outdoor adventures

WHY?

2012-01-11T07:58:00.000-08:00

This is a cool video that features some of the most extreme adventure athletes in their element and poses the question, "WHY?" A valid question for sure for any of us that seek adventure. We all know that there is an element of risk in the activities we choose to partake in, and it is always interesting to me to hear what others think about as they daily risking lives for the sport they love.

http://vimeo.com/34666308

After watching these folks, I am urged to think, is that it. In my own athletic pursuits, I am simply doing it for the thrill, or is there something more. Sure I can relate to them in some instances, makes me feel more alive, I love competition, allows to focus solely on the task at hand. And yet, I think a letter that my friend Dallas Kloke wrote to his family (dated 12/22/64) sums it up best for me.

To whom it may concern:

To my friends, students, relatives, and my family. I leave you my love and my memory. I owe both of you, Mother and Dad more than I can ever repay.

The mountains were adventure, I hope that if my death resulted from them that you will realize that this is what I wanted.

Death is not the end, but only the beginning. I have faith in God-- without him life is really nothing.

I remember the climb to the summit, the wind, the snow, the blue sky and fear itself. There I stood on the summit, and reach out and touched the face of God.

--Dallas Kloke

(died in a fatal climbing accident Sept. 25, 2010)

Tough XC 5K workout...

2011-12-09T08:42:00.000-08:00

This past Cross Country season, we implemented a 5 x 1000 repeat for our XC kids. It proved itself to be our most beneficial 5K pacing workout. Typically, we would give the athletes 90 seconds of recovery between efforts, and that allowed them enough time to run consistant splits. This past week I discovered a similar workout that National Champion Georgetown Lady Hoyas did in preparation for their Big East Championship Meet. Check out the video here.

I was excited about trying this workout out so I got Chris and Amy to join me yesterday. We have a 1000 loop on campus that includes grass, gravel and some track and ~60' of elevation gain.

Here were my splits...
1K = 3:57
rec = 90 sec
1K = 3:57
rec = 2 min
2K = 4:00 for the 1st and 4:09 for the 2nd
rec = 3 min
1K = 4:02

The would equate out to be about a 20:00 XC 5K, which is just slower than the 19:45 I ran in early October. I think that this particular workout would fit best in the 5th-7th week of consistant training.

Nevertheless, I loved it!

It's Never Too Late!

2011-12-02T08:37:00.000-08:00

It's Never Too Late...

to make a conscious decision to stop doing what you've always been doing and you're still in the same ole' rut!

to start a training program with new goals in mind. whether it is running your first 5K or signing up for your first TRI or Adventure Race.

to let others that you're not perfect - they already know this - do you?

to find friends that will hold you accountable to the desires of your heart.

to save gas and bike to work (for me today was the day 1).

to mountain bike in the dark, when you've got Light & Motion bike lights to show you the way!

to tell your family you love them

to take a sabbatical (simplify your life by just saying no to extra commitments).

to read the bible

to be willing to learn new things from other professional colleagues (Jay Johnson).

These are just a few of the many thing in life that "It's Never Too Late" to do. Take advantage of the time that you have here on earth, and live life to its fullest!

1st Night Ride is Tonight

2011-11-30T08:54:00.001-08:00

Hey All,

Looking for a way to get outside after it gets dark? If you are, join me for the first night mountain bike ride tonight. Right now, I still have two lights available and the more riders the more fun!

Email me and let me know if you are interested in riding tonight. We will be meeting at the Anacortes Old City Dump (across from Safe Harbor Church) on "A" Avenue, ready to ride at 6pm. We'll probably ride for about an hour, so if your crunched on time, you can make it too.

Case

Night Rides in Anacortes start Nov. 30th

2011-11-22T14:49:00.001-08:00

I am super stoked that I will be able to offer the best "BIKE LIGHTS" made, for demo rides. If you haven't already visited the Night Rides page of my blog, do so now! There are a limited number of lights available and I'd hate for you to miss your opportunity to ride at night with Light & Motion bike lights. I huge thank you is in order for both L&M and Skagit Cycle Center as they are sponsoring 7 night rides between now and mid-February with the first one being just over a week away.

If you are interested in reserving a light, get on the "Night Rides" page and find a day that works for you, then email me.

**Remember the goal is always to have fun and be safe while we ride. Any rider, no matter your ability level is welcome to ride with us!**

Seahawk Turkey Trot 5K Fun Run/Walk

2011-11-01T13:13:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting in my office trying to piece together my 2012 race schedule, when it dawned on me that Anacortes doesn't have any kind of Fall/Winter running event. I decided to take it upon myself to change that.

And after talking Chris and Amy into helping me with the race director's duties, we are proud to announce the Seahawk TURKEY TROT 5K Fun Run/Walk will take place November 19th, 2011 at Washington Park. Our goal for this race is to offer an inexpensive and fun event for friends and families to get together and RUN!

Proceeds will benefit the Anacortes Cross Country Team as well as the Anacortes Parks Foundation. For more information about the event click here.

Thanks and we'll see you there!

"MTB Demo Rides" coming soon...

2011-10-27T08:33:00.000-07:00

I am glad to announce that Light and Motion bike lights, Skagit Cycle Center have agreed to sponsor weekly night rides during the winter months. I am currently working on putting together a calendar. Check back soon!

Motivation!

2011-10-11T13:30:00.000-07:00

I've done a lot of reading on Sport Psychology, both for my athletes as well as for my own athletic endeavors. And there is no doubt in my mind that the key to success for all athletes is when there is a personal desire that wants (NEEDS) to be fulfilled. It could be accomplishing a Personal Record (PR) or qualifying for State or even National level race. Whatever the carrot is for us, once we make that decision to go for it, very seldolmly do we get side tracked on our path to giving it our all to achieve the dream.

However, sometimes we can hit dry spells where we wonder why we have been doing the things that we've been doing (ie. early morning workouts, managing our nutrition, etc.) and we then decide to take some much deserved time off from the regiment. I have experienced this both as an athlete as well as a coach, and the question that I continue to battle is how to regenerate that burning desire to compete? The motivation has left the building in some respects. How can we get it back and take hold of it?

I believe that I have finally found the answer...

SCROLL DOWN!

3000 in 2

2011-05-03T14:09:00.000-07:00

Over the past 2 days I have been able to get out for 3 great workouts and accumulate over 3000 feet of elevation gain.

Sunday morning - Ran the "Tick Trail" (trail 247, 22, 21, 230, 226, 21, 320), which circumnavigates Mt. Erie. The total run is just over 5 miles with just over 1000 feet of climbing. It is a great training bench mark "field test" in measuring my overall fitness and endurance levels. Surprisingly enough I ran this one in 51:18, which is just over my PR for the loop (49:34).

Monday Evening #1- 6 miles and 1000 feet of elevation while running at Lake Padden. Stayed on mostly all of the dog friendly trails as I was accompanied by Brent and his dog Jake. Lots of climbing and actually was able to carry a pretty good clip.

Monday Evening #2- Decided to measure out the run so hit the Mountain Bike and did the exact same loop. 6 miles, 1000 feet of gain, and oh yes... MUD (lot's of it), made this an extra difficult ride.
**I'm looking forward to doing this day's workout again when the trails are a bit more dried out and compare my overall speeds.

Today, I am planning on doing just a bit more climbing (150') before I hit the track for 5x400's at current mile pace.

CHAMPION'S MANIFESTO

2011-03-15T14:14:00.000-07:00

A CHAMPION IS...

* one who SEEKS EXCELLENCE

* one who plans for ADVERSITY, and when it arises; takes it head on.

* one who ENCOURAGES others

* one who LEARNS WISDOM from the resources around them

* one who FOCUS' on the task at hand

* one who LOVES CHALLENGES

* one who is DISCIPLINED

* one who has BALANCE (Faith, Family, Professioinal, Competitive)

* one who SURROUNDS themselves with other CHAMPIONS

* one who is COMMITTED to EXCELLENCE

* one who is TOUGH MINDED

* one who REALIZES that some days, even most days - they don't "feel" like working, striving, paying the price to being a CHAMPION. But the they remember... or another CHAMPION reminds them, that BEING A CHAMPION IS A CHOICE THAT IS MADE OVER AND OVER EACH DAY! AND SO WE MAKE THE CHOICE AGAIN.

Light and Motion Demo Night Rides

2011-02-17T18:33:00.001-08:00

Thrive Adventure Racing is proud to announce that we will be offering a number of group night rides in the Anacortes and Seattle areas in the coming months. Thanks to our newest team sponsor Light and Motion, we will be able to outfit you with their newest Seca 400 & 700 lights!

All you need to do is email Case or Tiff (Sub: Night Ride), to reserve your bike light for the night. The first ride is scheduled for Wednesday, March 9th in Anacortes, lights are limited so sign up soon.

What: Night Mountain Bike Riding- experience night riding like you've never done before with the high powered lights from Light and Motion.
When: Find out more details on the Night Ride page!!
Why: If you're asking this question, come and find out for yourself!
Where: Anacortes and Seattle areas

COC @ Lincoln Park

2010-11-07T08:13:00.000-08:00

Cascade Orienteering Club hosted the 1st of their 7 winter series events yesterday at Lincoln Park in Seattle. A blend of trails, open fields and pavement (minimal) provided the setting of a fast paced race, one that would prove challenging if you weren't constantly checking and re-checking the map, causing you to over run the controls.

Tiff and I met at his place jogged down to Lincoln Park (3.1 miles), stretched, and hopped into the starting chutes. My starting time was 2 minutes ahead of him, which constantly went through my mind in hopes that he wouldn't catch me.

With 19 controls in a relatively small park, map reading and being able to distinguish all of the lines and trails became crucial. I found myself a number of times throughout the run stopping and confirming that I was in fact where I thought I was.

In completing the course in 34:34, I felt good about my overall performance. In taking a little extra time determining my location and route choice before putting my head down and running, I was able to limit my mistakes and end up 8th overall for the day.

After the event Tiff and I ran back to his place (all uphill) for a feast including salmon burger, portabella mushrooms and a recovery shake, mm mm good! Thanks Tiff for a fun day of exercise and even more so for our fellowship.

4th at Fort Ebey - Adventure Run

2010-10-24T16:30:00.001-07:00

Fort Ebey is quickly becoming one of my most favorite getaways. Whether it is for an orienteering event, mountain bike race or just plain fun, it consistently puts itself among the best trails in the Pacific Northwest.

Today I raced in the Cascade Orienteering Club's, Adventure Run (goat) event. It was my first "o" course in quite a while and knowing what Ebey has too offer, my goal was simply to finish strong. Ebey is home to over 6 different kettles (depressions) throughout, so total elevation would play a role in the run, as well as the option to skip a control along the way.

It started with a mass start at 11am, while trying to say goodbye to Raely and Annalisa the "GO!" call had just happened. Without losing more than a second or two I was off running, trying to position myself towards the front of the pack to avoid a guaranteed stand still at CP 1. I managed to be in the top 5, so the wait was minimal. I did a quick bush whack to hit the road towards CP2. Making this move, I was able to leap frog 2 and be 3rd to CP 2. Liking the way of the road, I back tracked and ran more roads to CP 3, however this time it wasn't beneficial as Hayes and one other passed me (the trail proved to be faster). Up to this point my confidence was high as I had pretty much nailed all of the controls, which continued at CP 4, 5, and 6. I elected to skip CP7 as it seemed to be a little further in distance and difficulty, come to find out that was the most commonly skipped control. I had a 11 minute run to CP 8, partly due to the distance covered, but also due to me running past my left turn, I quickly corrected my mistake and was back on track.

From CP 8 to 9, I began taking some calculated risks, looking at the map and earth for any bush whacks. I found one, took it and popped out right next to CP 9, whew, sometimes those BW's don't work out like that. I hit another BW to 10, hitting it in stride, I continued through 11, 12, and on my way to 13 hit the 1 hr mark. Physically, I felt great and decided to push a bit harder. Not exactly knowing where your placing is can be challenging, like in adventure racing, you're racing phantom opponents. I nailed 14, BW up to the road where I passed another racer on my way to spiking 15. I decided that my road runs had done me well, so I ventured it again on my way to 16. In talking to Eric, the trail may have been a more direct route choice, oh well, I didn't get lost!

I got 16 with no problems, and then began a really fun and exhilarating couple of CP's as I BW'd my way right to 17 and into the direction of 18! As I hit the bluff, the wind was raging, I got 19, knowing I was close to being done, and with a quick glance over my shoulder to where I had come, no one was in sight. When I got to CP 20 though, I heard someone, "Go Dadda!" it was Raely and Annalisa at the finish line and they had had a perfect view of me getting 19 and 20. I ran up the trail to the finish and was done in 1:42:41, placing unofficially 4th overall.

All in all it was a great day of racing and time with Annalisa and Raely as we stopped off at Miriam's Cafe in Coupeville for coffee before heading home for a nap.

Mt. Erie Trail Run

2010-10-16T12:55:00.000-07:00

This morning was the 17th annual Mt Erie Trail Run (the road run has been going even longer), a run that was started by my close friend Dallas Kloke. This was my second time competing in this event, the first was in 2006 and I ran a time of 23:42, good enough to win my age group. However, as all endurance athletes come to find out the competition as you go up the age scale becomes more difficult.
After the pre race meeting and chatting with a few of the other competitors and fans it was my turn to go (race format had groups of 3 going every minute), up the mountain I went and as my elevation heightened so did my awareness of Kloke, who was the first one to take me up the trail 4 years ago in preparation of my first race. Overwhelmed with emotions and the lack of air to my lungs, I resorted to speed hiking, not uncommon during this event. Though it seemed that it was more than the usual during this run. Along the way I caught a few competitors, and was encouraged by my XC athletes as they were spread out over the course as marshalls. Needless to say, my thoughts and emotions took over a number of times remembering Dallas and trying to put my thoughts together as I would be sharing at a "Celebration of Life" ceremony later in the day.
I ended up losing track of where I was on the course and didn't start my kick quite early enough, as a result I would be 3rd place in my age group, despite over a minute PR for the race. My unofficial time was a 22:07, and in reflecting upon the day am pleased with how I finished the race.
"When the going gets tough, the tough gets going!"
--Dallas Kloke

Hole in the Wall 5k

2010-10-12T09:32:00.000-07:00

One of the many perks in being a High School Cross Country coach is that I get to continue my training throughout the fall and winter and, on occasion get to exercise my competitiveness at the few "open" races that are offered.

