What happens when you go home

Going home always has it's positives and negatives.  I'm always sad to leave Colorado and my routine between school and training that has become consistent.  However, going home has its upsides.  Here are some things that usually happen when I go home to Minnesota for a little bit.

Family

I have learned to value the time I spend with  my family.  My siblings and I are growing up and choosing our paths.  Only a couple times during the year are we all home together.  Over this past winter break we were all able to celebrate Christmas together.  

With my brother, Ernie, and sister, Alison

Some of the awesome gifts that I got: food processor, biking clothes, delicious preserves from Rocky Mountain Orchards, place mats, and a stir-fry book from my sister.  Huge thank you to my parents who welcome us with a warm house and our childhood rooms - man I love that bunk bed!

Volume

Somehow it always seems to work out that my training schedule calls for a big week of training when I'm at home.  Inevitably, this means my family gets this crazy idea that all I do is train and eat.  Oh well...This break I've spent a lot of time swimming.  Most of my swimming happens at the U of M St. Paul Gym just a block a way.

Unlike last year, I was also able to set up my bike in the basement on a borrowed trainer. 

The basement set-up

Sometimes things get a little boring down there, especially when the radio decides to go to commercials.  Props to anyone who spends the winter riding indoors!  

I have also been able to hook up with a coupe other athletes to get in some group workouts.

Running outside is interesting.  Eventually you learn how to dress.  I always count on borrowing my parents warm clothes.  It has become common in my family to announce that we are heading into the tundra by saying something like "I'm going to throw out the trash.  If I'm not back in 5 min...start looking for a large, frozen icicle." 

I also at some point hit up the St. Paul JCC with my bro and sis.  It's cool cause they are open on all holidays when other gyms are closed. (Thanksgiving, Christmas,  New Year's)  My brother and I do some workout that is "crazy" and involves some "jumping around" according to our sister who is usually busy killing an elliptical or running on a treadmill. 

Food

The rest of the time I usually spend cooking, snacking, eating, or grocery shopping.  I always look forward to my parents cooking.  Some of the meals we've had this past week include beer can chicken, salmon (semi-smoked using woodchips) = awesome!, and stir-fry from my new cookbook.  I'm very thankful for how my parents "stock up" for when I'm back in town.

Another tradition when I go home is that my sister and I go out to eat.  This time we tried a new place called Fasika which served Ethiopian food.  

Fasika - Ethiopian food

We usually choose restaurants that have a buffet with lots of veggie options or unique healthy food.  Fasika wasn't a buffet, but they had large portions as you can see.  The plates all came with Injera, a large piece of spongy pancake or bread, similar to a crepe.  (Neither of us had ever eaten it before.)  You were supposed to use the Injera instead of utensils.  We did at first but then found out it contained wheat so we tried to limit the amount of Injera we ate.  The food was delicious.  Their greens were terrific!  The lamb dish we got was spicy but fantastic as well.  

For another meal, my dad agreed to try a pot roast dish.  We had originally wanted to smoke it on the grill throughout the day, however, the -5 degree weather didn't make him want to add woodchips every hour or so for 8 hours so we cooked it inside.

3 lb meat slab

Browning the vegetables, also included carrots and mushrooms

This process was interesting because the main goal was to get a little bit of the cooked flavor from the browned vegetables and seared meat (below) onto the bottom of the dish which would then be used for flavoring the added liquid.

Searing the meat to lock in some flavor/juices

Before saying goodbye for 3 hrs

Finished product

Final plate.  The meat turned out great and the vegetables inside were awesome!

I would highly recommend the dish.   It was easy, tasty, and filling.

Over the next couple days I will be rounding up all the stuff I want to bring back to Colorado and driving back to Fort Collins with my mom.  For the first time in college I will have a car - the family mini van.

Picture back from high school that was our possible "sibling pictures"

 After a couple days in Fort Collins, I will be heading to Arizona with the CSU Triathlon Team for training camp.  Man, some warm weather sounds really nice right now.

Thanks for reading and happy new year!

That's how you know it's good

This past week was "finals week" here at CSU.

