Summer Events

I think we just squeezed in a full summer of events into the month of August. What fun, what sheer exhaustion.

The Green Lake tri was on the 9th in Spicer MN. Small town Tri's are my favorite. The towns embrace them. The excitement of many people doing one for the first time, and those that are more seasoned racers are there to have fun and enjoy other peoples company. Erek Swenson and a bunch of his family do this race every year so it was fun to be a part of it with them. Erek, Justin (erek's bro-in-law) and I did the Olympic course (about 75 people) and the other 500 people were doing the sprint course. The swim (.8mi) was a great challenge because it was strait into big waves. That is a tough swim into constant chop. The Bike (24mi) was twice around Green Lake and was a small hill rolling course. The run (10k) was the same rolling hills. I gave it my best and turned out my best bike and run thus far. It was good enough for 5th place overall and third in my age group. The greatest thrill was being honored by the announcer when I received my medal. He noticed that I had my TNT jersey on and thanked me for making a difference by racing and raising vital funds in the fight against cancer. That applause really meant something! That is why I race!
The next week was getting things ready for Janet's sister Jen and her family to come down from Canada for a visit. We have been so excited for them to come but I foolishly decided to race the two weekends before they came. So we did what we could before the next weekend and loaded up for the 4 hour drive to Waupaca WI. for the Waupaca sprint Tri.

Four years ago Waupaca was my first race. My good buddy Clark (who was in Chicago at the time) called me up and talked me into meeting him there to race four years ago on a whim. We have done it together every year since. Every year we have bettered our times. Every year we talk more people into doing it for the first time. This year Sean Pease came out with us for his first tri race ever. John Kinghorn made the trip for the second year in a row too. It was great. We all had great times. We all had personal best times. It was my first short course or "sprint" of the year an so I was curious if I could ramp up my speed for the short course. All of my training this year has been more focused on the half iron course. The weather was perfect for the entire race. I was able to do better then I expected. Looking at my race times from this year I though I could come in about 12th overall. Waupaca raced 575 this year and I was able to come in 9th overall, second in my age group. My swim (.5mi) was good. My bike (20mi) is my weak point, but I did not give up too much time on it. My run (3.1mi) was better than I expected, running under 6:20 min miles. Waupaca is a great race in a great town, on a perfect setting. Right after the race it's pack up and drive home and start to get ready for our Canadian visitors in two days.

Jayson, Jen and their kids Renee and Nolan drove the 16 hour drive down Tues the 19th. They made it as far as Alexandria and their van's transmission decided to give up. So I left home for Alex at 10:30pm to help. Got to Alex at midnight and we decided to pull them home slowly on Hwy 55. Four hours later we arrived home. Our Canadian visitors had arrived. It was so exciting for us to have them down. We had a such a good time, it was a pleasure to spend time with them in and around our home. The van's problems were covered under warranty.
Their first day Wed. we did a noon Twins game then Jay and I golfed 9 holes with John Kinghorn at Daytona.
Thurs morning they went shopping into the afternoon and then Jay and I went golfing again 9 holes at Fox Hallow with the Dayton gang, a group of guys that golf every Thurs. during the season. It was my first time golfing with them this year and it was fun to introduce Jay to everyone.
Fri was more shopping for them at Cabalas and after that we had a fantastic dinner at Buena Siera with my folks and Pa pa Dom. Gret food and great company.
Sat more running around to get ready for a good ole' dayton party at our house that night. Lawn games snacks and refreshments. Great weather and great company.
Sunday a long drive around town and the lakes then a great afternoon at mom and dad's on the river.
Monday was the big State Fair day. They picked this week to come for the fair and we had perfect weather for that.
Tues the girls did their thing and Jay, I and the Swenson brothers golfed 18 at Edinburgh. I left a lot of balls there!
Wed. was the end of a great week with a great dinner at the Swensons. What a wonderful time! What a wonderful week! They were off for home Thurs.

