Thru Endurance We Conquer!

This was a crazy, busy, fun weekend. Nick and I got to Copper late Friday night and drove around trying to find the check-in location for the condo. After getting the keys, we found the condo building, but the unit number wasn't on the map. Luckily, we bumped into the building manager and he was able to guide us in the right direction – a loft style condo over the two sections of parking garages! I think it was an add-on after the buildings were completed, just to get some additional space. But the unit was nice – nicer then our condo in Colorado Springs. Saturday, I got up early and when for a moderate run on the Copper-Frisco bike path. It was really cool out, with the sun barely peaking over the Ten Mile range. There weren't too many people out on the path in the morning and I had a good run. I ran a few miles shorter then I wanted – but there was a lot going on. Nick wanted to pre-ride the cross country course and then chill out for a while before the short track. I rode th...

I'm sitting outside a resturant in Dillon, waiting for Nick so we can eat and head up to Copper. I thought that he would beat me here, but I got out of class early. It's amazing what half an hour can mean for traffic. I was able to scoot across Denver from AMC to Golden and get my swim in there. I was planning on going to one of the 24 Hour fitnesses near campus and killing time with a long swim to let traffic die down. On top of me being early, Nick's meeting ran long. Had I known, I would have fussed in Golden and just waited for him there. This is really a crazy few days. Yesterday and today, I was sitting in class, taking radiology. Saturday and Sunday, the Copper Cup MSC races. Monday and Tuesday, health care promotion classes. Then back to work for three days. I have both the Era and the Tomac with me. I will race the Tomac in the short track tomorrow and the Era for the cross country. I don't want to ride the Tomac for the longer race because we don't quite h...

I am having issues with the mobile blogger lately. My posts are not getting through to the website, even after many tries. I wish I knew what was going on - it's a little annoying.

What a busy weekend. Fun, good training but really busy. Saturday, the group organizing the Xterra trail marathon held a course preview. The race will be at Cheyenne Mountain State Park in the beginning of October. The course will be challenging, for sure. The marathon is a two loop race, with a half running at the same time. It starts out easy, on Sundance, then heads up. And continues up, all the way to the top of the Talon loops. The only issue that I see might be the out and back on Talon. After Talon, things start really getting fun, with Medicine Wheel and Cougar's Shadow added to the menu. The last half of the course will be the most challenging. Anyone who goes out too fast will really suffer. I ran a few more miles after to get my full long run in. But I had a good time and ran with some funny guys. Thats what you miss training alone - people acting silly and telling good stories. On Sunday, I met up with Tracy for a long ride. I rode to her house and then we headed west a...

Nick and I did intervals last night. Actually, I did intervals and Nick did the timing. He had me do four 30s efforts at just submax. It was amazing how much those four efforts took out of me. I need to do more of that on the bike. After the intervals, we cruised around Stratton. We haven't gone for a night ride since summer started. It was the perfect night for a ride - cool and clear. The Ameoba lights are great for the dusk to dark rides. Throw the light and battery on the helmet and it's there when you need it. Riding at night is also a good way of testing the fit of the Tomac. I don't have the light to think about where my hands were going with shifting and braking. I think that everything feels good right now. I hope that I can ride that bike for the Copper Cup.

The Tomac is finished! Nick worked on it over the weekend to get the cables done and everything adjusted. It shifts so smoothly and crisply. He did an awesome job getting everything dialed. The maiden ride was Monday afternoon. We went to Stratton Open Space and cruised around. The bike felt really nice. The fit seems perfect, but we have some fussing to do with the cockpit. The brake and shifter levers need to be adjusted a little. The handling is snappy, much sharped then the Era. That will take some getting used to, for sure. The bike is also lighter and stiffer then the Era, also something I will need to get used to. But after one ride, I like the bike. Hopefully I'll get everything dialed before the Copper Cup. I might get some pictures up of the finished bike. The blue fork does not look as bad as I thought it might.

Dan got his report from the CTR finished. There are lots of really cool photos from the ride. He took the weight penalty to bring a camera along. It looks like a really fun ride, at times. Other parts, a little too much Hike-a-bike to make any thing fun. http://www.dogboydan.com/dogboydan/bike.htm