I'd Rather Be Mountain Biking...

End of Feb

2011-02-25T21:33:00.003-05:00

Not too much has happened since Red Top Rumble..we spent the majority of the month stressing out over whether or not we'd ever be able to close on the new house since our lender couldn't seem to file paperwork over the course of almost two months, and every two day extension of the contract created an extra three days of paperwork. We are FINALLY supposed to close on this coming Monday.

I have (hopefully) my final obligation as a civil engineer this weekend at a Technical Conference that I helped plan. Such a let down to see that it will be 73 degrees on Sunday and I'll be stuck inside. The Conference is at Winshape Retreat in Rome, which I hear is beautiful so maybe I'll sneak out early for some runs..

Speaking of which, my body seems to have a hard time with being a "runner". My knee is a bit aggravated, and seems to feel better after I do a long ride, but then I'm tired for the next run and it is a viscious cycle. My first bike "race" this year is the Cohutta 65 and my training is going to consist of one long SS ride each week. We'll see how far that takes me, as I'm too eager to get started on new house projects than ride my bike at the moment. I figure if I go into the event with the "I don't give a damn" attitude, then I'll probably actually do much better.

Next weekend there is a local 5k that I figured I'd do as part of my tempo run workout for the day...it was not well publicized, so it will probably be me against the Cherokee High Cross Country Team..probably not the best odds. After that is Frogtown backwards and then a break until the Cohutta 65.

The Dirty Duathlon race is filling up nicely and we'll have some other events this fall that we will be excited to announce in the coming weeks!

Red Top Rumble 11.5 Mile Trail Run

2011-02-06T20:39:00.003-05:00

I was one of the lucky 300 racers who got into the Red Top Rumble before the race filled up in 24 hours, so that is where I spent Sunday morning. I didn't really have a strategy...go hard, go fast, maybe win?? I've been working on my running, though I have been following a 5k training plan, so I figured I might have a case of early race speed that fades at the end.

The start was surprisingly pleasnant. We started off at about 6:15 pace, though it was downhill so it felt pretty easy. The first 3.5 miles were on the gently rolling Iron Hill trail, which I know well and knew I could pretty easily run 6:45 pace. By the end of that section I only had 3 guys in front of me, which I totally did not expect (figured there would be way more in front of me), and I averaged 6:30 pace..right on target, though I could see a couple of ladies behind me in the switchbacks.

Once off the Iron Hill trail, the climbs started...lots of them as we went around the Homestead Trail. At about the 5 mile mark, I entered the Homestead Loop and still saw two women about 20 seconds back. I tried to push up the hills and hammer the downhills. At about 8 miles, the gap was still about the same, but now there was only one woman chasing me. I'll admit, I wasn't super confident since my longest run is 7-8 miles and I knew it would take a really good day for me to not slow down to some degree over the last three miles.

And I did..the climbs started to take their toll and over the next two miles, my chaser was able to close the gap. She passed me with about a mile to go. I chased on the downhill, but just couldn't stay with her on the final long climbs. Eating some Gels during the race may have helped..if I could have just maintained the gap, I might have been able to hang on to the end. I was tired though, and just couldn't turn my legs over fast enough. The race was one mile too long and I had to settle for second.

On the upside, I beat the fastest previous winning times by almost 2 minutes and I ran faster than I thought I would. My average pace was faster than my goal and I believe I was 7th overall, which is quite a feat considering this was a road runners course (meaning non-technical).

I think I may stick with running and might up my mileage a bit so I don't fade quite as much at longer events. I'm still debating running the Frogtown course backwards in March, but I haven't convinced myself that I want to run through a mile-long, likely near freezing creek section.

December/January Recap

2011-01-23T20:03:00.002-05:00

I've had several folks wondering when I'm going to update my blog, so here goes. We spent the second half of December up in Chicago visiting family and believe it or not, the weather was actually better up there than it was in Atlanta when we returned.

Before we headed up there, I was out riding around and saw that my "dream home" in the area was up for sale again...and this time it was a foreclosure, so it was actually within the realm of possibility. So after much hmming and hawing and lots of hours with lenders, inspectors, and realtors, we have a contract on this house.

This home is on 3.2 acres and most importantly, it is the same distance to the trails as our current home. It is also about a 3-4 minute walk from the front door to this waterfall.

Needless to say, with an impending move, I've been pretty busy with cleaning up our current house and countless trips to Goodwill and incessant Craigslist posting in an attempt to get rid of at least 50% of the 15 years worth of crap that is taking up the majority of our current basement.

At the beginning of January, I officially quit my engineering job to stay home with Jayden. Everyone is right...they grow up way too fast and I'd never forgive myself if I didn't spend these first few years with her as much as possible.

Training has been few and far between because I haven't really been motivated, mostly due to the weather (an entire week of snowy and icy roads) and the fact that I've been busy with the Dirty Duathlon planning, Jayden, and lots of cleaning and little tasks to get our current home ready for sale.

I did two cyclocross races in January, against my better judgement. The first was after the week of snow, mostly because I was feeling guilty that I didn't do any sort of moderately strenuous activity that week (does lifting boxes count???). The course was a mess and so was I. After not riding any bikes for a while, I don't know why I thought I'd be able to handle my cross bike in the mud. Ugly. Ugly. Ugly.

After falling down and countless foot dab saves, I told myself I would get out and ride my cross bike before the State Championship race the following weekend. Never happened, shame on me.

I woke up with a headache and upset stomach, debated skipping the State Champs, but figured I'd regret it if I didn't go. After an extra hour of rolling around in bed, I finally got everything packed up (minus my spiked bike shoes which would have come in handy...) and we headed to Rome.

So again, by the time we race, we get another slick course that I just couldn't seem to get in the groove on. I got tangled up with a rider in front of me early in the race, had a slow recovery, and it just went downhill from there. There was even a great run up that I couldn't take advantage of since my shoes were sliding all around. Super poop. I somehow managed to hang onto 3rd place, but it was not pretty. I think the jersey I wore is cursed!

So that is the only exciting news thus far in 2011. I've been going to the pool with Jayden, so I think that is what I'm going to keep doing until the sun starts shining again, the temps get above 50 and all the mud goes away.

Chris and I are running in the Red Top Rumble in two weeks. I can't say I'm in as good of running shape as I'd hoped, but I am in better running shape than I've ever been in the past, so I guess that is a positive. We'll see how it goes...

Recovery Week Here I Come!

2010-11-27T20:46:00.003-05:00

Well, I made it through three weeks of running specific training and am still vertical. I only have to run three days a week, but they are hard runs, especially the track workout. I'm seeing huge gains right now, which will unfortunately start getting smaller and smaller as I get faster. I'm in the low 19's for 5k, but really would like to be around 18:30. I seem to be retarded when it comes to running really fast, so I'm not sure I could ever consistently run BELOW a 6 minute mile pace for any great distance. I guess time will tell...

Chris and I were lucky enough to get a spot in the already sold out Red Top Rumble, so at least I have a running race to look forward to in February. My goal is 1:25 or better for the 11.5 mile course. That equates to a 7:23 pace, which over a short distance is easy, but add in some large hills and the extra distance and it becomes quite a challenge. I do my long tempo runs at Red Top Mtn anyways, so I may start doing them on the race course to see what average pace I can maintain.

Running in Progress

2010-11-15T10:56:00.001-05:00

So I bit the bullet and bought my first pair of racing flats the other day. I figured they would be better on the track than my knobby Inov-8 X-Talon shoes. I'm following an actual running training plan (gasp!) and it is awesome because it tells me how far, what pace, etc. So I really feel like I'm training with a purpose. The paces are pretty high, as it is the "Run Less, Run Faster" plan, but I can already see a huge improvement. I started a couple of weeks ago with enough running fitness to do a 20 minute 5K. After just 3 weeks, at that same perceived exertion level, I can take about 30 seconds off of that, maybe more. The best part is that I can COMFORTABLY run 6:30 pace, which before was pushing me pretty hard. It is amazing how much easier running is becoming, so I'm anxious to see where I'm at at the end of the 16 week training plan.

Marietta Cyclocross

2010-11-07T20:58:00.002-05:00

Whew, fun day at Jim Miller Park. If last week wasn't bad enough with a three way battle for 2nd place, this week was a four way battle between Kim S., Amanda, Rebecca G. and I.

I got a good start and tried to mount an early attack through the chicane of ditches, but I took it too agressively and clipped my pedal in the grass - ok, yes I had it leaned a bit too much. I recovered, but was off my line and had to slow down so that attack failed. For the next 2.5 laps, I led my 3 chasers around the course which was both good and bad. I could ease up when I wanted, speed up when I wanted, but they were also drafting off me. I tried to keep the pace steady and hoped at least one of them would pop. I didn't want to mount an attack against a group that large as I figured there were too many of them to launch counter attacks while I was tired. Plus I just didn't have much more horsepower than what my legs were producing. I tried to push it up the run up, but never seemed to be able to shake my chasers for very long. The flattish nature of the course made it hard to get away and I'm not very good at launching attacks anywhere that isn't uphill or technical...and there wasn't a whole lot of that today. I need some lessons in being a roadie!

On the final lap, I sat up on the flat paved section, hoping someone would take the lead so I could draft. Rebecca and Kim went and I hopped on their wheel. I think this was a mistake because Rebecca led through the ditch chicane, which really slowed Kim and I down, but we couldn't pass. I passed Kim after the barriers, then passed Rebecca before the hill climb. I kept the pace high enough so that it would have been really tough for the others to pass up the climb. I figured the run up was my best bet to gain a small gap.

When I hit the run up, I ran as hard as I could, which worked well to put a bit of distance between myself and two of the chasing pack, but I could not shake Rebecca. She was right on me down into the field. I tried to hold her off but she was able to power by on the final finishing straight and cross the line first by a couple of seconds. Argh! So close! So I had to settle for 3rd for the day, but could have easily been 5th considering how strong everyone was riding.

I'm now taking a little break from cross until the season finale and State Championship in January. It has been so hard to train while racing every weekend, and I'd like to ride my bike more than 3 hours a week. I've also been doing some running specific training which I've been slowly easing into. The nice part about the running training is that the total running time is 3 hours or less a week, but the runs are hard enough to make you get faster...and fast. I've already seen an improvement from doing just a couple of runs on the track.

How to increase male attendance at CX races...

2010-11-04T11:35:00.004-04:00

This photo was taken by Todd Kaminski at the Life College Halloween CX Race. Thankfully I did not have any wardrobe malfunctions while wearing this outfit, and the skirt did not get caught on my saddle on the dismounts...

I CAN say that I've seen more photos taken of me in this race than any other...perhaps we need to rethink the OutSpokin' team kits for next year! I know us ladies could rock the school girl skirt!

Orienteering, Cyclocross and Halloween

2010-10-31T21:08:00.002-04:00

Busy weekend at the Randall house... Saturday morning and afternoon was spent doing yardwork and then Chris and I headed down to Cochran Mill Park for GAOC's annual Night Orienteering Meet. You basically eat a bunch of food at a pot luck dinner, then get to run around in the woods in the dark. This year we did not get our maps until the race started so of course I just took off running like a fool without really strategizing. Since I can run faster now, I got pretty far too! I skipped some early points, thinking they were too far out but then ended up finishing with 15 mintues still left on the clock. I missed a point that I should have gotten because I didn't see it on the map and I must have run right by another, as I had to make a special out-and-back trip to get it. I also chose a route on a flat section that took me through some mangrove-style/cane field nastiness that really slowed me down for a few minutes. There was a lot of trail running on the remainder of the course, so I got in a good speed workout.

I did a track workout this week and it seems like it is already helping. Me likey!

Sunday we headed to Life College for the Cyclocross race. Since it was Halloween, several people dressed up in costumes and I couldn't resist wearing my naughty school girl costume. The course was actually a cyclocross course this time, so that was kind of nice...I wasn't in the mood for riding a mountain bike. We had a record turnout...14 girls in the Women's A race!

