This past Saturday had me standing in line for my first endurance race of the year – the 50 mile race at Levis Trow. I was really excited to get going. This was originally one of my “A” races and I had planned to do the 100 mile race. I hadn’t been feeling good and fresh leading up to this race so I downgraded the race priority and distance. Thank god for small blessings and rational thinking. I never would have finished the 100 miler.
The race was brutal. I had only ridden here once so I didn’t really know what to expect. The race website described the course as “more challenging than ever with technical singletrack and a few punishing climbs.” There is no better way to describe the course. Although it was hard, it was really fun with a lot of fast, windy trails with some great technical, rocky, rooty sections. If it hadn’t been for all the climbing, the course was perfect for my style of riding.
I had a number of goals: 1) finish; 2) work on keeping a positive mental attitude; 3) dial in race nutrition; and 4) only stop to fill up on water and food with no prolonged rests. I was very happy to accomplish all these goals. I also had reinforcements with me to hold me to this. My friend Nicole joined in the race and my friend Kim came as support for both of us.
I felt pretty good the first lap and tried to maintain a consistent and steady pace. I watched my heart rate and never felt like I was struggling. However, when I finished the first lap I felt like I was gong to throw up which meant I probably went at a harder pace than I thought. I stopped to refuel, chatted with my friend Kim (she said I was crabby), and was off for the second lap. That lap went pretty good but I realized I was getting slower. I kept reminding myself that my goal was to finish and not to worry about anything else. I had a few periods of silent whining but reminded myself that no one was making me do this and that of course an endurance race is going to be hard.
I came through the pit area again, filled up on water and food and was off for lap #3. I felt pretty crappy the entire lap and it seemed to take me forever. I had to work very hard to maintain a positive mental attitude. The race was taking me much longer than I thought it would, I was getting very tired and really just wanted to be done. But, I also did not want to quit and I was getting worried I wouldn’t be able to finish before dark. I also wasn’t sure if there was a time cut off to start my last lap. I asked the time keepers when I came through and they said I was fine. I chatted with Kim and Nicole and decided to go out again. I pushed it as hard as I could and was never happier to see the finish line knowing I accomplished my goals. I finished in 7 hours and 54 minutes and got third place with second place only about 15 minutes ahead of me.
I thought that I would try and describe why I do these crazy races but I’m not that good of a writer so I found a substitute. I read a blog written by an Alaskan endurance racer and she wrote an entry entitled “Why I like Endurance.” She describes it perfectly so enjoy and hopefully you’ll have a better understanding of what motivates me.
A big thanks to Kim and Nicole for being there. It was a long day for all of us and really appreciated having you there!
Monday, June 30, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Superfun
Kevin and I headed up to Michigan on Friday to spend some time at the camp (cabin for Minnesotans)and to check out a local bike weekend called Superior Bike Fest in Marquette, MI. I was doing the cross country race on Sunday.
We were hoping to check out the downhill races but for various reasons only caught the tail end. Instead we pre-rode the cross country race course. It was really freaking fun and I got very excited for the race. It was a perfect course for me - fun, rocky technical sections; long, fast downhills. There was a lot of climbing but nothing terrible. I was really looking forward to the race on Sunday.
Even after doing so many races I still get nervous for the start. Like before the Afton race, I got sick again. But, I felt great after that and wasn't nervous anymore but a little worried that I hadn't warmed up at all. Oh well, I thought to myself. I had three goals for the race: 1) Have fun; 2) Finish; and 3) Don't finish last. I managed to accomplish all three goals.
The race started and reminded myself to just go at a comfortable pace and not worry about what was happening with the other women. The race started with a long, gradual fire road climb (a perfect climb for me) and then headed into some sweet, rocky singletrack. I was surprised at how good I felt at the start. I passed two women on the climb and was right behind two others going into the singletrack. I rode behind one woman on the first section of singletrack and passed her as soon as I got a chance. I then caught up to the other woman and passed her as soon as there was a break in the trail. I felt great so I decided to put as big of a gap I could in the singletrack I could because I figured she would catch up to me on the long climb. After this the course had some fun, fast downhills and one long climb that went on forever but it was never really bad. The entire time, the other racer was just behind me and I kept assuming she would pass me on the climb. I managed to stay in front and went into the last section of singletrack - a sweet, downhill with some tight switchbacks. I didn't ride this entire section the day before but again figured this would be where I could put another gap. I went as hard as I could for the second lap. I finished 4th overall and 1st in my age category. It was a super fun race and I was giddy at how good I felt.
