Hard to call it a race when I didn't go very fast :) But it was a race! So, the numbers:
Miles: 13.1
Time to finish: ~1:42
Time spent walking: ~10 minutes (bad stitch!)
Finished: 13 out of ~700 in my category
... and here is the story behind the numbers ... The race started off ok. I've been having what i can only classify as shin splint issues on my left leg, one of my friends refers to this as my 'wimp spot' so i will too :) So my wimp spot was really bothering me but i knew i wanted to finish so instead of fighting the pain i just relaxed into it. I think this was the best for the long run b/c it meant i didn't run funny. After a while the pain became my friend :) Once I relaxed into a nice stride the first half of the run was decent ... i was on target to beat 1:40 so i was somewhat happy with that ... but i didn't feel like i was pushing so i figured i could pick up the pace for the second half.
I had to take a bathroom break at the 1/2 way point and then ended up with a wicked stitch ... I tried walking for about 2 minutes, then realized it wasn't going away so i may as well run thru it. It was pretty painfull for about 10 minutes ... i don't think i was running very fast. More like a slow motion jog ... ok, i was basically walking :) Thankfully it subsided to a more managable pain just before the big climb and i really enjoyed the slow hill climb. At the bottom everyone was passing me and I felt really slow ... but by the time we got to the mid-way pont i was passing people back ...it felt good. I started picking up the pace over the hill.
Over the hill it got really cold. I'd been pretty warm up to this point and wasn't expecting it. My legs seized up on me and my quads were like dangling blocks of ice. The race turned purely mental at this point and I had no idea how far left in the race (or how long i'd been running - i couldn't find my watch the morning of the race) ... so i just kept running. Once people around me were speeding up i figured we were close to the end and then started recognizing street signs. I couldn't convince my ice block-legs to go faster so i just paced it out to the finish. I didn't break 1:40 so wasn't really happy with my time ... but not too bad i guess. But of course now i have to do another one ... i want to go faster :)
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
So i'm pretending to be a runner ...
I used to be ... a long, long time ago ... a runner. I can't claim that anymore. But this weekend, for a short (ha) 13 miles, I am going to pretend to be a runner!
I've had 6 weeks to train ... (yes, it's already been 6 weeks since worlds) so i'm not expecting much .. but I will finish, and I will try to go fast. :) We will see. My fastest run has been at 6.5 minute miles ... but i know i can't sustain that for 13 miles. I am hopeing to finish around 1:35ish ... we will see!
How did i end up in this 'situation' you ask? Well, two of my good friends convinced me it would be fun ... ok, maybe they didn't use the word 'fun', but perhaps 'different', a 'challenge', and a 'change of pace'. That all sounded good back in Australia when i was prepping for Worlds :) And in theory 6 weeks is enough to get into shape, right? Well, ladies and gentlemen, we are about to find out :)
So i've done a couple of 13 mile runs at this point - i know i can finish. I just don't know how fast i will be ... First of all, my body does not remember how to go fast anymore. I haven't done intervals in ... forever ... and my body is still in 'i can go for 24+ hours' mode. Funny how the human body adapts to survive. I will have to have a serious chat with my legs on Sunday before the start ... they need to understand that this is like an OCup race - go hard or go home ... but i haven't been able to convince them of that yet. We will see :)
Whatever happens, it will indeed be a challange, a change of pace, and something different! And if i am seriously considering off-road triathlons next season I need to start running at some point. What better time? Next i'll have to enter a swimming race ... um, what did i just say? I need to re-learn how to swim first ... :)
To add to the fun, we recently got about 4 inches of snow and so far it's sticking ... although the temps are much nicer running temps today. So the run will be a bit chilly... but i'm Canadian so that should mean I'll go faster right? Right (it's all about having the right attitude!) :)
I've had 6 weeks to train ... (yes, it's already been 6 weeks since worlds) so i'm not expecting much .. but I will finish, and I will try to go fast. :) We will see. My fastest run has been at 6.5 minute miles ... but i know i can't sustain that for 13 miles. I am hopeing to finish around 1:35ish ... we will see!
How did i end up in this 'situation' you ask? Well, two of my good friends convinced me it would be fun ... ok, maybe they didn't use the word 'fun', but perhaps 'different', a 'challenge', and a 'change of pace'. That all sounded good back in Australia when i was prepping for Worlds :) And in theory 6 weeks is enough to get into shape, right? Well, ladies and gentlemen, we are about to find out :)
So i've done a couple of 13 mile runs at this point - i know i can finish. I just don't know how fast i will be ... First of all, my body does not remember how to go fast anymore. I haven't done intervals in ... forever ... and my body is still in 'i can go for 24+ hours' mode. Funny how the human body adapts to survive. I will have to have a serious chat with my legs on Sunday before the start ... they need to understand that this is like an OCup race - go hard or go home ... but i haven't been able to convince them of that yet. We will see :)
Whatever happens, it will indeed be a challange, a change of pace, and something different! And if i am seriously considering off-road triathlons next season I need to start running at some point. What better time? Next i'll have to enter a swimming race ... um, what did i just say? I need to re-learn how to swim first ... :)
To add to the fun, we recently got about 4 inches of snow and so far it's sticking ... although the temps are much nicer running temps today. So the run will be a bit chilly... but i'm Canadian so that should mean I'll go faster right? Right (it's all about having the right attitude!) :)
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Race report ... Worlds!
I knew going into the race it was going to be competative. With a field of 400 solos and a totally seperate course from the teams to ensure that there was not too much congestion ... it promised to be a good race. And it was ... this race is going down as the most competative female Solo race in 24hr history .. pretty cool!
The field was pretty deep ... pros from 15 different countries were there vying for the top spots ... and the Aussies were out in full form. It was amazing!
Here is a quick summary ... by the numbers :)
Now for the interesting part ... the story behind the numbers :) The race got off to a bit of a shaky start ...I thought that call up was at 11:45 but it was at 11:30 so I missed my call up but made it to the front of the line before the start just fine. Kinda funny really, the media guy was giving me a hard time at the start :) The race got off to a fast start, which i was expecting. There were several woman who were openly bidding for the top spot and a lot of talk about going out hot and keeping the lead. My plan was the usual .. push it a bit, but not to hard, try to find a good pace, and settle in.
Out of the gate and onto the bike I was at the back of the pack ... the whole field had gone out hard! It's tough at times like that to remind yourself to pace, ignore everyone, and that half the field would not be able to maintain the pace. It seemed like eveyrone was gunning for first and with a lot of unknowns i had no idea how they'd hold up. But in a 24hr solo if you don't do your own thing you pay for it later. So I tried to relax, I tried to pace, and I tried to ignore the girls around me who were hammering up the climbs. Into the second lap my legs and back were sore ...what is up with that? I'm only 2 laps into a race and my legs hurt? They didn't hurt enough to slow me down too much but i am guessing it was from all the hiking on the team ride where i snapped my cable.
My pit crew consisted of Kate and my folks. Kate was the pit manager and had everything organized and ready to go. Whatever I needed, she had it ready ... and mom and dad were her helping hands. Thanks guys - could not have done it without you! Thanks too to my friends 'back home' who were sending emails, texts, and messages of encouragement!
Into lap 3 I felt like i'd found my pace and was starting to settle in. Some of the girls i've raced in the past had passed me and were asking if i was ok ... 'yeah' i'd say 'i'm just settling in'. But i woundered ... am i going really slow? Why are they asking me that? 24hr races are a bit of a mind game ... so i decided it didn't matter ... if 'my pace' was slow, so be it, i wanted to ride the entire 24 hours!
I started to gain some positions around dusk .. people were starting to slow down and I was holding steady .. finally the strategy was paying off :) Then nighttime came ... and I wasn't eating enough. I was dizzy and a bit bonked so i had a few longer laps, ran into a boulder on one lap, and then decided to stop and eat; and let it sit for a while.
This is a good time to mention the snakes, spiders, and Kangaroos! On my dusk lap i was riding up a switchback and saw a huge (1.5 inch in diameter) brown snake. Hmm... i think these are the bad ones, i thought. So i slowed down to let him slither across the trail ... but he didn't move fast enough and i had to decide ... stop and let him go ...or run over him. I didn't want to stop...this climb was hard! So I sped up, a bit nervous, and ran over him ... for the next 2 minutes I was sure he was going to hunt me down ... but he didn't! Phew!
The next lap a 6 ft Kangroo jumped out in front of me (scared the crap out of me) and ran down the trail in front of me as if to say 'oh yeah, i can run faster than you can ride ... and I can stay up all night too'. After a while he got bored of this little game (i don't think i was going fast enough for him) and ran off the trail and into the woods.
What's next? Kate has convinced me to do the Seattle 1/2 marathon ... so i've 6 weeks to dig out my running shoes and get into shape :) It should be fun .. i think she'll rock it and land on the podium ... i'll suffer along and hopefully finish not too far behind her :)
The field was pretty deep ... pros from 15 different countries were there vying for the top spots ... and the Aussies were out in full form. It was amazing!
Here is a quick summary ... by the numbers :)
- Laps ridden: 17
- KMs ridden: 306
- Feet climbed: ~29,000
- % singletrack: 85%
- Place finished: 10th
Now for the interesting part ... the story behind the numbers :) The race got off to a bit of a shaky start ...I thought that call up was at 11:45 but it was at 11:30 so I missed my call up but made it to the front of the line before the start just fine. Kinda funny really, the media guy was giving me a hard time at the start :) The race got off to a fast start, which i was expecting. There were several woman who were openly bidding for the top spot and a lot of talk about going out hot and keeping the lead. My plan was the usual .. push it a bit, but not to hard, try to find a good pace, and settle in.
