Training Log Archive: Work4justiceIn the 31 days ending Aug 31, 2015:
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| Sa | Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa | Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa | Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa | Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa | Su | Mo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Monday Aug 31, 2015 #
Yoga 1:00:00 [3]
Sunday Aug 30, 2015 #
Paddling activity 2:00:00 [3] 9.0 mi (13:20 / mi)
Mountain Bike 45:00 [3] 10.0 mi (4:30 / mi)
Orienteering 45:00 [3]
Mountain Bike 45:00 [3] 10.0 mi (4:30 / mi)
Saturday Aug 29, 2015 #
Paddling activity 2:11:00 [3] 7.85 mi (16:41 / mi)
What Mr. Dubs said. Got a wing. Like it.
Friday Aug 28, 2015 #
Mountain Bike 1:30:00 [3] 21.0 mi (4:17 / mi)
Thursday Aug 27, 2015 #
8 AM
Orienteering 15:29 0.67 mi (23:07 / mi)
ahr:96 max:130
Warmup and headed to the start on Igor's Chilson Map. Lost one of the rides out to the start, but found it on one of the more prominent ones.
Orienteering 2:35:08 5.97 mi (25:59 / mi)
ahr:111 max:149 shoes: INOV8 Roclite 325
Igor's Chilson training map. Definitely a rust buster...Hoo wee.
#1, headed slightly south on the wrong hill...looked around couldn't justify and headed back over to the correct one.
#2, held on tight to a bearing, for sure!
#3, fight, fight, fight. Oh that veg is thick for sure. I thought I had gone farther than in reality, so lost time looking in the wrong spot. But kept with the bearing and hit it.
#4, Pretty smooth.
#5, Landed on top of it, and didn't see the streamer, went to the next depression and it was way to deep, set my compass back and there the streamer was.
#6, This was in what I believe one of the prettiest spots of Chilson. And was able to successfully attack from the trail junction.
#7, Floated too far north on this one, saw the house and had to go straight south. The goldenrod field I went through was taller than me! Did I mention the overgrown vegetation yet????
#8, Ran the road, and pulled off on the trail. This one should have been a gift, but I let myself get lolled into complacency, after some back and forths, realized my error and found it.
#9, Attacked from trail.
#10, Ran the road, went a smidge too far. Backtracked, and attacked from first white woods off trail. Learning those open areas with the grasses and such things are slower than white woods.
#11, Attacked from trail, questioned if I went in the correct spot I had, but started to correct, and recorrected.
#12, took the trail in but was a bit to the east and corrected.
#13, Kept my bearing on this one. Woo hoo.
#14, This mess gets me! I bore off the trail, and was on the right line, but I did a little south squggle, huh???
#15, Another favorite area of Chilson.
#16, and the famous fence with lots of placing options all over.
Ran to finish and then the car.
Thanks Igor! Great practice!
#1, headed slightly south on the wrong hill...looked around couldn't justify and headed back over to the correct one.
#2, held on tight to a bearing, for sure!
#3, fight, fight, fight. Oh that veg is thick for sure. I thought I had gone farther than in reality, so lost time looking in the wrong spot. But kept with the bearing and hit it.
#4, Pretty smooth.
#5, Landed on top of it, and didn't see the streamer, went to the next depression and it was way to deep, set my compass back and there the streamer was.
#6, This was in what I believe one of the prettiest spots of Chilson. And was able to successfully attack from the trail junction.
#7, Floated too far north on this one, saw the house and had to go straight south. The goldenrod field I went through was taller than me! Did I mention the overgrown vegetation yet????
#8, Ran the road, and pulled off on the trail. This one should have been a gift, but I let myself get lolled into complacency, after some back and forths, realized my error and found it.
#9, Attacked from trail.
#10, Ran the road, went a smidge too far. Backtracked, and attacked from first white woods off trail. Learning those open areas with the grasses and such things are slower than white woods.
#11, Attacked from trail, questioned if I went in the correct spot I had, but started to correct, and recorrected.
#12, took the trail in but was a bit to the east and corrected.
#13, Kept my bearing on this one. Woo hoo.
#14, This mess gets me! I bore off the trail, and was on the right line, but I did a little south squggle, huh???
