In November I had some performance tests done and (no big surprise) my endurance zone is basically all that I have. I don't have much 'room' (in terms of watts or HR) above it before my legs scream for mercy and I have to stop. What this means is that I am a wimp :) No seriously, it means that I need to re-train my body to clear lactic acid, and that ultmately, I need to either be doing super high intensity, short intervals ... or I need to be taking it easy (bottom of endurance zone).
Although I say it wasn't surprising, I had been doing most of my rides at the top of my endurance zone, hopeing to grow it. As my focus is on the longer races, I want to go as fast as possible for as long as possible - so this seemed to make sense. Well, it did - up to a point. I grew my endurance zone to the max possible!!!
So now I am going slower, to get faster! My intervals are super short - max length is 1 min - and they are are really high watts. Watts i haven't seen .... ever ... even when I was doing the OCup races. I've been doing this for a month now and I have to say that it's pretty fun. I love seeing the super high numbers and pushing my legs that hard. I do workouts both on the trainer (in the AMs) and on my roadbike (I have a powertap and lots of steep hills in the neighbourhood) and am making progress.
The hardest part? going slower. I have a hard time riding at lower watts/HR than I know I can for my 'endurance' rides. I feel like I want to GO and it's a mental challenge to take it easy. I have some follow up testing in January so I have another month to see the impact of this training .... it'll be very interesting to see how this shifts things around!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Turkey Day ... Atkinson style
Happy Turkey Day!
And what are we doing on this rainy turkey day? Well, the weekend involves the following activities:
- Turkey a la mountain (hiking in the rain - gotta love the rain if you live in the NW)
- Turkey a la snow (snowshoeing ... yup, we have to drive a bit but we will find snow!)
- Turkey a la bike (no comment needed ....)
OK, we actually aren't eating THAT much turkey, but you get the picture. Thanksgiving (2 days off) is an excuse to play for 2 more days!!!
The weekend got off to a nice start with a break-through ride for me (intervals ... I am becoming friends with lactic acid again ... ) and a record-setting run for Fraser! Not a bad way to start Turkey Day #1.
And what are we doing on this rainy turkey day? Well, the weekend involves the following activities:
- Turkey a la mountain (hiking in the rain - gotta love the rain if you live in the NW)
- Turkey a la snow (snowshoeing ... yup, we have to drive a bit but we will find snow!)
- Turkey a la bike (no comment needed ....)
OK, we actually aren't eating THAT much turkey, but you get the picture. Thanksgiving (2 days off) is an excuse to play for 2 more days!!!
The weekend got off to a nice start with a break-through ride for me (intervals ... I am becoming friends with lactic acid again ... ) and a record-setting run for Fraser! Not a bad way to start Turkey Day #1.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Saturdays mean long rides, making soup, and enjoying time with friends
I love Saturday's in the fall ... they are all about long rides, making veggie soup, and enjoying time with friends! Today was just that day ... starting out nice and early for a good 3 hour ride, clean up me and my bike and then into the kitchen for a 3 hour cook-fest (omlettes and veggie soup - no, I did not eat it all in one sitting). Gotta love fall. Don't get me wrong, I love the race season ... but I also love cooking and the fall gives me plenty of time to cook to my hearts content!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Enjoy the colors of fall ...
Yup, you heard it here first! Food, food, and more food. My new nutrition plan includes lots of color - and that is never a bad thing. How many colors can you eat in one day (and no, M&Ms do NOT count)?? Some good colorful options include:
- Veggie soup with bok choi, kidney beans, spinich, tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, black beans, collard greens, kale, and zuchinni .... yummy!
- Salads with lots of green, yellow, orange, and red veggies
- Sweet potatoes and yams (a true favorite)
- Pears, apples, kiwis, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, oranges, cranberries, clementines, and pomegranates (I had my first one the other day ... they are very delicious and fun to eat too!)
Do I need to go on?
Enjoy the colors of fall ... and not just the leaves!
- Veggie soup with bok choi, kidney beans, spinich, tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, black beans, collard greens, kale, and zuchinni .... yummy!
- Salads with lots of green, yellow, orange, and red veggies
- Sweet potatoes and yams (a true favorite)
- Pears, apples, kiwis, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, oranges, cranberries, clementines, and pomegranates (I had my first one the other day ... they are very delicious and fun to eat too!)
Do I need to go on?
Enjoy the colors of fall ... and not just the leaves!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Apparently my body disagrees
So my mind was totally ready to be done with 'transition' and move into training mode ... I was getting my plan figured out, had my wish list of races listed for extra motivation, and was getting ready to make the move ....
And yup, you guessed it, i got sick. Tonsillitis none the less. It's a real pain in the neck (literally and figuratively) ... I am so bad at being sick. The thing is I think even though I DNFed at Moab after 12.5 hours, I don't think my body has fully recovered from the flu/cold that I had. So, to teach me a lesson and get me to 'knock it off', well, my tonsils hurt like heck.
I even stayed home from work today. Yup, watched some bad movies, read a book, and layed around in bed feeling sorry for myself .. oh, and drove Fraser nuts. I'm sure he'll be as excited as me when I recover. it was a good call though ... I went to work Tuesday and Wednesday and was totally exhausted when I got home - could barely make myself eat. Now look at me ... I'm even blogging.
The hardest thing for me is to RECOVER and REST. But I am determined. I can do it ... more bad movies, here I come ... I want to be better FAST :)
And yup, you guessed it, i got sick. Tonsillitis none the less. It's a real pain in the neck (literally and figuratively) ... I am so bad at being sick. The thing is I think even though I DNFed at Moab after 12.5 hours, I don't think my body has fully recovered from the flu/cold that I had. So, to teach me a lesson and get me to 'knock it off', well, my tonsils hurt like heck.
I even stayed home from work today. Yup, watched some bad movies, read a book, and layed around in bed feeling sorry for myself .. oh, and drove Fraser nuts. I'm sure he'll be as excited as me when I recover. it was a good call though ... I went to work Tuesday and Wednesday and was totally exhausted when I got home - could barely make myself eat. Now look at me ... I'm even blogging.
The hardest thing for me is to RECOVER and REST. But I am determined. I can do it ... more bad movies, here I come ... I want to be better FAST :)
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Race across the sky
Well, that didn't last long ... the transition thing I mean ...
Last weekend we went out with some cycling friends to watch 'Race Across The Sky'. Wow, want to get physched for long races? Want to get physched to do something epic? Want to get physched to train??? Then you NEED to see this!
It's an amazing documentary about the Leadvill 100 race. It's pretty cool. By the time the movie ended I was writing up my trianing plan in my head, ditching the idea of 'transition', and ready to get back on my bike for some serious rides - well, longer ones anyway.
All that said, the honest truth is that I am currently refining my diet - which means I am reading lots of books on how to eat as an athlete. I figure if i am going to race with the pros I should make an attempt to eat like them :). It's been interesting so far. What I am learning is that I should choose more complex carbs (read vegetables that are not potatoes) and that I am not getting enough protein. The potatoe thing makes me sad - as many of you know, potatoes have been my favorite vegetable for a long, long time. The other one that makes me sad is corn on the cob. What can I say? I am in no way a suger or sweets nut .. but I like my carbs. The trick will be just to eat less of them and more of the complex good stuff like spinich.
The other thing I am working on right now is figureing out my training plan for the year, listing out my wish list of races, and figureing out my focus for the 2010 season. Admist this I have become reunited with my love for running, am lifing some weights, and am enjoying some fall riding.
Life is good.
Last weekend we went out with some cycling friends to watch 'Race Across The Sky'. Wow, want to get physched for long races? Want to get physched to do something epic? Want to get physched to train??? Then you NEED to see this!
It's an amazing documentary about the Leadvill 100 race. It's pretty cool. By the time the movie ended I was writing up my trianing plan in my head, ditching the idea of 'transition', and ready to get back on my bike for some serious rides - well, longer ones anyway.
All that said, the honest truth is that I am currently refining my diet - which means I am reading lots of books on how to eat as an athlete. I figure if i am going to race with the pros I should make an attempt to eat like them :). It's been interesting so far. What I am learning is that I should choose more complex carbs (read vegetables that are not potatoes) and that I am not getting enough protein. The potatoe thing makes me sad - as many of you know, potatoes have been my favorite vegetable for a long, long time. The other one that makes me sad is corn on the cob. What can I say? I am in no way a suger or sweets nut .. but I like my carbs. The trick will be just to eat less of them and more of the complex good stuff like spinich.
The other thing I am working on right now is figureing out my training plan for the year, listing out my wish list of races, and figureing out my focus for the 2010 season. Admist this I have become reunited with my love for running, am lifing some weights, and am enjoying some fall riding.
Life is good.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Shifting gears
And this time i don't mean literally :)
It's that time of year - transition - where you 'do what you want' and take a few weeks off of training. For me this means more running, some hiking, but still lots of biking. It's nice to have a few weeks with no 'program' - just do what you feel like when you get up in the morning. More sleeping in than usual :)
It's also time to catch up on things like getting rid of that pesty bees nest, getting checkups at doctors, dentists, and all the rest .. you know, the less exiting things in life. Oh, and catching up on work.
It's weird - it's the first weekend I haven't even had the option to mountain bike. Fraser is still in Moab enjoying the sun and sand ... and more so, the riding. My bikes are with him enjoying the sun ... so I only have road wheels :)
Frase comes back to the rain next week and we'll start looking at tickets to go home for Christmas.
It's that time of year - transition - where you 'do what you want' and take a few weeks off of training. For me this means more running, some hiking, but still lots of biking. It's nice to have a few weeks with no 'program' - just do what you feel like when you get up in the morning. More sleeping in than usual :)
It's also time to catch up on things like getting rid of that pesty bees nest, getting checkups at doctors, dentists, and all the rest .. you know, the less exiting things in life. Oh, and catching up on work.
It's weird - it's the first weekend I haven't even had the option to mountain bike. Fraser is still in Moab enjoying the sun and sand ... and more so, the riding. My bikes are with him enjoying the sun ... so I only have road wheels :)
Frase comes back to the rain next week and we'll start looking at tickets to go home for Christmas.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Nationals Race Report
24hr racing lesson 1001: Never race when you have a cold and your significant other is recovering from the flu. The odds are against you ...
The numbers:
Laps completed: 6
Elevation climbed: ~9000ft
Miles ridden: 90
The Lead Up:
I had a great week in Moab leading up to the race but my immune system was low due to fighting the flu (that I brought home from work to Fraser) and I got a cold 4 days prior to race day. I was diligently eating zinc lozenges and vit C and come race day I didn't feel too bad - but I didn't feel great either. I decided to race anyway and see what happened.
You'd think it would be a no-brainer to say 'oh, i shouldn't race, i have a nasty cold that could turn into the flu'. But it isn't - we travelled all the way to Moab and this was US Nationals. It was my last race for the year, the course was super fun, etc, etc. I can list dozens of excuses for starting the race :)
The Race:
Off the start I wasn't feeling 'great'. My legs were fine but my lungs and body were achy and non-energetic. The run was slow and my first lap was slower than any of my pre-rides. I was really hot so I figured it was the heat ... I got an ice scarf and this seemed to help on my 2nd lap. I should have clued in at this point (needing an ice scarf at 75F or ~20C is not normal for me - this is my perfect racing temperature) .. but I didn't.
I described the race course in a previous post but i'll summarize here: mix in some sand, climbing, technical descents, slick rock, technical climbs, and fun fast 'hammer sections' and you have the course. It was 15 miles long and about 1500ft of climbing per lap. It was the most technical course I've ever ridden for a 24hr race - the technical climbs and descents were tough. Think Quebec Cup or Mt Ste Anne for the technical descents. It was a perfect course for the Norco Faze. The technical bits were my favorite part of the course by far ... likely because I was passing a lot of people here.