I had a good start but had to let a few girls pass me early on as I wasn't interested in red-lining it up the initial climbs. Kim F. rode off by herself as usual. By the end of the first full lap, I was back up with those who passed me and we rode together for much of the race. I was feeling ok and wasn't at max effort, so I slowly picked them off one by one, focusing my efforts on the climbs on the second half of the course. I managed to get a small gap after maybe the 3rd or 4th lap, but then blew it by laying my bike down in one of the gravel corners. I recovered quickly, but lost my 15 seconds and Kim S. and Amanda were right back on me and we stayed pretty close together for another lap or two. On our two-to-go lap, the Men's B leader passed us, which meant we would finish on that lap..or so we thought. Kim made sure Amanda and I knew we were on our last lap. Amanda attacked after one of the gravel corners, but Kim and I countered on the steep grunty climbs and got a small gap on her. Kim and I hit the final run-up climb nearly neck and neck. I dug deep on the run and managed to get a small gap. Another trip to the pain cave up the next little climb sent me to the top, around the corner, down the hill, and around the 90 degree right hander across the bridge to the finish, safely in second place... or so I thought. I heard conflicting messages from the timing folks...one said "you're done" another said "one to go". I knew we SHOULD have been done (and in every other cross race I've done, there has never been any confusion), so I just coasted down the hill into the grass by the pond. About 10 seconds later, Kim rolls up next to me and says were still racing! Super shit!

I was very pissed at that point because I felt like I had completely blown my wad on the last lap...surely I couldn't do that again. So it was game on again, with Kim and Amanda back on my heels. No one really attacked, though I tried to keep the pace high to make sure no one caught us from behind. Kim and I broke away through the climbs and as we were side by side going into the final run up, because of the scoring mix up, she said she was not going to try to pass, and that she just wanted to make sure we stayed ahead of Amanda. I thought that was really classy and saved us from likely taking each other out jockeying for position into the final corner before the finish. Not wanting Amanda to come anywhere close to catching us, I dug deep again on that final run up which got me my usual few second gap over the top, then pushed it up the next climb and on down to the finish. Kim rolled through a few seconds later, followed by Amanda. Ugh..what a nail biter!

Thankfully the race finish order was the same as on the previous lap, so everyone was happy with that. One thing I did not like about the course was the 90 degree, downhill, in loose gravel, essentially one-lane, turn going across the bridge right before the finish. That basically prevented a sprint finish as the first person across the bridge would most likely hit the finish first. If the three of us were still together at that turn it would have been utter mayhem as I know I would have taken a risky line and attempted a dangerous pass if it meant the difference between 2nd and 4th place.

Later that evening it was Trick-or-Treating with Jayden. She dressed up as a monkey..everyone thought she was a boy and we got tired of correcting them. Ugh. Next year she'll wear a costume that is a dress and maybe by then she'll have some hair. By the end of Trick-or-Treating, she did figure out that the candy goes in the bag and she was putting it in there on her own. Too cute! Hopefully I'll have some pictures to post later.

Georgia State Trail Run Championships

2010-10-25T10:44:00.002-04:00

After a most excellent run at Frogtown, I was really looking forward to the State Trail Run Championships. I'm in better running shape than I have even been, and I figured I had a really good shot at the top 3. The race was at Tribble Mill Park and the promoter was offering up some nice cash prizes to draw in some competition for us local gals.

As I looked around at the start I saw one girl in a colleigate running uniform...uh oh! I saw another who was dressed as to not attract attention, but her legs gave her away. This was going to hurt!

The start was fast and furious. The collegiate runner took off with the top guys. I did not have any hope of keeping up..her form was beautiful and quick...amazing what happens when you actually train to be a runner! At about a mile in the dressed-as-to-not-attract-attention girl passed me on an uphill section. I couldn't seem to run fast enough on the uphills and had to watch her go. I continued along watching the miles go buy, which really seemed to drag on. At Frogtown, it hurt for a while, but then my body settled in and the suffering was manageable. Today, it never seemed to get better. Somewhere after mile 4 of the 8.5 mile race, another girl came by me. I kept her in sight till about mile 6 but by then my body was starting to implode. I just didn't have any giddy-up on the uphills. There was one longer hill where it seemed like I was almost walking...ugh...and I still had nearly 2 miles to go!

I pushed on the best I could and just hoped no one else caught me. I had to dig deep to drag myself up the final hill just before the finish. I ended up fourth in the open women with a pace of about 7:29/mile. Not horrible for the trail, but not a very good performance. When I finished, Chris reminded me that I was still a bit sick (I had tried to forget/ignore that fact before the race, since I didn't want to go into the race thinking I couldn't do well) so that may have been why my perceived exertion was so much higher than usual. The best I think I could have done 100% healthy was third, as the first two girls were phenominal runners.

I was totally wiped out after the race...sleepier than usual, so maybe all systems weren't 100% a go. I did feel better on Sunday morning so we went to the orienteering meet. That involves a lot of running as well, but it is mostly short bursts of speed with some rest in between...definitely not the same as a trail race. I made some navigational bobbles early on, but still managed to win the advanced course, and it was a beautiful day to be out in the woods!

Georgia Cross #3 - Monteluce

2010-10-17T20:27:00.004-04:00

Last year's course at Monteluce was very much a mountain bike course. Word on the street this year was that they reworked the course to make it more cross bike friendly and they took out the big run-up at the end...

...so they added some pavement and really only relocated the big run-up to near the middle of the lap. The rest of the course was even sketichier than last year with lots of shorter downhill sections that ended in 90 degree turns in loose gravel. Before we arrived, I had feared that it would be a total roadie course (after some complaints last year), but was relieved to see that they had not one, but TWO run-ups.

I had both my cross bike and my S-works full suspension MTB. I had planned to bring my IF hardtail MTB instead, but Chris was not finished converting it back to a geared bike yet. Apparently he gave my shiters to SOMEBODY (who shall remain nameless, but will know who they are once they read this blog..) so we are scouring the house trying to find another set that Chris swears we have, but I'm pretty sure they are imaginary shifters.

I chose to ride the MTB because I knew that the uphills would hurt on either bike, so I wanted to at least have some fun on the descents to offset some of the pain and suffering elsewhere. I'd lose a bit of time on the paved and flat sections, but my morale would be much improved, and isn't racing 80% mental? Plus, now I don't have sore wrists from the full-on jackhammering I would have endured racing on 50 psi skinny tires.

I got a good start and jumped behind Kim F., who as usual, took off like a rocket. I was able to stay pretty close to her going up the first run-up, but once she hit some smoother grass, she started pulling away pretty quickly. I had a small gap behind me, but I hadn't hit the paved climb yet. I figured if I could hold off the cross bikes on the pavement, I had a good shot at 2nd. No one ever caught me as I pushed it pretty hard on the paved climb and then on the next grassy climb up to the start/finish. On the subsequent laps, Kim pulled further away from me and I pulled further away from those behind me.

The long run up was the most painful part of the lap. Even if you are a good runner, it is still uber-hard work to push your bike up a hill that has 4 inch deep gravel scattered all over it, especially with a heartrate already at 170. I managed to trot up the long run up each lap, but then couldn't remount my bike gracefully at the top becauase I forgot to lower my saddle and it was off camber. Argh! Right where Chris was standing too...at least he didn't say anything about my poor technique. The second run-up was actually pretty easy because it was short and I could just power through it.

On my second to last lap, I could see the lead B guys closing in on me. Whoo hoo!! If they lap me I won't have to do another lap and run up that damn hill again. Of course, they didn't close the gap quick enough, and I have too much pride to slow down that much, so I just squeaked through the finish for one more lap. I wasn't super motivated on my final lap, as I knew all my chasers would not be going out for another lap. There were a handful of guys around, so that ensured that I didn't lolly-gag too much. Carrots to chase..carrots to chase.

So in the end I secured second place, my first cross bike race on a full suspension mountain bike. Hopefully the last one I will have to do on that bike too!

Next weekend is the Georgia State Trail Run Championships at Tribble Mill Park. I'm in good running shape right now, but there's no telling who may come out of the woodwork and make an appeaerance. I hope I don't get too schooled by any 15 year old girl cross country runners.

Restful Weekend

2010-10-10T22:24:00.002-04:00

Well, sort of. I was still a bit sore and fatigued on Wednesday from the previous weekend's activities. On Wednesday, I went on a short singlespeed ride with Kim - not a big deal, but then Thursday I went for a run at lunch and figured it sounded like a good idea to do a plyometrics DVD in the evening. Chris has been doing these P90X workouts and has been whining about how worked over he feels. Being a glutton for punishment, I figured that sounded pretty good - I'm not sure where the logic is there, but then that's just me.

Anyways, on Friday I wasn't sore so I assumed I was just too strong for Chris's workout DVD's to affect me (HA!). To celebrate how strong I was, later that afternoon I dragged 60 lbs of Jayden, her Chariot, and her gear around on my singlespeed for an hour and a half. No worries, Saturday was a rest day.

So I wake up on my rest day in a world of hurt. Ugh..REALLY sore adductors and my left calf felt like I had a baseball implanted in it. I figured a walk would do me some good, so I took Jayden to Boling Park where she actually walked a quarter mile of the jogging path. I told everyone we were "training" for Trick or Treating..
She could probably easily walk an entire mile if she didn't have a 5 second attention span. It takes a while to cover ground though when you have to stop every 25 feet to pick up rocks, climb on a bench, or check out a trash can. Once her pants were thoroughly soaked from the wet grass and covered in dirt from sitting on the walking path, I put her in the Chariot and walked a couple of miles with her...slowly.

I wasn't really optimistic about how I'd feel on Sunday, but we packed for the cross race just in case I woke up feeling refreshed and recovered. Fat chance..come morning, I was still pretty sore, but what was the worst was the thought of spending 5 hours in the car for a 45 minute race that I'd only felt so-so at. Not to mention my daughter's 5 second attention span does not bode well for long car trips...So we bagged the race and just hung around at home instead. I did take Jayden on another hour and a half bike ride, which is actually quite a good workout. It is not easy to drag that Chariot through gravel. Not quite a cross race, but I'm not sure I needed that so soon after last weekend. Next weekend should be a go though. The venue is only an hour away in Dahlonega, so barring any unforeseen illnesses, we should be up there.

Double Header

2010-10-02T22:11:00.003-04:00

Let me preface this by saying "kids, don't try this at home.."

The day started before dawn, getting Jayden to the sitter and then over to the Frogtown 10 mile trail run. Frogtown is definintely my favorite running event because it includes obstacles such as ditch crossings, log crossings, a cargo net, creek running, ropes up embankments as well as a lot of off-trail running. What makes it different from weekend-warrior friendly races like the Warrior Dash and Muddy Buddy is the fact that the obstacles are spaced out and you need a decent level of fitness to complete the ten mile course in a respectable time. Last year I finished in 1:40, which sounds terrible for a 10.3 mile race, but I was in the top 20 overall finishers with that time. My goal for this year was somewhere in the 1:35 range.

The starts were staggered this year, but you had to self-assort yourself. "If you think you're fast, then start in the first group." Being confident I was in better shape than last year, I stepped on up. I looked around at my group to see what other women considered themselves fast...always interesting to see who's willing to toe the line with the big dogs. I recognized a lot of fast guys in my group, so I braced myself for a quick start.

When we were finally off, the start was actually more mellow than I expected. I was in the top 5 through the first ditches. I stayed pretty close to the leaders through the first mile, so figured I was pushing a faster pace than last year. No other women around either so that was comforting. Two guys passed me when we hit the first huge, straight-up hill, but then I didn't see anyone for a while. I felt like I was running well, and no one was catching me from behind, so that was also a good sign. I hit the creek run section earlier than I expected and managed to pass two guys that were faster runners than me, but just weren't as nimble on the technical creek bed. As the creek narrowed, it got deeper and I managed to find a huge hole to step...well, actually fall in that resulted in a 3/4 body submersion. Ughhhhh..COOOLLLLDDD!