#15, Another favorite area of Chilson.
#16, and the famous fence with lots of placing options all over.
Ran to finish and then the car.
Thanks Igor! Great practice!
C • #8 1
Wednesday Aug 26, 2015 #
Yoga 1:00:00 [3]
Sunday Aug 23, 2015 #
Note
2015 Thunder Rolls 24 hr Adventure Race
August, 2015
My first 24 hour race, and what an experience! I was delighted that Brenda Carlson-Brown and her husband Joe Brown invited me to join them to race with them. They race really well, and I was honored to be asked!
The race stages out of Camp Benson in Mt. Carroll, IL. I did the 12 hour last year so I had a sense of how it could unfold and a smidge of knowledge of the area. We arrived super early for the ascent and rappel practice. The rappel went fine, but I really, really struggled with the ascending practice to the point I had to be lowered and try again. The guide from last year was there to race, and he remembered how he taught me last year and the 2nd try went better, but I was really nervous that it had not gone well. But, I have to say, the heights thing wasn’t so bad. That night we got the maps and instructions and dug in making decisions about routes, etc. Seemingly went smoothly with plotting, traded maps with W.A.R. for checking and even got about a half hour nap before we started at midnight.
Lined up with bikes at midnight on Friday, and we were off! Crazy getting into the creek canyon on 2 tracks, and I got stuck behind 2 bikes going down. It was a craggy two track—and at this moment I was kicking myself for Rookie mistake #1--not having both bike lights and my headlamp. It would have helped a TON. We wanted to head to the ascent first, but everyone headed that way, so we decided to pick off points, rappel and do the ascent last. We orienteered the creek canyon, and the dark rappel into the water was awesome and I felt like I flew down—it was very cool to see the lights from the bikes so high up. One of the points was in a cave and the swirling bats were very cool. Got to the ascent, waited for an hour while other teams went up. I slowly, made my way up. Argh…last ones off the cliff, but not the last ones heading off on our bikes. As a group, we had strength on the bike, reeled in a few teams that way...until we ran into map trouble.
Again, the headlamp was just not enough, especially with some of the fast downhills. We also realized the mileages were off, after a couple of very confusing moments and Brenda realized she wheeled the map at 1:24 instead of 1:30 scale which brings me to Rookie Mistake #2—I should have double checked the maps. We had made a pretty big wrong turn which was the first sign. WAR came rolling up and we consulted and rode with them to the bluffs for the 2 track ride. It got dicey with the rocks and grade, but got through pretty well—but slow because again…the lights. The sun rose…. it was spectacular.
Headed out on the bike to the canoe, and I got to pull, which made me feel useful! And again, reeled in a team. Got on to the banana boat and we went for the furthest points across the Mississippi—which led to Rookie Mistake #3—trying for such a big, long and featureless bearing. Thought we would use the islands and the Bald Point as nav spots but it went all wrong. We went too far north, and had to circle back quite a bit to get into the river. We first saw boats heading further north than us and learned they had kept going. But when we saw a large set of islands we knew we were waaaay too far north. Lost at least an hour there. Got on to the river and caught a couple of teams, then back to 15 which was to the south. We reasoned it would be a better downstream. When we headed out from that point, it was almost due east and on this part of the river there were some serious waves that were parallel to the boat. As we kept going, we realized 1) self rescue would be very hard and 2) when we asked two fishing boats for a tow, they refused because they were taking on water. We called the RD for a pickup and found out they had stopped putting the 12 hour racers on the water and pulled some other 24 hr racers. We waited an hour for the pickup, and then another 45 minutes to get back to our bikes to continue. I didn’t have a watch on, which for me can’t happen again. I realized I time myself on TA’s and such things, and that was a huge mistake on my part.
I TA’d pretty miserably at that point, just couldn’t wrap my mind around anything and had no concept of time. Brenda asked if I was OK, and I shared that I couldn’t snap to it. We both wondered if I hadn’t fully recovered from Trans Rockies and in hindsight, I had not. I didn’t train, but the volunteering was busy. But, we made our way on the bikes and it went smoothly to the O sections. Once we got to the O sections, Joe and I both pounded a Red Bull. Holy cats that stuff WORKS. I must have had 3 that day. Saw JustMe, OutdoorsMama and Middy for the 3rd time that day. That was cool. Love the peeps! And they looked good and strong.
