Photo: 9-mile run, 7:00 a.m., 22 degrees, Marion, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 6,500 yds (ytd 11,200 yds.)
Bike: 86 miles (ytd 172 mi.)
Run: 27 miles (ytd 48 mi.)

And so it finally begins.

Photo: Chilly dip, 10:00 a.m., 32 degrees underwater, 25 degrees on the dock, Excelsior, Minnesota

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 4,700 yds (ytd 4,700 yds.)
Bike: 86 miles (ytd 86 mi.)
Run: 21 miles (ytd 21 mi.)

It's easy... swim the very short distance from dock to dock... in VERY cold water.

Photo: 7-mile run, 8:00 a.m., 25 degrees, Decorah, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 2,200 yds (ytd 224,925 yds.)
Bike: 79 miles (ytd 5,427 mi.)
Run: 35 miles (ytd 1,678 mi.)

Over the river and through the woods...

Photo: 8-mile run, 8:00 a.m., 30 degrees, Marion, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 4,700 yds (ytd 222,725 yds.)
Bike: 99 miles (ytd 5,348 mi.)
Run: 27 miles (ytd 1,643 mi.)

Just me, the deer and the hunters... KaBLAM!

Photo: 5-mile run, 6:00 a.m., 47 degrees, Marion, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 0 yds (ytd 218,025 yds.)
Bike: 104 miles (ytd 5,249 mi.)
Run: 25 miles (ytd 1,616 mi.)

47 degrees???

Photo: pre-work ride/run brick, 6:30 a.m., 20 degrees, Marion, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 0 yds (ytd 218,025 yds.)
Bike: 95 miles (ytd 5,145 mi.)
Run: 22 miles (ytd 1,591 mi.)

Pool: Closed for maintenance

Photo: 2+ hour single-speed ride, 7:00 a.m., 15 degrees, Marion, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 4,900 yds (ytd 218,025 yds.)
Bike: 85 miles (ytd 5,050 mi.)
Run: 19 miles (ytd 1,569 mi.)

Windchill: horrific

Photo: 5k Thanksgiving Day run, 9:00 a.m., 40 degrees, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 4,100 yds (ytd 213,125 yds.)
Bike: 67 miles (ytd 4,965 mi.)
Run: 27 miles (ytd 1,546 mi.)

Thankful for my kids, relatives and friends... but not necessarily the thousands who joined us.

Photo: 2-hour single-speed ride/mishap, 9:00 a.m., 29 degrees, Marion, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 3,100 yds (ytd 209,025 yds.)
Bike: 75 miles (ytd 4,898 mi.)
Run: 28 miles (ytd 1,519 mi.)

Tattoo courtesy of Ritchey

Photo: foggy morning run, 6:00 a.m., 42 degrees, Marion, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 2,800 yds (ytd 205,925 yds.)
Bike: 73 miles (ytd 4,823 mi.)
Run: 25 miles (ytd 1,491 mi.)

Photo: 10-mile run, 7:00 a.m., 32 degrees, Squaw Creek Park, Marion, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 2,700 yds (ytd 203,125 yds.)
Bike: 87 miles (ytd 4,750 mi.)
Run: 20 miles (ytd 1,466 mi.)

Just me and the deer.

Photo: 8-mile run, 8:00 a.m., 35 degrees, Marion, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 2,200 yds (ytd 200,425 yds.)
Bike: 84 miles (ytd 4,663 mi.)
Run: 8 miles (ytd 1,446 mi.)

...made the final turn toward home to find... a police barricade?

Photo: post-26.2-mile run, 11:30 a.m., 35 degrees, Mason City, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 2,100 yds (ytd 198,225 yds.)
Bike: 32 miles (ytd 4,579 mi.)
Run: 32 miles (ytd 1,438 mi.)

I feel a trip to Boston coming on.

Photo: 2-hour single-speed ride, 7:00 a.m., 35 degrees, Bertram, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 5,100 yds (ytd 196,125 yds.)
Bike: 73 miles (ytd 4,547 mi.)
Run: 22 miles (ytd 1,406 mi.)

Taper, sweet taper.

