Thru Endurance We Conquer!

We got a late start to the day. Just a lot of small chores that needed to get done before we leave for 24hrs in the Old Pueblo. But there are chains in the camper now, so if we hit bad weather we'll be okay. Slower then normal, but okay. We also got some of the crap we won't need for the race out, like the little microwave and coffee pot. So now there is more room for all our race gear. But the little errands and chores seem to take twice as long as planned As a result, we didn't head out for our ride until late. Because of time and the snow from Friday, we decided to play it safe. A road ride on the Air Force Academy was in order. As usual, Nick rode his mountain bike and I rode my Tricross. Neither of us have road bikes, so that's the best combo. I wasn't feeling spunky at the start of the ride. It was a struggle to stay on Nick's wheel on some of the long climbs. I just did not have any power riding today at all. We had planned on getting a solid four hours,...

My drive to Pueblo for work this morning was interesting. Usually, it's pretty quiet - I set the cruise to 74, turn up my music and have some alone time before work. Today, the roads were a little damp and it was not a day for the cruise control. Not because of ice, but the fog. It was really foggy between Colorado Springs and the Pueblo west exit. Part of the problem is that I-25 follows Fountain Creek down to Pueblo and when it's cold, there is a lot of moisture. That means lots of fog and it was bad today. Yet it seemed that everyone else didn't notice. They were still driving like maniacs, tailgating and speeding. Oh well. At least I didn't see any cars in the ditch this time. Pueblo also got more snow then we did in Colorado Springs. That's also unusual. Pueblo is normally colder at night, but with less snow. Our plans for a long ride on Sunday might not work out. If the snow does not melt quickly, the trails at Lake Pueblo SP will be nothing but mud. And look...

I never really accepted that there was such an effect from drafting in swimming. I hate the melee of the open water swim starts in most triathlons. I usually try to find clear water as soon as possible, so I don't have to deal with other people. I also don't like trusting others to site for me. Well, that might have to change this year. I think that I will have to work on staying with the first group and staying on the feet of the swimmers around me. I've been happy swimming the long free sets on Wednesdays with the masters group. I'm usually second or third off the wall, and can hang on the feet on the swimmer in front of me and hit the intervals decently. Well, the normal leader decided to hop up a lane and swim with the faster group this morning. That left me in charge. Bad combo - having to do weird math to hit the intervals and having to count past four while swimming hard? Not things I'm good at - I once lost count in a 200 free race in HS! First half of t...

We got together for another night ride this tuesday and decided to test our luck with Palmer Park. The trails there are ususally pretty clear, so we figured that it would be a safe place to ride. The weather was cold, but clear and there was a lot of moisture in the air. To add to the fun of a night ride with the girls, Tracy H had her brand new Giant - maiden voyage time! We headed up to the top of the mesa via one of the easier trails. There was some cruchy snow, but nothing really bad. It was looking like a good choice for a ride. Once on top of the mesa, we meandered around, finding nothing but dry trails. I took lead for a little and headed down one of the more technical side trails. Halfway down a descent that I've cleaned hundreds of times, my whole bike just slide out from under me. The trail was nothing but a sheet of ice, covered in a fine layer of dust. I avoided hitting any big rocks and slid down the rest of the descent. That was our first indication of what most of ...

The weather man warned us that it would be windy Sunday. I didn't really belive him - after all, Colorado weather is notoriously difficult to forecase. Nick and I made plans to drive the Turtle down to Lake Pueblo for a nice, long mountain bike ride, thinking that it would just be cold. One of the CTS Coaches, Jane was also going to join us for the ride, since most of the trails here are icy or muddy. Well, when the wind picked up at 4:00 and woke me up... And it did not die down. The drive down to Pueblo was slower the normal because of the wind. Although the Turtle is heavy, it's also tall and the wind was blowing us around something awful. A precurser to most of the ride, actually. Once we got to Pueblo, we changed and headed out into the wind. Because I wanted to ride for 3-4 hours, the plan was to do a few loops on Voodoo, one on Outer Limits, then play in the canyons for the rest of the time. We did not get that much distance covered. Pronghorn was straight into the wi...

I have 90% of my race schedule for 2010 up on my website. There might still be an Xterra or Mountain Bike race to add to the list, but I think it's a good start. It will be a busy season, that's for sure. I'm going to try to make it to all of the Xterra Cup races, Xterra USA and hopefully Xterra Worlds. That one will be dependent on money - I might not be able to afford to get out the Maui. I'm also going to race about half of the MSC events. I'm really looking forward to the Full Tilt in Telluride weekend. I've never been out to Telluride! Add in three marathons and there you go. Oh, and I must not forget Silverman - the perfect race to end the season with! Check it out - http://sites.google.com/site/tracysthelen/race-schedule

This is silly - I have 24 hour race coming up and I have yet to do any quality night rides. Nick and I had planned to get out last Friday, but things didn't work out. I don't feel comfortable riding at night alone - there is wildlife in the hills and I might make a good snack. And when we've gone down to Pueblo, we haven't brought the lights with us. So when Tracy H mentioned that she was going riding last night with a few of the Women's Mountain Biking Association of Colorado Springs (WOMBA) riders, I jumped at the chance. No stress pace, ride some different trails and get out with the lights. It meant for a busy day, but the ride was worth it. We rode some of the trails in Red Rocks, which was really cool. I've only riden there once, and that was last year. Riding on new trails was a good test of the lights and my light set up. I was running a Nite Rider ont he bars and my Ameoba on my helmet. I really like the little Ameoba lights - battery and light fits w...