This past Saturday was one of those few opportunities and I didn't want to miss it. As with all XC seasons there comes a point in the year where workouts change from being base building workouts that coaches are able to participate in, to more speed workouts where we are needed to facilitate and call out times and splits. So needless to say, with this expected change and then all of the other things going on in life (ie. funeral, wedding, sickness, etc.), my training has been a bit sporadic as of late.

The weather was nice, overcast with the occasional sprinkle throughout the day which allowed many of our athletes to set a new PR for the 5k race and even though the weather would gradually grow worse (well just wetter), I was going to be one of those PR's for the day as well. My previous best has been a 20:28, which I ran last month at South Whidbey's invite.

As the gun shot off, I said my final pre-race prayer and off I went. This was the first time that I had ever run this course even though I've been coaching for 4 years at this invite, I've never ran it in it's entirety until then. The course consists of a 2.25 lap course that stays on the Lakewood HS campus and due to the rain and being the eighth race of the day was a bit on the muddy (which means slow). The first lap through the woods, I got suckered in to running down the middle of the course, coming across the mile marker with a time of 6:09. The second mile of the course is a tough one as you hit all of the hills for the first time and you start thinking about how much faster you need to run to reach your goals for the course. I was able to hold on to a 6:30 mile, while maintaining my position in the field among the top 20 runners. The final 1.1 mile I smartened up and ran on the inside and outside of the course, to avoid the mud which may add a little distance but is definitely made up in speed. I could hear our other coach and our athletes encouraging me yelling, "maintain form, focus on knee drive, etc." all the things I usually call out to them throughout their races. It really works, I was able to leave my pain filled body, focus my thoughts on specific technique things and finish the race with a time of 19:48, over a 30 second PR for a 5k distance and reaching my goal of running a sub 20 minute 5k.

Thanks team!

a life well lived

2010-09-27T14:28:00.001-07:00

This past weekend I, along with an endless list of friends, lost someone very close to us. Doing what he loved to do (climb), Dallas was near the summit of one of the east peaks in the Pleiades, near Mt Larrabee when a the rock he grabbed ahold of broke free. Climbers that were with Dallas, told me (as the media has also reported) that he fell nearly 300 feet. Survival from a fall of that magnitude is said to be unlikely.

Kloke has climbed in the North Cascades for more than 50 years and shared his experiences with many. A couple of years ago he led me up Liberty Bell and talked me through the entire trip. Not to mention he created just about route on Anacortes' Mt. Erie and wrote a guide book, "Rockin' on the Rock".

Dallas has been a dear friend of mine for the past 7 years as we have shared our adventures, coached track and field together and encouraged one another in our Christian faith. I am still coping with the realization that he has gone to see our maker. And yet, it is also a very comforting thought. He always had his eyes focused on God's eternal kingdom, just as in the picture above, he loved to live and lived to love in all the activities that he was involved in. His motto, "When the going gets tough, the tough gets going," will carry on and his passion for life has no doubt impacted many.

I can hear God saying to Dallas as he entered into His presence, "Dallas, well done my good and faithful servant."

You will surely be missed.

Carl Westling Memorial 5k XC Race

2010-09-21T20:48:00.000-07:00

I decided to strap up my laces and toe the line at last weekend's South Whidbey Invitational XC race. My team was there and would be running in 3 of the 5 races throughout the day, so we (coaches) decided to race in the open race. Let me be the first to say it isn't easy warming up properly when you are trying to manage and get 45 other runners dialed into with their time schedule. Needless to say, I got a solid 12 minute jog and stretch in before the gun sounded.

Like in most races, adrenaline kicks in at the start and everyone flies out like a bat outta "you know where". It's a short race, 5k, and to start out with a 6 flat first mile was a bit ambitious on my part. My second mile, I settled in at my own race pace, thanks in large part to the big hill we had to climb. I ended up hitting a 7:20 second mile. With just over a mile to go, it was time to hunker down and my best not to get caught be anyone. I took a couple looks over my shoulder at the corners and from there didn't look back, holding off any would be threats and overtaking one position to finish 13th overall (41 total) with an official time of 20:28. I PR'ed by over a minute from the time I ran over two years ago, so was pleased with my performance and am excited for the next XC open race I get to do.

As for the team, we had a great day! Our JV boys and girls finished 2nd and our Varsity boys took home a 3rd place plaque, the first in years! Proud to be a Seahawk!

26th Place at Capitol Forest 50

2010-09-13T14:16:00.000-07:00

Go Speedracer Go!

I had no idea that the capitol of Washington, was the home of 160 miles of truely epic singletrack. That was, until this past weekend when I raced for team Skagit Cycle/ThriveAR, in the first annual Capitol Forest 50/100 mile mountain bike race. I have done a lot of different endurance races in the past five years (MTB, ultra-marathon, adventure races, kayak, the list goes on), and I have to admit that this may have been the most enjoyable event I've done in a long time. A large part of my reaction to the race is accredited to Roger Michel designing a 50 mile course that had close to 90% of it on singletrack, and less than a mile of it was on repeat trails... are you kidding me?!?

The race started at the Mima Falls trailhead with a Lemond start, much to the dismay of the racers. As we toed the imaginary starting line and awaiting Roger's voice yelling "GO!" we were all in good spirits and I decided that I wouldn't push it too hard on the run to where my 2007 Specialized Epic was awaiting me. Looking back, I maybe coud've saved myself a little frustration out of the gate due to getting boxed in behind a few slower riders and yet it was nice to ride at an easy cadence early insuring a good 2-3 mile warm up. Once I started to get a little persperation going, I decided it was time that I start making a few moves on the field and so I picked up the tempo a bit and started passing a few other racers. The distance to the Aid Station #1 was approximately 12 miles which I completed in around hour and a half. I was ecstatic to see Annalisa and Teva there with fuel refills for me. My nutrition plan is as it has been for the past year has been HAMMER NUTRITION, and in endurance racing there is simply nothing that beats it! My fuel supply consisted of the following:

1 bottle of HEED - lasted to the first Aid Station

2 two hour bottles of Perpetuem - used the majority of the race, and would top off with H20 when I hit the Aid Stations

2 shots of Montana Huckleberry Gel - used at mile 35 just for a change in flavor

1 bottle of straight H20

12 Hammer Endorulytes - used 10 of them when muscles started cramping

Annalisa quickly pointed out my new bottles, I picked them up and was off for the second leg of the course, little did I know that she had quite an adventure of her own after leaving the Aid Station.

As for me, I was riding well and making up some ground the overall field and as I neared the 20 mile mark of the race I began to realize that I was about to reach uncharted territory. My longest training ride since August 1st had been 20 miles (MTB), so I was a little apprehensive of how the final 30 miles would treat me. I rolled up to the second aid station with hoots and hollars from Glenn, Connie, Jen and Erin. And before I knew what was happening Connie handed me my topped off bottles and was sending me back to the trails. The last words I heard at the AS was Glenn's "Case, be careful on the bridges, they're really slick!".

It was about 1/2 way back to the AS that Glenn's words of wisdom struck me... literally. I was nearly across the last bridge, and I tried to cut the corner. Bad idea. Down I went in a slow motion run out and over my bike before my right shoulder and back met the dirt. A bit rattled at first, other than a couple sore spots I was fine, and my bike had nothing to show for it, I was on the saddle again riding hard to the AS.

I was on my way home and was feeling good as I rode up a fireroad, popping my endurolytes like they were going out of style. The cramping had started to hit me a bit, however I was able to control it with a consistent 30 minute endurolyte. The last 15 or so miles of the race were by far the most enjoyable for me. It seemed as though it was constant singletrack, where the forearms feel like they just did an 8 pitch ascent. I passed a few other riders and then started to feel the heat from some that had caught up with me. Not wanting to lose any positions I hunkered down and cranked at every possible moment to help create a gap. It worked! I managed to hold off the guys behind me and even add a bit of distance between us.

I rolled across the finish line in 5 hours 27 minutes, meeting all of my goals and with great memories. I can't wait for next year!

Team C.A.R.T. has success...

2010-07-16T20:14:00.001-07:00

Team CART (Case Annalisa really Thrive! or Case Annalisa Raely Teva), raced the supersprint adventure race put on by 4th Dimension Racing last weekend at Lord Hill Farms. Together they orienteered, biked and ran their way through sting needles, steep climbs, fast decents enroute to finishing 1st in the 2 person co-ed category and 5th overall (3 solo males, and 1 2 person male team beat them out).

You can see all of the action here. Along with a few photos of the two of them in action.

Duvall Days 10k Recap

2010-06-11T14:59:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a few years since I went home and participated in the 10k race on Duvall's birthday (4 I think). The course's name stands for itself, "Run FAST, Run HILLS, Run DUVALL." The race starts down at McMormick Park next to the Snoqualmie River, and wastes no time hitting the hills until you hit mainstreet. Once on mainstreet you get to enjoy the flat running surface for about 300 meters until it's up and up winding your way up to Cedarcrest High School for the turn around spot. And as Dean Vergillo (teammate and race director) mentioned at the starting line, "what goes up must come down." For me as a runner, I feel that my strengths are in the hill climbing where as my overall speed isn't that great, so I pushed the hills and making good time, sitting right around 15th at the turn around spot. I was able to pass 2 more on the way back down to the finish line to clain 13th overall (133 total) and 4th division (23 total). I even PR'ed (personal record) on the course running a 42:50, nearly five minutes faster than in '06. Overall, I was very pleased with my time (averaging 6:55 mile pace) on such a challenging course and am getting ramped up for my next run, bike, or adventure race.

2010 starts off fast!

2010-04-02T20:36:00.000-07:00

Already 3 months into the "new" year and many members of Thrive AR have posted great results! If this is any indication of how the entire year of races will turn out, it's gonna be a lot of fun.
Case:
14th at COC - Marymoor
8th at COC - Fire Mountain
1st in division Sunflower Relay - Anacortes
2nd in division BuDu MTB series - Coupeville
Tiff:
Completing 60+ miles at the Chilly Hilly when most barely finished 1/2 that
23/207 at Mercer Island 1/2 (1:29:58)
Annalisa:
1st division BuDu MTB series - Coupeville

The team is getting ready for the first Adventure Race of the season, June 5th, as Joe and Tiff, will take Trioba's Sprint race head on. Stay tuned for more results as they come in.

THRIVE AR

Cookin' in the Kettles Recap

2010-03-30T13:38:00.003-07:00

The race schedule was broken up into two race times: Beginner (1 lap)/Sport (2 laps) at 10am and Expert (3 laps)/Open (3 laps) at 12pm.

The course was a beautiful 7 mile loop that involved great vistas and dry trails and 1,000' of climbing! That's right, a thousand feet of climbing each lap, our legs were definitely going to be "COOKIN' in the kettles"!

Annalisa got the day started by winning her division, narrowly beating teammate Janie, with a time of 1:01:26. Great job Annalisa!

Case finished the day 2nd in his division.

The moral of the story was...

- Plan ahead

- Fuel Right

- HAMMER IT!

AND

- DON'T JUST LIVE. . . THRIVE!

Tiff's Mercer Island Recap...

2010-03-30T06:20:00.000-07:00

I decided about 2 months before the event to give it a shot. This would be the first time I would run a 1/2 marathon event and thought the Mercer Island half would be a good season opener. Bouncing around with a goal time I finally settled on 1.5 hrs. because I overheard someone say that was fast and well, I want to be fast. It was a cool morning with light rain showers lingering in the vicinity. I dialed in my desired pace on the handy Garmin watch and lined up with other people near the goal pace time. As a couple thousand people engulfed the start area, the pace signs became invisible and everyone just crowded around.

The countdown began, and the gun was shot. Nobody moved for about 15 seconds.... it was too crowded. It took me about 45 seconds to get to the start line and I hit "go" on my watch. I forced myself to start out slow and work into my pace within the first mile and since there were so many people, this wasn't a problem at all. By mile 5, I was into a rhythm but 1 minute behind my goal. I was slightly worried about my HR lingering in the low 170s so I just kept the pace and hoped it would hang on. Around mile 10, I was still about 40 seconds behind my pace and decided to ignore the watch and just run.

The last few miles of any race reveal some truly interesting things about life. I just closed my eyes several times while I was running and focused on putting one foot in front of the other... and not throwing up. With about 1/2 mile to go, I glanced at my watch and realized that my goal of 1.5 hours was going to be possible if I could push hard through to the end. That is where pure desire comes from, on the edge of defeat and victory. I crossed the finish line, stopped my watch and headed to a garbage can ready to hurl. Luckily, nothing came out but after looking at my watch I almost peed my pants. (another glorious moment when you are about to puke and pee at the same time from absolute pain and pure joy) It said 1:29:59. I posted my fueling strategy on the Hammer endurance list... here is the recap:

No breakfast, just water and 2 Tissue Rejuvenator, 1 Mito Caps
1 hour prior: 1 Race Caps Supreme
15 min prior: Gel (Huck of course!), 2 Endurolytes, 1 more TR
at mile 5: Gel (Tropical... caffeine worked great)
at mile 10: Gel (Huck)
Post race: 2 scoops Recoverite with 1 Race Caps Supreme, 1 Mito Cap, 4 Premium Insurance Caps, and 1 more TR

1st place at Sunset Loop Run

2010-03-17T08:47:00.000-07:00

Case teamed up with Chris Crane to run in the "Catch All" division of the 10 mile relay run. Their race strategy was to have Chris run the first and last legs, while Case would run the middle two. This turned out to be successfull as in the end the came away with winning their division and falling just 30 seconds off the winners of the "Men's Open" division. All in all, a good race to test their guts as there was plenty of elevation gain throughout the 5 mile sections.

