Timp Trail 1/2 Marathon!

Yesterday was the Timp Trail 1/2 Marathon & Marathon. I had been looking forward to racing it pretty much since one year ago when I raced it. I loved the course, it has tons of climbing. In 9 miles you climb 4,300 feet. I also loved training for it...last year that is. This year has been a very strange year for me. I just haven't been able to figure out exactly where I want to focus my racing. Working at a triathlon shop you get asked 10 times a day what races you're planning on doing. It's not that I don't want to talk about my race plans, it's that I don't HAVE any plans. There's one race that I know I'm doing, the Park City Point to Point mt bike race in September. It's about 80 miles of single track, tons of climbing and it's supposed to be one of the hardest races around. So I for sure know one race that I'm doing. Great. So in order to sound like I've got some sort of plan I just tell everyone that I'm just going to be doing mt bike races. This is somewhat true. There's also some running races that I want to do and after point to point I may want to do a marathon and a half ironman. We'll see. So not having a clear cut plan is really hard on training. I've stopped swimming altogether. I ride twice a week and run once a week about six miles. Lame. I'm out of shape and up eight pounds from my race weight.
So as of a month ago, I didn't really know if I was going to do the Timp Trail race and I sure as heck wasn't putting in the mileage for it. 6 miles a week doesn't really cut it for a 1/2 marathon trail race. So Thursday I thought 'what the heck. I'll race it.' Only problem is I know me and I like to win. :) Especially since I won the race last year and conditions were horrible. This is hard to jump into a race with no training and the mentality that you're going to win. But that's me and I accept me.
The morning of the race I had no appetite. I had been feeling under the weather all week, I wasn't sick but just feeling head-achy and nassiated all week. So I had a couple pieces of toast that I had to force down. That almost made me gag. I didn't warm up, I just ran from the car to the start line. The race started and I went slow and tucked in behind a guy for about 2 miles. I was in 3rd overall, as in there were 2 guys in front of me and all the girls were behind me. We started up the first hill and I was feeling breakfast try and come up. I was just waiting for the girls to come catch me. They didn't. Up that section of hill which is about 3/4 mile I stayed in 3 overall. The road flattens out and I had a guy pass me. Not bad I thought to myself, for no training. That flat section is about 3 miles and I kept my position the whole time. I kept looking behind me blown away that I was the lead woman. When I'd have a good view of who was behind me I couldn't see any female any where close to me. So I just kept a steady pace. When I got to the first feed station a few friends were there cheering for me and told me how I was doing. Even tho I knew my position in the race it was still fun to hear them yell it to me enthusiastically, "You're the first woman!" This was mile seven.
The race starts to go uphill and climbs for a while, my stomach started cramping and I thought there's no way I'm going to eat that GU I brought, I will throw up!
So I get to the base of Dry Canyon and it starts out with SUPER steep steps, I walk because the two guys in front of me are walking. As soon as it became less steep I would try and run but couldn't. I was dying. I definitely was feeling the effect of not training. I hiked all the way up Dry Canyon. Side Note: Last year I didn't walk any of this section. I saw a race photographer and started running just so my picture wouldn't be of me with my head down and walking. I stopped at the aid station that was half way up Dry Canyon and saw a girl behind me. I said a bad word out loud :D This made me kick it in gear and start running. She decided to run past the aid station and caught up to me quite quickly. I ran in front to the very top of the canyon. So I had just ran 9 miles, climbed 4,000 feet and lead the whole way and here she is to pass me on the easy part of the race, the downhill. That's great. I couldn't do anything about it. I couldn't eat, even though I needed energy because my stomach was cramped and I couldn't run fast because every joint ached...a result of not enough run training. So I followed her down the hill.
I came in second place female, 2 minutes behind first. My time was 7 minutes slower than last year and that's with last year being a muddy swamp for most of the run. I'm really bummed I didn't win. I am glad my record from last year wasn't close to being touched, it's still five minutes faster from the winner this year. Bobby keeps telling me there's always next year.
Bobby did amazing! He told me he was only going to be able to do 6 miles. When I came in to the finish line and he wasn't there I knew he had decided to do the whole thing. He came in fresh as a daisy. It is the furthest he's ever run. He's amazing!

 The start of a long day

First glimpse of the canyon is breath-taking

Chain malfunction!

Jilene is always entertaining! She enjoys making any statement into a song, that's her trademark.