I hit the seven mile mark right at one hour. Now I was pretty confident I could finish in 1:35 or less. The big climbs hurt but I could always push it once the ground flattened out near the top. By this time last year I was running on fumes. This year I was looking for my next victim. The final 3.3 miles are very hilly and seem to go on forever, especially if you are feeling tired. This year I knew what to expect, so the big climbs at the end didn't seem as bad. I hit the flats coming into the finish at 1:26. Holy $hit!! I took off, looked over my shoulder for anyone else with boobs or a ponytail, breathed a sigh of relief when I didn't see any, and crossed the finish line in 1:29. I was VERY happy with this result, as it is a huge improvement over last year and I'm pretty sure it landed me in the top 10 overall or pretty close to it. The next female was at least 4-5 minutes back so I definitely got the job done today.

Elated from my victory, and not feeling too run down or sore, I figured "Hey, lets go to the cross race too!" Ok, please stop me before I ever do that again... My legs felt ok and I had a good start and was swapping the lead for the first 1.5 laps, but then I dropped my chain and couldn't get the damn thing back on. I have this nifty gadget called a "chain keeper". It is supposed to keep the chain ON. It did not do its job today for some reason, and while it supposedly keeps the chain from falling off the bike, it also prevents a tired, frazzled racer from being able to put it back on very quickly. When I did get it on, I got my gloves caught between the chainrings and chain...Argh! How freaking stressful! The leaders got away and after about a minute of me fighting with my bike, the rest of the pack started coming by. I'm actively cussing at my bike at this point and about two seconds from stomping on the ground and kicking the damn thing. I FINALLY get the chain back on and am rolling again, but have lost nearly two minutes and am now somewhere mid-pack.

After some initial grumpiness and thoughts of wanting to just quit, I got back into the groove and figured I should see what kind of damage control I could do. I had to work a bit to bridge back up to Elizabeth, and once I caught and passed her, I figured I'd see if I could catch Becca. I knew Kim and Loretta were long gone and there was no way I'd be able to catch them with my tired legs. I managed to bridge up to Becca, but my legs had pretty much used up all their glycogen and I could feel myself starting to implode. I passed her and just kept on at the same pace until she eventually disappeared. Chris said she got lapped, but I didn't think the guys were that close behind us. I had to go out for a fifth lap, which was pure torture as I started to feel twinges of cramps coming on, so I slowed considerably and was just in self-preservation mode. I hit a hidden hole in the grass about 100 yards from the finish and nearly crashed...hand flew off the handlebar, crotch landed on the toptube, foot out of the pedal..how I stayed upright I don't know... The sudden impact caused my leg to cramp up, so I softpedaled through the finish, thankful to be able to get off my bike. Who knew riding a bike through grass could be so damn hard!

In the end, I managed to work back up to third place, which I was happy with given the circumstances. Now I need to do some serious rolling on my legs to get all lactic acid out so I can actually survive a MTB ride tomorrow morning. At least next weekend I have work obligations on Friday-Saturday, so I should hopefully come into the next cross race a lot more rested. Maybe then it won't hurt so much..here's to hoping : )

Georgia State Singlespeed Race/Ride

2010-09-25T20:49:00.002-04:00

My posts have been few and far between lately as I haven't been doing much...I got much sicker after my 8 hours of TNGA and spent the next week trying to shake whatever bug I had. The next week was just some easy runs and rides as I was still not feeling great, but was tired of sitting around feeling sorry for myself. I actually was feeling so sorry for myself, that I had to read "Touching the Void" again, so that I might be able to pull myself out of the pity pot. Of course it worked - reading about how much pain and suffering Joe Simpson went through to stay alive made my fatigue, fever, and rotten sore throat seem pretty damn insignificant.

So by Wednesday I figured I was ready for a CX practice, which I smartly went to after doing a 5 mile run and boy did I feel it in my legs. It was the first time that I had touched my CX bike since last season, and I was pretty much a mess on the practice course. I didn't know what the hell to do with all the gears I had, forgot that I had nifty top mount brake levers, was quickly reminded that I was NOT riding a 29er MTB when I nearly ate shit in almost every loose corner, and best of all my legs had zero interest in generating the instantaneous power required for quick accelerations. Lots of work to do before the first CX race, which I have the Frogtown 10 mile trail run right before, so I may have to sit the first race out if I'm completely destroyed from the run.

So that leads us to today...a little ride/race put together to replace the Georgia State Singlespeed Championships that didn't happen this year. Since this was a no entry fee - no restrictions type of event, out of staters could compete for the title (which wasn't official, but who cares right?) With that Ursula and Carey showed up representing AL and TN respectively. I thought I had made a wise gear selection with a 32-21, but soon learned that both Carey and Ursula were running 22's. Damn...they always one-up me! I knew there was a good bit of steep climbing and knowing that those two already mountain goat climbers would have it just a little bit easier was unnerving.

We started on the road in front of Mulberry Gap, heading towards Shakerag Rd and Gates Chapel towards the road that leads to the lower Bear Creek parking area. I felt ok on the initial climb but got stuck behind a fixed gear rider on the descent, was too afraid to cross the deep gravel in the middle of the road at high speed, and had to hit my brakes and watch 4-5 people come whizzing by. Grrr... Once I hit Shakerag, my legs were already revolting from all the fast spinning. Ursula passed me, Bruce passed me...things were not looking good. I kept my heartrate in check and just rode my own speed which kept Ursula and Bruce within sight.

Once we hit the Bear Creek singletrack, I cleaned the creek crossing, passed Ursula and Bruce, then promptly chose a bad line around the first switchback and had to get off my bike. I ran a bit, right next to Ursula then jumped on my bike and powered through the next steep bit. It was pretty miserable and hard, but it got me a gap so it was energy well spent. It seemed like that hard effort blew all the crap out of my legs because I seemed to feel a good bit better after that. I continued to climb, never seeing anyone in front of or behind me, so that was kind of comforting. I hit the Bear Creek descent which was bone dry and lighting fast. Somewhere along the way my clif bloks and fruit roll up flew out of my moutain feed bag, so that kind of sucked.

Pinhoti 1 was tough, but I knew I usually ride it with a 19, so I told myself that I had it easy today. The miles went by pretty fast and soon enough I was at Pinhoti 2..still no one in sight in front or behind me. Right after I hit the downhill singletrack on P2, I heard a "ping" noise and my front break lever went completely limp. Not loosing pressure limp..the pin had fallen out of the lever and it was now completely useless limp. Always some sort of adversity...I looked at Jayden's picture on my bike and laughed. I figured I lived through Fools Gold and I still had one completely functional brake and the trails were dry today, so no worries. I was riding conservatively but I guess picked up a bit too much speed on one of the steeper downhill straightaways that has a turn at the bottom. As I hit my rear brake, the back wheel started skidding like crazy on the pinestraw. I had two options at that point..1 - continue my skid trajectory and hit very large tree on outside of turn or 2 - continue straight, run off trail into woods and take chances. I chose option 2 which wasn't too bad until I had to hop a small log about 6 inches off the ground, at relatively high speed. Somehow I escaped unscathed and got myself back on the trail. Ok, ride MORE conservatively!

I made it down to the road, pushed my bike up the wall and had to basically tip-toe my way down the next steep, downhill section. Thankfully there were flatter sections between the steeper pitches where I could scrub speed without skidding. The worst was a steep gravel path right near the Finish line. I started down at nearly no speed, but was slightly out of control by the bottom...thankfully there was nothing except pavement down there to run it out on...well, that and a lot of witnesses that would probably heckle me if I crashed in such a stupid place.

Just a bit more and I was back around at the finish. I managed to hold onto second, but Ursula was not far behind. Carey took the crown as expected, and was awarded a homemade chainring-bling necklace. My race wasn't stellar, but it definitely got better as the going got tougher and my legs got warmed up. I'm sure it was a shock to my system to do any extended intensity since I've been having to take it pretty easy this month.

Tomorrow is an Orienteering race on foot, and next weekend the Frogtown 10 mile trail race. I think I'm actually in better running shape at the moment, so hopefully Frogtown will go well.

TNGA Sections 1 and 2

2010-09-06T08:32:00.007-04:00

So rewind to about a week and a half ago... I arrive at my daughters school to drop her off and there is a big sign on the door of her classroom. "We have a confirmed case of strep throat in this room". Ugh...Seriously??? Another case of strep throat? One of the toughest parts for me of being a new parent is the constant onslaught of bacteria and viruses that Jayden is exposed to. Not only does she get sick, but it is nearly impossible to prevent the spread of germs to mom and dad.

So the Sunday a week before the race Chris says he is feeling like he's getting sick and Jayden gets a fever and is lying on the floor wailing away, miserable, and me feeling completely helpless. We give J some tylenol, which helps tremendously, and she goes to bed to sleep off her illness. Monday morning she doesn't have a fever, and she seems perky so I take her to school. I had a super busy week at work, so staying home with her would have been tough to do. When I arrive, her teacher sounds like hell and could barely speak. Fantastic.

Monday night Chris suggests we should make out...so he passes me his germs, and I fight them off by the weekend. I should have taken him up on the offer but instead I said to stay away.

Jayden continues to have mild cold symptoms all week but I'm still good till Thursday night. I wake up Friday morning with a sore throat and slight fever...NOOOOOO!!! I had already bought all my food and gear for TNGA, taken Friday off to pack, so I got everything ready and figured I had to at least TRY to give it a go. Chris was only sick for a day, so I thought if I rested well on Friday I might have a chance of riding through it.

I felt pretty good Saturday morning so I was optimistic. We arrived at the SC border and rolled out about 8:30 am. The first four hours were pretty good. I felt ok riding at just a moderate pace. I lost about a half an hour on the way to Dillard as I didn't have a bike computer (thought my map and cue sheet would be enough) but I made a wrong turn that cost me a lot of extra elevation gain. Since I didn't have a computer, I thought a minor intersection was one I had to turn at, and ended up going down a big hill just to have to come right back up. Grrr... I wished I had gotten a chance to preride this section, as then I wouldn't have wasted that time and energy. The riding itself was pretty difficult and not terribly fun...lots of steep climbing and the descents were challenging in deep, loose gravel.

I hit 441 and waved to my boss who just happened to be up there camping for the weekend. How cool is that? To have a boss that would sit in the car for 3 hours just to watch me ride by as say "whoo hooo!". She's a keeper..

Anyways, after Dillard there was some pavement and a big climb up to Patterson Gap. That road was pretty crappy...big loose gravel, steep climbs, and a bunch of hunters with dogs doing some sort of organized hunt. Lots of traffic. When I hit FS32C, it got even worse...big RR track size gravel that was freshly dumped and hills that were straight up. I won't lie, I pushed the bike some here. I was starting to feel "feverish" and I noticed that I had a slight wheeze going on. By the time I hit 76, I was not feeling too good. My legs were fine but the fever felt like it was getting worse and I had started having to cough every so often. I was at about 8 hours in and already deteriorating. I had estimated 56 hours finishing time, so given my current state, the likelyhood of finishing was pretty low and I would only run my body down more if I kept going. I had raced for 24 hours in January with similar symptoms and ended up with pneumonia, which wiped me out for two weeks, and I didn't want a repeat of that.

I decided I would call Chris from Mocassin Creek State Park and have him pick me up there, since he was waiting in Helen. It was definitely the right decision, but watching the race now from the sidelines, I can't help but wish just a little bit that I was still out there. My strength lies in knowing that I have completed 2-3 day races before with little to no sleep and I already know how to fuel for those types of events. I'm already thinking about next year, wondering if the timing will be better.

