FasterSkier

Tag: Danny

  • Navarino Recap

    The first race of the season and the first trail race since knee surgery last June are now behind me.  Yesterday turned out to be a great start to the season. I ended up winning the overall in the Navarino Eco Marathon in a time of 2:53:55 averaging 6:38′s for the 26.2 miles of trail.

    The race course was 2 laps of a 13.1 mile loop that was also used for the half-marathon.  The terrain is mostly made up of rolling two track and for the most part is pretty firm and pretty fast to run on.  Wind may have been the largest natural obstacle of the day with 17 mph sustained winds that gusted to 25-30 mph. It was windy enough at one point to actually move me from one side of the two-track to the other side, so yeah, it was stout.

    As I set out on this season I had and still have one goal. I want to work out as many kinks out of my running and racing as I can before the Leadville 100.  I have come a long way since last springs knee surgery but it’s clear there are some issues I need to work out that only come to light when you strap on a timing chip and go from point A to point B at full tilt.

    I managed to create a couple of obstacles for myself on Saturday that were significantly tougher than the wind.  I must have been a little over excited to get things underway. I cracked out the first mile in 5:37. Smart Dan, 25.2 to go, settle down you dummy. That was the start of what became my pacing issue.  I was feeling really good early on and settled into a pretty even pace and came through the half in 1:22:19. I knew that it was a little quick for the first half and had already started to think about the hills on the end of the lap and imagined how big the would seem in a little over an hour.  I’m not sure if the wind was really that much worse on the second loop or if I really lost that much control of my pacing, but watching my splits vary by up to 30 seconds from one mile to the next was becoming a little concerning. Chalk that up as something that I need to work on.

    Around mile 17 I started to have some nutritional issues and found myself panicking.  While I have what I consider the best nutritional system available as my nutritional program, something didn’t sit right.  My stomach started to bunch up and I could actually feel fluid sloshing around in my stomach from one side to the other. I didn’t use anything different than I have over the last few seasons and I’ve never had an issue before. It may never happen again, but it’s clearly something that I need to spend some more time working out before I get into the rest of my season.

    I was able to plod through the rest of the race, relying pretty heavily on the mile markers. 9 to go… you run this far every day. 6 to go… it’s only 10k. 3 to go… if you could suck it up you’d be there in 17 minutes and be done with it.  And so on until the finish at 2:53:55.

    I am in no way upset about the race. Actually, extremely happy that these issue came to the forefront and give me something to focus on other than just logging miles.  Working on these will keep me from becoming complacent and should ensure that I continue to get faster and faster. I am definitely OK with getting faster!

    The next race on the docket is a little different than this one.  I have a little bit of a pause in racing, returning to the starting line on June 5th for the FANS 24 Hour.  This will again, give me the opportunity to work out any kinks, with a focus on running while sleep deprived and fine tuning my fueling.

    Fortitudine Vincimus…

    Navarino Eco Marathon Gear:

    Shoes: Vasque – Transistor FS

    Socks: Darn Tough-  1/4 Sock Cushion

    Shorts: CW-X-  Stabilyx Short

    Fuel: Hammer Mandrin Orange Heed, Endurolytes, Espresso Hammer Gel

  • The stoke is high.

    Every race this year is training for Leadville. The stoke is high. Bring it.

  • The season begins @ Navarino

    Saturday morning will bring my first race of the season, the Navario Trail Marathon.  It seems like I have been training forever and I’m looking forward to getting the first race behind me, see where my training needs improvement before the rest of the season and to push myself into the pain cave for an extended period of time.

    I’ll keep you updated on how things turn out.

    “I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.” – Thomas Jefferson

    Danny

  • 2010 Vasque Team Named

    Vasque Trail Team Revved Up for another Successful Season


    SUBMITTED PRESS RELEASE

    RED WING, MINNESOTA–After a long winter of training on dirt, in the gym and in lots of snow, the Vasque Trail Team begins the season with supreme confidence and a renewed enthusiasm to race strong and hard. Coming off a successful 2009, which earned them a slew of podium finishes and several course records, the 2010 team, including Krissy Moehl, Duncan Callahan, Keri Nelson, Bryan Dayton, Debbie Livingston, Shiloh Mielke, Dan Dehlin, and Brian Rusiecki, has high aspirations and big plans for the year.