I spent the entire day freezing! I think I only broke a sweat 3 times. Dang my vainness! I can't have a farmer's tan tho!

Bry dropped his precious Sweet Maui Onion chip bag on the ground and I was able to capture his desperate attempt to eat them as quickly as he could :)

5 minutes after this picure was taken, I was off my bike walking up the final climb crying. Ha! 100 miles on the mt bike brings out every emotion you can think of.

White Rim!

Tomorrow I will be heading down to Canyon Lands National Park to do the annual RAWROD. Ride Around The White Rim in One Day. It's a one hundred mile mountain bike loop. It's quite amazing! I've done it a few times in the years past, but for different reasons haven't been able to attend the last couple of years. So this year I was determined to attend! I am going to attempt riding it with the "fast" group on Friday and then the "social" group on Saturday! Crazy, 200 miles on a MTB in 2 days, but we'll see how it goes.
Since it is one of those crazy times at the theater for my husband when he has to change everything over from one show to the other, I am making the adventure without him. He builds the sets at the Hale Center Theater in Orem. He's amazing at what he does. Unfortunately, I am basically husbandless for about a week and a half while he's there putting in 20 hour days.
Good news is I get to go with one of my favorite persons ever! Bry.

Here he is on the White Rim

Here I am. I never know what to do with my arms, don't make fun!

Really bummed out Serena won't be there! She is another one of my top favorite persons on this planet!

I'll let ya know how it goes when I'm back!

UVU Road Race

I've been really curious ever since I started riding bikes to see what road racing is all about.

Working at a road specific bike shop has added to that curiosity because we have the Ozone Team coming in and talking about racing all the time.

Last Saturday was the UVU Road Race around West Mountain. If you've been reading my blog you'll know that I love that ride! :) I decided this would be a great introductory road race for me. I talked Bobby into racing as well. So the night before the race we stayed at the shop late with SBR owner Kyle who talked to us about road racing strategy. He helped each of us come up with a plan. Kyle is such a stud, we think he's the greatest.

Bobby and I warmed up together with a couple of the other UVU team guys and then got back quickly so that Bobby wouldn't miss his start. His group was ginormous! I think there were about 45 racers in his Cat 5 group and Cat 4 men had 50! Well I wasn't lucky enough because when I got to the start line it was just me and another girl. I was pissed. I sat there and talked this girl who was watching the start into racing. She was all ready to go kitted up and everything. Then another girl rolled up, she had a power tap hub on so I knew she was somewhat serious.

The race started and 2 guys who race Cat 4 decided it would be cool to ride with us. Well one of them was the girl whom I talked into racing's husband and the other was the best friend of a different girl  that was racing. Pissed again, call me old fashioned but guys should never ride in a group of women that are racing, especially if they're married to them or best friends with them. Anyway,  we rolled out at a mellow speed and I let the other girls pull and took a turn myself. I was actually a little worried about a couple of the girls so I was going to stick with the strategy that Kyle told me to use. The course went uphill a little and I stayed there comfortable behind someone and next hill I attacked! It was really fun to surprise them like that when I reached the top of the hill one of the girls (with the power tap) was within a good distance so I decided to keep stomping on the peddles and see where that would take me.

On the next flat, straight-a-way followed by a decent hill I went about 90% of my max. She was gone, I couldn't even see her or the other girls (and guys). I time trialed it for the next 18 miles until the finish in a strong head wind. I thought for sure they would catch me since there were 5 of them and 1 of me in the wind. I won by 3 minutes, which is a pretty good gap I think.

It was fun, but definitely left something to be desired. I want more competition and more people to race against!

Bobby had a killer race. I saw his huge group coming around the corner headed on a straight- a-way for a sprint finish. He had a good position toward the front, but not right in front. He sprinted and came in 5th! I was so freakin proud of him. I think road racing is his niche. 

Nice work hun!