Now it appears to be a three-man race, which is exactly what I expected. It also looks like none of those guys will finish in my expected 56 hour finish time, so I may have been out there longer..or maybe not...who knows...

Chris said I could always do the race again on my own, as an ITT, when I'm 100% healthy, but then I don't know if I have the drive to do such a long and painful endeavor if I don't get some sort of bragging rights. That makes me sound terrible, but knowing that people are watching is a huge motivator for me. Next year perhaps? At least now I've pre-ridden the first section!

Whole lotta restin' goin' on

2010-08-30T10:13:00.002-04:00

After the Fools Gold, I felt like I needed to give my body a really good rest if I want to have a chance at finishing TNGA. Even though I almost felt like I didn't really "race" at Fools Gold, due to all the mud and mechanical issues, I'm sure it still took a lot out of me. The last thing I want to do is go into a 3 day ride with any nagging aches and pains so I'm resting up as much as possible. Didn't get on my bike this past weekend, though went for a run Saturday morning and then a hike with Jayden and Chris at Red Top Mtn State Park on Sunday. This week I need to do a lot of work and get all my gear organized for TNGA. Let the packing begin...

Fools Gold 50

2010-08-21T22:29:00.008-04:00

Wow, what a day! I've ridden some muddy races and beat the hell out of my equipment pretty good at times, but today takes the cake. As we lined up for the start, Eddie told us the trails were muddy, but I had no idea what I was in for. I was thinking mushy with a puddle here and there, not peanut butter and baby poop quagmire with intermittent lakes and rivers along the trail.

The rain held off until we started up the gravel road climb to Cooper Gap. I was feeling pretty good, and was happy with my decision to put a 21 on my singlespeed for this race. There was a KOM at Cooper Gap, but I wasn't really concerned with it, as I knew I needed to just race my own race. I was moving along pretty well and a little ways up the climb, Jamie passed me. She never got out of view, and I didn't chase after her. Once the road steepened and I had to get on the gas to stay on top of my gear, I caught back up to her and passed her. This burst of speed up the steepest part of the road got me to the top first and scored me some free beer (which would later be payment to the hubby for rebuilding my bike).

I rolled along the ridge trying to figure out if it was better to have glasses that I couldn't really see through, but no grit in the eyes, or no glasses and lots of grit. Since I wear contacts I opted for glasses, though it was hard to see a lot of detail on the descents so I rode a bit more cautiously than usual. Somewhere along the ridge, the rain picked up to the deluge level and all of the nasty sweat that has accumulated in my helmet pads all summer started seeping out and running into my eyes. This burned like crazy and I hoped it would stop raining soon. I held Jamie off until Winding Stair Gap, where she passed me as I was clearing my glasses off before the downhill. This time she got away, as I couldn't match her speed on the descent, especially without a big ring. As I made the turn onto Turner Creek, I realized that it was going to be a LONG day, as the trail was mushy slop completely covered in water. It was tenuous and slow. I had a picture of a "muddy" trail in my mind, but it sure didn't look like the current conditions. After the 100 miler racers went through, plus the 50 miler leaders, the trails were pretty much torn to hell. Add not being able to see out your glasses and you have a rockin' good time!

I was happy to get off Turner Creek and back onto the FS Road where I could feel like I was moving fast again. The next section across the Jones Creek Ridge Trail had some grassy red clay areas that were slick as snot. I nearly lost it on a couple of occasions through there, so I was happy once I made it over to Bull Mountain and could do some more gravel road climbing. I actually was enjoying the climbs, as the legs and body were fully functional, so I was really happy about that. About the time I hit the steep uphill singletrack at the top of Bull Mtn, we get another deluge. I had to push a good bit on the steepest parts, but the guys on geared bikes were pushing too, so I didn't feel too bad about it. When I reached the top and began the descent, it was almost comical...Tiny streams that cross the trail were raging torrents, and there was a nice little river flowing down almost the entire length of trail. This river connected a series of mountaintop lakes that were forming on the wider sections of the trail. Some were shallow, some were deep, all were wet and there were A LOT of them. As I rode through hub deep puddles, I thought to myself..."I'm glad I'm on a singlespeed so my drivetrain can't crap out on me..." As I worked my way down, moving along pretty well, my brake pads (which were by no means new) had worn down to pretty much nothing. Getting down a sloppy and wet Bull Mtn with dying brakes was quite a feat. I had to keep my speed pretty moderate as I couldn't stop quickly, and I really wasn't up for eating shit.

When I got back to the Sag stop, I refueled and made an assessment of my current situation as I rode out on the FS road. Ok...about 20 miles left, a good bit of which was sloppy singletrack with little to no brakes. My body and legs felt good and I was in no danger of DNF'ing due to a body malfunction, so I decided come hell or high water I was going finish the race. I knew I couldn't attack the descents, I could merely survive them if I was lucky, but I could attack the climbs. My mechanisms for going up were all still a go, so I focused on climbing hard when I had the opportunity and hanging on for dear life on the descents. I quit thinking about Jamie and my other competitors and rather focused my energy on going up and staying under control on the downhills. Now I was just in somewhat of a survival mode.

Each singletrack section that I completed was one step closer to the finish line. I knew if I could just make it back to the FS near the army camp, I could finish. On the way over to Black Branch, I dropped my chain for the first time. You know the conditions are bad when your singlespeed drivetrain starts falling apart. It appeared the EBB crept a bit as I had a lot of sag in my chain. I popped the chain back on, thankful it didn't break (that was my first thought).

I was dreading the Black Branch section the most, as I knew there was a pretty long, steep downhill section. Sure enough, my rear brake completely burned through the backing on this section so it was totally gone. This came at a rather inopportune moment as I was working my way down the steepest section. I couldn't slow down and started picking up speed fast. I was officially out of control. It was here that I had a serious "Oh Shit" moment and just hung on for dear life and hoped I didn't get swallowed up by the mud bog at the bottom of the hill. I dropped the guy behind me big time as I went barrelling down the hill. The next section of climbs I'm ok admitting that I had to run a good bit of - just too slippery and steep to make it up. Whenever I'd get frustrated I'd wipe the mud off the picture of Jayden I'd taped to my toptube and I immediately felt energized. I grinded up the snotty climbs, and after the last out of control descent, opted to run a couple of steep sections. Even then I almost wiped out as my bike got out in front of me and I couldn't even slow down on foot..just too slippery.

I finally made it back to the FS road and now knew I could get my bruised and battered bike to the finish. The Wahsega FS road was pleasant and I was moving well on anything uphill. Over these last seven or so miles, my chain continued to fall off at close intervals...I stopped counting at 7 times because doing so was just starting to frustrate me. For some reason, when I popped out by the army camp and hit FS 28, I had it in my mind that I just had to roll down the hill back to the camp. Nope..within about a quarter mile of downhill I see a volunteer standing in the middle of the road pointing me towards yet another slippery section of singletrack. Argh! I rode until my chain came off AGAIN, then decided to just run it out. There was a section of logs to hurdle and most of it was downhill so I figured I'd be just as fast running than having to stop and constantly put the chain back on. And so I ran my poor battered bike with its flaccid chain dragging down the hill, through the creek, and across the finish line.

Since the 100 mile race was cut short, no one really knew what place I was in. I figured second in the 50 miler. It wasn't until I was on my way to the shower that I saw Jamie come in. I had no idea where I passed her, probably at a sag stop and I didn't even notice, because like I said, I had to focus on just getting my bike through the race and wasn't worried about placing at that point. Finding out I won just made putting up with all that slop a bit more rewarding, and the thought of shelling out a bunch of cash to replace various destroyed parts on my bike a little less irritating.

Despite the chain falling off, my equipment choice was pretty good. My Niner SS worked well and my 32-21 gearing was spot on for the course...wet or dry really. Actually 3 of the 4 girls on the podium in the women's 50 mile race rode singlespeeds...it was just one of those days! My Maxxis Crossmark tires hooked up pretty good, though I think if I had brakes and could ride the downhills agressively, I probably would have wanted something a bit knobbier. I have a feeling if I had just started the day with new pads, I would have been ok. I put a Mountain Feed bag on my bike and for once was able to eat enough food because it was so easily accessible. My eyes are pretty bloodshot and irritated from all the crud, but other than that I'm feeling pretty good, so I'd say it was time and energy well spent - despite the monsterous cleanup effort that will be involved in getting all my gear race ready again.

Next up is TNGA...will likely do a test ride with all my gear next weekend.

Trans-North Georgia on my Mind

2010-08-20T15:17:00.002-04:00

So I've been pondering the TNGA race for a while now, but after buying a new pack and borrowing a SPOT unit, I am coming to terms with the reality of the situation...I might actually have to ride my bike for three+ days straight...ugh. My good sense tells me that I have done little to no physical preparation for this endeavor, though my dumb sense seems to think it will all work out in the end. I'm going in with my longest ride being the Fools Gold 50 this weekend, and I have a pocket full of DNF's at longer events this year, which makes me think I'm in way over my head.

I seem to think that because I was pretty damn strong at the North Georgia Adventure Race, 4 months after popping out a kid and being pregnant for the previous 9 months, that I'm immune to all the problems that affect mere mortals...hunger, fatigue, cramps, bonking, falling asleep while riding, etc. The more I think about it though, I was in pretty damn good shape last year and actually logged more training hours on the bike while toting around a 16 lb basketball than I have this year. I also did a lot of moderate pace base miles, which I have done very little of this year, and it shows. I have been doing well at short events and am running faster than ever, but the wheels seem to come off quickly during the longer stuff. Meh.

My plan for this weekend is to just chill and finish the race. I have pre-ridden the entire course and know I did it in a respectably fast time, and that was without being in the "race on" mindset. I'm riding my singlespeed since I think it will keep me reeled in so I only waste energy going fast up hills, which gives me the biggest bang for my lactic acid producing buck. I'm going in with the "don't give a damn" attitude and perhaps that will work out in my favor. I also outfitted my bike with a mountain feed bag and have frozen bottles ready to go to keep my core temp down, so I don't have a ORAMM repeat. In addition, I will be writing "EAT your fu#king food!!" on my left arm as a constant reminder to consume calories.

Anyways, back to TNGA...while I do have some challenges to overcome, I am in good shape in several other areas - mainly with the acutal route navigation and the ability to suffer over a long period of time. As long as I ride at "Lisa Pace" I know I won't self destruct..at least initially. Also, I know that even if I ride like total shit in TNGA, that if I just finish, I will still likely be in the top 5...and TNGA is really more about personal growth and character building than worrying about placing.

Is it hot in here or is it just me?

2010-07-28T16:03:00.002-04:00

So somehow I managed to get through an entire summer last year of riding while big and pregnant without being a sweaty mess. Now that I'm not pregnant and should be at my peak, I'm a sweating like a pig (do pigs actually sweat?) that can't stay hydrated to save my life.

Case and point...ORAMM.. We prerode the Kitsuma downhill the day before and I was pretty stoked to race the following day. I had a good start, just a bit behind Carey and was feeling good and enjoying the gradual warmup as we rolled out of town. Once we started climbing, I settled into a nice 170 HR and rode behind Carey for a while. About halfway up, I had to let her go to keep my HR in check but was cruising along in second place feeling pretty good. Just before the top of the climb, another fast lady, Paula, came by, which is fine because I knew it was a long race and I certainly wasn't going to chase anyone early on. Did I mention it was close to 100 degrees up there?

The descent was awesome.. I jumped off at a couple sketchy sections, as either line down them was blocked by someone walking slowly. Not only did that save me from potential crashing and injury, but I passed 3-5 guys on each of those sections with my graceful 'run-a-bike' ninja skills. I ran the last bit at gazelle speed and even had one guy say "Damn, nice move!" and I wasn't even on my bike. The rest of the downhill was flowy and fast. I crept up on the guys in front of me and didn't get caught by any of the clusterf*ck behind me. When I hit the bottom of the descent, I was 1:15 in and still feeling good, though it was HOT. I had some gel and drank some water.