    “We are extremely proud to have such an amazing group of elite and inspirational athletes representing the brand,” claims Vasque Marketing Director, Mark Dinndorf. “With a powerful athlete roster and a new collection of light-weight, technical trail running shoes, we are excited to showcase the talents of both the team and the new spring collection.”

    Krissy Moehl from Seattle, WA, began her season last month with a first place finish at the renowned Black Mountain Challenge, a 50k race that leaves runners scrambling up the highest peak in the east, Mount Mitchell in North Carolina. Moehl had a spectacular 2009 year with several top finishes including a win and course record at the grueling Ultra-Trail Du Mont-Blanc.

    This year she is hoping for top performances at the World 100K competition and the MiWok 100. Moehl will also represent Team Vasque at the 4th annual GORE-TEX Transrockies Run (GTTR) in Colorado.

    Duncan Callahan, of Gunnison, CO has his sights set on multiple 100 mile races this year, including the Big Horn 100 mile, the Grand Teton 100 mile and possibly an international venue. The 2008 Leadville Trail 100 champion will also return to Leadville this year for another go at a first place finish.

    Vasque team newcomer and elite snowshoer, Keri Nelson of Gunnison, CO, is honing her skills to dominate the trail marathon competition and plans to enter every event her schedule allows. Nelson will also be at the starting line of the Leadville Trail marathon to defend her 2008 title.

    Bryan Dayton, of Boulder, CO, will take care of some unfinished business at Pike’s Peak marathon and is partnering with teammate Krissy Moehl at the GTTR, to charge the co-ed competitive division.

    Debbie Livingston of Bolton, CT is back for another season after recently giving birth to her second child and has her sights set on a top finish at the Vermont 50.

    Shiloh Mielke, of Asheville, NC, has planned a full slate of short, fast trail races for the season, including his signature race, the Shut-In Challenge on Mount Pisgah outside of Asheville. Additionally, Mielke is pursuing a slot on the U.S. Mountain Running team and will test his athleticism this year by entering Xterra triathlons.

    Recovered from knee surgery and running strong, Vasque sales representative and elite athlete, Dan Dehlin, of Marquette, MI, is back to defend his Keweenaw title and go for his first finish at the Leadville Trail 100.

    A stand out up and comer on the trail running scene, Brian Rusiecki from Westfield, MA, is new to the roster and is a runner to watch. Rusiecki has the full gamut of New England trail races planned for the season, which includes the WMAC series, Pineland Farm and the Vermont 50 and 100.

    Vasque is also proud to have product developer, Brian Hall, out on the trails and competing this season. In 2009, Hall successfully completed his first ultra with a sub 30 hour finish at the Leadville Trail 100. He is currently training for the 2010 Wasatch 100-miler.

    The Team runs in their choice of Vasque trail runners, and the newly released Transistor FS has been a popular selection and tester favorite. The Transistor FS trail shoes are super light, ideal for logging long, fast miles, and feature the Vasque FootSync Fit System for maximum fit and performance on uncertain terrain. Vasque Mindbenders, Moehl’s shoe of choice, are a stable ride offering a wider toe box to ensure is your foot is comfortable while trekking mile after long mile.

    For more information about the domestic Trail Team, international trail athletes, as well as supported events that are part of the Vasque PROJECT, please visit www.vasque.com.

  • Update from Switzerland

    It’s been a little bit since we’ve had an update to the site, but it’s been with good reason.  This spring has been a little different than how it normally goes. Instead of Lindsey heading off to ski one more series of ski races, we headed to Switzerland for a couple weeks of travel and what has turned out to be some incredibly amazing training.

    The first week of travel in Switzerland was an adventure with Katadyn, a company that Dan represents for sales in the Mid-west and included some fantastic ALPINE skiing in Grindlewald. Despite the weather being incredibly warm (we’re not complaining) and the snow being a little soft, it was still skiing in Switzerland and there isn’t much that beats it. Leave it to Lindsey to overachieve by making a ski trip to the Alps here first time on downhill equipment in 3 years.

