Beautiful Buena Vista Colorado. The place where I just rode my first Century Ride (100 miles). Buena Vista is one of my favorite places in Colorado- so much so that I would consider living there….So what a great place for my first Century!

I drove down to BV w/my good friend TJ. She wasn’t riding in the Bike Fest but wanted to get away- and as my others had bagged at the last minute it was great to have her come along. We stayed in this great old hotel and got to bed at a descent time.

Saturday morning came and I was up at 5:30. I have never done a Bike Festival before- I’ve only raced triathlons- so the idea of there not being an official start time was strange. It seems at a Bike Festival you start whenever you want to. I decided a 7:30 start would be a good time for me…

I got up-had my instant oatmeal-tried to figure out what to wear (it was windy, cool and overcast)-decided w/TJ’s help on the clothing- and then went outside. As I brought my bike out, I met a woman from Gunnison who was waiting on her friends. They were about an hour away from being ready so the two of us decided to start our ride together.

We rode for about 45 mins then she decided to ride faster than I was ready to….I soon caught up with two other women who seemed to be riding at a pace I was comfortable with. I told them I was riding alone and asked if I could join them. They graciously agreed to let me tag along. And thus began the 6 hour journey w/ Heather and Michelle!

We had a ball- talking and getting to know each other. Both are rock climbers so we had fun stories to talk about. We hit the first aid station- fueled and watered up- then hit the road for a good 2 hour pedal…..

So this next two hours was the section where we began our serious climbing. We cycled up to Turgoise Lake- rode around the back side and then began the serious climb! The ride around the lake was beautiful and I enjoyed it as it was mostly flat…little did I know what lay ahead ;0

And so began the climb…this is were we seperated to go at our own pace w/Heather taking the lead. I had no idea how long the climb would be and welcomed the top! The climb was HARD and took a lot of effort. It seemed to go on and on and on….and just kept getting steeper! Not sure if that’s true, but it seemed like it to me!

But finally I made it to the top and there I met Pam who needed some food and I gladly shared a PopTart with her. This was just what she needed-and so began the downhill section w/Pam! That’s the fun thing about a Festival as opposed to a race. You get to meet people and talk to them…not just race by them.

After the downhill section-we arrived in Leadville for a fabulous Lunch! I regrouped with Heather and Michelle and we ate lunch together. The best part of lunch for me was the really yummy, stong coffee that one of the local cafe’s made! I soooo enjoyed that w/my turkey burrito!

Following lunch we were faced w/ a climb out of Leadville that took us onto a bike path which circumnavigated the town. This was brutal after cooling down…But after a bit my legs warmed up again and the climb didn’t seem so bad….I must say- I was psyched when we got through w/ those 10 miles of climbing.

The rest of the ride was pretty much downhill. We stopped for fuel about mile 70 and then it was literally the horse to the barn type action. We just pedaled back to Buena Vista in a pace line….Heather wanted to be in front, blocking the wind, the whole way, so Michelle and I obliged her! It was just fun, fun, fun!!!

One thing I discovered in riding my first century-Is it’s a heck of a lot easier than running 30 miles!! I wasn’t even sore when I got done! I couldn’t believe it! There was not stiffining up- or sore anything! And I definatly felt that I could have run when I got off the bike- Not a marathon mind you…but it’s nice to know that this early in my training I would feel good running following 100 miles of biking…..
Whodathunk!

All I can say- is a Bike Festival is a great adventure! The people are great, the atmosphere is awesome, and the time just flies by! I have to give a special shout out to Michelle and Heather- they were very kind to let me ride with them…and being w/ them is part of what made this such a great experience!!!!!

Well I did it! I ran a 50K- that’s a whole 30.97 miles to be exact, and I lived to tell about it!

Drove down to the race at 6:00am and got there with an hour to spare. The weather was clear, in the 50’s with a fairly strong wind….As all of us racers waited in line for the portapotties we were discussing how we hoped the wind would stop-but that we were glad it wasn’t raining..
The course was an 8 mile loop which I would be running 4 times. There were 2 aide station w/water and nutrition.

