Wakarusa Off-Road Challenge

Well it has been the HOTTEST summer ever, and so along with that, my training has not been what I would like it to be. I have been mostly indoors working weights and strength but not quite as much endurance training. But......Nonetheless, I have been hankerin' for some racin', so I decided to go ahead and sign up for the Bonk Hard Racing Wakarusa Off-Road Challenge in Lawrence, Kansas. I don't usually like to drive 6 hours one-way for a race that will last less than 4 hours, but I can't help it. I need to get my race fix on. September 8th, 2012.
http://bonkhardracing.com/races/wakarusa_challenge/default.asp
I think this race looks pretty fun. We shall see.

Post by Bryan Greaser

"Nice rack"

So wanting to build more power in the legs to supplement my endurance training, I started checking the internet to see if I could find any ways to make a home made squat rack/power rack. Well as you might imagine, there were plenty of ideas. So I narrowed it down to this one, and here it is and this is the one I built. So when people see it, they think it's metal. I just painted it black. The upright 4 legs are 2 x 6's doubled together for strength and then spotter pin holes are drilled through every 5 inches. The things holding up the squat bar and bench bar are 45 degree street elbow 1 inch galvanized plumbing pipe, then a 4 inch pipe goes through the hole and out the other side where it is capped with a washer or you could use a flange. Super bomber strength. This rack enables me to do squats, bench press, pull-ups, chin-ups, and a dip station which are the bars you can see coming out the front. They come on and off within seconds so they are not permanent. The best thing is that you don't have to go to the gym. I dislike gyms for alot of reasons, but mainly, they tend to be social scenes and the next thing you know, you see people wanting to talk to you and taking up 15 minutes of your limited time already which cuts into your workout. This rack is super sturdy, and took a weekend for me to build, all for probably around $150. When it'something that you built yourself, you take an even greater pride in it and are more likely to be motivated to use it. I really enjoy working out on it. I think there are additional elements that I can add to this if I want but I think it has everything covered with the bench that inclines as well. post by Bryan Greaser

May 2012

Wow, what can I say. Apparently I haven't posted on this blog since last fall. That's pretty bad. So, for anyone who cares, just an update of what has been going on. This winter was pretty great. Mild temps, and TWO western US snow skiing trips. Yep, I said TWO.

First trip was in early February. Flew to Portland, OR, then drove to Bend, Oregon and skied a few days on Mt Bachelor. What a great mountain to ski. Normally being a snowboarder on all of my previous winter trips out west, I decided to mix it up and ski this time. While it started off as a fiasco, it got a little better as I worked my way around the easy intermediate runs. Fast forward to late February and I did a family ski vacation to Salt Lake City, UT and then nearby Park City, Utah. Stayed in Park City, skied every day I was there, which was Wednesday through Sunday. Well, Sunday was a travel day. Anyway, we skied at Park City and nearby Deer Valley too. Only my second ski trip on ski's, and I was really really ripping it. Super confident on hard blues, so my good buddy Tom lures me onto a mogul'ed up Black Diamond. Boy that was a fiasco, but at least I tried it. I'll hit the blues again next trip and then progress to Black Diamonds again though. But the blue runs are plenty fun for a person who only snow ski's once or twice a year. In April I camped out and rode some sweet singletrack at Council Bluffs National Recreation Area with good buddies. Rode part of North Trace Creek of the Ozark Trail, then the next day rode part of South Trace Creek. Incredible singletrack out there in that region. What a hidden jewel that area is. Other than that, I've stepped up my training alot lately, mixing it between mountain biking and running. I've got a 50 mile trail run I am signed up for in October of this year out near Branson with Ken Chappell who will definitely be pushing a redzone pace throughout. I am still hopeful to do some adventure races this year but they pretty much taper off in the hot humid summer months, so it will probably be fall again. I'll also be looking regionally for some duathlons (mountain bike and trail run versions) since my old time favorite, the Berryman duathlon, won't be happening in June any longer. In the meantime, still training. And living, L I V I N. post by Bryan Greaser