Photo: 4-hour night ride on the single speed, 7:00 pm, 80 degrees, Linn County, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 2,900 yds (ytd 33,900 yds.)
Bike: 151 miles (ytd 3,729 mi.)
Run: 32 miles (ytd 824 mi.)

The Reverend discovering that the "B" in B-Road is for "BAS#$RDS!"

Photo: 1,500-meter swim, 16-mile bike, 6-mile run, 10:00 am, 80 degrees, Sugar Bottom, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 4,600 yds (ytd 31,000 yds.)
Bike: 100 miles (ytd 3,578 mi.)
Run: 28 miles (ytd 792 mi.)

A single speed is all you need for a slow turn in the right direction.

Photo: 35-mile urban excursion on the fixie, 8:00 am, 70 degrees, Linn County, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 5,800 yds (ytd 26,400 yds.)
Bike: 127 miles (ytd 3,478 mi.)
Run: 24 miles (ytd 764 mi.)

2+ years later

Photo: 3-hour gravel ride, 8:00 am, 75 degrees, Linn County, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 5,800 yds (ytd 26,400 yds.)
Bike: 133 miles (ytd 3,351 mi.)
Run: 22 miles (ytd 740 mi.)

Iowa... America's breadbasket

Video: 3-hour hike-a-bike, 8:00 am, 41 degrees, Ptarmigan Pass, Summit County, Colorado

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 0 yds (ytd 20,600 yds.)
Bike: 101 miles (ytd 3,218 mi.)
Run: 19 miles (ytd 718 mi.)

2009 was a good year for me. Multiple age-group wins, a couple overall podium finishes, healthy from beginning to end…

Then 2010 arrived, and I was injured during the first triathlon of a very young season (thank you, IT band); at a race I have done every year, 19 years running. That nagging ache I should have listened to months before was now screaming loud and clear, “You are screwed!”

Weeks later, and thanks to a newfound appreciation for massage therapy (thanks, CJ), stretching, rest and ice, I am ready to start 2010 all over again. I could have tossed the season away (I had already missed one scheduled race), chalked it up to increasing age or bad luck, and looked straight to 2011.

Or, I could have “stayed small,” racing little local events and impressing my kids by, potentially, adding to the hardware hanging in the closet. It would have looked good and I would have felt…

…empty.

Instead I opted to get stronger by losing. Yes, losing. I write this after having my butt handed to me this week.

Days ago, I loaded up the car, racked a bike on top and made my way up beyond 10,000 feet in Colorado, far, far out of my comfort zone, to run the La Sportiva Vail Hill Climb. I knew before leaving my Midwest home that I had no chance at victory or even placing anywhere near the top of my division, much less overall. Would I even finish? The pack of athletes I was used to running with would be out of sight before I took one step.

I was okay with that. This was about me trying something different in somewhere unfamiliar; racing against my personal clock instead of against familiar competitors on the roads I know inside and out. I intentionally stacked the cards against myself. I wasn’t used to the terrain; I was far from acclimated; I knew no one at the race…

…and I loved every minute. I was a beginner all over again. I loved the views, the smells and sounds, and even the burning in my lungs. The thousands of vertical feet were killing me and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I didn’t have the stamina or even the right shoes for the run, and I couldn’t have cared less. I was working hard and feeling very alive for the first time in weeks.

In the final standings of the event, I got destroyed. Look for my name and you’ll need to keep scrolling. But in my psyche, I won big. The year had started over. This was how I felt a quarter century ago when I first began this lifestyle.

In the few days since that event, I've trained far above the treeline; running, hiking, riding my mountain bike, pushing my bicycle - and my limits. It hasn't been easy, but it's been simple to walk out the door every morning and afternoon. Comfort zone? Hardly.

I’m healthy again (though not quite in race shape), happy and set to step it up for the rest of 2010. Next up? The Xterra Sugar Bottom Triathlon back in corn country. It's a well-established series in a first-time location. I’ve never raced Xterra, but you know what? I have a pretty good feeling I’m gonna like it.

