Thru Endurance We Conquer!

I love my job most days - I get to see my patients make real progress towards their goals, hear some really cool stories about history and usually have some very motivated people to work with. I also get to set my own schedule - and when I'm done with work, I'm done. Usually, that's a good thing - I can set my schedule and try to have easier days when I've got workouts schedule. But I'm also the only PT in the building, so when it get busy, I'm working late, regardless. The last few weeks have been late and long weeks, which was fine during goof off time. But now the real workouts have started and working late isn't quite as appealing, especially when it's been so nice out. Running in the morning before work has never been an issue for me, but riding? Still not sold on that one, despite the great lights we have. It's more the worry about animals and such when riding early in the morning, although since I'm out running at that time, it shouldn...

That first workout of the training block seems to be the make or break workout. If the numbers look good, then then next few weeks will fly by and I'll be looking forward then next set. If I'm struggling on the first workout out, all bets are off. I always hope for a good start, but know that sometimes it takes a few workouts to shake off the dust. Especially if I've been in goof-off mode for a few weeks. It can be mentally stressful though, seeing numbers much lower then I wanted - or was doing a few months ago. The questioning and second guessing always kicks in - have I lost fitness while playing on rocks instead of doing intervals? Will I be able to get back to where I want to be before too long or am I going to struggle this entire block? It's even worse when I've seen some good times in other things, indicating that my efforts on the bike should also be improving. Or when other indicators like RPE and HR are in the range I want, but the power, the primary meas...

I've been regularly night riding in the winter for the last two years. Each year it gets a little easier, a little more fun and the lights better. I've always used two lights - head and bars. With the exception of a few light malfunctions during races, it's always been two. I'll dim or turn off for climbs to save battery life, but for rocky sections and descents I'm rocking both. Those few times in our 24 hour races where I've had issues (well before we started using Exposure lights) only having one light really affected me. I was much slower and hesitant on any technical stretch. Well, all the night rides - in addition to working on skill - has helped a lot and I'm able to ride well with just one light.  As usual, I grabbed a Diablo and my Reflex for this ride. I didn't bother checking the charge on the Diablo since I always plug them in right away. I was using one I hadn't used in a while but still didn't think about it. Nick and I are at Palme...

Something different last weekend. Instead of battling the snow and near sub zero temperatures on our bikes, Nick and I joined Shad and Steph for some fun in powder. We rented skies and headed to Monarch Mountain west of Salida. Both Shad and Steph have been skiing for years, so it was to have them along. They knew the mountain by heart and made excellent and patient guides for two newbies. While I'd spent plenty of time skiing in high school, it had been years for me. The first two run were petty funny as I tried to remember how to turn, keeping my knees together and my balance points. I'm sure I looked pretty silly. But eventually, I got my act together and started making possible turns. I also attempted a few runs through the trees in the deep powder. Umm, yeah. No powder tree turns for me! I took a few tumbles, but the powder was soft and cushioned my landings. And then there was Nick. He's been downhill skiing maybe three times. His method of getting down? Either straig...

It happens every year about this time. I start looking at my plans for next year and immediately panic about training. Despite the need for some solid weeks of unstructured goof off and recovery, I start counting down weeks and work myself into a tizzy. I should be doing intervals! I should be out suffering in the cold, putting out the watts and getting in the work! Everyone else is on the trainer, banking the miles for next season, I should be too. Without fail, I start pestering Coach Adam for something to reassure me, intervals, workouts - anything. And without fail, he's always reassuring me, convincing me that I need the physical and mental break, that I won't be behind when the real work starts.  I think it's the weather. I feel guilty about not doing anything, but the motivation to ride anything but hard in the sub zero temps of the last week just isn't there. Even running was more then I wanted to do! I have the clothes for these conditions - but the desire to s...

