From Potato Chip to Ironman

Day 16 – The best bread ever…

mjmazur — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 12:44:36 +0000

I'd like to say that the best bread that I've ever had comes from Romsøe's Konditori in Stavanger – but I can't. They may have the best bread, it's just that they kicked me out before I could find out. Maybe that's a bit harsh. When it was my turn at the counter (to buy skoleboller for my kids), they told me that they were closed (it was 1 minute after 4 after all). It seems like an odd way to run a business given that there were still buns to be sold and a line of people waiting to buy them. Oh well, I'll just have to be content with sharing the best recipe that I've found for bread (not that I can eat it myself). Anyway, here's how to make the easiest, prettiest, and (in my opinion) best-tasting bread out there. Just go to,

No-knead bread recipe from the NY Times (originally)

Watch it on YouTube!

Now what about this Norseman Ironman thing? I haven't forgotten. I'm just a bit sick right now. I've been a fair bit of riding lately but, must admit, I haven't been out running in a few days. The marathon is going to kill me – that's pretty clear. I'm aiming for something on the order of 7 hours. Only 5 hours slower than the winning Olympic marathon time today…

Day 11 – Good carbs?

mjmazur — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:09:00 +0000

As I sit here eating a bag of corn chips and ‘Santa Maria Tex Mex Guacamole Dip’ I’m thinking to myself two things. First, ‘what the hell do the swedes know about making mexican food?’ and second, ‘what is a good carb when you’re a gluten-free, lactose-intolerant (pseudo*) vegetarian?’ It isn’t homemade pasta but rice and potatoes are pretty high in carbs if you’re stuck in my shoes. And, they’re tasty too. Especially the ‘Troll’ potatoes that we have, here, in Norway. Organic and resistant to potato blight. Anyway, I guess that I should figure this carb thing out. A 4km swim followed by a 180km bike ride and then a marathon finish. It’s not clear to me that I can do it on corn chips and guacamole alone. So, I’m open to suggestions.

*I say ‘pseudo’ because fish don’t count in my book. Sure, a purist might disagree but I figure that, if I can kill it myself, I’ll eat it. So fish are on the plate (for now) but the cows and piggies are safe. Unless that’s what they put in hotdogs…

Day 9 – When technology goes wrong…

mjmazur — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 22:32:27 +0000

It was a good day today. The girls and I made our plans to go out blueberry picking. On the way, we stopped at the sports store to pick up a heart-rate monitor for running. I had decided to get another Sigma since it would be compatible with my bike computer. It was a great idea (in theory). However when we reached Oltedal, we stopped for ice cream (sorbet for me) and, wouldn’t you know it, the grocery store had Suunto T1 heart rate monitors on sale for half price! Norway’s a funny place that way. You want a new camping stove? You go to the grocery store. You want a new pair of skiis? You go to the grocery store. And yes, apparently they’ve now started selling heart-rate monitors too. Anyway, to make a long story short, I now have two (three if you include the bike computer) heart-rate monitors. I think that I may have a problem. After the girls went to bed, I hopped on my bike for a night ride. The sun had just set and there was a cool breeze in the air. I had a clean bike and I felt fast. But thanks to modern technology, I’ll never know just how fast I was. You see, it turns out that Suunto has built some sort of radio jamming device into their watches that prevents Sigma bicycle computers from working. No speed, no heart rate – I was pissed off for 40km (I think). I blamed Sigma. But, after taking my watch off and putting it on the shelf at home, I noticed that my bike computer was, once again, working. I’m just happy that I didn’t call the help desk. Thumbs up for Sigma. A gesture of displeasure for Suunto.

Day 8 – Veggie romance?

mjmazur — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 22:49:00 +0000

It sounds a bit rude (and it wasn’t quite what I was expecting when I clicked on the link) but it appears that it’s just a site for veggie lovers to find some lovin’. I was in search of the ‘best soya milk’ (if there is such a thing) and it was the first link that Google returned. Seriously. I’m normally an ‘Alpro‘ man myself so I was, in fact, quite relieved to find that 63.624% of British singles also prefer Alpro. Singles can’t be wrong. They’ve the got the time and money to do a proper product comparison. Once you’ve got kids, you tend to take the box within easiest reach. For me, that’s Alpro. If I try to reach the expensive stuff (on the top shelf), the child on my shoulders inevitably starts crying as she bumps her head into the low-hanging sign at the Coop. Alpro – blue box, 3rd shelf from the floor, 22 Norwegian crowns per liter.

