Welcome Paula

TMMAR welcomes the newest member to the team. Paula officially joined the team this year but has raced with TMMAR members in the past. Paula brings over 8 years of AR with nearly 50 adventure based events under her belt.

We are definitely looking forward to her contributions and leadership. Welcome aboard.

MNOC AR TUNE UP

MNOC AR Tune up

Not an official race but it is structure and operated like an AR Sprint. This week Pete and I again as two person. The race was up north of Elk River in the Sand Dunes State Park. This race is structured to be 4-6 hours with Orienteering, Running, Cycling and some Kayaking.

We started at 9:15 and based on experience we jumped out in a quick lead to make sure we stayed ahead of the CP1 pile up. After grabbing the next five CP’s we transitioned to our bikes for about 12 miles and a few CP’s. Back on foot for some more orienteering using nothing but a satellite map of the area. Back on the bike for another CP before we transitioned to the Kayaks. This leg was on a marshy lake. Lots of weeds and cattails. Three CP’s hidden the weeds and back to the bikes for a few more miles and the last three CP’s. These ended up being in an area where “hiking the bike” was necessary as the sand was so loose and tons of downed debris.

Pete did a great job at navigating this race as we spent less than five total minutes looking for all 19 CP’s. For the most part, they were right where we expected. Even though we finished in three hours even this race kicked my ass. Not sure if it is the lack of sleep, poor nutrition, out of shape or just……a tough sprint.

Bike, Hike (, Ass-Slide) and BBQ

Team,
David and Pete took an unofficial first place at the Bike Hike BBQ this past weekend. We beat Justin and Molly from WEDALI who were riding with Tom Puzak from 24-7 by 1-2 minutes. Tom rode the whole event with a broken finger....one hand on the handlebars. We were neck and neck, then Molly had a flat. We got to the orienteering section, and searched for CP10 for about 10 minutes. It wasn't out yet (Dan Williams strikes again.....).

David showed me how to properly descend a cliff.... at least how to properly descend the first 10%. The rest was an excerpt from Will'e Coyote. Complete with the poof at the bottom of the cliff. I made it down 25% before I did my imitation.

No bragging rights for this event. It was fun and a great day.

2009 Season Update

The 2009 season is just around the corner. Between training, practices and races we have quite a few opportunities to race this year. Our team suffered a major loss with a fractured collar bone by "Cheeks".

April 11 (Training) Bike Hike & BBQ
April 18 MNOC AR-Tune up (Zimmerman, MN)
April 25 TMMAR Presentation at Midwest Mountaineering
April 26 MN Ironman Ride (100 Miles)
May 2 (Training) Boat your Butt Off
May 9 12 Hour Race Redwing
June 13 6 Hour (TBD)
July 11 MNOC Adventure-O (TBD)
August 8 8 hour Night Race
September 5 24 Hour The Thunder Rolls (Oquawka, Illinois)
September 18-19 24hr (Duluth, MN)
October 22-24, USARA Nationals (Pilot Point, TX)

Check back for updates and results

Back in Action

It has been a long a winter and with daylight savings kicking in we decided to finally get back on the road as team. This morning we ventured out at 7am (still dark) for a the Grand Round bike Tour starting in S. MPLS. We took a good leisurely pace since there was enough ice to cause one spill and few 'near' spills.

Jessica, Pete, Clark and some new guy "Chris".....Chris whatever you name welcome to group.

The weather held off and so there was no snow (as expected). And the ride ended with a stop at a local doughnut shop. Great Ride.

Getting Lazy

I realize that I am not just getting lazy at posting on the tmmar blog but I am also getting lazy at the training which inspires my postings.

I am not one for new year resolutions. Instead, I just need to sign up for an event to get motivated. Luckily, the training is still there...just not as aggressive as it should be. This is about the same time that we (Peter, Clark and I) started discussing the options for what started out as Team Aleing Loons and ended with Team Midwest Mountaineering.

As for sponsorships in 2009.....we'll have to wait and see. Midwest is and has been very good to us and we are happy to wear their names across our chests. Hopefully they feel the same.

I think it is about time to find our first event for 2009 so I can kick my training in to a higher gear.

For now, it is back to work.

SoundBody

I told my……I guess I use to call him my chiropractor but now he has become more of my body mechanic…..that I would post a message on the incredible work he does at maintaining my body from a health, physical, alignment, flexibility and well……soundness. His name is Dr. Harrison and he is the owner/founder of SoundBody. Now SoundBody has only been up and running for a month but he has been treating me with all the elements of this new clinic for the last few years.

SoundBody is more than a chiropractic office and he is more than a ‘neck cracker’. In fact he specifically moved away from the term chiropractic because the services he provide are much more holistic. Being an outdoor junkie, adventure racer, fire fighter and anything else that involves physical or active work his services have helped keep me in the game. From simple weekly visits that help keep the lower back and neck in alignment to the more acute trigger point massages (that can literally bring tears to my eyes but feel oh so good after the fact) help keep my body ready for the next adventure.

Now that his practice has opened up and expanded to multiple treatment rooms and two massage therapists I can honestly say I have never felt better. For anyone regularly runs, rides, swims, races, climbs, ski’s or anything else active I would highly recommend finding a clinic that offer this level of service.

Stretching
Alignment
Acupuncture
Trigger Point Massage
Full body Massage