Snow Day!

What a day!  We had so much fun with Em this past Monday ... we started a day with a trip to Cougar mountain zoo .... to see the reindeer (and possibly Santa, which got a big NO from em, so we declined) ... but she suer enjoyed the reindeer, the sleigh, and the other animals. Such a cutie!

 

Next up was SNOW! We found a little hill in Snoqualmie ... just us there and it was the perfect size for us to sled with Em. She LOVED it ... i think our legs got tired pulling her up the hill before she did :) And she thought snow angels were pretty cool, and as you can see, was in love with the snowman ... he got so many hugs!

Thanksgiving, Birthdays, and Dora, oh my!

So much fun on Thanksgiving week! Highlights included making Dora cupcakes for Emily's birthday party ... best part was when she saw them on the cupboard and started to giggle uncontrollably! Super cute!!! It was also fun to watch her open her Easel- definately a hit! Chalk board on one side and whiteboard crayons on the other. So much fun is had at the Easel these days! Of course she loved her custom Dora TShirt, her Dora hairclip, her puzzels, and all of her other toys too!

On thanksgiving we did an amazing hike up Rattlesnake ridge. It was the one day that it hasn't rained in ages! We spend the afternoon/evening eating and hanging out with friends. A wounderfull day!!

Pumpkin Carving & Halloween

We had such a great time carving pumpkins with miss Emily and dressing up as a Lady Bug for Halloween!!!

Family visits and more!

We've been super fortunate to have lots of family visits this fall! My parents were here for 2 weeks and Jonathan's folks came in for 4 days.  Family time is such a treasure!!!

We had so much fun ... it is hard to accept our families are so far away ... but our efforts to convince them to move closer hasn't worked out yet ;-)

Here are some photos of the adventures ...

It's FALL!!!

Ah, Fall! I LOVE the fall ... it means so many things ... crunchy apples, crispy leaves, the smell of bakeing (insert anything here) wafting thru the house, crisp morning runs, and sunny afternoons ... so many amazing experiences that are so different than winter, spring, and summer! Each of the seasons is amazing in it's own way ...

Another great thing about THIS fall is that my parents came to visit! Yay!  This inolves much more baking, touring around Seattle, and fun with miss Emily and Jonathan. So fun!!!! Some highlights so far:
   - baking muffins, gingerbread men, cupcakes, and peanut butter balls with mom and Emily
   - tour of Whitbey Island with everyone ... Em loved the boat ride and everyone enjoyed Coupeville (wonderfull picnic on the ocean) and Langly! We also found a cool beach spot with a beach hut which Emily quickly claimed as her own :)  Another cool highlight was a big tree which Emily fit inside of ... super cute!!!
   - more riding on the pink bike (see below)!!!
   - time with the family
   - carving pumpkins!
   - touring Leavenworth
   - playing in the leaves!!!


And here is the biggest superstar around ... she's captured my heart!!! What a cutie!

Ah, the smells, sights, sounds, and activities of fall! Life is good.

Race Report #2

OK, here is the fun part :) The details ...

It's about the course ...

The course was an interesting mix of sand, roots and rocks, sandstone, and 'dirt' :) There was 2300ft of climbing per lap, and this was mostly at >10% grade - so steep! And the climbing was all in single track with lots of up-and-overs.  Challenging for sure :) The descents were a mix of flowy trail, sand, and technical sandstone features - think 1-1.5 ft drops :)   Over all, it was a pretty technical course - i think my back is more sore than my legs ;-)  The sand meant that we had to clean the chain fairly often and my amazing pit crew (Jonathan and his father) were on top of this for me :)

 

 

... and about the bike

I used my Phaser for most of the race ... the Faze saw one lap but i crashed on one of the technical descents it was a technical corner down a steep drop and i didn't quite make it). Anyway, i bent my derailleur hanger and my shifting was all over the place the rest of the lap. I just found a gear and left it there ... maybe i can be a single-speeder after all. Ha!

 

 

... but most of all, about the excitement of the night!

The night laps were nice and cool and i enjoyed them.  Aside from being cool and enjoying night riding ... the night had loads of excitement. I had a monster ant-eater offer my Yeager (haha!), a superman with a boom box do a fancy dance for me. I gave him such a great Cheer that he cut thru the scrub to do another dance for me further up the hill! So fun!  i think superman was my favorite :)  And the mannequins ... they had this mannequin that looked like a guy, and who had a bike. It got me for the first few times as it was off the trail and I'd ask 'are you ok?' and then laugh ... they'd change positions of the mannequin every few hours - very entertaining! The last few times i'd yell 'i'm not falling for it this time' and i swear i heard giggles in the background. The volunteers in this race were pretty fun!!!

I had some low points during the night with my stomach but mostly i think it was altitude ... a few electrolytes and some green tea and i felt better :) I enjoyed the night riding - i always do when my stomach co-operates. :)

 

Speaking of my stomach ...

