Training Log Archive: silkychrome

Event: Stubborn Mule 30-Hr AR
 

first part of Stubborn Mule w Erl Biz and Andrei. includes self-imposed 2.5hr lightning delay.

BIKE 1, ~15mi, mostly road
we left about 20min after the official start as we were still sorting maps when Paula said "go!". but no worries. actually worked out well be we avoided the calamity of a mass start (12hr and 30hr together) on bikes. simple nav and we caught a few teams.

TREK 1, 10mi, woods w some trail
11 CPs any order in the woods. the terrain around Cable is (what I believe to be) glaciated. so really tricky to nav on - lots of small hills, depressions, and no "ridge/reentrant" pattern. oh and lots of deadfall/underbrush. so we were not moving super fast but the Biz/Andrei nav combo was working super good so we hit most everything. came out of the woods in first.

BIKE 2, 35 mi, single track
then we got on our bikes and took a short gravel road that hooked into the CAMBA single track network. I've raved about them before but I will again...dang these are some nice trails. we had a 12mi designated route to take w CPs hanging around the way. we were not flying by any means, some of the route was "black diamond" but we just kept moving whether it was pedaling or walking. it started to get hot. we popped out on a gravel road that took us to a rails-to-trails that went thru Cable and a gas station. bought some Cokes and slushies from v persnickety employees! the slushies actually tasted horrible but helped keep us "cool". the remaining road miles to the TA were really hard, we were all suffering.

PADDLE 1A, 12mi
from the north end of Lake Owen, to the south end, to the west side. about 6:30 PM a huge storm rolled in. Biz made the call to get off the water at the exact right time, we pulled boats out at an unused dock and took shelter at someone's cabin's front porch (they were not home). right before the rain hit the wind flipped one of our boats back in to the lake and it started blowing away. with all of our paddles. CRAP! Erl and I chased after it and were able to grab it in waist-deep water. big relief. then we just hunkered down on the porch for 2.5 hrs. the storm started rolling out after 2hrs but there was still lightning in the area so we hesitated putting back in.

C • Love your race reports! 5

TREK 2, 3mi
just a short loop to break up the paddle. we saw Rib Mtn going one way so we went the other. put back in before them but just barely.

PADDLE 1B, 5mi
back across Lake Owen, grabbing 1 final CP. beautiful stars. no wind, finally!

TREK 3, 11mi
super tough trek. in the dark and subtle terrain. started right w Rib Mtn so the race was back on! we saw them a few times in the woods, along w Silent Chasers. we actually hid from Silent Chasers as we were both struggling w CP19. lots of deadfall again and now everything was wet = super slippery!

BIKE 3, 30mi
final bike to the finish. mostly gravel/paved roads. some trekking to off-road CPs. we were chafed.

mtb on the Lebanon Hills singletrack. nice!

ride from MN Twins game, to meet Biz at his office downtown, then part of the way home w him on MPLS bike path network, then back to Uptown Diner to meet my fam for dinner. except we ate a ton at the Twins game so not really hungry for an early dinner!

run around the lake in AL w Erl n T. couple swims for T.

morning lap at CCL w Erl. not v peppy but got it done.

Event: Battle of Berryman 25/50
 

Battle of Berryman race, 2 loops of Berryman Trail.

i was aiming for under 6hrs, i've ridden close to that a couple times so figured this would be a good shot. 1st lap in 2:54ish, and i felt pretty good about it. started the 2nd lap and still felt good, then around the 4hr mark the wheels slowly starting coming off the bus and i went from 2nd chick to 4th. the last 8 miles were not fun. i chose to keep my rigid fork on, thinking that "i did 4 laps rigid in January so 2 will be EZ". well those 4 laps in January were cruisy pace. this time i was pushing the downs and just got beat up! so really sore hands and overheated too, combined for 4 hours of fun and 2:24 of character building.

C • Sounds a bit like my day 1

hawt run. yeah.

EZ run to the grocery store. hot but not too bad.

steamy solo run in FP after work.

morning run w Erl at CCL. we're in a heat wave in STL but the early hour wasn't too bad. good chat.

ACI - Tulsa Tough - Tulsa, OK (6hrs)

Event: Nomad
 

EZ run w Erl in FP after work. sick last 2 days and trying to shake it off.

2nd time sick in last 3 weeks...heeding the call to take an EZ weekend.

outside. not as warm today so i got cold and got out. loving the water tho.

outdoor LCM pool opened really close to my jobsite. score. I really enjoy swimming and even remembered how to do a flip turn. and fly. yay!

100 free
400 pull paddles/buoy
100 free w backstroke mixed in
2x200 pull paddles/buoy
100 free w breaststroke mixed in
4x100 pull paddles/buoy
100 free w butterfly mixed in

didn't even look at the clock the whole time. kept things EZ, recovery-y, and floppy.

Event: Dirty Kanza 200
 

Event: Wild Knoxville
 

ACI - Tour de Cure - Alton, IL (1hr)

DK200! my second visit to the Flint Hills. w Erl this time! and my bro again as crew. beautiful day but a gnarly wind out of the northwest made for some tough going. kinda lost racing mojo throughout the day. overheated a bit. just toughed it out for the finish. got to ride w Erl last 100 miles as he had flat tire trouble earlier in the day. and we were joined by Mr. Sona for the last 30 which was fun (he had a major puking stop around mile 100). so in the end it was a hard/disappointing day that was made better by the incredible scenery and amazing people.

car accident.

late evening run w Erl n T to the grocery store. beautiful sunset!