We got 8 points on the south map, made it back for the cutoff and went to get 2 on the north map. Brenda and I passed the map back and forth at every 2. I found some energy on the north map and was able to nav and be the runner and bushwhack paths to get through. I was shocked. We biked back to the Camp, caught up with WAR (Mr. Wonderful, Double M, Tizoc and Matt) and it was the greatest pleasure to nav the last 5 points with them. After we got CP 55, everything went into slow motion. I got through my first 24, I found myself walking, looking into the sky, looking around the camp, almost stopping. Then Joe and Brenda came back and grabbed me… “COME ON BARB!”
Oh yeah, it’s a race.
What an experience. And we were still ranked, I think? It’s all a little unclear how they are handling the pickups. And, as we debriefed in the car on the way back, we talked about highest moments, lowest moments, what we appreciated, what we needed to do better, and in the end, I had an amazing first 24 experience. Goodness sakes not perfect, but amazing.
August, 2015
My first 24 hour race, and what an experience! I was delighted that Brenda Carlson-Brown and her husband Joe Brown invited me to join them to race with them. They race really well, and I was honored to be asked!
The race stages out of Camp Benson in Mt. Carroll, IL. I did the 12 hour last year so I had a sense of how it could unfold and a smidge of knowledge of the area. We arrived super early for the ascent and rappel practice. The rappel went fine, but I really, really struggled with the ascending practice to the point I had to be lowered and try again. The guide from last year was there to race, and he remembered how he taught me last year and the 2nd try went better, but I was really nervous that it had not gone well. But, I have to say, the heights thing wasn’t so bad. That night we got the maps and instructions and dug in making decisions about routes, etc. Seemingly went smoothly with plotting, traded maps with W.A.R. for checking and even got about a half hour nap before we started at midnight.
Lined up with bikes at midnight on Friday, and we were off! Crazy getting into the creek canyon on 2 tracks, and I got stuck behind 2 bikes going down. It was a craggy two track—and at this moment I was kicking myself for Rookie mistake #1--not having both bike lights and my headlamp. It would have helped a TON. We wanted to head to the ascent first, but everyone headed that way, so we decided to pick off points, rappel and do the ascent last. We orienteered the creek canyon, and the dark rappel into the water was awesome and I felt like I flew down—it was very cool to see the lights from the bikes so high up. One of the points was in a cave and the swirling bats were very cool. Got to the ascent, waited for an hour while other teams went up. I slowly, made my way up. Argh…last ones off the cliff, but not the last ones heading off on our bikes. As a group, we had strength on the bike, reeled in a few teams that way...until we ran into map trouble.
Again, the headlamp was just not enough, especially with some of the fast downhills. We also realized the mileages were off, after a couple of very confusing moments and Brenda realized she wheeled the map at 1:24 instead of 1:30 scale which brings me to Rookie Mistake #2—I should have double checked the maps. We had made a pretty big wrong turn which was the first sign. WAR came rolling up and we consulted and rode with them to the bluffs for the 2 track ride. It got dicey with the rocks and grade, but got through pretty well—but slow because again…the lights. The sun rose…. it was spectacular.
Headed out on the bike to the canoe, and I got to pull, which made me feel useful! And again, reeled in a team. Got on to the banana boat and we went for the furthest points across the Mississippi—which led to Rookie Mistake #3—trying for such a big, long and featureless bearing. Thought we would use the islands and the Bald Point as nav spots but it went all wrong. We went too far north, and had to circle back quite a bit to get into the river. We first saw boats heading further north than us and learned they had kept going. But when we saw a large set of islands we knew we were waaaay too far north. Lost at least an hour there. Got on to the river and caught a couple of teams, then back to 15 which was to the south. We reasoned it would be a better downstream. When we headed out from that point, it was almost due east and on this part of the river there were some serious waves that were parallel to the boat. As we kept going, we realized 1) self rescue would be very hard and 2) when we asked two fishing boats for a tow, they refused because they were taking on water. We called the RD for a pickup and found out they had stopped putting the 12 hour racers on the water and pulled some other 24 hr racers. We waited an hour for the pickup, and then another 45 minutes to get back to our bikes to continue. I didn’t have a watch on, which for me can’t happen again. I realized I time myself on TA’s and such things, and that was a huge mistake on my part.