The next section up Star Gap is a long switchbacky, low speed climb. I was sweating buckets here and I guess I didn't keep up with the hydration and calories so well because this is where I started to feel really lethargic and lightheaded. I figured I'd recover on my way into the second aid station and then fill up on calories and coke there.

After a quick refuel, I started up Curtis Creek. I felt good for about 10 minutes but then the Coke buzz wore off and I started deteriorating quickly. I was taking in fluids, but I think I had already worked my way into such a deficit that I couldn't replenish the fluids that I lost. By 1/2 way up I was soft pedaling in my small ring just to keep moving. Then the cramps set in...foot cramps and my hip flexors. WTF? Never had my hip flexors cramp before... So by 3/4 way up I'm pretty much dying a slow death and only plodding on because I know there are cold drinks up the road a bit. I keep seeing people riding back down the hill towards me...hmmm...tempting. I don't think I could have possibly rode any slower and not fallen over. It was crazy that I was still holding 3rd place, despite my slower-than-walking-pace riding.

I hit the aid station and decided I'd hang out a while and try to regroup. I sat down on one of the coolers and drank cokes and water and shoved all kinds of food in my face. I think they were wondering when I was going to leave, because I was tearing through their supply of food. After maybe 10-15 mins, a group of ladies pulls in. Andrea asked me if I was going on and I said, "I think I'm going to camp out here." I'm pretty sure they were all happy to hear that. I finally got up, reassesed my condition and found that my cramping was getting worse and I was still lightheaded despite the massive calorie bomb I just swallowed. Fearing getting to the point where I was laying on the side of the road writhing in pain, I decided not to continue and rode back down Curtis Creek. I was bummed because I really wanted to ride the downhills, but considering I cramped up riding back down the forest road, I would have been in bad shape down Heartbreak Ridge. I still felt pretty bad riding easy back into town, so it was probably a good thing I pulled out early.

Back at the finish, and even on the ride home, I was still completely out of it and cramping up when the car would go over bumps. Now I have a headache 2.5 days later still...ugh. It is imperative that I train myself to eat and drink more WHILE racing or I'll never finish a race over three hours. Not to mention, the recovery has been painfully slow. Bad Lisa, BAD! The faster I get, the dumber I get it seems. I think for my next race Chris is going to write EAT and DRINK really big on both my arms so I remember...

Raccoon Mountain XC Race

2010-07-13T21:46:00.008-04:00

This past Sunday I did my first XC race in 2 years. The off-road duathlons I had been doing were just as intense as an XC race - actually more intense due to the running sprint against the boys before the bike - but they were shorter. I didn't really have any expectations other than I knew I wouldn't be last, so I opted to ride my singlespeed. I figured if I did well on the singlespeed, I could do well on a geared bike at the next one (and if I did crappy, I could always blame my bike, right??)

The start went as expected...I spun out on the road start and was DFL going into the singletrack. I caught back up immediately and then chaos ensued... The first part of singletrack was moderately technical and girls were going down left and right...clipping pedals on rocks, bad lines, you name it. I fought my way through and was amazed that I was able to stay on my bike through some of the less than desirable lines I had to take to get around people. I passed a bunch of girls. I didn't count them, but we started with twelve and it seemed like I passed at least eight of them...but really wasn't sure. Loretta and a Vantaggio rider were the last two that I passed, but I wasn't sure who was in front of me, other than Kim F. I motored along at a quick pace, keeping my momentum as much as possible so I wouldn't spin out on the flats. After a short time there were no girls within sight behind me so I figured I was riding pretty well.

I felt great on the singlespeed for about an hour but then the climbs really started to take their toll. I was pushing a 19 on the rear (which is all I have, so I didn't really have other options) and by the second lap, I was really starting to slow on the moderate to steep climbs. By the time I hit the "switchbacks" again, I was thinking how much I would have loved to have gears. I lost a lot of time on the second lap because I couldn't stay on top of my gear and ended up running/walking some of the climbs. I thought Carey was crazy for running a 21, but she was much smarter than I, and had a phenominal race. I rode by myself for the rest of the race and just hoped I'd had a fast enough first lap to not have anyone catch me. When I crossed the finish line, I still had no idea what place I was in and it wasn't until Loretta informed me that I was second that I had any clue about my placing.

I was pleasantly surprised, as I figured I was at least fourth, but had I known I was second, I would have dug a little deeper on that second lap. Not that I had a chance of catching Kim, but I think I would have been a little more motivated knowing I was racing for a podium spot - and at least I would have been done and off my bike a couple of minutes faster.

I did enjoy the XC race and liked the shorter format. I'm itching to do another one, but need to cool it before ORAMM so I don't wear myself out before getting to the starting line.

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-21T10:34:00.007-04:00

To Celebrate Father's Day, we took Chris and his Dad to the beach!

After some initial distrust in that grainy stuff called sand, Jayden relaxed a bit and was just kickin' it with daddy..soon she had sand EVERYWHERE!

Here I think they are both pondering their plan to take over the world..

Playing in the water when the waves come in!

Hanging out with "Opa" - that's Grandpa for you non-German folks.

Jayden is such a water girl and just loves to try to swim! I think she thinks that she doesn't need us to stay afloat. She holds her breath and doesn't mind going under water - much better than me at that age! I did learn that trying to keep sand off your towel is a futile endeavor when you have a little one flinging it everywhere!

Chicopee Woods Duathlon

2010-06-19T17:36:00.001-04:00

Today was the final race in the Dirty Spokes Duathlon Series. The venue was Chicopee Woods, a place I used to frequent in my college days, but hadn’t been there since probably 5 years ago. We were warned that the run course was tough – and it was – but in a good way. It was nearly all singletrack (=SHADE) and was technical enough to slow down the fast guys who mainly run on the road.

The start horn sounded and I had a good position going into the singletrack on the first run. I was working hard, but feeling pretty good and moving well. I focused on using good technique and not crossing my arms in front of my body and it seemed to help make me more efficient...and we love efficiency. There were a good number of short steep sections but I was handling them well and holding my position. I was shocked when it wasn’t until maybe ¾ of the way through the course that Johnny passed me. He usually passes me after about 400 meters once I realize my legs and lungs can’t keep up with the pace I’m trying to maintain. I was having a good run and seemed to finish in the best overall position coming off this run than any of the other races.

Once I hopped on my bike, I started to pay the price for my great run. My legs weren’t feeling snappy and I had to work a good bit harder than I wanted to. I had decided to run my geared bike on this course, thinking I’d be faster, but I’m not so sure. I knew overall I’d suffer more with gears, but I was hoping to gain a lot more speed out of it. My puny 26er tires just didn’t roll like my Niner, and despite having 27 different gear combos, I think I was actually slower. Damn gears…hmph!! On a freaking uphill of all places, I clipped my pedal on something sticking up, which landed me with a stem and handlebar in the gut…ugh… My next mishap was when I hit the big creek before the gravel road climb. I had been told to go right and ride through the creek. I did that but managed to hit a submerged rock and get hurled into the rhodo bushes on the shore. So then I was off my bike running up the short rocky climb and my sweaty, slippery fingers slide and get stuck between my saddle and its rails. Can you say OOUUUUUCH! I was relieved when I hit the gravel climb, because that was the one place where I felt like I was moving well and it meant we were almost done. I think I maintained my overall position on the bike…getting passed early by a couple of guys on relay teams (but they didn’t run so really they don’t count, right??) but then passing a couple towards the end of the lap. The bike course wasn’t terribly great for me, just because it was so fast and the technical sections were few and far between.

I was actually looking forward to the second run, since the first went pretty well. It started off good but soon I was finding that I didn’t have a lot of horsepower to actually run hard up the steep sections. It was getting hot and I had to resort to a slow jog anytime the grade got steep. By the end I was just dripping with sweat and looking forward to being done. A guy I had passed on the bike ran past me in the final quarter mile, but I really didn’t feel like challenging him and ran in right behind. Yay, finished, now get me some damn Gatorade before I pass out!

This race SEEMED tougher than the others, but it may have been the added heat and humidity. I felt like I had the best race at Tribble Mill, but maybe that was just because it was the first one and I was in better shape at that time than a lot of the fast guys. The next woman was almost 20 minutes back, so this was my biggest victory margin, 2/3 of which was made up of time I gained on the run…crazy, huh? I think if I do these next year, I should probably race in the men’s age group, but it’s kind of nice getting tires and sunglasses at every race, because I tend to scratch them up or lose them.

Next up is Raccoon Mountain XC. I need to decide…gears or no gears. If I ride the SS, I’m sure my start position will suck, and it will likely be a decent sized field since it is such a fun course. After today, I’m leaning towards no gears, but I’ll have to do a couple more rides on the 26er, without running beforehand, and give her a fair chance to redeem herself.

Siege on Fort Yargo Adventure Race

2010-06-06T14:47:00.006-04:00

This year our plan was for Julia, Chris and I to race as a coed team. Unfortunately, Chris came down with some nasty bug that took him out of commission for almost a week and thus he wisely decided not to race on Saturday. Since the entry was free (prize from winning last year's race), Julia and I just raced as a two person team. The competition was tougher at this years race, so we knew we would have some work to do out there.

After taking a look at the maps and instructions, we decided to bike first. We chose to do the entire bike loop (skipping the o-course at that time) so that we would have a clear trail. Anyone who has done this race in the past knows how much of a cluster the singletrack can be once you dump a bunch of adventure racers on it - so we wanted to avoid that at all costs. We would then do the trek and o-section, then finish up the trek with whatever remaining time we had left.

The prologue took about 20 minutes and thankfully Julia was in the top 10 off the water on the opening float, so we were able to get back to the TA and get out on the bike trail before anyone else.

The bike was pretty straight forward and similar to past years, but it seemed at many CP's we would spend a couple of minutes looking in various tree clumps and thickets to find the actual checkpoint. Maybe they put them out early and didn't want them to get stolen, but it sure seemed like they were much more hidden than in years past. Thankfully there was no one behind us who was capitalizing on our ferreting out the CP's. We then ran into a team who "mistakenly" took the paved road all the way to B5, and when I pointed out that it wasn't allowed, they high-tailed it out of there (perhaps before I could see their bib numbers..)on their way to CP6 via the bike trail. Not sure what they were thinking there, as we were SUPPOSED to be on the paved road for B6 and B7 (both hung close to the road). Sigh...

We finished up the bike loop then headed out on the trek. I was going to put my trekking pants on, but forgot and put my shoes on first and didn't remember the pants till afterwards. Not wanting to take my shoes off, I just said screw it on the pants....bad bad idea. Julia ended up carrying both rafts so I could have my hands free to flip through the maps. Running with those pfd's on in the hot weather was completley awful, so I was glad when we reached the O-section where we could drop all that crap.

The o-section was kind of nasty, with both gnarly vegetation and exposed, hot, sunny red clay sections. We collected the points counter clockwise, with OP5 being the first one we headed out for. We missed it the first time down, so just continued to OP6 and OP7. The vegetation around OP7 was about as nasty as I've seen at the Siege..and that was AFTER several other teams had trampled some of it down. Really regretting the no-pants decision at that point. Got clotheslined by some barbed wire type briar on my way out and let out a string of about ten curse words.... We then headed towards the dam and again had to hunt in various tree clumps to finally find the OP. The next few points weren't very eventful, with the exception of the one that was near a neck-high (for me) kudzu field. We should have attacked from the powerline where it was clearer instead of straight-lining and getting torn to shreds in the kudzu-briar thatching. Ugh...again wishing for my pants...

The points that required running on the exposed powerline were just evil in my opinion and the heat was really hurting more than I would have thought. I ran out of water near the end of the o-section but figured I had a Coke stashed at the drop, so that would get me through the remainder of the race. (after all, it IS a fluid source..) We still had to go back for OP5, which seemed much further down the reentrant than I would have expected. As we were getting close to the OP, I heard some newbie team yell out "its down here to the right" so we profited from their find. Earlier we found another team's passport that they had dropped out on the course, so we turned it in at the drop before we left.

