Thru Endurance We Conquer!

Or where do I see myself as an athlete? At first, it was a marathoner - maybe not the fastest, but consistent. It was what I loved and something that I thought I'd be doing forever. But the compass shifted and I reinvented myself as a triathlete. First on the road, then on the trails. It was an interesting journey as a triathlete and I learned a lot about resilience and persistence. I also got a good lesson in reality on many occasions. Which brought another swing of the compass towards the endurance mountain bike world. The riding, the racing and the preparation - all up my alley. Again, not the fastest, but consistent and always ready for whatever conditions the race would throw at me. I felt sure that I'd found my north and the compass had found it's resting point. But... Daydreaming returned the compass to the original direction - back to running. One of my ultimate goals was always to finish a 50 mile race and I was able to do that this year. I found myself pondering...

It is very common to see amateur athletes of all kinds with more logos on their kits then a NASCAR driver. Everyone is looking for the deals and the ability to say they are a sponsored athlete. Companies see the influx of people willing to hashtag their lives away just for a few pennies off something and take advantage of that for some free marketing. There are entire websites dedicated to helping athletes find sponsorships of some kind. But there really isn't a relationship between athlete and company that works for the benefit of both. The discounts offered aren't usually worth the effort and it's difficult to really promote a product that the athlete doesn't believe in. It's even harder to believe the quality of the product when you see athletes jumping from company to company and each one is the "best they've ever used." Or when you are told that such and such is actually better, but I'll use this because I get a discount. No brand loyalty at a...

I have my limits when it comes to fat biking in the cold. Below 10* is about it for me - under that and I'm a wimp. Why I will run in sub-zero without too many complaints but not head out on the bike best equipped for slow snowy miles, I still haven't figured out. But anyway...  Saturday was a balmy 3* in the morning with 5 inches of fresh, fluffy snow and more falling. Skiing would have been the best as Monarch was reporting 21" of fresh snow - but I have my limits with skiing as well! And it was even colder and windier on the pass. So skiing was out, despite the lure of the fresh snow, Instead, we went for a hike up in the canyon. We actually decided to test out some gear for potential backcountry and hut trips with our hike, and it was cold enough to be a very valid test of our new Ibex Shak Hoodies. There were only two other cars in the Mount Cultler lot and the couple getting out of their truck as we pulled in kinda gave us a strange look as we started hoofing up th...

Timing is important on Gooseberry and has gotten more important every year as people discover how much fun the riding is up there. We figured on a Thursday Morning, it wouldn't be an issue and we would be able to get one of the nicer spots nestled in the trees. No such luck. We still found a nice quiet place to call home for a night or two, but it was more exposed to wind and sun then we would have liked. Oh well. After getting set up, time to ride! The super moon was coming and Gooseberry was a great place for the moonrise. We have a few favorite trails already on Gooseberry. North Rim and Hidden Canyon are among my favorites - a nice variety of trails and a great mix of what Gooseberry riding is all about. That was the goal on that first ride - ride a little shorter and find our wheels on the riding out there. It always takes me a few minutes to get used to the different styles of riding. It's not just pedaling on the dirt roads - it's darting in and out of the sage...

After spending Sunday night with the Steamboat/HoneyStinger crew it was time to start the vacation proper. We'd finished the race and were both upright and able to pedal. Bikes needed some love and attention and we were almost out of food. Next step? Condo in St George for a few nights to resupply, shower and get ready for some more fun! We were staying at a different place this time, right at the trailhead for Barrel Ride and Zen trails. Perfect location and very convenient for everything we wanted to do. I could run easy on the roads or drop down into the trail system for something a little more fun and challenging. We could ride right from the door and hit up the best trails without getting in the van. And we were able to get everything cleaned up from the race - the bikes, all the clothes and dirty dishes. Seriously, 24 hour races create a lot of clothes - and when the washer is and dry are tiny compact things, it takes a long time to get it finished... As such, Monday was a we...

We should know by now. After three years of racing 25 Hours of Frog Hollow and then having an extended vacation of desert play time, we really should know better. Apparently, we are slow learners, because once again we headed south to St George with the goal of racing hard and playing hard. Our plan for the race was aggressive, we both felt recovered from Vapor 125 and we were even thinking about riding through the night this year! But that would all depend on how we felt and the weather. Banners against the clouds - and our wind break pile of rocks Frog Town Friday night just before sunset Frog town seemed busier this year - with more RVs and tents sprawling across the mesa. Getting there early Thursday meant we had our choice of spots. We set up camp in the same spot as last year, protected from the wind by a large pile of rocks, but far enough away from the edge that we were still able to stake down the tents. The rocks that make the course so much fun mean staking d...

I'll be honest. The two months between the middle of July and middle of September just about crushed me. Tired all the time, unable to muster more then a slug pace for most rides, and shuffling my way through my runs. It was the worst two month I've had - made worse by my continuing to try to push through the fatigue. So after Vapor I made sure that I would listen to my body and not pressure myself into training until I felt ready. No matter how long it would take, I would take the recovery I needed. Two weeks of minimal activity - short swims that were mostly just paddling around, very short runs where I didn't look at my watch at all and the easiest of rides imaginable. After those two weeks, I was still tired, but feeling better. Getting more like myself again, with a little more energy. That meant I needed at least another week of easy recovery! It was not the time to succumb to FOMO and start up with the big rides and hard runs again. So I behaved even more, knowing ev...

