Who knew i could race a mt bike?

It is Sunday night and I am very sleep deprived. This isn't going to be super long. The Rut and the Bobcat stuff I wrote earlier.

Good week. Felt nice and strong all week. Wednesday ride and post ride run were solid, but failed on the mission. I think I bonked a little during the run. Had a very good couple of swims with Masters, workouts on the 3500 range. Took the win at Rapelje. More posted below.

I would like some advice on racing/running next weekend. Start out easy, walk parts of the beginning to keep it easy, if I have the energy try and push the last 1/4 or so? I think I will bring a pro bar and I have a bottle I run with. Think it should be enough(as far as water). I will bring gels and/or chews too.

The Rut- Couple of days post IM Wisconsin return. Will I be able to hobble 7 miles. What is it about you Missoula folk. Even John and Lisa are talking about it.

Been thinking a lot about The Bobcat. Have a bunch of ideas. Apparently this year at MSU is the "year of engagement" Right now my plan is to write up a proposal and send it out to various offices and departments that look like they have potential to provide support in students, money, and power to help us get the facilities, etc.

Rapelje- took home the big W for the women's solo category. Had some competition too. Ingrid made me work for it. Rode from 11am on Saturday until about 7, when a big storm came in. Rallied for a final lap before the storm. Then tried to sleep, waiting out the course closure, muddy laps and just plain getting sleep. Got up at 4am and did a sunrise loop. Kept riding until 11am. Got in 11 laps in an 11. 6 or so mile course. Felt good, did a good job of pacing myself, did a good job of eating and drinking. Just a plain overall very good experience. Ironman training sure pays off. Beat up though. Back, forearms, and ass hurt. I was really wanting a full suspension on lap 11. Lots of up and down.

Love triathlon

Okay coach, I need a little convincing that running 23 miles on trails is not going to kill me. Running just 10 has been hard enough. Also,what do you think about nutrition. I do not have this dialed for running. I was thinking gel. I don't want to run without a lot of stuff. I have a pair of comfortable shorts with pockets on the sides. Big enough for inhaler and gels. Maybe 2-3 an hour? Should I put the eating on a timer or go by feel? I have a tendency to not eat as much running as biking. Get a couple of caffeine gels for the end of the race? 

Sunday racing- There is a little more on it below. Basically that I panicked or something in the cold water. Had a hard time. But, one thing I did notice is that after the race I am not completely fried. The winter triathlon, I was ready for bed. So, I think that thinks my fitness is getting better. Good sign, you think? 

Ironman Boulder. Did you see that? Sounds great. Race entry opens July 17th. How long do you think that will take to sell out. I wish these races weren't all so fast to close. I can't decide now what my next year is going to be like. 

I think we will go to Rapelje on Saturday morning. The race starts at 11. I still need to talk to Erik about this though. Erik says Friday night. I think I am still going to try for Saturday morning. Hitch a ride with someone. Also, going to try and make it as easy as possible. In the past we have brought food, stoves, dishes etc. I think I will just eat at the restaurant and bring some snacks and food to eat while riding. This will save time. 

Woohoo- congrats Ben H won CDA.

Tuesday- Ran at lunch. Pickups felt good. Good to get some turnover before the race on Sunday. Bought some new shoes. My old ones were more shot than I thought. 

Masters swim- not a lot of people, not super motivated. Got in ~2600. 

Wednesday- The ride a little bit of a bust. There were tornado warnings. Got in an hour warm up, the short intervals, and started the time trial. After about 6 minutes, I was being blown off the road and there was a big wall of clouds coming my direction. Got spooked and turned around. Started to rain when I got to the car. It seemed like the clouds were everywhere, so I drove to the gym and ran on the treadmill. Kind of wish I hadn't. It didn't even keep raining. 

Thursday- Ran up south Cottonwood. Run ended up being a little longer. Got so close to the 4th bridge. Couldn't turn around early. Didn't get home until late. Was so hungry and so tired. I was too tired to cook. I think that took more motivation than to get out on the run. The outside of my right knee is sore on Friday.
 morning though.

Friday- Did the swim workout. Felt a little off, but okay. Rode the bike. Legs feeling a little tired. Rested on Friday night.

Saturday- Rode, rwn, and rested. I wasnt resting so much for the race as for just having an easy weekend. Get the legs and body rested when i can.