Photo: 3-hour hike-a-bike, 7:00 am, 38 degrees, Colorado Trail

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 800 yds (ytd 20,600 yds.)
Bike: 75 miles (ytd 3,117 mi.)
Run: 21 miles (ytd 699 mi.)

Photo: 11-mile test ride, 7:00 am, 65 degrees, Marion, IA

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 3,400 yds (ytd 19,800 yds.)
Bike: 142 miles (ytd 3,042 mi.)
Run: 10 miles (ytd 678 mi.)

The knee in question.

Photo: One-hour walk around the lake, 8:00 am, 65 degrees, Eagan, MN

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 400 yds (ytd 16,400 yds.)
Bike: 107 miles (ytd 2,900 mi.)
Run: 0 miles (ytd 668 mi.)

Photo: Longboarding with the boy, 5:00 pm, 75 degrees, Marion, IA

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 600 yds (ytd 16,000 yds.)
Bike: 71 miles (ytd 2,793 mi.)
Run: 0 miles (ytd 668 mi.)

Early Happy Father's Day to me.

Photo: 550-yard swim, 16-mile ride, 3-mile run, 9:00 am, 70 degrees, Palo, IA

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 2,500 yds (ytd 16,000 yds.)
Bike: 116 miles (ytd 2,722 mi.)
Run: 20 miles (ytd 668 mi.)

Worst race in years. Bad Day? Bad Body? Bad Luck? All of the above.

Photo: 30-mile ride, 3-mile run, 6:00 am, 70 degrees, Linn County, IA
Weekly activity log:
Swim: 0 yds (ytd 13,500 yds.)
Bike: 131 miles (ytd 2,606 mi.)
Run: 30 miles (ytd 648 mi.)

Photo: 16-mile fixie ride, 9-mile run, 5:30 am, 70 degrees, Linn County, IA

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 1,400 yds (ytd 13,500 yds.)
Bike: 139 miles (ytd 2,475 mi.)
Run: 26 miles (ytd 618 mi.)

Photo: 100-mile single-speed ride, 12:00 pm, 70 degrees, Out There, Minnesota

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 0 yds (ytd 12,100 yds.)
Bike: 154 miles (ytd 2,336 mi.)
Run: 16 miles (ytd 592 mi.)

Chris Skogen is THE MAN

Photo: 10-mile fixie commute, 7:00 am, 45 degrees, Marion, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 0 yds (ytd 12,100 yds.)
Bike: 95 miles (ytd 2,182 mi.)
Run: 30 miles (ytd 576 mi.)

Photo: 5-hour single-speed sludge ride, 9:00 am, 60 degrees, Whoknowswhere, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 1,100 yds (ytd 12,100 yds.)
Bike: 150 miles (ytd 2,087 mi.)
Run: 30 miles (ytd 546 mi.)

Burrito Union, and ...

Burrito Project

Burrito Project from Jon Chou on Vimeo.

Photo: 40-mile ride, 10-mile run, 10:00 am, 50 degrees, Linn County, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 1,000 yds (ytd 11,000 yds.)
Bike: 148 miles (ytd 1,937 mi.)
Run: 36 miles (ytd 516 mi.)

Soggy

Photo: 13-mile run, 8:00 am, 40 degrees, Decorah, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 1,400 yds (ytd 10,000 yds.)
Bike: 131 miles (ytd 1,789 mi.)
Run: 36 miles (ytd 480 mi.)

Photo: 69-mile ride, 2-mile run, 11:00 am, 60 degrees, Linn County, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 1,500 yds (ytd 8,600 yds.)
Bike: 162 miles (ytd 1,658 mi.)
Run: 30 miles (ytd 444 mi.)

Spring cleaning, anyone?

Photo: 29-mile ride, 6:00 pm, 60 degrees, Linn County, Iowa

Weekly activity log:
Swim: 0 yds (ytd 7,100 yds.)
Bike: 150 miles (ytd 1,496 mi.)
Run: 33 miles (ytd 414 mi.)

29 on the 29'r