8:00 rolled around and we all gathered at the start. I was w/my coach Andrea, and friends Becky and Laura. Laura and Becky were running the 25K and Andrea and I were doing the 50K. Laura, Becky and I started the first 4 miles together until the first aid station…At that point they took off and Andrea and I began our journey together!

The goal for this run was to use it as a training run- I was to run the first 3 laps as a “warm-up” for the final (4th) lap. I must say that I had a ball! I had such a good time on this run-especially since I was with Andrea the whole time. We worked together on the hills and on the flats-helping each other with the “load” of 31 miles of trail running.

The day and laps seemed to pass by. We ran through each steep/challenging section saying- “only two/one/no more times through here.” We would stop at the “4 mile” aide station to refill our water bottles, and carry on our way up the next section of hill. Then we’d hit the top and say “it’s all down hill from here now”. The day just kinda went like that- marking off the steep sections w/the downhills…..Lap by Lap by Lap……

And then there was the final lap. Andrea and I both were feeling strong and kicked butt the last 8 miles. We cut around 15 mins off our previous lap times! We ROCKED it! It was a glorious feeling to finish a 31 mile run. Something I had never done before! That’s what I like about this Ironman training. I am discovering new strengths in myself that I didn’t know I had…both physically and mentally!

So, we finished the run off strong- walked around for a while-ate a little bit of food-and then got in our cars and headed home. The day was perfect and doing this with Andrea was the highlight! Being with her on this journey was such a gift! Thank you Andrea!!!

I’m back from Las Vegas and my first race of the season.

I was so nervous the days leading up to it.  I had seen a list of people who were registered and now that I have “aged up” into the 50-54 age group- there were not many of us racing over 50…..so my fear was- that I would be the last one out on the course!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I really had this vision of being one of the last ones still racing after 7 hrs of being out there…….So that was the build up/nervousness leading up to the race on Saturday morning.

The night before the race was spent repacking my race gear- getting nutrition organized and making sure I had everything set for an early morning wake up call.

4:00 AM arrived and we downed some instant oatmeal-hydrated and were at the race site by 5:15.  I found a place on to rack my bike and started laying out all my stuff.  It’s always kinda fun to be surrounded by a bunch of women as we racked by our race numbers and all women in the Long Course were together.

The Long Course was a mass start (meaning everybody at once) at 6:10. The water temp was 59 degrees…I opted not to get myself wet until the gun went off.  So into the frigid waters I dove and started a-swimmin….and a-swimmin…and a-swimmin for 1.2 miles worth of water.  My swim went GREAT!  I felt comfortable and settled into a good rhythm after a bit.

There were some waves as it was windy out, but I didn’t really notice it except for once…..As I came around the last buoy toward shore I kept the exit in sight and tried to remember not to speed up too much…..I hit the sand and attempted to run toward transition, it took me a few seconds to get my landlegs back…

In transition I got to my bike- stepped out of my wetsuit-threw on my shoes and loaded my nutrtion into the back of my shirt….I grabbed my bike off the rack and ran up the hill to the exit…..I jumped on my bike and started the slow pedal up the hill and out of transition to the main road that went north around Lake Mead.

The BIKE Course was HILLY and long! (6800 ft of elevation gain).  This was my first time racing with my new Orbea w/race wheels and it rocked!  I was so comfortable on my bike, it was awesome.  The bike just seemed to go on and on at first…my legs settled in and I just worked the gears over the hills……my time was the fasted I’ve ever had on a 56 mile course!  And it’s just the beginning of the season-yeah!  I made sure I ate enough on the bike and consumed probably about 8oo calories in the 3+hrs I was out there…..and then next came the run!!!!

