Thru Endurance We Conquer!

I know that this is out of order, but I still haven't finished writing the 24 Hours in the Sage report! It's coming, I promise. Xterra Lory was a great race. I loved the course - The swim was in a protected cove of Horsetooth Res and was very well marked. The bike was a good mix of terrain, from a long climb with rock gardens, tight switchbacks and water bars to a fast and technical descent to the long undulating valley trail. The run climbed up the hill from the bike course and then back down to the finish line. And I thought the slip and slide at the end of race was perfect for a hot day. My plan going into the race was to push the pace on the swim, then try to hammer the bike and survive the run. A little different then how I normally approach a triathlon, but given the Achilles issues I've been working with, it seemed logical. And it worked out well. I had a strong swim, a really good bike and held onto the win with the run, finishing in 1:47:28. Tess Amer was second ...

Well in Fort Collins and ready for the Xterra Lory. It's a fun course actually, with a long climb right out of transition, a fun technical downhill then a rolling flat loop in the valley. There are a few tight switch backs on the descent and it will catch a few racers off gaued. I did have to stop and try a few sections a few times. Then there are the water bars. I think they took a cue from JefCo with the water bars in the middle of the switchebacks. The good news is that I was able to ride most of them on the first try. There is a large group of COS athletes in the race. It should be fun. I ran a little after the pre ride and there was no big issues with my calves. Here's hopimg things go smoothly. Race starts at 800 in the morning!

Nick and I went to CMSP for an easy ride last night and wow. I was still so tired. Nick was on his single speed and I could not even come close to keepimg up with him. And he had already ridden at lunch. Whem it took an hour to ride the Talon loops and Sundance, it was time to call it a night. I was planning on riding an hour and a half but no. Too tired to fight for that other 30 minutes. So we went home. I felt better swimming this morning sso things are looking up. I am doing the Xterra Lory on Sunday and not feeling ready at all. Racing is not not the smartest idea this weekend at all. But I can always use the practice with my transitions and my wet suit. So I will head up to Ft Collins and have a good time at the race. have a good race as well. No pressur for performance.

Today was the first time I have gone to Masters in the morning and not finished the workout. My alarm went off, I thought about swimming, crawled back into bed, then decided I needed go. It would just make the day so much easier. But I had no motivation to swim, none at all. Did the warmup, relaxed and very easy. Was dragging on the drill set a little. But when we started the main set, there was nothing. I wasn't even coming close to hitting the interval and didn't even care. That's when I decided enough, I was done. I am still pretty tired from 24 Hours in the Sage, both physically and sleep wise. The short swim was good, but I don't need to push the effort level right now just to finish the workout. So I didn't! Being a good athlete is also knowing when to rest.

It was a long, hard 24 Hours in the Sage. The weather was great for racing, a little warm and windy Saturday, not to cold overnight and perfect on Sunday . The Co-Ed Duo was one of the closest races of the day, with team Bo and Bec trading the lead many times with the Pedalin' Fools, aka Team Thelen. Finally, at 4:00am Nick and I took a tenuous lead and made it stick. It came down to the last lap of the race, with me holding off a fast closing Bo Randolph to finish at 11:05 with 19 laps. Bo and Bec finished at 11:08, also with 19 laps. Full report coming later.

First thing - I hate the Notch. I really do. I have never cleaned it going up and the last two times we've ridden here, I've crashed pretty hard coming down the back side. So right now, the Notch and I are on bad terms. Now for the rest of the course - the intial blacktop is never a problem - nothing hard there, just a false flat to the trail head. A good time to eat, drink and recover for the solo riders. I hope that I can take advantage of some of the other teams during that section and draft off of other riders. Right away when the course hits trail, it's up. Not super steep, but long enough and steep enough to make the rest of the lap hurt. The climb is on single track, but there is plenty of room for passing. After the single track climb, there's another more gradual dirt road climb. Again, steep enough and long enough to affect the rest of the lap and other laps in the race. Finally on to the real single track. The first section is a rolling piece along one of...

Nick and I got to Gunnison mid-day yesterday. The drive up and over Monarch was a little slow with theTurtle, but we made it. Speeds were about 30-25 mph heading up and not much faster coming down, but we made it without any issues this time. Everything behaved! We stocked up at the Safeway for food, spending over $200 for both junk food and real food. The fridge is full, the cupboards are overflowing and we are ready to ride for 24 hours. (We hope) I was really annoyed - I have been looking forward to being able to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on cinnamon bread and Safeway did not have the bread I wanted! Oh well, will have to make do with some other bread. But we are so stocked up, it's crazy. After shopping, time to head to the KOA and get set up. There were plenty of people there, but it wasn't the crazy race crowd. We were getting some looks as we wheeled bikes out of our camper. I don't think most of the Thursday night campers were associated with the rac...