2 weekends 3 wins

The last two weekends have been successful on the racing front and my fitness is starting to shine a bit more. June 16th I planned to race the Ute Valley Pro XC in Colorado Springs to test myself against some of the best mountain bikers in the country (ok, so the test would have been more to hang on for dear life and try not to get lapped). I was so consumed with a terrible, horrible no good week at work that I didn't remember to register in time and there was not day of registration for the pro race...woops! Luckily the Winter Park hillclimb was the same day so I headed up for a 5.3 mile torture session. I started out hard in hopes that I would break up the field quickly. I didn't have a plan other than to take the lead and see how long I could maintain it. I was surprised at how good I felt and was able to not only maintain my lead but extend it all the way to the top, passing many men in the process. I finished in 39:23, almost 3 minutes faster than my time form last year and almost 4 minutes ahead of the next woman. I was super excited about my time and the strength I felt during the entire race! I joked  afterwards that having a terrible week at work and getting in an argument with your spouse the evening prior to a race is key to going fast OR maybe I'm just starting to reap the benefits of my focused hill training.

In Boulder we are spoiled with many races even on weeknights. Wednesday I suffered my way to a 3rd place in the local short track. Thursday evening I took the win for the women at the local Stroke and Stride for win #2 of the last two weeks.

Photo: Jim Heuck

Photo: Jim Heuck

Win #3 came Sunday at Xterra Gowdy. Curt Gowdy State Park in Wyoming is a hidden gem in an unattractive and barren part of Wyoming between Cheyenne and Laramie. I raced the Gowdy Grinder in 2011 and when I heard that there was going to be an Xterra there I was thrilled. The trails are no joke with some really technical sections, some fast flowy sections and everything in between. I got the pleasure of camping Saturday night with good friends Travis and Amy along with their entertaining 18 month old Wyatt. I chose not to hassle with a tent and made the back of the wagon my bed for the night. It was surprisingly comfortable but I still failed to sleep much. The race consisted of a 1200 meter swim, 14.2 mile bike and 5.3 mile run. The water was surprisingly cold, maybe low 60s. Knowing it was going to be over 100 outside by the time we finished made me happily soak in the cold and accept the shivering on the start line. I had a solid swim and think I finally figured out how to prevent my goggles from fogging. I was the first woman out of the water and onto the bike. I focused on riding conservatively so I wouldn't melt in the heat on the run. The bike was indeed not for first timers or people new to mountain biking. Rock drops, rock features, loose granite, tight turns and switchbacks made this course what I believe to be one of the more technical and true mountain bike courses on the Xterra circuit.  A few years ago this course would have freaked me out but Sunday my Specialized Fate and I rode cleanly except for getting my bars stuck between some tight rock sections and dismounting when guys in front of me were suddenly off their bikes and reluctant to let me by on the singletrack. The entire race with the exception of the first 3/4 mile was on amazing singletrack. With about 4 miles left on the bike I could see Maia Ignatz and Kim Baugh behind me and realized I would need to step it up a bit to maintain my position. I came off the bike still in 1st and didn't melt on the run, which was mostly exposed to the intense sun and featured somewhat technical trail running requiring significant focus. Thanks to Without Limits for putting on a great new event! If you ever want to do a low-key Xterra with real mountain biking, this is THE event! Now, I don't care where you are please do a rain dance for Colorado. It is scary dry and fires are burning all over. My heart goes out to all those who are affected by these devastating fires and to the firefighters trying to battle these monsters.

My Teva Games Tale

The Teva Games is probably one of my favorite events of the year with a multitude of outdoor events, races and entertainment. In addition, the weekend attracts top notch athletes in every event. This year I did the Ultimate Mountain Challenge consisting of kayaking, mountain biking, trail running and an uphill road bike time trial all within about 30 hours. I went into the weekend knowing the women I was racing against, Sari Anderson and Gretchen Reeves are World Class athletes and it would be a hard weekend.

I also went into the weekend taking some icky drugs, something I'm not a fan of. In early May I had an unfortunate encounter with poison ivy. After three weeks of itching and seeing new spots of very attractive rashes appear all over I broke down and went to the doctor the week leading up to Teva. I learned I had systemic poison ivy and was given some meds to clear it up. Despite feeling odd from these lovely pills I was still excited to test myself mentally and physically.

Kayak

We headed up to Vail on Friday so I could learn to kayak before the race on Saturday. Yep, you read that correctly, I had never been in whitewater, unless you count tubing in Boulder Creek. This was the perfect year for me to make my first attempt at kayaking because the water levels were very low. A huge thanks to Travis Macy who gave me a quick 10 minute lesson in the pond before I plunked my rented sit-top kayak into Gore Creek for my first ever whitewater kayaking experience. I made it down the 3 mile stretch of river and while I’m sure I was easily identified as a novice I loved it, even when I flipped off my kayak once. Overcoming a fear of doing something always leaves a smile on my face. Saturday morning I had no expectations for my time in the kayak portion. My mission was “be safe and don’t flip”. I achieved the first part of my mission but not the second. I flipped out in almost the same place I did during my practice run but again made it to the finish with a smile on my face. 