Here are team C3's splits...
1. 18:21 - Chris
2. 17:29 - Case
3. 19:14 - Case
4. 19:16 - Chris
1:14.20 - Finishing Time

Skagit Cycle Center Race Team

2010-02-05T18:20:00.000-08:00

Well, Annalisa and I have decided to join the Skagit Cycle Center's mountain bike racing team. We are both really excited about doing the events together. The best part about it is that Raely will join us on these fun endeavors and being cheering from the tent!
We haven't officially decided on what races we'll be attending, probably just around 3-6 between now and the end of the summer. We will be racing in either the BuDu and/or the Indie Series, both fairly local. Hope to see you out in the trails soon.

Waiting...

2010-01-12T13:31:00.000-08:00

The beginning of 2010 has been one of waiting for race schedules to be posted. Case and Tiff were set to do the Chuckanut 50k, however to their surprise the race sold out in less than 5 hours, bumping them from getting a chance to race it for their second time.

Races that the team has shown an interest in entering are: The Crux & Crucible, BuDu MTB Series, Indie MTB Series, Cascade Orienteering Events, and Beastraces. Thrive is really looking forward to what the Trioba guys (RVG, GR) have in store for us, but until any news is posted, we will be forced to continue waiting.

On another note, Case has began putting together an Anacortes Adventure Activity (A3). This event would be open to any endurance athlete interested in paddling, moutnain biking, trail running, etc. Whether or not there would be a cost or a participant cap # is still unknown. Stay tuned for more information...

and until then, we invite you to WAIT with us.

Stay Active!!

K.O.R.E. Events

2009-12-14T14:55:00.000-08:00

Well... yesterday Case and Tiff competed in a winter duathlon. This was the first annual "Who's the Hardest?" event and went off without too many oopsies. With just under 80 competitors signed up for the race in the midst of one of the coldest weeks in the 2009 calendar year, those that showed all should be commended for their toughness. With intermittent light snow flurries throughout the day, the weather never really was too much of a factor.

The race set up was Run then Bike, with the distances approximately at Run=8 miles and Bike=16. The run was enjoyable as it was relatively flat weaving through trails in the open field at Ft. Steilacoom Park. The challenge was to maintain a consistant speed as you would suddenly come to a zig when you thought a zag would be there. The course was set up to do 2 laps of the running course before transitioning to the bike. This was a pretty cool set up, as it looked very similar to triathlon TA's.

Once on the bike it was 4 laps of uphills, downhills, open fields and sharp turns. On a scale of 1-10 the technical riding was at about a 4+. Which allowed a number of quick laps and once everyone figured out the actual course (those darn people that vandalize arrow markers), times really improved.

Case ended up finished 19th overall and 15th in the Male category. Tiff finished 30th overall and 21st in the Male category. They both agreed after the race was, "it's a starting point for 2010."

For more results go to BuDu Racing.

**We are currently looking over our 2010 schedule to find challenging and competitive races that we can compete in.

Who's the Hardest? Off-road Duathlon

2009-12-08T09:48:00.000-08:00

5 days from today Tiff and Case will be toeing the line in the frigid temperatures for the Who's the Hardest? Off-road Duathlon. The race, put on by K.O.R.E Events will be held down at Ft. Steilacoom Park in Lakewood. There are nearly 100 participants divided into different categories. The classifications include solo (male & female), team (tandem, co-ed, and same), Tiff and I have decided to compete in the solo division and test our winter muscle against some pretty stiff competition.

The goal of the event is, "To merge local endurance athletes (those who ride bikes, those who run, and those who do both) into an environment where running and riding are incorporated into a single race setting. This event is designed to be held during the off-season so it won’t interrupt with individual race calendars and/or structured training plans. It offers an opportunity to take a crack at a potentially new sport, and a chance to compete against a new set of faces. It provides for a refreshing opportunity to get off your bike trainers and treadmills. Don’t let the cold, wet, and windy weather intimidate you – come test your fitness and mental toughness. Let’s see how you stack up against endurance athletes from other disciplines across the Pacific Northwest."

Check back in next week to get a detailed race recap and to see how we faired in the cold! Our goal like always isn't just to survive. . . but to THRIVE!!!

Joe and Tiff run 5 and 10k

2009-10-29T10:20:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Joe ran in the Xterra World Championship 5k Trail Run which was held at Makena Beach in sunny Maui. His time was 32:26, good enough to place him 51st of 244 racers and 7th of 16 in his age group. Joe's comments about the race course were, "Don't let the time deceive you... this was a 5k from HELL (in an awesome kind of way)! 8:30am - 88degrees - 900 ft of elevation!!! Dang... I feel like I was in a World Championship event :), in this field I don't feel too bad. Still wish I could have beat 30 minutes... Oh well - next time. Xterra rocks! This is one of the coolest events I've ever been too." To see Joe's other race results click here.

While Joe was enjoying the comforts of the Hawaii sun, Tiff raced in the Nike Human Race Challenge put on by Road Runners of Seattle. The race was two loops around Greenlake equalling a 10k. With good music and good competition Tiff was able to run a time of 42:43. With over 750,000 race participants across the world results for this event are still filtering in, so it is tough to know where he placed overall. Check out his results page to see his previous race marks.

Nice work guys!!

Keeping "Big Mo" during the Winter

2009-10-27T13:11:00.000-07:00

With the loss of daylight savings time and the increase of wet and cold days, many people struggle maintaining sight of their personal fitness goals. Whether you are a regular exerciser, a weekend warrior athlete, or on the verge of winning the Tour, Boston, or a local 5k we all fight the same battle this time of year. The battle of "Big Mo". If you are unfamiliar with "Big Mo", it is our Motivation, the voice deep down inside of us that says, "Get out there and get'r done!".
Here are some of the things that team Thrive AR do to maintain the activity levels during the winter to maintain our level of fitness...
1- Set goals
2- Set up Race Schedule
3- Team Adventures
4- Thrive Community Fitness
5- Become involved in a weekly group activity
Setting Goals:
Everyone needs goals, and there is no reason that we should wait until New Year's to make resolutions. Rather, set them now and call them GOALS. Simply doing this will allow you to achieve small successes and in turn motivate you to set new ones. The members of Thrive AR all use the SMARTER acronym for our goals: S= Specific, M= Measurable, A= Attainable, R= Relevant, T= Timely, E= Extra Effort, R= Revise and Repeat. Once you have figured out your goals, now it is time to achieve them. GO FOR IT!!
Set up Race Schedule:
Check out the local events for races and activities that are coming up in January and February of 2010. Once you find a couple that are intrigued by, put the money down and commit to them. It is always a smart thing to put the $$ where your mouth is.
Team Adventures:
One thing that Thrive AR has done is set up monthly activities that are fun and effective. More than just improving your fitness levels, this is a great tool in sharpening your team dynamics. I recommend rotating the person that organizes each activity, so that you add variety to the adventures. Make sure that the activities chosen can be enjoyed by everyone and will encourage and not discourage teammates or friends. Remember, "variety is the spice of life".
Thrive Community Fitness:
If you haven't already become a member of Thrive CF then it is time. Thrive has 8 different locations to choose from and most have stellar group fitness classes that you can be a part of. Class offerings vary, though my personal favorites are... Spin, Body Pump, and Body Flow. Check them out and learn to not just live. . . but to Thrive!!
Become involved in weekly group activities:
Most communities have organized weekly runs or bike rides that are available to you. A lot of time all it takes is asking some questions to your local Parks and Rec department to get pointed in the right direction. If you are in the Anacortes area, here are a couple of things that I am involved in during the winter: Tuesday and Thursday - Group MTB rides at 6pm; Wednesdays - Group Trail and Road Runs. Find an accountability partner and get out there!!

TRIOBA 24 REVIEW

2009-09-25T06:55:00.000-07:00

DATE: SEPT. 19TH 2009
LOCATION: PLAIN, WA

Like most adventure races, the actual race starts the day before in a mad dash to account for all of the gear that you assume you need. For a 24 hour race that would potentially take you up to an elevation of 7G' the possibility of snow loomed in the back of our minds. So you pack heavy and then decide just before the race what you need. Tiff and I met at Jeff's house around 2pm on Friday afternoon, where we transferred all of our gear onto his stout off-road mini van. We headed out and made great time over the pass and arrived at race HQ just before 5pm. We checked in, did our mandatory gear check with Ryan Van Gorder, which I must say was extremely minimal, creating the opportunity for the racers to determine what was needed. We were to use one bin for a remote TA and one for the kayak TA which we would be seeing early in the race, which meant that we would be paddling at night.

Once checked in, we had a decision to make, try to catch some zzzzz's or organize our gear and prep our packs for the first 1/2 of the race. We opted for the organization, which judging from the other teams was the common practice. The volunteers threw a great pasta dinner and then at 8pm the pre-race meeting talked over the course. The order of disciplines would be... bike-paddle-bike-trek-bike. After a detailed description of each of the different disciplines that may have scared a few racers off, the maps were distributed, 5 of them! It was now time for Tiff and I to get into GO mode and start plotting coordinates. This is always a fun adventure, due to the mental challenge that it adds to the experience. To make it even more challenging, teams discovered that the USGS maps that we were issued were slightly off, a minor detail, that would prove to create extra time actually finding the CP's.

With a midnight start looming in a couple of hours, we quickly plotted the controls, highlighted our preferred course and then dropped the boat off at LWSP. The race started with the new tradition of singing "God Bless America" and with the final chorus, we were off. A quick run around the lake there at the campsite spread out the field enough to allow the top teams seperation and a clear lane to the road for their bikes. Tiff and I quickly found our grove as we cruised towards CP1, using other teams to pull us along trying no to go out to hard to early. This strategy paid off as we were only a few minutes behind the leaders at CP1 and feeling really good. From there is back down the gravel road to the highway TA1.

The paddle was a counterclockwise direction of travel that provided some challenging navigation as there were a couple of hidden lakes that we had to travel through to get there. Though we don't get out to paddle as much as we'd like too, we are generally a strong paddling team, go figure. However, when you get high ended due to excessive mud, it slows down even the fastest of teams. I ended up having to get out of the kayak and trudge through knee high muck and slime, pushing the boat forward to get to deeper water. Fortunately, once back into the deep, we were able to regain the spots we lost and hit the beach (TA), in 6th overall. A big thank to JT$ and SeaKayakShop for sponsoring us with great paddling equipment. At the TA there was a fire, hot cocoa and noodle soup. We took only a few minutes at this TA, before heading back out on the course and in doing so jumped back into 4th. There is some strategy involved in transitioning quickly as you can gain a quick jump on the competition and minimize getting too cold, this is something that over the years we have learned and improved on.

Back onto the bikes we go, for a grueling climb up to Maverick Saddle and then we were able to hit some single track. The view was amazing on the way up and it started to sink that we had already been racing for 9 hours, the entire duration of the earlier Trioba Sprint race that we did just 4 months earlier. As the sun came up Tiff and I were both reminded of the amazing God that created everything that we were experiencing. It amazes us how you can experience God's beauty and masterpiece and yet not acknowledge that He is, who He is. A surge of energy, mainly from our Hammer Nutrition product (Perpeteum) catapolted us to the next TA/CP11, where we ran into a familiar face. Jeff had been stationed at this TA and seeing him was a great encourager as I was beginning to feel the affects of the terrain we were up against. A somewhat quick pit stop (11 minutes) according to Aaron Rinn, member of DART, got us out of the TA and onto the long awaited Trekking leg.

The Trek was an estimated 25+ miles in length, just shy of a marathon and was expected to take anywhere from 7-12 hours. While planning the course we felt that we would be through the Trek in about 8.5 hours giving us some light to work with before the journey home. This section proved to be, in my opinion the most taxing as I experienced a number of happenings unlike ever before. Here is a short list: 1- sleep walking to CP's 12 & 13 before catching my second wind, 2- wondering if Tiff and I had forgot what a Saddle was, 3- following trails that weren't there... come to find out, that was a trail 50 years ago and it actually did meet up where it was suppose to, 4- seeing a sailboat, animal carvings, a girl waving a paddle and other hallucinations that just seemed too real. I was able to get cell reception from the top of one of the peaks we summitted and took advantage to call Annalisa, just hearing her voice was good for a couple of hours of energy. Night had fallen and with it the temperature and Tiff being the master planner that he is opted against bringing his headlamp and warm clothing as to stay light. Fortunately for him I happen to have an extra jacket in my heavy pack and we were able to rally finishing the trek just before 9 pm, still only a few hours behind the lead group (nuun/FTM). We sat down at the fire that Jeff and Aaron had been stoking all day in 7th place, unsure of how much light batteries we had and knowing that we were still a solid 6 hours from HQ. Despite being sleepy and cold we regrouped for the final MTBing leg which was being hyped up as EPIC. it is a good thing that we have Specialized Epics or we might have been up to the task at hand.

We cruised north climbing up the Mad River Trail that all of the sudden was closed. Looking at eachother dumbfounded for a short while, we decided to go around the signs and take it anyway as it seemed to us that the Race Directors would have mentioned if we weren't supposed to be on any specific trail. Apparently, other teams faced this same dilemma and were told by forest workers that the trail closed sign doesn't apply to them. This would have been nice to know.

The next 3 hours where filled with some amazing singletrack, and it definitely has the potential to be labeled the best in the NW. We bombed down the Chikamin Ridge trail, which seemed like would never end. Unfortunately, we began to have our doubts that we were on the right trail

and with our lights starting to fail, knew that we wouldn't be able to complete all of the controls tonight.

So, upon arriving at CP19, we made the tough but right decision to ride the road back to HQ and finish the race w/o accumulating the final 7 cp's. Doing so well throughout the race this was a disappointing way to finish, however we are glad we chose the safer route that will garuantee us another opportunity in the future versus gambling and then running out of light on the single track, leaving us to wonder, "what do we do now?"