I did something new this November - it's called National Novel Writing Month and the challenge is to write a novel of 50,000+ words over the month. That's about 1677 words per day - a lot of words! Well, I have a book I've been working on since PT school - it's been sitting there, neglected because I just haven't made the time to write. This was a good incentive - support and other people all working towards the same goals. Because I was working on something already started, I was a "rebel." It's supposed to be a completely new work, with nothing written prior to Nov 1. Oh well. I didn't think I'd actually make it anyway, between work and travel  and training, I didn't have a lot of time! So it was quite surprising when my word count topped 50k before Thanksgiving. I'd had a few marathons days, but mostly just made a point of sitting down daily and putting words to paper (or to keyboard to computer.) Some days it was harder then others ...

I've been making more of my own food for racing and riding this year with good success . I've have fewer stomach issues and been able to stay on top of hydration better without over loading my system. A lot of the recipes I've been using - my rice bars, the peach/cottage cheese pies and my granola - have come from The Feed Zone Cookbook    and Feed Zone Portables . I got the first book on a whim last year because a lot of my friend were talking about it. Well, after making many of the recipes (and some have become staples) I got the second book right away when it came out. And that's where the pies are... There are four different crust options and both savory and sweet fillings. I've made all of the crusts, but usually stuck with a cottage cheese, peach, coconut filling, similar to the strawberry filling in the book. But then on our Thanksgiving day ride, I was daydreaming about pumpkin and pumpkin pie. Time to get creative! I made the original crust from Feed Zon...

Instead of stuffing ourselves with turkey this Thanksgiving weekend, Nick and I had two fun days in Palmer Park with a side of the Incline. Oh, we had a "turkey" dinner all right, but not a traditional style Thanksgiving at all. Enough for the two of us - and the fun days in Palmer Park only highlighted how lucky we really are. Good health, fun trails and people who enjoy the same lifestyle as Nick and I. Focus on the trail - look where you're going... Thursday was the first helping of Palmer Park - just the two of us, playing on rocks. The trails were almost deserted, allowing us to ride as fast as we wanted without worrying about being rude. We rode from home, then started exploring trails I don't ride by myself. A few laps through Little Moab to warm up, then it was time for some big rocks and more technical riding. I was just happy I'd ridden the crack in Little Moab each lap - this is the first year I've been able to ride that and this was the firs...

Footprints don't lie - they tell the story so clearly it's impossible to hide. That's one reason I love running or riding right after (or during!) a snow storm. The hidden life of the forest is suddenly plain to see. Epic battles revealed in the snow. On Saturday, Nick and I rode in Stratton and surrounds, making loops of all the trails. Besides the expected dog and human prints, I could see small cat tracks, rabbit and squirrel prints and deer tracks crisscrossing the trails. It was also clear where people decided they didn't need to stay on the trail - all hikers going bush wacking or in some cases just cutting the switchbacks. (I expect dogs to do that, but humans should be smarter - and have more respect.) The snow also changed the nature of the trails, adding challenge to normally easy singletrack. Fat Bike? We don't need no fat bike to play in the snow! Sunday was running - and the dusting of snow allowed the night life of the neighborhood to be seen. ...

Nick went Fat Biking today. While it maybe nice to have a fatbike, all you really need is fat. Because one - fat keeps you warm. Two - fat gives you great traction in the snow. And last but not least - fat gives you great motivation to ride your bike in the cold. That's why it's fat biking!

It is completely possible to overdress for any ride as I discovered last night. It was cold (15*) and a nice layer of snow on the trails and ice on the road. With the ProCycling night ride at Palmer Park canceled, I was planning on hiding in the garage. Snow I can handle - cold? I can deal with that. To a point. When my water bottle freezes is usually a good sign to stay inside. For some reason, I decided to wait until Nick got home to ride. I figured he join me in the garage and and we'd have a fun spin session. Wrong! He came in, dropped his work gear and proclaimed "pedaling at 5:30 - get ready!" Huh!? It's like 15 bloody degrees - to start the ride! No amount of whining or delaying could change his mind. We were heading outside and riding. Remembering what I wore the last time, we pulled this kind of stunt, I bundled up. It was a little different this time though and and worked a lot better. I was actually over dressed! My hands were toasty, my feet nice and w...