Out of the gate and onto the bike I was at the back of the pack ... the whole field had gone out hard! It's tough at times like that to remind yourself to pace, ignore everyone, and that half the field would not be able to maintain the pace. It seemed like eveyrone was gunning for first and with a lot of unknowns i had no idea how they'd hold up. But in a 24hr solo if you don't do your own thing you pay for it later. So I tried to relax, I tried to pace, and I tried to ignore the girls around me who were hammering up the climbs. Into the second lap my legs and back were sore ...what is up with that? I'm only 2 laps into a race and my legs hurt? They didn't hurt enough to slow me down too much but i am guessing it was from all the hiking on the team ride where i snapped my cable.
My pit crew consisted of Kate and my folks. Kate was the pit manager and had everything organized and ready to go. Whatever I needed, she had it ready ... and mom and dad were her helping hands. Thanks guys - could not have done it without you! Thanks too to my friends 'back home' who were sending emails, texts, and messages of encouragement!
Into lap 3 I felt like i'd found my pace and was starting to settle in. Some of the girls i've raced in the past had passed me and were asking if i was ok ... 'yeah' i'd say 'i'm just settling in'. But i woundered ... am i going really slow? Why are they asking me that? 24hr races are a bit of a mind game ... so i decided it didn't matter ... if 'my pace' was slow, so be it, i wanted to ride the entire 24 hours!
I started to gain some positions around dusk .. people were starting to slow down and I was holding steady .. finally the strategy was paying off :) Then nighttime came ... and I wasn't eating enough. I was dizzy and a bit bonked so i had a few longer laps, ran into a boulder on one lap, and then decided to stop and eat; and let it sit for a while.
This is a good time to mention the snakes, spiders, and Kangaroos! On my dusk lap i was riding up a switchback and saw a huge (1.5 inch in diameter) brown snake. Hmm... i think these are the bad ones, i thought. So i slowed down to let him slither across the trail ... but he didn't move fast enough and i had to decide ... stop and let him go ...or run over him. I didn't want to stop...this climb was hard! So I sped up, a bit nervous, and ran over him ... for the next 2 minutes I was sure he was going to hunt me down ... but he didn't! Phew!
The next lap a 6 ft Kangroo jumped out in front of me (scared the crap out of me) and ran down the trail in front of me as if to say 'oh yeah, i can run faster than you can ride ... and I can stay up all night too'. After a while he got bored of this little game (i don't think i was going fast enough for him) and ran off the trail and into the woods.
During the night the spiders came out to play. And these were not small spiders ... i was convinced that they were all truantulas ...am still thinking they were :) They were about 1-2 inches in diameter .. and didn't have really long legs. They were all over the trails. I am not a big spider fan and was deaking them out whenever i could ... on the downhills i just cringed and went for it ... it was too rocky/hard to be deaking out spiders!!!
The course got a little rough over the course of the event and I was very happy to be on my Norco Faze with 4.5 inches of travel on the front. I felt bad for anyone riding a hardtail .. that course was rough! But the Norco just ate it up and kept on going ... I love my bike!
So ... back to the race ... all in all I think i was off my bike for about 1 hour ... back onto the bike I started feeling better and could feel the effects of the food/calories in my system. I was waking up and was no longer dizzy. As the sun came up so did my energy and i ws back doing my pace and getting some good lap times in. Kate told me i was in 18th around 6am ... so even though I was passing loads of women I knew i had a lot of work to do to make the top 15. I was feeling pretty strong in the morning .. not too many people were going faster than me and i felt like i could ride another 12 hours. Finally back in my zone and re-energized with banannas and peanut butter sandwiches, i was having a great time. My 15th lap Kate indicated that 12th was in reach so I hammered out a solid lap to ensure I could do one more ... I really pushed it to the end at this race ... and managed to catch 12th, 11th, and 10th ... to put myself into 10th place! What a great race ...
Going into the race i figured i'd be happy with 16 laps, and estatic with 18 ... I ended up with 17, which is right in the middle so I am pretty happy with that :)
All in all, a solid race! i am much better at cornering now ... :)
Friday, October 8, 2010
Ready or not ... here we go!
Well, the count down is over and Worlds is here .. tomorrow that is! The feild is deep this year with 400 Solo riders taking on the challenge and vying for World titles so it's going to be nothing if not competative ... it should be good ....
Now for the real question ... am I ready? Well, I have my super star pit manager (Kate) and my super keen pit helpers (Mom and Dad) ready to support me .... I have my bike, my kits, and my food, tools and etc ... I am feeling rested ... and my legs? Well we know once i start up the first hill climb tomorrow!
So what have i been up to? Well, eating bonbons, laying around, and posing for pictures (here is one with my dad) ...
Now for the real question ... am I ready? Well, I have my super star pit manager (Kate) and my super keen pit helpers (Mom and Dad) ready to support me .... I have my bike, my kits, and my food, tools and etc ... I am feeling rested ... and my legs? Well we know once i start up the first hill climb tomorrow!
So what have i been up to? Well, eating bonbons, laying around, and posing for pictures (here is one with my dad) ...
... ok, in all seriousness ... i've been scooping out the course, resting, doing last minute errands, and generally getting ready for the big day - tomorrow! On Thursday the Canadaian team got together for a lap of the course and dinner afterwards ... here we all are with our team kits on ... getting ready to ride:
The ride was pretty fun ... relaxed pace and my legs felt good. unfortunately 1/2 way around the course my shifting cable snapped (it was a bit frayed) and i was single-speeding it. now, I'm not a practiced single-speeder and didn't think that 2 days before the race was the right time to learn ... so I ended up walking most of the hills for the 2nd half. Seems like a lot more climbing when you are walking :)
Kate arrived between the team ride and dinner and i'm super stoked to have her here! Today we built my 2nd bike, got my shifting sorted out, and tires and tubes all ready to go! Kate did a loop of the course and I did a quick spin, rested, and then went out for some last-minute errands. And now ... we are just getting ready for sleep ...
I won't be posting for a bit but Kate will be tweeting about my race under Monilee24Solo so if you are interested you can follow along there :)
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Prepping for Worlds - A report from 'down under'
Well, i made it ... and so did my bags! It was touch and go for a while there wrt flights ... more on that later! First up is a report on the race loop ...
The race takes place in Stromlo Park, just outside of Canberra. The loop starts out with a short flat section and quickly turns into a series of singletrack switchbacks which lead you up a long 1000ft climb up to the top of Mount Stromlo. Once at the top the trail winds around a bit before heading back down, again all on single-track, a rocky twisty descent. The trail is pretty cool, very rocky (big rocks and baby head rocks) and the corners are bermed so you can 'ride the rails' onthe way down. It's very fun but because the corners are so sharp you can't really get up too much speed. About 3/4 of the way down Mount Stromlo the course starts winding back up again and takes you backup to the top of the mountain again, still on single-track. The course dumps you at the top, on the opposite side of the mountain, and because the course is so exposed (no trees, only bushes) you can see the other riders on the top as well. Kinda cool .... then down you go again, this time slightly more technical with a fun steep rocky descent. I plan to ride that section a few times today :) The course ends by taking you through a bmx type section where you can gain a lot of speed if you work your bike... a fun ending.
While the course does not play to my strengths (lots of climbing but none of it is steep, where i tend to excel ... and lots of descending but I'm not a strong cornerer), it should be a fun time and I am sure that my cornering skills will be killer by the end of the weekend! The course is about 95% singletrack - there are only a few sections that are double-track and none that are road ... this definately plays to my advantage but will make passing tricky. They have a totally seperate couse for the Solos which is good because even with the 400 solos on the course at once, it will be crowded.
It took me an hour and eleven minutes to finish a loop yesterday ... so i'm guessing my lap times will settle right around that ... might be a bit slower due to congestion on the course and lack of passing options ... but we'll see!
By the numbers it looks like this (this is from the course map, I'll confirm with the Garmin today!)
Distance: ~20Km
Climbing: ~2000 ft
Singletrack: 95%
Estimated lap goal: 18 to 20
So now more about my trip here ....
The first leg of my flight was delayed (into SFO) due to fog but luckily they got me on an earlier flight and it looked like I would make it for my connection. Once on the plane, it took forever to take off and then they had to circle a few times around SFO before they could land which meant that we landed 5 min before the connecting flight ... didn't look good. As soon as I got out of the plane i booked it (imagine a full on sprint) to the next gate andmade it just in time. OK, in reality they held up the flight for an additional 10 minutes for other connecting passengers :) i was worried my bags wouldn't make it but when i got to Sydney they were there waiting for me ... so it all worked out!!
The race takes place in Stromlo Park, just outside of Canberra. The loop starts out with a short flat section and quickly turns into a series of singletrack switchbacks which lead you up a long 1000ft climb up to the top of Mount Stromlo. Once at the top the trail winds around a bit before heading back down, again all on single-track, a rocky twisty descent. The trail is pretty cool, very rocky (big rocks and baby head rocks) and the corners are bermed so you can 'ride the rails' onthe way down. It's very fun but because the corners are so sharp you can't really get up too much speed. About 3/4 of the way down Mount Stromlo the course starts winding back up again and takes you backup to the top of the mountain again, still on single-track. The course dumps you at the top, on the opposite side of the mountain, and because the course is so exposed (no trees, only bushes) you can see the other riders on the top as well. Kinda cool .... then down you go again, this time slightly more technical with a fun steep rocky descent. I plan to ride that section a few times today :) The course ends by taking you through a bmx type section where you can gain a lot of speed if you work your bike... a fun ending.
While the course does not play to my strengths (lots of climbing but none of it is steep, where i tend to excel ... and lots of descending but I'm not a strong cornerer), it should be a fun time and I am sure that my cornering skills will be killer by the end of the weekend! The course is about 95% singletrack - there are only a few sections that are double-track and none that are road ... this definately plays to my advantage but will make passing tricky. They have a totally seperate couse for the Solos which is good because even with the 400 solos on the course at once, it will be crowded.
It took me an hour and eleven minutes to finish a loop yesterday ... so i'm guessing my lap times will settle right around that ... might be a bit slower due to congestion on the course and lack of passing options ... but we'll see!