My 2nd and 3rd laps were marginally better and then it cooled down for the night. My laps were 15 -25 minutes longer than they should have been but I kept on pushing through. At 9pm I was in the top 5 and making ground. This gave me motivation to keep pushing even though I wasn't feeling great.
It's a good time now to talk about the pit. Fraser and Alan shared my pit and were racing as a tag-team. They were amazing in helping me while they weren't racing. I'd come in and ask for a few things and they would help as much as they could! We had a few mix-ups with lights but nothing major and we got it sorted out before I hit the course.
Around 10pm the coughing started. The course was dusty so this was somewhat normal. I'd been taking my puffer each lap but this lap I just couldn't stop coughing. My abs were more sore from coughing on this lap than from the technical sections (and that is saying something)! I had to stop.
I pulled into the pit, sat down, caught my breath enough to take the puffer about 5 times and after about 15 minutes stopped coughing. I knew the race was over. I was totally congested at this point with a major sinus headache, had a fever, and was moving very slowly around the course. My legs were the only part of me that felt good ...unfortunately you need all of you to continue racing!
Fraser's flu had turned into acute bronchitis so he was also done racing for the night. Alan was planning to do another 2 laps but was happy to pack it in. We packed the valuables in the truck and headed to the trailer. This is the first race that I had to stop due to something other than my stomach. And it's the first time that I knew, when I stopped, I wouldn't be going back. Racing with a cold is a very bad idea :)
And now I'm on the way home - I fly out today and Fraser will stay another week to enjoy the Moab riding. Back to work and the 'real world'. I definitely want to come to Moab and I really want to race there again - the course and I have something to settle. :)
The numbers:
Laps completed: 6
Elevation climbed: ~9000ft
Miles ridden: 90
The Lead Up:
I had a great week in Moab leading up to the race but my immune system was low due to fighting the flu (that I brought home from work to Fraser) and I got a cold 4 days prior to race day. I was diligently eating zinc lozenges and vit C and come race day I didn't feel too bad - but I didn't feel great either. I decided to race anyway and see what happened.
You'd think it would be a no-brainer to say 'oh, i shouldn't race, i have a nasty cold that could turn into the flu'. But it isn't - we travelled all the way to Moab and this was US Nationals. It was my last race for the year, the course was super fun, etc, etc. I can list dozens of excuses for starting the race :)
The Race:
Off the start I wasn't feeling 'great'. My legs were fine but my lungs and body were achy and non-energetic. The run was slow and my first lap was slower than any of my pre-rides. I was really hot so I figured it was the heat ... I got an ice scarf and this seemed to help on my 2nd lap. I should have clued in at this point (needing an ice scarf at 75F or ~20C is not normal for me - this is my perfect racing temperature) .. but I didn't.
I described the race course in a previous post but i'll summarize here: mix in some sand, climbing, technical descents, slick rock, technical climbs, and fun fast 'hammer sections' and you have the course. It was 15 miles long and about 1500ft of climbing per lap. It was the most technical course I've ever ridden for a 24hr race - the technical climbs and descents were tough. Think Quebec Cup or Mt Ste Anne for the technical descents. It was a perfect course for the Norco Faze. The technical bits were my favorite part of the course by far ... likely because I was passing a lot of people here.
My 2nd and 3rd laps were marginally better and then it cooled down for the night. My laps were 15 -25 minutes longer than they should have been but I kept on pushing through. At 9pm I was in the top 5 and making ground. This gave me motivation to keep pushing even though I wasn't feeling great.
It's a good time now to talk about the pit. Fraser and Alan shared my pit and were racing as a tag-team. They were amazing in helping me while they weren't racing. I'd come in and ask for a few things and they would help as much as they could! We had a few mix-ups with lights but nothing major and we got it sorted out before I hit the course.
Around 10pm the coughing started. The course was dusty so this was somewhat normal. I'd been taking my puffer each lap but this lap I just couldn't stop coughing. My abs were more sore from coughing on this lap than from the technical sections (and that is saying something)! I had to stop.
I pulled into the pit, sat down, caught my breath enough to take the puffer about 5 times and after about 15 minutes stopped coughing. I knew the race was over. I was totally congested at this point with a major sinus headache, had a fever, and was moving very slowly around the course. My legs were the only part of me that felt good ...unfortunately you need all of you to continue racing!
Fraser's flu had turned into acute bronchitis so he was also done racing for the night. Alan was planning to do another 2 laps but was happy to pack it in. We packed the valuables in the truck and headed to the trailer. This is the first race that I had to stop due to something other than my stomach. And it's the first time that I knew, when I stopped, I wouldn't be going back. Racing with a cold is a very bad idea :)
And now I'm on the way home - I fly out today and Fraser will stay another week to enjoy the Moab riding. Back to work and the 'real world'. I definitely want to come to Moab and I really want to race there again - the course and I have something to settle. :)
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Scoping out the course
Wow, I love Moab! The weather is a cooler than i expected but the riding is everything and more!Our first ride here was to scope out the course. It's a tough course worthy of Nationals. It is a mix of sand and rocks (big surprise for anyone who has been riding in Moab) and has a few fairly technical sections (marked with XXX on the signs). Mix in some sand, a fair bit of climbing, some slickrock, fun fast descents, and lots of rocky bits, some technical descents, and you have the course.
Here is a photo of one of the 'rocky' sections. Rocky has a whole new meaning in Moab - the rocks are awesome as they offer a lot of good traction .. and they are HUGE. Actually Moab is just a series of big rodks with sand here and there. Not sure how the trees manage to survive but they do :)
2nd ride of the day was a loop they call 'baby steps' which was super fun technical singletrack. We had a great time playing on the slickrock and got some good photos! We had so much fun that we made it back just before dusk! Here is Fraser coming under a rock over-hang.
After the riding we were starving and found an awesome pasta joint in town. They serve huge servings which was just what we wanted!
Getting to Moab
Getting to Moab was an adventure in itself. The original plan had Fraser leaving on the 28th of September to come early and scope out the course. Unfortunately the truck was in the shop and took a bit longer than expected and then Fraser got the Flu! He was out sick for several days so I cancelled my flight and drove with him last weekend.
Our drive included:
- Running out of gas (never leave Seattle and go thru the mountain pass on 1/2 a tank of gas)
- Pouring rain
- Crazy snowstorms
- Hail the size of marbels
- More rain
and finally, blissfully, DUST :)
It was a crazy trip and we were glad to arrive in sunny, dusty Moab!
Our drive included:
- Running out of gas (never leave Seattle and go thru the mountain pass on 1/2 a tank of gas)
- Pouring rain
- Crazy snowstorms
- Hail the size of marbels
- More rain
and finally, blissfully, DUST :)
It was a crazy trip and we were glad to arrive in sunny, dusty Moab!
Friday, September 25, 2009
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!
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 :)
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 :)
Monday, September 21, 2009
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!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Gear review - Terry Saddles
Time for another gear review ... this time I'll talk about something that can make or break your ride - saddles! Before I go any further I want to say that 'no saddle fits all' so if you are looking at getting a new saddle, see if you can 'try before you buy' (maybe a friend has one you can try?). It has to be right for your body geometry and your riding style.
I love Terry Saddles - they seem to make a fit for every type of riding and rider. I am going to start with what I'll call the 'comfort' performance saddle - the Terry Butterfly. This was my first Terry saddle and what made me fall in love with Terry saddles. I purchased my first mountain bike in 2001 so the memory is still pretty clear. The bike came with some stiff men's saddle and I just couldn't understand how people could love to ride their bikes for more than 1 hour at a time - my bum hated it! It hurt, I had to stand a lot, and worst of all - i developed sores in short rides. Not good. I talked to some girls about the issue at hand and found out that it wasn't me - it wasn't that I needed time to 'adjust', it was my saddle. Aha! I did a lot of research and landed on the Terry butterfly. It had great reviews. Here is my take:
Comfort: 10 - this saddle supports you where you need it and does not put undue pressure on the sitting bones
Power Transfer: 8 - I found that this saddle was lacking in power transfer - i wanted something a little harder to push against for those power bursts
When used: La Ruta 2003 (3 day race across Costa Rica), Adventure racing, and several 8 hour races
Recommendation: Good for people who like a plush saddle or those that are just starting out (as I was).
Terry Damselfly
After a year of racing I got hooked and wanted to try the shorter stuff. As mentioned in the earlier paragraph, I wanted something a little harder for power transfer. So on a friend's recommendation I tried the Terry Damselfly.
Comfort: 8 - not as comfy as the terry butterfly but was fine for up to 8 hours in the saddle
Power Transfer: 10 - this saddle is perfect for racing - especially the shorter races where you are using your upper zones
When used: TransRockies, Shorter Canada Cup/ Norba style races
Recommendation: Perfect saddle for shorter (2-6) hour races; both road and mountain
Terry Firefly
In 2006 I decided to try 24hr solo racing. It had always appealed to me and with our move to the US it seemed like a good time to make the change. I knew I didn't want to ride the damselfy for 24hrs straight, especially on a rough mountain bike course. So I did some research and decided to give the Firefly a try. I wasn't disappointed! This saddle is firm but forgiving, and a little wider than the damselfly.
Comfort: 10 - I could ride forever with this saddle
Power Transfer: 9 - I can't honestly give it a 10 because I just don't push the high power zones any more. I have no complaints about power transfer though!
When used: I've completed seven 24hr Solos and countless hours of training with this saddle and haven't walked away with a saddle sore yet!
Recommendation: This is a great saddle for anyone who loves to ride or race long distances.
And where can you get one of these handy saddles? If you are in the Seattle area you can go to Sammamish Valley Cycle and pick one up - otherwise you can find one online. Happy riding!
I love Terry Saddles - they seem to make a fit for every type of riding and rider. I am going to start with what I'll call the 'comfort' performance saddle - the Terry Butterfly. This was my first Terry saddle and what made me fall in love with Terry saddles. I purchased my first mountain bike in 2001 so the memory is still pretty clear. The bike came with some stiff men's saddle and I just couldn't understand how people could love to ride their bikes for more than 1 hour at a time - my bum hated it! It hurt, I had to stand a lot, and worst of all - i developed sores in short rides. Not good. I talked to some girls about the issue at hand and found out that it wasn't me - it wasn't that I needed time to 'adjust', it was my saddle. Aha! I did a lot of research and landed on the Terry butterfly. It had great reviews. Here is my take:
Comfort: 10 - this saddle supports you where you need it and does not put undue pressure on the sitting bones
Power Transfer: 8 - I found that this saddle was lacking in power transfer - i wanted something a little harder to push against for those power bursts
When used: La Ruta 2003 (3 day race across Costa Rica), Adventure racing, and several 8 hour races
Recommendation: Good for people who like a plush saddle or those that are just starting out (as I was).
Terry Damselfly
After a year of racing I got hooked and wanted to try the shorter stuff. As mentioned in the earlier paragraph, I wanted something a little harder for power transfer. So on a friend's recommendation I tried the Terry Damselfly.
Comfort: 8 - not as comfy as the terry butterfly but was fine for up to 8 hours in the saddle
Power Transfer: 10 - this saddle is perfect for racing - especially the shorter races where you are using your upper zones
When used: TransRockies, Shorter Canada Cup/ Norba style races
Recommendation: Perfect saddle for shorter (2-6) hour races; both road and mountain
Terry Firefly
In 2006 I decided to try 24hr solo racing. It had always appealed to me and with our move to the US it seemed like a good time to make the change. I knew I didn't want to ride the damselfy for 24hrs straight, especially on a rough mountain bike course. So I did some research and decided to give the Firefly a try. I wasn't disappointed! This saddle is firm but forgiving, and a little wider than the damselfly.