I used infinit for my fuel most of the race. At first i was taking a bit more than i should have been ... apparently the altitude makes you thirsty :) My stomach went thru a low point in the middle of the race but. I ate bananas, some pb&j, and a bit of gnocchi for solids. Overall my stomach held up ... and we really stayed on top of it. I was happy with this :)


 ... and my amazing pit crew
My pit crew was amazing ... Jonathan was the 'pit manager' and his folks were helping out. LaVerne had more food than i could possible consume and also kept Otto and Jonathan well fed thru the race. Otto was a great help and fast learner - by the end of the race you'd never guess it was his first mtb race! He was a regular pro, helping with the chain, knowing just what to do while I was chowing down on food or chatting with Jonathan! I am certain that i would have forgotten my pump one lap ... but Otto to the rescue! He remembered :) Jonathan ... well, Jonathan was/is amazing :) He had everything ready that i needed ready each time i came thru ... drinks, food, lube, puffer, salts, everything! he was pit manager and partner extraordinaire!! The best part was the smiles i had waiting for me each lap and the words of encouragement as I left.

 

 

... and yeah, we can't forget about Thin Air

The racing ... well, it felt like my legs were not working as hard as my lungs. The spinning felt pretty easy, but my lungs just were not getting enough oxygen to allow me to go harder. So i just relaxed, paced, and did the best I could. The altitude definately kicked my butt ... and other sea-dwellers too. The girl who won last year dropped out b/c she just couldn't push the pace as much as she wanted.

 

 

In Summary & Thank You

i am happy with my race. I paced well, and had a solid strategy. I couldn't have done it without help though ... thanks to Norco for the amazing bikes, to Shaun for his amazing coaching, to Veloce Velo for their incredible support (my bikes were in tip-top shape!!) and of course to Mojo Wheels and Ascent cycles for lending me the bike stand and tent in Colorado (did i mention? Colorado people are super nice!) and last but definitely not least, to Jonathan for his support and encouragement!

And now ... well, now, it's on to 'life' :) more on that soon!!!

Race Report #1 - The Numbers

Here it is, a sneak peak ... the race 'by the numbers' :)

Feet Climbed: ~28,000ft
Max Altitude: 7500ft
Median Altitude: 6500ft
Miles ridden: 156
Laps ridden: 12
Place finished: 5th
# Mechanicals: 1
# Crashes: 1

:) Of course the numbers are only a small part of the story :) For example, they don't tell you how AMAZING my pit crew was ... Jonathan was amazing (of course) and his folks were awesome! They had everything I could want always ready, were eager to help in any way, had warm tea for me at night, more food than i could consume, words of encouragement and a smile - even though i am sure they secretly think i'm crazy ;-)

They also don't tell you how technical the course was ... how the descents were worthy of any World Cup course and how the climbs were full of fun 'up and over' rocks and other features. How the course was a combination of cool sandstone rock features as well as rocks, roots, sand, dirt, and just amazing mountain biking!

But more on the race later ....  for now, here are a few links:

http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/10/news/chambers-kirkland-win-2012-u-s-mountain-bike-24-hour-national-championships_240523?utm_medium=whats-hot

http://www.24hoursofcos.com/page/2012-results

Packing!!! Who knew it was a full time job?

... at least for a day IF you are packing for a 24hr race and have to fly on a plane! Yeeps! So many things to figure out and line up!!!  Flying to a 24hr Solo is always interesting ... and at this event, they don't offer tents/chairs for rent .. so you are totally on your own.

Lucky for me I have a great pit crew :) Jonathan and his folks will be crewing for me!  They have no idea what they are getting into ;-) I think it's better that way, don't you? I still remember my first 24hr solo when I had no idea what I was getting into ... everything ws new, everything was interesting, everything was a challenge!

I'm hopeing for nice weather ... rain always makes things miserable. So if you are bored this weekend, do a little SUN dance for Colorado Springs. :)

A friend of mine gave me some good advice that i'm going to carry with me this race: You must first finish, if you want to finish first.  So true, so true!!!! And esp true for 24hr Solo's where, for me, my stomach is the first to go. Darn stomach. Anyone care for a trade? ;-)

Well, the packing is pretty much done, and tomorrow will be a busy day!

3 - 2 - 1 GO!!!

Yikes, it is that time already. it's kinda surreal ... you train all season for a race and then BOOM! It is there ... the big race.  And as you see it getting closer you have to be confident in your training ... that you have done all you can do ... and now it's just about packing, logistics, and actually racing your bike.

Well, it's that time for me! Not exactly the race i traned for all year since Worlds got cancelled. But fighting for a US National title isn't so bad either. On top of that I get to see a new place - the race is in Colorado Springs - a place i haven't been before. It's 6500ft in the air (yikes) and in the mountains ... it's gonna be good. and yes, it's gonna be hard :)

Well, this week is all about prepping, trying to sleep as much as possible, eating, and prepping some more. Off we go ..........

Capital Forest 100 miler: Race Report!

here it is!!! By the numbers:

Feet climbed: 11,555
Miles riden: 97 (see below)
Miles ran: 5
Flat tires: 3
Finishing place: 2nd
Broken pumps: 1
Minutes I beat my old self by: 0

Yup! that sums itup. I had 3 flats, had to run 5 miles due to a busted pump, and tied myself from last year! I estimate that I lost about 45 min due to the flats.  Oh yeah, and the race was on my birthday!