    The second week has been amazing, and we catch our flight back to the U.S. (back to reality) in the morning. From Grindlewald we hopped a quick train down to Interlaken and spent three nights enjoying our favorite city on the trip. The trail running in this town is absolutely over the top. We stumbled onto a network of trails the first morning out called the Wander Weg. The Wander Weg is a network of trails that covers most of Switzerland and Austria. The trails connect all of the small towns in the mountains and have some incredible terrain…i.e. CLIMBING!!! We ran different segments every day running a little over 2 hours each day. While that may not seem like a relaxing vacation to most folks, it was exactly what we wanted and if your on this website, you’d most likely enjoy it just as much.  The rest of the trip has gone by pretty fast, we are running hard everyday, because thats what we do…and hopping trains all over the country.

    Once we get home then our schedule picks up pretty quickly.  Dan’s first trail marathon of the year, and first trail race back since knee surgery is 2 weeks from tomorrow.  Lindsey’s headed back to work at the Marquette Baking Company (and anxious to try some things picked up in Switzerland) and will be training like crazy for her marathon debut at Grandmas in June.

    ENJOY THE PHOTOS!

    The Swiss know how to carbo-load!

    Day 1 of skiing in Grindlewald.

    Extreme tobogganing! This would never fly in the U.S. Took an hour 15 to get down

    the mountain and hitting over 25 miles an hour at some points. No waivers signed, no helmets.

    Day 2 of skiing in Grindlewald.

    Par for the course on the Wander Weg. Trails either went up or down and either way the view was intense.

    Typical intersection on the Wander Weg. Complete with average hiking times.

    Refueling after back to back O.D. runs. Coffee Creme and apple-filled goodness.

    Climbing in Chur, trail running outside Switzerland’s oldest city.

    The best way we found to refuel for the next day of playing in Switzerland.

  • Knee / Training Update

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    It’s been a while since I have taken the helm and posted an update.  Truth is, between work and the fact that I can train again, I’m whooped at the end of the day and hold the couch to the floor for an hour or so before heading off to bed.

    The middle of August I was given the o.k. to start running, just a little bit at a time, i.e. 20 min.  As I was building my running back up, I started to Mtn. Bike again for the first time since 2003.  Mtn. Biking had been one of the extra curricular activities that went to the wayside as my running started to progress to the next level.

    First climb of the day.

    After a few weeks, I was running a little longer and riding a lot more. On the 12th of September, I had my longest day in the saddle EVER.  The day consisted of 9.5 hours on the Mtn. Bike hitting pretty much every high point in the Keweenaw. The totals for the day included about 80 miles of trail and a cumulative elevation gain of right around 20k feet.  The long day on the bike just confirmed what I was starting to feel. My knee is back to strength and ready for pretty much anything I was willing to throw at it.

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    Fast forward to today.

    Today, Lindsey and I set out for my first over distance run on my newly repaired meniscus.  I started the day with a couple of known bailout points that I could use if things didn’t feel right. I didn’t need them. Everything held together, didn’t even think about it.  Today was my longest run in 4 months and after 3 hours of climbing and descending single track I’m finally confident that everything is where it needs to be and I can now look at things as actual training versus rehab.

    There really is a huge difference between training and rehab, both mentally and physically.  The biggest being the ability to just let it rip, no limits, all out, with out fear that your going to set yourself back and have to work even harder to get back to where you started.  It’s so much more fun to train, and while rehab is extremely important, wow, does it ever suck.

    While I am feeling really good and running well, I have decided to bag the rest of the year for running races and make sure that I’m super fit / strong come Spring 2010.  In the meantime, that doesn’t mean being a slacker.  As a classic overachiever, I have thrown my hat in the ring for the Iceman Cometh Mtn Bike race in November, I’m riding hard, recovering smart and getting faster and stronger on the bike everyday.

    I’ll have more updates on the process and Iceman over the next few weeks.  Thanks for stopping by RedGroupRacing.com

  • Knee Update 8/20

    Well, running this spring couldn’t have been much better. I trained smart, I was feeling fast and had a handful of satisfying results. Then, as most of you already know, I tore up my knee, with the help of my loving mutt, Montana.  It has been a really long road back, mentally and physically,  even though 10 weeks off of running doesn’t sound that long.