Comfort: 10 - I could ride forever with this saddle
Power Transfer: 9 - I can't honestly give it a 10 because I just don't push the high power zones any more. I have no complaints about power transfer though!
When used: I've completed seven 24hr Solos and countless hours of training with this saddle and haven't walked away with a saddle sore yet!
Recommendation: This is a great saddle for anyone who loves to ride or race long distances.
And where can you get one of these handy saddles? If you are in the Seattle area you can go to Sammamish Valley Cycle and pick one up - otherwise you can find one online. Happy riding!
Saturday, August 8, 2009
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!
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!
Sunday, August 2, 2009
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 :)
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 :)
Heat wave in Seattle
We came back to a heat wave - can't beleive I am saying 'record temperatures' and 'Seattle' in the same sentence but here we go ... we broke the record for the all-time high in Seattle last week. Temperatures hit a high 104F.
Admidst the heat I presented at TechReady, tried to catch up on work and sleep, and ate a lot of watermelon and anything else cold.
Admidst the heat I presented at TechReady, tried to catch up on work and sleep, and ate a lot of watermelon and anything else cold.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
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!
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!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Scooping out the course for Worlds
We made the long drive up to BC on Saturday (actually, Fraser did all the driving ... I did my part by staying awake the whole time). We landed at my brother's place in Invamere on Saturday night and hooked up the trailer. Home sweet home for the next week. On Sunday we were planning to head up to Canmore to pre-ride but the map hadn't been posted on the site yet (they promised to post in on Monday) so we stayed put and had a relaxing day checking out the trails here in the area and hanging with family.
My brother has a very fun, very active two year old as well as a new-born - such a great family. My parents are also here and brought my sister's daughter with them too -- we are very lucky to combine family and racing this year!
On Monday we made the drive to Canmore, and although the map still wasn't posted we found the 'team' course easily enough. We did one loop and then headed out for food -- hungry!!! We spent the night there and went back to do some more loops. They had started to mark the Solo loop but didn't finish it yet - so we got lost initially. Back to the truck we replenished our bottles and headed out for a faster lap. Fraser quickly left me in the dust and i met up with a New Zealander and an Australian who knew the Solo bit of the course so I followed them through it.
So.... let me describe the course ... I want to start by saying that I may have missed parts of it (actually, i am convinced I did). It starts out with some good climbing to seperate the field. Wide climbing followed by single-track climing and a single-track descent. After the next road climb you don't see the road for ... um ... the rest of the race. This course has the most single-track in a WSC course i have seen yet. It's going to be fun. It's going to be bumpy. It's a full suspension course that is going to make me love my Norco Faze even more. It's going to be hard on the body and hard on the mind. In a nut shell, it is a course worthy of the title for 'World Solo 24hr Mountain Biking Championships'. Am I physched? yes!
After that loop we packed up the truck and made our way back to Invamere. Today we did a nice loop on the Spirit trail (think fun, fast, twisty, roller-coaster singletrack). It was a good day. i am enjoying this time off from work and am enjoying the rest I am geting as well as getting to visit with the family.
It's going to be a great race.
My brother has a very fun, very active two year old as well as a new-born - such a great family. My parents are also here and brought my sister's daughter with them too -- we are very lucky to combine family and racing this year!
On Monday we made the drive to Canmore, and although the map still wasn't posted we found the 'team' course easily enough. We did one loop and then headed out for food -- hungry!!! We spent the night there and went back to do some more loops. They had started to mark the Solo loop but didn't finish it yet - so we got lost initially. Back to the truck we replenished our bottles and headed out for a faster lap. Fraser quickly left me in the dust and i met up with a New Zealander and an Australian who knew the Solo bit of the course so I followed them through it.
So.... let me describe the course ... I want to start by saying that I may have missed parts of it (actually, i am convinced I did). It starts out with some good climbing to seperate the field. Wide climbing followed by single-track climing and a single-track descent. After the next road climb you don't see the road for ... um ... the rest of the race. This course has the most single-track in a WSC course i have seen yet. It's going to be fun. It's going to be bumpy. It's a full suspension course that is going to make me love my Norco Faze even more. It's going to be hard on the body and hard on the mind. In a nut shell, it is a course worthy of the title for 'World Solo 24hr Mountain Biking Championships'. Am I physched? yes!
After that loop we packed up the truck and made our way back to Invamere. Today we did a nice loop on the Spirit trail (think fun, fast, twisty, roller-coaster singletrack). It was a good day. i am enjoying this time off from work and am enjoying the rest I am geting as well as getting to visit with the family.
It's going to be a great race.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Missing out on Cascade Cream Puff
So I have been super keen to race Cascade Cream Puff since we moved out west. It's a 100mile mountain bike race with 18,000ft of climbing and loads of singletrack. Sounds like heaven, right? Yeah, I thought so too ...
This year both Frase and I registered. Unfortunately with the demands of work I had to bail. I made the call on the way home from the 8 hour race. With work being so busy and us leaving for Worlds this coming Friday ... I needed the weekend to catch up and get organized and packed for Worlds.
So today I did 3 laps at Tiger ... to keep myself on my toes I did my fastest laps yet, taking 2 min out of my last best effort. Not bad! It was smokin' hot today at around 90F with ~90% humidity. I was pretty happy to post such fast times in conditions that don't generally agree with me. I will admit that I had my handy ice water in my jersey again it it was my saving grace!
After Tiger i spent about an hour cleaning my bike and going over it ... if i need to buy new parts, I need to do it tomorrow. Thankfully Jon at SVC is all set to give my bikes the SVC 'once over' which will ensure they are in tip top form before I leave for Worlds.
The countdown is on and I am starting to get excited. I have a big deliverable at work this week and then we are off!!
This year both Frase and I registered. Unfortunately with the demands of work I had to bail. I made the call on the way home from the 8 hour race. With work being so busy and us leaving for Worlds this coming Friday ... I needed the weekend to catch up and get organized and packed for Worlds.
So today I did 3 laps at Tiger ... to keep myself on my toes I did my fastest laps yet, taking 2 min out of my last best effort. Not bad! It was smokin' hot today at around 90F with ~90% humidity. I was pretty happy to post such fast times in conditions that don't generally agree with me. I will admit that I had my handy ice water in my jersey again it it was my saving grace!
After Tiger i spent about an hour cleaning my bike and going over it ... if i need to buy new parts, I need to do it tomorrow. Thankfully Jon at SVC is all set to give my bikes the SVC 'once over' which will ensure they are in tip top form before I leave for Worlds.
The countdown is on and I am starting to get excited. I have a big deliverable at work this week and then we are off!!
Monday, July 6, 2009
Work + Bike + Live == Balance?
I have to admit juggling work (a demanding job which I do love), riding and racing my bike (which I also love), and life (social and 'the neccessities') is often a battle.
I think that alot of us 'working athletes' have the same struggles - how do we fit it all into a day? For me the answer and prioritization of Work/Bike/Life depends on what is going on - and sometimes it is out of my control and I just try to hang on tight for the ride.
It's been one of those 'hang on tight' months ... at work I am getting ready to move the website my team has been working (Microsoft Malware Protection portal) on from beta to production - for those interested: click here for the beta and here for the current production portal. We've done a lot of work :) I have also adopted another project as one of my coworkers has taken a new position outside of our team ... It's been busy ramping up on the new project, keeping it on track while delivering on my current project - the portal website. Of course admidst all this are lots of races and training to get me prepped for Worlds in a few short weeks.
For the past while a typical day consists of:
- roll out of bed around 6am
- wake up whilst riding my bike around 6:45am
- finish ride, drink a recovery drink, shower, and get ready for work
- leave for the office around 8:45am
- go to work and rush around to meetings and order people around all day (ok, not really ... I manage several projects)
- get home around 7pm
- make dinner and eat
- work some more until 9pmish
- head to bed
Rinse and repeat! As you can see there isn't much 'life' in the mix so to fit it in something else has to give. OK, so maybe thre really isn't a 'balance' per se, but it works for me (most days). I'm lucky that Fraser also loves to ride and understands my need to get out on my bike as well as the demands in the office.
Once race season is over the balance swings more in favor of work and life before I get back into training full swing again. So to all you athletes that are full-time moms or have demanding jobs, keep at it - make sure you find the balance that works for you!
I think that alot of us 'working athletes' have the same struggles - how do we fit it all into a day? For me the answer and prioritization of Work/Bike/Life depends on what is going on - and sometimes it is out of my control and I just try to hang on tight for the ride.
It's been one of those 'hang on tight' months ... at work I am getting ready to move the website my team has been working (Microsoft Malware Protection portal) on from beta to production - for those interested: click here for the beta and here for the current production portal. We've done a lot of work :) I have also adopted another project as one of my coworkers has taken a new position outside of our team ... It's been busy ramping up on the new project, keeping it on track while delivering on my current project - the portal website. Of course admidst all this are lots of races and training to get me prepped for Worlds in a few short weeks.
For the past while a typical day consists of:
- roll out of bed around 6am
- wake up whilst riding my bike around 6:45am
- finish ride, drink a recovery drink, shower, and get ready for work
- leave for the office around 8:45am
- go to work and rush around to meetings and order people around all day (ok, not really ... I manage several projects)
- get home around 7pm
- make dinner and eat
- work some more until 9pmish
- head to bed
Rinse and repeat! As you can see there isn't much 'life' in the mix so to fit it in something else has to give. OK, so maybe thre really isn't a 'balance' per se, but it works for me (most days). I'm lucky that Fraser also loves to ride and understands my need to get out on my bike as well as the demands in the office.
Once race season is over the balance swings more in favor of work and life before I get back into training full swing again. So to all you athletes that are full-time moms or have demanding jobs, keep at it - make sure you find the balance that works for you!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
8 hours of heat, dust, and climbing ...er, Independance
By the numbers:
Miles riden: ~60
Feet climbed ~10,000
Laps completed: 9
Hours riden: ~7.5
Temperature: 95 F (that's 35C)
Humidity: 70%
Bottles of water on the head: 9
Finishing place: 3rd (15th of 60+ riders overall)
The Lead Up
You can read about my lead up here on my blog ... I had put in 16 hours of training in the 6 days leading up to the race ... what better way to end a 24hour training week than with an 8 hour race? I sure as heck wouldn't have gone as fast on my own ...
The Race
As per tradition (well, for the past 3 years anyway), July 4th was hotter than heck. It was 85 F(30C) at 10am and promised to get up to 95F (35C) with 70% humidity. Trying to stay cool was definately a factor in this race - and for those of you who know me and my track record for hot races ... well, staying cool was a major focus of my race.
We didn't have the oppertunity to pre-ride, haven driven down the night before - so the first few laps were about getting to know the course. It was a ~6.5 mile course with ~1112ft of climbing per lap. The course started with a short 0.5 mile gravel road climb - one of only two road sections on the course and then dumped us into some singletrack. The climb continued for another mile or so and then we came out to the 2nd road section - about 0.25 mile of road. Off the road we were treated to some of the funnest and fastest singletrack downhilling I have ever done. We were racing on a dirt-biking trail and it was very well maintained. The downhill seemed to go on forever with some tight turns and deep (2ft) ruts to keep us on our toes. At the bottom of the downhill we crossed a bridge and then began the 'arizona' climb back up. It was called the 'arizona' climb because it was fully exposed, sandy, and did not offer any wind or repreive from the heat of the day. It went on forever - the grade ranged from 15 to 28%, at which point I was off my bike and walking. At the top of the climb we were treated to a short but sweet downhill and then were spit back out on the road where the feeding zones were.
It was a super fun but unforgiving course. There were no flat sections so eating was done on the climbs. I am really good at getting bottles out of my jersey now ... that is where I stashed my bottle of cold water each lap ... critical part of my 'keep it cool' strategy. Ok, back to the race ...