I rode my Phaser - this was the longest ride my Norco Phaser has seen and, well, it treated me well. Really well! I even had my fancy new powertap that i got for my Bday installed on it to see my stats. Fun, and motivating. For someone like me, i get lazy and relaxed, so having the numbers to push me when i am off in the woods on my own, is key!!

The race was amazing, as always! The support was great, the organizers were stellar, and the course was phenomenal with 90 miles of single track!! The support/volunteers even started walking back to me on the trail when they heard about my busted pump. AMAZING!!!

So that is it, the last big event before Nationals!!!

Thick as Theives

Last Thursday my friend Yvonne and I headed up to Tiger for a 5:30am start to a 5 hour ride. We had to be at work by 11:30am and wanted to get in a long ride on Tiger. This meant getting out of bed at 4:30am and starting our first lap with lights. It also meant that the Tiger parking lot was pretty empty and dark.  We were doing ~1 hour loops and landed back at the cars around 6:40ish after a fun/easy lap. The rest of the story is not so fun ...

At first we just noticed my missing backpack ... knowing my ability to be a bit 'spazzy' or 'out of it', i figured i must have left it on the ground (even though that would be a bit weird, even for me) :) ... but when we went to Yvonne's car to search for it we found her window broken and quickly did an assessment of what was stolen. We were pretty obessed with her car ... they took her passports, her backpack (which had a laptop in it), her work papers, and more. Wow!  Then she asked me 'was your door unlocked?' ... um, i don't think so? But i wasn't sure because i had used the clicker to unlock it before trying to open the door. So i checked my console ... yup, purse was gone. And my geekish bag which could have been a laptop bag was gone (it was full of towels) ... and my subaru drivers manual was gone (why????) ... and of course my backpack. Thankfully they left my bike tools and cooler.

I was glad that i'd been too distracted to lock the car ... no smashed window at least. But my poor friend Yvonne got the worst of it! They took her garage clicker and house keys ... and robed her home!!! I am SO glad they were gone by the time she got there ... so scary!  They tried to charge all of our cards so we are working with police to put together a case against them. Craziness!

But in the end, we are safe and sound. Her locks are changed and the police are on the case ...

And yes, i went back to tiger on Friday am ... alone this time. I waited till 6:45am when the sun was out and other bikers were in the lot. I left my car unlocked (didn't have a purse anyway) and took valuables with me ... and i finished my 5 hour ride. I will admit i was a bit nervous going alone ... but in the daylight, with other riders, my nervousness soon went away. You can't let the unknown rule your life ...

Inspriational!

Amazing how many things there are around you ... each and ever day ... that can be inspriational! Here are a few on my list lately:

• A older couple out for an early morning ride
• A man out running with only one arm
• An over-weight person out for an early morning walk/jog
• A young child learning a new sport
• New mothers out doing fitness classes on the trail
• An older person learning a new sport
• A person recovering from an injury, learning to walk, and then to run again
• A friend recovering from cancer and getting back to 'living' again
• The things that a small child finds amazing :)

If you are in need of inspiration I challenge you to open your eyes and take a look around you ... humankind is amazing and absolutely inspriational!  Take a look, you will like what you see :)

A week of Personal Bests

Yup! the past 6 days were spent breaking every PB i have set on my bike ... at least in the last year ;-) Not quite up to my old Canada Cup watts but inching oh, so closer! And i nailed it!!! I beat my 1 min, 2 min, 5 min, 6 min, 10 min, 20 min, 30 min, and 60 min PBs! all by 20 or so Watts! I even beat my best climbing time up tiger - by 3.5 minutes!!! what a week!!!  and now for a day off ... ahhhhhhhhhhh

A 200 mile road ride from Seattle to Portland … for a cause

A 200 mile road ride from Seattle to Portland … for a cause
What a great event!!! We left around 5am and rolled into Portland 12 hrs and 45 min later … here are the details by the numbers:

Miles: 204 miles
Feet of climbing: ~5,000ft
Hours of riding: 11.5
Total hours: ~13
#Flats: 1 J

 Yay! We did it! It was a pretty easy ride … lots of support, riders, and fun on the road. But the best part … we were part of a team that has raised over $20,000 for pediatric cancer research!!

A few memories from the ride that stick in my head include:

• little me pulling a train of 6ft+ guys for about 15 or 20 miles (about 150 miles in)
• the amazing support - both official and non-official for the ride
• the variety in rider types - bikes ranged from 'basket on the front' to '$10,000'!
• the Norco 'train' .. they all had red mohaks! Super fun
• my bike. oh, how i love my bike :)
• Jonathan dropping a water bottle 2 miles in ... yikes! had to sprint out to get it and not get run over
• Starting with the moon, riding thru the rain, and then into the SUN for the finish

Rain, Rain go away ... little Monilee wants to play!

So yeah, it's been raining in Seattle. and when i say raining i don't mean a light sprinkle here and there. i mean full on torrential downpours that leave you soaked to the skin. I'm talking about Tiger becoming a river and learning to embrace the mud cause you have no choice. I'm talking about roots and rocks that are so wet you don't even try to steer ... you just point and slide.