I TA’d pretty miserably at that point, just couldn’t wrap my mind around anything and had no concept of time. Brenda asked if I was OK, and I shared that I couldn’t snap to it. We both wondered if I hadn’t fully recovered from Trans Rockies and in hindsight, I had not. I didn’t train, but the volunteering was busy. But, we made our way on the bikes and it went smoothly to the O sections. Once we got to the O sections, Joe and I both pounded a Red Bull. Holy cats that stuff WORKS. I must have had 3 that day. Saw JustMe, OutdoorsMama and Middy for the 3rd time that day. That was cool. Love the peeps! And they looked good and strong.
We got 8 points on the south map, made it back for the cutoff and went to get 2 on the north map. Brenda and I passed the map back and forth at every 2. I found some energy on the north map and was able to nav and be the runner and bushwhack paths to get through. I was shocked. We biked back to the Camp, caught up with WAR (Mr. Wonderful, Double M, Tizoc and Matt) and it was the greatest pleasure to nav the last 5 points with them. After we got CP 55, everything went into slow motion. I got through my first 24, I found myself walking, looking into the sky, looking around the camp, almost stopping. Then Joe and Brenda came back and grabbed me… “COME ON BARB!”
Oh yeah, it’s a race.
What an experience. And we were still ranked, I think? It’s all a little unclear how they are handling the pickups. And, as we debriefed in the car on the way back, we talked about highest moments, lowest moments, what we appreciated, what we needed to do better, and in the end, I had an amazing first 24 experience. Goodness sakes not perfect, but amazing.
C • red bull 11
Saturday Aug 22, 2015 #
Event: The Thunder Rolls 12/24hr AR
Adventure Race 22:00:00 [3]
My first "24 hr". Thunder rolls. Went pretty well 3rd place 3 person coed. More later... :)
Thursday Aug 20, 2015 #
8 AM
Yoga 1:00:00 [3]
Wednesday Aug 19, 2015 #
Paddling activity (Lake) 1:00:00 [3]
Hubs will go if I leave the deet machine at home. Was practicing tighter stronger strokes in prep for being In the middle of the banana boats.
Tuesday Aug 18, 2015 #
Mountain Bike (Gravel) 45:28 [2] 11.2 mi (4:04 / mi) +25m 4:02 / mi
Monday Aug 17, 2015 #
Running 2:14:00 [2] 6.4 mi (20:56 / mi) +732m 15:27 / mi
shoes: SpeedCross 9.5 #1
Sunday Aug 16, 2015 #
Note
Tent tear down, dry out and bagging.
Saturday Aug 15, 2015 #
Note
Part of tent tear down and assembly...only 240 of them!!!
Friday Aug 14, 2015 #
Note
Volunteered at finish.
Note
TransRockies Run3 2015: One of the most amazing and inspiring experiences I’ve had.
One of my new year’s resolutions this year was to become stronger on foot, so jumped into the deep end and signed up to do the TransRockies. As a quick description, TransRockies is a stage trail race that I would rate as intermediate to advanced for anyone who plans to run most of the way. I had been going back and forth on whether I wanted to go for the Run3 or the Run6, and I decided on the Run3. I know there are plusses and minuses to any extended distance, but thought I had a fighting chance with a stage race over an ultra. I am now realizing it is hard to compare the two. My overall strategy was to have fun, stay aware of how I was feeling and stay on top of nutrition and any maladies. Pain tolerance became a big issue, but pressed through that.
Just getting there is a big deal, and see brief notes below if you plan to go, they may help!
We toed the line at 8:30a on August 11 in Buena Vista, CO for Stage One. Very nervous, but excited to start. So many people! So weird to be around all these people.
