Flu bug 1 Karsten 0 (looking for a bike Gears is the place)

It has been a rough past 3 days. I have had a hard time sleeping and keeping food down. I started getting down to business on the 28th doing a 45 min run and a 30min spin workout on the bike. Then had a Friend over watched some movies and felt good. I even shoveled to driveway that night. but then out of no where I got really sick. December has always been a really hard month for me this year was nothing different I have been sick the whole month with a cold and this was just the cherry on top. I am feeling much better today and I am thinking of going for a nice and easy run today.

***Also looking for a new bike in 2010?***

****Today is the last day!!!!

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Christmas at the Madsens was fun! David, my sister and I did lots of activity's. We made a ginger bread house and decorated the tree. We also watched the Office and some other Christmas shows. Also David wanted to try on my pads!

My cold has come back again it just doesn't want to go away. I will feel back to 100% and start to train again and then bam i wake up sick. I need alot more rest to make sure I can get what is ever in my system out. January 2nd I will start my training!

back to Running and swimming!

The last time I ran was about 2 weeks ago. I went today felt good and ready to keep running and getting some base training done! I am starting to get pumped for the 2010 tri season and getting some much needed motivation! David is coming over on Thursday to help put up the Madsens Christmas tree. Also my sister comes home this Wed so I am super pumped. I am going to enjoy the holidays and January 2nd will kick off my training for 2010.

Karsten Meet's Lance Armstrong!

My Best Friend Dragon (David S) told everyone on his blog about me meeting Lance Armstrong so here are the pictures. It was a awesome day (Saturday sept 12th) I didn't just meet Lance Armstrong, I also met Phil Liggett Tour de France commentator, Eddy Merckx, Jim Balsillie CEO of RIM and Steve Bauer Canada's greatest cyclist. Not a bad day for me. I then later went home and did my monster work out witch was a sprint duahtlon simulation so i did 5km all out 20km bike riding around 38km av then a 2km run all out. My times for the first 5km (witch is a hilly 5km I ran threw at 15:55 then on my second run I ran my first km at 3:02 but then died and finished with 6:32

Feel good and ready

I know alot of people like to know who is racing a few days before to actual race. So to everyone out there that cares I will be at Guelph lake 2. I feel rested and ready to race hard, I took last weekend off and I now really feel like racing. I was only going to race if I felt up to it.

Yesterday I went to Canada's wonderland with David S My sister and her Friend. Just so you know The last time I was on a roller coaster I was about 8 or 9 years old it was called the viper at 6 flags. Lets just say I hated it! I never went on a roller coaster again. Almost a decade later I went. My first ride was Behemoth! Waiting in the line I was having little panic attacks but I was going to do it no turning back. As we Loaded into the card my heart was beating so hard. I was telling Dave all the things I would rather do. When we started to climb up the first hill I was no longer talking just sitting looking at my hands and the death grip I had on the bar. David look over at me and saw who scared I was so he didn't say anything else to trip me out. Has we went over the hill It was ****ing nuts! It went so damn fast! I got over my fear of rides I loved it On the next few humps I had one hand off and I was yelling and having a great time!

When Behemoth was done I had so much adrenalin! The rest of the roller coaster where fun but no where close the trill that Behemoth was. I had a awesome time and can't wait to go again!

Back to it!

I am back to training again. today was the start to my Duathlon worlds prep. I have a few goals over the next 4 weeks. The first one is to be able to run a 15:45 5km I need to find 5 seconds some where! Also work on running a very fast 2.5km off the bike.

Last week I spend sometime just doing light training, a few runs and just kinda relaxing to get myself ready to work for the next 3 weeks. I also did alot of hanging out with David and also started looking for a job again (very fun!). I don't really have that much more going on in my life. As for today I did a 1:45 bike with pickups and then later David is coming over and we will be running some hills.

Getting it done in my first Xterra

Sorry I was slow to update my blog I was a Davids House helping him get ready for his 70.3 this weekend (he is ready to have a good race I will tell you that much!) also good job and good luck to team Ontario For some good racing on Tuesday and good luck to them on Friday for there relay.

