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!

It's all about the tire!!!

I've been experimenting with tires lately. I was looking for something that would corner well, performed on rocks and roots, and would hold up in wet weather. In a nut shell- a good tire for West Coast riding.

Well, ladies and gentleman, I found what I beleive to be the perfect combination. On the front tire (where you want the most grip and cornering traction) I now use a Kenda Nevegal on the front. This tire is AMAZING. It has awesome cornering traction, is great for technical riding (wet or dry) and the extra width (it's a 2.1) makes you super fast on double track descents. I love this tire. My descending, single-track riding, technical riding, and cornering has improved with this tire. And the extra width doesn't seem to slow me down on the uphills either - I've picked up speed there too!

On the back I use the tried and trusted Michelin XTR AT. My friend Kate got me onto the Michelin band-wagon and i have to admit that they make a good tire. They aren't as good in the corners as the Nevegal but they perform well in any weather and for any terrain. They are perfect on the back.

So this is the set up I'll plan to use for Nationals. Depending on how much steep slick rock climbing we have in the race i may opt to use Nevegals on front and back ... we will see!

The countdown is on

Yup, it's that time again ... counting the days until US Nationals and getting excited!!! It will be an interesting race. A different (but still very competitive field) from Worlds with some of the same girls ... and a very different lead-up.

For Worlds i had oodles of races leading up to race day. This time around I've been only racing myself and it'll be interesting to see where that lands me - both mentally and physically. But aside from the racing ... I am going to Moab!!!

I've never been and am super excited. Exactly one week from today I'll be bound for Moab. One week and one day ... I'll be riding 'some of the best trails' in the world. Woot! I feel like a kid before christmas ... counting sheep ... oh wait, that's counting emails ... until i fall asleep :)

Where is Waldo?

Yes, it's been quiet ... and we all know what that means: Busy training weekends, long work days, and everything else jammed in there somewhere ...

It's been a busy month - can't beleive it's almost over! I'll catch you up really quick on what i've been up to:

1. Doing 1,000,000 laps at Tiger. OK, not really, but I've done my share. I've gotten faster which is always good. I've taken 1 minute off the climb, 2 off the descent (woot!) and 1 off of the flat. This is off my best time and i posted 3 laps in a row at this new 'Monilee record'. Not too bad. Another interesting note - I've recently had several people asking me if I am the 'Norco Tiger Girl'? Um yes? Apparently I have a name for myself. I am guessing it is because I often spend 8 hours riding at Tiger and lap many people in my rides.

2. Hiking Mt Si (see photo) - a quick 2.5 hour hike up and back (8 miles, 3500 feet of climbing).

3. Visiting family in Victoria - had a fun weekend with Marilee and kids! Love Victoria - very cool town.

4. Work, work, and more work - I've taken on another project and have been pretty busy - but still loving it!!! We had the Microsoft company meeting on Sept 10th which is always very cool.

5. Shopping for new fun bike toys for nationals - mostly light batteries but it's still fun. i love buying new bike stuff. Retail therapy.

6. Prepping for Nationals - woot!!! 3 weeks and counting

7. Fixing my car - Got hit by a student driver on the way home from work - passenger door is busted up and I am having fun with insurance and estimates now.

That about sums up the last month ...

As nationals nears i'll be sure to keep the blog up to date!

By popular request - the tale of 3 crashes

OK OK, I know it wasn't fair to say I crashed 3 times at worlds but omit the gory details. It isn't as exciting as you may think but here we go.

All three crashes happened after 6am on Sunday (read: i'd been riding 18 hours already). You'll have to excuse me if I was feeling a little stunned and like I'd been hit by a truck. I usually love the first morning lap - the sun rise energizes me and gets the legs turning again. At Canmore I was bonked though so the morning lap was a little rough.

I mentioned that there was a lot of technical singletrack so it should come as no surprise that all 3 of my crashes were in the singletrack....