If I counted up the number of times that I thought about emailing Tom in the two months between Sheep Mountain and Vapor Trail 125, I would run out of fingers. I honestly thought that two months would be plenty of time to recover between races - after all I've done numerous big races stacked close together before and never had an issue. But I was wrong. It took me longer to recover from Sheep Mountain then I had anticipated. I would get on my bike for a long ride or workout and feel great one day and the next day I would be worthless. When even the gravel grind up Gold Camp Road felt like I was climbing Pikes Peak, I knew something wasn't right. A few easy days hoping to get some spark in my legs and nothing. It just wasn't coming back and I knew that I wouldn't be ready come 10:00pm on September 10th. Despite the inner dread I was developing as the race approached, I continued making my plans as if I was 100% and raring to go. Just finishing was lurking in the back of ...

Here they come again - nervousness, the second guessing and worrying if everything I've done will be enough to carry me for 17 hours across the Continental Divide. The Vapor Trail 125 is Saturday - 10:00pm and 45 intrepid souls will head off into the night. This will be my third time riding (racing?) the Vapor Trail and dispite a hard earned veteran status I don't feel as ready as I have in the past. Why? In prior years, Nick and I spent every free weekend down in Salida, riding almost every inch of the course. From the Colorado Trail to Canyon Creek to Rainbow Trail - we spent many hours scouting. Always fun, but always with a purpose. Learn the course, memorize the descents and mark the climbs. That way nothing would be a surprise come race day. Sure the trails can change a little, but it's nothing like going into the event blind. Not this year - with the exception of one run down Monarch Crest, we have spent no time in Salida. No treks to the summit of Granite mounta...

August in Moab conjures one word for me. Hot. It is after all in the destert. There might be the Colorado River right next to town, but it's still a desert. When we decided to finish out our trip in Moab, I was worried about the heat. How would we be able to get some good rides done with temperatures soaring? I figured we'd have to get up early at least once - beat the heat and greet the sun. But when we rolled into Moab, the clouds were already building and rain drops sprinkling from the sky. A little humid, but pleasant. We got the keys to the condo and some grocery shopping done. Finally - a place to cook and be able to eat real food! Being able to cook and eat normally is so important - and it doesn't take more then a few days without that ability to make it even more evident. Nick's first priority while we were in Moab? Captain Ahab. He loves that trail. He would be happy as a clam just doing laps on that trail all day. I'm starting to like it even more - I g...

How much of the 400 miles of trails that Park City claims can you cover in two days? Not much really, but we made a valiant effort for sure! After landing in the only campground even close to Park City, we made tentative plans for a big day Wednesday. Two rides on the Park City mountain, one just the two of us and the other a little later with Cam. The first ride we climbed up Armstrong - and kept climbing up until we hit the Mid-Mountain Trail. So nice having a dedicated climbing trail - just being able to ride without worrying about people coming down at you. We don't have any directional trails here in COS - even if a few should be directional! The Mid-Mountain Trail seemed like a good place to start heading down, or in this case traversing the slopes. So we turned left and started winding in and out of tree and ski slopes. The trail was well manicured, if just a tad dusty. I wasn't able to follow Nick that close because of all the dust. Short little climbs, fast swtichba...

Why a last minute trip to Ogden? Well, there's a lot of out door industry jobs in Ogden and the city keeps bringing in more. Nick has been looking for a change in work for a number of years and there plenty to choose from along the Salt Lake corridor - but most of them in Ogden. And while I've been out there several times for the Xterra USA championships, we never really explored the city and the trails in town. So without an agenda or an important race, we could spend the time getting a feel of the city. Of course, any long drive has to be broken up a few times. It's a good thing the North entrance to Klondike Bluffs is really close to the interstate... Nick ran Saturday night, I did yoga on the rocks. And then we rode Sunday before heading up to Ogden. Nothing like yoga on the rocks to clear the mind   Sunset from Klondike Bluffs. A nice quiet evening. Our goal in Ogden was to find as many in town trails as we could. And while the bike shop we stopped in had...

Fifty miles is a long way - regardless of how you travel. As I was training and preparing for Sheep Mountain Endurance Run, I knew that it would be a long day - I knew that there would be ups and downs, that the plan would have to be fluid and goals adjusted mid-race. That is the nature of endurance sports and the people who achieve are the ones who can go with the flow and find the ability to turn things around if they do go south. Obviously, for my first 50, I was hoping for nothing but smooth sailing - with no dark spots, no demons and smiling the whole way. A girl can always hope, right? Runners assembled for the start Photo - Human Potential Running The sun was just starting to brighten the clouds as we walked to the starting line with nearly 100 other runners. The race director went through a few things, noting that there had already been some DNS's due to the elevation and to be smart. Smart... Most people would say smart would mean not doing something like a 50 mile ...