Thru Endurance We Conquer!

Our last big adventure for the year was a snowshoe/hike hut trip. Nick's been slowly accumulating gear for trips - hoping to eventually transition to back country skiing. The last big purchase was the Osprey Kode packs so we could carry the snowshoes and all our gear. With that, it was time to actually get out and try a hut trip. At that late date, there weren't many openings in the 10th Mountain or Summit Hut systems. There was plenty of room in Section house - a restored railroad boarding house perched on the top of Boreas Pass. It was also a shorter hike in, so perfect for testing gear out. On Gold Dust Trail - heading up towards Section House We approached the hut from the East side - parking at the Gold Dust trailhead. It was already pretty windy out, but the trees down in the valley shielded us from the wind. Hearing the creaking and moaning of the old pines was a little freaky at times - especially with the number of trees down along the trail. To Nick's dismay

Ahh, the joys of kittens. We decided to start leaving them out of the bathroom more at night and during the day. They are almost four months old now and it's time to start giving them a little independence. Too bad Miss Sasha is a little clumsy! Last week she knocked one of my spider plants and my rosemary off the banister. That was a bit of a mess to clean up and the plants did not survive. We had rosemary potatoes for supper that night. Then a few nights ago I was in my office working on Nick's jacket when I heard the distinctive sound of glass shattering on stone. Into the bathroom they went as I cleaned up wine glass shards from the kitchen floor! Sweeping, mopping and vacuuming to make sure all the splinters were picked up. A few hours later, Sasha knocked DumDum's food dish off. At least it was onto the towel on he floor. Made cleaning up easier. And hopefully the last thing she'll knock over - my prickly pear cactus. Amazingly the plant and pot survived the fall.

As usual, the colder months are providing time to work on my bike. It's still a huge weakness when it comes to my Xterras, so the more work I can put in, the better. With a borrowed power tap on my road bike, it was time to join the group road ride. I'd heard stories about the chaos and carnage, but also that it would a good way to build some speed and punch on the bike. My goal for today was to just stay in the group, follow some wheels and hold on the best I could. The group was really big today, lured by the crisp temperatures, low wind and sunny skies. As we rolled out from Starbucks, I hung close to the back of the pack. I've never ridden in a group that big and wasn't as comfortable as others in the middle. I also didn't want to cause someone else to crash! I was doing well, keeping up with the pace and following the mild accelerations. Then the group turned right to head south on Mark Sheffele road. There was a slight uphill, followed by a long rolling down

The Rock Canyon Half marathon, put on by the Southern Colorado Road Runners is a great local event with a fun and challenging course and a good end of season race. I hadn't done it in a few years so decided to take advantage of my Pueblo connections and test myself at the 13.1 distance. It's been a while since I ran a half so I was hoping for good weather and fast competition. Well, one out of two isn't bad! There were plenty of speedy women on the starting line, so I am really happy with my 1:29:26 and second place. The woman's winner Ellie Keyser turned a 1:23:13 and was out of sight for most of the race. The weather on the other hand was far from good, with sub freezing temps, gusting winds and enough snow to make sections of course a little slick. I can't thank the volunteers who stood out in that weather handing out water enough. Just running was cold and I was fairly warmly dressed! My morning was pretty easy thanks to Micheal O allowing me to stay at his ho

Or the sounds of bike tires crunching on snow. A string of freezing days after Saturday's snowstorm left a few inches of crisp and dry snow on the shady trails. The trails exposed to the sun were melted but frozen, making last night's ride nearly perfect. The temperature was a little chilly but the trails were quiet and the air still. It was just me and Stacy for the night's adventure so we met at my house, bundled up and headed to Stratton. Once we got on single track the only sounds were of our tires crunching against the dry snow. It was cold enough to freeze my breathe but the steady pace as we meandered thru Stratton and up the Chutes. At the top of the chutes we stopped to admire the view. Colorado Springs sprawled out I front of us, the city lights twinkling in the frigid air. Then onto Columbine. We took the second drop into Colimbine, opting to enjoy a little more downhill. Normally I would put warmer gloves and another layer on for the downhill but decided not to