Nearly every evening when I returned back to my apartment, I was hoping for a package.  Eventually, I tracked down my early Christmas present from Every Man Jack!

Each kit came with a travel case.  The packaging is very sharp.

I've been trying out all of their goodies the past couple days.  Two of my favorite products are the citrus scrub body wash and the signature mint face lotion.

Your new savior in the pool

Other triathletes (and swimmers) can attest to the fact that there are some months of the year when you spend a lot more time in the water.  Hopefully one result of this is getting faster!  Dry skin, however, is often another result.  Has anyone else ever had the experience when after getting out of the pool, you smile because you're pleased with your effort, and your face feels like it's about to crack?  The face lotion from Every Man Jack can more than help with that.  The lotion contains aloe and vitamin E, is not greasy, and smells refreshing.  That's how you know it's good! If you're in the pool a lot, make sure to carry Every Man Jack face lotion in your swim bag!

Other than swimming, I've also been cooking some delicious food!

The CSU Triathlon Team gets together after every Thanksgiving to do it all over again.  I cooked a turkey this year. I had never cooked one before and was pleased with how it turned out.  Except for some dark meat, it was all gone.  That's how you know it's good.

It is crucial to try and keep your turkey moist.  To do this, I emptied a can of chicken broth in the bottom of the roasting dish  and covered the bird with a foil tent.  Other than that, a simple spice rub and some fresh rosemary in the cavity.

Turkey for Thanksgiving round 2

During finals this past week, I made chicken enchilada stew in the crock pot.

Chicken enchilada stew

One of the meals I love to have when I'm back in Minnesota is grilled beer can chicken.  I followed a recipe to recreate the meal in the crock pot and it turned out awesome.  Beer, bay leaves, paprika, onion, salt, and pepper...I used in-bone chicken breasts for a little more flavor.

Before

After.  Man I wish pictures could capture smell!

After slow-cooking for 5-6 hrs, the meat fell right off the bone when I went to pick the chicken up.  That's how you know it's good!

Some roasted brussel sprouts and mushrooms to go along

I had a friend over to help me eat all the chicken.  He brought some awesome dishes from Whole Foods including butternut squash and yams with citrus.  

The final plate

 Overall, a pretty good meal.

Thanks for reading and happy holidays.

2013 Recap, looking forward

Before explaining a few things I'm looking forward to the new year, I want to review of some of my favorite experiences from this past year.  

Highlights

Vegas Training Trip

Before the CSU Tri Team's annual Lake Havasu race over spring break , a couple teammates and I spent a week training in Las Vegas and Havasu.  The goal was to do one last big-volume week before Nationals.  I had never been to Vegas before...it was an interesting experience. I tried to explore the first night but realized pounding music and headaches aren't really my thing.  

Checking out Vegas

But the training was great.  One of our rides took us out to Hoover Dam via the 70.3 course.  It was great to feel the warm sun for a couple days even if we got a little burned.  

Saw some cool cars on a ride

After a couple days in Vegas, we headed to Havasu to camp and train more on the course.  The best meal was "hobo pockets" in tinfoil over a fire.

Hobo pockets!

Havasu

Because of the amount of training we had done the week leading up to the race, I wasn't expecting to feel great for the race.  Nonetheless, our coach insisted we would be surprised and that the main goal was still a couple weeks away - it was all part of the plan.  Once the rest of the team arrived, we went through our pre-race routines.  It was a great experience teaching a lot of new teammates the little details for race prep.  Turns out our coach was right and despite some tough winds, the Vegas Training trip crew did well.

Collegiate Nationals

Since the previous year, my first year racing triathlons, I had been looking forward to Collegiate Nationals again. I wouldn't be surprised if I thought about the race every single day of the year.  The team experience at this race was exceptional.  Traveling with 20+ other Rams was awesome!  Flying to a destination made it unique.  I was also excited to see my family.  