I cruised into transition, racked my bike, put on my running shoes and headed out on the run course….Now this was no easy run course….as we gained some serious altitude in the first 3 miles (2000+ ft elevation gain).  I started out very slow…by the first mile my watch read 13:30…people were passing me-but I didn’t care.  I knew I needed to start slow so I wouldn’t blow up later on during the run.  A few women in my age group passed me-and I just let them……

The run was awesome once I got up onto the old railroad road.  It was beautiful-soft dirt that passed through 5 tunnels.  The run went out almost to Hoover Dam and then turned around.  There were aide stations every mile and as I ran through each station I grabbed 2 waters- 1 to pore over my head and the other to drink.  The temps were close to 80 degrees by this time-not too hot but the water felt good.

After the turn around point on the run I started really getting into a groove.  I felt as if my feet were on springs and that I was effortlessly moving forward.  I began to pass people by mile 7 and by mile 8 passed the first woman over 50…..and then shortly after I passed the other woman in my age group and calmly ran by her-  I was feeling super STRONG!!!!!!

I then hit the downhill and didn’t lay it all out yet until the last mile.  At that point I tried to pass as many people as I possibly could.  There was one man in front of me that I kept trying to pass- but never quite caught him…..

Once I hit the water front again and was on the last stretch toward the finish I gave it my all and crossed the finish line feeling strong!  My finish time was 6:33:22! A personal record and enough to win FIRST in my age group!  I couldn’t believe it!   I felt so good and strong.  It was awesome!

Rage Finish Line

So all the training I did this past winter has paid off!  I have to give a Big Huge THANK YOU to my coach Andrea.  She is an amazing coach and friend who has laid out my training program so well-that I was able to PR in my first race of the season and also place first in my age group!  Wow-miracles do happen!

One other thing I forgot to mention- there were 14 other PCers at Rage who were racing also.  In the Long Course 4 of us placed in our age groups w/Sonja placing first overall!  Everyone else were racing the olympic and sprint distances.  Pretty good results from a bunch of people from Denver…

I must say-I had my best race to date!  I felt strong and confident!  I could have gone on for longer (which is great since I will have to double the distance in November) and I had fun!  My next Long Course isn’t until June- but I will have a 30 mile Run and a 100 mile Bike  Event in May….

If you want to check out fotos click on this to see some….and keep following the adventures! 

It’s funny how many people ask you- How’d ya do? And when I got asked that I had to think about it…..my first response is- “I finished”. It’s been hard to feel good about my race- as I ended up walking a lot in the last 4 miles. Doing that leaves me feeling like I did not race well…..My coach always talks about executing a good race. So did I? Probably not.

I started the race going out too fast. Even though I was toward the back- it was still too fast. Beginning with 3 miles of serious downhill made it hard for me to hold back a bit more. I felt absolutely fantastic until around mile 18. At that point I just hit a wall-slump-whatever you want to call it- but I never really made it back.

Also, at mile 18 I ate 1/2 an espresso gu- I think that effected me too as it did not sit well with me at all.

But there is still that nagging feeling when someone asks me how I did- I don’t feel like I did “well”. I feel like I finished…..but I did not finish strong. Interesting how just finishing a marathon is not good enough….I actually want to do another one soon to take what I’ve learned from this one and try again….

So what did I learn- start out slow- pace myself better- be careful not to overfuel (NO MORE Choc Gu’s!!!)- and don’t walk no matter what! It’s absolutely almost impossible to run continous again after walking……..Good races/not so good races- I actually am blessed that I am able to do this at all, and am grateful I have my health and wellbeing….

Went to Moab on Nov 14-16 for a 20 miler “trail race”.
The race ended up being 23 miles (Canadian)- and was an adventure run! The run was spectacular! Running through the most beautiful canyons and mesas in Moab. As I was running I frequently felt so blessed that I was able to be exactly there in that moment and that I was able to run.
The run was challenging at times…the hardest part for me was just running sometimes. My strengths came from my years of climbing and backpacking. We had to ascend from one canyon to a mesa over the course of less than one mile with an elevation gain of 2800′. This felt like a rest to me…as I had hiked ascents like this many times, but this time I did not have a pack on.