Michelle and I ran together to CP1, which included a bit of a climb and then a flat trail, which was great for settling in. Once I got out of TA, I became very dizzy, tripped and fell. So glad she was there, and I sent her on her way so I could gather myself. In hindsight, I think I struggled a lot with my blood pressure in elevation. When I was teetering the scales at 240, my BP was 210/150. I went to the doctor for a physical a few weeks ago and it was 117/78. She reduced my BP meds, but we agreed I would stay at the current levels while in elevation. And, if this was part of the dizziness (I think it was) I was still safe with my original strategy and kept myself back from the dizzy point for the rest of the race.
At around mile 10 on the first day, I started running with a couple of women at my pace, which was great. Although, I didn’t have much to add to the conversation when they asked what races I have done. I shared about AR. But then they pressed, “what about run races?” I thought about it, and shared about the Sgt Preston Yukon 5k I did in Muskegon, Michigan. “That’s it?!?” Well, I did do well in my age group. #thankyouverymuch
Teri from Colorado Springs was AWESOME. She gives Kyle Peter and JD Eskelsen a run for their money on the red white and blue garb! She works for the US Olympic committee. She and I ran a good 2/3rd of the Run3. The trails were very sandy, and then all at once rocky. The views were spectacular, and I think on this stage, it was the cliffs and rocks that I loved.
The end to the days were mostly road run slogs…but I seemed to perk up on those 3-4 mile ends. The craggy trails were very tough for me…but day 1 finished and I came in just BARELY under my goal time, and there was more mileage to boot. Woot!
Michelle and I made it through Day 1!
Stage 2
We toed the line at 8:00a on August 12 in Vicksburg, CO for Stage Two.
I was SO NERVOUS. I had never climbed a mountain, scared to death of the heights and wondered if I would have a repeat altitude issue. Fortunately lovely Teri was right there with me for the whole climb. Not gonna lie, the only time I looked up on the climb was in this picture!
But I made it to the top and was relieved!
We got to about 12,200 I think. Hope’s Pass. I think it’s a highlight of the Leadville 100 ultra as well. Running down is no joke either. Very loose and craggy. At the bottom there was a nice rolling trail so I was able to maintain a steady pace there…unlike going done I was hopping around hoping to not turn an ankle or something. I used one pole often to break the downs. I paced in a dentist from Chicago and 2 Canadian women. I always sprinted at the finish :) and the two women passed me! It was a running joke all week. Get it? Running?
At the end Michelle and Cooper and Kim and the kids were there cheeringme in! I sat right down. I needed to feel grounded. Then got up, and got on the shuttle back to the camp. It was an amazing day, and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.
Stage 3
We toed the line at 8:00a on August 13 in Leadville, CO for Stage Three, my final stage.
The night before I had myself convinced to run as hard and fast as I could, but when I awoke in the morning, I wondered, to what end? So, I found Teri and told her that I planned to take it easy that day and just ENJOY. And we did. There were 2 climbs that really didn’t bother me, and we had a great time going downhill. Quads got testy about the last 6-7 miles, but I knew it was just pain and nothing else so we kept at it. The pine forests and the forest floor are beautiful out there. Lots of water falls and just beauty all around. But nothing beats the smiles this stage put on my face:
This finish we could see right across the field, but we had to run all the way around it, which stunk because in AR we would have just run straight to it, crazy I tell ya.
I did it! Sat in the creek and drank a Michelob Ultra Light to celebrate! I had hoped for a more solid mid pack finish, fell a bit short of that landed 36th out of 68 starts. But overall, so glad that I did it and finished!
There are three more stages that Michelle, Kim and Jessie took on. In fact, Kim and Jessie were on the podium every day for a women’s team and Michelle actually got faster as the week pressed on. Amazing!!! I met some super wonderful people, Annie Jean (Open Women 6 day 3rd place), Steve Meyer, JD Eskelsen, Teri Hedgpeth, and so many others I don’t know all their names! I am so grateful for their friendship and advice during the race AND into the future! And a big thanks to Mark Voit, Mindy Fernando and Jason Urckfitz for your running advice and encouragement. And to my peeps who I emailed and texted as often as I could about results. And, not a lot of wildlife spottings…I think there were too many people. Wore Hoka's but I think the Speedcrosses would have been better. They just weren't broken in enough for my liking.
