Thru Endurance We Conquer!

Well, it is after 2:00 and I did not get my swim in like I wanted. And although I asked for the meeting, I don't know what the outcome was. I think the news will be satisfactory. I just wish that I would have known that I did not have to got to the meeting. I would have left for my swim. This has not been a good week for getting in the water.

I should know better by now. Every time I decide to sleep in and do my workout - usually swim, over lunch, something comes up. I was planning on swimming over lunch today, have my swimsuit on and everything. Well, theres been an issue at work and I decided that I wanted to get it taken care off sooner rather then later. But I won't be able leave for the pool until after the meeting I asked for. Would not look good to ask for a meeting, then not be here. Hopefully, I will still have time after the meeting. I was fairly organized this morning and don't have too many patients left to see.

Finally!! The timing worked out and I got to finish a workout without getting rained on. This was my long weekend - long ride, long run. Yesterday we gotpoured on. Today, I headed up to Rampart Resevoir for my long run. Left later then I wanted, naturally. I was actually helping with registration for a trail race in Stratton. Soon as the men started, I bolted up north. There were clouds all over in Colorado Springs and I was really worried that I would get rained on again. But up at Rampart it was just perfect. A little cool at the start, but no clouds. The sun was shining and it looked like it would warm up pretty quickly. I was planning on running around the res twice for about 26 miles. Based on that plan, I had one water bottle, with a second in the car. I would refill when I started my second lap. It was so quiet up there, especially for a Sunday. I only saw five cyclists and three hikers. I guess everyone thought that it was gonna rain! So I almost had the trail to myself. I was ...

Long ride yesterday with Nick and wow. We left later then we planned because we decided to just watch the finish of the Tour on Mont Vontux. So it was 9:30 by the time we left. No clouds in the sky at all when we hit the road, so we thought we might be lucky. The planned ride was through Stratton, up Gold Camp Road to Old Stage then some fun single track to Jones downhill and finishing on Capt Jacks. For the entire climb up Gold Camp, nothing but sun and cloudless sky. It was nice - we met up with Erik, one of the men in Nick's class for the MSC races. That made the climb fun, listening to him and Nick talking. Erik took a different route after Old Stage and Nick and I continuted up. When we stopped to fill up our water bottles, a few sprinkles. Just before we dropped Jones, the sky opened. Thunder, lightning, rain and hail. A few of lightening strikes were a little close for comfort. We thought we might be able to hole up and wait it out. Twenty minutes later, we were soaked to th...

What a way to ruin a good workout. I wanted to do my brick workout this morning so I didn't have to deal with as much traffic or the possibility of thunder storms. Well, the road I used to ride has become too busy to feel comfortable. The amount of truck traffic was scary. I don't think I ever want to ride on 115 again. I was not comfortable, even all the way at the edge of the shoulder. To make matters worse, the shoulder is always full of crap - glass, rocks, blown out tires. I got one flat about one and an half hours into a two hour ride. Had one tube and got the flat fixed, and proceded on my way. Ten minutes later, another flat. I did not have another tube with me. That was the end of my workout. Nick had to come and get me. At that point, I didn't bother with the run. I will do a short brick when I get off work. The good news of the morning was that I was able to maintain a very good pace at a lower heart rate then last time. But I will not ride on 115 again. It is ju...

I have wheels!! My birthday was this weekend and Nick got me the ZTR Race wheels from Stans. So now my Tomac is closer to being ready to ride. I still won't ride it at the Indian Peaks Xterra, but it will be ready for USA Championships at Odgen. The wheels were a last minute change in plans for a present. He was originally going to surprise me with a fancy weekend at one of the Beaver Creek condos. Getting the homestay with Molly from the club changed that plan so now I have wheels. We mounted tires last night and I got the saddle on, so the Tomac is looking like a real bike. All we have left to do is the cabling and fine tuning the fit. This was an awsome present and much better then spending money on a condo. I can use the bike and remember what a fun weekend we had.

Well, different race but the script was the same. I finished tenth in the Mountain Cup today, behind some of the best women on the circuit. I felt awsome in the water and had a really strong swim. I was the fourth woman out of the water. My transistion was definetly smoother today. I was able to get the wetsuit off a lot faster then in other races. It helped that I slathered the legs in Body Glide and Beljum Budder. Nick said that I still lost some time in the transition to the other women. Once out on the bike, it did not take long. Just before the start of the single track and the long climb, five women blew past me. I was able to keep Emma in sight until just before the first descent, but after that she was gone. This was a challenging bike course. The climb was long and brutal. There were really only a few short breaks from climbing until the final descent. I was happy that Nick and I did ride that part. Not a descent I would have wanted to ride blind. The run was just as tough as ...