This a little late for Thanksgiving, but I wasn't gonna post a recipe I hadn't tried. This is a good alternative to the traditional bread based stuffing. It has good flavor and a nice blend of textures. It is also a good complement to the rest of the meal. Bring to boil - 2 cups of chicken broth - 1 1/2 cups of rice. A blend of wild and brown rice works best. Black rice will discolor the broth Simmer for 35 minutes or until rice is tender While rice is cooking: - Grate 1 1/2 cup carrots - Grate 1 cup parsnips - Chop 1 cup onion - Chop 1 cup turnips - Chop 1 cup yellow peppers Add to rice and return to boil - Add 2 tbs parsley and basil - Add any other spices to taste Simmer for 10-15 minutes Remove from heat Stuff turkey

  Meet Sasha and George!  We adopted two kittens before we left for Moab - Sasha and George. We had originally planned on waiting until after the trip, but... We were going to Walmart to get some things and there was a lady standing on the corner with a big sign "Kittens." Nick asked me if I wanted to look, knowing that I still really missed Isis, but also wanted to start looking for the new family members. I said yes, so after we finished in Walmart, we walked over. She had four kittens left, a light grey female with faint strips and three longer haired black kittens. I immediately fell for the grey girl and pulled her out of the cage to play with her a little. And right behind her came bouncing out the little runt of the group. And little was right - about half the size of the grey one! We were planning on getting two kittens, so they would have each other to play with and so DumDum wouldn't be as mean. (We didn't know how he would react at all.) Well, Ni

Our last adventure of the trip was at Hartman Rocks in Gunnison. It was sunny out, but a stiff wind made it very chilly. There was some snow on the north facing slopes, but the trails were in good shape. We started out easy this time, riding the first half of the 24 Hours in the Sage course. Then time for some differnet trails. The meandering climb up and down Josies, with a few rock gardens thrown in for fun. The steady climbs of Buddy Bear and then meadering Dirty Sock. I could tell I was getting really tired from the weeks adventures - I wasn't even coming close to keeping up with Nick on steady climbs. Despite the fatigue, I was able to ride a few things that the last time we'd been out there for fun I'd tried a few times, then given up on. So that was a little victory. Onto the road for a while, then up Broken Shovel to Skyline. I popped on Skyline, and proceeded to continue along my slow, steady tempo while Nick climbed away. We reached the junction of Broken Shovel a

Of course, the day we left Moab was the best day of the entire week! Brilliant blue skies, warm sunshine - perfect weather for riding. But we were finished in Moab and it was time to head home. Not finished riding though - the goal for this ride was to check out the Kokopellie trail area and Mary's loop outside Fruita. I'd ridden there twice - but hadn't gone far, so was looking forward to riding some more new trails. We parked in the middle parking lot and quickly got ready to ride. No heavy coat, no warm gloves, no booties! I love riding with Nick - I really do. But sometimes, I don't want to do the hardest trail in the entire area right off the bat! A little warm up would be nice... We immediately headed up Moore Fun trail (which was labeled on the map as the most technical and challenging trail). And while it was a really fun trail, I was also walking and pushing my bike quite a bit. There were some things that I just couldn't get or was too much of a wimp to

The weather front that had been threatening all week moved down Sunday morning. Like every other morning, the clouds were low on the red rock valley walls surrounding Moab. This morning, they kept lowering and finally developed into a moderate but cold rain. Not the weather anyone really wanted to be out riding in! Sow we had a quiet morning of reading and catching up with friends. As Dan and Leslie prepared to head back to CO (they both had to work on Monday) Nick and I decided to try a short hike/run up off Porcupine Rim. I wasn't sure about running since my quad was still really painful walking up and down stairs, but figured a hike would be good. We drove up Sand Flats rd, passed the empty parking lot for Slick Rock and continued east. There were plenty of campgrounds and the 4x4 trails criss crossed the road several times. Finally, we reached the main Porcupine Rim trail parking lot. The ground was damp, but not muddy. Nick was a little disappointed - if we'd know that i