After this last race, I spent some time looking over the power files from each lap. I've started trying to analyze my workouts and my races a little more with Coach Adam's help and this was a good race to do a more thorough analysis. (I would have done this with Sage, but somehow lost most of my files...) I was initially pretty hard on myself for two reasons - I thought I was overcooking the climb, thus getting sloppy on the descents and I also thought I should have slowed down the pace a little during the technical sections. One of those is true - I should have backed off just a little on the last half of JEM trail and on Hurricane Rim. I would have been less likely to get the two flats if I had. But as far as pace, looking at the lap files reveals that I actually did a really good job. That was good to see from the files as it shows I'm getting smarter as well as stronger when it comes to 24 hour racing. Some background info first - I have a Powertap on my Specialized ...

Not my preferred companion running or riding. I did something strange today. I'm still not sure why, either. When I got up to run, the world still cloaked in darkness despite the lingering full moon, I decided I wanted try running with music. Like I said, I'm not sure what I was thinking. I've occasionally used my iPod for trainer workouts and treadmill workouts, but I've never been able to stand listening to music outside. I feel to disconnected from the world, from the experience of what I'm doing. I've tried it a few times for road rides - felt terrified. I couldn't hear the cars or my music and lost the sense of what was happening around me. Once for the mountain bike, but again, it wasn't pleasurable. I really felt out of touch and not aware of riding my bike. I've never tried listening to music outside while running. I know I can't tolerate it when on the treadmill unless I'm just running. And for those runs, I try to avoid the tre...

I haven't ridden in Ute Valley since I crashed there in January. I'm not sure why - it's a fun place to ride with some really good trails. Something about hitting the desk that hard scared me away I think. That shoulder injury could have been much worse - I was lucky. And it was a stupid crash too, as all the bad ones seem to be. Combine that with not really knowing my way around and being lazy about driving to a ride and it meant no Ute Valley for me. Time to change that. After plans to head to Buffalo Creek got laid aside - neither Nick nor I felt like driving that far to not ride much, we opted to head to Ute. An easy drive and we could ride as long or as short as we wanted. It was also a good time to work on some of the technical stuff I'm still struggling with. It wasn't pretty at first - we were on trails I haven't ridden before and I was struggling. I was both trying to keep up with Nick and pick my way through the rocks. Bad combo - after having a minor ...

It's addictive - racing. The competition, the thrill and the desire for more. It's so easy to spend the entire year racing - just traveling from place to place toeing the line and battling it out with like minded competitors. I know, I've had years like that where it seemed I was on the road more days then I was at home, that I was racing more then I was training. I'd get home, unpack and do chores. Then it would be time to repack and hit the road. I'd either be tapering or recovering and never improving. Truthfully, it got frustrating and I was losing the desire to travel for races. I was missing out on all kinds of things because I was spending all my time and money racing. At the same point, having so many races in a season was nice. It was easier to accept an off day knowing the next race was just in few weeks. But it also diminished the meaning of each race and the importance of preparation and doing well. In 2013, I really cut back on the amount of races I d...

I've jokingly said before - there is no off season. Especially this year, starting with 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo in February and then racing all the way into November with the 25 Hours in Frog Hollow. It really did seem like I would recover from one race and then start training for the next. At least there was always enough time between races to get in some good training! But it makes for a long year and a long time to stay focused on the goals. Lots of riding, lots of work - not as much other, fun stuff. So now comes my favorite part of the year. Not because of the weather - although I do like the chilly temperatures, but because it's goof-off times. Not an off season, but a month or so to do what I want, have fun and just relax. No focused training, no intervals on the bike. It's regroup time, mentally taking a break from the drive of the racing season. More running, adding in trail fun instead of just getting the miles. More swimming to help stretch out from a months o...