It has it's upside: hey, i'm getting better at riding wet roots/rocks. but i have to say, i'm getting tired of it :) I am ready for the rain to stop and the sunshine to kick in. Any moment now, i'm sure! Instead of doing 'ice cream rides' where i find cool ice cream i've been doing 'coffee shop rides' and i don't even drink coffee :)

ah well, all good trainng to toughen up my mind and improve my mtb skills, i suppose. But if it's sunny at Worlds i may just spend the whole race dancing in a circle and not actually riding my bike :)

They say tomorrow is supposed to be sunny ... it's the 4th of July so we get the day off. As long as it is not raining, i am one happy camper! We're doing another epic ride and i'm stocked - this time it's a tour of Whitbey Island!

Speaking of Epic rides, i guess it's time to catch up a bit :) here is what i've been up to:
- Snoqualmie Falls Hills (100 miles, 6,000 ft of climbing)
- Tiger (of course)
- Tour of Eastren Seattle (100+ miles, 4,000 ft of climbing)

Soon it will be time to kit up for STP and we are stoked! Lots of fun and adventourous rides to train for the event - isn't it fun to have something to train for? :)

Getting coached again

I hate to admit it, but it's true. I've gotten lazy. I am not saying i don't ride. I do! And i LOVE long rides, so i do quite a few miles too!  I am saying that I don't ride FAST enough most of the time. I'm lazy :)

To help get me out of my 'lazy slump' i've decided to get a coach. And yeah, i am lazy. :) Since last Friday i have done a 20 minute Time Trial, a 2 hour hard endurance effort, and a set of intervals! Left to my own devices i would have done any easy 2 hour ride, and MAYBE one set of intervals :)

So far i am really enjoying being coached! My coach is Shaun Taylor - a fellow mountain biker and 24hr Soloist. He uses www.TrainingPeaks.com to track training and nutrition (the software is impressive!) and covers the whole gammet from power and heart-rate to technical skillwork. I'm excited!!

I've got my powertap back up and operational on my road bike and am enjoying capturing numbers and analyzing them again. I love numbers :)

The truth will be in the results/fitness at Worlds - we've got 4 months to get there :)

24hr Race Report - Spokane

Well, here it is :) It takes the legs about 4 days to really recover so it seems fitting that it takes me 4 days to write my blog :)

It wasn't the race i wanted ... i had to sit out due to stomach issues. Darn electrolytes. But i had a great pit crew and great company (the Canadian boys and girls were camped out beside us) ... and amazing pumpkin pie (if i must say so myself) to get me thru the race.  It was great to see old friends and meet new friends. I just love that about mountain biking ... people are so friendly :)

The race got off to a good start and i got in a solid 12 hours with good pit times and amazing weather. I was eating 2 salts per lap ... apparenly should have been 3 or 4. It seems insane how much of those things i need :) I sat out with stomach cramps and related dehydration issues after my midnight lap, where i returned a frozen human popsicle. Who know that hyperthermia could be an issue in May in Spokane? Wow, it got cold super fast!!! It litteraly took me an hour to stop shivering.  After that i played head-games with myself and debated on when i could go back on my bike. My criteria was that if i drank something, it wouldn't come back out 20 minutes later. Yeah, it took 6 hours to meet that. Perhaps my bar shouldn't be so high ;-)

I had a solid 6 hours of racing in the AM but couldn't catch 3rd place so settled for 4th and more pumpkin pie.

I am excited though, because i have a new energy drink to try out - Infinit. The Canadian boys swear by it and the sodium and potassium levels (the electrolytes i seem to have issue with) are promising. Look out STP and Worlds!!! Woot!

Oh, and of course, no race report is done without 'the numbers':
Miles ridden: ~200
Ft climbed: ~24,000
Hours of riding: 18
Crashes: 0

Stottlemeyer 60 miler: Race Report!

May 19^th brought my first ‘longer’ race of the year … a 60 miler. I wasn’t worried about the distance – I’ve put in some long days on the road bike J I was a bit worried about the technical riding… it’s not an easy course!  I was sick all week leading up to the race … racing was a last minute decision as I wasn’t feeling well even on Friday (exhausted/no energy/stuffed up) and made the call early Saturday morning.  Going into the race the plan was to use it to brush up on my tehnical skills, get in a 6 hour trail-ride, and test out the legs a bit. The plan was perfect J Here are the details …

By the numbers:

• Finishing place: 4^th
• Hours ridden: 6
• Miles ridden: 60
• Feet of climbing: 7,000
• Friends made: 2
• Crashes: 2

J and now for the real details …  The race got off to a great start. The weather was perfect – the sun was out but it wasn’t too hot. The trails were dry, and the field was amazing! The women’s field was 20 deep – which is awesome for a longer race – and the overall field doubled from last year! The organizers did a great job spacing everyone out at the start so there were not any log jams in the single track going in.   I didn’t really warm up (ok I didn’t warm up at all) choosing instead to chat with some friends and relax.  I figured I had 6 hours to sort it out …  As usual, my start was pretty slow … this was ok by me. I was intentionally trying out my 24hr pace for the first lap and then dialing it up if I felt good.  Loads of girls passed me on the road lead up to single-track but we were pretty spread out by the time we got into the woods so I never got caught behind anyone for too long.   The first lap is a bit of a blur … it was fun twisty single-track and I had a lot of fun.  I was focused on relaxing on the trail and was riding pretty well. I was happy with my lap and finished it at 1:36 (it was a bit longer due to the 2 mile road start).