The other part that play to my strengths was crossing rock and descending rock. At these areas I was able to pass people who weren’t as comfortable on these sections. I loved the race. 6 hours went by fast it seemed. I finished in 5:55:46. Not bad for my first race….also, heard from people who have done adventure runs befor that this was a more technical and challenging course than most races……What a great time….I am feeling more fit and more confident in my abilitites as an athlete!!Love it! I could do more of these races!
Pictures from Practical Coaching

HalfMax Long Course Nationals
What an experience that was. The hardest thing I have done in Tris so far. I did it and it was brutal.  I’m wasn’t even thinking about the fact that I may end up going to Nationals…It wasn’t even on my radar!  And there I was standing on the shore of Lake Mead one month after my first Long Course and “A” race….and I was thinking my season was going to be over mid-September….

The race was the hardest thing I ever did to date…Kicked my butt….took me over 7 hrs to finish…the good part is anyone who had been to Nationals before said it was the hardest course they had ever raced on.  Boy was I glad to hear that- caz I thought it was really, really hard!

I ended up placing 13th and getting a roll down spot to Worlds…now how is that for unbelievable 

Lake 2 Lake
Here it is 4 days after Lake 2 Lake Triathlon. My first olympic distance tri. I had soooo much fun. Went up to Loveland Friday night with Noel and got a good nights sleep.Race morning got there before 5:00am and set up in the transition area. I was able to get a spot with the gang on the first rack. Did my warmup run and then put on wet suit and headed to the water. I started in the last wave…guess I’ll be in the last wave from now on

So how did the race go? I felt a little nervous and was having thoughts like…I hope I can do this whole swim….but then I got in a rythum and it seemed to help. I kept seeing green heads ahead of me, and at times passed some men from the wave before. I did ok with sighting…..I found it hardest to stay straight after the final turn going straight to shore…..
I just kept with it…and didn’t give up and got into a groove…THEN was the run to the transition area out of the water…that was tough at first. I waited to start getting my wetsuit off until I got my legs since it was so far….saw some people using the wetsuit strippers..what an idea that is…
So, got to my bike, wiped my feet with a towel- put on sox (need to get knew sox that go on easier) then helmet, sip of water, and grabed my bike. Kinda hard getting out of transition due to plywood.
Got on bike and almost started out too slow. Kinda paced myself…didn’t get anaerobic until first climb. The bike went much quicker than I thought it would. When I rode the course the week before it felt like a lot more climbing. The bike felt pretty darn good. I LOVE THE AREO BARS! They sure allow you to get into a groove and go!
I passed quite a few people on the bike…it felt good….love the downhills. Again thanks for the TT bars.Oh YEAH- at the first water station one woman decided to drink from her bottle- I was passing her as she put the bottle back….and missed! I ran over her bottle. Thank God I didn’t crash! The bottle was soft so it just squished under me. …..
Later on in the ride, as we were coming back into town some farmer dude, decided he would ignore the detour and the traffic volunteer and drove his big ol truck and trailer right onto the course….RIGHT infront of me and another woman on a bike….we both had a few choice words for that A-Hole. Needless to say, another possible crash was adverted (thank you God).
Rolled into transition again…feeling pretty good- the sun was not out and we had a cool dayRAcked the bike- whipped off the helmet- changed the shoes- had some water and ran out the back of the transition area to the run…
Saw some of the team running on their way back as I was in my first mile….held it pretty much at a 10′ pace for the whole 6 miles. Took water and gateraide at each station….think the gateraide was too much…felt it by mile 4….my goal when I started running was to run the whole 6 miles, which I did.
IT sure was fun to cross the finish line! I loved it…..I loved the distance, I loved the work….I loved the race…I loved my mind….I loved the setting….I loved the people. I’m not sure if I could have gone a little harder somewhere…not sure. All I know, is I did it.