By the numbers it looks like this (this is from the course map, I'll confirm with the Garmin today!)
Distance: ~20Km
Climbing: ~2000 ft
Singletrack: 95%
Estimated lap goal: 18 to 20
So now more about my trip here ....
The first leg of my flight was delayed (into SFO) due to fog but luckily they got me on an earlier flight and it looked like I would make it for my connection. Once on the plane, it took forever to take off and then they had to circle a few times around SFO before they could land which meant that we landed 5 min before the connecting flight ... didn't look good. As soon as I got out of the plane i booked it (imagine a full on sprint) to the next gate and
Friday, September 24, 2010
Thank you, may I have another? 100 miles of Capital Forest
Better late than never :) Here is my race report from the 100 miler i did the other weekend.
The day started off early with a 3AM alarm and sleepy drive south to Capital Forest. When i got there the fog was heavy and it was still pretty dark. Are they sure we can start at 6:30am? Hmmm, seems like it might be still dark. Perhaps I should have brought my lights?
I definately should have brought my lights ... not for the actual race, but to get ready for the race :) It was dark and chilly .. and foggy. The start was casual ... this was the first year for the race and the made the course 2 laps of a 50 mile loop. They had to delay the start by about 30 minutes to let the fog drift off a bit so that we could see the trail ... it jwas barely sunrise when we set off ...
They gave us a running start, le mans style, and just for kicks it was straight up a hill. Nice. It's 7am folks ... we are barely awake, let alone ready to run straight up a hill. But up we went ... and onto our bikes and off to the trails. The trails were everything they were promised to be. 90% of the course was singletack ... beautiful, twisty, rocky, rooty, singletrack! The climbing surprised me. I was expecting the course to be fairly flat ... maybe a bit of hills. But the course offered just over 15,000 feet of climbing... yup, a lot of hills :)
The first 25 miles were a bit rough for me. I could blame it on being half asleep but the real deal is that i had a cramp in my bum and it was pinching my siatic nerve. Ouch. Every pedal hurt but being the stubborn chick i am i stretched on the bike, pedaled through it and kept my pedal strokes even and fast ... eventually it went away (phew).
The next 25 miles passed in a blur ... fun single track with great descents and amazing climbs. A few stunning views that almost made me do an endo ... great riding! I was trading spots with a girl from BC for the first 50 miles ... she'd pass me on the climb, i'd pass her on the descent ... and on it went. On the second lap i missed a turn where the course goes two ways (no little pilons to direct me!) ... and ended up doing an extra 11 miles and 2000 feet of climbing ... ouch. That added about an hour ... bleh. You guessed it, I didn't catch the chick from BC ....
But I had a fantastic time and I'd do it again. It was a great warm up for worlds. I finished in just over 11 hours and felt like I could do another 111 miles at the same pace. Not bad ....
The day started off early with a 3AM alarm and sleepy drive south to Capital Forest. When i got there the fog was heavy and it was still pretty dark. Are they sure we can start at 6:30am? Hmmm, seems like it might be still dark. Perhaps I should have brought my lights?
I definately should have brought my lights ... not for the actual race, but to get ready for the race :) It was dark and chilly .. and foggy. The start was casual ... this was the first year for the race and the made the course 2 laps of a 50 mile loop. They had to delay the start by about 30 minutes to let the fog drift off a bit so that we could see the trail ... it jwas barely sunrise when we set off ...
They gave us a running start, le mans style, and just for kicks it was straight up a hill. Nice. It's 7am folks ... we are barely awake, let alone ready to run straight up a hill. But up we went ... and onto our bikes and off to the trails. The trails were everything they were promised to be. 90% of the course was singletack ... beautiful, twisty, rocky, rooty, singletrack! The climbing surprised me. I was expecting the course to be fairly flat ... maybe a bit of hills. But the course offered just over 15,000 feet of climbing... yup, a lot of hills :)
The first 25 miles were a bit rough for me. I could blame it on being half asleep but the real deal is that i had a cramp in my bum and it was pinching my siatic nerve. Ouch. Every pedal hurt but being the stubborn chick i am i stretched on the bike, pedaled through it and kept my pedal strokes even and fast ... eventually it went away (phew).
The next 25 miles passed in a blur ... fun single track with great descents and amazing climbs. A few stunning views that almost made me do an endo ... great riding! I was trading spots with a girl from BC for the first 50 miles ... she'd pass me on the climb, i'd pass her on the descent ... and on it went. On the second lap i missed a turn where the course goes two ways (no little pilons to direct me!) ... and ended up doing an extra 11 miles and 2000 feet of climbing ... ouch. That added about an hour ... bleh. You guessed it, I didn't catch the chick from BC ....
But I had a fantastic time and I'd do it again. It was a great warm up for worlds. I finished in just over 11 hours and felt like I could do another 111 miles at the same pace. Not bad ....
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Finally .... a race report on my first XTerra
So ... this is really late in coming so I want to appologize up-front :)
My friend Yvonne talked me into doing an Xterra (yes, my first) the night before the race. It was, in a word, FUN! Yup, i think i'm addicted ... here are the fun details.
My strategy for the race was simple: Survive the swim, kill the bike, and fight to maintain my position on the run.
The race started off with a swim ... Yvonne hooked me up with a wetsuit so i didn't freeze to death in the water :) Don't laugh but it's been a while since i've really swam and i couldn't really remember the whole breathing deal for the front crawl ... so I did the side crawl and the breast stroke the entire way .. yup, the whole 1000m :) It was slow but I did survive. And to my absolute surprise i wasn't the last one out of the water ... i was the 3rd or 4th last ;)
Brian, Yvonne's husband was there cheering and as I left the water he ran beside me and told me .. you're not the last one! LOL. Awesome. :) My transition seemed to be going smoothly until i got the wetsuit to my ankles at which point i could not seem to get it off ... heh. Seems that this transition thing should be practiced ;)
Once on the bike i started feeling more in my element. I was picking people off throughout the technical course and having a blast ... it was great. The course was fun, I finally felt like i could move faster ... ahh... i was really racing.
The bike-to-run transition was smooth (except i forgot to untie one of my shoes so i had to untie and retie one of my shoes! Noobie mistake! No big deal. I went off to the run thinking i had to move fast enough to ensure that all of the girls i'd just passed did not pass me back. I got into the zone. I was having fun running on the trails ... and i started to pass people! Wow - wasn't expecting that. While i've been doing some running for cross training I am pretty far from running shape so i was pretty surprised by this ... Awesome! I was really surprised when i found myself halfway on the running course and picked up the pace.
I finished in a solid pace and was pleasently surprised to find myself 4th!!! Yeah, 33rd out of the water ... and 4th overall ... nice. Apparently I need to work on my swim if I want to take this Xterra thing seriously ;) All of the girls around me finished in 15 minutes ... a solid 15 minutes ahead of me!
Yvonne rocked the course and ended up 2nd ... Rockstar!
My friend Yvonne talked me into doing an Xterra (yes, my first) the night before the race. It was, in a word, FUN! Yup, i think i'm addicted ... here are the fun details.
My strategy for the race was simple: Survive the swim, kill the bike, and fight to maintain my position on the run.
The race started off with a swim ... Yvonne hooked me up with a wetsuit so i didn't freeze to death in the water :) Don't laugh but it's been a while since i've really swam and i couldn't really remember the whole breathing deal for the front crawl ... so I did the side crawl and the breast stroke the entire way .. yup, the whole 1000m :) It was slow but I did survive. And to my absolute surprise i wasn't the last one out of the water ... i was the 3rd or 4th last ;)
Brian, Yvonne's husband was there cheering and as I left the water he ran beside me and told me .. you're not the last one! LOL. Awesome. :) My transition seemed to be going smoothly until i got the wetsuit to my ankles at which point i could not seem to get it off ... heh. Seems that this transition thing should be practiced ;)
Once on the bike i started feeling more in my element. I was picking people off throughout the technical course and having a blast ... it was great. The course was fun, I finally felt like i could move faster ... ahh... i was really racing.
The bike-to-run transition was smooth (except i forgot to untie one of my shoes so i had to untie and retie one of my shoes! Noobie mistake! No big deal. I went off to the run thinking i had to move fast enough to ensure that all of the girls i'd just passed did not pass me back. I got into the zone. I was having fun running on the trails ... and i started to pass people! Wow - wasn't expecting that. While i've been doing some running for cross training I am pretty far from running shape so i was pretty surprised by this ... Awesome! I was really surprised when i found myself halfway on the running course and picked up the pace.
I finished in a solid pace and was pleasently surprised to find myself 4th!!! Yeah, 33rd out of the water ... and 4th overall ... nice. Apparently I need to work on my swim if I want to take this Xterra thing seriously ;) All of the girls around me finished in 15 minutes ... a solid 15 minutes ahead of me!
Yvonne rocked the course and ended up 2nd ... Rockstar!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Canadian Nationals - Race Report
Summary:
Place: 2nd
Details of ride: ~275Km, 18,000 feet of climbing, and 18 hours on the bike
Details:
The drive up was amazing - great scenary and great company. I drove up thru Vancouver to pick up Kate - amazing friend and support crew extraordinare - and her roomate Lila. The drive flew by - we were catching up and just enjoying the great views along the way. Road trips with good friends always fly by ...
The weekend was relaxed .. Kate and I woundered around town, found some good food, did some shopping, and went up to the site to set up the pit and get in a ride. We found the course in pretty good shape - about 18km and 1450ft of climbing per lap. Loads of single-track but most of it was not really technical ...but super fun none the less. It wasn't a course that played to my skills but it was a fun and challenging course - worthy of Canadian Nationals.