All in all it was a great race, very scenic, the nav wasn't overly difficult however did present a few challenges along the way. Thanks Trioba for another fun weekend!! Here are some of the numbers for you data freaks like me..

Elevation Gain = 13,000'

Elevation Loss = 13,000'

Elevation TTL = 26,000'

MTB = 75+ miles

Paddle = 15 miles

Trek = 25+ miles

I will post more pictures when I get my camera back from Glenn, I forgot it at the awards ceremony. I guess I was kind of tired.

Trioba Recap

2009-09-23T13:36:00.000-07:00

The picture above is the course in its entirety with the exception of the kayak section that covered to entire perimeter of Lake Wenatchee. A race recap is in the works and will be posted soon.

Thrive and Trioba Partner

2009-09-13T11:40:00.000-07:00

Thrive Community Fitness has partnered with Trioba Adventure Racing in what we hope will be a long lasting friendship. For next weekends race Thrive has donated various prizes including a few complimentary memberships to any of their 7 locations. The winners of these prizes will be selected by the race directors at some point in time over the duration of the race.
Along with that Thrive will have Jeff Wolf, owner and member of Thrive AR, at the start of the race sharing about Thrive's mission for incorporating family, fitness and adventure into their fitness centers. He will also be volunteering during the race, thanks Jeff and Thrive for being so supportive. Tiff and Case will be competing in the 2 person male division and are shooting for a top 5 finish. You can follow the team's progress here of Checkpoint Zero or on Twitter. Thanks for your encouragement and support.

Training update for Trioba 24

2009-08-22T20:20:00.000-07:00

With the approaching start to the Trioba 24hr race less than a month away, Tiff and Case have been hard at work preparing themselves for the challenge at hand. The race will be held somewhere in the vicinity of Lake Wenatchee State Park, which is home to some of the most amazing ultra-running and moutain biking trails.

In preparation for the race they both have been spending a lot of time on their bikes accumulating mileage and time in the saddle along with a consistant running plan. Next weekend they are planning a day trip to the area to do some serious mountain biking hoping to catch a glimpse of what the course will entail.

Stay up-to-date with their activities by checking out their training logs.

Case
Tiff

Until then... Happy Trails!!

6 Degrees of Navigation

2009-07-22T17:37:00.000-07:00

In two days my wife and I will be racing together for the first time in the 6 degrees of Navigation Adventure Race put on by COC. It will be her first ever adventure race and the first time that we have ever raced together. The plan is to take advantage of the time that we are together and go as fast as we can.

I will post a race recap sometime on Sunday after we get back. We will be racing under the name of C.A.R.T, which stands for Case, Annalisa, Raely and Teva as well as Case & Annalisa Really Thrive!!

Team Thrive finishes 5th at Trioba!

2009-06-01T21:30:00.000-07:00

PROPS!!
This past Saturday 34 teams of different combinations joined in the participation of the first Trioba Adventue Race in over a year and a half! And following previous races, this Trioba event definitely showed everyone that Trioba is BACK in large proportions. Glenn and Roger, picked an ideal venue (Index, Wa) that was hosted by Outdoor Adventure Center and displayed the amazing views that surround the area. Great job guys!!
Pre Race Prep
Well, we've got to be honest in saying that this was probably the most unorganized we have been as a team leading into any kind of race, in terms of logistics. I think part of that has to do with the time of year, for Tiff, myself and Roger; as well as not really knowing what we were getting into with the new leaders of Trioba planning a race. Needless to say everything worked out, and though the two hours leading up to the race start we hectic, we made it to the starting line, which for many is the most difficult task.
Race Recap
We awoke race day morning to the sound of train whistle as it flew past our tent at 55mph at 5am (the second time that night). Tiff and I tried to ignore the alarm, yet knew it was time to arise and seize the day! Roger had just arrived and so we checked in at 6am, received our maps, and quickly started dissecting the course, searching for short cuts where we might be able to gain time rather than lose it. Before you knew it we were summoned to a safety meeting put on by the guides of our rafting section that would be later in the day and with the conclusion of that, we only had 10 minutes before the race start. CRAP! I'm not even dressed yet! Running around like a madteam, we got ourselves our bikes and bins all organized and hurried to the bridge where the race would start on two wheels.
BIKE 1
With the conclusion of singing "God Bless America" (a nice touch!) led by Glenn we were off to CP 1 on our bikes. Everyone was together, drafting off of eachother, making sure that all of our gears were in good working order (as if there is anything that could be done by that point). After a few miles the pace car, drove by Ryan VG, peeled off and the race really began. Shortly after, the asphalt turned to gravel and we rode service roads up to CP 1. I had the pleasure of navigating most of the race, and opted to take the "rough trail" as Glenn put it on our way to CP 2, which as it turned out was the best option as a number of teams passed us up. We quickly recovered and nailed the next two controls (check out the view from CP 3). The next control would be a TA where we would drop the bikes and head out on foot. (Finished section in 7th)
TREK 1
Like with any sport in order to be good, you've gotta take chances and sometimes they don't work out the way they are suppose to. Well, that is what happened on way to CP 7 as we opted for the gamble and missed. We don't really know how much actual time was lost, however it was considerable, again losing a few places and being forced to work a little extra hard to regain our rank. This section was difficult as there was significant elevation gain, thick forest, difficult controls and even some snow. Little did we know that our efforts would actually allow us to move up a spot once arriving back to the TA and onto the bikes again. (Finished section in 6th)
BIKE 2
Upon hearing the good news of being in 6th place, we were stoked! Hopping on our bikes knowing that this section was mostly all down hill was a great feeling. We were able to hit all cp's w/out consiberable lost time and were able to nail some sweeet single track that included some burms. Back on the road again after a quick stop at race HQ to refuel with water and food, before dropping the bikes for our last Treking section of the day. (Finished section 5th)

TREK 2
By this time of the race, we had been out in the elements for over 6 hours and were all in our own ways beginning to feel the effects. It was now that our strength shined through. We pulled together as a team and began helping eachother out as much as possible to keep the team moving. Tiff and Roger each shared the load as I gave up my pack and then got a bit of assistance from Tiff with a tow. A new experience for me, and one that I would highly recommend others to take advantage of, seriously. It was durin this trek that we passed the 4th place team and then in Roger's words, "It's time to put the hammer down, like Team Nike." And we did building enough of a gap between us and the next team that couldn't be diminished. We even began to close in on the 3rd place team, but they were just out of reach.
BIKE 3
The 3rd biking section was a slow and painful road ride whose climbs made you realize how beat we were and as we rolled into the final TA before the rafting section, satisfaction began to set in.
RAFT
The rafting section consisted of 7 miles of pretty consistent class 3 rapids the whole way. A great way to end the race, even if we were overheating, cramping, and completely out of energy. Fortunately, we had an experienced guide that had a great run and made our trip down the Skykomish an enjoyable one. We got out of the bone chilling water, threw our raft overhead and marched to the finish in 5th place.

All in all it was a great race venue, and we cannot wait until the Trioba 24 hour set for September. Thanks again to our title sponsor Thrive CF for allowing us the means to compete and push ourselves to the limit.

T minus 2 weeks

2009-05-16T15:54:00.000-07:00

Team Thrive is officially registered for the Trioba Wild Sky Sprint Adventure Race, held in beautiful Index, WA. This will be our first race of the year and we are looking forward to exploring a new area and pushing eachother as hard as we possibly can. We'd like to give a HUGE thank you to Thrive Community Fitness, our title sponsor, for taking care of us, both physically and fiscally for this race.

Team members will include Case de Vries, Tiff Koehn and Roger Viollete as they plan to push themselves to their limt and loving everyone step, crank and paddle along the way. Whether we are completely ready for this race is yet to be seen, however one thing is for certain...

We will not merely survive... WE WILL THRIVE!!

Skagit Spring Classic

2009-05-09T15:18:00.000-07:00

Today some friends and I decided to head out to Bayview Elementary and participater in the 45 mile ride put on by the Skagit Bicycle Club. There was a 25, 45, 62 and 100 mile option and with where the groups fitness level was we decided to tackle 45.
It was a beautiful morning as Chris, Pat, Jeff, and myself headed out attempting to catch up with John and Dirk which 13 miles into the ride we did. We enjoyed laughs and views as we pounded the pedals until the turn off for the 25 miler, which John and Dirk were doing. Chris, let out a sarcastic, "It's On!" and so I followed his lead, and all of the sudden he was riding back into me, hitting my front tire. I held on as long as I could and then. . . down I went - taking Patrick, who was behind me, with me. There was a thud and a few grunts until we finally stopped. Thankfully, other than our egos, well at least mine, were hurt badly. Needless to say, I opted to ride the rest of the 25 mile course and then head for home.
Tips for group road riding. . .
1- ride single file
2- always use verbal commands
3- wear a brain bucket!
4- carry a bike tool, preferably a super tool.

Sunflower Iron Trail Run

2009-05-03T17:32:00.000-07:00

This past weekend the family packed up and headed over the beautiful North Cascades Highway to the small recreation filled town of Winthrop and the complete Methow Valley. We decided a couple of days ago that we would take off for the weekend and that I would run in the MVSTA Sunflower Relay & Iron event. A 21.7 mile that gave me a true sense of thanks and amazement of what God has created and what He has given us to enjoy. To see exactly what I'm talking about, you'll have to visit, however there are a few pictures here the the MVSTA staff took of all the competitors.
The race started close to 8:30 and I was off, hoping to see Annalisa, Raely and Teva (A.R.T) at an Aid station in the near future, however having never run the course I had no idea of what kind of times I was looking at. Needless to see, I was faster than I predicted myself to be to the first Aid Station and from then on knew that it would be difficult for them to know where to expect me next.
Start - Aid #1 (~33 minutes)
The first 3.9 miles was mainly jeep trail with the occasional 1/2 mile of single track. I battled with my ego at the start, not wanting to go out to fast and regret later, so I used the first 5 or so minutes as a warm-up with my AHR at 160. After about a mile and half we got into the first climb of the day, nothing to serious, and was a great opportunity for me to settle into my race pace. A few other racers had Garmin watches on and I overheard them saying "We're at 8:15... 8:30... 8:20" and so on and figured, why not hang out here as I was feeling good. It took me ~33min to reach this first Aid Station where I opted to pass on refueling my water.
Aid #1- #2 (~33 minutes - 1:06.40 TTL)

Then it was down and along the river for the next couple of miles until popping out on a paved road, which made me realize that my times were going to be way ahead of what I had thought out. I hung out with a few different people during this section and talked as casual as we could running at close to 8 min./mile pacing. I got to the Aid Station hoping to find A.R.T. there waiting, but I had beaten them again (I guess that is a good thing).
Aid #2 -#3 (~33 minutes - 1:40.00 TTL)
We hopped on the Methow community trail that wound through open fields, over small bridges and then up to Sun Mountain. This is where I acted out strategy and began to more shuffle and fast hike the climb rather than burn myself up by trying to run. Smart strategy as I pasted a number of people once reaching the top and the course flattened out a bit. We ran past Patterson Lake and WOW what great views!

Aid #3 - #4 (~33 minutes - 2:13.00 TTL)
I don't much remember this portion of the race, other than meeting Mike, a guy from Seattle. We were talking for almost the entire leg and it really made the time go by. He has ran this before and gave me a little briefing on what was to come. It was very helpful and encouraging, thanks Mike!!
Aid #4 -#5 (~33 minutes - 2:46.40 TTL)

The first few miles was a climb back up out of the valley we were in and it was worth it as when I reached the top I was taken back to an earlier amazement in God's creation! We truely have a God that has an amazing imagination. The picture of me wincing is just as I crest the hill.

Aid #5 - Finish (~36 minutes - 3:21.01 TTL)
From aid 5, it was pretty much downhill to the finish with oh yes... one more climb.

Overall, I'm very pleased with my time and overall results, complete results are posted here, but here is the quick version.

20-29 Male - 4th of 10
Overall Iron - 39th of 143

Whidbey Island 1/2 Marathon

2009-03-29T14:21:00.000-07:00

Annalisa and I woke up to a cold but beautiful day to run in the 1/2 marathon down on Whidbey Island. It was both of our first official 1/2 and just being a week out of the Chuckanut I was excited to be running less than half the distance of a week ago. From the start it was great to see the large herd move down the road as for some this is what they have been training for. The sun shined on us nearly the entire run and with the occasional high gusts of wind, there were no complaints about the weather. Annalisa's goal of a sub 2:15 was accomplished as we crossed the finish line in 2:11.

Deep Thoughts from a 1st timer

2009-03-23T20:32:00.001-07:00

Two days ago at this time I was sitting having dinner, telling Annalisa that I didn't think I would want to do another 50k... ever. And now 48 hours upon completing my first official ultra-marathon, I find myself looking at the results and pictures posted on our team website and wondering "What could I do differently next time, that will help me improve my time?" Am I nuts?!?!

I can only recall twice during the C50k asking myself, "why do I do this stuff?" and both times I answered with the same response, "I love challenges and I enjoy accomplishments even more!"

Saturday's race was another token example of our ability as God's creation to step aside from our mortal bodies, experience the undesired feeling of pain, ask the Great Creator to carry us where we cannot carry ourselves and watch faithfully as He delivers. What an awesome and amazing God!

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize." 1 Corinthians 9:24

Chuckanut 50k Recap

2009-03-22T09:54:00.000-07:00

Well, the big day has come and gone. Chuckanut 50k is now officially a race that we can put behind us. Annalisa took care of our pre-race meals preparing chicken & quinia for dinner and then oatmeal and freshly made apple, carrot, orange, lime and spirulina juice to help sustaining our energy for the adventure ahead of us.