Saturday is the 50 mile race at Levis Trow and I'm really looking forward to a long day of racing.
I have some pictures but I will post them later - blogger takes forever to load pictures and I'm running out of time. Off for another ride!
We were hoping to check out the downhill races but for various reasons only caught the tail end. Instead we pre-rode the cross country race course. It was really freaking fun and I got very excited for the race. It was a perfect course for me - fun, rocky technical sections; long, fast downhills. There was a lot of climbing but nothing terrible. I was really looking forward to the race on Sunday.
Even after doing so many races I still get nervous for the start. Like before the Afton race, I got sick again. But, I felt great after that and wasn't nervous anymore but a little worried that I hadn't warmed up at all. Oh well, I thought to myself. I had three goals for the race: 1) Have fun; 2) Finish; and 3) Don't finish last. I managed to accomplish all three goals.
The race started and reminded myself to just go at a comfortable pace and not worry about what was happening with the other women. The race started with a long, gradual fire road climb (a perfect climb for me) and then headed into some sweet, rocky singletrack. I was surprised at how good I felt at the start. I passed two women on the climb and was right behind two others going into the singletrack. I rode behind one woman on the first section of singletrack and passed her as soon as I got a chance. I then caught up to the other woman and passed her as soon as there was a break in the trail. I felt great so I decided to put as big of a gap I could in the singletrack I could because I figured she would catch up to me on the long climb. After this the course had some fun, fast downhills and one long climb that went on forever but it was never really bad. The entire time, the other racer was just behind me and I kept assuming she would pass me on the climb. I managed to stay in front and went into the last section of singletrack - a sweet, downhill with some tight switchbacks. I didn't ride this entire section the day before but again figured this would be where I could put another gap. I went as hard as I could for the second lap. I finished 4th overall and 1st in my age category. It was a super fun race and I was giddy at how good I felt.
Saturday is the 50 mile race at Levis Trow and I'm really looking forward to a long day of racing.
I have some pictures but I will post them later - blogger takes forever to load pictures and I'm running out of time. Off for another ride!
Friday, June 20, 2008
A little more faith in humanity and in myself
A little more faith in humanity and in myself
Last night, as I was driving home on a fairly busy road near my house, I noticed a car on the side of the road and something big in the middle of the road. As I got closer I could see that it was a pretty big snapping turtle. Someone had stopped to try and move it but for obvious reasons wasn’t going to touch it. I drove by thinking I couldn’t do anything about it because I was in a hurry and a long list of other excuses. But, I kept thinking about it and decided that I at least needed to try and do something so I turned around. I thought that I could at least stop at the county park visitors’ center (which was just down the road) and see if someone there could move it. Well, as I arrived back at the spot, there was another vehicle parked on the side of the road and the turtle was gone. I stopped to chat with the man and asked about the turtle. With a huge smile on his face he said that he took care of it and pointed to it in the weeds, safely heading in the other direction.
I know it’s just a turtle but I felt better knowing that my neighbors would place enough value in that animal to stop and help and comforted that I at least tried. It was a good reminder to me to take a minute to think about things, be kind to others and to try and do the right thing.
Last night, as I was driving home on a fairly busy road near my house, I noticed a car on the side of the road and something big in the middle of the road. As I got closer I could see that it was a pretty big snapping turtle. Someone had stopped to try and move it but for obvious reasons wasn’t going to touch it. I drove by thinking I couldn’t do anything about it because I was in a hurry and a long list of other excuses. But, I kept thinking about it and decided that I at least needed to try and do something so I turned around. I thought that I could at least stop at the county park visitors’ center (which was just down the road) and see if someone there could move it. Well, as I arrived back at the spot, there was another vehicle parked on the side of the road and the turtle was gone. I stopped to chat with the man and asked about the turtle. With a huge smile on his face he said that he took care of it and pointed to it in the weeds, safely heading in the other direction.