Crash #1: there were a lot of little (8-10 feet) steep dips down with a steep up immediately afterwards. Several of these dips had roots, rocks, and fun stuff in the middle, on both sides, or all three. This was one with all three - and root on the 'up' side. Momentum is my friend so I usually sail through these with no issue. Not so on this lap. I went down the rocky side nice and smooth (and fast)and somehow aimed for the biggest part of the root which was a 1 foot up and over and yup, you guessed it, landed flat on my back. I did a backwards endo if you will. for some reason it took about 30 seconds for me to get my feet unclipped and during this time my bike was upside down on top of me. I am sure if anyone had seen this they'd be laughing their butts off.

Crash #2: the course was dusty and some sections were really loose. There was this one spot with a 1.5 foot drop where you had to do a 90 degree turn right after. Normally, not an issue. I was behind someone who decided to pull off the trail and decided that the right thing to do was to look at them instead of the trail infront of me. Wham, over the drop and over my handle-bars and into the woods i went. Another classic moment.

Crash #3: this crash was on my last lap when i was 'riding scared'. I was pushing the pace through the tight singletrack, took a wrong line (i honestly don't know what happened here) and ended up hugging a tree. This was the only crash that produced a nice bruise and some good bleeding - i think i was going pretty fast!

Want a tour? Heck yes!

Today we ventured up to Galbrath with our friend Calvin. It's about a 1.75hr drive each way but well worth it...

We arrived at the trailhead and were greeted by several other riders. People are very friendly in Bellingham, WA. We suited up out bikes and headed out with maps in-hand. Today would be an exploration day - hopefully we'd find these trails we heard so much about.

We ended up on a steep (I am talking 40+ percent incline) single-track that was partly over-grown with blackberry bushes. At the top of the hill we ran into a few locals who were (of course) super friendly and we chatted for a bit (after we caught our breath). We asked them which way to Bob's and headed off. We met them again just down the trail at an intersection and they offered us a tour.

Do you want a tour of the best trails on Galbrath? Um, ok! It was amazing. They took us on the best single-track I've ridden in a long time. It had everything you want including berms, roots, rocks, flow, stunts, bridges, ledges, views, and more. Three hours flew by and before we knew it we were back at the car!

We'll definately head up there again - maybe next time for an entire weekend :)

Race report: World 24hr Solo Championships

I'll add to this as I get time - for now you get the quick update :)

By the numbers:
Placement: 5th place
KM ridden: ~ 235
Feet climbed: ~22,500
Hours ridden: ~23
Mechanicals: 0
Crashes: 3

The lead up:
We drove up to BC the week prior to the race and set up camp (our RV) at my brother's place in Invamere. My mom, dad, and niece were there as well so it was great to hang with the family. We headed up to Canmore and scoped out the course the Monday and Tuesday. You can read about our 'scouting' trip in my previous blog post here.

We spend the remainder of the week hanging with the family, napping, eating, and riding my brother's favorite trails in K-Country. Not a bad way to spend the week :) On Friday we headed back up to Canmore, set up our pit, and then hung out at the hotel - napping, eating food, and watching the Tour. Saturday I had a great sleep-in and we had to rush to get to the race in time. The solos were starting early but we weren't aware so it was a last minute rush getting my plates on and getting up to the line.

The Race
As they called the solos up one by one, I felt good - energy was high and I felt well rested. I was excited! The gun went off and we were running. As usual, i dropped a few positions in the run. To my surprise I was feeling good by the end of the run and actually passed a few people back. My legs were ready!

The first lap was fast and slow. The course was well-laid out but with all of the single-track (even though they separated the Solos and Teams for most of the course) passing was tough. There were bottle-necks but by the end of the lap the field was well spread out. I was feeling good and came through the feed zone (Fraser, my amazing husband and pit crew was giving me double feeds during the race) too early so Fraser missed me. No worries, I had grabbed an extra bottle of water due to the heat and had a gel in my pocket. I was good to go.