Now as for my xterra I will start off by telling you it was hard. It was in New York on a ski hill a little bigger and steeper then Blue Mountain. The course was a 2 loop swim of 750 and the bike was 3 loops of 9kms. It was the hardest trials I have ever ridden. The bike course had no flat pairs to it, you are descending or climbing up the mountain. It was a very hot day so some of the climbs out in the open sun were every hard. There was one part in the climb call the wall, it was the steepest hill i have ever ridden basically you went right up the ski hill on a rocky path meant for the snow cats. right in the hot sun and the first time up it was the worst because in your head you knew you had to do it 2 more times.

So to make it short and sweet it was 3 loops of down the ski hill then up the ski hill. Also the downhill was so hard that you could not rest you ended up working just as hard due to how technical the trials were. The the run was one loop of the bike course so still very very hard.

Now that you know the course and understand how hard it was this is how it went down. I lead the whole 1500m swim with a time of 19:40 (I think it was short) Then onto the bike I got passed in the first km by a very good mountain bike rider and then I held second till half way threw the second lap and then got passed again. After that I really started to pick it up so I wouldnt lose more time to the two guys ahead of me. I got off the bike and started my run fast I felt good (I have More fitness then i thought) I started to feel the hurt right around the 5km mark so I had a bit of a power gel and then picked it right up again. I had the fastest run split of the day and didn't re roll my ankle! It was my biggest fear going in.

All in all a great race and if anyone is looking to try and xterra this one may not be the best one out there. People talk about this one being the second hardest to xterra world champs. If you are looking for a hard day then this is the race for you very well run and a big thanks to the guys that put it on...check them out!! http://www.m2xtreme.com/home

Bad day for C3

Today we had are hard run work out. We warmed up for 20mins and then had to do 3x2km on 10min I ran the first 2 well and on the 3rd one I really started to hurt and in the last 200m on the third one I hit a groundhog hole and rolled my ankle. This was the most painful one of all my rolled ankles. I still have the plan of racing this weekend but I am going to take care of this. Also Andrew Woegerer sucked down a bee on are first 2km and his air pipe started to close so he went to the hospital we are just about to go see him. What a day!!

2 races 2 wins

When my watched started to beep at 5:30am yesterday I felt like crap. My head hurt and I didn't feel ready to race. I got to the race site and started in my warm up and still didn't feel good. I was happy to see my good Friends Dorelle and Alexander at the race (Dorelle was not racing because she is getting ready to have a big race in PEI)

As the swim stated i had a really slow start but got my head in the game and jumped on Matt Reids feet. there was a group of 7 all 15 seconds apart I was 4th out and only 11 seconds down from Tom Lokody. I had a very fast transition and made up time on most people. I hit the bike and started to put the hammer down I had put a gap into everyone and at around the 2km mark I was about to pass Tom Lokody but held off because we had a sharp right hand turn. Tom hit the turn first and washed out, the road was a little wet. With me about to pass I was very close to him and almost went down myself but I kept the bike on 2 wheels. I hit the big hill and I wanted to stick with my game plan of not going to hard up. It worked no one passed me up the climb and as soon as I was up it I started to fly agian I still had the lead on the bike going down the hill but after seeing Tom go down I was scared of washing out myself and the lead car got stuck behind somee other cars so lots was going on down the hill. I knew that I lost a big part of my lead going down the hill so i knew that I would need to have a good run.

I was first out of transition but not in good shape I was very tired from a hard swim to bike so my first km was very slow but started to pick it up knowing I had fast guys behind me. After alot of help from Jerry (lead car/biker) I won my first Triathlon in Ontario. Its about time!!!! it felt awesome to win but still something I was not Happy with. My run was trash because I pushed alot of the bike hard. I should have been about 12 seconds faster per km. With duahtlon worlds comming I need to have some better running.

The last 2 races I have done I have won lets hope I can do it at Xterra! Game plan very fast swim hang on the bike and try not to lose alot of time then hammer the run and try to win.

Gatorade sweat test...AWESOME!