True Grit

I am realizing that this blogging thing takes a lot more dedication than I am giving it to keep you all updated on my adventures. Sorry :(
I have been putting off writing a True Grit race report. I was super duper thrilled to be racing 50 miles in the warm desert and let's just say that warm desert failed me...and 178 other racers that day. The forecast was calling for it to be in the 50's and only a 30 percent chance of rain.
Start line. I lined up and took off everything. Ok not EVERYthing, I had the basics: short sleeve jersey, shorts, shoes and a helmet. Off went the long sleeve jersey, off went the headband for my sensitive little ears, and off went the knee warmers.
Start of the race. It was actually quite eventful. My friend Bry showed up at the last second to do the race, he makes every situation more fun, so Bobby and I were really excited about that. Then as we were all rolling down the 2 mile stretch of pavement  that leads to the trail head, riders started piling up and crashing. One of them would run into a big orange cone and go down and the person on his wheel would follow, to the ground that is. It was unbelievable! I'm starting to think racers are no smarter than a deer caught in a headlight. Come on people, we're mountain bikers, not roadies, we should have some skills. Then as the road (still pavement keep in mind) goes up a very steep graded hill a dude runs into the curb and flips over! What the H?
We didn't start racing until 3/4 the way up that hill and I decided to let the girls go and not chase them. I really can only come up with one explanation for this stupid behavior and that is, I knew we had some technical washes coming up and I didn't want to slow the men down. Lame right?! I can totally ride everything in those washes, with ease. I guess I haven't done a mountain bike race(2 Xterra's don't count as a mtn bike race) in about a year and maybe that's what made me timid, whatever it was I don't like it. So I never really started racing. I caught up to my friend Bry and he was doing the race on a single speed. Crazy. Passed him and grateful I did because later he gave me the best compliment ever! He told me I descend crazy fast...'like a boy', as he put it :) That makes me happy.
Then about 20 minutes into the race the rain started, I laughed it off and was optimistic that it would go away soon. Boy was I wrong. By the end of that section of the race, about 16 miles, I was freezing and the rain was only getting worse. I made a decision that I would forfeit my 4 place spot and stop and get some warm clothes on. Only problem was that my parents whom came down for a weekend of sunshine and to watch us race had locked the car. So I had to go find them and get the key. That took some time, and I'm embarrassed to say that I lost my patience with them. :( Sorry Mom and Dad.
Back in the race with some warmer layers: knee warmers, arm warmers and booties. Had no idea where I was sitting in the race now. I saw Bobby waaaay up ahead and wanted so badly to catch him. Not to be competitive, but just to enjoy his company because my race never even started and I might as well make it a great day spent with him and my bike. The next section happened to be the most technical portion of the race. Zen is the name and it makes for anything but a Zen experience. I decided that the only relation to the trail and the term Zen is that you have to either have your Chi totally aligned before and while riding it or you have to be high. Either one will make this a fun ride I'm sure. Unfortunately for me, I forgot to align my Chi and I didn't have any weed, so cursing and swearing and getting off my bike every 10 seconds is how it went. I thought Zen was difficult dry, well it's even trickier wet.
Survived Zen with no injuries. Went to the feed zone to get some food and found Bobby there :) We rode up the next climb together and stopped at the top of Bear Claw Poppy to wait for someone to come by with a tool. Bobby's cleat on his shoe had come loose and it was hanging on by a thread. Waited. Waited. Waited. Finally someone came. Fixed that little problem, then flew down the trail. I mean we were hauling Aaaaa. So fun. First fun part of the race for me. When we got to the turn off for Stucki Springs I started dropping Bobby. I was feeling good on all the climbs, but how can I leave my husband? So I didn't. In the end all of the silly little times I had to stop didn't matter because of what was yet to come. Rode to the top of Stucki and started on the descent and hello problems! The ground was saturated with water which turned it into clay. When I say clay I literally mean clay. You couldn't ride. Your bike weighed about 60 lbs and was so gummed up with clay that the wheels wouldn't turn. Hiking in the mud with a 60 lb bike in the pouring rain is enough to dampen anyone's spirit. At some points when the trail became so steep I wondered if I would have to ditch my bike and make the trek on foot alone...without Moe. Ok that thought never actually entered my mind :D But in all honesty, I could barely get to the top of the big hills. I need to work on my upper body strength so bad it's ridiculous. The next 3 miles were spent walking in these conditions.
Left turn= continuing on in the race     Right turn= head toward Santa Clara and get picked up in a truck.
I told Bobby I wanted  to turn right, he told me no way and that we're finishing this thing.  No sooner had the words come out of his mouth than he was tipping off his bike because of an extreme cramp in his hamstring. Ouch! Those freakin kill. So he agreed to turn around and head to the trucks. When we got there, there were a bunch of racers waiting to be picked up. Most of them were hypothermic. I went and got in an ambulance just so I could warm up enough to stop my whole body from chattering to death. A dude in there was told to strip down to nothing and not to worry that there was a girl (me) sitting right next to him "this is life or death" they told him. He was so cold that nothing seemed to be registering in his mind so they started helping him undress.
The ride back to St George. Bobby bless his amazing huge heart volunteered to ride in the back of the pick up truck so that several other people could get warm in the cab of the truck. I saw Bry riding back on the road and asked to driver to slow down so we could offer him a ride. Bry said he would rather ride so that he could stay warm.
The 1/4 mile ride back to the condo. Bobby and I got dropped off about a 1/4 mile from our condo. This is the most epic ride I've experienced and it was a quarter of a mile. I could barely ride I was so cold, my feet were shaking so badly I thought I was going to crash.  Bobby looked back and saw me in this condition and knew that I was in bad shape. He literally coached me the whole way back and helped stabilize me so I wouldn't tip over. We got back and Bobby started taking off my shoes and knee warmers and told me to get in the hot tub. I felt guilty about getting in a hot tub with a layer of mud on me but like the paramedics said, this was life or death. Never have I been that cold. And never do I want to be that cold in my life again.
So how many people finished?  12. Out of 178. That's bad. Do you know what's even worse? Not one girl finished. I heard they actually shut the race down after we went by the last check point and forced people to turn back. Epic.
So that's my awesome start to a season! :D I got the muddy race out of the way, I'm ready for the next set of craziness!
Sorry too lazy to put pictures on because it is waaay past my bedtime.