The second lap everyone started to settle in and I started to catch a few girls. I also caught up to a single-speeder in the men's category and we went back and forth until the last lap (where yes, i left him in the dust) :).  It was good fun.  I had just successfully passed my 3rd girl and got agap when i had my first crash ... the guy in front of me went down and I didn't see it till too late ... resulted in an endo where my handlebars went into my abdomen - ouch!  i recovered and she caught me ... i went a bit slower for a while to ensure nothing serious was injured and then finally dropped her again.   My single-speed buddy and I kept on trading back and forth on the course ... i was never alone for too long :)

At the beginning of the 3rd lap a girl (Erin) passed me. Well, that was unexpected. I generally start out slow and pass everyone as I go. Not the other way around!  As she sped by me up a hill and into the single-track she yelled 'let me know if  I am too slow' ... ha! I almost laughed as I watched her ride away.  My singlespeed friend asked me 'you going to let her get away with that?'  'Yes', i said, 'if she can go that fast for another 2 laps, she can have it. And I continued on my way, pushing myself but not too hard - usual Monilee pace.  About 1/3 way thru the 3rd lap I caught back up to Erin and dropped the SS guy ... i'm not sure if she slowed down or I was starting to warm up ... but either way, she was excited to see me. Fun girl ... we rode together the remaining of the race, chatting abit and taking turns leading thru the single-track. She was adjusting to riding a 29er and we were talking about size (how i'd be too small/short to ride a 29er) and the benefits of a 29er vs the 26er.  Eventually i asked her how old she was ... she looked about 27 ... she was 38 :) I laughed and noted how young other races often look ... she agreed and then i told her my age. She was totally surprised. The braids make me look young ;-)

It was a fun and fast 2 laps as we pushed eachother a bit and traded back and forth. i think i almost convinced her to try a 24hr solo some day :)  On the last lap there was an additional bit up the road and into the single-track. she offered to let me go first in the ST and I promptly accepted and didn't look back. I gave it all I had for that last mile and a half ... and managed to finish 1.5 minutes ahead of her!

It was a great race ... i was happy with my biking, my fitness, and my new found friends.

May 11: The test of truth … Tiger!

I’m a bit behind on blogging so bear with me a bit J  On May 8^th I took the day off so I could sleep in, do a quick ride at Tiger and then an airport run!  Tiger has been my main training ground for years. I use it to gauge how I am doing and where I need to improve … here my (self made) report card:

-          Climbing:  A à I made it to the top in under 30 minutes – and I was feeling slow!  Climbing can take anywhere from 29 to 33 minutes for me depending on the legs. I was surprised to see I was in decent climbing shape, without putting out too much effort on the climb.

-          Technical descending: C à The descent takes me 15 minutes on a great day, 17 on an average day, and 19 on a slow day. You guessed it, it took me 19 minutes. Not really surprising given that most of my riding lately has been on the road bike. But it’s ok, I know I can make it back – I just need to put in a few more hours on the trail. Of all the ‘tests’, this is the easiest and funnest result to fix!

-          Fitness: A à I did well on the flats and flowy bits of the trail – looking good here

-          Technical climbing: B à I did well on technical climbing on the Iverson side but wussed out on a few spots I should have at least tried J

All in all I give myself a ‘B’. Not a bad place to be when my ‘A’ race is in September!!!

How work makes me faster ... sometimes

So ... a bit tongue in cheek .. but it is true ... sometimes work does make me faster. Let me explain ...

As part of a team that owns a service which runs 24x7, we have to watch livesite and monitor for any issues or things that might become issues and impact our customers. We have two rotations to cover this .. one is DOTD (dev of the day). Since there are 70ish devs, this happens once in 70 days. Not so bad. We aldo have LiveSite PM ... since there are only 4 of us PMs, this is one week out of 4.  For that one week you are on-call 24x7 and responsible for all things related to livesite. I know, not awesome ... but hear me out.

So the May 5th weekend I was on LiveSite duty.  Saturday and Sunday were amazingly beautiful weather.  Saturday was pretty involved so i only got to sneak out for a 37 minute (5 mile) run. I was a bit bummed but really enjoyed watching the sun set as I ran.  Sunday things were a bit quieter and it looked to be a bit more relaxed ... here comes the fast part :)  I decided to take control and go for a ride. I had hoped to go Mountain Biking but that ws not in the cards. With a deployment in progress i'd need to push some buttons, etc every 1.5 hours or so ...

Living on Lake Samammish has it's advantages ... off I went on my road bike, from my front door ... it's a 25 mile loop with 900 feet of climbing from the house. I'd do a loop, check my phone for email/etc every 30 min, and race back to the house to do a few things before heading out again. Each loop took me just under 1.5 hours and i got in 3 such loops on a day when i could have 'thrown' in the towel and stuck it out on the trainer (this makes for a very grumpy Monilee).  So how does it make me faster?  Well about 1/2 to 3/4 the way thru each loop i'd have an email request to do something and i'd have to hammer back as fast as possible! :) Extra motivation to turn the pedals over!

I'll take 75 interrupted miles in the sun over a trainer ride any day!!!

Couer D'alene ...amazing!