The race appealed to me because it had so many elements of things I hadn’t done before that I wanted/needed to do. I have wanted to be in elevation to see how I would do, as well, I am afraid of heights and wanted to reel that in some, and I have never been to Colorado and wanted to do that too!
Brief notes if you want to do this race (or any stage race):
1. Logistics are huge. Pre and post arrangements are important to nail down several months out unless you live in a camper or your car. Traversing from point to point is significant. And once you are packed, take out half your stuff. The veteran stage racers didn’t smell so hot at the end, but no one cares. Lots of rinsing out of items. Plan that you will eat food that you aren’t used to…and it forced me to try some things that I plan to use in my race strategy.
2. Being an experienced runner counts for a lot, for this race organization is so supportive, that you will cross the finish line every day. I was so impressed with how they encouraged EVERYONE. Also, the medical staff are awesome.
3. Cell service drops often and at a couple of the overnight stays in camp there is little to no service.
4. The tents aren’t water proof beyond a light rain or light dew. I brought my backpacking tent. While it was a bit more work, worth it in the end!
5. Stages 4, 5 and 6 had a bit more road running as I understood it.
6. Poles were helpful, and some people had awkward/unintended results when they used them and had not practiced. (Glad we did!) I would say that several of the top finishers used them. I guess this is a hot topic in the ultra community.
7. The volunteer gig is a lot of hard work. Glad I did it though. Learned a lot and heard lots of stories, and advice!
8. Food is awesome and plentiful.
9. Sun is very hot. I was slathering sunscreen on all the time. Except when there were rain and storms.
10. Medical personnel were AWESOME. No blister too small they say!
11. The mileage will vary from the published mileage up until the day before. Re-routes happen because of wildlife, weather, Vail owners are unhappy...you know.
One of my new year’s resolutions this year was to become stronger on foot, so jumped into the deep end and signed up to do the TransRockies. As a quick description, TransRockies is a stage trail race that I would rate as intermediate to advanced for anyone who plans to run most of the way. I had been going back and forth on whether I wanted to go for the Run3 or the Run6, and I decided on the Run3. I know there are plusses and minuses to any extended distance, but thought I had a fighting chance with a stage race over an ultra. I am now realizing it is hard to compare the two. My overall strategy was to have fun, stay aware of how I was feeling and stay on top of nutrition and any maladies. Pain tolerance became a big issue, but pressed through that.
Just getting there is a big deal, and see brief notes below if you plan to go, they may help!
We toed the line at 8:30a on August 11 in Buena Vista, CO for Stage One. Very nervous, but excited to start. So many people! So weird to be around all these people.
Michelle and I ran together to CP1, which included a bit of a climb and then a flat trail, which was great for settling in. Once I got out of TA, I became very dizzy, tripped and fell. So glad she was there, and I sent her on her way so I could gather myself. In hindsight, I think I struggled a lot with my blood pressure in elevation. When I was teetering the scales at 240, my BP was 210/150. I went to the doctor for a physical a few weeks ago and it was 117/78. She reduced my BP meds, but we agreed I would stay at the current levels while in elevation. And, if this was part of the dizziness (I think it was) I was still safe with my original strategy and kept myself back from the dizzy point for the rest of the race.
At around mile 10 on the first day, I started running with a couple of women at my pace, which was great. Although, I didn’t have much to add to the conversation when they asked what races I have done. I shared about AR. But then they pressed, “what about run races?” I thought about it, and shared about the Sgt Preston Yukon 5k I did in Muskegon, Michigan. “That’s it?!?” Well, I did do well in my age group. #thankyouverymuch
Teri from Colorado Springs was AWESOME. She gives Kyle Peter and JD Eskelsen a run for their money on the red white and blue garb! She works for the US Olympic committee. She and I ran a good 2/3rd of the Run3. The trails were very sandy, and then all at once rocky. The views were spectacular, and I think on this stage, it was the cliffs and rocks that I loved.
The end to the days were mostly road run slogs…but I seemed to perk up on those 3-4 mile ends. The craggy trails were very tough for me…but day 1 finished and I came in just BARELY under my goal time, and there was more mileage to boot. Woot!
Michelle and I made it through Day 1!
