The springtime in the Midwest has been beautiful.  I alway enjoy playing outside but the warm sun of spring draws you to do everything outdoors.

The last few weeks I have had the chance to be at the Club everyday.  It is great to be with the kids at the Boys and Girls Club regularly.  My main goals are to get them active, preferably outside.  This spring we have enjoyed all of our favorite games and a few new ones.

Last Man Standing- A form of kickball.  The game starts with one pitcher (usually me) against everyone else.  The pitcher works to get  everyone out by tagging a base or hitting them with the ball.  When a player gets tagged out they join the outfield until there is one person left standing.

Worlds Fastest Game of Tag*- everyone is it.  If you tag someone they must freeze.  If one or more people tag each other at the same time, they both freeze.  If you tag a person who is frozen, they are unfrozen.

*I learned this game from Warren Elementary in VT.  Thanks guys, everyone really likes it.

Soccer- Right to Play donated a mini-soccer ball for every kid.  In addition to playing games, we are enjoying working on our juggling and passing skills.

Right to Play is an Organization working with volunteers and partners to use sport and play to enhance child development in areas of disadvantage.  Learn more about Right to Play and how you can help at http://www.RightToPlay.com

Each Wednesday the Boys and Girls Club hosts the Spring Run Series.  Over the next 6 weeks the community will build from running/walking 1 mile to 5km.  It is great to see everyone out running.  The top 15 in both the short and the long run won baseball caps donated by the Madison Winter Festival.   Additionally, the winners of each race won a soccer ball signed by Olympic Gold Medalist Beckie Scott

Winner of Short Run- Steven

Winner of Long Run- Brandon

Thank You to Right to Play, Madison Winter Fest and Becky Scott for your support of the LCO Boys and Girls Club.

With the tulips in bloom and my boards in storage its time to figure out what it’s going to take to improve for when the snow begins to fly again.  For me this began with what to do with my hamburger left knee.  After skiing the last couple of years like a peg-legged pirate, something had to give and I thought surgery was inevitable.  But a visit to the orthopod left me with hope for my knee and no incision.  I received a course of three shots of Euflexxa (Hyaluronic Acid) into the knee joint and have already noticed a big improvement.  While still unable to squat heavy I can bike and rollerski without pain which is huge for me.  Second on my spring to do list is to get in some solid Long Slow Distance (LSD) L1 work in.  Reflecting on this I truly believe I have never really trained in true L1.  I think I can blame unresolved teenage angst, letting my headphones dictate pace, and the simple fact that it does not feel like I’m even trainng with my heart rate in L1 for this neglect.  Attempting to rollerski in L1 this spring I’ve had an epiphany on how inefficient and just plain terrible my technique is, as my balance is Weeble like at slower speeds.  I’m also finding fun ways to get in my LSD such as running and tandem biking with my wife, roller skiing while the kids bike,  and jogging while tossing different Frolf courses with the hounds Floyd & Gridlock.  With my heart rate monitor limits set and headphones off I’m enjoying birds singing as I captain my own casual LSD cruise line.

Frolf on

My L1 best buds

As readers of my previous blog might know I received a ticket for skiing on closed trails while training for the last races of the season.  The ticket simply had a court date so I spent a lot of time calling around to figure out why.  I have even left multiple messages with the officer who left the ticket.  I got no answers and was forced to get a continuance because I was racing in Maine, at the SuperTour finals, on the court date.  After returning home I went to court, signed in, waited, talked to someone, waited, and then was told they could not talk to me further because the ticket had been issued to my car, which is still registered in my father’s name.  Standard procedure is to only give one continuance but after talking to multiple bureaucrats I was able to secure another date, which my obliging and now equally frustrated father could attend.

Today my father and I went to court and jumped through the various hoops only to learn from the prosecutor that they know very little about the details of park tickets and that we only had two options.  We could either pay the fine and various court fees (reduced from $135 to $95) or schedule another court date to argue our case.  My Father had already arranged to arrive late to work once and I had missed a day of work so we begrudgingly paid the bill so we could be done with it.

This entire incident has given me a couple of ideas.  First, maybe if more people knew the illegal nature of skiing it would become more popular.  Illegal activity tends to entice teens so perhaps this could increase participation from a broader demographic and enlarge the talent pool.  Second if skiing is illegal I feel officers should have to physically catch skiers.  This would encourage faster skiing and racing tactics to elude officers.

On a serious note it is spring and time to enjoy some down time from training and refocus for next year.  While it is temping to be angry with the lunacy of going to court for skiing I have learned that training angry fails in the long run.  Anger burns too hot and too fast.  You end up training too hard too often and are left exhausted.   This also applies to those who are frustrated about this past season.   Now is NOT the time to hammer in anticipation for next year.   Relax, recover, enjoy the spring, and then start to once again build your aerobic system through long slow distance.