The goal of the race was to go out hard and try to blow up. The problem with this strategy is that I really have no ability to 'go out hard'. Going out hard for me is going at the top of my z1. But I went out faster than my 'pacing' effort would have been. The first two laps felt slow. I was pushing but didn't seem to get anywhere - and I was feeling the heat. I took a bottle of ice water with me each lap and doused myself with it, trying to stay cool. Just into the 2nd lap Fraser passed me ... 'did you just lap me?' I asked incredulously (you never know with Frase, when he's on, he is ON ... and he is getting fitter every day). Turns out he took a wrong turn (follow the ribbons) and got a flat tire. Oh ...
We were both self-supporting and had made up some drinks and water beforehand - with 5 bags of ice everything stayed nice and cool. Because we didn't know the course we didn't estimate well with the calories per bottle - I had to stop every 2nd lap and adjust my bottles for the next few laps. Around lap 3 I started to feel good and my lap times started dropping ... 30seconds faster, 2 minutes faster, 5 minutes faster- I just kept on getting faster and faster. It was great - I ended the race feeling strong ... a great sign given that Worlds is a short 3 weeks away!
I ended up in 3rd ... the two girls in front of me also did 9 laps and were ahead of me by 15 and 7 minutes respectively. Another few laps ...
Frase had a good race until about 5 hours in where he broke his chain 4 times. Pretty frustrating!
And now I am cleaning the dust off my bike and clothes, getting caught up on work, and getting ready for worlds!
Miles riden: ~60
Feet climbed ~10,000
Laps completed: 9
Hours riden: ~7.5
Temperature: 95 F (that's 35C)
Humidity: 70%
Bottles of water on the head: 9
Finishing place: 3rd (15th of 60+ riders overall)
The Lead Up
You can read about my lead up here on my blog ... I had put in 16 hours of training in the 6 days leading up to the race ... what better way to end a 24hour training week than with an 8 hour race? I sure as heck wouldn't have gone as fast on my own ...
The Race
As per tradition (well, for the past 3 years anyway), July 4th was hotter than heck. It was 85 F(30C) at 10am and promised to get up to 95F (35C) with 70% humidity. Trying to stay cool was definately a factor in this race - and for those of you who know me and my track record for hot races ... well, staying cool was a major focus of my race.
We didn't have the oppertunity to pre-ride, haven driven down the night before - so the first few laps were about getting to know the course. It was a ~6.5 mile course with ~1112ft of climbing per lap. The course started with a short 0.5 mile gravel road climb - one of only two road sections on the course and then dumped us into some singletrack. The climb continued for another mile or so and then we came out to the 2nd road section - about 0.25 mile of road. Off the road we were treated to some of the funnest and fastest singletrack downhilling I have ever done. We were racing on a dirt-biking trail and it was very well maintained. The downhill seemed to go on forever with some tight turns and deep (2ft) ruts to keep us on our toes. At the bottom of the downhill we crossed a bridge and then began the 'arizona' climb back up. It was called the 'arizona' climb because it was fully exposed, sandy, and did not offer any wind or repreive from the heat of the day. It went on forever - the grade ranged from 15 to 28%, at which point I was off my bike and walking. At the top of the climb we were treated to a short but sweet downhill and then were spit back out on the road where the feeding zones were.
It was a super fun but unforgiving course. There were no flat sections so eating was done on the climbs. I am really good at getting bottles out of my jersey now ... that is where I stashed my bottle of cold water each lap ... critical part of my 'keep it cool' strategy. Ok, back to the race ...
The goal of the race was to go out hard and try to blow up. The problem with this strategy is that I really have no ability to 'go out hard'. Going out hard for me is going at the top of my z1. But I went out faster than my 'pacing' effort would have been. The first two laps felt slow. I was pushing but didn't seem to get anywhere - and I was feeling the heat. I took a bottle of ice water with me each lap and doused myself with it, trying to stay cool. Just into the 2nd lap Fraser passed me ... 'did you just lap me?' I asked incredulously (you never know with Frase, when he's on, he is ON ... and he is getting fitter every day). Turns out he took a wrong turn (follow the ribbons) and got a flat tire. Oh ...
We were both self-supporting and had made up some drinks and water beforehand - with 5 bags of ice everything stayed nice and cool. Because we didn't know the course we didn't estimate well with the calories per bottle - I had to stop every 2nd lap and adjust my bottles for the next few laps. Around lap 3 I started to feel good and my lap times started dropping ... 30seconds faster, 2 minutes faster, 5 minutes faster- I just kept on getting faster and faster. It was great - I ended the race feeling strong ... a great sign given that Worlds is a short 3 weeks away!
I ended up in 3rd ... the two girls in front of me also did 9 laps and were ahead of me by 15 and 7 minutes respectively. Another few laps ...
Frase had a good race until about 5 hours in where he broke his chain 4 times. Pretty frustrating!
And now I am cleaning the dust off my bike and clothes, getting caught up on work, and getting ready for worlds!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Cascade Adventure - Day 3
How does it go - 'the best laid plans...'?Today was one of those days. We headed out with plans to ride Devil's Gulch, Mission Ridge, and Tornsen Ridge over by Cle Elum. We headed up Tronsen Ridge trail and when I say UP, I mean UP. The switch-back single-track turned into steep hike-a-bike which lasted for 2 miles. 2 miles and 2000 feet later we were at the top and in for some great views (see Ranier in the background?).
Once on top of the ridge it wasn't too long before we were in for some true ridge riding - one moment you had a steep drop-off to the right and then we'd cross to the other side and have a steep drop to the left. The views were breath-taking and so was the riding. We were always on our toes - and no one more than me. I was totally out of my comfort zone - I really don't like off-camber riding ... and when it is accompanied by a steep drop to one side and some technical sections ... Lets just say I was very focused on the trail in front of me :) 
We rode along the ridge for quite a while, did some crazy detours where we would eventually decide that it was insane to keep riding - er- pushing our bikes, and turn around to find the 'real' trail again. Here is a photo of one of the 'hike a bike' sections of the ridge line.
The ridge riding was a little more crazy then we had bargained for and our initial plan had us riding two more ridge lines. At the turn we had a quick conversation and agreed to head straight down and skip the two additional ridge rides. Turns out the ridge we rode was rated black diamond ... The other two are apparently better. Another day.
By the time we got back to the car (20 miles and 4000 feet of climbing later) it was right around 4 hours of riding and since Kate's break pads were toast and Fraser's headset was toast, we decided to call it a day. It's all about perspective - we were so prepared for an 8 hour day in the saddle that 4 hours seemed lame. Too funny. We finished off the weekend with an awesome BBQ and lots of chocolate chip cookies. Look out girls ... Kate's ready for TransRockies!! :)
Monday, June 29, 2009
Cascade Adventure - Day 2
No Cascade adventure (arranged by Fraser and I) would be complete without a day at Tiger. Today was that day .... we started the day with a climb up to Poo Poo point where we were offered a fantastic view of downtown Bellevue. Unfortunately Fraser didn't make it up the climb ... he broke (snapped!!) one of his egg-beater pedals on the way up the climb and turned back to get new pedals so he could join us the for the remainder of the ride. Good thing Tiger is close to home :)Here is pic of Kate and I at the top of Poo Poo point.
On the way back down we took Iverson which offers loads of steep single-track climbing (up to 35% grade) and equally steep (and way more fun) single-track descending. 18 miles and 2500 feet of climbing later we were back in the parking lot and so was Frase ... we were good to go for a loop of Tiger.
Frase wanted to test his VooDoo (he's thinking of racing this bike at Cascade Cream Puff) so he flew up, down, and around Tiger. Kate and I ventured around the loop at more relaxed pace (ie: not mock 3). As per my usual form, I was starting to feel good around 3 hours and Kate was feeling pretty good too so we made good time back to the car.
All in all about 40 miles, 4400 feet of climbing, and 4 hours of riding! Tomorrow is our last and longest day with a planned 50 miles and 8800ft of climbing.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Cascade Adventure - Day 1
My friend Kate is visiting for the weekend - she's training for Trans Rockies and came for a long weekend so of course we had to plan some epic rides.
Today was Day 1 of what I am going to refer to as the Cascade Adventure. W
e started the day with a 45 min climb (1700ft of climbing up single-track) out of Roslyn (the filming site for the Northern Exposure TV show) up Ewalk to the Cle Elum ridge and over the other side into the Tenaway valley. We got lost for a while here, crossed several streams, and found some fun singletrack. We eventually found our way back up the ridge on some super steep sandy singletrack (yes, I was walking. Fraser, on the other hand, was a mountain goat today and was zooming up all of the steep climbs). We finished off the first part of our day with a super fun single-track descent called 'rat pack'. It was worth every foot of the 3350 feet of climbing and 22 miles.
The photo is atop of Cle Elum ridge. Not a bad view.
We then headed over to Kachess lake and climbed Thorp mountain. This is a 3500 ft climb with no breaks. It starts gently with
5 miles of 2% grade alongside the lake and then gets into switch-backs at 10-20% grade. The climb offers many great views and cool breazes. it was pretty hot today and I was excited to see the snow. At the top we admired the view before we turned our bikes around to the cool descent. This part of the ride was about 22 miles and 3500 feet of climbing.
We finished the day with some burgers at the 'Mountain High' burger joint and headed home. Ahhh, nothing quite like a long day in the saddle. All told we covered 44 miles and almost 7000 feet of climbing in under 6 hours. Not a bad day ... we've got 2 more days of riding bliss to come.
This second photo is on top of Mt Thorp ... another fantastic view!
Today was Day 1 of what I am going to refer to as the Cascade Adventure. W
e started the day with a 45 min climb (1700ft of climbing up single-track) out of Roslyn (the filming site for the Northern Exposure TV show) up Ewalk to the Cle Elum ridge and over the other side into the Tenaway valley. We got lost for a while here, crossed several streams, and found some fun singletrack. We eventually found our way back up the ridge on some super steep sandy singletrack (yes, I was walking. Fraser, on the other hand, was a mountain goat today and was zooming up all of the steep climbs). We finished off the first part of our day with a super fun single-track descent called 'rat pack'. It was worth every foot of the 3350 feet of climbing and 22 miles.The photo is atop of Cle Elum ridge. Not a bad view.
We then headed over to Kachess lake and climbed Thorp mountain. This is a 3500 ft climb with no breaks. It starts gently with
5 miles of 2% grade alongside the lake and then gets into switch-backs at 10-20% grade. The climb offers many great views and cool breazes. it was pretty hot today and I was excited to see the snow. At the top we admired the view before we turned our bikes around to the cool descent. This part of the ride was about 22 miles and 3500 feet of climbing.We finished the day with some burgers at the 'Mountain High' burger joint and headed home. Ahhh, nothing quite like a long day in the saddle. All told we covered 44 miles and almost 7000 feet of climbing in under 6 hours. Not a bad day ... we've got 2 more days of riding bliss to come.
This second photo is on top of Mt Thorp ... another fantastic view!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Test of Endurance - Race report
By the numbers:
As noted in my last post, we had a last-minute change in plans. We were trading one test for another so that we could fit in both family and racing! We weren't too sad as we have some friends in the Corvallis area and I was excited to see them again.
Pre-race:
We headed down Saturday night and drove through the worst rain storm ever. I am serious, it was raining so hard that I could barely see. We were driving at about 35km/hr on the highway! We joked that this weather didn't bode well for the race ...we weren't far off ...
The race started early and as we parked our car i looked out the window and who did I see but Adam Craig. Turns out him and his friends decided to come do this race (they hang out in Bend when they are not racing around the world) - it fit well into their racing schedule. The competition of the race just got a lot stiffer! At the end we all race against the clock and my true race was against time - and I met my goal!