The race started promptly at 8am and we had some serious conversations about how much clothing we should wear as it was still in the mid 30's when the starting gun went off. Our primary strategy was "run our own race." This entailed not getting caught up with the adrenaline rush at the beginning of the run and burning up too early. This was difficult the first 10k as it was flat and we were moving at a comfortable 9:45/mile pace. We arrived at the first aid station (A.S.) right on our goal (58min) and then started the climb up to Fragrance Lake. At this point we were feeling pretty good so we scurried up the hill with the occasional hike and passed a number of runners on this climb. We we peaked out, we were treated with a small run around the lake, and single track. I love the single track! This was short lived as we quickly made the ascent above the lake and then headed to A.S. 2.

We then found out that it was about a 3 mile climb up a service road to the next A.S. so we kept up a slow running pace up most of it and hit A.S. 3, where we were instructed to top off our water supplies. Tiff and I both decided to only run with a 16oz. h2o bottle, and with the next 8.5 miles being the most challenging of them all, we would soon realize why others had carried a bit more.

During the next section of the trail, we ran on what is called "The Ridge Trail" a singletrack trail that was ubelievable and offered great views of the cascades. Needless to say we both ran out of water and for 30m we were suffering. I started to have some cramping, nothing too serious, but I knew it could be if we didn't get to A.S. soon. Finally, we arrived and it on to the final 12 miles of the race. But first, "Chinscraper" a switchback climb that seemed like it would never end. Of course it did and that is when Tiff and I agreed to split from one another if one of us could. 4 miles of downhill into the the final A.S. and Tiff was about 5min. ahead of me and then the final 10k to the finish. This in my opinion was the most difficult section as you could see in front of you forever and there seemed like no end was in sight.

Tiff ended his 31mile adventure run in an unofficial 5:49 and I followed him with a 5:59. Our goal was a sub 6 hour run maximum and not having run this before. Other than the expected sore muscles, and feet- we are feeling good and are getting amped for the next adventure, TRIOBA May 30th.

T - 48 hours

2009-03-18T21:06:00.000-07:00

With the start of Chuckanut just a couple of days away, I thought it would be fitting to do a quick recap of how I have felt my overall training has gone. So here we go. . .
Tiff and I decided in late October that we were going to embark on this 50 kilometer running race in Bellingham. So the day after my XC banquet I started my running program. I was excited and ready to go as I had my sites on participating in the Club Fat Ass 20 mile tour run in mid-December, to serve as a pre-race warm up.
Being real consistant with my runs, through November I felt really good heading into the event. And that is when the first snow storm attacked the PNW. Needless to say my running fell off a bit and so due to a unwanted taper, along the white stuff on the ground I bailed on that run and opted to do my own 15-17 mile run on the same day around the ACFL trails in Anacortes. Though lonely it was a great run.
The New Year started with a 13 mile run with Tiff as the clock struck midnight and the rain fell. We were excited to register and hoped that we would make the registration in time as the event sells out rather quickly.
Jan. 2nd we got registered, surprisingly to me I was the 41st person on the list. And so the new training program was in full swing. Speed, hills, hills and hills were a constant oh yeah and miles too! Since starting back in the end of October I've lost 15lbs. and now way 185-187 on the given day.
On Mar. 2nd Track started and so I was forced to start my taper again a bit earlier than desired, however was still able to be active and now just 2 days for the run, realize that the preparation that I did or didn't do at this point is done and over with.
IT'S TIME TO RUN!!

Case's Chuckanut 50k Scouting

2009-02-24T12:07:00.000-08:00

Last night, Iheaded up to Chuckanut to run just a small section of the course. Starting from Aid Station #1 he headed up the jeep trail toward Fragrance Lake which was a pretty uneventful climb with the exception of a few spill overs (waterfalls) and washed out banks. Upon arriving to the Fragrance Lake Trail the map did not show great detail as to which way to go, so I opted on taking a loop around the lake. This was fun as there were a number of small bridges and cool rocks to run over. The perimeter of the lake was just under 2 miles, once back at the trail head, I hung a left and started running uphill again until there was snow and an overlook that showed nothing as the fog and rain had really rolled in by that time. So, off on the return journey I went, all downhill which I need to practice. In summary the trails look to be in fairly desent shape and should only get better in the next few weeks leading up to the race. I plan on doing 1 to 2 more 15+ effort days before I begin tapering and getting ready for race day.

Tearin' it up at Tolt

2009-02-24T11:57:00.000-08:00

Jeff and Case met up for a mtb ride at Tolt this past Saturday and they couldn't have been more pleased with the trail conditions. Despite a few low spots having some puddles the trails were dry and as a result "fast". They tore them up for a little over an hour and then starting to head back down, decided to make one more loop and that is when they heard a loud SNAP. Jeff had ridden over a bridge and started to ascend a steep hill when his chain broke. Fortunately, he has seen his fair share of PQ's and knows how to kick bike back to the downhill, where they zipped down and finished their ride. Total mileage was just under 10 in 1hr 15min.

If you aren't familiar with the Tolt trail system it is one that is highly recommended by Thrive AR as a lot of our training sessions occur there with 2 of our 4 teammates living near by. The trails are technical with many ups and downs, forcing you to keep your focus throughout the entire ride.

Thrive AR's New Website

2009-02-15T22:01:00.000-08:00

has a new web site. Filled with the current team roster information, 2009 race calendar, a multi media section and much more. Not to worry though, thrive's blog will still be updating you all with information on their latest adventures in training and various other things. If you are tired of just living and want to start THRIVING!!

click here --> thriveAR

Enjoy everyday!!

Double Workout proves effectiveness

2009-02-15T16:57:00.000-08:00

Tiff, Joe and Case met up at Pioneer Parks on Mercer Island to compete in an orienteering event put on by COC The course was somewhat challenging as there were a number of different trail options from one control to another. Tiff finished with the fastest of the three of them and cracked the overall top 10, while Case finished 16th overall and Joe 45th. Below is the map of course 7 which is what the three of them competed in.

Upon finishing the race, they piled into their cars and headed off to Tiger Mountain where they summited 6 of the 12 summits (a popular ultra training ground). The initial climb was a brutal way to start out, especially after the race from earlier in the day. Total distance for the day was ~20 miles and left all of us a bit soar, yet looking forward to the next time we can get together.

Nav. at Shoreview Park

2009-01-13T15:34:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday the team was trying to meet up for the orienteering event at Shoreview Park in Shoreline. However, due to life's unknown surprise's, Tiff was stuck in San Diego forced to run on the beach shirtless, while Joe was stranded in Duvall, due to the unbelievable flooding that occurred the past week. This is a picture of some of the damage cause from the flood.

So, as a result Case was a lone ranger at the event, which was packed with teammates from DART-nuun, Mergeo and Team Peak Physique. Feelilng a bit intimidated with the company that was there initially, he got over it and started to focus. The first four cp's where pretty much no brainers and chose to go to a known trail on the way to 5. 6 and 7 were both quick and easy decisions and then came the difficult part, trying to navigate in tall buildings is for some reason extremely tough. Despite, the phobia, no mistakes led to a clean sweep of 8, 9, 10 and 11. Back into the trails (that were surprising dry), 12 and 13 were extremely obvious, however 14 caused some problems. Over running a trail and then decididing to cut through the bush has the potential to be disastrous, this was definitely the worst nav of the day, but making the quick decision to locate an already visited cp, got him back in the right direction. Controls 15-23 were pretty much clean as Case finished 12th out of 55 entrants.

08 ends and 09 starts off... both running!

2009-01-03T00:04:00.000-08:00

Two members of Team Thrive have officially registered for the Chuckanut 50k, March 21st. Tiff and Case have been talking about participating since they completed their first unofficial ultra-marathon back in August, when the ran for 9 hours along the Wonderland Trail.

Their preparation for Chuckanut actually started during fireworks on New Year's Eve as the two of them met up for a New Year's run through the streets of Seattle. By the stroke of midnight they were already into their run and completed the 2 hour workout at roughly 1:50am 2009. With the weather all but friendly the two of them enjoyed their 13+ mile run and began to strategize their 2009 racing season. Chuckanut is number 1 on the list right now.

Tonight the two of them signed up as numbers 33 (Tiff) and 44 (Case) for the race that is just under 3 months away. Looking forward to hearing from them regarding their training and preparation as the months turn to weeks and the weeks to days.

-THRIVE AR

2008 in Review

2008-12-28T20:34:00.000-08:00

Well, 2008 has come and is almost gone. It is hard to believe that the year is almost gone. Here is a brief recap of the Thrive AR racing season, which was little bit on the back burners for a number of little reasons this year.

The year started out with monthly training days that most of the team was able to make. Our goal was to encourage each other where ever our fitness was, work on a few key racing disciplines (biking, nav, whatever) and prepare ourselves for the upcoming season.

Along the way Joe, Tiff, and Case did a few different Cascade Orienteering Events that were a lot of fun and definitely proved to show each of their improvement in that specific disciple. They are getting to the point where they can share the navigational duties during a race and feel confident in the decisions that are being made. For specific results on how they performed individually click here.

With May flowers, came the Mind over Mountain Adventure Race (MOMAR), that Case and Tiff entered. They traveled up to the Outdoor Mecca town of Squamish, BC. The race course was designed by Jen Segger-Gigg, (Dart/Nuun) and like last years course was filled with epic single track and a ton of leg burning climbs both on foot as well as the bike. The boys raced hard and despite a bent to heck brake (Case's bike), a sweet endo (Tiff) and some leg cramping, ended up finishing just ahead of the middle of the pack 13th of 29.

The next adventure was solo as Case was invited to travel with Team Kagome to the highly recognized Primal Quest that was held in Big Sky, Montana. The race was a tremendous learning experience and was a lot of fun seeing some of the best teams in the world race. It ended up that Team Nike won, again. Those guys and gal sure know how to win races.

With August approaching brought the next big adenture to the feet of Case, Tiff and Joe. They decided to run the Wonderland Trail, well 50k of it anyways. With Joe as their support Case and Tiff left Paradise around 7:00am hoping to be at Sunset in 9 hours, which would be 6:00pm. Joe was their support crew at a number of predetermined checkpoints and actually ran out to meet them towards the end of their journey. Both felt great and enjoyed some of the most beautiful views that Washington state has to offer, along with some of the hardest climbs either of them had done. In the end they completed all 31+ miles in just over 9 hours. What a triumph, considering there was over 16000' of elevation gain/loss throughout the day.

With only two actual events that Thrive AR was involved in for the 2008 year, we are already trying to map out our 2009 racing schedule. Some perks, is that Trioba is back, after a year's absence and Joe and Case have had some time to adjust to God's greatest gifts, children. Team Thrive is planning on competing in both Trioba races (May & September), as well as the Chuckanut 50k (March) and a number of other fun and exciting outdoor adventures.

A special thank you is in order to all of you that help us do what we do! Thrive Community Fitness, Nuun, Sea Kayak Shop, Pearl Izumi, Teva and most importantly OUR FAMILIES!!!! We'll see you in 2009!

10.5 Mile Trail Run

2008-11-30T18:56:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm still very much on the learners curve when it comes to training and that is what I love about health and fitness. Depending on the demands of your sport or specific competition that you're training for regiments will differ. Tiff and I decided about a month ago that we are going to shoot for the Chuckanut 50k in mid April and so I decided to amp up my running and become a true runner for the Galbraith 20 miler Dec. 20th as a way to test my fitness. I've been logging plenty of miles and until this past week hadn't missed a scheduled run. Missing my Specialized Epic I met up with Aaron on Tuesday and hit the trails for 10+ miles of single track, then followed it up with another ride on Wednesday, then the traditional Turkey Ride Thursday morning. Having not ridden for a few weeks, it felt so good to be back in the saddle again. However, even though these rides helped accumulate a 9 hour training week (the most since August), it hasn't helped me in specific training for the upcoming run just 3 weeks away now. So, I dusted off my Brooks running shoes and got 4.5 miles in yesterday and 10.5 miles today in the trails. Not just any trails though... The oh so famous "Tick Trail" named after Annalisa and I were bit numerous times by ticks over a year ago. The elevation gain is ~1800' with ups and downs constantly throughout the run. The run traverses around Mt. Erie and is a 5.2 mile trail. So, I'd thought it'd be fun to run it twice... Fortunately, I knew that Jim would meet me there and run the second loop with me. I felt pretty good throughout the entire run only having a slight urge to walk some of the steep ascents, but my competitiveness got the better of me and I ran the whole thing. Below are some stats and pics of today's run.

1st lap- 5.2 miles - 52:30

2nd lap-5.2 miles - 59:58

Total- 10.4 miles - 1:52:28

Me on the 1st lap Glad to see Jim at lap 2

Turkey Day Ride Recap

2008-11-28T19:28:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving morning started like all days should, I think... Waking up at the butt crack of dawn, layering well with cycling gear, stopping at Bucks for a morning latte and then hit the single track.

The TDR was a blast despite only Roger and I meeting up. We got to the park right at 8am, did some quick hellos, then strapped up our helmets and started the ride. Tolt trails is always a pretty good test to find out how your technical riding is, with its constant turning and root infested trails, not to mention the numerous bridges that have more recently been built. Rog and I would ride and chat, chat and ride and then a lot of the time just chat. Not having trained (if you can call yesterday training) with Roger since the prologue hike before PQ (he raced with team Kagome, while I made soup and set up the tent with Kenny and Rebeka for their late night returns). We talked of course about adventure racing, present and future goals both as athletes as well as people. It was one of those rides that you really come to enjoy, because you are truely sharing life experiences with someone other than yourself. I'm looking forward to many more training sessions with Roger and who knows, maybe I can talk him into racing with us sometime.

Case

Trioba is Back!!

2008-11-24T08:53:00.000-08:00

I know for a lot of us 'adventure racers' here in the Northwest, we have been long awaiting the day when there would be a local race of substantial length for us to sweat, bleed, cramp and perhaps even vomit, all the while pushing ourselves to the finish line.

Join me in welcoming back Trioba AR. For over 5 years Trioba had been the PNW staple adventure race that offered sprint, 12 hr, and 24 hour races. Last year Trioba was off the map and it wasn't until very recently that it found itself get back on the map! A large thank you needs to go out to Glenn and Ryan of Econaut Investments for purchasing Trioba and getting right down to the business of planning races. Already, they have posted that there will be a sprint race, usually 4-8 hours in length (May 31), and a 24 hour race covering nearly 100 miles set for September 19th.