Race day brought warm weather (about 30C) and blue skies ... so we got the ice scarfs going right away. The first few laps flew by ... stomach was holding together pretty well and eating was on track. Kate was giving me double feeds (2x per lap) so my drinks were always cool and I never ran out of liquids. Around lap 4 my stomach started to feel funny but i couldn't quite place it. Looking back eating Perpetuem in the heat was the wrong call ... later in the race we figured this out and the Hammer guys hooked us up with some Heed (thanks Hammer!) ... it's the only thing that got me through the race ...
After 10 hours of racing I ws right behind the leader - about 8 min back. But my stomach felt funny so i decided i should take a quick break. After an hour i went back out and my first lap felt great. I think i ate too many salts though ... my second lap was painfull. I had to stop. Unfortunately I was sick for a few hours before Kate convinced me to shower and offered chicken broth which was amazing ... i was back in action after 4 hours off the bike.
I had some catching to do ... 2nd and 3rd were both ahead of me. I like to chase though so off I went ... my legs felt great and i ws turning out the laps. I passed 2nd and 3rd in my first lap out and continued to gain on them. 1st was too far ahead so i knew it was out of the question ... but i still pushed hard.
All in all it was a good race - a great effort despite the stomach.
Thanks again to Samammish Valley Cycle for keeping my awesome Norco's up and running - and of course, thanks to Kate for her amazing support!
Place: 2nd
Details of ride: ~275Km, 18,000 feet of climbing, and 18 hours on the bike
Details:
The drive up was amazing - great scenary and great company. I drove up thru Vancouver to pick up Kate - amazing friend and support crew extraordinare - and her roomate Lila. The drive flew by - we were catching up and just enjoying the great views along the way. Road trips with good friends always fly by ...
The weekend was relaxed .. Kate and I woundered around town, found some good food, did some shopping, and went up to the site to set up the pit and get in a ride. We found the course in pretty good shape - about 18km and 1450ft of climbing per lap. Loads of single-track but most of it was not really technical ...but super fun none the less. It wasn't a course that played to my skills but it was a fun and challenging course - worthy of Canadian Nationals.
Race day brought warm weather (about 30C) and blue skies ... so we got the ice scarfs going right away. The first few laps flew by ... stomach was holding together pretty well and eating was on track. Kate was giving me double feeds (2x per lap) so my drinks were always cool and I never ran out of liquids. Around lap 4 my stomach started to feel funny but i couldn't quite place it. Looking back eating Perpetuem in the heat was the wrong call ... later in the race we figured this out and the Hammer guys hooked us up with some Heed (thanks Hammer!) ... it's the only thing that got me through the race ...
After 10 hours of racing I ws right behind the leader - about 8 min back. But my stomach felt funny so i decided i should take a quick break. After an hour i went back out and my first lap felt great. I think i ate too many salts though ... my second lap was painfull. I had to stop. Unfortunately I was sick for a few hours before Kate convinced me to shower and offered chicken broth which was amazing ... i was back in action after 4 hours off the bike.
I had some catching to do ... 2nd and 3rd were both ahead of me. I like to chase though so off I went ... my legs felt great and i ws turning out the laps. I passed 2nd and 3rd in my first lap out and continued to gain on them. 1st was too far ahead so i knew it was out of the question ... but i still pushed hard.
All in all it was a good race - a great effort despite the stomach.
Thanks again to Samammish Valley Cycle for keeping my awesome Norco's up and running - and of course, thanks to Kate for her amazing support!
Saturday, July 3, 2010
The race that was over before it started ...
Yup, it's true. I'm talking about the 50 miles of endurance a few weekends back. It was so bad that it's taken me 2 weeks to write about it. Yes, that bad!
Going into the race I was exhausted. Mentally i was tired, emotionally i was drained, and the physical follwed suit even though it had no business doing so. June was a bit of a rough month ... The best part of the race was being seeing Karen and Matt again ... what a great couple! :) And their kids ... too cute!!!
The race started out well - i was determined to beat my time from last year but a good measure and knew I had the fitness to do it. Unfortunately i had nothig else and when your mental focus is gone ... i just couldn't pull it together.
The good
The technical single-track... i passed sooo many people. That was fun. Unfortunately there is like 4 miles of technical single track in the whole 50 mile race. Yeah, I needed more :)
The bad:
Lost my left contact lense about 15 miles in. Too much mud ... Also, I forgot my climbing legs at home. No juice. Normally this year I've been flying up the hills. Not so much my friends. I was slower than heck. ouch, it hurt.
the ugly:
i just didn't have it. Zip. Nil. Nadda. Nothing to give, nothing to fight with. I was suffering like 5 miles into the race. I've never wanted to quit a race so bad ... I was totally suffering and had no metal ability to push. I was going sooo slow.
But I finished. it took wayyy longer than it should have, it was hard, and i am proud of myself for not quitting :)
Next up: Canadian National 24 hr Solos!
Going into the race I was exhausted. Mentally i was tired, emotionally i was drained, and the physical follwed suit even though it had no business doing so. June was a bit of a rough month ... The best part of the race was being seeing Karen and Matt again ... what a great couple! :) And their kids ... too cute!!!
The race started out well - i was determined to beat my time from last year but a good measure and knew I had the fitness to do it. Unfortunately i had nothig else and when your mental focus is gone ... i just couldn't pull it together.
The good
The technical single-track... i passed sooo many people. That was fun. Unfortunately there is like 4 miles of technical single track in the whole 50 mile race. Yeah, I needed more :)
The bad:
Lost my left contact lense about 15 miles in. Too much mud ... Also, I forgot my climbing legs at home. No juice. Normally this year I've been flying up the hills. Not so much my friends. I was slower than heck. ouch, it hurt.
the ugly:
i just didn't have it. Zip. Nil. Nadda. Nothing to give, nothing to fight with. I was suffering like 5 miles into the race. I've never wanted to quit a race so bad ... I was totally suffering and had no metal ability to push. I was going sooo slow.
But I finished. it took wayyy longer than it should have, it was hard, and i am proud of myself for not quitting :)
Next up: Canadian National 24 hr Solos!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Spokane Race Report
So apparently when you have a 'bruised' bone in your foot, whiplash, and many other bruises, racing isn't really an option ...
OK, now I've got you hooked, here are the details :)
The race started out well - the weather was perfect for me - not too hot. First lap was a good pace, felt great. Lap 2 I had a double flat (ugh) and lost 15 minutes but still finished in a good time. Lap 3 was awesome, started feeling good. Lap 4 I was minding my own business in the single-track when some guy asked to pass ... sure, go on the right. Next thing I know I hear 'oh crap', my handlebars are locked with his and then i am on the ground, with him on top of me. And we were moving at a pretty good pace. The next 2 minutes went like this:
Random dude: you OK?
Me: (squashed between him, my bike, and the ground): um, can you move off of me?
Random dude: (chuckling) yeah .. sorry
Me: thanks
Random dude: (off me now, dusting himself off) you bleeding?
Me: (checking my Ferrari shorts to ensure they weren't torn), looking at my hip and my arm) nothing major.
Random dude: good ...
Me: can you pass me my bar end?
Random dude: uh, oh! Sorry, sure. (picks my barend off the ground and hands it to me. then after some hestitation:) your bike ok?
Me: seems like it
Random dude: ok, sorry about that, see you later
Me: (still stunned) ok
Later that lap I came up to a climb that I couldn't make and had to walk. Ouch, I must have turned my ankle, I thought. After that I avoided walkking as much as possible ... but didn't give it much thought.
Laps 5 and 6 were great, and I was feeling pretty good. I was a good hour ahead of my desired pace and feeling strong. Come lap seven my stomach wasn't too happy with me. When you are injured or sustain a crash several things happen: you swell (so you need more fluids), your body temperature goes up (so you need more fluids), your blood gets diverted towards the areas that need attention (and away from your stomach). All this leads to ... yup, stomach shut down and dehydration. And so it went. I finished lap 8 at just before 11pm and had to pull the plug. I was determined to recover .. even emptied 7 electrolyte tabs in my mouth for better absorption and drank lots of water. It got worse and worse ... and eventually I got sick to my stomach and had to pull the plug for real. I remained optimistic until about 2am. Yes, i am one stubborn chick.
Several 'low-calorie' Gatorade and many electrolytes later I realized how swollen my foot had become. I had forgotten all about that. I was so determined not to have to go to the hospital for my stomach (no Canmore repeats!) ... and finally I came to the realization that I had to go for my foot. They took a look at me ... bruised hips, knees, and arm - swollen but minor. Whiplash - ouch but ok. Microfracture in my foot which is basically a bruised bone - really ouch. Ice and elevation, wrap it no running for 6 weeks. blah. On top of that they told me I had a concussion ... my head still hurts!
So in a nut shell ... didn't make my goal of 18 laps but definitely felt that my fitness was there. I completed 8 laps in less than 11 hours and was feeling pretty strong throughout the race. Moral of the story is that you should never crash :) Um, i think I've heard that somewhere before?
OK, now I've got you hooked, here are the details :)
The race started out well - the weather was perfect for me - not too hot. First lap was a good pace, felt great. Lap 2 I had a double flat (ugh) and lost 15 minutes but still finished in a good time. Lap 3 was awesome, started feeling good. Lap 4 I was minding my own business in the single-track when some guy asked to pass ... sure, go on the right. Next thing I know I hear 'oh crap', my handlebars are locked with his and then i am on the ground, with him on top of me. And we were moving at a pretty good pace. The next 2 minutes went like this:
Random dude: you OK?
Me: (squashed between him, my bike, and the ground): um, can you move off of me?
Random dude: (chuckling) yeah .. sorry
Me: thanks
Random dude: (off me now, dusting himself off) you bleeding?
Me: (checking my Ferrari shorts to ensure they weren't torn), looking at my hip and my arm) nothing major.
Random dude: good ...
Me: can you pass me my bar end?
Random dude: uh, oh! Sorry, sure. (picks my barend off the ground and hands it to me. then after some hestitation:) your bike ok?