We chugged the Coke I brought and again, Julia took both cumbersome rafts. We picked up T3 but decided to skip T4 and just run directly to T5. I thought this would be a better use of our time, as I wanted to hit T7-T9, as they were in pretty close proxmity to each other. We could then bail early if we had to. The run to T5 seemed like it took forever, running in our PFD's..getting cooked as we ran across the exposed dam. We picked up T5 and T6 without incident and headed to T7. I remembered them saying something about arrows painted on the ground for this one and sure enough, they were there. I thought the point would be across the small inlet based on the map, but it was on the same side of the inlet as the arrow was pointing. From T7 we floated across the lake to pick up the trail and run to our launch point for T8. I made the mistake of trying to get on my raft in 4 ft of water and ended up looking like a beached whale and almost had a full-on all body cramp from all the contortions I was in, trying to get on my raft. Once I finally mounted my raft, my arms were feeling tired and I was wishing the wind was blowing in the opposite direction. Thankfully it was short and Julia was able to pick up the punches. Even on a raft she has much better swimming form than I!

Once out of the water it was just a hilly run back towards the TA with one CP on the way. I opted to follow a dirt road to the back side of the cemetery, and in hindsight, we should have just stayed on the paved roads most of the way. We ended up finishing with about a minute to spare, so we made good use of our time, though we probably wasted a combined total of 30 minutes out there. We only missed one CP, but maybe we'll get credit for it since we turned in a dropped passport! (sorry couldn't resist..)

We don't have official results yet, but the 5 person Checkpoint Zero group was able to clear the course, but it is unlikely any other teams did, or even came close. Most were back to the TA long before us - opting to bail on CP's in lieu of cold beverages and food.

Fort Yargo Duathon

2010-05-30T12:52:00.004-04:00

Yesterday we packed up the family and headed to the Fort Yargo Duathlon. No pictures because this time both Chris and I raced while our friend Kathleen watched Jayden. The weather was absolutely perfect - overcast and maybe 72 degrees. I was looking forward to this race because the runs were shorter and the bike was longer than the previous two. Of course, the shorter run just meant I had to run faster which made it all the more unpleasant. There haven't been any super fast runner girls who have shown up at these races, so I end up using the guys for motivation...and they seemed to be flying on the shorter-than-usual run. Near the end, I checked my HR and I was above 170 so I knew I was working pretty hard. My GPS showed the run being a bit longer than the posted distance so my average pace ended up being 6:28 min/mile for 2.2 miles. Excuse me a sec while I go hurl!

I did a quick transition to bike - then proceeded to pick off a bunch of relay team people and fast runners on the bike loop. I rode my SS again and was loving it. No issues keeping up with the gearies on the flats and downhills, because I was so much smoother. I was shocked when I came up upon a fast looking guy who was riding really smoothly and I actually needed to pass him. No complaints about the bike loop, as I really enjoyed it and felt good pretty much the entire time.

The last run went well and I achieved my usual goal of not getting passed by anyone on the last run. This one was more mellow, at about a 7:30 min/mile pace. I probably could have done low sevens, but I felt like I was working hard enough and knew there were no women on my tail...so no need to overly abuse myself.

I ended up winning the women's division by a large margin again, and was 8th overall in the solo men. I have had better overall finishes at the earlier races, but I think having the shorter runs in this race actually hurt me a bit. The guys were able to run faster for the short distance, whereas I'm better when the run is a bit longer because I seem to go the same speed regardless.

Chris had a good race with an exciting sprint finish at the end. A friend of ours who wasn't even in his category figured he'd give him a challenge and he accepted. I thought he was toast but he must have been saving it till the end and got the holeshot around the last corner and crossed the line first. That made me proud, because the last time I had to do a sprint finish, I didn't win : )

Committed

2010-05-20T15:50:00.004-04:00

I have mailed in my waiver for the first ever Trans North Georgia MTB "Adventure" so I guess now I'm committed. I'm actually pretty excited because I've been wanting to do a race like this for some time now. I love racing through the night in adventure races - something about the moonlight makes me come alive while others tend to want to go to sleep. I feed off of it...it moves me.

I have some pretty high expectations for this race. My goal is 3 days, though I'd be happy to beat that time, because my friend Carey has already warned me that she intends to crush whatever time I happen to post if the race..er.."adventure" happens next year. Ok, so she didn't use those exact words but I know she'll be gunning for me, so I have some serious work to do.

I have a nice recovery week coming up, which is good, so I can catch back up on all the things I've been slacking off at over the past 3 weeks.

Quiet Week

2010-05-17T09:07:00.002-04:00

By our standards, we had a slow week which was actually nice for a change. No frantic gear packing on Friday - just hanging out with Jayden, training, working, eating and sleeping. We even managed a couple of hours on Saturday night to watch "The Blind Side", which was a nice feel-good movie.

Jayden went to a birthday party on Saturday morning and later that night, we had dinner at a friends house and she got to meet their son Art, who is a month older. Jayden was more interested in Art's toys than him I think, but that's ok. She needs to learn early not to go chasing after boys.

I got in some solid road rides this past weekend, and was feeling pretty good once I recovered from the previous week's hard singlespeed rides. This coming week will be more of the same, as we have no racing planned until May 29th. Time to get caught up on work work and house work!

Happy Mothers Day!

2010-05-10T13:35:00.003-04:00

My Mother's Day gift this year was a nice long ride with perfect weather. With PotatoPatch being freshly graded, I headed over to the Bull Mountain area to ride the Fools Gold 50 route. I have never done that particular race and I hadn't ridden many of those trails in several years. Just to make sure I didn't slack off, I rode my singlespeed, as it was supposed to be MY day, and I really didn't want to have to think about shifting gears. Another plus, was that this would be a test run for some longer races on the SS.

The route was definitely challenging and there were some trails that I'd never ride if they weren't part of the route. Unfortunately, the reason I'd never ride them is because they are just crappy in general..eroded and/or sandy. There were a couple of short singletrack connectors that just seemed like a waste of energy and didn't flow very well. Assuming I was on the right trail (Moss Branch Connector?), one had a straight-up hike-a-bike that I didn't see anyone being able to ride. I guess its just in there to up the suffer level a bit.

The Bull Mtn section ended up being much easier than I anticipated...I thought climbing the singletrack would be horrible, but it wasn't too bad. I think the worst climbs were over on Black Branch..seemed like I was climbing forever over there!

All in all, it was a good ride on a perfect day. I rode solo to minimize having to stop and managed to ride just under 5 hours without having a body meltdown - so that is very encouraging.

I returned home to find a yummy dinner waiting for me and a picture that Chris and Jayden drew with markers. It was definitely my kind of Mother's Day!

Conyers Duathlon

2010-05-08T13:57:00.005-04:00

After having some mild sick symptoms all week, and still having good workouts, I figured I was good enough for an off-road Duathlon at Conyers. It was the second of a four race series being put on by Dirty Spokes. The worst part would be the 5:30 am wake up call on Saturday morning.

The morning went smoothly and we got the car packed and Jayden ready to go and actually left right on time. I felt great on Thursday night and probably pushed it a bit too much on my run, as when I did my warm up my legs weren't feeling as snappy. Oh, tired hip flexors! I wasn't terribly worried, as I knew even a tired run would get the job done, it would just mean I'd suffer more. And suffer I did...having to keep up a 6:30 mile trail run pace with a bunch of dudes ranks right up there with going to the dentist for me. The run course this time was especially mind-numbing, as there was a lot of wide, flat gravel and a lot of grass field that just made it seem like you were moving really slow. After about 17 minutes of mild torture, it was onto the bike...whoo hoo!

The bike course was two 5 mile laps and it was much more exciting. It had a good mix of everything...climbs, techy sections, swoopies, fast easy double track, creeks, rocks, roots, etc... I was in the top 10-12 people coming off the first run and my first victims on the bike were guys who were very obviously runners and not bikers. I slowly picked off a few more as they would bobble on technical sections. I was pretty taxed on the first lap, after coming off the run, but I was still making good time and no one was catching me from behind. I was staying with the gearies on the flats and wide open downhills, so I was happy with my bike/gear choice. The second lap I picked off two more guys and had a mostly open trail. My HR was lower and I was feeling good. Rockin' and rollin' on my 29er..ye haaa! There was one short section I had to run as it was a steep uphill with a momentum killing turn and creek right before it. I managed to whack my calf really hard with my pedal, which surprised me, as I usually am not so clumsy.

The last run was not as bad as the first since it was a bit slower, but it was even more mind-numbing since it was slower, and there was no one around me. By the end of the lap, a guy on a relay team had caught me. He was a muscular, shirtless runner looking type and at first I was just going to let him pass me. Then I decided..oh hell, were almost done, lets have some fun with this guy. So I kept the pace up enough that he didn't feel the need to challenge me...and of course it would have looked really lame if he tried to sprint a girl to the finish. Its not like you get bragging rights for beating a girl, right?

So in the end, I finished 6th overall and was the first woman by an even larger margin than last race - probably due to the much more technically demanding trail. I scored some sweet tortoise shell Tifosi's that may even make me appear stylish, and Jayden and Chris seemed to have a good time. Jay kept an eye on my transition stuff and picked honeysuckle flowers.

Now we're at home, chillin' on the back deck. I put the pack and play out in the shade so Jay could get some good ol' fresh air. She's been entertaining herself for close to an hour, so it must be working!

On the mend, back to the grind...

2010-05-04T18:59:00.002-04:00

Had to sit out the 6 hour race at Fort Yargo because I finally caught the cold that has been plaguing the other members of my household for the past two weeks. The symptoms seem to be pretty mild now, and I'm feeling pretty good so I started back up with my training.

I did some good force work on the singlespeed up in Ellijay but I'm disappointed to say that the Forest Service just graded the road up to Potatopatch Mtn., so now its all loose and dusty. It was actually more annoying on the downhills, so hopefully we'll get a good rain soon to pack it down. In the meantime, I think I'll head over to the Blue Ridge WMA area to do my long rides.

I'm contemplating doing the rest of my races this season on my SS. (The exception being the Trans North Georgia, if I decide to do it). I need to do a couple of test runs on some long routes that have a good deal of singletrack to decide for sure.

So speaking of the Trans North Georgia, I think I will likely do it as long as I'm healthy. I wanted to race with a partner, but Chris said I should just man-up and go solo. I mean, we will have SPOT units tracking us at all times (kind of creepy actually), so its not like he won't know where I am. Introducing a partner introduces more delay and more potential for problems, so I'll probably take his advice and just ride solo.

I think this race is right up my alley...you follow a certain route, but I doubt it will be marked, so you still need to know which way to go. There are hike-a-bikes - love those..ok, so I don't LOVE them, but I'm good at them. I also think pre-planning will be key, so we don't have to ride with pounds and pounds of extra gear. Oh, and then there is the whole no sleep/very little sleep aspect..been there, done that plenty of times. I know from past experience that I'm good to go through one night no problem, but I may stop for a bit just to get out of the saddle. Most importantly, I have the best butt cream on the planet, which I will be applying liberally, so hopefully my ass will survive all those hours on the bike.

2011 Race Bike?

2010-04-29T13:54:00.007-04:00

Someone posted this on the SORBA Forum, so I couldn't resist...

That's right kids..a Wally World 29er. I am almost tempted to buy one just to see how much this puppy weighs and to see how long I could ride it before

a.) it falls apart
b.) I fall apart from riding something so heavy

Perhaps this will make a good father's day present for Chris...he's been looking at new bikes because I think he's too lazy to change a flat tire on his current bike.

