Thru Endurance We Conquer!

Of 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo that is... For the first time in eight years Nick and I decided not to make the presidents day weekend pilgrimage to Tuscon. Six years of racing duo and one solo for Nick and it's time to take little break. It's been nice having the early season big race to keep our training focused through the winter, but this year we're just moving the start back a month - if you don't count the Leadville Winter Mountain Bike Series, that is! We've had our eye on True Grit for a few years, but haven't been able to swing two long trips that close together. Our trips to Old Pueblo were all race, but also all vacation with plenty of trail riding before and after we beat ourselves up turning laps in the desert.  So this year, I'm watching 24 Hour Town develop thru pictures on Facebook, seeing photos of friends heading out for prerides of that 16 mile course I know so well. I'm a little jealous of them, knowing that we are usually there, chilli...

Race number two of the Leadville Winter Bike Series was at the Tennessee Pass Nordic Center just outside Ski Cooper. The course was held on the Nordic trails and snowshoe paths - but all the non locals had for reference was a course map. I knew there would be lots of climbing after looking at the map - we dropped from the base area all the way down into the Fish Flats area of the Nordic trails and then back up. I didn't know how much climbing there would be besides the obvious...  Of course, we tried packing as much as we could into one short weekend. Why not play in the snow for a bit before our race? We brought our skins and skis, as well as all our back country gear. Ski Cooper has a generous uphill policy, so it was time to practice. We got to the ski area, got all geared up (easier said then done, even with the van) and headed up. Literally up the ski slope! As requested, we stuck to the edge of the slope, in the shade of the trees. Keeping up a steady, but comfortable pac...

Another Fat Bike race coming up tonight. This one at the Tennessee Pass Nordic Center - on the Nordic trails below Ski Cooper. It sounds like we will be using some of the singletrack snowshoe trails as well, so I'm really looking forward to another awesome night of racing. And that's what it needs to be this time - racing. Focused pedaling, keeping the bike upright and moving forward. Being aggressive on the descents, but intelligent about it. At Copper, it was my first time ever riding in those conditions. Outside of the pre-ride, I had no clue what to expect  when it came to fat bike racing in the snow. It showed in my riding. I was spending almost as much time in the snow as I was pedaling on top of it! I'd wanted to in the race - a factor in the top three, but my crash right at the start (among all the others) precludes that. So I'd turned my attention to having fun and gaining experience. Still had a decent race, but was never a factor. This time, I need do what I ...

As the defending champion and with great running conditions on Sunday, I had high hopes heading into the 2015 Super Half. I also had some pretty high goals - I wanted to defend my title and break the course record. My training had been focused on the running since we'd gotten back from our Utah trip, building both the endurance, volume and speed. Coming into the race, I was confident about the edurance but still felt my speed was lacking. My workouts were indicating that I should have been able to run just around 1:29 - but it would have been close. Between a low running volume and focused training on endurance mountain biking, speed on two feet has been hard to to find! After my warm up, I gave my coat and pants to Nick and found a spot on the line. It was a little nippy in my shorts standing in the shade, but I knew I'd be fine once we got started. Tim gave us a few last minute instructions and blew the starting whistle. Once again, the Woodland Park HS band and choir sen...