What a great month! Two exciting races with great friends and great weather. Having Jen and her family down for the first time was exciting beyond words. We got to do a lot in that week. Since then I have been mostly grinding through the days. I was getting sick during their stay. The change of sleep, diet and training (none) really hit me. When I stopped after work Thurs my body started to crash and has not yet recovered. Today is Sat and I fought a sinus infection/migraine all day. It was all worth it! I hope tomorrow is my bounce back day. I will try to get out for a run or bike or both tomorrow. I must be realistic about next Sunday and the Square Lake Tri. I wanted that to be my pinnacle race of the year. I'm not sure that I will race now though. I am happy with the races I have had this year and I have not really trained since Waupaca on the 17th. Square Lk is a half Iron and I do not want to risk injury. I know I could do it but I don't trust myself to do it easy. I know I would push and I don't know that my body would handle that well after all this fun and then being sick for the past five days.
I also need to think about Boston next April. I don't want to exhaust my self now and be flat coming into training for that race.
Our family has been so blessed in this busy month. Bijou is getting so big and smart. She was a nut for the rides at the fair and had a blast with her Canadian cousins. Armond is doing great. What a great baby. The smiles melt your heart. He is going to look just like mom. I dare say he has is grandpa Victors smile.
So blessed!

Summer Break

What a journey since the half-iron race in Racine. The following week I got in a short recovery run and bike in. I have been pretty consistent in Wednesday night swims on the river. Outside of that this Sunday the 3rd was the first real training I have done in two weeks. I know my body probably is better off for it, but I have really missed the routine.

Angel, John Kinghorn and I , did something new on Sat the 26. We swam in the 22nd annual Minnetonka Swim Challenge. It is a 5 mile swim from Excelsior Bay to Wayzata Bay. John did the first 1.7 mile leg. Angel did the second 2.2 mile leg and I repeated the same as Angel. I was very curious as to how I was going to handle a 2 mile swim. I loved it. We all did our best to remain calm, get the most out of each stroke and not think about anything else. It was great. I have put alot of extra effort into the swim this year and I really am beginning to love it.

The other thing that has gotten us to put training on hold is rebuilding mom and dad's deck at their house. Remodel projects always take twice as long as you think they are going to go. This one is just a bit worse than that. I have really enjoyed the work but the project is really getting long. It will be beautiful after it is done.

So all last week was, finish work go strait to the deck. Janet would bring the kids and work till 9pm or so. So today I got up early with Erek Swenson to start training again. 30 mile bike and 4mile run. I loved it. Great to be in the saddle again. But man am I tired now.

Janet I and the kids had some fun with the Swenson's at the local Dayton church fund raiser festival Sat. night and Sunday afternoon. Janet and I finally got to church Sunday morning too. It is her first day back to work Monday :( She has done such a great job with the kids and our exciting schedule. Now we try to balance her 30 hours a week into it.

Next Sat another Tri. Green Lake by Spicer MN. with the Swenson clan. The following weekend Waupaca.
Fun fun fun.

Ready set Racine!

New weekend, new race. I had signed up for the Racine half ironman last Dec. Long before any thought of doing Lifetime with TNT. Angel Colon-Perez from last years Disney race signed up for it and I thought it would be fun to try it with him.

Janet and I were nervously excited for the six hour ride with the kids in our new, used Honda Pilot. We left Friday afternoon for the Sunday race. Angel and I wanted Saturday to relax and prepare for our first Half Iron.
Saturday started off calm but as the day went on things got testy. Thankfully Angel and I kept calm as problem after problem arose. Everything from 55 degree water temps for the swim to forgetting things to car trouble. It was a great mental test to stay calm before race day.
Half Iron's are a 1.2 mile swim, this one in Lake Michigan. 56 mile bike, and a 13.1 mile run. Race day came and our start time was delayed an hour because of fog. Visibility from bouy to bouy was poor at best but they started the race anyways. Getting through the swim was the hardest thing I have done racing or training thus far. Interestingly enough it was a positive key for the rest of the mental portion of the race. Once I got out of the water everything else seemed easy compared to that cold water.

Coming off of the Lifetime race I was planning on only giving what I had left for this race. Lifetime and Square Lake in Stillwater Sep. 7 are the races that I really want to focus on. As I settled in for the bike I reminded myself to keep it comfortable. As the miles piled on my legs felt stronger and stronger. The guys I was around were great and the course conditions were perfect. I was very happy with the outcome of the bike portion, but was worried that I had spent too much energy during the bike.

The run was a double loop, part of it was along the lake where the swim was. As I ran along and looked out at the swim buoys I was just thankful to be out of the water and was encourage to know that running today was much easier. I got through the first loop all right and felt confident that I could keep the same pace for the second. The sun had just come out for the run and it was really heating up! People were really starting to overheat and run out of energy. I stuck to my nutrition plan and cooled off at the water stops to keep from overheating. The last four miles were a challenge but when I got to the last three I picked it up . My thoughts were to get done so I could see my family at the end. Each race gives me different but strong thought to focus on at different points of each race. The points that stood out on this race were Adam, my TNT teammates and races and all the generosity that has kept me racing for such a great cause. McKenna, our honored teammate for my marathon last Jan. She lost her battle with cancer at the age of 10. And at the end of the run this time was thankfulness for my family. What a blessing , it is beyond words to explain how blessed I feel.