Stage 2
We toed the line at 8:00a on August 12 in Vicksburg, CO for Stage Two.
I was SO NERVOUS. I had never climbed a mountain, scared to death of the heights and wondered if I would have a repeat altitude issue. Fortunately lovely Teri was right there with me for the whole climb. Not gonna lie, the only time I looked up on the climb was in this picture!
But I made it to the top and was relieved!
We got to about 12,200 I think. Hope’s Pass. I think it’s a highlight of the Leadville 100 ultra as well. Running down is no joke either. Very loose and craggy. At the bottom there was a nice rolling trail so I was able to maintain a steady pace there…unlike going done I was hopping around hoping to not turn an ankle or something. I used one pole often to break the downs. I paced in a dentist from Chicago and 2 Canadian women. I always sprinted at the finish :) and the two women passed me! It was a running joke all week. Get it? Running?
At the end Michelle and Cooper and Kim and the kids were there cheeringme in! I sat right down. I needed to feel grounded. Then got up, and got on the shuttle back to the camp. It was an amazing day, and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.
Stage 3
We toed the line at 8:00a on August 13 in Leadville, CO for Stage Three, my final stage.
The night before I had myself convinced to run as hard and fast as I could, but when I awoke in the morning, I wondered, to what end? So, I found Teri and told her that I planned to take it easy that day and just ENJOY. And we did. There were 2 climbs that really didn’t bother me, and we had a great time going downhill. Quads got testy about the last 6-7 miles, but I knew it was just pain and nothing else so we kept at it. The pine forests and the forest floor are beautiful out there. Lots of water falls and just beauty all around. But nothing beats the smiles this stage put on my face:
This finish we could see right across the field, but we had to run all the way around it, which stunk because in AR we would have just run straight to it, crazy I tell ya.
I did it! Sat in the creek and drank a Michelob Ultra Light to celebrate! I had hoped for a more solid mid pack finish, fell a bit short of that landed 36th out of 68 starts. But overall, so glad that I did it and finished!
There are three more stages that Michelle, Kim and Jessie took on. In fact, Kim and Jessie were on the podium every day for a women’s team and Michelle actually got faster as the week pressed on. Amazing!!! I met some super wonderful people, Annie Jean (Open Women 6 day 3rd place), Steve Meyer, JD Eskelsen, Teri Hedgpeth, and so many others I don’t know all their names! I am so grateful for their friendship and advice during the race AND into the future! And a big thanks to Mark Voit, Mindy Fernando and Jason Urckfitz for your running advice and encouragement. And to my peeps who I emailed and texted as often as I could about results. And, not a lot of wildlife spottings…I think there were too many people. Wore Hoka's but I think the Speedcrosses would have been better. They just weren't broken in enough for my liking.
The race appealed to me because it had so many elements of things I hadn’t done before that I wanted/needed to do. I have wanted to be in elevation to see how I would do, as well, I am afraid of heights and wanted to reel that in some, and I have never been to Colorado and wanted to do that too!
Brief notes if you want to do this race (or any stage race):
1. Logistics are huge. Pre and post arrangements are important to nail down several months out unless you live in a camper or your car. Traversing from point to point is significant. And once you are packed, take out half your stuff. The veteran stage racers didn’t smell so hot at the end, but no one cares. Lots of rinsing out of items. Plan that you will eat food that you aren’t used to…and it forced me to try some things that I plan to use in my race strategy.
2. Being an experienced runner counts for a lot, for this race organization is so supportive, that you will cross the finish line every day. I was so impressed with how they encouraged EVERYONE. Also, the medical staff are awesome.
3. Cell service drops often and at a couple of the overnight stays in camp there is little to no service.
4. The tents aren’t water proof beyond a light rain or light dew. I brought my backpacking tent. While it was a bit more work, worth it in the end!
5. Stages 4, 5 and 6 had a bit more road running as I understood it.
6. Poles were helpful, and some people had awkward/unintended results when they used them and had not practiced. (Glad we did!) I would say that several of the top finishers used them. I guess this is a hot topic in the ultra community.