Our first long trip with the van and it was a good time. We did a better job of packing our gear and clothes for this race so we had a little more room in the van than at the last 24 hour race. What made this trip nice was the ability to set up "base camps" for a few days at each location. We got to Hurricane on Thursday and set up our usual 24 hour race pit with the two tents, the bike stand and everything we would need to make the race smooth. That completely empties out the van, and we have a nice living room in the CostCo tent. But the set up and tear down of that pit area takes forever! Not something we wanted to do even every other night! So it was important to re-pack the van with all the little things easy to get when we tore down Sunday night. Our riding clothes, the food, the table and cooking supplies and the coolers. By the end of the trip, we'd have the camp set up and tear down dialed. I also got really good at cooking on our little campstove from when the ...

We only spent one day in Fruita. I was really starting to struggle from fatigue and it didn't make sense to try to push the riding when I wasn't smooth. So instead of riding Moore Fun (which I had actually wanted to this time. Between how much I've been working on skills and my trail bike, I really wanted to see how much I'd be able to ride this trip. But trying to ride that trial on quickly deteriorating legs wasn't smart.) We stuck super easy. Mary's loop to the Horsethief Bench. I didn't even try the drop in - I don't think I will every try it. Walking down that will be just fine for me. Nick gave it three tries, but with no one else out, he didn't want to take a chance. As with all our rides this week, we'd gotten such an early start, we were the first riders on the trail! Nick having a go at the Horsethief entrance. Once on the bench, we did one lap. I managed to ride some things I hadn't gotten before, using all of my suspensio...

After two days on Gooseberry, it was time to move on. Next stop Moab! Again, no plans or agenda, other the hopefully riding Porcupine Rim one day we were there. At least that was the plan. We set up camp near the north end of the Sovereign trail and studied the maps. Nick had ridden the north chunk of Sovereign years ago and it had been pretty fun then. So we wanted to try and find it again. Well, we found the loop of Sovereign Singletrack on the Mesa above our campsite, but it wasn't as much fun as Nick remembered. So we bailed on doing the whole loop in favor of something we knew would be fun. Sovereign and Saltwash Singletrack. Following the green dashes of Saltwash south, up and down the small mesas and gullies, meandering across slick rock and into washes. Upper Sovereign trail - we had a hard climb, but decided to have fun on the lower sections Following the Green dashes - Saltwash trail   I was doing better then the last time we'd ridden that trail, attempting ...

That's where we're going! Way up there... And we were way down there... It's one of those places you hear about. "Have you ridden Gooseberry?" Was a common question posed by the locals. We even had one guy point it out after the race - the imposing Mesa looming above the venue. Well, Gooseberry was on the agenda and we headed up there Monday morning. After finding a decent, semi secluded campsite, we headed out for our first taste of goose. A shorter, easier ride to shake out the legs from the race. Our campsite had great trail access and we were on South Rim trail in minutes, following the white dashes as they meandered up and around slick rock bulges. In and out of pinion trees, between otherworldly shaped rocks, up and down narrow drainages. Fun riding - but hard. The trail was well marked, but it seemed like half the terrain was make your own fun on the rocks. Nick was launching the slick rock drops and encouraging me to do the same. It was enough ...

It's never a good idea to plan a trail riding vacation after a 25 hour race. Nick and I figured that out this weekend when we started our trip off with the 25 Hours in Frog Hollow. We had a fairly aggressive race plan - and were hoping for 24 laps in the 25 hours. A solid performance, but one that would have left us unable to enjoy the first half of our vacation. After two pre ride laps on Thursday and Friday, we also knew there was a rough back half to the course that would be brutal as the laps wore on. We talked about it briefly before the start, but opted to stick with the plan. Take it out aggressively then regroup after midnight and see how things stood. Nick started - a short run and I gave him his bike. The field was larger then the size of Frog Town indicated, so Nick getting me out early would be important on the JEM trail. There was a slight breeze blowing, stirring up small puffs of the reddish tan dust that coated everything. It was early in the day so the sun was jus...