Race results are posted here. Scroll down to 158 th
http://www.hfpracing.com/results.php?eventid=40&raceid=100

Race of a Lifetime

Four months of training complete and race day has now come and gone. The Lifetime Tri was an amaizing spectacle to witness. It all took place around Lake Nicomas with over 3000 racers. My motivation for racing was to honor Adam on his birthday by raising funds for the Leukemia, Lymphoma Society. This was my fourth race with TNT. Training and fund raising as a group has been one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. This season was espically special with the race on such a special day, Adams B-day.
Our team was about 120 racers strong. Together we raised over $300,000 to help in the fight against cancer.
The weather was perfect for the race, with the wind holding off until most of the field was finished. It was a long day, arriving at the transition area at 4:30am to set up and get ready. My wave did not get off into the water till closer to 8:30 or later. Two hours and twenty minuets later I was in after having a smooth confident race. The swim was very comfortable. The bike felt strong, and the run was the mental challenge.
I was honored to share my story about Adam to the team before the race. It was such a blessing to communicate to the team my love for him, and my experience of life, death and what has transpired since then to the group. There were many tears, but my point of my talk was to inspire! To CHOOSE to race for bigger reasons, to be inspired by things bigger than yourself. Reminding myself of that and getting all that emotion out really helped me to keep it together during and after the race. I know Adam was proud of what happened. Not because of how I finished but rather how I trained and fund raised. It is the example that you lead with and the lives you touch along the way that matter. Race day is such a small part of bigger picture. I know that Adam sees that perspective completely in the presence of God. I want to honor him by doing my best to share hope in the midst of struggle. To share the bigger picture.
Results are posted here http://www.peaktiming.com/2008LTF/searchreturn.asp

Schedual of Events

Since March, I recall looking forward to July, week after week, trying to imagine what it was going to be like having a new baby in our lives. The due date is June 27, the races are July 12 and 20. What was it going to be like? I have dedicated a lot of time over the past four months to being ready mentally, having things ready around the house, and physically for the races. But when the baby comes what would happen? Would birth be smooth? Would we pay for the easy baby that we had with Bijou and get a new one with an attitude? Would I be able to sleep? Keep up with the house projects? Get another swim, bike or run in? I really prepared for it. If that's what you get, then that is the challenge you are blessed with, what ever that is. Well I can now answer that question after a week of experience.

Armand (Arm-nd) Andrew Prest was born last Sunday the 22nd at 10:13am after 11 hours of labor. Mommy was amaizing. She handled things well even when thing didn't go exactly as expected. I am so proud of her for being so brave and confident. Eight pounds, seven ounces, twenty-one inches, all boy. It is different the second time. You know what to expect more so there is a bit more comfort but knowing more made me more emotional. I was so taken by the process of everything this time. So proud of Janet for enduring so much over the past 38 weeks and for finishing so strong. When you hear that first gasp of air and the cry that follows it changes you forever. From that moment to now things are different. We are a "family" now. Not just Janet, Andrew and Bijou. It just feels like so much more to me. I didn't expect it. It just feels great.
Wanting to get home as soon as possible for Bijou, we spent just one night in the hospital. Night one was naturally nervous and not completely smooth. We had to learn what he liked and how he would eat and all that good stuff. Night two was better. Night three through tonight has been better than could ever be expected. He eats two to three times over night, and just gives a half cry-grunt when he is ready to eat. Keep the dipper clean and he is one content baby.
Bijou has been super. We have been letting her take her time warming up to him. She has been very excited to point out "baby" from the start. Every day she helps out more and more. Bringing his blanket or pacifier or helping to "genitally" burp new brother. Occasionally giving a hug or kiss. She has been handling the shift of attention very well thus far.
So all the questions that I had about things around the house and training and such have been great so far. I have no problem dropping any of those things if need be. My joy comes from the blessing that God has given me. The biggest ones in my life are my wife and my children. If I need to give them all my attention then they have it, no question. Being able to get a decent nights rest and having wonderful help from grandma and grandpa and our close friends bringing meals and such, I have been able to get in about seventy percent of my workouts this past week. Much more than I could have expected. I even got to clean the garage for the first time this summer today, with Bijou's help of course. What a helper!
Tonight was Armand's first pontoon ride on the river with the family. What a blessing that everything has been going so well. One day at a time, we do what we can.
What an adventure! How amaizing it is to be on this side of the calender. For the longest time it looked so far away and now we are her. What a blessing.