Me: seems like it
Random dude: ok, sorry about that, see you later
Me: (still stunned) ok
Later that lap I came up to a climb that I couldn't make and had to walk. Ouch, I must have turned my ankle, I thought. After that I avoided walkking as much as possible ... but didn't give it much thought.
Laps 5 and 6 were great, and I was feeling pretty good. I was a good hour ahead of my desired pace and feeling strong. Come lap seven my stomach wasn't too happy with me. When you are injured or sustain a crash several things happen: you swell (so you need more fluids), your body temperature goes up (so you need more fluids), your blood gets diverted towards the areas that need attention (and away from your stomach). All this leads to ... yup, stomach shut down and dehydration. And so it went. I finished lap 8 at just before 11pm and had to pull the plug. I was determined to recover .. even emptied 7 electrolyte tabs in my mouth for better absorption and drank lots of water. It got worse and worse ... and eventually I got sick to my stomach and had to pull the plug for real. I remained optimistic until about 2am. Yes, i am one stubborn chick.
Several 'low-calorie' Gatorade and many electrolytes later I realized how swollen my foot had become. I had forgotten all about that. I was so determined not to have to go to the hospital for my stomach (no Canmore repeats!) ... and finally I came to the realization that I had to go for my foot. They took a look at me ... bruised hips, knees, and arm - swollen but minor. Whiplash - ouch but ok. Microfracture in my foot which is basically a bruised bone - really ouch. Ice and elevation, wrap it no running for 6 weeks. blah. On top of that they told me I had a concussion ... my head still hurts!
So in a nut shell ... didn't make my goal of 18 laps but definitely felt that my fitness was there. I completed 8 laps in less than 11 hours and was feeling pretty strong throughout the race. Moral of the story is that you should never crash :) Um, i think I've heard that somewhere before?
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Moving and prepping for Spokane
.... the past 4 weeks have been a blur. We got back from Moab, promptly packed up the house, moved into our new one, and began the long job of unpacking and settling in! Mix this with a heavy month at work and you get ... a quiet blog :)
It's that time though ... prepping for Spokane! I picked up the '10 Faze two weekends ago and and on her maiden voyage I killed my fastest lap time by 3 minutes!!! And I did it 3 laps in a row. Nice. That bike floats. I'm still looking fror the hole where they put the helium ... it climbs like a goat and the descending ... i made up a minute on the climb (25 min) and 2 on the descent (down to 17 minutes). That thing just rocks the downhills. I fell in love the first lap.
I've been taking it out every weekend since and beating my lap times each ride (faster and faster!)... until today. Today was different ...
The day started out innocently enough ..but with cloudy skies and a wet parking lot i knew I was in for a wet ride. I was cool with that ... it kinda suited my mood - i needed to release some energy so I wanted something hard. Well, i got it. I made good time up the climb and down the super technical singletrack. Even on the wet roots and rocks I was smoking fast. I was totally soaked and cold ... couldn't feel my fingers ... but I was loving it!
Out onto the road and then it happened. Absolute downpoor. I couldn't see 10 feet in front of me. I am not kidding. It was dumping buckets. What can you do? Keep pedalling. Pedal faster ... my legs weren't super co-operative as they were freezing cold but I kept moving. And then.... yup ... hail! Ouch! that hurt. Little balls of hail spitting at me out of the sky. Not nice. Need to pedal faster!!! Eventually I got back to the car, lementing my lap time when I realized I had tied my best lap time from last year. Sweet!
I can't tell you how dirty and wet I was. It was like i stood under a stream of muddy water ... I'm putting the clothes through the wash for the 3rd time :)
But yeah, ok, now I feel tough enough for Spokane :)
Tomorrow I head out to Samammish Valley Cycle for a final tune up on my bikes ... it's coming fast!
It's that time though ... prepping for Spokane! I picked up the '10 Faze two weekends ago and and on her maiden voyage I killed my fastest lap time by 3 minutes!!! And I did it 3 laps in a row. Nice. That bike floats. I'm still looking fror the hole where they put the helium ... it climbs like a goat and the descending ... i made up a minute on the climb (25 min) and 2 on the descent (down to 17 minutes). That thing just rocks the downhills. I fell in love the first lap.
I've been taking it out every weekend since and beating my lap times each ride (faster and faster!)... until today. Today was different ...
The day started out innocently enough ..but with cloudy skies and a wet parking lot i knew I was in for a wet ride. I was cool with that ... it kinda suited my mood - i needed to release some energy so I wanted something hard. Well, i got it. I made good time up the climb and down the super technical singletrack. Even on the wet roots and rocks I was smoking fast. I was totally soaked and cold ... couldn't feel my fingers ... but I was loving it!
Out onto the road and then it happened. Absolute downpoor. I couldn't see 10 feet in front of me. I am not kidding. It was dumping buckets. What can you do? Keep pedalling. Pedal faster ... my legs weren't super co-operative as they were freezing cold but I kept moving. And then.... yup ... hail! Ouch! that hurt. Little balls of hail spitting at me out of the sky. Not nice. Need to pedal faster!!! Eventually I got back to the car, lementing my lap time when I realized I had tied my best lap time from last year. Sweet!
I can't tell you how dirty and wet I was. It was like i stood under a stream of muddy water ... I'm putting the clothes through the wash for the 3rd time :)
But yeah, ok, now I feel tough enough for Spokane :)
Tomorrow I head out to Samammish Valley Cycle for a final tune up on my bikes ... it's coming fast!
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Race Report - Stottlemeyer 60
Stottlemeyer 60 - so fantastic to have a 60 mile race in our backyard!!!
The Numbers:
Miles: 60 (my garmin may not have tracked them all - there was a lot of twisting and turning)
Verticle: ~7000 ft
% singletrack: 90%
Time to finish: 6:18
Place: 1st
# Women: 8
The Race
The weather was typical Seattle spring weather: 10 degress and drizzle. The start was delayed 30 minutes due to traffic at the Ferry crossing so although we would have been a bit late, we had time to warm up and get everything ready. A quick race breifing later and we were off! the start was downhill and I was strategicly placed at the front ... my goal for the race was to flirt with how fast I could go out and hold it - and see how my stomach held up. Oh, and to win too :)
I was excited to see Kari Studely at the start - she's the one I was trying to catch at the last short race and is pretty fast. I decided to take her wheel and see how things went. I was behind her until the single-track and then found an oppertunity to pass ... and off I went. I was riding my Norco EXC hardtail today and was (if i must say so myself) riding really well. The singletrack was tough - twisty, turny, muddy, and fresh cut. It was slow going ... but great for technical riders - it was to my advantage as I was having a good day.
After the single-track I followed a group of people down the wrong path (apparently the locals don't like the tags so were taking them down) ... 6 minutes in we realized it was wrong and turned around. Ouch, it hurt to lose 12 minutes, especially when I knew Kari wasn't far behind me coming out of the singletrack. So ... time to buckle down, speed up, and see if I can play 'catch up'. 15 minutes later - at the first aide station, I saw Yvonne getting food. She had passed me as well while I was off playing on the trails. We got in a group down the road and then into the single track I built up a pretty good gap on the group. Out of the single track I caught a guy and we turned right .... wrong way! We didn't get too far but far enough for the group to catch us and it was a battle to pass them all again.
With that out of the way I was full-on in chase mode. I wanted to hunt Kari down. I had no idea how fast she'd be in the longer stuff but I figured worst case scenario would be that I bonk ... and since I was in 2nd anyway I didn't care. Pedal Faster, Pedal Faster .. Pedal Faster!!! :)
30 miles in I found out that Kari had dropped - apparently she got lost too (also lost around 10 min) and decided to pull the plug. Too bad ... but I had a race to ride. I wanted to finish in under 6 hours so I had to keep moving. And so I did. The course was actually 4 laps of ~14 miles each. There was a nice 24% grade climb on the course where I'd eat my Tums, a cliff block, some electrolytes ... and of course my Perpetuem. My eating was going really well and I was pretty happy that I was able to push the pace and hold my stomach together. Very promising for the longer stuff ...
The last two laps I'd keep on catcing up with guys and then trying to chase them down. Sometimes I was successfull but there were a few that got away :) The last lap I turned it up as much as I could ... but I didn't make it under 6 hours.
All in all it was a great day! Frase also got lost and suffered a flat tire and cramping. He pulled it all together to finish at around 6 hours ...
The Numbers:
Miles: 60 (my garmin may not have tracked them all - there was a lot of twisting and turning)
Verticle: ~7000 ft
% singletrack: 90%
Time to finish: 6:18
Place: 1st
# Women: 8
The Race
The weather was typical Seattle spring weather: 10 degress and drizzle. The start was delayed 30 minutes due to traffic at the Ferry crossing so although we would have been a bit late, we had time to warm up and get everything ready. A quick race breifing later and we were off! the start was downhill and I was strategicly placed at the front ... my goal for the race was to flirt with how fast I could go out and hold it - and see how my stomach held up. Oh, and to win too :)
I was excited to see Kari Studely at the start - she's the one I was trying to catch at the last short race and is pretty fast. I decided to take her wheel and see how things went. I was behind her until the single-track and then found an oppertunity to pass ... and off I went. I was riding my Norco EXC hardtail today and was (if i must say so myself) riding really well. The singletrack was tough - twisty, turny, muddy, and fresh cut. It was slow going ... but great for technical riders - it was to my advantage as I was having a good day.
After the single-track I followed a group of people down the wrong path (apparently the locals don't like the tags so were taking them down) ... 6 minutes in we realized it was wrong and turned around. Ouch, it hurt to lose 12 minutes, especially when I knew Kari wasn't far behind me coming out of the singletrack. So ... time to buckle down, speed up, and see if I can play 'catch up'. 15 minutes later - at the first aide station, I saw Yvonne getting food. She had passed me as well while I was off playing on the trails. We got in a group down the road and then into the single track I built up a pretty good gap on the group. Out of the single track I caught a guy and we turned right .... wrong way! We didn't get too far but far enough for the group to catch us and it was a battle to pass them all again.