Photo: 40-mile road ride, 7:00 a.m., 45 degrees, Robins, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 5,100 yds (ytd 191,025 yds.)
Bike: 98 miles (ytd 4,474 mi.)
Run: 31 miles (ytd 1,384 mi.)

She's got a point.

Photo: 26.2-mile run, pacing my sis with help from The Faker, 11:00 a.m., 70 degrees, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 4,900 yds (ytd 185,925 yds.)
Bike: 102 miles (ytd 4,386 mi.)
Run: 44 miles (ytd 1,353 mi.)

Slow and steady does NOT win the race... but it's good for some laughs along the way.

Photo: 15-mile run, 7:00 a.m., 50 degrees, Robins, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 4,600 yds (ytd 181,025 yds.)
Bike: 103 miles (ytd 4,284 mi.)
Run: 39 miles (ytd 1,309 mi.)

Ah, Iowa.

Photo: post-run, 6:00 p.m., 70 degrees, Decorah, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 4,250 yds (ytd 176,725 yds.)
Bike: 58 miles (ytd 4,181 mi.)
Run: 53 miles (ytd 1,270 mi.)

Nothing quite like being rousted from sleep by a stranger telling you that 70-mph winds are 10 minutes from your campsite.

Photo: post-run, pre-mow, 9:00 a.m., 60 degrees, Marion, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 1,800 yds (ytd 172,475 yds.)
Bike: 125 miles (ytd 4,123 mi.)
Run: 45 miles (ytd 1,217 mi.)

Photo: 3-hour single-speed ride, 8:00 a.m., 60 degrees, in the shadow of I-380, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 3,500 yds (ytd 170,675 yds.)
Bike: 97 miles (ytd 3,998 mi.)
Run: 35 miles (ytd 1,172 mi.)

Photo: 10-mile run, 6:30 a.m., 60 degrees, Robins, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 3,300 yds (ytd 167,175 yds.)
Bike: 126 miles (ytd 3,901 mi.)
Run: 44 miles (ytd 1,137 mi.)

George was right!

Photo: 30-mile ride, 6:00 a.m., 55 degrees, Toddville, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 3,300 yds (ytd 163,875 yds.)
Bike: 120 miles (ytd 3,775 mi.)
Run: 44 miles (ytd 1,093 mi.)

Photo: 4-mile run, 4:00 a.m., 70 degrees, Marion, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 2,500 yds (ytd 160,575 yds.)
Bike: 155 miles (ytd 3,655 mi.)
Run: 34 miles (ytd 1,049 mi.)

I-N-S-O-M-N-I-A

Photo: 70-mile road ride, 5:30 a.m., 62 degrees, Linn County, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 1,750 yds (ytd 158,075 yds.)
Bike: 146 miles (ytd 3,500 mi.)
Run: 35 miles (ytd 1,015 mi.)

Photo: post-race, ol' Highway 52, 5:00 p.m., 95 degrees, Winneshiek County, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 1,100 yds (ytd 156,325 yds.)
Bike: 146 miles (ytd 3,364 mi.)
Run: 21 miles (ytd 980 mi.)

What's better than a podium finish? Driving home in MAX A/C

Photo: 70-mile ride, 9:00 a.m., 70 degrees, Linn County, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 9,000 yds (ytd 155,225 yds.)
Bike: 140 miles (ytd 3,218 mi.)
Run: 41 miles (ytd 959 mi.)

The perfect place for a photo break, food break & bladder break...

Photo: 65-mile ride, 8:00 a.m., 80 degrees, near Stone City, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 9,700 yds (ytd 146,225 yds.)
Bike: 125 miles (ytd 3,078 mi.)
Run: 33 miles (ytd 918 mi.)

Into the foggy abyss...

Photo: Post-17-mile run, 10:00 a.m., 85 degrees, 1 billion percent humidity, Marion, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 5,200 yds (ytd 136,525 yds.)
Bike: 150 miles (ytd 2,953 mi.)
Run: 36 miles (ytd 885 mi.)

Happy kids use them for summer fun. Gassed, overheated, middle-aged "athletes" use them as a lifesaver.