I signed my husband and I up for a 50 mile mountain bike race called True Grit. When is it you ask? This Saturday.

I was really excited to race it since it's in my favorite place in the world...St George.

After riding it last weekend let's just say I've changed my perspective a little.

It's now not a race but a really really long training day.

I'm not the most technical rider out there. My strengths include going uphill, suffering, and I'm getting pretty good at descending. This race is so technical that I'm having to get off the bike as much as I'm riding it. In my mind I have a hard time staying in bike race-mode when I'm not riding my bike but running/hiking/walking it around every corner. That's why I've changed my outlook on the race. Not to mention the fact that I work all the time now, which I'm sooooo grateful for and I love my job so much. I've just been putting training on the back burner, like waaaaaaaaay back burner (as in I don't bike, run or swim). It's really weird. It makes me feel fat.

At least we got to go to Vegas to have a weekend of riding. It rocked.

The first day we rode 22 miles

The second day we rode 27 miles

Third day was 12 miles

 

 The guy at the bike shop told us to take a trail that leads you out to a UFO.
 That is my alien impression =:)

 Rad bike shop where the guy does a theatrical performance describing each trail. I couldn't help but giggle.

We spent a long time on these next photos trying to get us looking as extreme as possible.

And the fourth day we rode 35 miles! All in all we rode 100 miles. Woot Woot!

Holy cow! I feel so rude! I forgot to introduce you to my new boyfriend: Moe Mancini
He's my new mtn bike. His best quality? He's a 29er!!!!!
I almost feel like I've wasted the lasted 3 years of my life riding on a 26" bike. I am soo happy to be back on a 29er. (refer back to previous pics to see the little stud)

I also wanted to set your weary mind at rest. Yes. I did wear the same jersey 4 days in a row. And, it only got one washing. So now you know what kind of person I am.

New Bike!

I sold my Fezzari CR3 and bought this gorgeous Look 566. I love her. Her name's Carolina.

Me and Bobby went for a ride and I'm happy to say that Carolina's first ride was a worthy one...West Mountain :D  I told ya, it's my favorite ride in the winter. I felt so great on my new bike. I have been riding bikes that are too big for me my whole riding/racing career. People have been fitting me the classic yet completely mistaken way of sizing a person to a bike and that is; according to how tall a person is.  Here's how it's pretty much gone for me when getting a new bike "Wow! You're a tall girl! You're almost 6 feet? Ok you need to be on a 58cm bike." Or if it was a mountain bike they put me on a large and a couple times an extra large. Now I know this is a very...how do I say this nicely? It's a very inaccurate way of sizing a person and their bike. That's nice enough for me.

After working at a bike shop for the last month I now know that the top tube length is the most important measurement on a bike when finding a bike for someone. Yes I'm freakin tall, but guess what size I'm riding on my Look? A 55cm!! Crazy huh?! I've been riding a 58cm for the last 7 years and I should have (most likely) been on a 55-56cm bike frame because of my tiny torso. By tiny I'm talking about in relation to my extremely long legs. So I am very comfortable on my new bike and I feel fast! :D