With that out of the way I was full-on in chase mode. I wanted to hunt Kari down. I had no idea how fast she'd be in the longer stuff but I figured worst case scenario would be that I bonk ... and since I was in 2nd anyway I didn't care. Pedal Faster, Pedal Faster .. Pedal Faster!!! :)
30 miles in I found out that Kari had dropped - apparently she got lost too (also lost around 10 min) and decided to pull the plug. Too bad ... but I had a race to ride. I wanted to finish in under 6 hours so I had to keep moving. And so I did. The course was actually 4 laps of ~14 miles each. There was a nice 24% grade climb on the course where I'd eat my Tums, a cliff block, some electrolytes ... and of course my Perpetuem. My eating was going really well and I was pretty happy that I was able to push the pace and hold my stomach together. Very promising for the longer stuff ...
The last two laps I'd keep on catcing up with guys and then trying to chase them down. Sometimes I was successfull but there were a few that got away :) The last lap I turned it up as much as I could ... but I didn't make it under 6 hours.
All in all it was a great day! Frase also got lost and suffered a flat tire and cramping. He pulled it all together to finish at around 6 hours ...
Friday, April 23, 2010
Moab Madness Day 7 - It's a Classic!
Today we decided to 'take it a bit easy' and did Flat Pass + Steal Bender x 2 .... it's a classic. Full of climbs, rocks, and more rocks ... what a fun course!
Again no photos - today was a good endurance ride with lots of technical bits thrown in. Some steep ups to practice technical climbing ... and some crazy descents to practice getting behind the saddle.
Another great day ... but DUDE, where is the sun? Temps were cool again today and out came the winter leg warmers ... yup, I said winter!, arm warmers, vest, undershit, and little hat once again. We had a few stream-crossings today - wool socks were a must - but thankfully were hidden from the wind for most of the ride - thank goodness for that. The skys only spat at us today - teasing us with a threat of more rain to come. I'm happy to report that we were faster than the rain and made it in before any damage was done.
I also have to report on a gear review: Today I tried out 'the Ferarri of bike shorts' (Assos FI 13 for ladies) - made affordable by Samammish Valley Cycle (thank you, thank you, thank you!).
General comments:
Wow, These shorts live up to their name. I went into the day with a bit of a sore bottom from yesterday's forray in the sun, rain, wind, and freezing cold temps. I was worried going into the ride today that my bottom would be the first thing to give out ... but to give these shorts a run for their money I didn't use any cream to lesson the pain/friction. And these shorts did not dissappoint. My bottom felt as comfortable as could be - it was like the shorts were a 2nd skin but better.
These shorts have it all:
Shami: 12 out of 10. hands down the best shorts I've ever tried. I am now afraid to go back to my 'regular' shorts.
Compression: nice for people like me who take a while to warm up!
Breathability: outstanding
The bib even has a 'latch' which makes it easier to do your business:)
I can't even say enough good things about these shorts. In one word: WOW! ...guess I'll be heading badk to SVC to get another pair - ladies and gentlemen: these shorts are well worth the money!!!
Again no photos - today was a good endurance ride with lots of technical bits thrown in. Some steep ups to practice technical climbing ... and some crazy descents to practice getting behind the saddle.
Another great day ... but DUDE, where is the sun? Temps were cool again today and out came the winter leg warmers ... yup, I said winter!, arm warmers, vest, undershit, and little hat once again. We had a few stream-crossings today - wool socks were a must - but thankfully were hidden from the wind for most of the ride - thank goodness for that. The skys only spat at us today - teasing us with a threat of more rain to come. I'm happy to report that we were faster than the rain and made it in before any damage was done.
I also have to report on a gear review: Today I tried out 'the Ferarri of bike shorts' (Assos FI 13 for ladies) - made affordable by Samammish Valley Cycle (thank you, thank you, thank you!).
General comments:
Wow, These shorts live up to their name. I went into the day with a bit of a sore bottom from yesterday's forray in the sun, rain, wind, and freezing cold temps. I was worried going into the ride today that my bottom would be the first thing to give out ... but to give these shorts a run for their money I didn't use any cream to lesson the pain/friction. And these shorts did not dissappoint. My bottom felt as comfortable as could be - it was like the shorts were a 2nd skin but better.
These shorts have it all:
Shami: 12 out of 10. hands down the best shorts I've ever tried. I am now afraid to go back to my 'regular' shorts.
Compression: nice for people like me who take a while to warm up!
Breathability: outstanding
The bib even has a 'latch' which makes it easier to do your business:)
I can't even say enough good things about these shorts. In one word: WOW! ...guess I'll be heading badk to SVC to get another pair - ladies and gentlemen: these shorts are well worth the money!!!
Moab Madness Day 6 - No Nonsense
So ... with all the boys gone and Frase and I left to our own devices ... what do we do? A 75 mile mountain bike ride, that's what!
The day started out a bit chilly - with the rain yesterday came a cold front. Starting out it was 10 Celcious (45 for you Americans). 3 days ago I was making fun of myself for bringing knickers and warm weather gear ... today I was sooo happy I had it. Ibex Knickers, under shirt, jersey, vest, arm warmers, little hat ... and I was good to go. The first 40 miles were pretty amazing - great moab sceanery, no cars, a little chilly but when the sun peaked out from the clouds it was a perfect temp.
We spent the majority of the day in the Canyonlands. Pretty amazing views. After ~35 miles we faced a 'moab wall' (3000 ft + rock wall). we had to climb it. Fortunately this time it was via switchback - no crazy hike-a-bike. 6 miles and 3000 feet later we were at the top. We thought it'd be easy going from there but we faced 20mi/hr headwinds and freezing cold temps (35F or 3C). Yikes. Back on with the arm-warmers, the extra jersey and the hankercheif aroud the neck. The next 30 miles were torture. We had to keep stopping to warm up our hands and we were so cold that we were forgetting to eat so we weren't so co-ordinated :)
After getting out of the wind and into the canyons we started to warm up a bit again... couple more miles and we were home free! It was definately an epic ride - 5.5 hours of ride time, ~75 miles, and ~6500 feet of climbing. Not a bad pace either ...
Sorry - no pictures today ... no breaks, no photos, no nonsense!
The day started out a bit chilly - with the rain yesterday came a cold front. Starting out it was 10 Celcious (45 for you Americans). 3 days ago I was making fun of myself for bringing knickers and warm weather gear ... today I was sooo happy I had it. Ibex Knickers, under shirt, jersey, vest, arm warmers, little hat ... and I was good to go. The first 40 miles were pretty amazing - great moab sceanery, no cars, a little chilly but when the sun peaked out from the clouds it was a perfect temp.
We spent the majority of the day in the Canyonlands. Pretty amazing views. After ~35 miles we faced a 'moab wall' (3000 ft + rock wall). we had to climb it. Fortunately this time it was via switchback - no crazy hike-a-bike. 6 miles and 3000 feet later we were at the top. We thought it'd be easy going from there but we faced 20mi/hr headwinds and freezing cold temps (35F or 3C). Yikes. Back on with the arm-warmers, the extra jersey and the hankercheif aroud the neck. The next 30 miles were torture. We had to keep stopping to warm up our hands and we were so cold that we were forgetting to eat so we weren't so co-ordinated :)
After getting out of the wind and into the canyons we started to warm up a bit again... couple more miles and we were home free! It was definately an epic ride - 5.5 hours of ride time, ~75 miles, and ~6500 feet of climbing. Not a bad pace either ...
Sorry - no pictures today ... no breaks, no photos, no nonsense!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Moab Madness - Day 5: What's up with the rain?
Yeah, rain. In Moab. What is up with that??? Not sure but here are the details ... today's weather was 20mi/hr winds with gusts up to 40mi/hr. This meant that all exposed 'edgy' type rides were out. i'm too little, 20mi/hr winds blow me around, let alone 40mi/hr!! Also Frase was doing an airport run (Tom left today) ... so my options were what was accessible from our camp site.
All that said ... today's ride was a nice easy spin out to Bar M trail, with a detour on 'Rockin A' and 'CircleO' and then back around Bar M. I was happy i'd chosen an 'easy' ride because the wind was blowing me around on the rocks in 'Rockin A' and 'CircleO'. I was happy there were any big edges near by! On the way back (fighting the monster headwind) the skies decided to open and the rain flew down. Wow, was it painfull. That rain HURT, I tell you. It was fast and furious ... felt like hail. My arms and legs were all red due to the temperature and force of the rain. Crazy. A great ride though.
All that said ... today's ride was a nice easy spin out to Bar M trail, with a detour on 'Rockin A' and 'CircleO' and then back around Bar M. I was happy i'd chosen an 'easy' ride because the wind was blowing me around on the rocks in 'Rockin A' and 'CircleO'. I was happy there were any big edges near by! On the way back (fighting the monster headwind) the skies decided to open and the rain flew down. Wow, was it painfull. That rain HURT, I tell you. It was fast and furious ... felt like hail. My arms and legs were all red due to the temperature and force of the rain. Crazy. A great ride though.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Moab Madness - Day 4 - Technical playground
Today we topped off the streak of classic rides with SlickRock - what a fun and crazy trail! Up, down, and allll around!
After playing around on slickrock we grabbed some food at Milts and then went up to Arches park ... amazing views:
The final treat of the day was tacking the climb at the beginning of Amasaback!
Monday, April 19, 2010
Moab Madness - days 2 and 3
So yesterday we did baby-steps - once for the full loop and the second time to ride down Klondike. What a fun ride!
Today we headed out to Hurrah pass, Jakub's ladder, Jackson Hole, and Amassaback. Another sweet ride with amazing views.... a picture is worth 1000 words so here we go:
At the top of hurrah pass:
Half way up Jakubs ladder:
Fraser is fast ... he's posing at the top of Jakub's ladder. Yes, we hike-a-biked up that!