Today was a bit of a write-off in terms of getting much exercise (other than a run) in. I woke up late so ended up driving into work. A real shame as it was one of those sunny Norwegian days. A balmy 11deg C; the type of day that makes you appreciate the beauty of Norway. The blue sky, the yellow wasps, and the pasty white skin of too little sun. Completly opposite of the average winter day when the sky is gray, the wasps are dead, and the average blonde Norwegian is bronzed beyond belief. But it’s fun. Winter is the time of the year that many Norwegians look forward to most. Time to break out the skiis and head out to the cabin for some ‘hygge‘ (Norwegian hygge is similar to Danish hygge without the Carlsberg). Yes, only a few more months until the fun begins.

Day 5 – To shave or not to shave…

mjmazur — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:41:22 +0000

While browsing the web last night I found a fun instructional video on leg-shaving for men. It's advertised on the BeginnerTriathlete.com website as a 'shootout' to determine the best method of shaving. In the video, an exceptionally hairy triathlete demonstrates the use of different types of razors, Nair-like products, and wax. Although the video was amusing (especially the section on waxing at the end), the best part was sharing the link with some male colleagues. For me, it wasn't a big deal since I've done it many times before when I bike raced. My friends, however, had different opinions on whether it was necessary. And where to stop? That was another question. Do you go to the edge of the bike shorts leaving you with a pair of hairy boxers or right to the top? A tough question with no simple answer. In the end, when it was suggested that you go for a full 'Brazilian' the conversation fizzled.

Day 4 – 183 beats

mjmazur — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 19:27:11 +0000

Well, so far so good. I've made it 4 days without giving up. Surely I can make it another 363ish days until the next Norseman. As long as I have the prospect of new kit for my bike along the way, I should be able to remain motivated. And speaking of new kit, I'm about to order a new wetsuit for swimming in open water! Hopefully I can float. Honestly, I think that only half the reason for having a wetsuit here is the cold water. The other half is for protection against jellyfish. I don't really care for jellyfish (although they are tasty) but then I guess no one does.

Today's 'training' has consisted, so far, of about 30km of biking. Once again, I found wearing a heart rate monitor mesmerizing. 'Ooo! Ooo! How high will it go? 183? That seems pretty high." Yes, I hit my theoretical max. It certainly didn't seem that stressful and best of all, I didn't go blind. Tomorrow, I'll try for 184 (making me feel like a 36y old).

That's all for now. Dinner and a short run (who would've thought) to follow.

Day 3 – Time to put the fenders on the bike…

mjmazur — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 11:41:00 +0000

Once again I managed to sleep in. Thankfully, I had no intent to get up early. It was supposed to rain and I had planned on going in to the office to do a bit of work. Much to my surprise, however, it’s not raining (much). Maybe I’ll put the fenders back on the bike and go out for another ride. Maybe not. My legs are still a bit sore from the ride and run that I went on yesterday. I had worried about the run. Although it was short, I did discover that heat moldable insoles make a difference for people like me who have a large amount of pronation in their ankles. I wore them both on the bike ride and for the (short) run and, much to my surprise, my knees and shins experienced no discomfort! A feeling that I haven’t enjoyed in a long time. Investing in a proper pair of orthotics, fit by a podiatrist may be in my future.

Day 2 – Only 365 days left

mjmazur — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 20:23:00 +0000

At 5am this morning the 2008 Norseman iron-distance triathlon began. I was sleeping. In fact I slept until noon today. Getting up for a 5am race start is something else that I’ll need to train for. It’s not that I don’t like mornings, it’s just that I have trouble going to sleep early when there are so many interesting things to read and research. I’m told that this was also my ‘problem’ in university.