My brother had narrowed down his college choices, one of which included ASU.  My family had timed a tour of the school to be at the race.  This was their first chance to actually see me race in person, instead of following splits on-line.  Having them there as supporters, and willing to buy me copious amounts of bananas and nuts, was awesome.  One thing I remember about the race was my brother yelling at me as I headed out on the run.  He was yelling something about me needing to sprint.  I remember thinking, "there's a lot of running left to go, man, and I suck at sprinting".  That first mile or so to me feels like I'm sprinting anyways.  

Cheering on our team at the draft-legal race

Still feeling okay here on the run

Thankful for the family support

Obviously the outcome of that race was a highlight for my year.  Being able to share it with my family and teammates was a great bonus.  Because of them I was able to leave everything out on the course. After about 2.5 miles into the run, the rest is a blur.  Also, the post-race Mexican food dinner was delicious!

Summer in Fort Collins

Between races, living in Fort Collins this past summer was awesome.  One of my highlights every Wednesday was the Horsetooth Tri Training series put on by Green Events.  They offered an awesome deal for our team where we could volunteer for one week and race free the next week.  The post-race watermelon was a big hit. One great thing about Green Events is they strive to make their events environmentally friendly, trying to recycle or compost all "waste".  

OTC

This summer, I was lucky enough to live at the Olympic Training Center for a couple days as part of the Collegiate Recruitment Program.  You can read the blog I wrote for MP Multisport here.

Bonking at 70.3 Boulder

Ok, maybe not a highlight but...Once again, I raced the Boulder Tri Series this summer.  The series consisted of three different distance races; a sprint, olympic, and half-iron.  Since my experience the past summer, I had been looking forward to racing the half-iron again.  I had a lot more specific training for this year's race and knew what to expect.  Everything felt great until the second lap (of two) during the run portion.  I started hurting pretty bad and it felt like I was crawling to the finish.  Looking back, I realize that I didn't eat or drink anywhere near enough.  I learned from this experience that I can finish a training day or a race without taking in much (half a bottle of water on the bike and a couple gels) but it won't feel good or be very fast.

Losing it on the run

One of the perks of staying later after a race...extra bananas!

Age Group Nationals

The weekend after 70.3 Boulder, six days I think, was Age Group Nationals in Milwaukee, WI.  I was interested to see how quickly I could recover.  After 2-3 days of easy training, my body started feeling fit again.  This was my first race traveling with a bike box.  I lucked out and was able to travel to the race with Tess, our team's swim coach, who was also racing.  

Got to borrow some sweet wheels for the race!

Long story short, I ended up winning my age group and came in second overall.

Hyvee

Towards the end of my season, it felt like I had major races every weekend.  My parents were able to drive down to watch me race in Des Moines.  Even though I tried my best to relax and focus only on the things that I could control throughout the weekend, there were a couple frustrating aspects.  We ended up getting lost on our way to dinner the night before and when I mounted my bike, my seat post dropped about an inch.  My back hurt really bad after that run.  

Post race at Hyvee

Lesson learned I bought a torque key.  On a positive note...after the race, we were able to find an awesome local market with tons of fresh food.

Vegas, 70.3 World Championships

I didn't have very long to dwell on my Hyvee experience because the next weekend was another championship race.  Last year I qualified for Vegas but didn't know anything about World Championships and ultimately the price tag and travel requirements scared me away.  After hearing about a friend's experience, I knew I wanted to do it this year if I was able to qualify.  

I was able to convince my Dad to come out to Vegas as my support crew.  Missing school was a pain but the entire weekend was a blast. I had been working on forcing myself to eat and drink on longer rides in preparation for Vegas. I knew the course was tough, not to mention the climate.  

Making sure all systems are good the day before

Instead of blazing heat however, race-day brought some rain. It was raining for me until about 15 miles left in the bike portion.  I stayed on my nutrition and hydration and paced myself off some people during the run for the first lap and enjoyed every second of the race.  

Awards ceremony.  I'm the short one.

I need to give a huge thank-you to a couple people for the result from that day.  First our coach for CSU Triathlon, Jon Mason at MP Multisport.  I had a pretty negative mindset coming off of Hyvee the previous weekend.  His pep-talk early in the week made me realize that I couldn't dwell on what had already happened and I needed trust myself when things got tough in Vegas.  The a course that was known to have a significant amount of "casualties".  Also, my parents tag-teemed to give me info on where I was in my age group.  Ironman.com has an athlete tracker app.  However, because our family doesn't have smartphones, my Dad would receive text updates from my Mom who was following on the internet.  Each lap of the run, he would shout out what place I was.  Good team work.

