Thru Endurance We Conquer!

TRAINER KILLERs - AKA  Specialized FatBoy and Exposure lights out getting some night riding in the snow.  Fresh tracks the Chutes  I took the Procycling demo bike out for a spin. I have ridden a fat bike before but never got the chance to ride one for what I would intend it for which is conditions like tonight. While I would be able to ride a normal bike today I would have been spinning out a bunch, walking, and generally not having a quality ride. Once I got the tire pressure correct I could just drill it up and down the trail. So if you are getting tired of doing the incline in conditions like today. Go ride one of these things. Better yet, ride one at night so you get the trail to yourself and your buddies. Wooplah!! Nick, Specialized FatBoy in it's native environment

I'm not usually the one to monitor the weather before a race. I usually figure everyone has to handle it and it's not something I can control, so why worry? Just roll with the punches and dress for the conditions as needed. But for whatever reason, I've been keeping a close eye on Sundays forecast - as well as the days leading up to Sunday. Why? Well, for this first time leading up to 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo I haven't spent much time on the bike. I've gotten some high quality interval workouts in and luckly, they've all been on dirt. But there hasn't been much "junk" hours on the bike - everything has been focused; hit the road, do the work and head home. Part of the reason has been the amount I've been working - we got crazy busy in December and it hasn't let up at all. Lots of night rides and night intervals, which has been interesting. I haven't done night intervals before - usually hiding in the garage when it's dark. But we ...

Last time there were sub zero temperatures, I bailed on my early am run. I was doing a workout and had no desire to freeze while trying to in fast. Not today. I'm in a taper week and the run today was more fun with a few accelerations thrown in. So when I woke up to fresh snow and -4 on my thermometer, I decided to head out anyway. I rarely get a chance for fresh tracks and the fun of running in powder down in Bear Creek. I couldn't resist it, even if it meant really bundling up. Besides, Nick had ridden in to work. If he could muster to face the cold, so can I! Bundle up I did - with nice cozy layers and jacket. Having good clothes makes even the coldest weather tolerable. I'm getting better at figuring out the right layers and we've invested plenty of time, research and money in nice clothes. So despite the temperature, I was warm during the entire run. Frost formed on my hat, nose and eyelashes, but I was comfortable. Kinda fuzzy crescent moon over the eastern h...

There is something about a new bike. It starts with pouring over the catalogue - reviewing the geometry and components of all the options. Then comes the decision of what really will be the best bike for the purpose as well as what is financially reasonable. In my case, once we've decided what bike to get, we have to order it in. I very rarely get to test ride any of my bikes. The Stumpy FSR was the only bike I've gotten to ride before buying - and I love that bike. So there is the added stress of waiting for the bike, hoping that it really is what I want. And the question of will it really fit me or what changes will we have to make to ensure it fits. There's always a process of fitting and tweaking once a new bike arrives and I usually need shorter seat post among other things. So even when I take a new bike home, I may not be able to ride it for a few more days. Always waiting until it's perfect and ready to ride, the anticipation building. Because I usually have t...

"Were you getting angry at the end?" That's what Coach Adam asked me while we were reviewing last weeks workouts. And honestly, no I wasn't. My cadence was falling, the power numbers were dropping but I wasn't angry. Like with every workout, it was measured and metered. Finish the interval, make sure there's enough for the next one. Focus and recover. Stay settled and in control. Mind in the present but ready for the future. Maybe that's my problem. I've always held back - always making sure that there's enough for the next day. It's served me well in the past, allowing me to run two marathons back to back in under 3:10. It's been a good self preservation strategy throughout my time in sports. But how much has it limited me? How much further can I go if I let go of reason and step up to the edge? Two options - I fall and have to catch myself or I find the wings to fly. Standing on edge - time to get angry. Time to let to of the mental w...