There are a number of ways that one can be involved in adventure racing; racer, volunteer, support crew, even a sponsor etc. Adventure Races like any other sport have a number of costs and sponsors are always looked for both by race management and racing teams alike. If you are blessed and feel compelled to give back to the sport and what it stands for Trioba, may be the perfect race series to help with.

Don't just live. . . THRIVE!!

Come one come all

2008-10-19T20:50:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that it is October 18th already. Where does time go, it seems like just yesterday, that I was posting last year's Turkey Day Ride (TDR) announcement and here we are getting ready for it again. With weather and other commitments last years ride was sort of a flop, however this year I'm hoping to bring it back strong. There will be two sites this year, one in Anacortes the day before Thanksgiving and one the other down in Carnation (Tolt/MacDonald Park) Thanksgiving morning. Obviously, this has to be somewhat early being we've all got games to watch and food to eat, so plan on around a 7am ride in Carnation and the day before mid day. More details to come, the important thing is that you plan ahead.

Hope to see you there!!!!!

Gobble, Gobble

Thrive AR Video

2008-09-27T16:23:00.000-07:00

Paradise to Sunrise = 31 miles, 16,000' gain/loss

2008-08-18T14:00:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Joe, Tiff and I went down to The Wonderlad Trail, for a little perspiration and inspiration. If you aren't familiar with the trail, it is a 94+ mile trail that circles Mt. Rainer, home of some of the most breathtaking views and largest glaciers in the world. Trying to fill the void the left by not competing in any adventure races since May we decided to run an unsponsored 50k. Tiff planned out the entire route that would start us at Paradise and finish at Sunrise, 31+ miles total. As if the mileage weren't enough, he and I would be traveling up and down nonstop over about 16000' of elevation gain and loss. Joe offered his Friday night and Saturday to be our support at various spots along the way, to replenish our water and food supplies.

We arrived at our campsite right around 7pm Friday night and quickly set up the tent and got started on making dinner (pasta fest). Great conversation and lasted about 5 minutes once we climbed into the tent as I fell asleep midway through a deep conversation, I guess my body knew what it was getting into. The next morning we woke up at 5:30, which pushed our hopeful start time of 6 back to 7, after we tore down camp, had some oatmeal and coffee and reviewed the support stations again with Joe.

This is us just before setting off on this epic adventure. The amazing thing about the picture is that we had views like this all day long! Anytime we got tired of looking at the trail, all we had to do was stop and take in the scenery and we were rejuvenated for another hour or so. The first leg was a fast downhill run to Reflections Lake, where we would meet Joe and refill our bottles. When we arrived we hadn't taken into account that there were 2 parking lots and so we ran past where Joe was before deciding to go back just to make sure we didn't pass him up. That was all we needed was to miss our first CP and worry Joe.

To the right is Tiff running next to Reflections Lake and over our first snow encounter. To be honest, this had both of us a bit concerned about the amount of snow that we would hit later on in the day, fortunately it didn't get too bad. The constant conversation piece of the day after running next to prestine lakes light this one was, "how can people not believe in creation when they see things like this?"

We were making great time and running down great single track trails with unbelievable views along the way.

After leaving Joe at the lake, we had just over a 6 mile run till our next CP at Box Canyon, where he had food, chairs, and a small cheering section for us as we came out of the trail and to the car. At this point we were well on way to make it in under 8 hours, but what we didn't realize that it was only going to get harder and hotter as the day went along. The next section was 16 miles before we saw Joe again and most of it was climbing. We really enjoyed this section, full of more scenic sites and the occasional hiker. Actually, we ran into a number of people that were on day 6, 7, etc. along their way to completing the entire Wonderland Trail (Very Impressive!).

This section drained me as the hot sun pounded and our feet pounded the trail. It seemed as if this section of the trail would never end. I honestly felt for a moment that we were Frodo and Sam, walking in circles trying to get to Mordor, which no matter how fast or hard we moved always seemed the same distance away.

Finally, we reached Panhandle's Saddle and we knew that Joe was hiking up to meet us along the trail, so we buckled down and jogged down the trail until reaching him. I was really starting to lose it, as stomach cramps and no hiding place from the sun was starting to wear on me. It was great to have the entire team together running/walking down the last 8 miles to the car, along the way passing a number of hiker's who kept asking, "Is this some kind of race?" We just smiled and continued on our way.

Alas the finish was near and we completed the long journey in just over 9 hours and gained a few sore muscles in the process. More pictures to be posted soon.

Way to go guys!!!!!

The Challenge --> Wonderland 50k (that's 31 miles)

2008-08-11T12:22:00.000-07:00

Well, for months we've been talking about doing a 50k run down on the Wonderland trail (Mt. Rainer) and this Saturday we will attempt to complete the grueling 31 miles with 16,000' of total elevation gain/loss in under 8 hours. Figure that's moving at an average of ~4mph.
The question that many people of asked us is, "why?" And really the only real answer is because we enjoy putting ourselves through difficult mental and physical challenges, where we are forced to depend not only ourselves but each other and God to get us through the ordeal. This event is a replacement for not competing in a major adventure race this summer as well so the idea is to find something that we can set and challenging but attainable goal. So with Joe as our support crew we will attempt this monumental (for us) task. Expect a recap sometime early next week.

Big weekend with HS XC runners

2008-07-29T16:13:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Chris and I took 6 kids from our high school XC team to Cle Elum (Flying Horseshoe Ranch) for a weekend of perspiration and inspiration! We started the fun with a 5+ mile run, the first and last mile being a steady climb. This was a tough run and gave us a great opportunity to explore the surrounding areas.

The next morning we hit the road for a quick 4 mile run out and back (30 minutes), followed up with a 2 hour hike and capped with another road run of 4 miles in the evening. Through in doing other random competitive games and challenges and we probably totaled close to 17 miles for the day.

Sunday morning we woke up to pancakes, sausage and bacon for breakfast, before we took off to COC's ultimate orienteering race in the Teanaway Valley. This was by far the highlight of the weekend for me as I finally got Chris to race one with me. We did the 10k race which turned out to be more like 10 miles of up and down. We had a pretty clean race despite a brain fart on control 7 (we ran around and around this thing for about 20 minutes). We ended up finishing in a time of 2hrs 8mins, roughly 30 minutes behind the winning team. Pretty typical for the races that I've done, and it always comes down to 1 or 2 controls. Below is a picture of my feet after the race and the stats for the day.

(notice the raunchy blister on the toe)

Ascent = ~1950'

Descent = ~2000'

Total Elevation = ~2950'

MHR = 172

AHR = 151

Distance = ~10 miles

Duration = 2hrs 8mins

Two-a-day!

2008-07-19T09:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, started with a nice easy 4 mile run with Teva in the morning and finished with a fast 12.5 miles on the mountain bike. I was suprised at how fresh I felt on the mountain bike, due to my training being less than intense in the recent weeks.

Today, I am planning on doing a long road ride ~30-45 miles and then follow it up with a low intensity run in the trails.

Tiff and I ride at Tolt/MacDonald Park

2008-07-13T17:23:00.000-07:00

In the midst of roofing, haying and flying Tiff and I found, rather made time, this past Saturday to meet up and do some mountain biking at the Tolt trails. We got started right around 7:30 and started out on the uphill climb to the good stuff. Both of of almost made the complete climb w/o dabbing, maybe next time. After the initial climb we quick hit the singletrack and had a blast riding in and out of trails, up and over bridges. The trails were in phenominal shape and I think that a few have been added or maybe just worked on. When it was all said and done we had ridden 11.5 miles in 1h44m, avgeraging 7mph.
Thanks Tiff for the ride, hopefully we'll be able to hook up for another ride this week.

MOMAR RECAP

2008-05-13T16:00:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, Tiff and I headed up to Squamish, BC one of the most well known recreation areas in Canada for a Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race. It was our first adventure race of the year so we didn't really knowwhat to expect of ourselves or the course. On the way up, after meeting in Burlington Tiff decided he didn't want to ride his old bike (see picture), so we stopped off at Fairhaven Bike & Ski and he bought himself a 2007 Specialized Epic.

Once on the road again it was a quick trip to the Howe Sound Brewery for registration and then off to Alice Lake Campground to set up our tent for a bit of shut eye. It rained most of the night, yet remained optimistic that the clouds would hold off for the event. We awoke to the sound of the old alarm clock, so we rolled out of the sleeping bags, got dressed, made some oatmeal and broke for the race start at Quest University. Absolutely beautifully located with peaks all around the campus. Finally, race time arrived at 9:00 and we lined up at the starting line. It was a running Lemond start to seperate the teams a bit. My guess is about a 1-1 1/2 mile loop to the bikes. Where it turned into a sprint up hill to the hike a bike section and a transition to the orienteering section. The "o" section was about 10k in distance and was a mix of logging roads and single track trail.

From there it was back to the bikes where we climbed to cp 10 and started our 'epic' decent. Between bending my rear disc and watching Tiff's endo's nothing was quite like this 15 mile section of the race. Once rallying down Powerhouse Plunge it was onto another trekking section that would take us to the 100' rappell (why is it the really cool stuff, comes and goes so fast?). This was a great rappel that would definitely challenge even the so called experienced climber. Once off the ropes, we hustled back to the bikes for the final push to the finish.

We ended up finishing in 6hr 30min (just 2:25 behind the overall winners) placing 32nd out of 100+ teams and 13th out of 28 in our division. All in all, it was a great race and a great way to start out our racing season.

7 to 7

2008-04-07T17:27:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday was a strong realization of a few things...
1- Where my current fitness level is (or where it isn't)
2- How much I enjoy the outdoors
3- And how amazing my wife is.
Yesterday started early with Roger (http://www.teamkagome.com) arriving at 6:30, we got organized and looked over the days plan and set off for our adventure just after 7am. We started with a 15 mile mountain bike leg that cruised up, down and around the lil' cranberry and heart lake trail systems (2028' vert. gain). From there we meet Annalisa and Teva at the parking lot, dropped off the bikes and moved right into a trail run, ok maybe more of a hike through all of the heart lake trails (700' vert. gain). Back to the car and the smiling face of our lone supporter, we transitioned back to the bikes and headed UP to the whistle lake trail system. However, before we got to the lake we climbed 1000' in 20 minutes (this was where I really noticed fatigue setting in). After the summit at little round top, we moved to some of the more scenic trails, one that looks east towards Mt. Baker and highway 20 (going there always puts life into perspective for me). After a short break we were on it again trying to make it back to the car by 3:30 when all of the sudden my rear tire locks up. I stop take a look and realize that I hit a root with my derailer and it was now upside down. 30 minutes later we fixed the issue and were back to riding. Getting to the TA, realizing that we would never make it to Mt. Erie for the rappell Dallas was going to put us through, so we hopped in the car and were escorted to the rappell, which turned out to be about 130' (great training for MOMAR). We finished the day off with a one hour paddle around Lake Campbell, just as the skies opened up and the rain started to fall. All in all we made it a 12 hour day and my calves can feel it today. Thanks Roger and especially Annalisa for making yesterday what it was!!

Roger during the 1st bike looking at the rappell he'd be doing in a few hours

3 mile track workout

2008-04-02T19:46:00.001-07:00

Tonight I decided to run 3 miles after a bit of a warm-up. I really didn't have any real goal in mind other than I wanted to run them in less than 24 minutes (8 min/mile). I was able to run an avg. mile time of 7:02 pretty good considering I haven't done a track workout in quite a long time. Hmmm.... let's see, yeah since XC season. Well, here are splits by laps and miles...

Lap 1: 1:55 - 1:55, Lap 2: 1:50 - 3:46, Lap 3: 1:54 - 5:40, Lap 4: 7:24 - 7:24 mile 1

Lap 5: 1:41 - 9:06, Lap 6: 1:37 - 10:43, Lap 7: 1:38 - 12:22, Lap 8: 1:29 - 13:52 mile 2 (6:28)

Lap 9: 1:57 - 15:49, Lap 10: 1:49 - 17:39, Lap 11: 1:48 - 19:27, Lap 12: 1:39 - 21:06 mile 3 (7:12)

All in all I felt pretty good and it was a beautiful night with a stunning view of Mt. Baker. Thanks Teva for being my pacer!

Tick Run

2008-03-30T19:29:00.000-07:00

With the big training day with Roger only a week away I decide that I really should be doing something active everyday leading up to it so that I do not totally embarrass myself or my team. So while Annalisa took Teva for an afternoon stroll, I hopped in the car drove to the trailhead and was off. I felt pretty good during the initial mile warmup to the climbing and once the hills hit... man could I feel it. As I went on, I could feel my muscles say "ouch" and then as the run continued they said "oh yeah, we remember what we need to do." This was a relief to me as my lungs were burning. All in all it was a good run and actually a pretty fast time for that particular route. The pic is of me downing some much needed nuun all the while nursing a bloody nose. One two many snock rockets I guess. Tomorrow, I plan on doing a road ride and maybe a short road run. I love Spring Break!

Happy Easter!!

2008-03-24T18:05:00.000-07:00

HE HAS RISEN, HE HAS RISEN INDEED!

Over 2000 years ago Jesus died on the cross, however it didn't end there. Three days later He was resurrected and lifted to the right hand of God (John 16:28). I am so thankful for the blessings that He has provided for me, my family and my friends, let us not forget what He sacrificed so that we might live.

I had a great time hanging out with my family. As always my mom made an outstanding dinner with all the trimmings. Knowing that I was going to run later in the evening I tried to keep the servings small and then dessert came (carrot cake and a banana pudding). Time was slipping away so just 30 minutes after dessert I changed and started out on the run. 2 miles downhill on pavement down Fay Rd to 203, where I hooked up with the SVT and ran 5 more on the trail grade. I ended up running about 7 miles at about an 8 minute pace. The road less traveled...