With the arrival of Dan and Leslie late Friday night, we had some big plans for riding. Slick Rock was primary on the list, so that was the first place we headed Saturday after the clouds started lifting. It still wasn't really warm (about 38-40) and very grey out but we all had the clothes and the motivation to ride. We loaded up the Subi with the big bikes on the roof and my bike in the car and headed up Sand Flats road. The parking lot was quiet when we got there and we were off and riding. And it was truly a different riding - nothing but miles of sandstone with white dashes. The tires stuck like glue to the sandstone and as long as you stayed close to the white dashes, it was a make your own fun affair. I followed Dan's lines for most of the ride - he's been out there a lot and knew what I would feel comfortable riding. Some of the climbs were bloody steep and the only way I was able to get up them was by switch backing up the side of the solid dunes. Coming down the o

Our Friday ride plans were for two rides - Sovereign trail in the morning and then Slick Rock in the afternoon. We left Fruita at a decent time - I got some compression pads and ace wrap for my leg so I would be able to ride. We survived the boring drive from Fruita to Moab - Nick drove and I studied the map. Nick was planning on riding a loop on the Sovereign trail he'd ridden a few years ago, so we were planning parking at the north trail head off Dalton Wells Road. We got changed, hoped on the bikes and headed north. I saw a small sign that said "Sovereign Singletrack" Singletrack is aways better the road, so off we went, following the blue dashes on the rocks. The trail dived into a small canyon, then the diverged. One set of blue dashes when up, the other stayed in the canyon. I was having fun in the canyon - so I followed that set of blue dashes. And that set of blue dashes quickly turned south and headed down. We took a pretty technical descent down into a grey s

This was a planned escape from Colorado Springs with no agenda except ride a lot, ride some new trails and run in some different places. Day one of the trip was spent in Fruita, where we got two rides in on two different single track systems. Awesome fun and a good day of riding! And hint of the fun that was awaiting us in Moab. In the morning, we bundled up and headed north on 18 Road to the North Fruita Desert trail systems. The sun was out, but it was still chilly with the dew frozen on the roads and grasses. We were both pretty warmly dressed, and only a few layers would come off as the sun grew warmer. The trails there were fast and smooth, meandering through wheel high grass. I was waiting for the antelope to come jumping out of the grass! We also found some fun technical trails with steep, challenging climbs and well built switchbacks into and out of the gullies and canyons. The best trail that we rode (and we didn't come close to riding all of them) was Kessler's Run.

Isis was such a character. She had a huge personality and was the boss of the house. Kept DumDum in line and always made sure we didn' forget to feed her. Over ten and a half years of provides plenty of memories and I want to share a few of the best ones. *The day I brought her home, I had her locked in my bathroom to keep her away from Mom's other cat. And she kept whining and crying till I eventually opened the door to the bathroom. I shut my bed room door first so she couldn't get into the rest of the house. But she didn't want to go far. Just to my bed where she curled up and started purring. *A march day in Denver coming home from PT class. Isis met me at the door of the apartment with plaintive mew. She kept pacing between the kitchen and the door. I found out why A line of ants was marching from a tiny hole in the floor across the entrance to the kitchen and straight to her food bowl. The entire bowl was writhing like the food had come alive. Not a good thing

This has been a good recovery week - worked a bunch, got some chores done around the house and slept in nearly every day. Also took way to many photos of the new kittens, but I'll talk about them later! After our slightly mucky single speed ride in Palmer Park yesterday, Nick and I when to Ascent Cycling to get some stuff. Clay mentioned that he and a few of the guys were planning on heading to Lake Pueblo today, I was all in. There were some new trails I wanted to take Nick down and having more then an hour to play sounded good. So to heck with another recovery day! The sun was shining, there wasn't much wind and it was a perfect day to ride some rocks. We met up with the gang at the Arkansas Point parking lot and headed out. Started out with the climb up Rodeo, then dropped Rattlesnake - no wildlife sighting this ride! Up Skull Canyon then along Roller Coaster to one of the new trails - Sidewinder (another snake name - sensing a theme here...) I've only ridden Sidewinde