Photo: 3-hour single-speed ride, 8:00 a.m.; 45 degrees; alt. 10,000 feet; on the way to Leadville, Colorado

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 4,600 yds (ytd 131,325 yds.)
Bike: 131 miles (ytd 2,803 mi.)
Run: 32 miles (ytd 849 mi.)

The fastest way isn't always the bestest way.

Photo: 2.5-hour single-speed ride, 7:00 a.m.; 35 degrees; alt. 12,000 feet; between Eagle and Summit Counties, Colorado

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 5,300 yds (ytd 126,725 yds.)
Bike: 108 miles (ytd 2,672 mi.)
Run: 17 miles (ytd 817 mi.)

pedal, pedal, gasp, pedal, pedal, gasp...

Photo: post-13-mile run; 7:30 a.m.; 70 degrees; Marion, IA

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 4,100 yds (ytd 121,425 yds.)
Bike: 132 miles (ytd 2,564 mi.)
Run: 26 miles (ytd 800 mi.)

The fun of the run?

Photo: post-race; 10:00 a.m.; 50 degrees; White Bear Lake, MN

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 6,375 yds (ytd 117,325 yds.)
Bike: 82 miles (ytd 2,432 mi.)
Run: 21 miles (ytd 774 mi.)

2004... 3rd place AG
2005...2nd place AG
2006... 2 minutes faster than last year...
only good enough for 5th place...Aargh!

Exercise in Frustration, Frustration in Exercise

Photo: pre-race; 5:15 a.m.; 60 degrees; Linn County, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 4,050 yds (ytd 110,950 yds.)
Bike: 121 miles (ytd 2,350 mi.)
Run: 22 miles (ytd 753 mi.)

Swim, Bike, Run...three times the fun!

Photo: 40-mile road ride; 6:30 a.m.; 70 degrees; Linn County, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 6,100 yds (ytd 106,900 yds.)
Bike: 161 miles (ytd 2,229 mi.)
Run: 30 miles (ytd 731 mi.)

The only thing nice about this windy, rainy, humid ride was the photo at the very, very end.

Photo: 15-mile trail run; 6:30 a.m.; 48 degrees; Squaw Creek Park, Marion, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 6,000 yds (ytd 100,800 yds.)
Bike: 154 miles (ytd 2,068 mi.)
Run: 31 miles (ytd 701 mi.)

Me, a name I call myself...Fa, a long, long way to run...

Photo: 31-mile trail run; 8:00 a.m.; 43 degrees; in the rain, muck, hills and more rain (get it?) of the Kettle Moraine Forest, Wisconsin

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 4,000 yds (ytd 94,800 yds.)
Bike: 73 miles (ytd 1,914 mi.)
Run: 39 miles (ytd 670 mi.)

The rain in Moraine stays mainly on the brain.

Photo: 35-mile road ride, 6:30 a.m., 45 degrees, Notcloseenoughtohome, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 5,800 yds (ytd 90,800 yds.)
Bike: 172 miles (ytd 1,841 mi.)
Run: 32 miles (ytd 631 mi.)

Foggy Morning Breakdown... first flat of the year.

Photo: 5-mile neighborhood run, 6:00 a.m., 50 degrees, Marion, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 6,400 yds (ytd 85,000 yds.)
Bike: 133 miles (ytd 1,669 mi.)
Run: 33 miles (ytd 599 mi.)

Sunrise in Sprawlville...

Photo: Road ride on the tri bike, 4:45 a.m., 48 degrees, Linn County, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 6,300 yds (ytd 78,600 yds.)
Bike: 136 miles (ytd 1,536 mi.)
Run: 43 miles (ytd 566 mi.)

In the still of the night... it's apparent that one of my bikes needs a tune-up.

Photo: post-7-mile-run bus ride in the City of Angels (with a savior behind the wheel for good measure)

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 4,300 yds (ytd 72,300 yds.)
Bike: 132 miles (ytd 1,400 mi.)
Run: 44 miles (ytd 523 mi.)

...not what I'd been taught he'd look like.