Thrive AR going International May 10th

2008-03-04T09:49:00.001-08:00

Tiff and Case are now officially registered for the Squamish 4-8 hour adventure race. MOMAR puts on a great venue that is challenging and a blast to compete in. Learn more about what these two are getting themselves into by visiting...

http://www.mindovermountain.com/momar/

See you in the trails...

"Chilly Hilly Ride" Recap

2008-02-24T18:56:00.000-08:00

Had a great time on Sunday 24th of February 2008 at the Cascade Bicycle Club's Chilly Hilly ride on Bainbridge Island. I stayed on Bainbridge for the night and rode my bike to the start line at around 8AM. After a beautiful scenic ride with plenty of hills, I found myself at the finish line 1 hour & 56 minutes later. Hundreds of people poured off each incoming ferry and they expected from 3000-4000 people. Not quite satisfied with the 33 mile ride, I decided to go around again and take it a little easier. I stopped by the Clif Bar and nuun tent to chat and picked up some gel shots & nuun tablets for the road. After all was said & done I spent about 4 hours on the road & pedaled 62 miles, burned 2900 calories and have sore legs to prove it.
--Tiff

Getting the hang of this blogging stuff

2008-02-21T22:10:00.000-08:00

It has taken a bit of time to figure out how to use all of the tools available on blogger and just when I think I've got a pretty good handle on it they throw new ones at me. Well, I'd like to say I figured it out in just a few minutes; however a few hours seemed a bit more like it. Off to the right is the new tool, it's called a "slideshow" pretty cool huh? I thought so, so I dug through some old photos and put together team thrive's first "slideshow", enjoy.

Don't just live... THRIVE!!

Thrive AR Training 201

2008-02-10T15:41:00.000-08:00

WOW! What a day of trail running and biking we had yesterday. First off, let me say that I am so blessed to have such great teammates and friends that are willing to suffer for fun. Yesterday, Tiff, Joe and I met at Tolt/MacDonald for a two segmented training day. The plan was to run for 1-2 hours on the bike trails and then set off on the bikes for another 3-4 hours. The weather cooperated perfectly for us all day - a definite blessing. We started our run across the bridge and up into the trees. Tiff and I couldn't figure out why we kept going around in circles according to the map (thanks Joe for pointing us in the right direction). We ended up running for 1hr 30min and kept a pretty comfortable pace (see thrive video).

We got back to the cars, ate a quick bite to eat and heading off on the mtb's. Our objective was to explore the Griffin Creek area in between Carnation and Fall City - we took the SVT to the GC area where we connected onto some logging roads. The ride was moving along, when we decided to take some of the horse trails that aren't on the map we were using. We tried a couple of these the 2nd being much cooler than the first and got some fun video of us coming back down (I'll post some other time).

Back on the logging roads we go in hopes to find the furthest lake on the map. After guessing where the lake was we were able to find it and decided to bush whack to get to another road that was suppose to be there, it was but it wasn't maintained, we ended up bike bashing for an hour and a half before finding our way out and hitting the trail. With 3 flat tires and one broken spoke between the 3 of us we made it out of the bush just before dark and headed back to the park. After we called our wives and told them "to call off the search parties", we headed to Pete's club for a burger. Man, what a day.

Fire Mountain COC Race

2008-02-03T20:20:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, COC held their annual orienteering race at Fire Mountain in Mt. Vernon, it being so close I felt I had to do it! This was actually the same location I did my first orienteering event solo a year ago. The area out there is phenominal for this type of activity, plenty of ups and downs along with a number of trails to get lost on. Of course, the whole goal is to not get lost!!

My goal for the day was simply to run a smart race, not necessarily go for an all out physical effort but really make an attempt to think my way through the course. The advice I repeated over and over in my head before the start was, "Find #1 without a huge loss in time then move on." It worked, CP 1 was only about 75 meters from the start gate but was hidden well and before I got anxious, I stopped - breathed and what do you know, there is was right around the corner. CP 2 was a sinch hiding behind a building and then things began to get more challenging. Trail options surfaced and constantly checking the map while running/brisk walking started to fog out the tiredness the legs and lungs were starting to feel just 5 minutes into the race. 3 & 4 I hit pretty much right on then I chose a trail that was there a year ago, but has since been overgrown with blackberries to get to 5 (probably lost a few seconds with the whack). 5 - 6 was pretty straight forward, just stay on the jeep trail that had rolling hills the whole way. On the way to 7 I was able to run a fun single track trail that was pretty slick! Fortunately, I didn't find myself on the ground however on the final steep decent I blew past the CP. Getting to the fork in the trail I knew it, but opted to look around a bit. Wasting a few minutes (seemed longer) I made a wise choice to run up the steep trail and sure enough there 7 was, waiting for me. On to 8 & 9 no problem, after 9 I decided to make it interesting so I did a quick creekteering section running through a creek, rather than taking the long road around, I'm not too sure if it made a huge impact in my time, but it was sure FUN!! Running with water logged shoes I nailed the rest of the CP's with no mistakes. Coming to the finish line I put together one last sprinting effort and was pleased to hear that I was currently in 1st place! I know what you are thinking and no I wasn't the only one that had done the course, there were about 8 others at the time that had already finished and I was 8+ minutes ahead of second place. I was feeling pretty good and after seeing a current student of mine and talking to fellow adventure racer Eric Bone (mergeo.com), Annalisa and I took off for a little coffee and time with the family (Teva & other too) for Brett's B-day. The big 24, Congrats!!!

Team Training 101

2008-01-19T17:15:00.000-08:00

Our first training day as a team in 2008 turned out to be a great success. Over one month ago at the Fall Beast Joe, Tiff, and I came up with the idea of making it a point to meet up at least one day a month for an extended training day. This would benefit both physically but also in team co-hesion.

Today marked the initial training day... The original plan was to meet in Anacortes, do a spin test to measure our POWER OUTPUT/HEART RATE TRAINING ZONE - the workout was as follows... 1. 20 min. warmup: 2. 1 min. at 110 rpm's - 1 min. recovery - 1 min. at 120 rpm's: 3. 5 min. easy spin: 4. 10 min. 95% effort maintaining a 95-100 rpm cadence: 5. 10 min. recovery: 6. 10 min. 95% effort maintaining a 95-100 rpm cadence. The end result was just under an hour of spinning, and the three of us talking about different times during workouts where we felt like throwing up (we were almost there!).

After the test, whick Tiff is working on the results, we headed back to my house to change and go mountain biking. Joe, w/o his bike decided to go for a trail run, while Tiff and I rode. It was a bit rainy and sloppy, but all the more rewarding. Joe's run was about 3+ miles of a variety of terrain (you'll have to ask him his time). Tiff and I rode for 1hr 5min, covering 8.25 miles. Below is the to altitude gain and loss from our ride along with some more fun candid cameras... ENJOY!!

Thrive AR has nuu sponsor...

2008-01-14T20:44:00.000-08:00

Thrive AR gladly welcomes nuun to our team as a sponsor!
nuun is the most active hydration system out there, used by all sorts of endurance athletes.

Worried about packing it? No need, nuun comes is a small weather-proof tube that can easily be stowed away in your jersey, pack, or taped to your seat post.

Saturday at Whistle

2008-01-12T16:57:00.000-08:00

Today Aaron Byant and I were finally able to hook up for some fun in the mud. Actually we came out pretty clean, considering the rain we've been getting here the past few days. We decided to ride the trails at Whistle, since they are always a bit dryer than Heart and Lil' Cranberry. We rode for about an hour and were able to stop and get some footage of us riding.

The video and pictures from here on out are courtesy of the camera Annalisa got for me. It is pretty sweet!!thanks Annalisa!

(Case transitioning to a climb) (Aaron mastering the singletrack)

(Too much fun!!)

Trying to make the most of it

2008-01-08T19:00:00.000-08:00

Well, I must admit, I am definitely starting to get sick and tired of it being dark before 5:00. Today for instance I got home and dressed ready to go out and boom, I look outside and realize there is no way I'll finish let alone start my run before the onset of darkness. Sure enough, by the time I've got everything together it is 5:15 and yep... it's dark. Fortunately for me, I decided to run with my Ipod, which I usually don't, and it made the time go by a bit faster. The run was pretty non eventful, I went 7 miles on the Tommy Thompson trail passing maybe five others in 50 minutes. To make things interesting, I decided to through in a few sets of intervals during the middle of the run (I've got to do more of these). I can definetly feel that I did something, especially in my calves. After talking to Annalisa this evening she mentioned that I (along with most Pacific Northwesterners) could be suffering from a bit of the SADs (seasonal affective disorder), but there are a number of things that we can do to overcome this. One way that she recommends is a bit more vitamin D in my daily diet - I'll have to tell the chef ;)'

08' is going to be GREAT!!!!

2008-01-01T15:21:00.000-08:00

We are now in the NEW YEAR, 2008! Wow how time has flied by, I can remember 10 years ago being a senior in high school not knowing what the future had in store for me. And now 10 years later, I am teaching PE at AHS, married to a great wife, a home owner and teammates with some of my closest friends on an Adventure Racing team.

Annalisa and I started off the new year this morning with a 30 mile road ride with the Skagit Bicycle Club. A bit on the cold side, but once we got going, we welcomed the cool brisk air and enjoyed views of the ocean, a snow covered Mt. Baker and of course the roadkill.

As people sit down to write out there New Year's Resolutions, hopefully they we'll become a member at Thrive CF, the one goal that I pray everyone writes down is to enjoy every minute. That is really my #1, to slow down and 'smell the roses'.

This year, Don't just live... THRIVE!!!

Get out and ride, run, climb, navigate and paddle as much as you can.

Life is good

2007-12-19T15:13:00.000-08:00

After sleeping in a couple of hours this morning Jim and I met up at 10 to go out on a long, slow ride. Jim and I both teach at the high school, so we are blessed to have the next two weeks off for Christmas and the New Year. We took advantage of our time off today going out and mountain biking over 17 miles in the classic ACFL (anacortes community forest lands) trails.

We met at my house, got a few things together and set off just after 10. The mile road ride to the trails was windy and chilled you to the bone, but once in the trails worrying about being too cold is a thing of the past. Things got a little squirlley at time due to the wet conditions, the roots and rocks were slick as snot and I experienced this upclose and personal (see below). All in all it was a great way to start our Christmas Break. Hopefully we'll be able to do a few more of these longer adventures.

(Me with a bit of a shiner, and a flesh wound) ( Jim just loving it!)

Night Riding in Anacortes

2007-12-18T08:24:00.000-08:00

If you want to ride during the winter in the NW, you had better have a light that can direct you through the trails. With nights starting at 4:00 now it is rare to get anything more than an hour of riding in. Such is the story here in Anacortes, so I have resorted to riding two nights a week with Jim Thompson and anyone else that will join us.
Riding at night is just like any other discipline, you must practice it to get better and for me it had been almost a year since the last time I had gone, so the learning curve was quite evident when I looked at myself in the mirror after the first night. Mud, blood, scratches all where present as I may have spent more time on the ground than actually pedaling. Fortunately, I have been doing much better as of late. I've even felt confident enough to take a few action shots.

Case Files: Night Riding Tips

1. Carry a map- Navigation through any trail system can be difficult in the day light and when your light is gone the difficulty triples in discerning trails. Always stay found!!
2. Be timely- Plan your trip according to the burn time of your lamp and follow that (from personal experience: I know it isn't much fun to ride blind)
3. Ride with someone- Riding is almost always more enjoyable when you are with someone else. Plus it gives you a bit more light and in the chance that your light burns out, you are able to use their light to guide you out (again personal experience).
4. Look ahead- Keep your eyes fixed on the trail. Where your eyes go, so does your bike. In addition, roots and rocks are more difficult to see due to shadows caused from your light.

A little too cold...

2007-12-03T15:55:00.000-08:00

Tiff, Joe and I met up for the fall beast, which was in fact in the snow. Here is a little bit of a recap on the day...

I woke up at 4:30am and headed down the I5 corridor to meet them at a Bellevue park and ride at 6:30. Once we were all there, we piled into the Explorer and started down to the Lake Youngs Park East of Renton. Heading up the hill we were all hoping that it would continue to snow, rather than rain, we weren't so lucky. Getting there at 7:30ish, we were going through the mandatory gear and realized Tiff didn't have a light, so we drove down to Albertsons and Tiff came back with this monster yellow flashlight, laughing "it was all they had".

The race started around 9:45, once things were said and done and it was winding and wet... yeah, no snow a steady rain. To seperate the teams a little they did a Lemond start having to run about 1/2 mile circle back to the starting line where our bikes were awaiting us. Already having ice blocks as feet we hopped on the bikes and took off. It was interesting to see the different race strategies that the teams used (communication, moving away from cp, etc.). We most having been doing decent because we passed quite a few teams, but the rain and wind wouldn't quit and didn't show signs of letting up. We nailed most all of the controls, only missing a couple by about 50 meters (probably 2 minutes per). We were racing together enjoying the company, but were in definite pain, due to the cold weather. After one of the cp's that Joe went back to look for Tiff and I got together and were on the same page... "We are done." We finished the first bike section in just about 2 hours, it looked like we were in somewhat of a respectful position when we pulled out. It took us a good 30 minutes + to warm up enough to think about where we would eat and catch the rest of the Hawks game.

At lunch we cheered with the hardcores and discussed goals for 2008. One thing that we all agreed on was GETTING (not trying to) together once a month for a long training day, most likely a weekend. Tiff mentioned a bike test and kayak day, Joe trekking the 3 peaks in North Bend (Si, don't know the others) and I recommended a mini-race type setup, that is almost complete.

Looking forward to the next one "hopefully a little drier"

Wet Saturday Fun!

2007-11-20T17:21:00.000-08:00

Tiff, Joe and I got together for a little fun over the weekend, meeting up at Magnuson Park in Seattle for one of CascadeOC's events. The course wasn't over challenging in the fashion of elevation gain, rather for me it was simply getting started with the basics!?! Rule #1... Orient the map before you run. I failed to do this and as a result was playing catch up with 7 minutes waisted heading in the wrong direction. Needless to say, the day was filled with a good competitive spirit along with great burgers at "The Ram" while watching the Huskies beat up on Cal. Go DAWGS!