This post is a little late - got distracted with other events. It's not uncommon to see all kinds of critters while out training. Usually it is nothing more interesting then a coyote or fox but this was a busy week. On the 11th I watched a coyote stalking some leashed ankle biters. I am not sure the owner noticed how intently her dogs were being followed. During my morning run on the 13th there was quite the herd of bucks in Bear Creek. I noticed that two of them were fighting - National Geographic style. And they were getting into it - aantlers locked, the whole bit. All for the affection of the does on the other side of the trail... I did not head back that way when I finished the run. Then after work I took the single speed to Lake Pueblo. Near the end of the ride, after cruising Outer Limits, I was finishing my ride by coming down Waterfall. With a loud scream a bundle of feathers exploded from the rocks in front of me. In the fading evening light I had flushed a large golden

Isis snuggled in the quilts on the bed It's amazing how much our pets can touch us and influence our lives. When I got Isis (although I think she picked me) she was a scrawny six pound alley cat who'd been dumped at the vet with her kittens. She was scared of everything and everyone except for me. We were a duo - she aways snuggled, slept with me and kept me company. I played with her, made sure the food bowl was always full (part of the reason she got up to 16 pounds...) I'd come home from PT class with a pile of homework, a lab exam to study for and three projects. She'd meet me at the door with a meow and take my mind off of the stress of the day with her throaty purr and antics like eating my sweet potato off my plate. When I was in Spokane for one of my clinical, Isis stayed with Mom. Mom told me when I go home that she'd never seen a more unhappy cat for those two months. I'm too comfortable to play - but that looks fun. Fast forward a year and I

 The 2011 24 Hours of Colorado Springs proved to be quite the adventure before the race even started. After a successful first year on the Falcon Trail at the Air Force Academy, plans were made for the National Championships and another fun time riding up Stanley Canyon. Then things changed and we weren't even sure of a venue for the 24 Hours of COS. So a huge congratulations to the race director and organizing committee for securing a fun and challenging venue in the middle of Colorado Springs. This year it truly was the 24 Hours of Colorado Springs, set at a favorite play ground - Palmer Park. I rode one lap two weeks before the event and while it seemed "easy" for Palmer Park, but after a few laps it would be challenging. A good mix of technical riding, fun single track and fast double track that didn't provide much respite. On race day however, I wouldn't get much more then a quarter of a mile from the camper. This is a race report about crewing for

Autumn - the days get shorter and the riding weather turns crisp. And that means it's time to break out the lights and find some friends to ride with! Tracy, Kristi and I met up for a fun ride up Buckhorn and down Jacks on Wednesday, looking forward to some tight and fun trails - thanks to all the rain and snow from last weekend. Meeting at the main Stratton parking lot, we meandered up the single track to Goldcamp road under the light of the setting sun. There weren't many clouds, but the ones that lingered were tinged with fuchsia and gold. The line of the horizon out east was deepening into a rich purple as the sun vanished behind the mountains. And the the moon peaked up from the edge of the earth - gleaming orange and huge over the city below. A beautiful start to the ride! We hit Gold Camp and set our sights on Buckhorn. There was hardly any traffic on the road at that hour - meaning we could take up the entire road and ride in the smoothest part. I still had my annoyin

Or Winter picked the wrong weekend to make an appearance. I was supposed to race in the Bear it All Triathlon on Sunday. It sounded like a fun race to close out the season with a 1500 swim, a 24m bike and 5.6 mile run. Well, as the forecasted morning low temp started plummeting the race director made the call to change to a run/bike/run duathlon instead. A smart move - I know how hard it was to try and run after swimming in 53 degree water when the air temp was mid 40s. I could not imagine trying to ride in those conditions. I like feeling my fingers and toes while riding! So I was looking forward to a du - since swapping swim for run wouldn't affect my race that much. Then winter moved in with snow and rain all along the front range. Nick and I loaded up the turtle and headed north, hopeful the weather would improve. Got my packet and a campsite and headed out to preride. It was fun - a little mud and some puddles, but nothing I couldn't handle. Especially since I was on my