Photo: 10-mile run, at some point after waking up, 69 degrees, Manhattan Beach, California

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 2,200 yds (ytd 68,000 yds.)
Bike: 68 miles (ytd 1,268 mi.)
Run: 33 miles (ytd 479 mi.)

A beach run a day keeps the doctor at bay.
or
We'll have run, run, run 'til our daddy takes vacation away.

Photo: Beat-the-storm ride/run, 6:00 a.m., 39 degrees, rural Linn County, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 6,100 yds (ytd 65,800 yds.)
Bike: 117 miles (ytd 1,200 mi.)
Run: 35 miles (ytd 446 mi.)

“…Trees do generate oxygen; men just breathe it up, stink it up, and generally misuse it. Trees hold the soil in place, men are constantly displacing it. Trees provide shelter and protection to countless species, men threaten the existence of those species. When in sufficient number, trees regulate atmospheric temperatures, men endanger the planet by knocking those regulations askew. You can’t rest in the shade of a human, not even a roly-poly one; and isn’t it refreshing that trees can undergo periodic change without having a nervous breakdown over it? And which has more dignity – the calmer spiritual presence – a tree or a typical Homo sapiens? Best of all, perhaps, what maple or cypress ever tried to sell you something you didn’t want?" – Tom Robbins

Photo: 5-mile run, 6:30 a.m., 29 degrees, Marion, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 6,100 yds (ytd 59,700 yds.)
Bike: 99 miles (ytd 1,083 mi.)
Run: 43 miles (ytd 411 mi.)

Cruel prank or home of Joie Chitwood?

Photo: 3-hour run, 6:00 a.m., 26 degrees, north of Marion, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 5,500 yds (ytd 53,600 yds.)
Bike: 110 miles (ytd 984 mi.)
Run: 40 miles (ytd 368 mi.)

Good fences make good neighbors -Robert Frost

And bad fences...

Photo: Urban single-speed excursion, 8:00 a.m., 30 degrees, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 5,400 yds (ytd 48,100 yds.)
Bike: 105 miles (ytd 874 mi.)
Run: 41 miles (ytd 328 mi.)

No one said it had to be pretty to be pretty.

Photo: night ride, 7:30 p.m., 33 degrees, Marion, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 5,700 yds (ytd 42,700 yds.)
Bike: 102 miles (ytd 769 mi.)
Run: 36 miles (ytd 287 mi.)

Here's to a headlamp and headlight,
A single track and single speed,
A lack of breezes through dormant treeses,
And rides that go bump in the night.

Photo: 3+ hour single-speed ride, 7:00 a.m., 21 degrees, on the lonely road to Johnson County

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 4,200 yds (ytd 37,000 yds.)
Bike: 95 miles (ytd 667 mi.)
Run: 33 miles (ytd 251 mi.)

"If you want to hear the old voices, drive on a road that lets you add your shadow to those that have been gathering for years. Take the back roads." - James Lileks

Photo: Two-hour run,
6:00 a.m., -16 degrees
(-31 windchill), Marion, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 5,300 yds
(ytd 32,800 yds.)
Bike: 67 miles (ytd 572 mi.)
Run: 31 miles (ytd 218 mi.)
Number of others spotted outside (excluding the dude waiting for the bus): 0

Hell has indeed frozen over... and it can be found near the end of 29th Avenue.

Photo: Three-hour single-speed ride, 7:00 a.m., 12 degrees, the 'skirts of Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 5,000 yds (ytd 27,500 yds.)
Bike: 95 miles (ytd 505 mi.)
Run: 31 miles (ytd 187 mi.)

Mostly gravel, some pavement, a bit o' single track and one very peeved dog... none of which holds a candle to the following day's skunk encounter.

Photo: Windy, cold single-speed ride, 7:30 a.m., 13 degrees, sub-zero windchill, somewhere in East Central Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 4,300 yds (ytd 22,500 yds.)
Bike: 73 miles (ytd 410 mi.)
Run: 31 miles (ytd 156 mi.)

All you need is a single speed...and layers...and a B-A-L-A-C-L-A-V-A...and water bottles that don't freeze...and hot chocolate...and a warm shower...and a lack of common sense.