Grateful for the support

Team Trip to Fruita, Colorado

Once again, my final race of the season was in Fruita, Colorado with the CSU Triathlon Team.  Once again, we had tons of teammates who would be racing for the first time.  The highlights of this trip were the campfire the night before, sleeping in tents, and complaining about how cold it was and how we didn't want to race.

Team Every Man Jack

I am happy to announce that in 2014, I will be racing as part of Team Every Man Jack.  Every Man Jack is a men's personal grooming brand that makes all-natural products for every-day guys.  I'm very excited to be a part of this team with some fast guys and to support of a great product.  More updates to come on this...for now, check out their website everymanjack.com.

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

A little about Steve

So I've decided I would like to try out blogging because ALL the cool people are doing it...

But seriously, I plan to use this blog to keep family, friends, and other supporters up to date on what I've been doing.  A little background information on me...

I was born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota.  Yes, it's cold there.  I learned to skate when I was three, tried out speedskating for a little, then found I loved hockey.  I always loved sports and picked up soccer at a young age as well.  I played both sports year round and loved it.

Where I spent my nights living in Minnesota...so many memories

I also fell in love with the mountains on family vacations to Estes Park.

Taking a break on the trail with my dad and brother

In high school, I began to focus more on hockey.  I had always liked the physically difficult aspects of practices in both sports, and loved the training for hockey.   I began attending FHIT (a training center for hockey) and was taught my way around a gym by a guy who still remains one of my heroes to this day, Chris J.  To this day, I credit him for enjoying sore legs.

From my days at FHIT.  (We got points for how much we worked out)

Don't get me wrong, I loved the soccer team at my high school.  Our team spoke over 12 different languages but played with one goal in mind.

I ended up choosing to attend Colorado State University for a couple reasons.  The civil engineering program was well known, there were mountains close by, and there was a club hockey team.

My freshman year, I played club hockey at CSU.  To make a long story short, I was disappointed with my experience.  Going to CSU, I knew the surrounding area was prime for biking.  The spring of my freshman year, a teammate's girlfriend on the hockey team recommended I give the CSU Triathlon Team a whirl.  I went to a swim practice, got my butt kicked, and was hooked.  I had very little experience swimming other than using it as cross-training for hockey or to keep me sane when injured from running.

I bought my first road bike that spring and road up to Estes Park.  I had always wanted to do the ride.

My dorm room

I knew I liked running hills, riding them...

The summer after my freshman year I did my first triathlon, a sprint.  I need to give a huge thank you to the "triathlon ambassadors" at Erik's bike shop for exposing me to group rides and giving me some tips to make my first race go somewhat smoothly.  

I joined the CSU Triathlon team my sophomore year and loved it.  I learned so many new things about the sport and training.  I give credit to all of our team's coaches for the progress me and the many other newbie triathletes on the team have made in so little time.

Training camp is always a highlight of my year

Traveling to races with the team (Nationals 2013) is a blast

Because I am studying civil engineering, a lot of my time not in class is spent studying.  However, I consider myself to be fairly efficient, allowing me to attend a lot of the team practices and supplement with some of my own workouts.

Other things that I really enjoy are food and cooking food.  I am very conscious about what I put into my body.  I know how my body responds to certain foods and don't like feeling crappy during workouts.  While I do not religiously follow a diet, I have found that gluten really doesn't sit well with me.  Unless it's home made banana bread or another delicious dessert!

Most of the meals I make these days are in my crockpot - pretty much the greatest cooking machine ever.  But here are some pictures from some meals...

Love me a good stir-fry

Beginning of a crockpot creation

Spaghetti squash!

Spaghetti squash and meat sauce

Another ideal dinner.  Mango chutney chicken, sweet potato, and salad

Have a great day and thanks for reading!