I just love food after a hard swim

So my overall thoughts of the Gatorade sweat test...Awesome! It was very helpful and I learned alot about my body and how to fight dehydration. So I am 100% back on my game. Today at are brick I was riding well and swimming really well! Its nice to see things turning around again. I am no longer racing Windsor I will be in Niagara. other then that not much else going on.

Karsten Madsen

Back on track!

Me after a hard workout back in June

So after a rough last 2 weeks I am starting to feel fast again! Today I did a 45min tempo run. Then did a 100min ride but it was split up abit I did a loop that was about 10 or so km long and the loop had the wonderful joy of Sydenham. I did three loops, (sydenham is a very hard hill climb that takes about 5-6mins to go up) I feel that I am going to be ready for the climb at The Niagara Triathlon because I was flying up sydenham. I am really looking forward to the race next weekend and it looks like i will be ready to rock and roll!!

Running and Swimming or something like that...

Last few days in Hamilton have been hard. I am still very tired from alot of racing and training so the workouts have felt alot harder then they actualy are.

Tuesday we did a track workout.
30min warm up
some 200m to warm up
then 6x1km on 6:00min
1.3:09
2.3:06
3.3:03
4.3:02
5.3:03
6.3:06
10min cool down. I could tell I was hurting form the duathlon on Sunday so I has having a hard time pushing the pace.

I have been having a hard time finding my grove in the water. I have been very hit or miss in the pool sometimes I am swimming fast then sometimes I am swimming very slow. My arms just feel heavy and tired. I think I am just going to swim threw it and hope that one day it will click again. I am going to reset this weekend and get ready for my 3 week block of racing.

I have some new Motivation now, I got into Jr elite duathlon worlds! Looking forward to that.

Duathlon

Today I raced in the Gravenhust duathlon. It was very hilly! the first 5km was always up and down. I ran threw 17:10 and Taylor ran 17:17. Just goes to show how hard it really was most time I will run 16:00-15:50. On the bike I pushed really hard and made a big gap on the other riders I av 37kmh. (The bike was also very hilly, and lots of turns comming back into town). I then started out a little slow on the second run but picked it up after the turn around. I did win the whole thing but I kinda figured it would turn out that way. Now I just have to wait and see if triathlon Canada will take me to duathlon worlds.

TECK JR. Nationals

Well I am done Daft Legal for the year and all in all I will call it a great building year. I know I still have work to do with my swim but I can not hang my head on my cycling and running.

The race started not so good for me, I got swam over 2 times and got a heel right into the jaw. I then kinda found a grove I came out of the water in 10:05 so I was 10
seconds faster then last year. Its nice to know I am making head way. I got onto the bike and started to hammer we stared out being the 3rd pack back but then bridged up to the the 2nd pack (there was a group of 3 ahead of the first pack)I ended up doing alot of the pace making and getting the group to work. On the run I felt slow on the first lap but then really started to feel good on the second lap I ran a 17:15 and was 19th overall. I am happy with my race I worked hard all the way threw and never gave up. I do remember saying that I was sick of getting blow by on the run and I worked all winter and spring on my run its nice to see it pay off. Last year I would run about 18:30 off the bike now I can run about 45sec faster. I still have some longer distance triathlon comming up so I have alot more trianing to do.

Like I said last year I was sick of everyone passing me on the run. I am sick of swimming slow! I will look at this post over and over agian for the rest of the summer and off season I am going to be swimming 30 seconds faster and make first chase pack. I know that if I really put my mind to it i can do it!

I am ready!

I am feeling good, rested, fast and ready to go! All week I have felt good. The swim is what feels the best right now I can't wait to see how I do out of the water at nationals.(hope it's non wetsuit) today we had a track workout and the goal was to keep it fast but not to hurt or feel to tired.
The track workout
30min warm up
5x800m...I was running aroud 2:33-2:27 I just ran them tempo pretty much
10min warm down

Hard week...done

Given it all I got!

So things are looking good going into Nationals I ran a 15:58 5km and starting to feel better in the water. I think I am not the only one on c3 feeling the hard work of this week. I am very tired and sore but its now time to start the taper and get ready for a big race next weekend. Things in hamilton are going great having lots of fun and working hard. I am home for a day and a half then its back to the hammer.