7. The volunteer gig is a lot of hard work. Glad I did it though. Learned a lot and heard lots of stories, and advice!
8. Food is awesome and plentiful.
9. Sun is very hot. I was slathering sunscreen on all the time. Except when there were rain and storms.
10. Medical personnel were AWESOME. No blister too small they say!
11. The mileage will vary from the published mileage up until the day before. Re-routes happen because of wildlife, weather, Vail owners are unhappy...you know.
Thursday Aug 13, 2015 #
Running (TransRockies Day 3) 6:15:00 [3] 26.3 mi (14:16 / mi) +823m 13:00 / mi
shoes: Hoka One One 9.5 #2
https://www.strava.com/activities/368387655
Garmin died after a mile. Boo.
Garmin died after a mile. Boo.
Wednesday Aug 12, 2015 #
8 AM
Running (TransRockies Day 2) 4:20:00 [3] 13.5 mi (19:16 / mi) +976m 15:44 / mi
shoes: Hoka One One 9.5 #2
Tuesday Aug 11, 2015 #
Event: TransRockies 3 day
8 AM
Running (TransRockies Day 1) 4:59:00 [3] 21.25 mi (14:04 / mi) +762m 12:40 / mi
shoes: Hoka One One 9.5 #2
Race report coming!
Sunday Aug 9, 2015 #
Paddling activity (white water) 2:30:00 [1] 12.0 mi (12:30 / mi)
Awesome. Not feeling as affected by the altitude. Staying at 9000, but heading into some pockets of elevation tomorrow. Then Tuesday off we go.
Saturday Aug 8, 2015 #
Running 45:00 [3]
And now the watch has data on all kinds of crazy days! Noooo not NOW.
Ran around Red Rock amphitheater including a stair run. 9000'
Then up to Pikes peak. Did about .4 mile in 8 min. Was dizzying. 14000'
Down a bit on spikes did .5 in 10 @ 11000' hr was inn 120s
Then to Salida and did 1.5 in 18 min.
Ran around Red Rock amphitheater including a stair run. 9000'
Then up to Pikes peak. Did about .4 mile in 8 min. Was dizzying. 14000'
Down a bit on spikes did .5 in 10 @ 11000' hr was inn 120s
Then to Salida and did 1.5 in 18 min.
Friday Aug 7, 2015 #
Running 35:00 [3] 3.1 mi (11:17 / mi)
Trail run in Highlands Ranch, CO. Air felt thin!!!
Thursday Aug 6, 2015 #
5 PM
Running 35:00 [3] 3.2 mi (10:56 / mi)
Ant stick not working. Grr...gravel run in Ogallala, NE.
Wednesday Aug 5, 2015 #
Other 30:00 [2]
Rolled into Des Moines, IA in the evening. Got a chance to run and swim for just a bit at the hotel. Holy smokes, packing for this trip felt all over the place with hotels, camping, running, extreme temps on both ends, gear, (and some prepacking for Thunder Rolls) but it happened. Night of the 6th we are in Ogallala, and then on to Denver. Taper planning has been tricky because I want to do a little taper run/hike in elevation.
Tuesday Aug 4, 2015 #
8 AM
Yoga 1:00:00 [2]
One more week, I am crapping my pants.
Monday Aug 3, 2015 #
7 AM
Mountain Bike 52:19 12.6 mi (4:09 / mi) +30m 4:07 / mi
ahr:109 max:128
Listened to the This American Life podcast "The Problem We All Live With", very moving and disturbing information about how we approach equality in education. Strongly recommend listening to it or reading about it:
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/epi...
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/epi...
Sunday Aug 2, 2015 #
Trekking 30:00 [2]
All day in yard...logging some for taper tracking.
weights 45:00 [2]
Saturday Aug 1, 2015 #
8 AM
Running 1:51:33 9.64 mi (11:34 / mi) +169m 10:58 / mi
Running warm up/down 7:59 [1] 0.54 mi (14:47 / mi) +66m 10:43 / mi
Paddling activity 1:26:23 [1] 5.87 mi (14:43 / mi) +28m 14:30 / mi
Fun canoeing with Mr. Dubs and a mandatory safety session at the end. He's ten thousand times better than me getting back in the boat in deep water. Perfect day for being on the water and fun hearing about the new house!