Anyway, after a leisurely noon start, I made an appointment to go look at a Felt B2 time trial bike. I have never ridden a proper time trial bike so thought that I’d least see whether I could even ride one. This one was pretty sweet (although a couple of years old). With it’s Zipp 999 wheelset and aero frame it was begging to be ridden – fast. The problem is, I’m not terribly fast. So, after a quick and enjoyable ride I decided that it is probably best that, if I’m going to ride a fast looking bike, I’d better have the legs to match.

Although I didn’t purchase a bike, there were a few other things that I needed to get out of the way before I could go out for a late afternoon ride. I’d been looking for a waterproof bicycle computer while on vacation last week in Canada but no one seemed to sell them. The salespeople were nice but they didn’t seem to understand that if you want to ride a bike in Norway, you will get wet. Very wet. My last one had failed because of ‘water ingress’ (not to mention the parking garage incident) and I wanted to be sure that my next one would not suffer the same fate. Enter the Sigma 1706HR. It was advertised as ‘watertight’ plus it came with a heart rate monitor. Something that would be useful to see how little I actually work my heart on an average bike ride. As with everything in Norway, it seemed overpriced but I bought it anyway.

After taking my new kit home, I feverishly installed the computer and pumped up my tires (with my new pump) and headed out for a spin. It worked like a charm. The first few km were rough as the computer kept losing contact with the heart rate monitor but it worked perfectly for the next 35. Although I now had a way of training my heart within target ranges, I started to wonder about the safety of such a device. I’m a bit of a tech weenie and found that I couldn’t stop looking at the heart rate display – even if it meant running off the road. What I would suggest to Sigma (and I would buy one of these) is that they design a set of ‘head up display’ cycling glasses. The whole thing could be wireless and it would probably save a few lives. Remember, safety first.

Day 1 – My ass feels okay

mjmazur — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:57:00 +0000

A couple of months ago, I made the mistake of trying to leaving a parking garage with my bike attached to the roof of my car. Although the noises were horrific (as the bike and racks were scraping along the roof of the car), two good things came out of it. My non-waterproof (a bad idea in Norway) bike computer was trashed and my seat was scraped up. I had the perfect excuse to buy a new saddle and bike computer. Tonight, I put the new seat on and went for a spin. The seat is a Selle San Marco Skn something-or-other that I fully expected to be a literal pain in the butt. After a 30-40km (I still haven’t replaced the computer yet) ride however, I really like the saddle. It’ll take a bit of breaking in but the split design in the back seems to work. Going over low frequency bumps, though, is a bit like driving an older Skoda – your back end bounces around a lot.

7 kilos?

mjmazur — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:23:00 +0000

It’s said that the average norwegian eats more than 7kg of potato chips a year. Although it’s less than the american average of nearly 10kg, it still seems like a shitload* of potatoes. I read it in a newspaper a few days ago so it must be true.

Anyway, I started thinking about this and realized that if I was the average Norwegian (impossible because I’m Canadian), I’d be a Russet myself by the time I was 40. And, since that’s only 3 years away, I thought that I’d better do something to prevent the transformation from occuring. Quiting potatoes ‘cold turkey’ seemed out of the question so I decided on the next best thing – training for what is arguably the world’s toughest ironman triathlon. The benefits would be several-fold; the swimming would build some upper body strength, the biking would tone my legs, and the running would bring some level of humility. But the best part was that I could continue to eat (gluten-free) Pringles. If I was lucky, I might even be able to increase my intake to match the american average.

So with the tough part out of the way, I only have to figure out how I can possibly train for a 3.8km swim, a 180km bike ride, and a marathon run… through the mountains of Norway… in one year. My only triathlon to date was a 2/40/10km race that I did when I was 17. I was last out of the water, but passed a shitload* of people on the bike, and was humiliated on the run. Still, I finished in the middle of the pack so how hard could an ironman be?**

I have no idea if this is a realistic goal or not but I’m hoping that by keeping a blog of my progress that I’ll stay motivated. Only 365 days left…

* The official definition of ‘shitload’ being more than a dozen but less than a mole (of potatoes)
** Said with a note of sarcasm