Sub 16

So real quick I ran a pretty good race, ran a 15:58 I know I still can go much faster I hope to run 15:50 next time

Hamilton

So things in Hamilton are going really week been doing a ton of training. I am starting to really feel fast in the water witch is always a good thing. I have a 5km road race tomorrow and I want to run a 15:50. I will update tomorrow with the time.

World record in backyard swimming

So after a pretty hard Brick workout Dave came over to my house to cool off in the pool. Then we go the idea to do a 200m IM in my 6 or so meter pool. so I started off first, The fly was OK but as for the back we were all over the place and you are flipping o much you have no idea where you are in the pool. I ended up with a time of 53.11 So now it was Dave's turn he had the same problems I did of being all over the place. I just out touched him he was 53.35 (I think). The I go the great idea of doing a 400m IM lets just say it was like swimming with your eyes closed 15 turns in 1:53 will do that. Dave beat me big time in the 400m he went I think 1:45 not sure check his blog in the next few days if you actually care...

As for the brick workout it was hot! and there were not alot of use out for the workout the only guys I had to work with was Sean and David so the swim was killer they always but about 6-7 meters on me so I had to cut off the last dock we go around to catch back up (only about 40-50m I think)On the bike Sean and Dave where both on tt bikes and didn't want a draft so I just sat on there wheels. Then some kinda bad news On the second lap of the run i steped in a pot hole and when I went to pull out my heel really got pulled it didn't really hurt that much at first but has i kept running I could feel it more and more. Its still a little sore but I think i will be OK if I take care of it.

Today I am moving to Hamilton, I am really pumped to start working with those guys!

Last few days...

Look at stupid me almost cutting my head off



So After the race on Saturday my dad and I drove all the way back to Kitchener. Sunday I wanted to do some longer stuff so I did 70km bike bricked into a 10km run. I was pretty died after that. Then on Monday I did a hilly 15km run then later on in the day I rode 10km to an outdoor pool did a 4km swim workout then rode home and went to bed. As for today I did a 30min run and rested as for tomorrow is going to be a very hard brick workout with the boys form c3!

Race Report

SO the race was another solid race but still not where I would like to be. There are still good things I can take away from this like i had a good swim bike. I may have pushed the bike a Little to hard but it was worth it because everyone came together the only people we did not get was the lead group of about 5-7 guys. I was 3rd going into t2 but some where in the dismount or getting my shoes on I pulled my ham string making it a very uncomfortable run. I just pushed threw and made the best of it. I was a little disappointed that i could not show off my new and improved running like i did in Manitoba.

So today will be some easy longer recovery

About time I have something good to talk about!

So today was the first day that I can say I was back to 100%. I did a very hard ride.

10min warm up
10min very hard
10x(1min hard) (1min medium) (1min easy)
10mins medium
5mins cool down

Then bricked right into a 5km that I ran in 16:07.03!

I really had to push it. It was very hot outside I think the hottest we have had yet this year. I feel awesome on the bike and feel good in the water and very fast on the run. I have some easier training now and looks like the race coming up in Montreal will be a fast one.

No There yet

The sprint race didn't go as well as I hoped. I was just flat. I had a good swim but as soon as I got on the bike I just had nothing. I am getting stronger and feel more energized every day. So another solid swim in the Muskoka river that has a very strong current. I am now just getting the final bugs worked out before Montreal ITU.

Almost back to 100%

So after a few days of very light trianing I am ready to get back into things. Today I have a hard bike and I am going to add a bricked 8km run after. Yesterday I did a 45 min run it was really hard my legs were sore and I had very litttle energy. My body feels better today and every day I feel 10x better so I sod be ready to rock in muskoka.

Under the weather

So I have gotten a little sick after my trip/race. The upside is I already and starting to feel better. I will be doing light training threw my sickness last time I had a cold I stopped swimming and it took me 3 weeks to be fast in the pool again. So this time I am going to just truck right on threw it and continue with my training. The Plan is...