Insert Motivation Here

2010-04-29T10:26:00.003-04:00

I'm trying to get motivated for the 6 Hour Race at Fort Yargo this weekend. I've already registered and paid, so I guess I should make an appearance, but I'm worried I'll have a repeat of this past weekend. I did a couple of short rides this week and the legs seem fine, but there's no telling how my body will react 3 or 4 hours in. In an attempt to keep from working too hard, I'm going to ride my singlespeed for this race. It will also help keep my lap times more consistent, which will be a good thing. Keeping my fingers crossed that I'm well enough to finish this one.

Cohutta 65..aka Titanic Sinking

2010-04-24T16:59:00.007-04:00

So I'm sitting here drinking massive amounts of water, trying to flush my system of whatever caused my full-on body meltdown at Cohutta...we're talking an eyeballs cramping, whole body tingling, can't pedal even on the downhills type of meltdown. The worst part was I had no indication that this was going to happen, since I felt pretty good all week.

The road start didn't feel great, but I had chalked it up to going from zero to hard effort in 6 seconds. I started to feel better towards the top, but I was still a minute slower than my pre-ride. Not a great sign. Once we hit Brush Creek, I started to feel better and just kept pace with the guy in front of me. I was working in the 160 HR range and it felt pretty good, even easy, and since there weren't riders stacking up behind us, I was pretty content. I made it to the Whitewater Center, still in second place, hoping to make up some time once the trail started to steepen. I was able to churn out the steep climb pretty well, but when I hit the double track up to River View, I could tell something was wrong. I went to stand up to crank out the low grade climb and my calf cramped and arms immediately started to tingle. WTF? I never get cramps and I spend enough time on my SS to be able to at least hold myself up on the bike. When I finally hit River View (where is that river view, by the way...), the only thing that was saving me was the fact that I was riding the singletrack well. When I popped out on the double track again, I still had no giddy-up and was sitting and spinning (slowly) instead of cranking. By the time I was out on the main FS road, I was already a couple of minutes down from my moderate pre-ride pace and 5 minutes off my predicted race pace. I was still hopeful though..

When I passed Chris, he said Danielle was only two minutes up. Impossible I say! (Actually I said I felt like I was crawling) My first thought was she must be having an off day, as I figured she'd be at least 10 minutes up from the pace I was going.

I plodded up the forest road and things progressively got worse. Guys kept passing me..I wondered how much longer it would take for girls to start coming by. I kept checking my rear tire, thinking it must be flat. I could barely push my middle ring and now the left side of my body was cramping up. I thought maybe if I busted into my Coke that I had at the drop station, it would make me feel better.

Let me just say that this was a highly inconvenient place to have a meltdown. I started up the Big Frog climb thinking the Coke would kick in and I would become superwoman. Nope. Inhaler puffs? Nope. I actually started to feel worse and pretty much died a slow death up the first big climb. First Ursula came by, then another girl I didn't know. I finally reached the downhill and then realized my legs were so jacked up I couldn't stand up or pedal much, so I basically just tried to stay out of everyone else's way. Namrita came by, then some others later on - I quit paying attention after a while.

From that point on, I'd get the tingles if I got my HR above 140, so I was moving at a snails pace. I had to get off my bike three times on the climb back up to the aid station. I was having serious issues and was thinking about how hard it would be for Chris to come rescue me.

I stayed at the aid station about 20 minutes, borrowing a cell phone and walking to the top of a hill to try to get reception to call Chris. I had to leave a message, so I told my friend Rob to tell Chris to come pick me up when he saw him before the last singletrack. After a few more minutes and assessing again what a pain in the ass it would be for Chris to drive down there, I got back on my bike and continued onward, thinking I would at least be making slow progress back towards the WWC.

With about 2 miles to go, the wind picked up and the thunder and lightening started. Whoopee! An exposed forest road is always where I'd like to be in those circumstances. Since Chris had to drive really carefully, I had already made it to FS 45 and was on my way down the hill when I saw him. I had already decided to bail, since I knew the last singletrack would likely kill me and the monsoon that started made the decision that much easier.

Given that my intensity was never that high, yet I was still having issues, my thought was that this whole miserable experience was diet related or heaven forbid due to a past lung inflammation problem that is resurfacing. Perhaps Thursday's Pad Thai??? Friday's guacamole?? Who knows and unfortunately I probably won't ever figure it out....though I probably won't eat the same stuff before the next race.

Dirty Spokes Tribble Mill Duathlon

2010-04-17T17:28:00.003-04:00

Since I didn't do as hard of a workout as originally planned on Thursday, my coach thought it would be good to race at an off-road duathlon this weekend to get one last bit of force and intensity work in before Cohutta. The best part was that if I raced, I'd earn two days of recovery afterwards...whoo hoo!

I had never been to Tribble Mill Park, but assumed it was similar to Blankets or Fort Yargo since I had heard it was a trail maintained by SORBA peeps. In order to keep it fun and low-key, I brought my singlespeed 29er. Format was 3 mile run, 8 mile bike, 3 mile run.

The first run hurt me more than it should have. I didn't feel nearly as spry as at the Boling Park Trail Run, but then again I wasn't at the end of a recovery week either. Here I am at the run start, in a sea of dudes, as usual.

I didn't wear my watch, but checked the splits afterwards. I think I averaged 6:38 min/mile pace..and there were some long hills, so that may have been the reason I wasn't really enjoying the run too much! It seemed like it was taking forever to complete the three miles and I was surrounded by way too much testosterone, so I was anxiously awaiting the bike leg.

Once on the bike, my legs immediately felt happy as I cranked out the first small hill and passed two riders like they were standing still. I caught a guy who was riding a good pace and rode much of the lap behind him until he overshot at turn.

My gearing was a little on the easy side for the trail, but it allowed me to rest a lot on the descents and flats, which meant I had plenty of oxygen to be one of those annoying types who rides up and starts chit-chatting to those who are in front of them. The climbs went by fast since I could crank them out, though I wish there were more of them. As I came off the bike I believe I was 8th overall and the first woman by a good bit.

I was kind of dreading the second run, since the first one didn't feel very good. Thankfully, it felt like it went by much quicker (probably the reduced exertion level) and was a lot more pleasant. I picked off one more guy and finished the day 7th overall in the men's race and 1st of the women.

This was a fun event, didn't require much pre-planning or post-race cleanup, and we were back home just after lunch. The course was well marked and the trails were fast and flowy. Best of all, it wasn't an all day endeavor, so Jayden and Grandma could come along!

She is a perfect little angel...most of the time....

And she already seems to know that cute girls have an easier time getting what they want...

She was all excited about the first run and bike, but got bored waiting for me to come in on the second run. I'm sure she was cheering for me in her dreams..

Mulberry Gap - Day 3

2010-04-16T10:35:00.002-04:00

The day started with the usual yummy breakfast. Chris was feeling like he was getting sick and I was kind of on the fence too...so we just did a short, easy ride before packing up and heading home.

I really enjoyed Mulberry Gap. It was great to have ride in/ride out trail access and the meals were fantastic. There were a lot more comforts than if we would have camped. We would have appreciated our cozy cabin a lot more had it rained at all! The hot tub was nice and relaxing too! Definitely two thumbs up, as the folks at Mulberry Gap know how to cater to mountain bikers.

I originally had planned on a duathlon this weekend, but if I have the slightest hint of "getting sick" I'm going to skip it and just rest and recover for Cohutta next weekend.

Mulberry Gap - Day 2

2010-04-15T19:56:00.002-04:00

Our day started with WAY more breakfast than I should have ever considered eating right before a ride....belgian waffles w/ strawberries and bananas, turkey sausage, and scrambled eggs...mmmm yummmy! Ginni sure knows her way around the kitchen!

I met Kim and we headed up to Lake Conasauga since I had never actually seen the lake before. Not terribly exciting, but glad I finally saw it. From there we headed down Tibbs. Since the bridge on CCC Camp Rd is out and we figured they'd be working on it because it was a weekday, we went down lower Tibbs until we hit the private property gate. We did a quick check for cars, dogs, and rednecks and after affirming that the coast was clear, we climbed around the gate and tiptoed through to the road. We headed back to Mulberry Gap and Kim headed to her car, while I made a bee line for my apple dumpling from the day before.

Later that evening I did a quick hour loop from Mulberry Gap to Pinhoti 2 and back and returned just in time to catch a shower before another scrumptious dinner. The best part was the chocolate brownies and ice cream for dessert! I didn't think it was possible, but I'm pretty sure I had consumed more calories than I burned in the first two days of our stay!

Mulberry Gap - Day 1

2010-04-15T17:48:00.003-04:00

Since we weren't checking into Mulberry Gap until the afternoon, we headed to the Ocoee Whitewater Center to ride the first singletrack section of the Cohutta 65. While we were getting ready, Chris suggested that I just ride from the WWC to Mulberry Gap, while he drove the car around on the highway. That way I'd get a good long ride in, and I'd still get my apple dumpling that Chris could pick up on the way by the Mercier Orchard Store.

The first singletrack section went by pretty quick and felt pretty easy. Funny how what used to be my endurance race pace is now my steady ride pace. Once we hit FS 221, Chris and I parted ways...I started towards Mulberry Gap and Chris went towards ThunderRock. I think he got the better end of that deal....

This ride reminded me why I didn't sign up for the Cohutta 100...I'm not really crazy about the section along Tumbling Creek Road from the WWC to Dally Gap that climbs super gradually, but goes on forever and ever and ever. I had to fight boredom off, especially since we just rode that section of road at the Blue Ridge AR three days before.

Since my long ride was a spur of the moment decision, I didn't quite have enough food and I would have given someone the $20 in my pack for a Coke by the time I got over to Jacks River Fields Campground. Sadly no one was there...

I knew I had just a little over an hour left to ride, so I filled up my bottle at the spring on the way up to Mountaintown and churned out the rest of the ride. Once I hit Potatopatch, it was a quick downhill to a hot shower and hearty dinner at Mulberry Gap.

Our dinner consisted of pork tenderloin, sweet potatoes, rolls, salad, broccoli and cheese, and ice cream with fruit for dessert. It was a fantastic meal and the end to a good, hard day.

Blue Ridge Mtn Adventure Race

2010-04-11T07:25:00.008-04:00

This years race start featured all three team members being dropped off in different locations and we would then converge on Horseshoe Bend Park via different modes of travel. We figured the solo paddle would be the limiting factor, so pre-race the plan was to not break a sweat on the run and bike to the park. Yeah right....

I opted for the more directionally intensive run since we didn't want James to get lost, and Kevin was the only one of us so who was proficient at paddling a canoe solo. The run started on a downhill, so it felt easy, but it seemed like the pace picked up pretty quickly. There were a couple of guys who went off the front and then a couple of girls came up to the front. By the time we hit Copper Hill, it felt like we were at 7:00 to 7:20 min/mile pace. I knew it was just a complete waste of energy, but the competitor in me couldn't stand the thought of seeing a punch of peeps in front (especially other women), so I kept my pace high, got all sweaty, and then had to stand around and wait once we got to the park. James had made it without issue as well, so it was 8:25 and all was well.

Kevin was the first paddler to arrive at the park, so we loaded up and headed out. Despite having 500+ lbs of weight in the boat, we didn't get stuck on any rocks and stayed in the fast water. The portage at the dam was a little tricky, as the water was up and there was a lot more current on the sides of the river. James took a step out of the boat and there was no footing beneath him, so he took an unexpected morning swim. Looking back, we probably could have easily run the dam since the water was up and the drop was much less than it was at Nationals a couple of years ago...but it appeared that those behind us were portaging too, so it really didn't matter. We kept the lead in our Penobscot until we hit CP2. We had to spend about two minutes searching around at the creek/RR intersection and by then a floatilla of kevlar boats had caught up to us. We still got out first but had the fleet of kevlar attack crafts right on our six. Somehow we managed to hold our own until the take out, and while we did eventually get passed by 3 kevlar boats, we maintained contact and kept within striking distance. We were 4th out of the water and then 2nd out on bikes.

