Thru Endurance We Conquer!

So, I'm starting to learn some sense. Just because I sign up for a race, doesn't mean that I have to race. A few years ago, I was registered for a marathon and despite not being ready to run 26.2 and against the advice of my husband and my coach, I still ran. That was the closest I'd come to dropping out of a race - had I had a way to get back to the park without running, I would have quit. Fast forward to this weekend. I was ready to swim and ride, but not so much run. And I was not ready to race. Had some conversations with Nick - race, don't race. Start the swim and ride, then pull out. Just do the whole event, but don't really race. None of those options sounded good. I knew if I started, I'd want to finish. I also knew that I would have problems just going easy and having fun. A few waffling text messages between me and Coach Adam "not racing, not feeling it" "gonna start and see how I feel..." Back and forth and back and forth. With h...

No race report from Xterra Lory this year. After hemming and hawing since before 24 Hours in the Sage, I decided Saturday afternoon that I wasn't going to race. When I headed out for my pre-ride, that was the deciding point. I was too tired and not fully recovered to be able to race. I also knew that if I started, I would have issues keeping the tempo down - the Lory course is fast and there's no "fun" riding involved. All fast, high speed riding. So I didn't even number my bike or set up my transition bag. I wasn't going to get tempted to do something that would hinder my recovery for the next race. So I was just going to ride - find some of the new trails in Lory that I haven't explored because I'm always there racing. I checked in with Lance before I headed out to ride - I planned to volunteer for a while and still have some fun. Number one goal on the ride - stay out of the way of the racers. That meant going up. Number two goal - keep it chill, ...

Year two of the USAPC spectating in the books. And while the riders still have two days out on the road, we are through with following for another year. This time, we got to watch two stages - and it was much more fun then camping on the pass and watching the peloton rolling slowly up hill. And we got to watch more of the race by staying in towns then going out on the trail and following the racers. Larry Grossman - Leading out Dave Wiens for the sprint at the Monday Crit! Stage 2 - Montrose to Crested Butte. We were in Gunnison for the 24 Hours in the Sage and decided to stay another day to watch the race roll through town. Monday before the race, Larry Grossman, the race announcer jumped in the Citizen's crit. It was a decent sized Field, with some heavy hitter locals such as Dave Wiens. Larry got a good start and got on Dave's wheel to shell the rest of the field. And it was a race between the two of them to the line, with Larry taking the sprint. Tuesday was the big da...

Hill climb TTs that is! The Wednesday before Sage was the first 26th St time trial. Both Nick and I are racing the series, me on my road bike, Nick on his mountain bike. I was hoping to break 20:00 for the race, but also had to balance the bigger goal over the weekend. A good, solid effort but with an eye on the Garmin found me at the top in 20:12 - my fastest time yet, but slower then I'd hoped. No time to hang out at the top - we bolted for home and loaded up the camper to head to Gunnison. The first race up Cheyenne Canyon was of course the wednesday after Sage. Nothing like trying to climb the canyon on tired legs! There is no soft pedaling or going easy in Cheyenne Canyon. That race was gonna hurt. As I left the line at 5:08, I felt like the poor dead squirrel in the middle of the road. Flat. Very flat. I felt better as the minutes ticked by, but Nick caught me quickly. When the next rider caught me, I was able to keep pace on the steepest sections. But man, I was tired. As ...

Another great weekend at the Gunnison KOA for the 24 Hours in the Sage. KOA Dave, Michael and the rest of the crew took over the race from Mitch and Tracy and did an outstanding job. The KOA is one of the best venues for a 24 hour race and they keep the party and food rolling all weekend. It was a really fun event this year and I hope all the racers enjoyed the course, the party and the race. Nick and I raced in Co-Ed Duo again, just hoping to go faster then last year. In the end, we finished 20 laps at 11:31, nearly 40 minutes faster. It was a very close race for most of the afternoon and into the night with the second place coed team. We also won the Duo Category overall, beating the men and the single speeders. We ran pretty consistant laps and stayed safe all night with the changing trail conditions. I'll get the full race report written later. For me, this was a benchmark year. Out of the three obstacles that I have always struggled with, I finally cleaned all three. Not o...