New Day

Since the Buffalo Tri it has been fun keeping up on all the "summer" things going on. So far mostly projects. This year we built a new dock for mom and dads place to keep better tabs on the pontoon. Of course it took much longer than I expected. It's in now and the boat and the pontoon got in just in time to enjoy for fathers day.
Bijou continues to make life joyful. She is getting fast and smart. It is amaizing to see her grow. It's hard to see her as a toddler now but she is. Nothing terrible about it yet though. She is challenging us in some ways but she is receptive when we calmly talk to her. What a joy parenting is!
Janet is on the home stretch now with our son. She thinks it is going to be this week sometime. The doctor agrees that it could be any day. Her pregnancy has been great. She is so amaizing, what a joy it is to be by her side through such an amaizing experience. The leading name we have so far is Armand. Armand is Janet's dads middle name given to him from his grandfather who was the first settler into Canada from France. Armand Fendelet We looked it up and it means "war", it is where we get the word Army from. We are not nuts about that part but it is certainly a strong name. I never thought I would have the "creative" kid names but we surly do. Bijou is so fitting for her and Armand sounds pretty good with Bijou. We pray for a smooth experience bringing him into the world but pray for courage to handle what every situation we experience.
Training has been a bit secondary to getting everything else done. I will excuse it as a good for a change of pace and muscle recovery. From here out I am going to do my best not to skip many workouts. Lifetime is just a month away and Racine (half Iron) is just 5 weeks. I am not quite ready for the half Iron but if I get in the majority of my long workouts I will do just fine.

Beautiful Buffalo

There is nothing like a race day. They come in all varieties. This one just happened to be the picture perfect weather day. Buffalo has a great park setting on a hill over looking the lake. It dose not make for an easy race but it is great to hang out in after the race.

It was great to see so many familiar faces from TNT. Both past and current team mates. It is a bond like no other at a race. What a feeling to know that those people are there supporting you and cheering you on. Wes and Erek did fantastic in their first race. Erek cruised through like a seasoned athlete, wondering if he could have pushed harder. Wes found out that nerves play a huge part on race day. He, like me in my first race, hit the water and his heart rate jumped. As the champ he is, he knew he just had to keep moving forward, how ever he could. Of course after he got out of the water he burned up the bike and the run.
I was able to talk the race director into bumping me into the longer Olympic course last second. For some reason the mile swim looked shorter to me than it did at Disney. That is a great place to be in mentally going in. As my group went into the water I got in front and for the first time stayed in front. This was my first race with a wet suit and I felt really comfortable in it. My focus was to stay relaxed and consistent. No push, just relaxed and consistent long strokes. Before I knew it I was on the beach on my way to the bike. Not dizzy like all the other races coming out of the water. It was a proud moment for me to stay in my swim stroke from start to finish. 22 minuets in the water 9 minuets faster than Disney!
The bike was good. I did not feel strong in it, but I was happy with it. The competition was crazy good. This was my best bike ever, averaging 21.5 mph on a hilly course. That was good enough for 109th out of 357 competitors. I was happy but man the field was fast!
The run felt good too. I wanted to push harder because my heart rate was calmer than I usually see in a race but I know I could not push my legs any more than I was. That is a good sign for future training. It was difficult to let people pass but I knew it was wiser to let it go and enjoy my pace in this race. All that said it was my fastest 10k race pace yet. I finished 51st overall in the run with a 6:48 min mile pace.
In total my final finish time of 2:18:18 for the Olympic course was very satisfying. 58th of 357 finishers. I can't thank my coaches, Mike and Bob for the focus and technique that they have given me this year. They sacrifice so much to coach for TNT, we are lucky to be part of their team.
My focus during the race was a mix of specific POSITIVE things. In the water it was great memories of Adam and I. On the bike it was all the people that have supported my races and been so generous. I will always be inspired by all that support. When the bike got tough, I thought about Janet and our coming son. I though of how I want to be a father that my son can look up to even when I'm in my later years. In the run I always think about McKenna who was our honored team mate for the Phoenix marathon for TNT. McKenna lost her fight with cancer before the race and I will always do my best to honor her in my runs. All of those thoughts cross my mind through the entire race but my focus usually is stronger in those areas. When the going gets tough, I focus on the pain that Adam and so many others have to endure with cancer. The pain in these little races is nothing compared to that. I want to honor them and their courageous spirit when I train and when I race.