What a fantastic day!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Moab Madness
So... Here I am in Moab! Catching up on blog posts and getting some great riding in! I am joining the boys (Frase, Alan, Mark) after a few weeks of riding and they are all in good shape and ready for trouble. Tom flow in the same day as I did ... and for our first ride in Moab the boys decided to take us to Porcupine Rim. here are some shots:
And now you know why it's called 'porcupine rim' :) What a fantastic ride ... and what amazing views! A little sketchy at times so close to the edge but ... amazing!
If' you've never been to Moab .. it's full of huge rock, lots of technical riding, and some rim riding. Very fun ... and my Norco Faze is the perfect ride on this terrain!
Today we head out to ride Baby Steps and a few other trails!
If' you've never been to Moab .. it's full of huge rock, lots of technical riding, and some rim riding. Very fun ... and my Norco Faze is the perfect ride on this terrain!
Today we head out to ride Baby Steps and a few other trails!
Race Report: Fort Steilacoom
Last Sunday I completed my 3rd race of the 2010 season at Fort Steilacoom. My legs were ready to go and my mind was very eager - I'd missed out on the last race so I was full of racing energy.
Quick Summary:
# laps: 3
Total distance: 25km
Time: 1:41
Terrain: lots of twists and turns, very technical, some good climbs
# women in Open/Expert: 12
Place: 2nd
The Details:
The weather couldn't have been better. I left the house expecting overcast skys and potential rain. While I was warming up the sun came out and the arm and leg warmers came off ... perfect racing temperature. i had a good warmup because I heard it was a shorter course than usual. I was riding my hardtail for a change so I also wanted to try it out in the woods. It's been a while since I've been on a hardtail on the trails ... this wasn't the smoothest course for a hardtail .. but I was eager to try it out - I'm planning to race it at some of the 100milers I do this year.
The start was fast and furious as usual. I settled in behind two women and held their wheels. At the first turn one of them took the wrong direction (you really had to keep your eyes open on that course) and then there were two. I could hear two other women right behind me. The 4 of us were together up the first climb, which was steep and not so short ... it was also deceiving. There was a 'false top' where we were all still together and then another climb where we dropped the two behind me. Down the descent we made up even more time and never saw them again. I was chasing Keri around the course, playing cat and mouse. She was stronger in the twisty stuff ... I was strong on the climbs and descents ... back and forth we'd go. Finally up a long hard hill I pulled it off ... a good pass follwed by a fast descent! Just after that I bailed on a hard fast corner doing a full-body skid. She passed me and that was the end of that!
It was a fantastic race - i felt really strong on the hills and descent everywhere else. Project 'race into shape' is coming together :)
Quick Summary:
# laps: 3
Total distance: 25km
Time: 1:41
Terrain: lots of twists and turns, very technical, some good climbs
# women in Open/Expert: 12
Place: 2nd
The Details:
The weather couldn't have been better. I left the house expecting overcast skys and potential rain. While I was warming up the sun came out and the arm and leg warmers came off ... perfect racing temperature. i had a good warmup because I heard it was a shorter course than usual. I was riding my hardtail for a change so I also wanted to try it out in the woods. It's been a while since I've been on a hardtail on the trails ... this wasn't the smoothest course for a hardtail .. but I was eager to try it out - I'm planning to race it at some of the 100milers I do this year.
The start was fast and furious as usual. I settled in behind two women and held their wheels. At the first turn one of them took the wrong direction (you really had to keep your eyes open on that course) and then there were two. I could hear two other women right behind me. The 4 of us were together up the first climb, which was steep and not so short ... it was also deceiving. There was a 'false top' where we were all still together and then another climb where we dropped the two behind me. Down the descent we made up even more time and never saw them again. I was chasing Keri around the course, playing cat and mouse. She was stronger in the twisty stuff ... I was strong on the climbs and descents ... back and forth we'd go. Finally up a long hard hill I pulled it off ... a good pass follwed by a fast descent! Just after that I bailed on a hard fast corner doing a full-body skid. She passed me and that was the end of that!
It was a fantastic race - i felt really strong on the hills and descent everywhere else. Project 'race into shape' is coming together :)
When it rains, it pours
Especially in Seattle ...
We had a 6 hour race lined up for the weekend of April 3rd ... but it rained. And when I say rained ... i mean it rained enough for them to call of the race - we didn't even make it to the start line! I was pretty bummed because I had skipped the 2hr race the weekend before due to being busy at work and knowing that I had a 6hr coming up soon ....
Ah well! We did a 6 hour road ride instead ... no where near as fun as mountain biking!
We had a 6 hour race lined up for the weekend of April 3rd ... but it rained. And when I say rained ... i mean it rained enough for them to call of the race - we didn't even make it to the start line! I was pretty bummed because I had skipped the 2hr race the weekend before due to being busy at work and knowing that I had a 6hr coming up soon ....
Ah well! We did a 6 hour road ride instead ... no where near as fun as mountain biking!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Race Report: Soaring Eagle Park
Last Sunday I completed my 2nd race of the 2010 season at Soaring Eagle park. My legs were tired as I was wrapping up 3 intense weeks of traning and getting ready for a recovery week - but the course was phenomenal...
Quick Summary:
# laps: 4
Total distance: 25km
Time: 1:43
Terrain: lots of twists and turns, very flowy
# women in Open/Expert: 15 (awesome!)
Place: 3rd
The Details:
The weather wasn't so co-operative but the trails were fantastic. We lined up for the start in a steady drizzle and quick count down ' 3 ... 2 ...1 ... go!' My legs were rebelling and not ready for a fast start so I was 7th heading into the woods. There was only one part of the course that was double track so passing was interesting. The good news is that you could generally find a way around people if you had your eyes open ... and since the Norco descends so well I did all my passing on the downhill sections. It was super fun.
After a few downhills where I could pass through the trees and I was sitting in 4th. I followed 3rd around and passed her on the 2nd lap on the one section of double-track, - this was the woman that beat me last race. I dropped her on the descents and never saw her again. I kept on seeing the 2nd place girl in front of me but she saw me too. I played cat and mouse with the 2nd place woman for 2 laps but she out-raced me and claimed 2nd place. A great course, a great effort ... and I didn't get lapped by the pro men this time .... it was a good day :)
Quick Summary:
# laps: 4
Total distance: 25km
Time: 1:43
Terrain: lots of twists and turns, very flowy
# women in Open/Expert: 15 (awesome!)
Place: 3rd
The Details:
The weather wasn't so co-operative but the trails were fantastic. We lined up for the start in a steady drizzle and quick count down ' 3 ... 2 ...1 ... go!' My legs were rebelling and not ready for a fast start so I was 7th heading into the woods. There was only one part of the course that was double track so passing was interesting. The good news is that you could generally find a way around people if you had your eyes open ... and since the Norco descends so well I did all my passing on the downhill sections. It was super fun.
After a few downhills where I could pass through the trees and I was sitting in 4th. I followed 3rd around and passed her on the 2nd lap on the one section of double-track, - this was the woman that beat me last race. I dropped her on the descents and never saw her again. I kept on seeing the 2nd place girl in front of me but she saw me too. I played cat and mouse with the 2nd place woman for 2 laps but she out-raced me and claimed 2nd place. A great course, a great effort ... and I didn't get lapped by the pro men this time .... it was a good day :)
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Now that's what I'm talkin' about!
Saturday morning, 20 degrees Celcious, start the day with a mtb ride up to Poo Poo point on Tiger ... beautiful views of the city all the way up, warm feeling of 'the burn' in the legs while climbing... feeling super fast on the climb (i was testing out the Norco Hardtail) ... and fun, fast descents. Life couldn't get much better! Well ... maybe if I started every day like that! :) Not bad ...
Today is the first day of my recovery week in this training cycle ... only one ride today (and a short 90min one at that). Spent the rest of the day running errands (you know, pesky things like getting groceries, cleaning, and other chores), planting potatoes, playing in the garden, and generally enjoying the sun.
Tomorrow is supposed to be raining ... fittting as I'll be racing again! My legs were rebelling today so tomorrow should be interesting ... all part of project 'race into shape' :)
Today is the first day of my recovery week in this training cycle ... only one ride today (and a short 90min one at that). Spent the rest of the day running errands (you know, pesky things like getting groceries, cleaning, and other chores), planting potatoes, playing in the garden, and generally enjoying the sun.
Tomorrow is supposed to be raining ... fittting as I'll be racing again! My legs were rebelling today so tomorrow should be interesting ... all part of project 'race into shape' :)
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Seattle Bike Expo - hanging with the SVC and Norco crew
This past weekend the Seattle Bike Expo came to town ... which meant a weekend of hanging with the SVC and Norco crews, checking out the new bike lineup for 2010, seeing old friends, talking shop, and generally getting physched for the 2010 season!
It was a great weekend - the new Shimano Di2 electronic shifting system was a big hit ... along with the NorcoTeam Carbon and the Ryan Leech show. A few favorites were there and I finally got to meet the other 'endurance' rider sponsored by SVC - Chris Ragsdale.
All in all, it was a great weekend.
Next up: Another BuDu Race!
It was a great weekend - the new Shimano Di2 electronic shifting system was a big hit ... along with the NorcoTeam Carbon and the Ryan Leech show. A few favorites were there and I finally got to meet the other 'endurance' rider sponsored by SVC - Chris Ragsdale.
All in all, it was a great weekend.
Next up: Another BuDu Race!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Leadville 100 - I'm in!!!
So yeah ... I just got word: I am IN for the Leadville 100!! Whoohoo ... bring on 100 miles of pain and oxygen debt :)
I'm super excited - for those of you who have not heard of this race, check out the Race Across the Sky movie. What is this racek you ask? Here is a quick summary:
I'm super excited - for those of you who have not heard of this race, check out the Race Across the Sky movie. What is this racek you ask? Here is a quick summary:
- Distance: 100 miles
- Climbing: 18,000 feet
- Altitude: 9,000 to 13,000 feet (hence the oxygen debt)
- Date: August 14th
- Record setters: Lance Armstrong (6hr 28 min), Rebecca Rusch (8hrs 15 min)
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Race Report - Black Diamond
There are many lessons I have learned in my 7 years of racing (wow, I've been racing 7 years!) .. one such lesson is that you need to race to get good at racing. And this means both years of racing + the racing miles you get under your belt in one season.