It was cold, wet, and early so warm up consisted of riding around in my handy water-proof clothes, remembering I hadn't made up my bottle yet, seeing old friends from my Portland racing days, drying off, and getting to the start line.
The race:
The race starts with a neutral lead-out but I knew from two years ago that being at the front was key - they say it's neutral but in reality you are racing right away. The race started with a 6 mile road climb which spread out the field pretty well ... but with over 300 racers there were still lots of riders around me. I was sitting on the wheel of a girl when we hit the first single-track and it quickly became apparent that I had to get by. I wanted to go faster - what fun is single-track when you have to go slow? Out of the single track we were climbing again and I put on the gas to ensure that I would be ahead of her the next time. I never saw her again.
The course consisted of two 25 mile loops. It took me up until the first checkpoint to warm up. I estimate this took me just over 1.5 hours ... my garmin finally bit the dust so I was going sans heart rate or even time - more on this later. After checkpoint 1 I was starting to feel good and speeding up. I was catching people and enjoying the ride. I will admit that the mud was a little disheartening ... it was peanut butter mud and just seemed to pile up on your tires, making it impossible to ride some of the muddy steep climbs. There was a fair amount of running in this race ...
After the first lap I caught some guy and asked him how long we'd been riding "just over 3 hours he said". Oh crap. I had to pick up the pace .. I had a goal to beat 6 hours (two years ago it took me 6.5 hours to do this same race). So off I went. I felt a lot better on my 2nd lap - it seemed to fly by. I was in my big ring, standing on some of the looonnng climbs, and enjoying the muddy mess of single-track (for the downhill bits). I caught about 4 women on the 2nd lap and flew by each of them. That was fun!
About 1/4 of my way through the 2nd lap my bike started to make a funny sound. i couldn't place it and everything seemed to be ok so I kept on riding. I did a lot more standing for some reason but didn't think much of it ... turns out that I lost a screw for my seat post/saddle! My saddle was coming off and I didn't even realize it (this is my 0.5 mechanical).
My shifting was shot by the end of the 2nd lap but I didn't care - I knew everyone was in the same boat - peanut butter mud. Need i say more? I was feeling good and really enjoyed the 2nd lap.
I finished the race feeling strong and beating my 6 hour goal by 12 minutes. I really felt that I could ride for another 18 hours which is a very good sign - especially considering Worlds is in 4 short weeks :)
It's taken a while but most of the mud is off of the clothes and bike, I've replaced the seat post screw, and am ready for the trails again. Most of this past week has been on the road so I am ready for the dirt!!
- Miles ridden: 50 -- that's 80 KM!
- Feet of climbing: 8000ft
- Mechanicals: 0.5 (more on that later)
- Finishing place: 4th
- Number of rain showers during the race: too many to count
- Pounds of mud on my bike post-race: 7.5 (ok, I didn't actually weigh it but it felt like 50)
- Records beaton: 1 (Adam Craig killed the men's record and Karen Dewolf was 4 minutes off of the women's record)
As noted in my last post, we had a last-minute change in plans. We were trading one test for another so that we could fit in both family and racing! We weren't too sad as we have some friends in the Corvallis area and I was excited to see them again.
Pre-race:
We headed down Saturday night and drove through the worst rain storm ever. I am serious, it was raining so hard that I could barely see. We were driving at about 35km/hr on the highway! We joked that this weather didn't bode well for the race ...we weren't far off ...
The race started early and as we parked our car i looked out the window and who did I see but Adam Craig. Turns out him and his friends decided to come do this race (they hang out in Bend when they are not racing around the world) - it fit well into their racing schedule. The competition of the race just got a lot stiffer! At the end we all race against the clock and my true race was against time - and I met my goal!
It was cold, wet, and early so warm up consisted of riding around in my handy water-proof clothes, remembering I hadn't made up my bottle yet, seeing old friends from my Portland racing days, drying off, and getting to the start line.
The race:
The race starts with a neutral lead-out but I knew from two years ago that being at the front was key - they say it's neutral but in reality you are racing right away. The race started with a 6 mile road climb which spread out the field pretty well ... but with over 300 racers there were still lots of riders around me. I was sitting on the wheel of a girl when we hit the first single-track and it quickly became apparent that I had to get by. I wanted to go faster - what fun is single-track when you have to go slow? Out of the single track we were climbing again and I put on the gas to ensure that I would be ahead of her the next time. I never saw her again.
The course consisted of two 25 mile loops. It took me up until the first checkpoint to warm up. I estimate this took me just over 1.5 hours ... my garmin finally bit the dust so I was going sans heart rate or even time - more on this later. After checkpoint 1 I was starting to feel good and speeding up. I was catching people and enjoying the ride. I will admit that the mud was a little disheartening ... it was peanut butter mud and just seemed to pile up on your tires, making it impossible to ride some of the muddy steep climbs. There was a fair amount of running in this race ...
After the first lap I caught some guy and asked him how long we'd been riding "just over 3 hours he said". Oh crap. I had to pick up the pace .. I had a goal to beat 6 hours (two years ago it took me 6.5 hours to do this same race). So off I went. I felt a lot better on my 2nd lap - it seemed to fly by. I was in my big ring, standing on some of the looonnng climbs, and enjoying the muddy mess of single-track (for the downhill bits). I caught about 4 women on the 2nd lap and flew by each of them. That was fun!
About 1/4 of my way through the 2nd lap my bike started to make a funny sound. i couldn't place it and everything seemed to be ok so I kept on riding. I did a lot more standing for some reason but didn't think much of it ... turns out that I lost a screw for my seat post/saddle! My saddle was coming off and I didn't even realize it (this is my 0.5 mechanical).
My shifting was shot by the end of the 2nd lap but I didn't care - I knew everyone was in the same boat - peanut butter mud. Need i say more? I was feeling good and really enjoyed the 2nd lap.
I finished the race feeling strong and beating my 6 hour goal by 12 minutes. I really felt that I could ride for another 18 hours which is a very good sign - especially considering Worlds is in 4 short weeks :)
It's taken a while but most of the mud is off of the clothes and bike, I've replaced the seat post screw, and am ready for the trails again. Most of this past week has been on the road so I am ready for the dirt!!
A change in plans
We had to make a last-minute change in plans this weekend due to some visitors staying longer than anticipated. Test of Metal was on a Saturday and due to this change in plans we just couldn't make it up for the race. We enjoyed the visit though and were able to 'swap' races - there was a race in Oregon on sunday - Test of Endurance.
So in the end, we swapped one test for another :) Test of Endurance was 50 miles and 8000 feet of climbing ... race report coming soon!
So in the end, we swapped one test for another :) Test of Endurance was 50 miles and 8000 feet of climbing ... race report coming soon!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
The human body is an amazing thing ...
The human body and it's ability to push beyond never ceases to amaze me. Take this past weekend ....
Saturday I did 16 (yes, sixteen) hill repeats - the hills were ~16% grade and were about 5min long each. The intervals were on the road so where was some standing involved :) It was tough. I was exhausted at the end of the ride ... my powertap ("the truth") was proof that it was a good workout - my watts were high but the last two intervals they dropped substantially. I was toast - good thing I only had 16 to do - I don't think I had any left in me!
Sunday we decided to venture out to Tiger. It's been a while since I've visited my old haunt and the schedule had me doing a hard 6 hour effort. What better place to beat myself up? I went into the ride with the goal of doing 4 laps as fast as possible. Last year my pacing laps were 1:20ish and my fastest lap time was 1:11, on a day when i only did 1 lap. So the goal for Sunday was to race the old me and see where I landed - and not to hold back.
I completely surprised myself! I did 4 laps at 1:12 exactly - no drop in the pace throughout the rides. To set the scene, tiger is an unrelenting 3 mile climb, followed by a 2 mile technical descent that is very unforgiving, a bit of a fireroad section and then another few miles of powerlines where the climbing gets up past 25% in several spots. It's 11 miles and 1900ft of climbing per lap.
Might not sound impressive to you but I was soo excited! I pulled off the fastest lap times for 4 laps in a row ever and I didn't show any signs of slowing down. Maybe this pacing thing is overrated?? My legs were screaming on every climb from the intervals on Saturday but they continued to turn the pedals over and over like clock work.
Like I said, the human body is an amazing thing ...
Saturday I did 16 (yes, sixteen) hill repeats - the hills were ~16% grade and were about 5min long each. The intervals were on the road so where was some standing involved :) It was tough. I was exhausted at the end of the ride ... my powertap ("the truth") was proof that it was a good workout - my watts were high but the last two intervals they dropped substantially. I was toast - good thing I only had 16 to do - I don't think I had any left in me!
Sunday we decided to venture out to Tiger. It's been a while since I've visited my old haunt and the schedule had me doing a hard 6 hour effort. What better place to beat myself up? I went into the ride with the goal of doing 4 laps as fast as possible. Last year my pacing laps were 1:20ish and my fastest lap time was 1:11, on a day when i only did 1 lap. So the goal for Sunday was to race the old me and see where I landed - and not to hold back.
I completely surprised myself! I did 4 laps at 1:12 exactly - no drop in the pace throughout the rides. To set the scene, tiger is an unrelenting 3 mile climb, followed by a 2 mile technical descent that is very unforgiving, a bit of a fireroad section and then another few miles of powerlines where the climbing gets up past 25% in several spots. It's 11 miles and 1900ft of climbing per lap.
Might not sound impressive to you but I was soo excited! I pulled off the fastest lap times for 4 laps in a row ever and I didn't show any signs of slowing down. Maybe this pacing thing is overrated?? My legs were screaming on every climb from the intervals on Saturday but they continued to turn the pedals over and over like clock work.
Like I said, the human body is an amazing thing ...
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Bavarian Bike Festival - Race Report
The numbers: Place finished: 3rd
Feet of climbing: 5400ft
Miles: ~26 (20 miles of single track, 6 of double-track)
Time to finish: 2:36
The lead up:
It's been a hectic week. Fraser's sister arrived late Wednesday night and left early Thursday AM (she was over-nighting on her way to the Seattle airport), reviews were due at work this week, and of course there was the usual life and work stuff going on.
There is no better way to get through a week like that than to look forward to a day of bike racing on Saturday. We had never been to Leavenworth but heard the riding was fantastic and the town was pretty cool. We were not disappointed.
We had to drive through a pass to get to the race venue and there was still snow on the ground! It was rainy when we left and pouring over the pass. We thought we might be in for a wet and cold race ... but in true Washington tradition, over the other side of the pass the sun was shining and it was hot and dry.
Race warm up consisted of riding up the hill to find a place to feed Fraser, sitting in the shade and pretending to stretch, feeding Fraser, and doing a 15min spin before my race start. I was almost to the start when I heard the loud speaker doing the count-down: 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 - GO! My heart raced and i put down the hammer - I thought I was late for my start! But alas it was the men and i made it just in time. Phew. A few moments to calm my heart rate and it was our count-down for real.
The race:
There were 11 women in total in the open/expert category and the race got off to a good start. I took full advantage of the 2 minutes where my legs have no idea what is going on and I can go really fast. I put some distance on the other girls but was quickly caught when i settled into my pace. Two girls passed me fairly early in the climb.
This is a good time to talk about the course ... the course was 8.6 miles long and consisted of 1800feet of climbing per lap. It was straight up and straight down. Not having ridden the course previous to the race it felt like the climbing went on forever. It was 4.6 miles and 1800 feet, with no breaks. Once in a while I'd think it was flat, shift up a few gears, look down at my garmin and realize that it was 7%. Ha. Flat. It's all relative ... The climb started out on a road but after about a mile it went into the single-track and up and over the mountain. The decent was fast and furious. There were 3 creek crossings and many many 'whoop-de-doos' that you launched off of without even trying. It was sooo fun. the first descent was a little tentative but the 2nd and 3rd laps i was flying.
