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Showing posts from September, 2009

Travel trouble

Sitting on a plane at O'hare in Chicago, waiting for a " maintenance issue" to be resolved. Really have to wonder - aren't these things supposed to be serviced? The captain said it would take about five minutes to resolve - ten minutes ago. Next thing, we will have to get off this plane and wait for a new one. I really don't like flying anymore. Hopefully the Road Turtle will eliminate the need for some flights.

Windy day

Man, I feel like a whimp. It's a nice, sunny day out and I am hiding in the garage on the spin bike. Why? Well, I tried heading outside for my ride, but only lasted ten minutes. Gave up and retreated to the safety of the garage. The wind is just incredible today. I knew it was going to be bad when the flags were straight out, and that wasn't even a gust. I just didn't feel like working so hard figbting the wind today. That and being blown around into traffic sealed the deal. I'm not training for Kona. I would rather not get hit by a car because I "had" to ride outside. So here I am, heading nowhere fast. But there's no wind in the garage!

Xterra USA Race report

It was an early start to the day. Because of the timing with class, I had to get my race numbers and such in the morning before I could set up my transitions. Had no issues, but just needed to get up a little earlier. It was still dark at Pineview Reservoir when I got there. I unloaded my bike and headed over to the packet pick up. It was early enough that there was no line and the volunteers were more then helpful with getting everything for me. I got my number on my bike, decided to get body marked (the nice thing about being a pro - you're ageless!) and found a spot on the empty racks for the Tomac. Time to head up to T2. The Ogden course is a two transition affair, with a pretty decent drive between the swim and the SnowBasin lodge. The recommended set up was to drop the bike off first, drive to Snowbasin and T2, set up T2, then take the shuttle back down to T1. The only issue with this kind of set up is the chance of forgetting something. I didn't want to have to worry, so

Ogden Report

Quick report on Xterra USA in Ogden/Snow Basin. Mel McQuaid won in 2:48~ with Shonny right behind in 2:49~. I finished 12th, in 3:09:16. A little further back then I hoped - my goal was a top ten place. I had a great swim, 3rd or 4th out of the water, a decent bike for me - need to continue to work on that - and my best run of tbe season. Full report coming later.

Heading out to Ogden

As soon as my class (Health Care Promotion for my DPT) gets out, I'm hopping in the car and heading out to Utah for Xterra USA Championships. Not the best set up for a good race, sitting in the car for seven hours the day before the event, but that's what has to happen. The good news is that these last two days of class have been very interesting (and relevant to coaching, ect). It's not info that I would have wanted to skip just to get to the race a little earlier. The timing with packet pick-up will be the biggest issue. I have to get my bike and everything ready at race site, instead of being able to relax and take it easy race morning. The two transition set up (with a long distance between) will also make the morning a little more stressful. I've been on the course three years ago and did okay. Fell of my bike a few times then, but I've gotten a lot better since then. I'm looking forward to riding the course again and seeing how I've improved in the las

FaceBook memories

Okay, I'll admit it. I do have a facebook account, but I rarely do anything with it. During breaks in my class today, I poked around a little on Facebook. It was interesting to see so many of my high school classmates and find out what they have been doing in the last 12 years. Judging from the pictures, some people haven't changed at all and some have gone a different direction then they planned.

Camper !?!

Nick and I are now the proud owners of a cute little Class C camper. It has an nice little bed over the cab, a shower and toilet, gas stove (and oven!), a small fridge and plenty of storage space. It's well taken care of and very clean on the inside (and outside). There's plenty of room for the bikes, inside the camper - we just need to get some fork mounts fixed up. There's also enough room that friends can share the space during 24 hour races. It's going to be perfect for the 24 hour races, the MSC and other mountain bike races, as well as closer triathlons. The drawback? The camper is older then me (1974 - but very well taken care of) It's also more a tortoise then a hare - we'll get to the races, but its gonna take a little time. The cruising speed of the camper is about 55 miles an hour. A lot slower then my Subaru with the bikes on top (then I go 70 ish ), and a little slower then Nick's jeep loaded down (then we do about 65 and stay off the main roa

Fall Classic Cross Country

The Cross Country race on Sunday was almost 30 miles, promising to be a long day in the saddle. It had spent most of the night raining and thundering, and when we woke up, there was snow on the mountains. It was really pretty, but we would be riding just a few hundred feet below the snow. Mud seemed to be the word of the day as we rode through puddles on the way to the start. It would be a gorgeous day, despite the mud. Nick raced the Fall Classic last year and warned me that it wasn’t easy. There was a lot of climbing and it wasn’t easy climbing either. The fields were larger then at the Circuit Race and the Hill Climb, but only racers who finished all three would be eligible for awards at the end of the day. Before each class started, the announcer went through the GC, with the leader’s time and the time back for the top three. I was over five minutes back on first in the age group, and only had two minutes to third. My plan was to take the start easy, then see how I felt on the firs