 The trail from Pineview - a great day for racing Photo - Nick Thelen  Another perfect Utah day provided the backdrop for the racing action at Xterra USA. The new bike course lent to speedy times despite the climb, while the technical run course kept racers on their toes. Spectators lining the course, hoping for a glimpse of Lance Armstrong, were treated to a battle royal on the men's side and a commanding performance by Melanie on the women's side. She laid it down on the bike and finished in 2:43:00. Lesie Patterson made a last minute charge on the run, but took second in 2:45:59. Danelle Kabush had a strong performance to finish third in 2:47:43, with Kelly Cullen (2:49:20) and Emma G (2:52:01) rounding out the top five. I had strong swim, a decent bike (but well off the pace off the rest of the women) and a really solid run to finish 13th pro and 17th overall. I had hoped for a top ten finish this year, but it was not to be. But I still had a solid race and a good

Top four Solo Single speed on the podium Carney, Plews, Liddell, Nick Photo - Tim Bergsten The 24 hours of Colorado Springs, the 2011 USAC 24hr MTB National Championships is in the books. Nick raced this year and I handled support crew for him. He took fourth in the Solo Men Single Speed behind Evan Plews (18 laps), AJ Liddell (17 laps) and Andrew Carney (15 laps). Nick had a decent race and persevered though some tough physical issues that had him wanting to quit at 1:00 am. Doing support for him was as hard as racing! I'll have some notes from the race up soon.

Ufdah! Fast, lots of climbing and fast descents, and too few rocks on the bike - that's my initial impression from the Xterra USA National Championships in Ogden/Snowbasin today. It was was a perfect day for racing, with clear weather outside of the media storm. Melanie M rode away for the win (and I think the win in the America Tour Series as well). Lesley P placed second, with Danielle Kabush in third. Kelly Cullen finished 4th and won the American Championship ahead of Emma G. I finished 13th pro, 17th overall - there were plenty of speedy women out there today! The new bike course added plenty of climbing and some great views - but I was suffering too much to enjoy! I had a great run, reeling in three women who had passed me on the bike. It wasn't quite enough though - still need to spend some quality time on my bike over the winter. Heading for the finish along Snowbasin's fun single track Photo - Nick Thelen

A race report about not racing? How does that happen? Very easy - I was running support and Nick was racing! This was his last big race before 24 Hours of COS and it was training for both of us. Him for riding his bike for a while and me for support! After the rain on Wednesday and Thursday, the original course was completely trashed - there were wash out ruts nearly two feet deep on sections of Palmer Point trail. Obviously, it wouldn't be safe to run the race right through those ruts. So Saturday am, the course was changed to a five mile lap that Nick would be riding 10 times. Ufdah! That meant my planned "easy" day of sitting around and reading, then handing out a bottle every now and then was gone. I would have to be on my best game to keep Nick with bottles and food. Nick had pre mixed two half gallons of drink, had food in the cooler and I had my game plan set. At first, a bottle every lap - on a short climb just outside the tents. Then when the heat picked up, it

Coming off the Notch on the last lap Photo - About the Shot (abouttheshot.com) Our third year of racing at the 24 Hours in the Sage and it was still a grand time. The KOA has fully embraced the madness of the noon to noon race, making the venue the best of all the 24 hour races we've been to. Add in the fun of Hartman Rocks and it's clear why 24 Hours in the Sage has become an annual pilgrimage. But besides the fun, the racing is also serious. Last year Nick and I won a close race in the Co-Ed Duo class and we came to Gunnison hoping to defend the title. Despite some hiccups and completely scrapping our pre-race plan, we kept it together. As usual in 24 Hour racing, the weather proved as much an opponent as the other teams. It was a close race for most of the first day and into the night. At the end of the day, Nick and I - racing as Happy 2 B Here - turned 20 laps, finishing at 12:08. We even beat the Men's Duo team by a few seconds! The second place Co-Ed team, Keepi