I kept the girls that passed me in sight until we hit the single track and then they dropped me. I kept on climbing but never saw them again. The race was pretty uneventful - I was on my own most of the time and having fun conversations in my head. They went something like this ... Brain: ok legs, its time to pick up the pace Legs: I just don't have it today Brain: too bad, do it anyway Legs: no Brain: ok, then i will just shift into a harder gear and you will have to work harder Legs: (about 1 minute later) that wasn't very nice
And on it went ... my legs felt empty, the just didn't have it today. I've been increasing my veggie intake lately and it seems that perhaps I need to bump my carb intake back up a little more. That or get more decent sleeps leading up to a race :)
The other fun part of the race was the 'Go Norco' cheers and the comments about my bike. I had at least 6 people yell 'Nice Bike' as I rode by.
All in all it was a great effort and I was happy with my 3rd place finish. Tomorrow will be another great day in the saddle with a 4-6 hour ride at Tiger!
Off to catch up on sleep .... oh, and eat more carbs! :)
Monilee
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Our new place
We moved in the month of April and have been slowly but surely settling in to the new place. We have such a fantastic yard that we've been spending more time setting that up than we have unpacking. Of course the essentials (bike, bike clothes, and bike gear) has been unpacked for a while :) It's the non-essentials like pictures, etc that are lagging.
We still have several boxes to wade through but are getting settled. I have to hand it to Frase - he is doing most of the work!!
We have a cool yard with a holly tree, an apple tree, a huge pine tree, and several unknown trees. We have a little garden set up and the beans, tomatoes, lettuce, spinich, cucumbers and potatoes are starting to get big.
It definately feels like home :)
We still have several boxes to wade through but are getting settled. I have to hand it to Frase - he is doing most of the work!!
We have a cool yard with a holly tree, an apple tree, a huge pine tree, and several unknown trees. We have a little garden set up and the beans, tomatoes, lettuce, spinich, cucumbers and potatoes are starting to get big.
It definately feels like home :)
Heat wave in Seattle
I really didn't ever think I'd say 'heat wave' and 'Seattle' in the same sentence but it's true! Ever since the the NW championships it's been hot and humid here in Seattle. The government has actually issued a 'heat warning' for the next few days -it's supposed to reach 90F today and tomorrow! Bring out the fans, boys and girls, it is going to be HOT.
So with all this hot weather I have to admit that sleeping has been tough (no A/C in Seattle) but on the up side i am slowly becoming adjusted and dare I say it? Acclimitized!
It also means that my favorite haunt, Tiger, is nice and dry (read: fast)!! The commute has been nice - early in the moring and later in the evening (my commuting times) it is nice and cool so it's not that bad.
The other fun thing about all this heat and sun is that my garden is growing like crazy! I have one bean plant over a foot tall and multiple tomatoes plants that are flowering already ... I love fresh hand-picked veggies!!!
I won't complain - it's been a rainy cold spring. I welcome the sun!!
So with all this hot weather I have to admit that sleeping has been tough (no A/C in Seattle) but on the up side i am slowly becoming adjusted and dare I say it? Acclimitized!
It also means that my favorite haunt, Tiger, is nice and dry (read: fast)!! The commute has been nice - early in the moring and later in the evening (my commuting times) it is nice and cool so it's not that bad.
The other fun thing about all this heat and sun is that my garden is growing like crazy! I have one bean plant over a foot tall and multiple tomatoes plants that are flowering already ... I love fresh hand-picked veggies!!!
I won't complain - it's been a rainy cold spring. I welcome the sun!!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
NW Solo Championships - Race report
What a weekend! Lets start with the fun details/stats first:
- Place I finished: 3rd
- Number of female 'real pros' at the race: 4
- Number of miles ridden: 225
- Number of feet climbed: ~17,000
- Number of hours I had to stop due to stomach issues: 2.5
- Number of minutes difference between my fastest and slowest laps (excluding stomach laps): 10 minutes
We got to the venue on Friday and set up camp. I had my plan for the race - I had a lap goal, an eating plan, and I was set to go. The weather was a bit hot - it was 80F - and we have had a cool wet spring here in Seattle. To say I wasn't acclimatized would be a bit of an understatement. But I had a plan for that too ... I was self-supporting so we had a bin of ice water on the table and I'd take a cool cloth to my core, legs, and neck each lap. 30 seconds of cool bliss each lap.
Before I knew it, the start gun went and we were off. I did my usual 'pacing' and was almost dead last in the run. The first lap was slow but my plan was to turn it up as the sun (and heat) went down. The first laps felt slow - I was holding back due to the heat. I didn't want to over-do it.
I started feeling good around 6pm. The air was starting to cool and my lap times were starting to get faster. Right around this time I got what my Dr calls 'exercised-induced bronchial spasms' (I've been informed by my Dr not to call it asthma). This resulted in shallow breathing which led to a nice stitch in my side (yes, it hurt!). Oddly, the stitch is almost a good thing --it means the spasms are over - and I can control the stitch pain with some deep breathing.
From 7pm to 11pm I had my best lap times. The air was cooling down and I was feeling good. And then it happened. I had a bad lap - i had to walk a downhill because i was feeling stunned, I started to feel nauseous, my stomach felt like it was on fire, and I had to stop. I was super frustrated. My brain wanted to keep riding but given my experience at Canmore 2 years ago, I didn't want to risk it. I took some anti-acid pills, more endurolytes, and laid down. I listened as the riders rode by and kept on wishing I were out there. Several times I would stand up and immediately feel nauseous so I laid back down again. After 2 hours of this I decided that it was time to give it a shot. I could always turn around if I felt too bad. I got ready, downed some more electrolytes, and headed out for a lap.
I warmed up quickly and felt pretty decent. I didn't puke. This was good. I picked up the pace and my stomach was still co-operating. Things were looking up. The air was still cool (it was around 3am) so I was able to put in some good lap times. Fraser let me know that I was catching 2nd but I had to put on the gas. I tried. I was reeling her in but ran out of time (what an odd concept for a 24hr race)...
In summary I didn't meet any of my goals for this race. I do believe that I learned another lesson and we may finally have the last piece of the puzzle in place for my stomach issues. Here's hoping :)
I will say that I had a great 24hours on my bike! I loved my new ride and the only mechanical was that I got a flat tire! Thanks again to the guys at Norco for the sweet ride and to the guys at SVC for setting it all up and dialing it in for race day.
So now that the dust has settled I am in recovery mode .. trying to clear the dust out of my lungs, getting some sleep, and fighting off the re-appearance of my cold.
I've got a race every other weekend for the next two months - lots of time to test out my new slightly modified plan - stay posted :)
- Place I finished: 3rd
- Number of female 'real pros' at the race: 4
- Number of miles ridden: 225
- Number of feet climbed: ~17,000
- Number of hours I had to stop due to stomach issues: 2.5
- Number of minutes difference between my fastest and slowest laps (excluding stomach laps): 10 minutes
We got to the venue on Friday and set up camp. I had my plan for the race - I had a lap goal, an eating plan, and I was set to go. The weather was a bit hot - it was 80F - and we have had a cool wet spring here in Seattle. To say I wasn't acclimatized would be a bit of an understatement. But I had a plan for that too ... I was self-supporting so we had a bin of ice water on the table and I'd take a cool cloth to my core, legs, and neck each lap. 30 seconds of cool bliss each lap.
Before I knew it, the start gun went and we were off. I did my usual 'pacing' and was almost dead last in the run. The first lap was slow but my plan was to turn it up as the sun (and heat) went down. The first laps felt slow - I was holding back due to the heat. I didn't want to over-do it.
I started feeling good around 6pm. The air was starting to cool and my lap times were starting to get faster. Right around this time I got what my Dr calls 'exercised-induced bronchial spasms' (I've been informed by my Dr not to call it asthma). This resulted in shallow breathing which led to a nice stitch in my side (yes, it hurt!). Oddly, the stitch is almost a good thing --it means the spasms are over - and I can control the stitch pain with some deep breathing.
From 7pm to 11pm I had my best lap times. The air was cooling down and I was feeling good. And then it happened. I had a bad lap - i had to walk a downhill because i was feeling stunned, I started to feel nauseous, my stomach felt like it was on fire, and I had to stop. I was super frustrated. My brain wanted to keep riding but given my experience at Canmore 2 years ago, I didn't want to risk it. I took some anti-acid pills, more endurolytes, and laid down. I listened as the riders rode by and kept on wishing I were out there. Several times I would stand up and immediately feel nauseous so I laid back down again. After 2 hours of this I decided that it was time to give it a shot. I could always turn around if I felt too bad. I got ready, downed some more electrolytes, and headed out for a lap.
I warmed up quickly and felt pretty decent. I didn't puke. This was good. I picked up the pace and my stomach was still co-operating. Things were looking up. The air was still cool (it was around 3am) so I was able to put in some good lap times. Fraser let me know that I was catching 2nd but I had to put on the gas. I tried. I was reeling her in but ran out of time (what an odd concept for a 24hr race)...
In summary I didn't meet any of my goals for this race. I do believe that I learned another lesson and we may finally have the last piece of the puzzle in place for my stomach issues. Here's hoping :)
I will say that I had a great 24hours on my bike! I loved my new ride and the only mechanical was that I got a flat tire! Thanks again to the guys at Norco for the sweet ride and to the guys at SVC for setting it all up and dialing it in for race day.
So now that the dust has settled I am in recovery mode .. trying to clear the dust out of my lungs, getting some sleep, and fighting off the re-appearance of my cold.
I've got a race every other weekend for the next two months - lots of time to test out my new slightly modified plan - stay posted :)
Saturday, May 16, 2009
The countdown has begun
Next weekend is Spokane! In seven days (yes seven!) I will be riding my bike in circles for 24 hours. So what have I been up to you ask? Eating. Sleeping in. Shorter rides. Getting organized.
All this eating and sleeping is treating me pretty well. I am feeling pretty good. I did a loop of Tiger today and crushed my climbing time by 1 minute. That might not seem like a lot to you but trust me- it is! It is one minute better than my best time! I felt fantastic - full of energy and wanting to ride. Looks like this taper thing is working.
So, 6 more days of eating, sleeping, and trying not to work too much should put me in a pretty good place for the race.
Eyeing the competition there are 11 women signed up for the Solo race. 3 of them are serious girls who've done well at Solos in the past (one got 3rd at Worlds one year and another placed 2nd (by 2 laps) to Rebecca Rusch at Spokane). Strong women. It should be a good race! It will be fun to have some good solid competition to really put my new eating strategy and fitness to the test.
Fraser is also contemplating doing it Solo so i am planning to self-support. I think I have a pretty good strategy to minimize pit time. My new eating plan makes self-supporting easier as I won't be eating many solids, if any. It should be good!
OK, off to eat some more food before I can start sleeping again ...
All this eating and sleeping is treating me pretty well. I am feeling pretty good. I did a loop of Tiger today and crushed my climbing time by 1 minute. That might not seem like a lot to you but trust me- it is! It is one minute better than my best time! I felt fantastic - full of energy and wanting to ride. Looks like this taper thing is working.
So, 6 more days of eating, sleeping, and trying not to work too much should put me in a pretty good place for the race.
Eyeing the competition there are 11 women signed up for the Solo race. 3 of them are serious girls who've done well at Solos in the past (one got 3rd at Worlds one year and another placed 2nd (by 2 laps) to Rebecca Rusch at Spokane). Strong women. It should be a good race! It will be fun to have some good solid competition to really put my new eating strategy and fitness to the test.