TUE 9th: Spin on windtrainer
20 min ez
5 x 1 min faster / 2min easier
2 x 4min hard/6min ez
10min wdown and 20min core
WED 10th: Run 45min pickups
Swim drills 2k (easy)

Thr 11th: Swim hard swim set 3500m
Bike 4 x (10min hard/5min ez)

Fri 12th: Run 20min ez + 15min core.

Sat 13th: am: Spin 40min ez
run 15min ez

pm: Long warmup
Hammer the Sprint Tri

Sun 14th: Swim 3km open water quality
Bike 90min fartlek



I will be racing the Muskoka Sprint and I will be doing some other training on the Sunday with Dave S. I will update Late Wednesday night about how i am feeling.

Race Report

So real quick... On Saturday mid day I started to feel my throat getting sore so I wasn't to happy about that. I woke up on Sunday and could not even talk. I had to go down stairs and get a halls and it didn't really help. I still felt energetic and ready to rock. The water was COLD 13.5 and the air temp was only about 12. The swim went really bad I think my sore throat and the cold water made things very very hard to catch my breath and get onto fast feet. I came out with the second chase pack and just hammered the bike with 5 other guys. We tried to get up to the other second bigger pack but could not(they had about (10-15 guy). Came off onto the run and just letter rip. I forgot about my sore throat and just put it up to over drive. I was just passing everyone. I ended up 15th...not the top 10 I was looking for but not a bad start to my first triathlon of the year. I think if I swim like I did in Milton a top 5-8 will be the goal for The next Tech Jr. race.

down side of the race...Very Ugly swim
Up side...Killer run

Taken it down a bit

real quick post...today I have stated to slow things down. I did a 15min easy run then 5x2min hard 3min easy with 10min warm down. I felt fast and relaxed on the 2min hard. I later did a3km easy pull swim recovery swim.

Karsten Madsen

What a weekend...What a swim

Things kicked off Friday when Dave and I went swimming at Guelph lake. We did 3km of swimming mixed in was some tempo and short pickups. Then On the Saturday we did a 75min ride then a 6-7km easy run with some pick ups. We later went to the Milton race site to do a 20min swim and the water was about 65 so very swim able. Dave and I went home and hung out playing some rock band and later went to James Loaring house and played poker. Then it came down to the race on Sunday. I was only doing the swim at the Milton race so I was pretty relaxed going in. I wanted to go under 10;00min for the 750m. At the start I found Wolfgangs feet and stayed on them till the last turn then dropped back about 5 meters and then as we came out the water I ran up behind him. So I hit the sport stats mat just behind Dave and Wolfgang so I swam in in 9:58 that is a whole min and a bit that I took off so I am very happy with that. Big thanks to be people at Xterra there wetsuit is by far the best I have ever had!!

Rest of the week

This week was my last hard week before a recovery week. I have had a great week and its not over yet I still have 3 day left but all is going well so far. Yesterday I did a Tempo 50km ride Bricked into a 10km run. I ran a 36:00. I did it on a trial that runs along a river so they are working on the flood damage from the spring. There is a ton of sand that slows you down and eats at the legs and there is 600m of a rock garden so it slows you down to a jog. Its perfect for me to run on since I am working on getting use to running on sand, single track, rocks, etc. Xterra is going to be a hard 10km run so I need to get my body used to running on some more uneven things.

I think I already posted this but I will not be racing Milton. I will be doing the swim and then pulling out. It is to close to a big race the next weekend. I am ready to rock and roll for it. My goals for the race is to get out of the water with the second pack and run sub 17 for 5km I think I will be able to do this going by what I have run in the last few weeks.

KOS Race

What a weekend! Dave and I went down on Friday to start are work setting up the course. Everyone worked so hard setting up and running the races but it paid off. Watching the kids have fun at there first Triathlon was all the pay back i needed for the work we put in. It made me think about my first triathlon...I was 4 years old and did it with training wheels.

As for training I did a 2 hour ride on the Saturday with the group and on the Sunday Dave Sharratt and I did the 5km race we ran a tempo 17:30. If you look at the results it says Jen Hall was 3rd but it was Actually Dave. To day I had an awesome day.

50km bike ride with some hard pick ups bricked off into a run workout.