Last weekend we escaped to Coeur D'alene. I say 'escaped' because life can get so busy in Seattle .... so sometimes (about once per month) you just need to head out of town and clear your head :)

Last weekend was such a weekend. It was amazing! We went to tride the "Coeur D'alenes Trail"; a 72 mile long paved bike path that runs from east of Coeur D'alene to the edge of the Idaho/Montana border.  This bike path is in immaculate shape and has very little traffice. Perfect training!

The plan was to do a quick ride on Friday (get the cobwebs out of the legs after a long car ride), a long ride on Saturday, and to see what we felt like on Sunday. It worked well! Here are the details, by the numbers:

Miles ridden: 125
Moose spotted: 2
Dear spotted: 2
Chipmunks spotted: too many to count
Ducks/Geese spotted: too many to count
Hours of riding: 7

Of course the numbers don't tell you everything :) For instance, they do not tell you how we started at 7am when the fog was burning off and it was just above freezing. How the cold air really 'woke us up' and how our hands froze for the first 2 hours and we laughed it off, happy to be alive and enjoying nature. How we scared a baby moose out of the bush and frantically looked around for the mother ... finally found her (seperated by barbed wire fence, phew!) and then had to hang out so that the baby would pass us on the trail as there was no where else to go (swamp and lakes!).  How the miles flew by as the sun peeked thru the clouds.  How good zuchini bread, brownies, and pb&j tasted at mile 55, and how great the sun felt even though it didn't really warm up.  How I finally warmed up after 5 hours of riding and got in trouble for riding too fast :)  How much we appreaciated the bathroom stops on the trail and how beautiful the sceanery was!  And of course, how tired we were at the end, and how great the hottub felt that night!!!

Amazing!  All in all a great weekend, and a fantastic training day!

Simple pleasures

There are days when i really appreciate the simple pleasures of life. This is one of them and I had to share ...
- the touch of a loving hand
- the sound of a familiar voice
- the smile of a passing strainger
- the feel of the sun
- the smell of spring in the air
- the feeling you get after a great workout

Life is a series of moments strung together ... enjoy all the special moments that happen each day!

Bootcamp

Everyone says it ...  you think you are in shape until you do something different/new.  Then you realize that you aren't really in shape, you are just good at certain things/sports :)

And yes, bootcamp is killing me.  Butterfly situps, pushups with clapping, lunges with 25lbs held over your head, squats with weight, sumo squats, burpees ....

ok, ok ... here are the real details:  Bootcamp starts at 6am on Tuesday and Thurdays. It runs about 1.5 hours ... we start with some stretching, a warm up (jog, run, sprint, shuffle, kick step, etc)  and then 'core'. core is about 20 minutes of lunges, pushups, situps, burpees, and squats with weights. it is as many set as you can do in the 20 minutes. I am sweating (read dripping) by the time we are done. What a workout!!!!

Then we head outside to do some running.  Sometimes we do sprints, sometimes hills, and sometimes an endurance run. At the end we usually 'cash out' with max pullups or something like that.

and yes, it is whipping me into shape!!!

last week the butterfly situps killed my adducters ... today the clapping pushups are killing my arms ... oh yes, i will be in shape after a few months of this!!!

Race Report: Fort Ebby - up, up, up!

This is one of those 'by the numbers' races :)

Place finished: 2nd
Women at the race: 13
Feet climbed ~4,000
Miles ridden: 21
Hills walked: 0
Steepest gradient: 27%

Yup! My first 'hilly' race of the year! Didn't realize how much climbing it was ... and after 'playing' (riding the course several times) on the course on Saturday by the time the race was over on Sunday, my legs were feeling the climbing.

So ... This was my first time racing at Fort Ebby ... i've never done this race but heard great things about it. And it did not dissappoint. First of, we took off Friday afternoon ... and didn't work AT ALL again until Monday. Oh, how i love the weekend! I forgot how amazing it was :)  We found a little cottage on the island and were in heaven ... you could smell the ocean (in a good way), hear the frogs, and walk to all the restaurants (all 3 of them) and ice-cream shops (all 1 of them) in town! It was a great pace to spend a weekend away from the usual hustle and bustle of life.

Friday night was spent driving and then a quick bite at the local tavern before we crashed. After sleeping for 12 hours, having an amazing breakfast, and touring the town, we headed to 'the fort' for some mountain biking fun. 3 hours and 4,000 ft of climbing later (read: AMAZING VIEWS!) we headed back to our cottage. The weather was perfect racing weather - a cool 10degrees celcious but a hint of sun every now and then :)

The evening was spent eating dinner, soaking in the hottub while listening to frogs, and enjoying  a local wine. I know, I know ... you aren't supposed to soak in hot tubs or drink wine, much less do both ... before a race. But i figured it didn't matter since i was racing into shape anyway :)

Sunday morning was another great breakfast and off to the race! A good hour early, i had no idea what to do with myself. I haven't been running from one thing to the next for a while. Warm up? Really! I did a decent warm-up, and then went to the start. it was amazing out! the sun was shining and the air was cool. Unfortunately all i wanted to do was curl up in a ball and sit in the sun like a cat. But I figured i'd get into the race once it started! Why is it that after you take a day or two off  you feel more tired? :)