Sunday- Didnt give myself enough time to get ready for the race. Forgot about a bunch of little things that take time. Anyway, didnt get in a swim warmup. Did jump in to get wet though. I dont know if it was not warming up, the water being cold, asthma or all of the above, but I spent a lot of time with my head out of the water just trying to breath. I even walked in one part where it is really shallow. I never got used to the water. At one point really thought I was going to have to just quit.  Ugghh. So I worked hard on the bike and made up a lot of places, and kept the places on the run. Ended up 3rd female overall. Sort of disappointing to have such a crappy swim. I really had an image of at least seeing Holly Walker, that got shattered. I don't do well in cold water. Find it kind of worrisome. Hopefully with more open water practice I will get better. Funny though, comparing results to a couple of years ago. I was only 1 minute slower.

 Bike works, car doesn't

View from last weekends run. That's Baldy. Beautiful wildflowers. 

Lovin spring again

This was a good week. Went grocery shopping Sunday and bought food for four meals or so. It so much less stress to always have dinner (and lunch) for the week without the daily trip to the store. Am going to try and go shopping tonight for this week. 

Tritons race- I guess Holly Walker signed up. I would love, love,love to be able to see her on the bike. If she is visible then I think I could do better at chasing her down. You should see the t-shirts they got. Tie Dye. 

Masters- Sunday practice is at Bogert for the rest of the summer. I don't really want to go to these workouts. The pool is short, warm, and shallow and there are no lane lines. Sticking to the pond or Hyalite is probably better. Also not masters on Monday and Wednesday. Just Tuesday and Thursday.

Can you explain Wednesday's ride a little better to me. Ride the course but just TT for 20 minutes? Not the whole course?

Schedule- Next week. Big work day Tuesday. No time for a mid-day run or swim. Monday- Doctor appointment at 12:30.

Tuesday - Had an experiment and there really is no good stopping point. Ran in the am, before work. Legs were heavy. Didn't run fast.

Masters-got in around 3600. Bonked before I even started swimming. Was seeing stars and couldn't focus my vision. Dont think i had time to eat enough during the day. That would be great, to pass out in the pool. Found some extra food in my bag, inhaled it, and felt better for the rest of the swim.

Wed- you know it is Ironman season when you start wearing compression socks to work, and eat 6 meals a day.
Weather ended up being pretty good. Rode outside. Had headwind for the first 45 minutes and then the hour at pace was done downhill with a tailwind. Not ideal, but I didn't plan on the wind and a did have a couple of hills to climb.
Ran for 30 minutes. The weather was awesome. Really enjoyed the late evening sun and the warmth.

Thursday- 
Swim- get in, bust it out, get out. 50s were good. The four fast got pretty hard.
The weather decided to monsoon at 5pm. Got soaked on the commute home. Bailed on the girls ride. Set up the trainer and then guess what, the rain stopped for about 2 hours. Watched the sidewalk dry while I agonized away on the trainer, but hey I was on the TT bike. Rain started again at about 8pm.

Friday- swim-get in, bust it out, and get out. Somebody told me I swim a long time, and it was only a 300. Hmmm. Swimming at MSU makes me feel fast, then I go to masters and I am slow again.
Nice run on a trail. Saw some baby rabbits. I love spring.

Saturday- you already know about the race. Funny thing though, I felt great on the flats. Actually caught one girl and then at the night hill she rode away from me. Got dropped like a hot potato.  Getting dropped sucks. You get to spend the rest of the race wondering why. It was fun to meet Charisa. She was really nice and gave me some good tips for Wisconsin. Hope her Frankfurt race goes well. 

Sunday- Got in some good sleep. Wasn't as tired as last Sunday. The swim was nice and easy. Lots of people at the pond swimming.
Run- was in a bit of a time crunch. My father (actually my mother) was being demanding. Anyway, went up Sypes Canyon and continued north toward Cottonwood Canyon. A lot steeper than the Bangtails. Hiking was even hard. Not sure about elevation gain, but am pretty sure it was more than Stone Creek. I wasn't too far from Baldy. Ended up being out for about 2:20. 

Monday- Legs tired. Commute to work was nice. Felt good to spin the legs out. 

Patience

Friday- I was in the pool and realized I have been swimming a lot this week. 5 days. Those 2000 workouts weren't long but they weren't easy either.  I think my comfort in the water is getting better. A couple of years ago flip turns made me so anxious. Now I kind of like getting them better and better. In the future, whatever that holds, I am excited to always be able to swim!
Anyway, is this a new regular thing, with my proximity to the pool etc?

My mind is changing. This week, instead of agonizing over how many more 200s I have, I have been able to settle in and just go with what I am doing. It doesn't help to count so much, it will all be over with eventually. I guess you could say I am getting more patient with my workouts.

Monday- Swim. That was kind of tough. 12x100. I divided it up (mentally) into 3 groups of 4. I actually did the last group of four, one-two seconds faster than the previous.