I know it’s just a turtle but I felt better knowing that my neighbors would place enough value in that animal to stop and help and comforted that I at least tried. It was a good reminder to me to take a minute to think about things, be kind to others and to try and do the right thing.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Random ride thoughts
I spent the better part of today’s ride thinking about two things. My twin sister and idiots.
I have a twin sister, Joanne, who is a complete goofball and I’m very lucky to have her in my life. She loves Cheetos, bowling, Valley Fair, her family, and I can never forget her love of animals because usually the first thing she asks me about is how my cats are doing. When we were born Joanne couldn’t breathe on her own and went some time without oxygen. As a result, she has cerebral palsy and developmental disabilities. Because of this there’s not a lot she can do physically. I have the Chinese characters for twin taped to the stem of my handlebars to remind me that no matter how hard my life gets, Joanne has had to overcome so much more than I will ever be faced with. No matter how hard a ride might be, I at least have the option of riding my bike and to quit my whining.
Secondly, Kevin and I ran into every yoo-hoo today and it was very frustrating. I know there are a lot of cyclists out there who make it a challenge for non-cyclists -- idiots who run stop lights and stop signs, who take up too much of the road etc…but that doesn’t mean all of us are like that. Today non bicyclists were running in the bike only lanes on designated bike trails, someone was running in the bike lane on the road on Summit Avenue, and a complete idiot (with no helmet) was riding the wrong direction on a designated bike lane on the road. The worst was the woman in the Dodge Caravan. Kevin and I were riding, in the bike lane, following the law, and this complete idiot wasn’t paying attention and started to make a left turn directly into us. She wasn’t even looking. Kevin slammed on his brakes, I ran into him, crashed and landed on the road. It was a complete blur but I do remember thinking “that women is going to hit us” and next thing I knew I was on the ground. I feel really bad because some poor guy stopped to try and help me and all I could manage was a string of obscenities I didn’t even know I knew. I wish I could apologize to that poor man but he ran away before I composed myself. After 15 years of biking, today’s ride was the most frustrating and the closest I ever came to getting seriously hurt by a vehicle.
So, for my non-biking friends and family who read this, I’m very sorry for the idiot bikers out there who make it difficult for all of us. But please remember, that we are not all idiots and that cyclists have a legal right to ride on our city streets so please pay attention. Thanks!
I have a twin sister, Joanne, who is a complete goofball and I’m very lucky to have her in my life. She loves Cheetos, bowling, Valley Fair, her family, and I can never forget her love of animals because usually the first thing she asks me about is how my cats are doing. When we were born Joanne couldn’t breathe on her own and went some time without oxygen. As a result, she has cerebral palsy and developmental disabilities. Because of this there’s not a lot she can do physically. I have the Chinese characters for twin taped to the stem of my handlebars to remind me that no matter how hard my life gets, Joanne has had to overcome so much more than I will ever be faced with. No matter how hard a ride might be, I at least have the option of riding my bike and to quit my whining.
Secondly, Kevin and I ran into every yoo-hoo today and it was very frustrating. I know there are a lot of cyclists out there who make it a challenge for non-cyclists -- idiots who run stop lights and stop signs, who take up too much of the road etc…but that doesn’t mean all of us are like that. Today non bicyclists were running in the bike only lanes on designated bike trails, someone was running in the bike lane on the road on Summit Avenue, and a complete idiot (with no helmet) was riding the wrong direction on a designated bike lane on the road. The worst was the woman in the Dodge Caravan. Kevin and I were riding, in the bike lane, following the law, and this complete idiot wasn’t paying attention and started to make a left turn directly into us. She wasn’t even looking. Kevin slammed on his brakes, I ran into him, crashed and landed on the road. It was a complete blur but I do remember thinking “that women is going to hit us” and next thing I knew I was on the ground. I feel really bad because some poor guy stopped to try and help me and all I could manage was a string of obscenities I didn’t even know I knew. I wish I could apologize to that poor man but he ran away before I composed myself. After 15 years of biking, today’s ride was the most frustrating and the closest I ever came to getting seriously hurt by a vehicle.