Fraser is also contemplating doing it Solo so i am planning to self-support. I think I have a pretty good strategy to minimize pit time. My new eating plan makes self-supporting easier as I won't be eating many solids, if any. It should be good!
OK, off to eat some more food before I can start sleeping again ...
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
All is quiet on the Westren front ...
You know when this happens that it's been lots of hours of training, work, life, or, in this case .... all three!
Our move (moving homes) the end of April co-incided with my training peak for Spokane, my first 24hr. Incidently work was super busy as well. Throw it all together in a pot and mix it up and out comes a sick Monilee. Yup, i got a cold - and a nasty one at that. Oh how I dispise being sick!!! The part of my taper was spent moving. A whole week … sick. And now … I am on the mend and tapering (or is that training) again.
In the meantime – before this “perfect storm” of activity I got some good rounds of Tiger in on my 08 Faze. I just had it into Samammish Valley Cycle – not thinking it needed much of a tune up – but they did it all – rebuilt my shocks, replaced some seals and bolts, and did a general over-haul of my bike. It was amazing. I thought my bike was running well but the work they did made it smoother and stronger. Now they just need to make it faster :)
I swapped out the wheelset and breakset from my 08 (XTR for both) to the 09 (XT and Avid Exlicir) so that I could keep the better wheelset on my ‘dry bike’. As such I got to try out the new disk breaks – Avid Elixcir. I have to admit that when I went from the Hayes 9 to Shimano XTR I didn’t notice that much of a difference – they both break in the same manner/style. You can modulate your breaking pretty well. The Avids are a totally different beast. They also alow you to modulate but when you get to the ‘breaking point’ – pardon the pun, could not resist – that is it. You stop. Full stop. And yes, I found out the hard way – going full speed down the mountain around a twisty singletrack turn. And I still (2 weeks later) have the bruises to show it. Ahhh, trying out new gear is soo fun! The great news is now I know the limits – and did not learn in a race (always good)!
So now I am on my official taper and am eager to try out my new ride. Jon and the boys at SVC are tuning it up for me! The official count down is on - 10 days until my first 24hr Solo!! Wheeeeeee
Monday, April 27, 2009
Ummm ...200KM hurts!
This weekend was a big training weekend - my last big one before NW 24hr Solos Champs.
I did 200KM in 6hrs on Saturday (yes, 200km) - I was toast at the end. My legs hurt. It hurt to walk down the stairs, walk up the stairs, do I need to go on? All I could do was sit and eat the food that my wonderful husband cooked for me. He just got back from a week in Moab mountain biking ... more on that later.
So Saturday night I was sitting and eating as much as possible knowing I had another 6 hour day in front of me. And admitedly woundering how I was going to do it.
Sunday morning I got up and got ready for my ride. I took off for Tiger, ready for any weather that may greet me. It was pretty freaking cold at first ... I had my warm leg-warmers on, my 'downhill' shorts, three layers on the top plus a vest .... and of course my little hat. I love my little hats - they keep my ears happy! Off I went. Tiger is a bit unforgiving. You start up hill .... for 30 minutes straight. The first fifteen minutes I wasn't sure I could ride for 6 hours. Then I decided that I'd eventually warm up and even though my legs hurt I could keep on pedalling. Once I got into the single-track I was convinced I could ride as long as I wanted :) I love single track!!!
It ended up being a fantastic day. The sun even peeked through for the last hour of my ride. I did 4 loops of Tiger plus one of Iverson for a total of 80km on the mountain bike. Not my fastest laps ... but not my slowest either.
All in all I am feeling ready for Spokane! I am also ready for my recovery week this week :)
I did 200KM in 6hrs on Saturday (yes, 200km) - I was toast at the end. My legs hurt. It hurt to walk down the stairs, walk up the stairs, do I need to go on? All I could do was sit and eat the food that my wonderful husband cooked for me. He just got back from a week in Moab mountain biking ... more on that later.
So Saturday night I was sitting and eating as much as possible knowing I had another 6 hour day in front of me. And admitedly woundering how I was going to do it.
Sunday morning I got up and got ready for my ride. I took off for Tiger, ready for any weather that may greet me. It was pretty freaking cold at first ... I had my warm leg-warmers on, my 'downhill' shorts, three layers on the top plus a vest .... and of course my little hat. I love my little hats - they keep my ears happy! Off I went. Tiger is a bit unforgiving. You start up hill .... for 30 minutes straight. The first fifteen minutes I wasn't sure I could ride for 6 hours. Then I decided that I'd eventually warm up and even though my legs hurt I could keep on pedalling. Once I got into the single-track I was convinced I could ride as long as I wanted :) I love single track!!!
It ended up being a fantastic day. The sun even peeked through for the last hour of my ride. I did 4 loops of Tiger plus one of Iverson for a total of 80km on the mountain bike. Not my fastest laps ... but not my slowest either.
All in all I am feeling ready for Spokane! I am also ready for my recovery week this week :)
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Sea Otter Race Coverage
I was pretty stoked to find some great coverage of the Sea Otter races here. Check it out - they have a full length video of the short track and interviews after the XC race. They also have great coverage of the road and dh events. Very cool!!!
If you are looking for a way to get motivated, they also have some great coverage for other events - I love this site!!!
If you are looking for a way to get motivated, they also have some great coverage for other events - I love this site!!!
Tiger: 1, Monilee: 0
Tiger mountain opened last week (April 15th) so i just had to head up on Sunday to check it out ...
The climb to the top was pretty dry which seemed promising. Getting close to the top I started to see patches of snow ... hmmmm ... not so promising. Into the single track and there was about 1 mile of snow followed by a nice dry spell (it was pretty weird actually - it was sooo dry). And then the fun started ... lots of water and wet. Tiger is so rocky and rooty that when it is wet it is like riding down a riverbed. I forgot just how abusive this trail is on your body.
So, i was flying down the wet rocky downhill when ouch - what was that? A rock bit me! Have you ever had a rock bite? This rock was big too so it did not mess around. I have a nice blue shin and it took a fair chunk of skin off my leg.
I opted to take the power line back (more hills and no single track) for the bottom part of the loop ... Timberline is always wetter than the top of the mountain - it does not drain as well. It was fun to get back to my favorite haunt but I'll give it a few more weeks to dry out before I do a longer ride there.
Tiger (well actually rock): 1, Monilee:0 I expect this score to change drastically over the summer :)
The climb to the top was pretty dry which seemed promising. Getting close to the top I started to see patches of snow ... hmmmm ... not so promising. Into the single track and there was about 1 mile of snow followed by a nice dry spell (it was pretty weird actually - it was sooo dry). And then the fun started ... lots of water and wet. Tiger is so rocky and rooty that when it is wet it is like riding down a riverbed. I forgot just how abusive this trail is on your body.
So, i was flying down the wet rocky downhill when ouch - what was that? A rock bit me! Have you ever had a rock bite? This rock was big too so it did not mess around. I have a nice blue shin and it took a fair chunk of skin off my leg.
I opted to take the power line back (more hills and no single track) for the bottom part of the loop ... Timberline is always wetter than the top of the mountain - it does not drain as well. It was fun to get back to my favorite haunt but I'll give it a few more weeks to dry out before I do a longer ride there.
Tiger (well actually rock): 1, Monilee:0 I expect this score to change drastically over the summer :)
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Gear Review - Bike shorts: Ibex Marino Wool
As part of my partnership with Samammish Valley Cycles I've signed up to do some gear reviews. This is my first 'official' gear review and I am looking forward to the next one. I like testing new gear!
First up on the list is bike shorts - Ibex Marino Wool. I've always been curious about wool for bikeing shorts so when I saw a pair of Ibex knickers at Sammamish Valley Cycles, I just had purchase a pair so I could try them out.
I wasn't disappointed.... I tested these shorts in three conditions: Wet and windy, dry and warm (not hot, warm), and indoor riding. I figure this gives me good insight into what these shorts are and are not capable of. Here is the deal (I've rated it out of 10)
Wicking: 8.5
These shorts wick sweat and keep you dry. They do a great job - even better than the spandex-based material that most of my other shorts are made of. They aren't quite as good as the Segoi RS shorts made of the thin mesh-like material - but better than I expected for a thicker material.
Temperature regulation: 9.5
This was the most outstanding feature by far. I never got hot or cold in these shorts. The temperature I wore them in varried by almost 20 degrees celcious but I did not get cold or overheat. Bottom line: wear these shorts for any ride where you may have variable weather (think: TransRockies, LaRuta, TransAlps, etc).
Bum comfort: 8.25
There is only one pair of shorts that gets above an 8 for bum comfort in my books - the Segoi RS. That said, this pair came in pretty high. The shammi is very comfortable, does not rub in the wrong places, does not have too much padding - but has enough.
Other features: 10
I loved the fact that the knees had a wind breaker patch to protect the joints from getting too cold. This feature alone gets a 10 in my book. I also liked the fit of the shorts and the overall comfort deserved close to a 10.
Summary: If you are looking for a new pair of shorts to transition from winter into spring, look no further! Wool gets 2 thumbs up in my book - not only is it supurb for performance, it is environmentally friendly too!
First up on the list is bike shorts - Ibex Marino Wool. I've always been curious about wool for bikeing shorts so when I saw a pair of Ibex knickers at Sammamish Valley Cycles, I just had purchase a pair so I could try them out.
I wasn't disappointed.... I tested these shorts in three conditions: Wet and windy, dry and warm (not hot, warm), and indoor riding. I figure this gives me good insight into what these shorts are and are not capable of. Here is the deal (I've rated it out of 10)
Wicking: 8.5
These shorts wick sweat and keep you dry. They do a great job - even better than the spandex-based material that most of my other shorts are made of. They aren't quite as good as the Segoi RS shorts made of the thin mesh-like material - but better than I expected for a thicker material.
Temperature regulation: 9.5
This was the most outstanding feature by far. I never got hot or cold in these shorts. The temperature I wore them in varried by almost 20 degrees celcious but I did not get cold or overheat. Bottom line: wear these shorts for any ride where you may have variable weather (think: TransRockies, LaRuta, TransAlps, etc).
Bum comfort: 8.25
There is only one pair of shorts that gets above an 8 for bum comfort in my books - the Segoi RS. That said, this pair came in pretty high. The shammi is very comfortable, does not rub in the wrong places, does not have too much padding - but has enough.
Other features: 10
I loved the fact that the knees had a wind breaker patch to protect the joints from getting too cold. This feature alone gets a 10 in my book. I also liked the fit of the shorts and the overall comfort deserved close to a 10.
Summary: If you are looking for a new pair of shorts to transition from winter into spring, look no further! Wool gets 2 thumbs up in my book - not only is it supurb for performance, it is environmentally friendly too!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
It's official ... the 2009 race season begins
Well, it's official. The race season has started. What better way to start then amidst a raging downpour in 9 degree Celsius?
The warm up: Warming up was challenging but I had my dandy water proof cycling pants and jacket and was determined to wear them until I absolutely had to take them off. I found some cool bike trails close by and wondered around them for a while - it took at 15 min for my core to feel 'warm'. Brrrr. After that I wondered back to the race venue. I wasn't seeing any riders and that made me nervous. I asked around and found out that you can ride the course as long as you get off the trail when you see/hear racers behind you. How cool! I hoped on the course and rode the last mile or so ... very soupy. I was glad I had my mud tires! Finished the lap and headed back to the car. More lube for the chain and time to ditch the waterproof gear and head up to the start.
The race: There were around 6 women in my category and the race started with a big countdown. 10 seconds of bliss where my legs don't get it and I am at the head of the pack ... 10 seconds later I am dead last. I passed two girls on the first descent going mock2 (ok, that is a slight exageration - but it felt like mock2) and caught up to another one. I liked her pace and decided to keep her in sight and see what happened. Somewhere on lap2 I was sure I was going to puke. I wasn't used to going this fast and my breakfast, eaten 4 hours prior to the race, seemed to be threatening a re-appearance. I kept going as hard as I could, telling myself that I hadn't puked yet and I should keep going until I did. I never did.