Rookie

Mountain Bike

About 2 hours after I finished the kayak it was time to mountain bike. For the first time ever the UMC athletes got our own start 2 minutes behind the Pro Women. The kayak didn’t make me cold but drained me in a way that I had never experienced. The combination of using different muscles and the excessive adrenaline that was pumping through my system before the kayak left me feeling flat. This was evident from the start when I simply could not hang with Gretchen and Sari. Turns out they were indeed flying and would have placed 5^th and 6^th in the pro race, which was a stacked field with the likes of Georgia Gould and Heather Irmiger. I simply focused on trying to be steady and catch some pro women (which I did) and not crash with my noodle arms.

The 7.5 mile 10K

Sunday I was faced with a run and uphill time trial. I was excited for the run even though it is without question on of the hardest 10K races out there. If you don't believe me I challenge you to do it. I figured I could bring back some time I lost in the kayak and mountain bike on Saturday. This year it turned out to be 7.5 miles which was about 3 miles too long for me on the day. I started out strong and had the goal of keeping the top 3 women in my sight. Until just after mile 3 I was able to see the top 3 women and was within striking distance of 3^rd place. My body decided that was enough and essentially turned off. It was not fun to have to walk a bit but I am proud that I kept pressing forward and ended up still finishing 8^th overall.

Time Trial

After grabbing some food and sitting down just long enough for my body to try to shut off I had to saddle up and psych up to race 10 miles up Vail Pass.  Since I don’t own a road bike my Specialized Crux cross bike with super light NoTubes wheels was my weapon of choice…no aero bars, no aero helmet, just me and my bike.  I finished the time trial with the 16^th fastest time among all women and  2^nd among the UMC women.

A little press time with Sari

I ended up finishing 3^rd in the Ultimate Mountain Challenge behind two humble supportive competitors. To say I was tired would be an understatement and to top off my draining weekend I woke up Monday morning with a cold that has been hanging on for the last 10 days. A little cold won’t scare me off from coming back to the Ultimate Mountain Challenge in the future.

Telling Larry "I don't know where they are" in regards to Sari and Gretchen. They showed up a bit later after we left. Next time we'll get all of us on the podium at once.

ITU Cross World Championships

 A much overdue report about ITU Cross Worlds held on May 19^th in hot humid Pelham, Alabama. After the Xterra West Championships I opted to swim more, 3 times a week, in hopes that my chicken arms would gain some strength and propel me to a solid swim in Alabama.  I am very much a morning person and really didn’t know what to do with myself on race morning since we didn’t start until 1pm.  The luxury of being able to read the paper and savor my coffee was a nice treat.

Swim

My goal was to have a good swim so I would be in a good position on the mostly singletrack, tight windy bike course. I focused on going out hard and not settling into a pace (ie; slowing down) as early as I usually do.  I ended up exiting the water in 6^th place with Emma at my side. I was very pleased that my chicken arms got the job done and was excited to get on the bike.

Bike

Let me start by saying if you are told by a physical therapist that you will need to do certain exercises for the rest of your life to avoid injury, listen to said physical therapist, they know what they are talking about.  The bike course was 3 laps of a 6 mile twisty, tight singletrack that was thankfully mostly under the shade of lush vegetation. I got on the bike and was riding strong behind Emma for about ½ a lap. My back was tight from the start but after ½ a lap the spasms started. The thought of safety crossed my mind a few times as it was hard to keep myself from flailing off my bike around every turn. I kept telling myself, just get to the run and all will be well and “why don’t you make time to do your back exercises, look what’s happened now”. I got passed and passed and passed by woman and came off the bike in 13^th, which was not in my “plan”.

Run

What relief it was to get off my bike and start running. My back screamed “thank you” as soon as I got off my bike. The run was two 5K laps with small rolling hills and again mostly in the shade. I think that my custom Infinit blend kept me strong and fought off any dehydration as I entered the run wishing we were allowed  a small amount of time for bathroom breaks. I passed one woman on the run and ended up 12^th at the line.  The field of women was spectacular…a deep field of fast, fit and fun ladies that I love seeing at races. Congratulations to winner Lesley Patterson, she is on fire this year!

 In the last two weeks I have been diligent about doing my physical therapy and have already noticed fewer back issues. I also made some adjustments to my position on my Specialized Fate and this seems to have helped too. I’m looking forward to a solid month and a half of training and lots of mountain bike racing to get ready for Xterra Mountain Championships. Next up is the Teva Mountain Games Ultimate Mountain Challenge. Nothing like a kayak, mountain bike, trail run and uphill road bike time trial all in a little more than 24 hours to really take your fitness up a notch.