Thru Endurance We Conquer!

There is a moment before a race starts, when the corals are filled with a quiet anticipation of what to come. The heartbeats of the racers, echoing the nerves. Then the shotgun blasts and the nervous energy is transformed into pedal strokes. Where will those pedal strokes take you? That is the question to be answered over then next 64 miles and untold hours in the saddle. It is up to each racer to decide how those hours will be approached and how the race will unfold. Such was the setting Sunday morning when Nick dropped me off for the Original Growler. A quiet group of cyclists gathering in downtown Gunnison - unsure of what the day would bring. For me, I just wanted to get through the neutral start and onto the single track. Ever since I almost went down after a guy tangled his handlebars with mine a few years ago, the start makes me nervous. I just want to get to Kill Hill in one piece. It also doesn't help the nerves when the escort vehicle doesn't keep a steady pace - th...

Literally! After a winter and spring focused on running, Memorial Day is fast approaching. And that means one thing - Growler weekend. As usual, Nick will be tackling the half on Saturday and I will be enjoying two laps Sunday. I use the term enjoying loosely here... I love the course for sure, but it’s a hard day for one lap and even harder for for two laps. I keep wondering what the Half Growler is like - how nice it must be to roll across the finish line and not have to climb back up in Hartman Rocks, but that’s Nick’s day to race. In fact, the only time we haven’t done it that was was last year when Nick had his surgery. That would have been the year to test my mettle in the half! But otherwise, it’s just worked best for me to race the full. I don’t have the top end speed for the half, but can survive the hours of pedaling required for the full. Usually. This year? Not so sure about those hours of pedaling. As in, I haven’t really done too many hours of pedaling at all. Even with...

Cheyenne Mountain State Park - I just can't seem to get enough miles there! Between four races (WS 2, Stories Ultra, CMTR 50k and now NORAD) and all the training miles both on foot and on wheels, I've covered every trail in the park multiple times (except for Dixon and the top of the mountain - that will come later).  I've probably run and ridden at least 250 miles in the park if I was actually counting. Good thing I really love the trails and the hills there, otherwise it would have been a challenging spring.  But I do - I really enjoy running at CMPS. Sunrise over the cloud bank to the east. Getting creative with the yucca!

What’s the saying? When life gives you lemons, make lemonade? That’s just what I did this weekend after the cancellation and then postponement of the Tommyknocker 12 Hour Race. More on the postponement later... With the race for this weekend off due to Jeff-Co closing the trails because of the snow and potential for serious trail damage and mud, I turned my attention to another kind of racing. The Women’s Distance Festival 5k here in COS - one of the Brewer’s Cup races I was originally going to miss. Short and fast has never been my forte, and there was a zero missing from the distance - but it was still a race. And running a fast 5k is in my mind is as hard as a 50k - but a different kind of hard. So instead of long, I was going short. Of course, I still wanted some decent mileage today - just because TommyKnocker was postponed doesn’t mean I get to slack on the running training. That meant I had to change things up a little to get the 5k race and the long run done. Timing wise, d...

I think I've said something like this before - back in 2016 when the Rattler Trail Race was canceled morning of the race due to weather. As runners, there are things we can control (our training, the gear we have with us during a race, and so on) and then there are the things we can't control (course conditions and weather primarily.) While we need to be aware of the uncontrollables, we can't worry about them. To a point. I've been watching the weather all week - from gorgeous and sunny on Monday to a day of grey and drizzle on Tuesday, mixed rain and sun on Wednesday and more rain Thursday. That was in Colorado Springs - up north the snow started Wednesday and was intermittent through out the last few days. When I saw the Thursday's post on Facebook from Jeff-Co Open Space that White Ranch was closed, my heart took a dive. Why? Because Tommyknocker is held at White Ranch. If Jeff-Co was closing the park Thursday morning to prevent trail damage due to the wet condit...

Next weekend is the second race in the Trancendence Series - the Tommyknocker 12 Hour Race at White Ranch. Yes, another timed race! This time, I have "only" have to run a 50k - at least 31 miles. And while it is 12 hours and I finished my 50 at Sheepy in under 12 hours, I will not be going for much more then that 50k distance. Nope - not gonna try for a 50m finish in the 12 hours! Completely behaving this time. I'll get to 31 miles at the top and then turn around and run down. That's it. You can hold me to that! That's my only goal for the race. Well, that and the usual goals like have a great time, keep smiling and try to encourage everyone! Yet this is the race that may challenge me mentally more then any other race in the series. At least when it comes to planning for the race. Why? Because unlike Stories where there was a distinct course to follow with a specific flow - red-green-blue-purple, rinse and repeat - Tommyknocker is totally random. There's the...

There are two ways to approach a race. One is to focus just on the time and the placement, at the expense of everything else. The other is to recognize that while it is a race, there is more then just the finish time - there is the community around the race. After a hard race at the Rattler Trail Race 50k two weeks ago, I knew that the Cheyenne Mountain Trail Race wasn't going to be a race to focus on the time. It would be community that would be on display throughout my 30 miles at Cheyenne Mountain State Park. That didn't mean I wasn't hoping for a fast time or strong performance - it just meant I was being realistic about the goals of the day. And what were those goals? Run smart - try not to start too hard and be strong the entire 30 miles. Stay in the moment - don't think to many miles down the trail. Work on my hydration for ease of refills, ability to drink and minimize waste. Smile! Always smile. Encourage other runners on the trail and say thank you to all the ...