It was a hot day but we had a good 'keeping it cool strategy'. Fraser made me some 'ice scarfs' - socks filled with ice, tied together, and worn around the neck. It was amazing. I also carried a little thing of water to dump on my head - and with the double-feeds I didn't need to wear a camel back so life was bliss. I was definitely keeping it cool - even if I was soaked.

The first laps were taking me around 1:18 per lap on average. They were a good length and I was enjoying the course. I was feeling strong - my legs felt good and my energy was high until around lap 4. My stomach was feeling queasy. Uh oh. I came in and sat down. I ate salts, water, and gel. I sat some more. After 30 min i was feeling ready to ride and headed back out to the course. I felt a little 'on the edge' so i backed of the pace and focused on breathing and riding - my first and primary goal was to ride all 24 hours and not to have to stop for stomach issues.

Around 7pm we had a brief rain storm which helped to settle some of the dust. I was wishing for a bit more rain as the course was super dry and dusty - i had to use my inhaler several times. Of course, that may have had someting to do with the fact that I was racing at 5000 feet above my normal altitude :) The air was a bit thin for this Ocean dweller.

The darkness set in and I was feeling good. I'd recovered from my nausea and had upped my salt intake so things were going well. The night riding was tough because of the dust. It was like riding in the snow - the dust was sooo thick. Whenever I was behind a rider I wouldn't be able to see a thing. But I just kept on riding and hoped for the best.

Now is a good time to talk about my bikes - Jon at SVC dialed in my Fazes the week before we left so they were in tip-top shape. I would swap bikes every 3rd lap or so and Fraser would check the tire pressure and lube the chain. Loads of people were getting flats and breaking their chains this race ... i got through without one mechanical incident.

Around 6am I knew I'd made it. It was time to turn it up as best I could and see what I could do. I asked Fraser where I was -- turns out I was 6th and making time on 5th, 4th, and 3rd. Sweet! I ate some bananas and headed out for a lap. I caught Rebecca Rusch on a climb (yes, caught!) She'd done 3 more laps than me and it was a tough course - she was suffering. After I caught her I figured i'd see if I could keep with her. She led me right to the 5th place girl who I passed in the single-track. Rebecca dropped me in one of the rough sections of single-track and I continued at a good pace, hoping to put some time on #5 (#5 was the plate number of the girl who I passed in 5th place).

The next lap I caught Rebecca again - she must have had a longer pit. We chatted for a bit and then she dropped me in the same section of single-track. At that point I was worried about #5 chasing me down and was riding with 'one ear open', listening for her behind me. At one point I saw a girl in a yellow kit (same color as #5) and couldn't believe it. I dug deep and climbed like heck trying to put time on her. i kept on hearing her behind me and kept on digging deeper. I was toast but I wasn't about to get caught. i wanted my 5th place finish.

I came through the pit exhausted, ate some more bananas, ate part of a hammer bar, and headed back out again. I had to keep on going - it was 9:30 and my laps were taking just under an hour and a half at this point. I could do 2 more if I needed to. i didn't want to need to ... but I would if I had to.... I wasn't going to give up 5th place.

At this point everything hurt. The course was demanding - it was technical, 75% single-track, and unforgiving. Thank goodness for the Norco Faze! I hammered to the 'feed zone' where Fraser informed me that I had put 40 min on #5. Phew!! Apparently the girl in the yellow kit was a team rider. I could dial it back, take my sweet time, and finish my last lap. 4th was totally out of reach and i had 5th place locked up. I'd like to say i enjoyed the last part of my lap but I was in pain. My upper body hurt. My core hurt. My legs hurt. It was the toughest course I'd ever ridden for a 24hr race....

My parents were there to cheer me to the finish and I had a huge smile on my face as i crossed the line. I had overcome my stomach, dug deep, and pushed myself hard. It was a good race.

Thanks for reading and thanks again to Norco and SVC for helping me make this possible. Your support goes a loooong way!