made it out to Blue Mounds State Park by bike all year and it was his goal for the ride. Actually his goals for the ride were to climb the tower at the park and get Rolos on the way back.



We rode the rail trail out west to the park access trail where I got the first hint of the pain I was in for. The 7.5 mile ride to the top climbs about 850 feet according to the Garmin. We stopped so Zack could get a drink before heading up the big climb to the top of the park. I wonder what the drivers coming downhill thought as we crawled our way to the top. Zack somehow had plenty of lung capacity to talk about Sunday school all the way up, and I did my best to respond but was pretty busy just breathing. The combination of a 30+ pound bike, 20 pound trailer bike and 40 pounds of Zack was a lot to move but we made it.



Once at the top we headed for the tower. We snapped a few pictures with the phone and talked to a couple who were shocked we had ridden to the top of the hill. Then we needed to get going, so straight down the road into Blue Mounds we went for the snack stop. It was getting cool pretty quick with the sun dropping, so we ate a couple Rolos each and hit the trail for home.



We were now racing a disappearing sun and dropping temperature. We yelled our way through the "echo tunnel" aka the culvert underpass and discussed what the rd. and jct. on the signs Zack was reading stood for as we went. Eventually Zack got cold enough he stopped pedaling to stay warm, he wasn't buying my suggestion that pedaling was a better way to warm up.

Once home he jumped off the bike and after getting the remaining candy out of the seat bag he headed inside to warm up. I got to put the gear away alone but at least I had company for the ride.