Enduro racing ... it's all about the downhill

This summer I found out about a new race at one of my favorite riding venues - Tiger Mountain. The race format was intrigueing .. lots of riding (4+ hours in the saddle); but they only time the descents. hmmmmm ... I figured I had to gie it a try since there was one at Tiger. Here are the details ...

By the numbers:
- Hours ridden: 4.5
- Miles ridden: 38.5
- Vertical feet climbed: 3500
- Total of all timed sections: ~32 min
- Finishing place: 3rd

It went pretty well considering it was my first rodeo :) The first section felt like cheating - I ride that course so much as part of my training (well, not a lot this year - but normally) that I can almost ride it in my sleep. It's technical, twisty, rooty, rocky, and oh so FUN! I give it a 8 for technical difficulty. and a 10 when you are trying to go fast. for my Ottawa readers, this is harder than Fortune. Much Much harder! also so much fun to ride down!  The second section was new trail and really tough. deep mud for the first 1/2 mile had me off my bike and running ...and it was over really fast! The third section as also familiar territory and I managed to rock that one out too. good times!

OK OK, enough about the timed sections - lets talk about the race format and why I enjoyed this type of race.  They had designated start times so I got in a 2 hour warm up before we even started. fun. i love riding at tiger.  Each person started 1 min behind te person in front of them to ensure minimal passing.  Goodness! The race organizers and volunteers were awesome - friendly and fun.  Oh, and it was raining. I am not talking about a gentle Seattle drizzle ... I am talking full on rain. As in buckets of rain. As in so hard I can barely see where I am going rain. This is where the 'able to ride the trail in my sleep' skill really helped :)

After each timed section it was pretty chill. There were three of us girls that kind naturally landed together and we rode to each section together. yes, these are the 2 that beat me :)  It was fun to chat and be chill in between sections where we tried to beat eachother. Adds more social dynamic to the race.  Add to that the fact that I wasn't feeling 100% and didn't have any kick ... well, I was glad they were only timing downhill sections :)

All in all, a great race, organized by good people! Thanks to Element Cycles for their support - not just to me - but also to the race - they were a key sponsor.

Married!!

Yes! It is true!!! It was perfect … in every possible way.  There are so many reasons why …

I married the man I love more than anything in the world. So even if it was pouring rain and nothing went well, it would have been amazing.  It was awesome to be ‘home’ at mom and dad’s farm in Nova Scotia, for the wedding. It was amazing to have 98% of our family present – the only one absent was Jonathan’s sister, who could not travel for health reasons. It was so fun to have Emily and her immediate ‘best friend’ Kirra be our beautiful mischievous flower girls.  It was so connecting to have personalized vows, and to sing the song I wrote for Jonathan.  It was special for my dad to walk me down the ‘asile’ between the sunflowers and garden while Luca and Luke ‘managed’ the music.  It was special to have my sister hand me Jonathan’s ring, and for my brother to hand Jonathan my ring.  It was also special to have our Mothers signing the wedding certificate, and for my father to do the welcome and Jonathan’s father to a blessing. It was really cool that Jenn could skype in for the ceremony! I loved that our Justice of Peace is the mother of my very special friend, Kate – and that even better, Kate could be there!

It was fun to get ready with ‘the girls’ and entertaining to spend more time on Emily’s hair than on my own ;-) Our little princess!  It was very cool to have a bouquet which was picked from my parent’s garden by Caralee and then assembled by my sister, Eloise.  My mom outdid herself with our cake – it was delicious, and looked SPECTACULAR … decorated with edible flower petals from the gardens around the farm.  My dress was stunning – the alterations shop did an excellent job, and LaVerne make sure it was perfect by steaming it, by hand, before the wedding.

Mom and dad did a great job prepping possible wedding spots, and organized a photographer …  so we have loads of photos before and after the ceremony. And the dinner! Amazing. I love my mom’s country-style Sunday dinners so this is what we asked for. With over 20 people around the table the conversation was lovely, there was lots of tinkering on glass for kisses, and the food was spectacular!!!  The wine that my brother and Caralee picked out was spectacular too - they did a perfect job wine shopping based off one phone conversation :)

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue …. Yes we did that too! Here are the details … Something Old – we used my parent’s wedding cake cutter (and had their topper out as a decoration).  Something New – heh, this was easy … my dress, Emily’s dress, Jonathan’s suit … J  Something Borrowed – this was very special.  Jonathan wore Otto’s first wedding band (he had it replaced a few years ago) on his right hand. Very special.  Something Blue – this was fun … Jennifer had given us some blue angles and Jonathan carried one in his pocket.