So, for my non-biking friends and family who read this, I’m very sorry for the idiot bikers out there who make it difficult for all of us. But please remember, that we are not all idiots and that cyclists have a legal right to ride on our city streets so please pay attention. Thanks!
Spent
Today was an awesome day. Summer has finally arrived, I had a good long bike ride with Kevin on a fun route and finished the ride completely spent. We rode for 5 hours and Kevin joined me in for my prescribed workout - hill repeats. I'm pretty tired right now but was very glad how I felt during the ride. I finally didn’t feel as slow as a sloth. Even the hill repeats weren't that bad. We started in Eagan and decided to go to the 35E bridge, which has a great bike path and about a 3-4 minute climb (not quite a mile long). I had to do 12 of them. After that we rode along Shepard Road to downtown St. Paul and checked out the Bruce Vento Trail which then brought us to the Gateway State Trail. We took that back to St. Paul, down scenic Summit Avenue (see next post), to East River road and then wound our way back to Eagan. With one exception (see other post) today’s ride reminded me of how lucky we are in MN with a great system of trails and bike lanes, of which we took great advantage of today.
I regret not bringing my camera because today would have been a great day for some photos.
I hope everyone has enjoyed the nice day!
I regret not bringing my camera because today would have been a great day for some photos.
I hope everyone has enjoyed the nice day!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Pukefest (also known as a bike race) at Afton Alps
Am I glad I did the race? Definitely. Was it hard? Extremely.
Sunday was the MNSCS race at Afton Alps. The last time I rode here was about 7 years ago and I somehow managed to forget how hard this course is. I knew it was going to be a tough race with a lot of climbing but I forgot exactly how much climbing there was to be had. The course did have some short, sections of fun singletrack mixed throughout but you had to climb to get to it. I can’t believe I did the 24 Hours of Afton 4 times and still forget how tough this course is.
I woke up about 6:30 Sunday morning to the sound of pouring rain and really hoped the rain would continue. It didn’t so I didn’t have a good excuse to not show up. I wasn’t nervous and my only goal was to finish. I never do good at starts (that’s why I like endurance races) and this one was no different. Gun went off and all the women went speeding on ahead. I managed to pass a few of them and was able to settle into a pace, uncomfortable as it was. I felt pretty good the first lap and was able to ride most everything and finished in 50 minutes.
Second lap not so good. I went through the start area, grabbed a fresh water bottle from Janet (thanks!) and started climbing. It was time to get some energy so I grabbed a PowerGel and ate it quickly at the top of a climb. My stomach completely revolted on me and I proceeded to throw up. The very weird thing is that I had already done that in the morning – I think it was a bad reaction to taking my vitamins on an empty stomach. I felt totally fine before that and really had no idea where the stomach upset came from. After that I was just hoping to finish and not get passed by the women behind me (I accomplished both goals).
I ended up walking a lot more this lap – mostly on the short steep stuff. I just didn’t have the energy to power up them. There was one technical section that I didn’t try the first lap, tried on the second, got stuck on a rock and flown off my bike but luckily I was going to slow to get hurt. I finished at 1 hour, 51 minutes, 7th overall (out of 10), and 2nd in my age category.
This race was very good and not just because it was good hill training. I maintained a good mental attitude and it provided me 2 hours for some uninterrupted reflection. I haven’t felt right the last several weeks (physically and mentally) and really think I need to start over with the training – kind of like the ctrl-alt-del I talked about earlier. I know these races are tough but I really want to find the balance between the physical challenge, the mental challenge and the fun aspect. This time allowed me to really think about why I want to do these crazy endurance events, what about it that makes me happy and what motivates me to push myself. I really don’t want to lose sight all this and this time helped me get back to thinking about it.