As my first A race is Spokane (late May), I needed to find some early season races to get the legs and mind ready ... and being Seattle, well, that was easy! Today was my first venture into the 2010 project of 'race into shape'.
The stats:
Finishing place: 2nd
# women in my category: 10
Duration: 70 minutes (yes, only 70 minutes!)
Location: Black Diamond
Technical rating: 8 -->Rocky (baby head rocks) and rooty twisty single track.
Terrain: mostly flat with a few steep ups and downs
Incidents: 2- my fork had too much air so my hands & arms were numb from the beating of the course; and i had a chain problem :)
Getting to the start line
Getting to the start line is sometimes the hardest part of the race. This wasn't the case for me today but it certainly was for my friend Yvonne. We car pooled together only for her to remember that she forgot her pedals once we got there!!! Well, pedals are pretty important aren't they :) She luckly found a friendly biker to lend her his pedals and was good to go. I met her at the start line and she had forgotten her water in the car... one of those days. She's also left her gloves at the registration table ... ugh! Being the trooper she is she just shrugged and said 'well, what is the first race of the season for anyway?'.
The race
The start was fast and furious, as usual, with one girl going all out at the word 'go'. the rest of us were half asleep (aparently) and filed into line behind her. I was positoned in 3rd - not a bad position ... or so I thought. That though quickly changed once we got into the single track and I realized that the girl in front of me was way past her limit and falling all over the trail. Because the trail was so narrow there wern't many oppertunities to pass so I took her on the first hill. Now I was sitting pretty in 2nd.
I found the 1st place girl and followed her around for a while, taking the lead after she managed an endo in one of the more technical bits. As I mentioned above, I had wayyy to much air in my shock (what are 1st races for if not for remembering all the stuff you forget to check?) and my arms and hands were sore after 2 laps. We had 5 laps in total and I was enjoying the ride. The girl I had passed for 1st took me by surprise and passed me on an open section and I was back in 2nd chasing. At first I thought 'settle into your own pace Monilee' but I quickly realized that 'my pace' was a 24hr solo pace and nowhere near fast enough for a 1 hour race :) I shook myself out of it and pushed harder, catching the 1st place girl. I stayed on her tail through the end of lap 3 and through lap4 I was itching to pass. But I knew I had one more lap so I wanted to time it right. I drafted her up to the lap area only to find that were were being pulled - the lead men had lapped us on lap4 so the race was over! Major bummer! Ah well - just goes to show you should never go slower than you can :)
All in all it was a really fun race, was great to be out playing in the dirt, and was a well attended event! Yvonne had a great race despite the setbacks and finished a solid 4th!
All told: Project 'race into shape' is not only going well, it is very very fun. I'm stoked to be racing again!
As my first A race is Spokane (late May), I needed to find some early season races to get the legs and mind ready ... and being Seattle, well, that was easy! Today was my first venture into the 2010 project of 'race into shape'.
The stats:
Finishing place: 2nd
# women in my category: 10
Duration: 70 minutes (yes, only 70 minutes!)
Location: Black Diamond
Technical rating: 8 -->Rocky (baby head rocks) and rooty twisty single track.
Terrain: mostly flat with a few steep ups and downs
Incidents: 2- my fork had too much air so my hands & arms were numb from the beating of the course; and i had a chain problem :)
Getting to the start line
Getting to the start line is sometimes the hardest part of the race. This wasn't the case for me today but it certainly was for my friend Yvonne. We car pooled together only for her to remember that she forgot her pedals once we got there!!! Well, pedals are pretty important aren't they :) She luckly found a friendly biker to lend her his pedals and was good to go. I met her at the start line and she had forgotten her water in the car... one of those days. She's also left her gloves at the registration table ... ugh! Being the trooper she is she just shrugged and said 'well, what is the first race of the season for anyway?'.
The race
The start was fast and furious, as usual, with one girl going all out at the word 'go'. the rest of us were half asleep (aparently) and filed into line behind her. I was positoned in 3rd - not a bad position ... or so I thought. That though quickly changed once we got into the single track and I realized that the girl in front of me was way past her limit and falling all over the trail. Because the trail was so narrow there wern't many oppertunities to pass so I took her on the first hill. Now I was sitting pretty in 2nd.
I found the 1st place girl and followed her around for a while, taking the lead after she managed an endo in one of the more technical bits. As I mentioned above, I had wayyy to much air in my shock (what are 1st races for if not for remembering all the stuff you forget to check?) and my arms and hands were sore after 2 laps. We had 5 laps in total and I was enjoying the ride. The girl I had passed for 1st took me by surprise and passed me on an open section and I was back in 2nd chasing. At first I thought 'settle into your own pace Monilee' but I quickly realized that 'my pace' was a 24hr solo pace and nowhere near fast enough for a 1 hour race :) I shook myself out of it and pushed harder, catching the 1st place girl. I stayed on her tail through the end of lap 3 and through lap4 I was itching to pass. But I knew I had one more lap so I wanted to time it right. I drafted her up to the lap area only to find that were were being pulled - the lead men had lapped us on lap4 so the race was over! Major bummer! Ah well - just goes to show you should never go slower than you can :)
All in all it was a really fun race, was great to be out playing in the dirt, and was a well attended event! Yvonne had a great race despite the setbacks and finished a solid 4th!
All told: Project 'race into shape' is not only going well, it is very very fun. I'm stoked to be racing again!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Olympic Madness
Yup, the Olympics! We headed up this past week to watch a few events, had a blast, bought some fun souvenirs, including some funky new art, and came home.
It was a great time .... what an atmosphere! Crazy amounts of people, all excited, all cheering, and all in a good mood. It was a fun time - glad we went up to check it out!
It was a great time .... what an atmosphere! Crazy amounts of people, all excited, all cheering, and all in a good mood. It was a fun time - glad we went up to check it out!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
A game of chance ... win some, lose some
And in this particular game of chance, I lost ... but Fraser won!
What am i talking about? The raffle for the Leadville 100 mountain bike race. We both entered the raffle and the results were announced this week. Bummer for me but I am excited that Frase gets to go!
At this point my scheudle for 2010 is pretty firm - now that I am out f the running for the Leadville race I'll likely do the Bend 100 miler instead.
The training has been going well, I am still doing weights for strength (it is my biggest limiter at this time) and am starting to mix in some 'faster rides' with my 'slower rides'. I'm also still enjoying running and seem to have stabalized in terms of weight (I lost a bit of weight this winter).
In other news, I am very stoked about the 2010 Faze SE that is coming my way in March! Christmas is a little late this year but well worth the wait!
What am i talking about? The raffle for the Leadville 100 mountain bike race. We both entered the raffle and the results were announced this week. Bummer for me but I am excited that Frase gets to go!
At this point my scheudle for 2010 is pretty firm - now that I am out f the running for the Leadville race I'll likely do the Bend 100 miler instead.
The training has been going well, I am still doing weights for strength (it is my biggest limiter at this time) and am starting to mix in some 'faster rides' with my 'slower rides'. I'm also still enjoying running and seem to have stabalized in terms of weight (I lost a bit of weight this winter).
In other news, I am very stoked about the 2010 Faze SE that is coming my way in March! Christmas is a little late this year but well worth the wait!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Where's Waldo?
So, it's been a bit quiet on the blog lately which means my life has been nothing of the sort ... here's what we've been up to:
Christmas in Nova Scotia with my family. We felt like true celebrities with a different group of friends/family visting us at Mom & Dad's each day of the 7 days we were home. Mix in a few long runs, some hockey, loads of great friends, visits, and family time and you have an awesome Christmas. We even got to visit our friends Alan & Gita on the way home which was the perfect end to our vacation!
New Years on the bike. Yes, we are still biking on dirt trails here in Seattle. Bringing in the New Year on the trails with fellow mountain bikers ... need I say more?
Checking out new trails. The mountain bike community here in Seattle is amazing. We are getting new trails all the time .... this time of year is a great time to check out the trails.
Working too much. OK this one is lame ... but I'd rather be working harder this time of year and easier in the summer. it's all about balance and priorities :)
That about sums it up... I'm glossing over loads of details but you get the picture :)
Christmas in Nova Scotia with my family. We felt like true celebrities with a different group of friends/family visting us at Mom & Dad's each day of the 7 days we were home. Mix in a few long runs, some hockey, loads of great friends, visits, and family time and you have an awesome Christmas. We even got to visit our friends Alan & Gita on the way home which was the perfect end to our vacation!
New Years on the bike. Yes, we are still biking on dirt trails here in Seattle. Bringing in the New Year on the trails with fellow mountain bikers ... need I say more?
Checking out new trails. The mountain bike community here in Seattle is amazing. We are getting new trails all the time .... this time of year is a great time to check out the trails.
Working too much. OK this one is lame ... but I'd rather be working harder this time of year and easier in the summer. it's all about balance and priorities :)
That about sums it up... I'm glossing over loads of details but you get the picture :)
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Not your regular race report
Last weekend we took part in a local event called the 'stinky spoke'. It's called 'stinky' because the weather can be kinda stinky in January. It was a poker run and I think I likely had the worst hand of the lot. We went with some friends and had some good laughs, good food, and some good intervals! It was a lot of fun ...
Here is a picture of 'stinky pinky' - they have a silent auction so you can make your friends ride it. No, none of us were riding it.
Here is a photo of us posing along the 'race course' after we each got another card for our poker hand. to the left of this photo was a 'jump' where lots of super endos were getting photographed. Pretty funny stuff.
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