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Spring of 2008, The Season of Contrasts It is always a good thing to see winter leave when you live in Minnesota. The only problem is that this sometimes seems like it happens far too late for many of us. March is in many ways the cruelest of months as the days are getting pretty long and the sun seems to be shining. The only problem is that it is still often quite cold and we still get a lot of snow. This year presented the usual sort of seasonal fare but it was particularly glariing for me as I got the chance to spend some time in sunny, southern California. Here are a few images and some thoughts as to my time of contrasts these past few weeks. I headed out to California, Santa Monica to be specific, in mid-March to hang out and meet with Phil Skiba of PhysFarm and Mark Van Akkeren (MarkyV) of RaceFaster Coaching. Phil was teaching a class and all three of us were getting together to discuss some business. It was a great weekend and I'm looking forward to doing some things with these guys in the coming months. One big advantage of our meeting location was the weather and in the weeks before this trip, I had decided that I was going to ride a bike while in CA, no matter that I was there for less than 48 hours. After a bunch of calls and some driving after I first arrived, I had a a nice, older Trek, a US Postal Edition from the late 1990s to ride. Here are my very white and unshaved legs.
The view heading north out of Santa Monica towards the mountains was great and I really enjoyed the views of the ocean and the hills as well. Below is one of the hills and you can see the moon as well.
After a good weekend, I headed home to Minnesota. After a few days we got a warm up and I got to enjoy my first outdoor ride of the year. Here is an image much like above but you can see a bit less skin, it was a warm up for Minnesota after all.
As I rode I could not let go of the contrasts between my rides in this short period of time. In California it was sunny and smelled of blooming flowers. In Minnesota it was damp, cool and it just looked so darn Midwestern. Here is a stereotypical picture of a barn.
If you haven't guessed yet, the jabs at my lovely state's weather culminated in more snow. Here are a few shots of me using the snowshoes again, might as well make lemonaide I said.
I always judge a trip on the trails by the status of my shoes and socks when I finish. If they're dirty, it was likely a good session.
Here you can see the result of my efforts. While it seemed really wrong to be on the snowshoes again, I did enjoy myself. In the end, that's what it's about I suppose. Have fun out there. |
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August 31 At Ironman Louisville, Noelle does a great job on a hot and windy day in Kentucky. Noelle backed up a good swim and bike with solid run. Crossing the finish line with a smile on her face, Noelle showed how to get it done. Nice job, Noelle.
August 10 At the ITU Long Course Duathlon World Championships in Geel, Belgium, pro Justin Hurd, who Jason consults with on training, put in a great performance to finish 5th overall. In a perfect job of pacing, Justin ran, biked and ran with the best in the world. Way to go Justin!
Coach Jason was in action at the Town Hall Team Time Trial with 3 others from his bike racing club. The Birchwood Aged team might not have won, but we had fun.
August 2 At the Full Vineman in California, Dig It athlete Scott completes his Ironman dream with a solid debut race on a hot day. Awesome performance Scott! July 12 The Graham Beasley Duathlon was a huge success for Bryan with a 2nd place in his age group and a 10th place overall. Great job Bryan!
July 6 At the Lake Steven's 70.3, Jill continued her great long course progress with a PR. Way to go Jill! Dig It was a sponsor of the Duluth Duathlon. Coach Jason was there along with Todd enjoying a steamy day of running, biking and running again on the shores of Lake Superior. Here Team Dig It poses for a picture at the official Dig It Triathlon water station.
June 26 Coach Jason is headed to ITU Duathlon Worlds in Rimini, Italy in September after qualifying at the Apple Duathlon in May. June 14 A great day at the Liberty Triathlon today as Noelle, Jill, Scott and Josh show their on track for long course success later this summer. Way to go guys!
Here Coach Jason and Jill hang out after the race.
April 27 At the US National Duathlon Champs, Francois culminated his spring campaign with a 3rd place in the 35-39 age group. On a rainy and tough day in Richmond, Francois was solid across the board, yeah baby!
The 35-39 podium, with Francois on the right.
April 19-21 These few days were no doubt one of the best weekends ever for Dig It athletes. At Ironman China, new pro Justin Hurd who Coach Jason has been consulting with, raced through really tough conditions to finish 5th overall and earn a Pro slot to Ironman Hawaii. RuthAnn won her age group at a half marathon, Trey was 2nd in his age group at the Louisiana Triathlon at New Roads and Faith finished her first Boston Marathon.
April 5 Coach Jason joins the USA Triathlon National Duathlon Committee. January 19-20 Coach Jason enjoyed a weekend in northern New Jersey at the PhysFarm workshop on Exercise Physiology and Biomechanics.
January 1 Coach Jason joins the PhysFarm coaching consortium. This group is dedicated to applying cutting edge exercise physiology and training software to use for all athletes. The newest software developed by PhysFarm, RaceDay, proves itself as a great tool for multisport athletes.
December 12 Coach Jason now a USA Cycling Level 2 coach. Clinic in November was great and Jason learned some cool stuff and is ready to bring it to use with you. November 25 Check out the newest edition of Midwest Events magazine for Coach Jason's article, "Spending for Speed."
October 6 Coach Jason wins the inaugural Kickin' Leaves Duathlon in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The new race had a small field but a great course. Hope everyone can make it there next year.
Jason poses with bike and trophy at home after the race.
2007 Dig It News A full account of Dig It news from 2007 and early 2008 can be accessed on our latest news page, with archived links at the bottom.
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