This was a great pre-curser to the Fall Beast that the three of us will be doing (http://www.beastrace.com/). I may try to run the next "O" event on Dec. 1, as a final tune-up for the next days race. We'll see as the event comes closer.

Tiff and Joe, great job!

"TDR"

2007-10-07T07:14:00.000-07:00

Alright all you turkey lovers out there,

The time is coming for another "TDR" Turkey Day Ride. The plan will be to meet in the AM at TOLT/MacDonald Park and tear up the single track for a couple hours, stop for a cup of coffee at the local S-bucks in town, and make sure we all get back to the house for showers and stuffing ourselves silly!!

This is the third year that I've tried to organize this ride and we all know it is more fun to have a larger group to ride with. Try to plan it into the T-day festivities early so the spouses know about it and will encourage us to go. I think last year we started around 7:00am and that was just about right with the sun coming up.

See you there!!

-Case

Thrive Community Fitness

2007-09-22T08:47:00.001-07:00

With the fall in the present and winter around the corner, many of you are looking for a way to stay fit through the holidays. Well, Thrive AR's name sake "Thrive Community Fitness," is the place to go. From spin classes to personal training Thrive has got it all. They currently have fitness centers in Anacortes, Duvall, Monroe and Redmond, with a brand new building on the way in Oak Harbor. Founded by teammate Joe Culver, Thrive CF, was created to be a positive outlet to the surrounding communities and source of affordable fitness training. Interested in being a member of Thrive? Check out the website. . .

http://www.thrivecf.com/

Remember the motto:

"Don't just live. . . THRIVE!"

Sea Kayak Shop

2007-09-11T18:33:00.001-07:00

Are you looking for the edge in the water? If so, look no further. Matthew Ross, owner of Island Outfitters is the man you want to talk to. A sponsor and essential piece to Thrive AR's racing successes over the past two years, Island Outfitters offers great one-on-one coaching along with competitive kayak rental prices. If you are interested in perfecting your paddling stroke or just looking for a weekend getaway, check out the website and get ahold of him. . .

http://www.seakayakshop.com/

See you on the water!!

2007-09-11T16:54:00.000-07:00

After a year of trying to get together for a race, I reunited with fellow Red Wolf David Heyting and his team Superfly Snuka (Roger and Julie) for "Challenge the Port" held out at Port Gamble.

After all the planning had been done, we decided to meet at 5:00am Saturday morning in Lynwood in order to catch the 5:45 ferry to Gamble. For me, this was especially an early start as I opted to stay at home in a comfortable bed and drive down in the early AM. This decision was great as by taking the ferry I was able to get to know the team a bit more and have a feel for what the overall day had in store.

The race started with a short "O" section, where we all had to be tied together and hit 4 cp's. The controls weren't all the challenging, but they served their purpose, seperate the field a bit. We came into the TA in I think 4th, which gave us a great opportunity to see who our main competition would be. As expected mergeo.com were the ones in front of us (however they wouldn't be our competition for long). Into the kayaks we go (A BIG THANKS SEA KAYAK SHOP!) off to the next 4 cp's. The wind played a factor in this one as the water was quite rough. We managed to stay upright and maintain our solid overall position.

After a short portage, Julie directed me (blindfolded) through an obstacle course and then a small balance beam act before we were off and riding our bikes. I was about a mile into the bike that we realized who we were really competing with... ourselves. David busted a chain (where's AAA?) and looking to Roger for the tool, Roger didn't realize that his bike tool didn't have a chain tool on it. Doing so well, it could've been easy for us to self implode right then, but fortunately that didn't happen. Roger and I hopped on the bikes and rode back to the cars and grabbed my tool and headed back to our teammates. A quick fix and we were off again, playing leap frog with a number of teams that had passed us during the brake down. We must have lost 25 minutes.

Next came the orienteering section where we kept a pretty good clip going and had some great navigation by David. We finished the section learning we were in 8th place overall going into the final bike leg. Spirits revived, we took off and were able to snag 6th place overall and a surprising 3rd place in our division (we made the podium). Of course the two mergeo.com teams finished ahead of us, and I don't know that if we wouldn't have had the technical issues if we would have been able to beat them anyways.

Overall, it was a great race and a ton of fun.

Thrive AR and Superfly Snuka ATTAWAY!!!

-case

Teva Footwear "Simply the Best"

2007-09-09T20:05:00.000-07:00

Teva (pronounced "teh'-vah") which in Hebrew means Nature has been a part of our racing team for the past two years. We have been blessed to have these super shoes under our feet during the crazy terrain nature brings our way. Here are two shoes that every adventure racer should have!!!

Teva Wraptor Stability Event

Teva Apres Clog

The best event shoe and pre and post clog made in my opinion!!

Check them out at ...

http://www.teva.com/

Talk about Motivation

2007-08-27T13:48:00.001-07:00

CONGRATS Micah and Amy for completing your first Ironman and making it official... YOU'RE ENGAGED!!!!!!!! I'm so glad that I was able to be a part of this weekend and definitely have gained some motivation for my own upcoming races in the next two weeks (Sept. 1 - Bellingham Traverse, Sept. 8 - Challenge the Port w/ Team Superfly). Check out there websites to learn more about them, they are on the side bar under Racing Links.

Up next --- Bellingham Traverse --- Labor Day

2007-08-13T19:53:00.000-07:00

Leg 1: 6 mile Run
Leg 2: 6 mile Mt. Bike
Leg 3: 17 mile Road Bike
Leg 4: 3 mile Trail Run
Leg 5: 4 mile Kayak
Leg 6: .5 mile Trek

Come on out and watch. What better way to spend labor day weekend!!

Duvall to Anacortes

2007-08-13T16:07:00.000-07:00

Well we did it! For over a year Annalisa and I have talked about riding the distance from Duvall to Anacortes and yesterday, we completed our goal. Total distance was 81.1 miles, 4:55 riding time and 7 hours from start to finish. We couldn't have picked a better day to do our first deVries farm ride.

We shoved off just after 12:30, cp #1 was the Centeniall Trail which starts in Snohomish, it took 53 minutes to get there and after 16 miles we were ready to walk around a bit and have a bite to eat. We went into Snohomish Fitness which is conviently located next to the trail (this place hasn't got a thing on THRIVE CF), we ran into a couple of ladies from BC who were doing a tour starting in Sedro Wooley and ending there via highways 9, 2, 27?, and 20. Quite a trip, I might look into to doing something like that someday.

After a nice snack, we hopped onto the trail and cruised until we reached the end of it, where we headed west on 531 enroute to Annalisa's Lake House and a nice lunch. This was just over the halfway point as from the de Vries' to the Birchard's it is 43.5 miles. 531 was a pain as the traffic was horrible and we could definitely tell that we were amongst cars as we noticed the lack of fresh air. We relaxed at the lake for about an hour with Linda (Annalisa's mom) before we started the final stretch home. 38.8 miles to go, depending on the wind in the Skagit flats would determine how fast we could make it home. So far the record is 1:49.

We set out riding hard not dropping under 21 mph until we reached Conway, and wouldn't you know it the winds. The wind nearly stopped us completely in our tracks, but we hammered through and were able to get home in around 2:15. All in all it was a great day, we were able to talk, laugh and get a work out together. It was truly a blessing to not have any major distractions or speed bumps along the way.

PS. We purposefully left a car down there so that this next weekend we have to ride back down in order to attend a few weddings ;)

Camping in the Snoqualmie Valley

2007-08-01T11:23:00.000-07:00

In a few hours Annalisa and I will be heading down to TOLT/MacDonald park for a few nights of R & R. We are both looking forward to it as it will be our first actual tent camping trip! We've gone through the list, checked it twice trying to make sure we've got all of the necessities and nothing more. We plan on floating the river, doing some mt. biking and stopping at Starbucks for the morning coffee (really getting out of our element).

We are going to try to hit Mt. Si one of the days we are there, since we don't get to hike there very often and meet up with Dean Thursday evening for a ride.

Cheers...

PS. Joe, Jeff and the rest of team APEX ministries (an affiliate of THRIVE) took off for Jamaica this morning. Please pray for safety and a life changing 8 days, as they spread the good news that is Jesus Christ.

Today is a Triple Threat

2007-07-25T13:30:00.000-07:00

Last night Annalisa and I planned to get up early 4:45ish and be on the water by 5:15 for about an hour paddle. Well this morning we awoken by the chirping of birds outside our window and the realization that our early start, wasn't going to happen, it was 5:45 already... no time for a paddle this morning.

In light of this, I decided that I was going to take advantage of the beautiful weather of today and do a bike and then follow it up with a run. Mt. or Road that is the question, because I went pretty hard yesterday on my Mt. bike I decided to take a nice easy ride on the roady out to Bayview state park and back. After a 6 minute transition into some dry clothes a quick drink and bite I was out the door jogging. Annalisa and I are going to get that hour kayak in this evening so I'm feeling good about the day. Man, being a teacher/coach sure has its benefits. Here are the stats from today's workout.

BIKE - 27.7 miles - 1:30.51 - 18.9 mph avg.
RUN - 2.5 miles - 17:33 - (1/2 mile warm up; mile 1=8:25; mile 2=7:19; 1/2 mile warm down)
KAYAK - 3ish miles - 1:00

We are off to Spokane tomorrow for the weekend, I've got a Outdoor Adventure PE conference that I'm attending.

-Case

Tentative 2007 Race Schedule

2007-07-25T12:06:00.000-07:00

2, Dec. Fall Beast, TBA - Case, Dean & ?
29, Sept. MOMAR, Cumberland, BC- Case & Annalisa
15, Sept. 4th DAR 24 hr, Hoodsport -
8, Sept. Challenge the Port, Port Angeles - Case & ?
1, Sept. Bellingham Traverse, Bellingham - Case
1, Aug. Beast Race #4, Mercer Island - Case
9, June 4th DAR Rogaine, Ellensburg - Joe & Case
19, May Trioba Sprint, Ellensburg - Joe, Jeff W. & Corky
12, May MOMAR, Squamish - Case & Jeff B.

Why We Race?

2007-07-24T14:30:00.000-07:00

Team Thrive has been racing together for just over three years. What started as a weekend activity to do with friends has grown into something more. We are a diverse group of athletes having competed in orienteering, mountain biking, triathlons, and much more. Each team member brings a unique dynamic to the team none more important to the other. Team Thrive’s goal is to be competitive in every race we enter and to push each other beyond what we believe we are capable of. The team is built on friendship, cooperation, competitiveness, enthusiasm, and the pursuit of excellence.
Our goal is not to merely survive, but to THRIVE!!

adventure divas

2007-07-04T14:59:00.000-07:00

Annalisa (Case's wife), Kelly (her cousin) and Carrie (Kelly's friend) participated, no they raced, in the pedal, paddle, puff earlier today in Arlington. They did an amazing job, exceeding all expectations they had set for themselves. They plan to due the race again next year, however not as a team, individually, maybe they will be new additions to "thrive ar"? We'll wait and see ;)

Race Prep

2005-09-24T16:09:00.000-07:00

The boys setting the course the night before the big race. Everyone has a role whether it is plotting coordinates, filling up everyone's bladder with water, or making any fine adjustments with equipment (Joe and Case are your bikes shifting ok?)

Panarama 3 day 05

2005-07-24T14:13:00.000-07:00

(Laura, Jeff, Case, Joe)

This is the start to a 3 day journey that would take us to the point of 'wanting to quit' to 'realizing that quitting due to soreness' isn't an option. This was Case and Laura's first adventure race and what better way to get them familiar with the sport than to sign them up for a 3 day race:) Joe and Jeff are the veteran's of the group having raced a 24 hour race earlier in the summer and being at at the top of thier game. Here is a brief overview of the Race Stages.

hrs;mins;secs

SPLITS DAY 1(Paddle; Bike; Run; TTL Time) 2:30:00 ; 2:13:00 ; 5:44:10 ; 7:04:30

SPLITS DAY 2(Paddle; Bike; Run; TTL Time) 2:18:00 ; 2:48:00 ; 3:28:57 ; 8:34:57

SPLITS DAY 3(Bike; Run; Bike; TTL Time) 2:19:00 ; 4:14:00 ; 31:30 ; 10:27:10

Total Time - 26:06:37

We ended up finishing 4th in our division and after a tough Day 1, did an amazing job on Day 2 only to run out of energy on Day 3. Highlight of the race

Mt. Adams

2005-05-24T13:58:00.000-07:00

This was my first adventure back in 2005. Jeff and Joe invited me to climb Mt. Adams with them, of course, I was game. When I committed to it I didn't do the best job planning. I had a track that Friday night so wasn't able to leave Burlington until around 9 pm or so. Needless to say, it is a drive and a half to Adams. Along the road I got lost, nearly ran out of gas and began realizing that the sleepmonster is real. Finally, at about 2 am I get to the campsite, get about 3 hours of sleep before I hear a knock on the window of my 'ru'.

After a big yawn and stretch I start the car up to generate some heat (I was freezing), then I realized I was still extremely low on gas so I opted to be could while I got dressed. Breakfast consisted of bananas, instant oatmeal and some coffee.

We started the climb and I was feeling great, I had already decided that I was going to be the first to the top. As the day went on, I began wondering, "Is there a top to this thing?" We saw a great view of Mt. St. Helens and paused a minute to enjoy the panaramic view. We approaching the lunch counter and boy was I hungry. We ate a quick lunch, readjusted our packs, strapped on our crampons and started up the false summit. It was right around this time that the weather began to shift and I began feeling a bit quezzy. We pushed on until we decided to turn back, just missing the summit by about 1,000' or so (sorry Jeff).

What an adventure, I realized this day that adventure like this weren't sprints, they're marathons. "Slow and steady, gets you ready"

-Case