So two days after I promised Nick that I wouldn't do any night rides alone, I found myself getting lights and heading out at 7:00pm to hit the trails. And I wasn't planning on meeting anyone - had just gotten home from work late and it was too nice to not ride outside. Given the type of ride I was supposed to do, it seemed like a great night to take the single speed out for a spin. Texted Nick that I was leaving and was planning on riding about an hour - and off I rode into the twilight. I saw a few other groups of riders finishing up as I climbed into Stratton. But I was alone - just me, my light and the cat toy I'd swiped as a bear bell. It was kinda nice at first, the silence and stillness of the trail - isolated in the trees. But as the darkness consumed that trees, it started getting a little freaky. There was literally no one around and I kept seeing eyes staring at me. Although I knew that the eyes were from the deer I'd seen browsing in the fields as the sun wa

While I still haven't gotten the race report from 24 hours in the sage written that doesn't mean I've been slacking! It has been a busy few weeks. We just finished painting the bedroom, a really warm brown that looks great. Still waiting on getting blinds and such, but now one step closer. That meant that yesterday's ride turned into a night ride. We headed out about 7:00 with full lights and meandered up thru stratton. The plan was to just ride Buckhorn and Jacks, then meander home. Stratton was quiet on the way up but Gold Camp road was crazy busy. And none of the cars wanted to either slow down or give us an inch of space. Really frustrating. And the road was really dusty which made things even worse. Finally on Buckhorn and full darkness. With no cars and no hikers it was perfectly still. Just the two of us and the beams of our lights. Had a good climb and stopped to adjust lights at the top. Then down we headed. And I was slow this time! Between my normal hesitancy

With Nick racing the 24 Hours of Colorado Springs in a few weeks, it's time to head back to Palmer Park and get to know the trails a little better. I'm not racing, but I am supporting, so knowing where he's riding is a good thing. We were supposed to do a course recon on Wednesday, but did not have a map printed out yet. So we just rode around with Kristi, showing off some of the fun trails the park has to offer. We did ride sections of the course, but for the most part, just had a good time on the bikes. The trails were pretty quiet so we were able to keep the tempo high. Up the hill, along the mesa's edge, down one of the rocky trails, then back up and around. Nick took us on one of the social trails on the south east corner of the park that I had had difficulty with the last time. No issues on the this ride, and even better was that I was able to stay on my bike on the next "goat" trail we chose! We meandered our way to little Moab, where it was time to

On August 27th, athletes from all across Colorado and the surrounding states gathered at Lory State Park outside Fort Collins for the second annual Xterra Lory. This was one of the last races before the national championships and it brought out talent throughout the age groups. Tribe members were racing for points and for fun at one of the most beginner friendly events on the circuit. We got to enjoy the crisp, clear waters of Horsetooth Reservoir in one of the most protected swim venues I've been in. The swim was followed by a fast and dusty ride along the single track trails in the valley of Lory State park and the race finished with a hellacious climb towards the sun run up and down the mountains behind the park. The weather and the racing was hot this year. Sara T posted the women's win in 1:45:57, I took second in 1:47:49 and Louisa B finished third in 1:51:19. Xterra Lory lived up to it's reputation as a good event for beginning Xterra athletes and a fun time for seas

We took plenty of photos while on Monarch Pass - both of the race and the spectators. Here are some of the best shots  KOM banner on top of Monarch Pass - this was on my second trip to the summit   Nick watching down the road for the riders Garmin and HTC leading the peloton over Monarch Pass The peloton approaching en mass I have the rest of the photos posted on my Picassa Page https://picasaweb.google.com/TracyThelen.triathlete/USAProCyclingChallenge #