In Memory of Steve Larsen

Written by: Dan Empfield
Date: Wed May 20 2009

Excerpted from Slowtwitch.com

Steve Larsen died yesterday of an apparent heart attack at the age of 39. One of cycling's strong men, the former world class road racer, mountain bike racer, and triathlete collapsed during a foot running workout on the track in his adopted home of Bend, Oregon. Despite immediate attention medical professionals were unable to resuscitate him.

Larsen leaves a wife, Carrie, and five children. He was held in high regard both by athletes and those in the industry. But it was his athletic abilities across a variety of disciplines that enthused and amazed his fans.

Larsen was a member of the legendary Motorola professional road cycling team and, during his road racing tenure, became a national road champion. He was a dominant force in mountain bike racing during the decade of the 90s. After a disappointing crash cost him a sure spot on the 2000 Olympic mountain bike squad, he dabbled his toe in the waters of triathlon, and that "dabble" made quite a splash.

He sped to the front of the pack on the bike at the 2001 Wildflower long course event, and held on to finish fourth overall on the day. He followed that performance with a win at Ironman Lake Placid, and a top-10 finish at the Hawaiian Ironman World Championship. It was a remarkable first year.

Please read the entire article to learn more about this amazing athlete and father of 5. Steve's dedication to his family and his sport, will live on forever. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and those who knew him personally.


OSN: 400m warm-up, 12 x 25m fly drill, 3 rounds of 4 x 75m stroke and 4 x 25m free descending; 1600m total.

So Hard to Get On Track Again

It has been a long time since I was following a training plan of any sort - nearly 10 months! It is thereby very difficult, even though I am still working out semi-regularly (2-3 days a week) to get on track again. I've gotten involved in several other venues that take a lot of my focus - specifically writing a science curriculum for homeschoolers, Science Logic.

May started off strongly - two swims and a strength training session with a trainer each week. Then last week, I stayed a few days with my family in the valley and I did nothing more than shop, visit and eat... I swear I gained nearly 6 pounds!

This week, I vow to get back on the wagon. To begin training in earnest. For zest and variety, though, I will be using a tri plan - even though I have not yet committed to any particular race or venue.

My first swim of the week was a doozy. Long course (Olympic distance 50m pool)! Which at first glance is a little intimidating but once I get going, I think I prefer it to the short 25m pool length. After an 850m warm-up (350m w/ fins) and a drill set of 6 x 50m breaststroke, the main set was two rounds of : 300m / 200m / 100m progressively faster.

I tried to keep track of my splits but without a waterproof Garmin (which would enable me to simply hit 'Lap' and then pull the data up later) it was difficult to keep all the numbers in my head. The first 300 was completed in 6:08. It felt like a good pace. However, I wasn't able to knock of 5 seconds per 100 on the 200... which I completed in 4:06. I nailed the 100 at 1:43.

Based on my first 100 - the 200 should have been swam in about 3:36. The 300 in about 5:39. Alternatively, using the initial 300 as the baseline, I should have swam the 200 in 3:56. The 100 in 1:53. Let's just say I suck at pacing in the water. The second round was worse. 6:42. 4:?? and 1:56. Obviously fatigue and a week of gluttony reared its ugly head. Grand total = 2350m

A New Kind of Soreness

Friday afternoon, I worked out with my trainer for the first time. I suppose I wanted to make a good impression so I really pushed myself to do as many reps as I could of every exercise he wanted me to do. From our initial consult, he knew that my biggest goal is to qualify to run Boston. To do that, first and foremost, I need to build a stronger core.

I did a 1/2 mile easy run on the treadmill to warm-up as Kyle finished up with another client. He then had me start out doing some lateral movements, jumping in and out of a series of hoops on the ground. We then moved on to a variety of exercises that alternated the use of the kettle ball, medicine ball or body weight (squats, lunges, etc.). I used a machine for only 2 exercises, one of which simulated the motion of cross-country skiing. Balance was also a key to many of the exercises so I was either on one leg or on a balance ball. Fun stuff!

The best part, for me at least, is that the space is very open - not much equipment - and they are very accepting of children. In fact, he has twins the same age as my little guy. As I was not able to find a sitter - he was cool with allowing the kids to play with much of the same equipment that I was using. It was fun to strength train right along side them.

That evening, though I hadn't really run in nearly 4 weeks, my right heel really flared up. I massaged & iced it periodically throughout the evening. By morning it was still tender but I could walk. By Saturday evening, however, I started to hobble and moan with pain - not from my heel (that remained the same - about a 1-2 on the pain scale) but from the rest of my body. I got so sore!

I stretched as often as I could - though I am certain, not enough. I rested. By Sunday, I was able to go for our usual family walk but not comfortable enough to do a strength training workout as Kyle had suggested. I told myself, tomorrow.

Tomorrow came. Still quite sore. I went to the pool for my usual Masters swim and it felt great! The aerobic workout really helped to get movement back and get the blood flowing. I had hoped to find time in the evening to do some strength training, but a las, it didn't happen again.

Today, I plan to go for a run with Buddy in the jogger while Sweetie is in Mandarin class. The other mommies will be joining me - I'm hoping we make it a regular thing as their class meets 2x a week (TR) for 90 minutes right now. Come June, the class will be 3 hours so we'll be able to get in a solid, moderate to long run. I even borrowed a single jogger from a friend and will be selling my double, as Sweetie prefers to accompany me on her bike now and occasionally (depending on the length of the run) in her own running shoes!

OSN: The pool was set-up on long course - always intimidating at first glance but I actually prefer it this way, particularly for long sets. 400 m warm-up, 400 m w/ fins, 4 x 50 m backstroke drill, 3 x 300 m free descending, 100 m backstroke cool-down ==> 2000 m total