In Gunnison at last and it's time for the 24 Hours in the Sage. Nick and I did our usual Thursday afternoon pre-ride just to remind us of the fun that awaits in Hartman Rocks. Dave Weins marked the course and it's pretty much the same as the last few years - just one little reroute to get us onto single track sooner. There is a tricky little rock face right at the top of the climb, and a feature I'll call the punch bowl. Nick showed me the line - its all rideable. I just have to trust my skills, my bike and my tires to stick to the rock. Then it's all the same - the rolling trail Behind the Rocks, the climb up and descent off Alonzo's, the meandering false flat of Luge into the more noticeable climb up Broken Shovel leading to the uber fun flowing ride down Sea of Sage. All really fun and trails I'm comfortable on. Then comes the last third of the lap. I stuck on Nick's wheel for the start of Rocky Ridge. I knew I could make the first half of the trail. I...

It's been such a busy summer that Nick hasn't had a chance to go bike packing yet. He's been dropping hints, setting up his bike, going on test rides and such. I've wanted to try it again - last trip was a bit much a few years ago - but with all the racing... It hasn't worked into the schedule at all. Then last week, at the PV Cycle Derby, when a few of his monument friends said something about riding up to watch the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. I didn't really pay attention, knowing I wouldn't want to ride up Barr Trail and such in one day. Especially a week before Sage. I should have. Friday night, Nick gets fed up watching the hoop twirling and commercials on the Olympics. "I know! Let's ride up to Barr Camp tomorrow, camp and then ride the rest of the way to the toll road Sunday. We can watch some cars, then ride home." Okay... I'm hesitant but game - its not exactly what Coach Adam has on my training plan. Bit it sounds like fun - and I...

Nick and I - wearing the leaders jerseys before the race photo Carol Lyndell The last race of the Rocky Mountain Endurance Series found us at the Peaceful Valley Scout Camp just outside Elbert, CO. With the series leader's jersey packed safely in my bag, I was hoping to have a smart race and hold onto the Series win. But first I had to finish the PV Cycle Derby. Having never ridden out there, I didn't know what to expect. I found a fun course, the usual great volunteers and some really challenging conditions. Truly one of the most enjoyable races of the series, with plenty of single track, wide open roads and a nice mix of technical and easy riding. But it wasn't easy at all - one of the longest races in the series. I was so close to breaking six hours, taking the win and setting a new course record in 6:04:03. Congratulations to Natalie Ryan for taking second in 6:26:20 and Pam Seidler for finishing third in the woman's race in 6:39:02. With the win, I also held on...

Wow! Just as I was getting bummed about the coming end of the Ascent Cycling Series I get notice of another local race series - Colorado Endurance Sports TT series on Wednesday nights. It starts up the week after the Ascent Cycling Series finishes, on August 15th and continues for the next four weeks. Four races - two climbs up the 26th St and Gold Camp road course and two up Cheyenne Canyon. Classic Colorado Springs climbs that we ride every week. And now, we get to pin a number on and challenge not only ourselves, but also our riding partners! There are classes for every rider - from Pro to beginner, mountain biker to singlespeeder. I did the series last year and it was great fun, well organized and a good challenge. With two climbs of Cheyenne Canyon this year, it's going to be even more of a challenge! I'm breaking out the skinny tires for sure... See you on the 15th at 26th and Bott! Check out the flyer for more info... TT Series Flyer

An early morning start to the day found us in the hills of Elbert and tall pines of the Black Forest by 10:00am. We quickly got set up in the shade and headed out for a short course inspection. Thane said the back half of the course was the more technical section, so the south we headed. A short road section and then the orange arrows dumped us into single track. Bobcat gulch, Thane called it. I called it fun! The trail was painted onto the canyon walls, a thin ribbon dancing among rocks and through the pine trees. Short steep climbs, twisty descents and rolling trail covered In pine needles. Technical rocky sections needing some good awareness on the bike, and some tight sections I might be walking come Sunday! So much fun and so quiet under the tree cover. Except for Kyle talking! His third mtb ride since the car incident and he was talking up a storm. It was nice to see him crushing the single track again. We didn't get the whole lap - so the first ten miles will be a surprise f...

Two laps done, one lap to go - the longest lap of the race. Having pitted at Jamie's house, I rolled through the lap/finish line with a smile for Larry G. I was entering uncharted territory as I headed south on the sunbeam trail towards Boreas Pass road. Not only was I about to ride my mountain bike further then I had ever ridden,, I was also riding my bike for longer then I ever had -eve in my slowest iron distance race it had "only " been seven hours on the bike. I was already at seven and a half hours with thirty plus miles to go. All that and more roiling  around in my head as I turned off Boreas Pass road for the first section of single track. I was still feeling okay but I knew I was getting tired. Now was the time to be mentally strong and keep focused on the next few minutes, not the next couple of hours. The goal for the next few hours - reach the finish line! Photo - Nick Thelen The Blue River single track connected Boreas Pas...