Even weather was perfect – a beautiful September day in NS (~74F, Sun, and fluffly white clouds).  Everyone made the day perfect and special!! I cannot thank my family and friend enough for such a special day.

I am a very lucky woman … I have a wonderful man and little girl in my life whom I love very much. I am very excited about this chapter in my life. Love to you all!

Race Report: Birthday Race - Capital Forest 50

ah, the annual tradition (since moving to Seattle) of doing the Capital Forest Race on my birthday weekend! Great tradition :)

This year, I opted to do the 50 mile option so that I could spend the afternoon playing with Jonathan and Emily. It was a great choice! ... and here are the numbers :)

Time in saddle: 5:07
Miles Ridden: 50
Vertical feet climbed: >6250ft
# of mechanicals: 0
Placed: 2nd

But of course, the numbers never tell you the whole story .... For example, they don't tell you about the cheering section I had in my send off (thanks honey!) and how cute it is to see Emily pumping her fist in the air cheering :)  Nor do they tell you how fast my new Norco Hardtail climbs and how strong I felt on the 2nd big climb of the course! 

It was a fantastic race ... if I had to do it over I'd have a little less air in my tires (a little aggressive since last year I flatted 3 times in this race) ... but that is about all I would change. I pushed hard the entire race - I was worried that I would wimp out so I wore my heart rate strap to ensure I kept pushing - it worked :) I am very good at settling in and going a speed that I can maintain forever - this race was about pushing myself harder ... and I did! I knew coming into the last mile that I was happy with my race .. no matter where I placed. I knew I had pushed myself hard, and that I had given a good effort ... and that I had beaten my younger self.

At the end, I am not sure who was more tired from the days activities - me or Emily. Her and Jonathan had found a fantastic children's museum and fair in Olympia and she played her heart out... she was sound asleep when I finished and didn't peep till we were 5 min away from home :)  Nap time worked out pretty well - meant we got to spend the rest of the day having a family adventure!

Race Report: Xterra Black Diamond (offroad triathlon)

A bit late (Aug 10) ... but late is better than never :)

Awesome race! I really enjoyed the 1/2 ironman ... but to be back on the dirt ... well, lets just say I felt like a kid in a candy store! :)

Here are the details:
Swim: 26 minutes (compared to 32 when I did it 2 years ago!)
Bike: 1:47 (compared to 1:55 2 years ago)
Run: 50 (compared to 55 2 years ago)

Usually I am not keen to get in the water ... but with the race starting at 9:30am, it was not so bad :) I was chatting away with superstar Danelle Kabush before the start and she initated a swim warm up .. smart girl ;-)

After a quick warm up, we were off. I felt decent in the water, and was (as expected) in the back 25% of the pack. It was nice not to be swam over :) I came out of the water about 10 minutes off the leaders (Danelle) and then onto the bike. Ah, the bike! I love mountain biking! Black diamond is technical - not big drop, big descent, big climbing technical, which I LOVE, but still technical - very tight corners, baby-head rocks, and lots of roots! So in a nutshell, it is a good course for me. I spent the first lap (we did 2) passing. I felt like a broken record  ... " can I get by?" .. "I'll pass when it's safe" ... etc.  Most people were pretty good about it and let me by as soon as they could. The course is pretty technical, so you are limited more by your abilities than your fitness ... so coming out of the bike, and into the run, I barely felt tired :)  The run was great - I love trail running! I feel like a little kid on the technical trails, jumping over logs, airplaning around corners, and sprinting up the hills. A solid run at around 50 minutes! As usual, I was surprised by all the people I passed running ... makes me feel like a fast runner ;-)

A great race on the dirt, and good reminder that I am better on the technical dirt than the road!

Thanks again to Norco for the great ride, and to Element Cycle for making sure my gear was all up to snuff for race day! You guys rocks!