I kept the girl in from of me in sight for the first 3 laps (there were 6 laps in total - about 20 miles). Every time I got ready to pass I'd yell 'on your left' and she'd pick up the pace. It was pretty amusing and I was happy to have someone to push me. On the forth lap though she was starting to slow and I attempted to pass several times - each time she'd put on the gas and I wasn't able to make a pass. Through the start/finish area I was right on her wheel. I let her pull me for about 10ft and then i put the hammer down and blew by her. My strategy was to pass so fast that she wouldn't be able to draft. It worked. I didn't look back, my legs were burning and I was determined to put as much distance between us as possible. i knew i only had 2 laps left - and they were taking about 20 min each. It was time to hammer. The last two laps were bouts of pain and glee as i hammered up the hills and then flew down the other side. The downhills were fast and furious - I found out that I am pretty comfortable going very fast down wet muddy hills.
I was on my own for the last 2 laps and was picking up time. I finished in 2 hours and 6 minutes, 6 minutes behind the leader and 5 min behind 2nd place. Not awesome, but not too bad. Oh, and I put a good 10min on the 4th place girl. My lap times went something like this:
- 19 min (shorter 1st lap)
- 22 min
- 23 min
- 23 min
- 21 min
- 20 min
The warm up: Warming up was challenging but I had my dandy water proof cycling pants and jacket and was determined to wear them until I absolutely had to take them off. I found some cool bike trails close by and wondered around them for a while - it took at 15 min for my core to feel 'warm'. Brrrr. After that I wondered back to the race venue. I wasn't seeing any riders and that made me nervous. I asked around and found out that you can ride the course as long as you get off the trail when you see/hear racers behind you. How cool! I hoped on the course and rode the last mile or so ... very soupy. I was glad I had my mud tires! Finished the lap and headed back to the car. More lube for the chain and time to ditch the waterproof gear and head up to the start.
The race: There were around 6 women in my category and the race started with a big countdown. 10 seconds of bliss where my legs don't get it and I am at the head of the pack ... 10 seconds later I am dead last. I passed two girls on the first descent going mock2 (ok, that is a slight exageration - but it felt like mock2) and caught up to another one. I liked her pace and decided to keep her in sight and see what happened. Somewhere on lap2 I was sure I was going to puke. I wasn't used to going this fast and my breakfast, eaten 4 hours prior to the race, seemed to be threatening a re-appearance. I kept going as hard as I could, telling myself that I hadn't puked yet and I should keep going until I did. I never did.
I kept the girl in from of me in sight for the first 3 laps (there were 6 laps in total - about 20 miles). Every time I got ready to pass I'd yell 'on your left' and she'd pick up the pace. It was pretty amusing and I was happy to have someone to push me. On the forth lap though she was starting to slow and I attempted to pass several times - each time she'd put on the gas and I wasn't able to make a pass. Through the start/finish area I was right on her wheel. I let her pull me for about 10ft and then i put the hammer down and blew by her. My strategy was to pass so fast that she wouldn't be able to draft. It worked. I didn't look back, my legs were burning and I was determined to put as much distance between us as possible. i knew i only had 2 laps left - and they were taking about 20 min each. It was time to hammer. The last two laps were bouts of pain and glee as i hammered up the hills and then flew down the other side. The downhills were fast and furious - I found out that I am pretty comfortable going very fast down wet muddy hills.
I was on my own for the last 2 laps and was picking up time. I finished in 2 hours and 6 minutes, 6 minutes behind the leader and 5 min behind 2nd place. Not awesome, but not too bad. Oh, and I put a good 10min on the 4th place girl. My lap times went something like this:
- 19 min (shorter 1st lap)
- 22 min
- 23 min
- 23 min
- 21 min
- 20 min
Yeah, so can you tell that I wasn't quite warmed up? I am happy with my effort though. It was a solid ride.
Thanks again to my sponsors at Norco Bikes and Samammish Valley Cycle who provide me with great bikes and gear! I couldn't do it without you!
All in all, a great day playing in the mud! Welcome to the 2009 race season!!!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Food, food, and more food.
This past weekend I had a big training weekend ... The thing with longs rides is that they creep into (ok, they take over) your normal 'eating times'. On Monday I had a recovery day and just couldn't eat enough. I had 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, and 2 dinners, along with my usual snacking throughout the day.
This whole week I've been chowing down ... maybe it's due to putting in the miles on the trails - i am not sure - but I am still super hungry! I'm rolling with it - my body obviously is trying to tell me to eat more so I'm good with that (and no, I am not pregnant).
I am not complaining though ... yummy!!!
Back to my tortellinis!!!
This whole week I've been chowing down ... maybe it's due to putting in the miles on the trails - i am not sure - but I am still super hungry! I'm rolling with it - my body obviously is trying to tell me to eat more so I'm good with that (and no, I am not pregnant).
I am not complaining though ... yummy!!!
Back to my tortellinis!!!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
The best laid plans
This weekend I have a hard 5 hour race sim on Saturday (late day effort) followed by a 2-3 hour race sim on Sunday (early day effort). I'm planning to do the Sunday race sim at a race - a local race here in Seattle which will be my first race of the season.
Crazy or good? I am going back and forth. But heck, you only live once and I am eager to race. Doing the race will ensure that I push harder than I otherwise wood. Doing a 5-hr (late day) race sim the day before will ensure that I am racing on 'tired legs'.
The best laid plans ... we will see :)
Crazy or good? I am going back and forth. But heck, you only live once and I am eager to race. Doing the race will ensure that I push harder than I otherwise wood. Doing a 5-hr (late day) race sim the day before will ensure that I am racing on 'tired legs'.
The best laid plans ... we will see :)
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Ready, Set, Race!
The season is about to start ... April 12th is just 2 short weeks away - and is the first race of my season this year.
I start the season off with two 'short' 2-3 hour races (and yes, racing pro-elite in these races too) to 'warm me up' for my first important (endurance) race of the year - Round and Round. I am getting pretty excited. I have a full calendar from April 12th to August 22nd, with a bit of a break and then another round leading up to La Ruta.
It is a good time to look at the goals I set a short few months ago and see how i am progressing. The good news is that I blew all of my goals but one out of the water - I actually had to reset and am working toward new goals!! I am pretty stoked for the season ahead ...
I start the season off with two 'short' 2-3 hour races (and yes, racing pro-elite in these races too) to 'warm me up' for my first important (endurance) race of the year - Round and Round. I am getting pretty excited. I have a full calendar from April 12th to August 22nd, with a bit of a break and then another round leading up to La Ruta.
It is a good time to look at the goals I set a short few months ago and see how i am progressing. The good news is that I blew all of my goals but one out of the water - I actually had to reset and am working toward new goals!! I am pretty stoked for the season ahead ...
Saturday, March 21, 2009
A little Sunshine and Snow
We spent a looong weekend in Tahoe with our friends Alan and Gita ... and what great fun it was! I am sooo not in snowboarding shape but we hit the slopes with had just gotten dumped with over 6 feet - yes, 6 feet - of powder. Wow, was it fun!
The biggest workout of the day was me digging myself out of the snow when I insisted on playing in the trees ... I would do it a coulple of times a day as it took a while to forget the hard effort of getting myself 'dug out' of the snow.
The skys were blue and the snow was amazing. It was great to be in winter again ... and to be playing in the snow on my board.
Summer is just around the corner but for a few days it seemed a lifetime away!
The biggest workout of the day was me digging myself out of the snow when I insisted on playing in the trees ... I would do it a coulple of times a day as it took a while to forget the hard effort of getting myself 'dug out' of the snow.
The skys were blue and the snow was amazing. It was great to be in winter again ... and to be playing in the snow on my board.
Summer is just around the corner but for a few days it seemed a lifetime away!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Trail riding in February!
I still can't get over it ... every great day I have mountain biking outside in the winter I come home with a huge smile - OK, OK I have a huge smile every mountain bike ride anyway :) But still ...
Last weekend we did a 'training ride' with our friend Calvin. It was full of hills and fun twisty sngletrack. The skies were blue and it was about 5 degrees (c) ... the trails were perfect.
Last weekend we did a 'training ride' with our friend Calvin. It was full of hills and fun twisty sngletrack. The skies were blue and it was about 5 degrees (c) ... the trails were perfect.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
New Ride for 2009
I can't wait ... I am getting the 2009 Faze1 this year to add to my 'riding stable' ... isn't she a beauty?What a great new ride, I can't wait until it arrives at Samammish Valley Cycle so I can set it up just right in their 'fitting room'. The next stop will be out to the local trails to break it in ...
Sunday, January 18, 2009
The importance of mental training
Life's busy and it is hard to fit it all in. I work at Microsoft as a program manager and I love my job ... but it keeps my very busy. I get up early in the morning to do my rides to ensure that I will get them in early enough not to mess with my sleep.
Lately I feel like I've been in a bit of 'mental slump'. I haven't been thinking about my hard rides until I roll out of bed at 5:30 am (and it's hard to get physched at that time of the morning, beleive me), and I definately have not been doing any mental training.
I created my 2009 race schedule a few weeks ago and this got me thinking about my training more. It got me focusing on how I would get to the goals I set last month, and it got me back into mental training. This past week I've just started to 'dip my toes' back into mental training - by thinking through the hard rides before I started them, by making actual goals before the ride and then prepping for the ride using mental rehersal. It hasn't been to the full extent that an athlete should use mental training, but the results have been tremendous.
This past week I had 3 hard rides. 2 of them were 'break through rides'. I haven't been increasing my watts./speed for my intervals for quite some time. For the first 'break through ride' I increased it by 5 watts for each interval! Now, that might not seem like much, but for a hard interval, it is not insignificant. For my second great ride I beat my 1 hour goal for the season -- I rode at that wattage/speed for 90 minutes!
It is so easy to forget the importance of something like mental training. It is also important to take a 'break' from it, just like we do from normal training - we can't be 'on' all the time. Our minds need a break as much as our bodies do. Not every ride can be a 'break through' ride, nor should it be - but it really plays a part in the harder rides that are on the schedule.
So before your next hard ride try thinking about it in advance; solidify your goals and do some mental rehersal. You may be pleased by the results!
Lately I feel like I've been in a bit of 'mental slump'. I haven't been thinking about my hard rides until I roll out of bed at 5:30 am (and it's hard to get physched at that time of the morning, beleive me), and I definately have not been doing any mental training.
I created my 2009 race schedule a few weeks ago and this got me thinking about my training more. It got me focusing on how I would get to the goals I set last month, and it got me back into mental training. This past week I've just started to 'dip my toes' back into mental training - by thinking through the hard rides before I started them, by making actual goals before the ride and then prepping for the ride using mental rehersal. It hasn't been to the full extent that an athlete should use mental training, but the results have been tremendous.
This past week I had 3 hard rides. 2 of them were 'break through rides'. I haven't been increasing my watts./speed for my intervals for quite some time. For the first 'break through ride' I increased it by 5 watts for each interval! Now, that might not seem like much, but for a hard interval, it is not insignificant. For my second great ride I beat my 1 hour goal for the season -- I rode at that wattage/speed for 90 minutes!
It is so easy to forget the importance of something like mental training. It is also important to take a 'break' from it, just like we do from normal training - we can't be 'on' all the time. Our minds need a break as much as our bodies do. Not every ride can be a 'break through' ride, nor should it be - but it really plays a part in the harder rides that are on the schedule.
So before your next hard ride try thinking about it in advance; solidify your goals and do some mental rehersal. You may be pleased by the results!
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