The race had a bit of a hectic start. We were lined up across a field and had about 50 feet to fight for position into the single track. Yeah, not quite my strength. Full on sprinting. i figured i'd try to land somewhere in the middle and see what happened. That is exactly where i landed :)

The first bit was a bit of a mess, as expected, and we weeded out a few less technical riders. This course was fairly technical with lots of wet roots to take you out and steep climbs to throw you off if you were not on your game. Turns out i was pretty on my game. My technical riding was improveing ... project 'race into shape' seems to be successfull :)  After about 1/2 a lap (there were 3 laps in total) the field was pretty much sorted out and I was chasing a girl in front of me and hand another just behind me. The girl behind me (Karen, another 24hr soloist) said  'hey, they are catching us, lets go' ... and so i took off. We passed the girl in front of us and never saw any of them again. Well, that was fun!  Karen and I traded back and forth for the remainder of lap 1.  Part way thru lap 2 i was feeling warmed up and turned it up a notch ... i passed Karen and never saw her again.  After that I just kept on pushing ... the legs were feeling the wine, the hot-tub, and the 5,000 ft of climbing from the previous day. But as they tend to do, they kept on turning, and the miles kept on passing. On lap 3 i turned it up again and found another few girls to pass. A lot of women were tiring out ... usually these races are only 1 hour long and this one was 2.5 hours for me. It was good fun! I saw the girl in front of me but could not quite catch her ... she was always just that little bit ahead and when i'd catch her she'd take off. Nice riding :)

All in all it was a fantastic race! Lots of single track, amazing views of the ocean and the olympics, lots of sunshine, and great friends!

It will be a few weeks till the next race ... time to get some longer hours in!

Race Report - Fort Steilacoom - the attack of the "ice mud"

Better late than never ...  race report for Fort Steilacoom (March 18th)

Race started off well .. even got there a good 30 minutes early!  It was a bit chilly - just above freezing and some snow and hail in the air.  I dug out the winter gloves, winter hat, vest, warm arm and leg-warmers and debated if riding around prior to the race was warming me up or cooling me down :)

I raced at Fort Steilacoom a few years ago and remembered it as a fitness course ... i was not disappointed ... lots of climbing and wider trails. Very fast course!!! The race had a fast start .. on pavement no less! Off we went, and up right away ...i wasn't quite ready for that but it definately warmed me up. My strategy this race was a bit different ... to follow the women around me and see where i landed. It turned out to be a pretty good strategy and I was feeling good about 12 minutes into the race, and sitting in 3rd. No sooner did i think to myself "i could do well at this race" then i went down. Hard. I like to call this event 'the attack of the ice mud'.    I was going super fast down the single-track ... slight turn to the left and up again. I was carrying as much speed as i could so i could carry momentum up the hill ... and wham! down i went.  It would have been the perfect slide if I was a baseball player ... but i'm not :) Of course I landed on my favorite side to crash (left)  ... more bruises and scratches to add to the colleciton.

I was up pretty quick ... Had to adjust my handlebars - they got turned around in the crash. And of course my chain was off  too and all in all I'd estimate it took me about 3 minutes to get back on my bike.  After the crash though i was a bit skittish ... and scared to take the corners too fast.  A few deep breaths and a bit more riding to gain confidence in the 'ice mud' again  ... it took me another lap (20 minutes) to feel 'back to normal' and start catching some of the women around me.  I climbed back to 3rd place but couldn't catch any more women before the race was over. At an hour or so it was a pretty quick race!!!

After the race my toes were top priority b/c they were so frozen ... in to the warm wooly socks and hikers and out of the bike clothes. The next day I really felt my 'ice slide' ... my whole left side was pretty swollen and sore!  I must have been flying :)

Running again ... 1/2 marathon report

Yup, running again! I love running! I've been doing it since i was little ... not 'training' per se, but running around the farm, around the woods, and generally causing trouble with my bro is how i grew up. Just ask my sister ;-)

So this past weekend we did a 1/2 Marathon along Lake Samamish. Beautiful! Amazing dirt trails - 1300 people, amazing race support, amazing weather, and fantastic run. The run started a little late with a last minute diaper change - i was running with a friend and we were taking turns pushing a chariot!  We started 10 minutes late but still clocked a time of 1:50 - not bad!  I love starting my weekends with an epic run or ride - it forces you to unplug from work and sets the tone for what a weekend should be - spent persueing your passions!

I'll definately be keeping up on running thru the summer - it might not make me faster on the bike but it makes me smile more. What more can you ask for? :)

A day of firsts ...

March 4th was a day of firsts:

• First mountain bike ride of the season
• First ride on my new (sweet) Norco Phaser 1
• First mountain bike race of the season
• Unfortunately, i didn't take first place ;-)

And yes, all in the same ride :)  Getting to the race was a bit epic and we arrived a good 5 minute early ... lol.  Nothing like 'racing' to the race!  The course was pretty fun ... and the bike ... amazing! This is why I LOVE Norco bikes .... out of the box (trimmed handlebars, adjusted suspension) and it feels like an extension of me, even when my legs are screaming for mercy (i haven't done much fast riding yet this year). Amazingly fun bike! Once i settled in I was haveing the time of my life - so much fun i kinda forgot i was racing ...