Beaver Creek should be interesting. I only got to ride the last third of the bike course, but it was a fun trail. The women's pro field is stacked for this race. The top four women from Maui last year will be on the starting line. I think this should be a good race for me. I felt strong on the pre ride and riding the Colorado Trail yesterday. The last run workout I did was also strong. Hopefully feeling good and relaxed today will translate into a fast race tommorow. The bad news of the week is that one of the club members was involved in a bad wreck on tuesday while preriding. He broke his leg up by the hip and had to go straight to surgery after getting hauled off the mountain. He is still up in Avon, waiting until after the race for one of the other club members to drive him home. Nick is being a great husband - after getting me all settled for the race, he is going to help Brucw get around. He wants to watch the finsh of the race, despite being non weight bearing. He has a chai...

The Beaver Tail tri this weekend was a great success and fun event. Kent puts the race on for club members and he puts a lot of work into the event. I helped with some course marking before the event and had a little to much fun with the spray paint. With only 22 racers, there was plenty of room in the small transition area. I participated in the race to get a good open water swim and practice getting out of the wetsuit. A lowkey event is the place to practice. The weather was perfect - sunny, warm, and no wind. That made the swim really easy. Just for fun, Kent made us swim around a trampoline in the middle of the lake. After the first bouy, I pulled away from the rest of the field. I still had some issues with the darn wetsuit, but headed out onto the bike in the lead. That wouldn't last. Kyle and Nic caught me on the road. This bike was a dirt road, ATV trail course with lots of water crossings and deep sand. The sand made the descent tricky. I wiped out on the descent and was s...

The Pikes Peak Triathlon Club Beaver Tail tri is tommorow up in Westcreek. I'm looking forward to a low key, fun race with the other club members. It will also be good to get some transition practice - especially for T1. The wetsuit removal is still too slow. I also have a box of goodies for everyone there, thanks to my sponsors. There's samples of Beljum Budder - even triathletes have to deal with chafing. Kenyan coffee from Christopher Bean for the raffle plus some coupons. Gu sent over a box of Chomps in orange and strawberry. And just in time, I got a box of MotorTabs. I'll have some photos up after the race.

It's hot. I am not ready for this heat. It got to almost 90 today - one of the hottest days this year. I usually don't have to much trouble with the heat but it hit hard and fast. Nick is really suffering - he does not do well in hot weather. Last week I was complaining about the afternoon storms, this week missing the rain. It will take a few days to get used to the heat. I need to remember to keep drinking - I was really dehydrated after my run. Having a stash of Motortabs helps. I also figured out a great iced coffee with the Jazzy Java I got from Christopher Bean.

I still haven't gotten wheels for the Tomac. The frame is half built - most every thing is on - handle bars, drivetrain, brakes, and seatpost. Just no wheels. Between my crazy early season and the low census at work, I have not had the money. It didn't seem like I was racing that much, but the time off added up. So the Tomac will remain on the wall for a few more months. Next year I'll have a dialed new bike.

This has been a typical Colorado summer. Every afternoon, the clouds roll off the mountains and storms begin. Nick and I got caught in a big thunder storm yesterday. We were riding up gold camp road and it started raining. At that point, we turned around. Not soon enough. Within minutes the sky was crackling. Some of the lightening was a little close! We made it down find but drenched. Of course, the sun came out just after we got home. This week is going to be hot - good thing I ordered more Motortabs!

I did my first track workout this season the other day. Ive been doing some speed workouts, but not getting on the track at all. This was a shock to the system for sure. It did feel good to stretch out and pick up the pace, but I was suffering at the end. I was able to run between 6:30 and 6:40 miles, which was where I wanted to be, but it hurt. I do need to do more focused speed drills to help with the run. I'm going start working with Marti to improve my form on the run. She's a world class runner - once holding the American record in the 15,000k and winning the 1987 Pan American games 10,00k. She's also won many marathons and competed in the world cross country championships. She'll have lots of good drills and workouts that will help me on the run. I just need to listen.