Tuesday- Like this bike around thing. Rode to work, rode to get my hair cut, rode home, rode to swimming, rode to the grocery store, rode home. Cumulative of at least an hour.

Masters- Lots of yardage. I think I got in 3600. Got lapped a few times. My lane is a bunch of slackers. We had 200 IMs and they totally pull on the lane line on backstroke. I sometimes can't resist for one or two times, especially when I get really far behind. But them, every time. Then they pull with big paddles on the swim. No wonder I keep getting lapped. The workout was lots of 200s though. So regardless of them, I think it was a good workout for me. Side note: I find it funny, people who obviously were competitive swimmers. They bring their bag of toys to the pool. The other day there was a girl who I do not think did one single lap without a toy. Lap after lap of kicking with big huge fins.

Wednesday- National Running Day- I think I mapped out 14 miles. The map program doesn't always recognize the trails so it gets a bit off, but that run took 2 hours and 20 minutes. WTF. I wasn't running slow, or maybe I was. I did get stopped by a train, going both directions. Anyway, regardless, I was tired. Tried to read right before bed and couldn't even get in one line.

Thursday- The swim was hard. Only 2000, but continuous? What were you trying to do to me? The 50 easy between the 100s at 1k pace got very slow... I was proud of myself for sticking to the continuous part. Took some math beforehand to not forget which lap I was on. Rode around after work. I love spring because of all the baby animals. There are 7 baby foxes up by my parents house. Went on a mission to see them. I think it was a little early. None of them were out. Went to running night and introduced myself to Mike Foote. Cool guy. Like his philosophy. Learned a little bit. I think that I need to be better about eating post workouts to recover better. Went and bought some dried milk and chocolate. Mixed together and now I have portable chocolate milk. Perfect. Way cheaper than Recoverite.

Friday- swim already touched on that.
TT- fun huh? I kept thinking, how am I supposed to make this fun? My time 38.00. On the same course in the triathlon a couple of years ago I rode 37.30. Think I'm on track. Think I found the place where I go too hard. My threshold, I guess. So the course is rolling. If I go over my threshold where it is uphill or flat, I have to slow to recover. What about going just over on the little rollers, will the down be enough to give my legs a chance to recover?  I would like to go and do that at least 1 more time. Get a good sense of the course.

Saturday- fun ride, but also worked really hard. Group ride. 6 people. To Livingston and back via Kelly Canyon and Jackson Creek, both ways.  Rode with Anna, riding buddy from the race last week. She pushed it hard up some of those last climbs. Was determined to not let her go.  70 miles and about 4 hours of riding. We stopped and played on the playground at Jackson creek and got cokes and French fries in Livingston. Great group, everybody was psyched to be on their bikes all day.
Run- Good. Fine. Legs didn't feel great, felt like they just got off a hilly hard ride.

Sunday- woohoo. I am tired. My wings are sore. Hopefully not from the playground. Swimming was hard to go fast. Felt good to stretch out and go slow. Not a ton of yardage. Probably only about 2500?, if that. Workout didn't have a ton of yardage and slow intervals so I wasn't actually slacking, that much.

Run- Legs super tired. I kept sort of laughing thinking about how many people have easy, 2000ft elevation, and 2.5 hours in the same sentence. It took me until about 3/4 of the way to the top to actually start feeling okay. I did have to walk some of the way. Maybe I rode a little too hard on Saturday.

Super happy to lay on the couch tonight and get to bed early.  Way more tired than last weekend after racing. 

This is what Anna and I saw at Cow Country. 90% sure. 

Cow Country

I spent a lot of time last night typing a bunch of stuff up. Apparently it didn't publish or even save so I could publish it. Here is an abbreviated version.

Basically, it was a nice easy week. Felt very rested going into Sunday's race. Had a good day Saturday. Got to go out for breakfast and just kind of enjoy the rest of the day.

After realizing that the Bangtail 38K is right after Rapelje, I think I need do get in some more running. I don't feel super confident in running 20+ miles right now.

Race- I need to get a new tighter, more flattering kit. I work hard for this ass. Might as well show it off better (did I say that?). Anyway, made it more than halfway up the first hill, farther than ever before, before getting dropped. I wish I could have held on a few more seconds. I think they slowed a bit. Rode with Anna Dingman the rest of the way. Got in a good ride. Pushed it up the hills. I think some of those hills grew! How was your race? I hear you aren't super chatty?

Thursday ride- Rode inside. The weather was probably okay, but I was tired and wanted to just get the ride done. A couple of girls came over and cleaned the littler box and bathroom while I was riding. They drove a hard bargain though. Wanted me to pay the $5 each.

Friday- Swim felt pretty crappy. Just couldn't get my act together.