Thru Endurance We Conquer!

It's the night of the Epic Rides Fat TIre Crit as part of the Whiskey Off Roas festivities. Last year, I toed the line with the super speedy women and did my best to hold on for as many laps as I could. I was only somewhat successful in that endeavor. The next day I helped Nick as he raced, all the while thinking about the big event on Sunday. I was nary more then pack filler - and back of the pack filler as well. But it was a good experience and an eye opening one as well. Despite not having the race I wanted, I learned a lot about myself and my training. This year, we opted to skip the Whiskey and stay close to home with fewer races. On one hand, I'm sorry to have missed the fun and the atmosphere in Prescott -Epic Rides can throw a great party and hold very well organized races. But staying home has given me a chance to stay focused. A chance to keep training hard - working on fitness and skill without the recovery from a challenging race. I've already gotten in several ...

So I'm laying in the dirt, 20 feet below the trail with my bike on top of me and my only thought is "I'm happy I wasn't on my Camber!" Funny how our minds work at times... Usually Nick lets me ride which ever bike I want. Usually - sometimes he'll over rule my choice. For Saturday's ride, I really wanted to ride my Camber. Nick said I was gonna want the 2x on the Stumpy and so that's what I was riding. And as usual, Nick was right. But I digress. When I told Nick I had a four hour ride, with plenty of climbing scheduled, he immediately had a route in mind. All I had to do was follow him, pace myself to ride strong the whole time and have fun. We rolled out of the house with loaded packs, warm clothes and sense of adventure. I knew we were headed towards Manitou, thru Red Rocks, but didn't know more then that. The first hour went smoothly. We got to ride the new entrance to Section 16 - good for climbing but not as much fun for descending... The...

Sometimes things just work out well, even when it's crazy. With a mid-day dentist appointment on Wednesday, I decided to teach my exercise class and then take the rest of the day off. I had my last hard interval workout of the training block scheduled and really didn't want to do it with a half numb mouth! Did not sound like a good idea or a smart way to get in the work I needed on the bike. So I taught my class and bolted home to get my ride in before the dentist appointment. It was warm, but with a chilly wind and a little muggy whe I left the house at 10:15. I had looked at the clouds building behind the mountains and decided to bring my standard backpack full of warm clothes. Better safe then sorry and I could tell that weather was moving in. Got the intervals done - feeling the fatigue from Tuesdays set - I'd meant to get up early and have a nice space between the two sets, but hadn't. So I was less the 12 hours between sets. Ouch. I'd also decided to hit a sli...

It's more then a joke in Colorado - the crazy weather. It's really part of life. This weekend was a typical schizophrenic springtime trip on two wheels. Saturday - sunshine and 70. No fooling - I rolled up to Starbucks for the group road ride wearing just jersey and shorts for the first time all year. No arm warmers, no vest, no knee warmers. After the last time I'd joined the group, I was hoping for another successful outing and maybe getting over Link Hill again. That was the goal at least - always the goal. On the rollout on Platte, I knew it wasn't to be this time around. The pace was already high and I was already struggling to close the gaps forming. Someone was in a major hurry! The group was also weird, with a lot of people I didn't know and more aggressive vibe then normal. Instead of my usual of trying to be in the first few riders, I drifted back. If I wasn't going to be able to do any work at the front, I needed to stay out of the way. After the righ...

Back to work this week after a fun and much needed recovery week and I'm missing my dawn patrol rides. When I first started them it was because Coach Adam wanted to challenge me more and have less recovery time between the hard workouts. I wasn't looking forward to the first set, but soon came to enjoy the quiet trails and undisturbed workouts. I appreciated that even more after the first two interval days this week. Wow. With many hiking trails currently closed (a whole other story) and the reservoir now open for dogs, it was crazy busy compared to my prior rides. I'm sure it didn't help that it was the first really nice and not windy days all spring. Perfect day to get outside and enjoy what we all love about Colorado Springs. But just wow - and the lack of consideration some trail users demonstrated was even more amazing.  Instead of ranting about it, I'm just going to alter my schedule. It's not worth continually putting myself into the insanity of immediate...

Take a puzzle - a bunch of random pieces forming a bigger picture. Cut to fit only the pieces next to them, putting a puzzle together is a challenge of focus and patience. And sometime just luck. Now imagine instead of one picture, there are five. All mixed together with nothing but the tiny pictures to provide clues. In addition to figuring out which peice is with which puzzle, you still have to put them together. It's the perfect metaphor for ultra endurance racing. In addition to the puzzle that is life, there are all these additional pieces to fit together. There is nothing quick or easy about figuring out the combined pictures. It take effort and patience. There is no rushing the process. The puzzle pieces of life - waiting for someone to sit down and put it all together.  One puzzle is training. That's what most people think of when preparing for a major event. Have I done the physical training? Put the miles and the hours in? Hit all my workouts and the targets...