1km warm up then 5x1km on 5mins then 2km cool down

1. 2:56
2. 2:56
3. 2:57
4. 2:59
5. 2:59

All and all I am very happy to be running this fast after a bike ride. Dave Sharratt and I are trying to get in some open water swimming this week.

2000m SC

So 3 weeks ago I ran my first Steeple chase race I ran it in 6:54 then I ran it agian last week and I ran a 6:43 then today i ran a 6:36. It was very hot and windy witch is odd. I am happy with my race today and I am now getting ready for my big day tomrw. The 3000m is going to be a great opertunnity to run 9:15-9:20. As for the rest of the day I rode for a very easy 50km then I did a very light grass run for 3km.

1 and 2 at the brick duathlon

Today I raced the Brick duathlon. Dave Sharratt and I have been hanging out alot and we went to the Jays game on the Friday. So Dave being the 2x winner going in we talked about this race for a good month.

First run, Taylor Reid and I went out hard going threw 1km at 2:55 and 2km at 5:58 I ended up with 12:47 for 4km 3:12 pace I was first onto the bike but didn't really get going until 5km in and that when Dave passed me. I rode in 2nd till the 15km mark when I was passed by 2 fast guys that came form the back of the race and then I stared to really work and didn't give anymore time up to the 2 guys on the bike. I ended up going into t2 down 1:00min form Dave and 20seconds from 2nd and I passed 3rd place going out of t2 and really started to work hard. I got to 2nd in the first km and then started to try and work on getting to Dave but it was to late he was just to far ahead. I ended up taking 30 seconds out of Dave. Dave and I called it that we would be 1 and 2 like a month ago.

I am super happy with my early season fitness I was happy with my biking but my running is really strong right now. I also deiced to pull out of the Milton race I will be there to do the swim but that will be all its just to close to the first Jr race.

Dave and I also jumped in my pool, it was 66 so not to bad but very fresh

race results
http://www.sportstats.ca/display-results.php?lang=eng&racecode=44350

Killing Track!

So real quick. The 3000m was super windy, 60km winds! I ran with a guy that I have not beaten since gr 10 cross county. We ran together until 3 laps to go where on one of the head winds I charged forward. I then really started to open a gap and in the last lap I ran hard to keep him off. I was super happy to beat this guy. He has gone 9:15 before so beating him by 4 seconds was very good! I was hoping to get a run standered with this race but with it being so windy that was not going to happen. I ran threw at 9:43 I know on a day with little wind I will go faster then 9:20. I have some pictures from my 2000m SC race and 3000m. I also won the 2000m SC race by a healthy 80seconds.

Thanks To Jamie Perez For the Pics.

Running

So real quick one yesterday i did the 2000m steeple chase I won by 80seconds with a time of 6:43 and beating my old D8 record. Today I have the 3000m and I am trying to go 9:15-9:20 I do have pictures of the race that I will put up later. Yesterday I got thinking about my running and I found all the 5k results in the last 5 years. I hope to still get to 15:50 by the end of the year

2009-16:11 age 17
2008-16:36 age 16
2007-16:57 age 15
2006-18:14 age 14
2006-18:30 age 14
2005-20:30 age 13
2005-22:24 age 13

Long day on the bike

Today was mothers day and my mom being the great mother she is came along with my dad and I to my mountain bike race rather then enjoying her day. I raced as expert men so it was kinda cool being along side some of Canada's top mountain bikers. The course was SUPER MUDDY!!! They had 50mm of rain the night before so there was a ton of mud. There where about 5 parts that you needed to get off your bike and push threw thick mud. It really played a big factor in the race because it ate at the legs big time. Long Story Short I rode strong for 3 laps and in the last lap really stated to hurt. I am in some good shape right now and ready to go hard at the Waterloo dauthlon. Dave Sharratt and I have been talking about it for weeks!

Go Canns Go they are losing 2-0 right now don't worry Dave they can do it

Mountian bike race!