    Yesterday was my first day back running. Dr. Pearson gave me the o.k. to head out for a 20 minute run. Lindsey came with and helped me focus on something other than thinking about what every heel strike felt like on my knee.  I found myself looking for pain that never came. Prior to surgery, every time I hit the 15 minute mark I would get overwhelming pain, even in the pool.  I knew that I was in a better position when I can run in the pool (intervals, sprints, distance) for as long as I want.

    So, I’m back to training. Which is a huge relief.  I have been classic rollerskiing 5 days a week, running in the pool, riding both road and mountain bike and NOW RUNNING.

    Over the next couple of weeks I will begin to increase the length of my runs.  I’m hoping to be at an hour by the end of next week and start to increase the intensity the following week.

    I’ll keep you updated. The road back should get a lot more fun from here on out.

    Dan

  • At work in the pool.

    I haven’t written an update in a little bit but here we go again. The name of the game is still rehab and will be for a while.  While the first weeks of rehab have been pretty slow, things are starting to come together and I am feeling pretty good about what lies ahead.

    Last Thursday I was able to toss the crutches aside, a week later than I would have liked but out of my hands none the less.  While the first few steps were a little shaky, I think maybe more from the fear of the unknown, I am moving really well now. Actually I am probably walking the same way I do after an ultra, maybe even better.

    After finishing up work in Madison, WI, I headed up to Copper Harbor, MI to watch Lindsey race at the Keweenaw Trail Running Festival.  Last year I won the overall at this event after running the weekend’s three races (10k, Hill Climb, and 25k), it was pretty tough to watch this from the sidelines. It’s kind of crazy that it takes an injury to drive home how much you love to do something. Watching everyone race fired me up to get back to the game, healthier, faster, stronger.  Which brings me to the next topic…

    DEEP WATER RUNNING

    Saturday, after watching everyone run an incredibly difficult 10k, I needed to get in some rehab.  I decided to take pool running to the next level by running in Lake Fanny Hooe against the waves.  The fun would only last for 30 minutes though. The water was brutally cold and I was starting to lose the feeling in my arms. It took a hot shower and another 30 minutes of sitting in the sun to stop shivering.

    Today, I was able to get in my first interval workout in the pool.  After a 30 minute warm-up I ran 4 by 3 minute with 2 minutes off level 4. 30 minute cool down.  Level 4 is tough no matter how and where you do it, the pool is no exception.  The intervals went really well and the knee feels even better.  My running form will get a little bit closer to normal on Thursday when I get the o.k. to bend my knee to/past 90 degrees. Currently I am keeping the left leg a little straighter than normal and mimicking real running as close as possible.

    Tomorrow is another day of rehab, looking forward to an 1:30 distance session.

    Wondering what the hell deep water running is?  Check out the video below.

  • Post Op Appointment # 1

    I just got home from my first post op appointment and got to see the pics of what went on inside my knee during the surgery. Pretty cool.  There must have been something on the lens because they are a little cloudy but I was able to see the FastFix anchor that they put in.  Hopefully I will be able to scan them in in the next day or so.

    The swelling is coming down pretty well.  The port holes are closing up.  Now I can start to work my way back to life as it was.  I am still restricted from bending my knee past 90 degrees.  I got the o.k. to start easing my self off the crutches.

    I took my first few steps unaided in a very long while.  It took a few tries to get the nerves up to commit to the leg. After a few tries, my muscles started to remember what their reason for existence  is and things started to fire.  I only let myself walk back and forth across the living room a few times. I don’t want to over do it the first day, so I’m back on the couch with my knee elevated and the polarcare keeping it cold. Just got a phone call, I guess I am going to be on my crutches until next Thursday, damn.

    On another bright note, my port holes are almost completely healed up and after getting a new water running belt the other day, I am all ready to start rehabbing.  So, it looks like next Monday I will be in the pool and then if everything goes smoothly, I will be back to running on land the first week of August.

    Rehab, rehab, rehab…