So, I’ve decided to make one change to my race schedule – I am not going to do the 100 mile race at Levis Trow. I don’t feel ready and think I need some more training to tackle a 100 miler and will be doing the 50 miler instead. This will allow me to concentrate on my 12 hour solo race at the 24 Hours of 9 mile, a race course I dream about!
Thanks to Janet and Kim for cheering Sunday!
Sunday was the MNSCS race at Afton Alps. The last time I rode here was about 7 years ago and I somehow managed to forget how hard this course is. I knew it was going to be a tough race with a lot of climbing but I forgot exactly how much climbing there was to be had. The course did have some short, sections of fun singletrack mixed throughout but you had to climb to get to it. I can’t believe I did the 24 Hours of Afton 4 times and still forget how tough this course is.
I woke up about 6:30 Sunday morning to the sound of pouring rain and really hoped the rain would continue. It didn’t so I didn’t have a good excuse to not show up. I wasn’t nervous and my only goal was to finish. I never do good at starts (that’s why I like endurance races) and this one was no different. Gun went off and all the women went speeding on ahead. I managed to pass a few of them and was able to settle into a pace, uncomfortable as it was. I felt pretty good the first lap and was able to ride most everything and finished in 50 minutes.
Second lap not so good. I went through the start area, grabbed a fresh water bottle from Janet (thanks!) and started climbing. It was time to get some energy so I grabbed a PowerGel and ate it quickly at the top of a climb. My stomach completely revolted on me and I proceeded to throw up. The very weird thing is that I had already done that in the morning – I think it was a bad reaction to taking my vitamins on an empty stomach. I felt totally fine before that and really had no idea where the stomach upset came from. After that I was just hoping to finish and not get passed by the women behind me (I accomplished both goals).
I ended up walking a lot more this lap – mostly on the short steep stuff. I just didn’t have the energy to power up them. There was one technical section that I didn’t try the first lap, tried on the second, got stuck on a rock and flown off my bike but luckily I was going to slow to get hurt. I finished at 1 hour, 51 minutes, 7th overall (out of 10), and 2nd in my age category.
This race was very good and not just because it was good hill training. I maintained a good mental attitude and it provided me 2 hours for some uninterrupted reflection. I haven’t felt right the last several weeks (physically and mentally) and really think I need to start over with the training – kind of like the ctrl-alt-del I talked about earlier. I know these races are tough but I really want to find the balance between the physical challenge, the mental challenge and the fun aspect. This time allowed me to really think about why I want to do these crazy endurance events, what about it that makes me happy and what motivates me to push myself. I really don’t want to lose sight all this and this time helped me get back to thinking about it.
So, I’ve decided to make one change to my race schedule – I am not going to do the 100 mile race at Levis Trow. I don’t feel ready and think I need some more training to tackle a 100 miler and will be doing the 50 miler instead. This will allow me to concentrate on my 12 hour solo race at the 24 Hours of 9 mile, a race course I dream about!
Thanks to Janet and Kim for cheering Sunday!
Monday, June 2, 2008
This past week was a great week of rides and my first mountain bike race of the season.
Tuesday I rode with Kevin and he helped me do a planned training ride which included a mix of flat threshold and maximum effort. The purpose of this ride is to get me used to having my heart rate at a fairly high level, have it spike up even higher and then go back to a fairly high level. I basically spent the entire time chasing him at an extremely high heart rate. I felt like I was going to throw up and I’m sure he barely had his heart rate elevated! It was good and I definitely needed this workout to get ready for some races.
I was not able to join my regular Wednesday women’s ride because of an evening work obligation so I rode my mountain bike at Lebanon by myself in the morning. It was really nice but I would definitely prefer riding with the ladies.