So as some of you may know the last Mountain bike race I wanted to do didn't end up working out because of being sick. I am making up for that race tomorrow. I will be racing in expert men at 1:30pm at Albion hills. My goal for the race is to A. have fun B. see what my mountain bike fitness looks like, I will be doing an xterra race in late August and I am still working on getting my body used to 35km+ of mountain biking. So its a great opportunity to see how my body will feel after a hard 35km effort. Also looking ahead, the Waterloo Duathlon is very close (May 18Th) I am getting myself ready for a great race there. I have been feeling strong on the bike and even stronger off the bike so we will see what comes of it.

Today the car Broke down on the way to swimming so not wanting to miss swim practise I ran the last 2km to the pool it was a nice warm up. It was the first swim practise since been sick that i really felt strong and fast in the water. I will also be starting to think about getting in some open water training so fingers crossed the weather gets a little warmer!

Karsten Madsen

Busting out a fast 5km

Today was a long day of training/Racing! I started off by racing a 5km in Kitchener. It started off great I was running fast but not killing myself. I ran threw the 2km mark at 6:05 that's when I slowed down and started to hurt hard from 2km-3km I was in a world of hurt running threw the 3km mark at 9:30. I was in third place with 4th storming his way up to me. Shortly after the 3km marker I got a second wind and opened a gap on 4th and started to run with some jump in the last 400m I really pushed I wanted to go 16:00-16:15 and I ran threw at 16:11 I am super happy with this result. Its a very hilly course so I still think I can get to 16:00.

Ps, the winner ran 15:05!

As for the rest of the day I did a 26km mountain bike ride and felt alot better then I thought. I had low air pressure so i was working hard that's for sure!

Its May already!

I have been getting back to training and started speed work. I was doing a goo track workout on Monday... It was 12x300m with 1:30 rest I was running an av of 51 sec to 52. On the Wednesday we did another track work out a little different it was 500m, 2X400m, 3x300m 4x200m all with 1:30 rest. I ran 1:25 for the 500m and for the 300m I was holding 49 low so the speed is coming.

As for the Bike I have started to feel powerful. I was doing hill repeats by my house and I was alternating from big gears to small gears and standing to sitting. I have started to get use to my TT position again. When I was first on it in March I could only ride 1km in the aerobars before I had to sit up now I can go for 20km before I want to stand up.

The swim is slowly coming back. My arms are sour but that's what will happen when you take a week off swimming well you are sick. I have a 5km race tomorrow Its the same one that's long from last year, its about 5.2km. I know the course has changed due to construction so it may change for the better. If it is 5km on the dot I hope to run 16:00-16:15

Karsten Madsen

Finding the grove

Today was an easy day before tomrows big race. I did a 20km easy mountian bike ride, today was the first day I really got into a grove and rode fast and smart. This year I am racing as a jr expert so it going to be a big step for me from last year. It's longer and faster. I know that in this race I will be fighting to hang on. The pace will be fast so my game plan is to relax at the start and hang with the lead guys for as long as I can. I also did a light and easy 5km run. Thing that I have coming up are a 3000m track race and a 5000m running race. For the 3k I want to hit 9:15-9:20 for the 5k I want to hit 16:00-16:15

Getting over the sickness

I have taken 4 days off training due to this cold. I was doing great up until the cold but that's life. I still don't feel 100% but I am getting back to it. Today I just did a 15km mountain bike ride nothing to crazy but I am racing on Sunday and I wanted to do some riding. I think the 4 days of rest will really help me on Sunday.

I will start my training on Monday again I should be back to 100% then. I am really looking forward to starting my speed training. I am sick of base!

ps Dave S...G0 Devils GO Marty Brodure is on his game ;)

First Race First win

So today I had my cycle cross race. I woke up in the morning with that feeling of a cold on its way so I was kinda worried. The race started out slow and easy but after 5km Kevin Tearle and I pulled away and worked great together and made a massive gap on the rest of the guys. In the last 8km I pulled away from Kevin and rode to the win. I was not going to walk away with anything less then first. 2007 I wiped out in the last 4km and got 3rd over all and last year I got lost and ended up in a tie for 3rd so this year I made up by getting the win. So I now hope I don't end up getting a cold I am hitting the oj and cold fx hard! here are some pictures and videos of the race