So lap 1 is always interesting. My brain forgets sometimes that my legs are not trained to go fast. It thinks my legs are in Canada Cup shape and I take off like a shot ... and then pay for it. So lap 1 goes something like this: Sprint out - i'm in the lead, often i take the lead into the single track.  5 minutes later I'm hurting and almost the whole field passes me as I curse myself for going out too hard.  20 minutes later I'm recovered (and into lap 2) and finally start to catch people. The longer the race, the more I catch.  So I was bummed that we only had time for 3 laps ... oh well! I caught enough to land in 4th but was reeling others in!!  The course was super fun ... 95% single track - not super technical, lots of short steep climbs and fun corners.  Some roots to mix it up a bit - in short, perfect for the Phaser! I finished muddy, feeling good, and wanting more!! Ah well, so begins project "Race Into Shape". These short races make for good intervals!

PS: yes, i am smarter in 100 mile and 24 hour races. In those races I ignore my brain and explictly choose to go SLOW at the beginning. :)

New Bike!!

YAY, new bike!!!! i got a brand spanking new Norco Phaser 1 ... cannot wait to try it out at the Budu race in a few weeks ... and it's the perfect bike for the NW Epic Series!  Sweet!

The balancing act of life

It's one of those days where you feel behind on everything ... and realize why, sometimes, life is 'exhausting'. It's because we are always walking the balance beam of life ... work pulls in one direction, family in another. Sports and compeitition pulls you as well as social events and relationships.  The reailty is that if you have all of these 'great' things pulling you ... you just need to stop and realize how lucky you are :) It may get tireing sometimes, but I feel very fortunate to have so many amazing people, adventures, compeitions, and career oppertunities in my life! Embrace the balance beam!

Running Thrilla

Usually people (including me) ride Thrilla. it's a local loop in Redmond with lots of fun hills.  On Sunday we decided it would be a good idea (?!) to run it. Yeah, run. 15 miles. :) Crazy or awesome ... either way we were in (yes, in typical Monilee style ...  don't laugh you guys!)

it was so cool! the route offers great views of the mountains and the sunset ... a great way to end a weekend! There is something about pushing yourself to go further while enjoying nature that is very fulfilling.

Sunshine in Seattle

February brought a week of sun and 15+ degree temps ... beautiful weather! What did we do? we made the most of it, of course. Saturday was a 10 mile run and Sunday was a 50 mile ride ... an amazing weekend with friends!

The 10 miler was our first big longer run ... a bit sore afterwards but all in all, pretty decent! and the 50 miler was our first in our prep for STP in july - a bunch of us will do that 200 miles together.  i love the sun!!!

Winter camping in style

January brought a trip to the mountains ... we went up to enjoy the snow ... hoping for some amazing powder and fun in the snow.  The cabin was amazing ... check it out:

The snow was incredible for snowshoeing but not so much for snowboarding! The winds were a little crazy at the top of the hill and the snow was sticky so the boarding was a little slow :) one trip was all we could manage ... but we did mange 5hours of snowshoeing!

Snow in Seattle and the Mountains!

Happy February!

January was a fun month with a Snowstore in Seattle (yes, we actually had enough snow to sled, make snowmen, and have snowball fights!!!).  The snow was great fun although the roads and trails are still recovering a bit ...so riding and running has moved indoors for a bit!

My big accomplishment for January was running a full hour on a treadmill ... you have to know me to understand how big of a deal this is!  I am not a huge fan or running inside ... so getting in an hour long run inside is a BIG feat for me :)  Back outside this weekend though (phew). Long runs are so much easier and longer outside!

On the fun front  ... winter camping!  It was great ... this time with a bit of life's comforts! Since the roads and trails were not ridable ... why not hit the snow ... 5.5 hours of snowshoeing is exhausting! You think you are in shape until you change things up ... then you realize you have a ways to go!  It was amazing ... check it out here.  Tried snowboarding but the snow was too wet and the boards didn't move very fast :) I think going down the hill was ALMOST as much work as going up. The winds were so crazy at the top I thought i might blow away! :)  Next time!

This weekend marks the end of the 'snow era' in seattle - translated this means running and riding outside!  A 10 mile run on Saturday and at 50mile ride on Sunday. I'm stoked!!

How going home for Christmas makes me faster

I love going home (to NS) for Christmas. The house is full - 7 kids running in every direction, 9 orso adults, lots of food, and the feeling of 'home'.

So why does this make me faster? Well, imagine a few feet of snow, kids from the age of 2 to 16, loads of sleds to choose from and a great sledding hill ... and your daily workout quickly becomes sledding! Now, with kids it's not just the act of sliding down and walking up ... but of waling up while towing one or two kids behind you yelling 'faster! faster!'. Now you are getting the picture! It's a cardio and strength workout all in one ... and if you try to talk or get into a snowball fight on the way up the hill ... well, it makes it that much more fun.

Then of course there is playing alphabet soup, hunting dragons, and generally keeping up with the neices/nephews!  Add to that the fantastic home-grown food (in massive quantities) and the relaxation of being home, and when I got back on the bike - i could push more on my intervals!

I highly reccomend this specialized Christmas training program! It's good for the body and soul :)

Happy holidays all!