Sometimes plans are good and things go just right. Other times flexibility is the key to making things work. This was one of those weekends where going with the flow was the plan. We had a great plan starting the day - load up the van and head to Pueblo for some fun. Got an early start and made it to the lake just as the wind was kicking up. Oh well - we were planning on staying in the canyons and hitting the fun trails where the wind wouldn't be such an issue. Or so we thought. The first lap was fine - up Rodeo, down Rattlesnake, up skull canyon - then some other trails I don't remember. I could tell the wind was bad, but we were fine. On the climb up from Rock Canyon I could see the dust storm forming over Pueblo West. Yikes! It was big, dark and angry looking. Hopefully it would stay north of us! We dropped down Pinball looking for some fun in the canyons, only to find a see of tumbleweed instead. Over my head deep filling the trail and canyon. It took some hiking to get out...

Another year older, hopefully another year wiser. This was a fun, busy year with lots of different adventures. Fewer races - but with more importance to each race -meant more time to just ride and more time to explore. Nick and I took advantage of that, with more camping trips and big rides out of town. There was plenty of time to work on skills, rocks and speed. There was snow, sunrises and sunset; mud, floods and scorching sun; mist and fog with more mud. It was harder this year to narrow down the bests - we had a lot of fun riding and even more fun exploring. The adventures made me realize that I train hard so I can play hard as well as race hard. The racing is just the icing on the cake - so it was important to make them all count. It's nice to be fast, it's even nicer to be able to keep up with my husband. With that said, here are some of the highlights from this year: Best Adventure (on paper) Our first day of Vapor Trail scouting - the epic day over four alpine pa...

Way back in January 2013, I set out with only five resolutions to work on for the coming year. I kept the list short and sweet, with things related to both riding and life. And now that it's 2014, I had to go back and see how I did with keeping them. Overall, not too bad. The first one was to take more pictures for the blog and to let the photos help or even tell the story sometimes. Well, that one's going really well. I have a lot more cool photos and have even gotten Nick willing to stop at least once or twice to take some action shots. I think it's really livened up the blog and provided a lot more visual interest. I hope what I'm writing is interesting enough, but.... The second resolution was to work on my skills. And I have been - big time. Working on balance, trying to pop wheelies, everything. I still struggle with the wheelies and know there's a lot of work left. But I'm more comfortable and confident riding big stuff and better at picking the right...

So far this has been the winter of really wanting new toys. Nick wants a fat bike in the worst way. We both want AT skies so we can do something a little different when the snow flies. I don't mind (and welcome) the added running winter brings, but having some options would be nice. We had just gotten to the point where the trails were completely clear and fun to ride - then came Saturday. It was clear when I woke up - sunny and cold. But clouds quickly developed and snow began pilling up. Well then. So much for the group road ride. And three hours on the mountain bike was looking a little iffy as temperature started falling as quickly as the snow. Nick was not to be deterred. He got the bar mitts on Fun and we bundled up for as many hours as we could manage. As we pedaled up Cheyenne Blvd, all the drivers were giving  us weird looks. Three inches of snow on the road and those nuts are riding bikes? Yep! We headed up the canyon to do a few loops on lower Columbine. Up the blacktop,...

I've been doing the Rescue Run on and off since at least 1988 (earliest photographic evidence of me running it.) Started out with the 5k and graduated to the 10k about 97 or so - never did get to run the 10k on the Norris Penrose course. It was always a great way to start the year - with a challenging race and lots of familiar faces. It also benefits the El Paso County Search and Rescue, which was another good reason to race. The EPCSAR is at most of the local races and even have a kazoo band during the Pikes Peak races. I've pretty much grown up with the Rescue Run, knowing that if I'm in town I am most likely gonna run. I've run on dry roads and in warm sunshine to slick as snot ice and sub zero temps with everything in between. This year was no different - come January 1st, it was time to race. But this year was a little different - I was running for fun, but also because this was the first year where I've known people who have required the assistance of EPCSAR. ...