I took Friday morning off and went for a planned 4 hour road ride. I was originally going to mountain bike, but because of the weather and the wet trails, I stuck to the road but on my mountain bike instead of my road bike. I rode one of my favorite routes - through Eagan/Mendota Heights area, across the Mendota bridge, through Minnehaha Park, up River Road, across the Midtown Greenway through Minneapolis and out to Hopkins, back to Minneapolis, through the Lakes area, east on Minnehaha Parkway and back to the Mendota bridge. It was a nice long ride but I came to the conclusion that I’m tired of riding by myself. Because of work etc…I’ve had to fit in rides whenever I can which lately has meant going before work in the morning. I’m definitely happy to have a normal work schedule now and am looking forward to some more rides with friends.
The best part of Friday’s ride was that I discovered a new energy food - Mel O Glaze donuts. In the numerous times I’ve ridden past this donut shop, I’ve never stopped. I can guarantee you that will never happen again. I’m not a donut fanatic but I do love regular glazed donuts and I’ve heard these were good. They are amazing. I think the woman behind the counter was amazed at how quickly I ate the donut as it only took me 2 seconds. I can’t wait to go back!
Saturday, my friend Kim and I headed out to Wausau, WI for the Big Ring Classic. We met up with some other friends and pre-road the race course This area has amazing bike trails and I was really looking forward to riding on some sweet singletrack. The race organizers did not disappoint. I had to keep reminding myself that I'm doing these short races to train for endurance races but I still get nervous everytime. The race was 16 miles, it was fast and there were lots of women racing which is great. Congrats to Dana for winning Kim’s dinner cup challenge and congrats to Kim, Janet and Nicole for doing so well yesterday. You rock!
I have been fighting a cold since last Wednesday and I think yesterday’s effort put me over the top. I am home resting today with a sore throat, headache and congestion. However, I’m enjoying the needed rest and my cats are happy!
Tuesday I rode with Kevin and he helped me do a planned training ride which included a mix of flat threshold and maximum effort. The purpose of this ride is to get me used to having my heart rate at a fairly high level, have it spike up even higher and then go back to a fairly high level. I basically spent the entire time chasing him at an extremely high heart rate. I felt like I was going to throw up and I’m sure he barely had his heart rate elevated! It was good and I definitely needed this workout to get ready for some races.
I was not able to join my regular Wednesday women’s ride because of an evening work obligation so I rode my mountain bike at Lebanon by myself in the morning. It was really nice but I would definitely prefer riding with the ladies.
I took Friday morning off and went for a planned 4 hour road ride. I was originally going to mountain bike, but because of the weather and the wet trails, I stuck to the road but on my mountain bike instead of my road bike. I rode one of my favorite routes - through Eagan/Mendota Heights area, across the Mendota bridge, through Minnehaha Park, up River Road, across the Midtown Greenway through Minneapolis and out to Hopkins, back to Minneapolis, through the Lakes area, east on Minnehaha Parkway and back to the Mendota bridge. It was a nice long ride but I came to the conclusion that I’m tired of riding by myself. Because of work etc…I’ve had to fit in rides whenever I can which lately has meant going before work in the morning. I’m definitely happy to have a normal work schedule now and am looking forward to some more rides with friends.
The best part of Friday’s ride was that I discovered a new energy food - Mel O Glaze donuts. In the numerous times I’ve ridden past this donut shop, I’ve never stopped. I can guarantee you that will never happen again. I’m not a donut fanatic but I do love regular glazed donuts and I’ve heard these were good. They are amazing. I think the woman behind the counter was amazed at how quickly I ate the donut as it only took me 2 seconds. I can’t wait to go back!
Saturday, my friend Kim and I headed out to Wausau, WI for the Big Ring Classic. We met up with some other friends and pre-road the race course This area has amazing bike trails and I was really looking forward to riding on some sweet singletrack. The race organizers did not disappoint. I had to keep reminding myself that I'm doing these short races to train for endurance races but I still get nervous everytime. The race was 16 miles, it was fast and there were lots of women racing which is great. Congrats to Dana for winning Kim’s dinner cup challenge and congrats to Kim, Janet and Nicole for doing so well yesterday. You rock!
I have been fighting a cold since last Wednesday and I think yesterday’s effort put me over the top. I am home resting today with a sore throat, headache and congestion. However, I’m enjoying the needed rest and my cats are happy!
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