Fall Classic Circuit and Hill Climb

The mountain bike season wrapped up on September 12-13 with the Fall Classic Stage Race, the last race in the MSC endurance series. The race consisted of a Circuit Race at the Breckenridge Nordic Center and Hill Climb Time Trial from Carter Park to the Sally Barber Mine on Saturday, then the Cross Country on Sunday. Nick and I rented a condo a little off the main drag, but close enough to all starts so that we didn’t need to use the car all weekend. It was also nice having the full kitchen and being able to cook in the evenings. Not having to go out for dinner saved us a lot of money – Breck is not a cheap town. Nick and I were starting about two hours apart for the Circuit race. I was lucky and had a 10:00 start time. I say lucky because the clouds were hovering and a cold front was scheduled to move in that evening. The circuit race was five laps for each of us, with the laps taking about 12 minutes at my race pace. I started slower, with the plan to build each lap and gradually incr

Time for a change

I will get a report on the Fall Classic Stage Race up soon. It's been a crazy week and a lot of things have happened. Everything happens for a reason - thats what everyone says. I found myself without a job the day we left for the Fall Classic. A "personality issue" and the NHA didn't want me to back. After over two years in that building, including working as program manger, that was it. I told a nurse that I could not help him and it became "I snapped and was rude, yelling at him." I know that's not what happened and so does everyone else who was in the gym. The good news is now I have the time I've wanted to train. Nick and I spent many hours over the weekend talking about it. I think we are going to try this - me actually training full time. If I don't see a jump in results, then back to work.

Our version of NASCAR - Track Racing

(This was supposed to get posted on Thursday - got a little behind) This was a fun way to spend the night. One of Nick's friends races the track on Thursday nights and we went down to watch the races. I forgot how fun watching track cycling was. The madison races are espcially interesting. It's how relays are done on the track. Both riders on the team are on the track at the same time, but only one is activly racing. To make an exchange, the rider not racing gets up some speed and drops down next the racing rider. The racing rider grabs his teammates hand and slings him forward. Teams that practice make the exchange look so easy. Other teams.... After the races, we all went to Blue Star and had a late supper. Nick got to try a few different beers, none of which I really liked. They did have an extensive wine list, but most of the bottles we couldn't afford. The food was also really good.

New bars for the Tomac

The Tomac is getting closer to finished. I ordered a different set of bars las week - the Ritchey WCS 10 degree sweep. That is what I have on the Era and I really like the angle. Last night, Nick put new grips on the Era and I got the shifters and brakes off the old bars. We had to take the old grips off the Era because they are clamp-on. I can adjust the grips on the new Tomac bars. Right now, those bars are much longer then I need, but I can still have the grips where I need them. After a ride tonight, Nick will trim the bars down. And hopefully I will have two dialed bikes for the Fall Classic stage race.

Sol Survivor Cross Country

Nick and I weren't planning on pre-riding at first, but decided to ride on Saturday after finding out that the course had changed from last year. It was a good move, since there were some very tricky sections (in my opinion) that I was happy to know about before hand. Overall, the course was fun, espcially the top of the long loop. Like most ski resort races, there was a lot of climbing, but not as much single track climbing as at Copper. At the starting line, it was clear that we are getting to the end of a very long season. The orginial start times had each age class in the the Cat 1 women starting seperatly, but we all started together. Starting with a monster climb, I just settled into the granny gear and spun up the hill. Sara and Sarka from Yeti Beti and I entered the first section of single track together, chasing one rider. We climbed together until the road, then Sarka dropped off the pace. Sarah and I tried working together on the road sections to reel in the first placed

Sol Survivor

This was a good weekend for Feedback Sports at the Sol Survivor. In the cross country, Jason finished 10th in the pro men, Dunbar finished 7th and Nick 9th in Cat 1 30-39, Greg made the podium in 3rd Cat 1 40-49 and I finished first in Cat 1 women 30-39. There were several people covered in dirt after the race (no naming names...) In the short track, Jason finished 4th, Nick made his first podium in 2nd, Greg finished 3rd and I finished 2nd. The weather cooperated this year and no thunder storms to be seen.I'll have a full report from the weekend written up later. I'm slowly getting pictures up http://picasaweb.google.com/TracyThelen.triathlete/SolSurvivor#

Operation Rebound

I haven't talked about this in a while, but I want to bring up Operation Rebound. I'm still trying to raise money to support wounded and disabled service men and women. Operation Rebound helps veterans return to active, healthy lives through sports of all kinds. I raced in the Operation Rebound kit at 5430 Long Course and will also represent CAF at Xterra USA in Ogden, Ut. I want to thank everyone who has already donated to this worthwhile cause. A special thank you to Avondale Dental Laboratory in Hayden, Id for the generous support to this cause. Please consider making a donation to help provided needed support to wounded veterans - visit teamorsilverman09.kintera.org/tracythelen to make a donation. Thank you to everyone who has already supported me.

Copper Cup photos

I've gotten the photos from the short track uploaded. There's a few really nice ones of Jason, one of the Feedback pros racing in the short track http://picasaweb.google.com/TracyThelen.triathlete/CopperCup #