Mmm...bikes - now it was our turn to dance. Within about a minute we took the lead on the bike section and quickly got out of sight. The next section of the course appeared to be the crux of the race, and had a variety of route choices and enough uncertainty to keep me up half the night. The big question was whether there was actually a trail from CP6 to CP7 and what condition it was in...

Based on pre-race planning, these were our options:

A) Ride bikes to CP5 and CP6, then come back out to the road. Ride to CP10, then CP9, then CP7 as an out and back, then ride to CP8, then continue on the singletrack ridgeline trail to pick up the bonus CP, then CP11. This eliminated the uncertainty of the "maybe trail" to CP7. I was secretly hoping that if there was a road or trail, that it was covered in a thatching of deadfall that would bring death by a thousand pokes to any teams that attempted to go through.

B)Ride bikes to CP5 and CP6. Then take a chance and pray trail continues to CP7 without some heinous bikewhack. Pick up CP7, ride to trail intersection, then pick up CP8 on foot, then ride to CP9 and CP10, then take FS Road to CP11.

I've taken gambles before and many times they haven't paid off, so we opted for Option A - hoping the conservative route might end up being the better way to go. Before I go any further, I'll just say right now that this was WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!

Back to the antics...Since we were just doing an out and back anyways, we dropped our bikes on the way to CP5. We picked up CP5 fairly quickly, but on the way to CP6, I somehow made a 90 degree error on my bearing and we headed up the wrong drainage. I don't know how this happened really, and in retrospect, you'd think we would just follow the creek or old roadbed..piece of cake, right? When we ended up on a ridgeline, we incorrectly assessed where we were (because there was just NO WAY we headed NE when we were supposed to be heading SE...) and reattacked into the wrong drainage. We kicked around there for a while, hoping to find a CP and trying to make sense of the map. I finally figured out where we actually were and we headed back up to the hilltop where we came from and reattacked again. The narrow ridgeline we were on looked nothing like the wide and flattish topo on the map, and I was about to bail again and just go back to CP5. Kevin convinced me to go a bit further and sure enough, there was the elusive CP6. We had just wasted 45 minutes though...ughhhh.

We ran back to our bikes and high-tailed it down the road to pick up CP10, then CP9. We then rode the out and back to CP7, knowing there was a good trail on the ridgeline. When we reached CP7, my heart sank when I saw the fantastic gravel road that came up, presumably from near CP6...double ughhhh.

So back out we went, having to see many teams coming through from the route that we did not choose, obviously following option B. After about 100 yards on the singletrack, we bailed on the idea of riding to CP8, and then just picked it up on foot and rode back to the road. After seeing the condition of the trail later on in the trek, this was probably the best decision we made all day.

We made it to the trek in 5th or 6th, feeling strong, but a bit frustrated with our route and me still wondering how I screwed up so bad at CP6. James forgot his running shoes, so he was wearing his Sidi's for the entire run, which I'm sure wasn't very pleasant. We picked up CP12 first, then the bonus CP, then CP15 and then CP14. We wasted 10 more minutes at CP14, as the plot seemed to be lower down in the reentrant, below a convergence of reentrants, rather than where it was hung along an old roadbed, further up the leftmost reentrant on the hillside.

I should know by now that this race generally involves what I call "in the ballpark nav" versus precise nav. The clues are generally more helpful in finding the points than the actual plots are on the map. Being reminded of this, we stayed on the trail to the next CP, since it was at another trail intersection. Right about the time I said, "Hey, keep an eye out for any trail intersections or old roadbeds coming in", we ran right past where the CP was hung. We hit the FS road, reassessed where we were, then attacked the CP again from the road up a rhodo-infested drainage where the point was plotted. I didn't mind crawling through the thickets, but my two giant 6'+ tall teammates were probably none too thrilled. We kicked around in some nasty $hit for about 30 minutes and about the time I was ready to raise the white flag, Kevin spotted an old roadbed. We followed it and it lead right to CP13. Another 20 feet and we were back at the same trail we had run down earlier. You have got to be f#%cking kidding me! Three ugghhhs and Enduraventure is OUT! The race gods were clearly NOT smiling down on us today!

So back down to the road and we ran it back into the bike drop, with James clicking along in his bike shoes. The only thing that made me feel better about that last CP is that another team that was near us ran right past it as well and was having to reattack the same way we did.

So we arrive back at the bikes, I think in 5th - which is amazing considering how poor our execution was on the previous two sections - then take off down the hill on our bikes. It was fun to bomb that downhill and when we hit the pavement, James had us motoring along at 30 mph..on mountain bikes! I'm happy to say that we did not have anything go horribly wrong on the last bike in, but we were a bit too far behind to catch anyone in front of us. Oh, and the ride on the RR tracks sucked a$$!

We finished 5th overall, which wasn't horrible considering how much time we left out on the course through mistakes and poor route selection. We DID have to work very hard to make up for all our hiccups, so I can't complain about not getting in a good workout.

Up Next...Blue Ridge Mtn Adventure Race

2010-04-08T11:48:00.002-04:00

After sitting this one out last year, I am anxious to get back up to this classic event. It looks like we are going to be racing in a new area this year..or at least new for the BRMAR, which includes 3 states, or so is the rumor from Ron Zadroga, the race director. I'm feeling good, the weather is good, and life is generally good right now!

I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed that the weather forecast stays looking good for next week, as we're headed to North Georgia for three days of riding and relaxation. I will be packing all my rain gear though, just to ensure that the sun shines every day!

Mmmm...sunshine!

2010-04-05T12:25:00.002-04:00

Had a nice "recovery" ride up at the Ocoee WWC yesterday. Ok, so it wasn't much recovery, but it felt good to spin the legs after Saturday's trail run. We rode the Big Frog Loop and were pleased to see that the gravel roads were in great shape. Hopefully they will stay that way until Cohutta.

I only have a couple of rides this week, as I'm racing in the Blue Ridge Mtn Adventure Race on Saturday. Guess that means I'll have to make 'em count! The weather is fabulous right now, and I'll take being sunburned over having to layer-up any day!

Next week I have a 3 day training camp scheduled in North Georgia..it sounded like a good reason to use some vacation time to go ride my bike, so I'm looking forward to that!

Boling Park Trail Run

2010-04-03T17:16:00.004-04:00

So I did some cross training today and entered a trail run. If I wasn't more humble, the title of this post would be "Mountain Bike Racer Whoops up on a Bunch of Runners," because that was pretty much how the race went and I'm good and happy about it.

In pretty much every other running event I've done, I generally went out hard, then faded and got passed by runners with a more consistent pace. Knowing that I probably would't change my "Go out Hard" approach, I figured I'd push the pace on the first 1.25 miles (all flat jogging trail) and hopefully destroy and/or demoralize anyone who may have thought about chasing after me. There I am, #262, right where I wanted to be.

This maneuver worked better than expected, because after the first mile, which for me was at a 6:21 pace, I was in 3rd...no, not 3rd in women...3rd overall. I told Chris as I ran by that there should be more people in front of me!

I was somewhat shocked, but thankfully two guys passed me right before we turned into the singletrack, and then I thought all was well with the world again. I paced off the guy in front of me through the first singletrack, then we hit a wide open sewer line cut that included a log hurdle. (I'm not nearly as pissed off in the photo below as my expression would imply..)

One more guy passed me on the sewer line, then we hit the creek crossing and then a series of significant red clay ATV climbs. Two more guys passed me on the first big climb, but they faded shortly after and I passed them back on the next climb and never saw them again. I could run pretty much full speed on all the sketchy pine straw, even the face plant downhill, as I wore my Inov-8 orienteering shoes that have metal studs in the soles. They turned out to be a great choice and I was very happy with my shoe selection for the day.

When I hit the yellow trail singletrack, which was mostly downhill, I knew I could probably hold off any women chasers, as I was railing the corners and flying on the downhills in my magic shoes. I had a guy in front of me that was keeping a great pace, and I stayed behind him until close to the finish. I think he thought I was another guy, so he picked it up on the last quarter mile, but I maintained my pace and sailed on in just behind him.

I had held my overall position for nearly the entire race, so I was super stoked about that. I'm actually pretty happy in this photo, knowing that I wouldn't have to sprint anyone to the line.

So I finished I think 6th overall out of everyone and 1st in the women's race. The next girl was 2+ minutes back, so I guess I could have eased up, but I really enjoyed pushing myself and seeing what I was capable of. I, again, surprised myself and am very happy with how my training has been going thus far. My overall pace, according to my Garmin, was 7:10 per mile, which is a good pace considering we had some sizable hills. My mom thought I did a good job, because, as she said...I have shorter legs than most of the guys....LOL

My quads were a little stiff afterwards from the downhill pounding they took, but tomorrow's ride should loosen them right up. I'm looking forward to yet another sunny day in the mountains!

Trail Run Tomorrow

2010-04-02T08:52:00.002-04:00

I couldn't resist signing up for a 4.5 mile trail race at Boling Park, which is less than 10 minutes away. The best part is that it will be over in less than 35 minutes and we should be back home with plenty of time to lounge in the sun. I'm hoping that I don't do anything stupid...like twist an ankle...as I think I'd cry if I had to stay off my bike at this point. Race report to follow!

Rest Week - Wahoo!

2010-03-29T12:36:00.002-04:00

Yippie, I survived another 3 week cycle of training with my new coach, Mike Schultz. I actually felt pretty good at the end of my third week, which was a very good feeling. I did a four hour singlespeed ride on Saturday and it was fantastic. I haven't been riding the SS much (mainly because its either too hard or too easy for a given workout) but I don't think its possible for me to have a bad ride on a SS...at least I have yet to have a bad one. I'm always smiling ear to ear at the end and I think I like the "hards" being really hard, and the "easys" being really easy.

I set a new personal best up the Potatopatch climb, 41:15 with an average HR of only 158. Holy shiznet...who's legs are these and how did they get on my body??? I think I can break 40 minutes with a slightly higher HR. I used a 32x19 on my 29er SS and it was a great climbing gear. I then headed over to Jacks River Fields, anxiously awaiting the beat down on the Mountaintown and Betty Gap climbs on the return trip. Surprisingly enough, M-town wasn't bad at all and Betty Gap wasn't that bad. It was hard, but in a good way...not in a bleed out your eyeballs way. Once back at Potatopatch, I flew back down to Bear Creek. I opted for the upper switchbacks but I felt like I was driving a Suburban down an ATV trail on my 29er for some reason. I just felt wide and cumbersome...definitely need to ride that bike more to get a better feel for it in the narrow, techy singletrack. The rest of Bear Creek was great though - just aim the bike downhill and hang on!

Once I returned to my car I realized I still needed to ride for another hour, so I headed back out to Pinhoti 2 and finished the day on that and some forest roads. Big grin!

Now I'm getting a nice reward of an easy week which will consist of lots of relaxing out in the sunshine. Our house is somewhat of a disaster area since we are replacing the wood floors - I'm contemplating moving my home office out onto the deck this week to get a healthy serving of Vitamin D!

Another Annoying "While You Were Working" Post

2010-03-25T10:23:00.002-04:00

So yes, while YOU were working, I took the afternoon off and headed up to Ellijay for a nice long ride. I wanted to make sure I took advantage of a 72 degree sunny day, as its possible we may go from the 60's straight to the 80's. This time we rode the Gates Chapel-Crandall loop clockwise. It was definitely a bit harder in that direction and despite my improved fitness, FS 17 was still a beast...like the pros say..."It doesn't hurt less, you just go faster."

I was happily surprised to see that I was a good bit faster on the loop than a year ago. Its nice to see training actually making a difference. I was looking back at my training log from last year (the one I kept while I was preggers) and my first thought was "WOW, I sure did a lot of riding and running while I was pregnant!." My second thought was "WOW, I'm spending the same amount of time as I did last year, yet I'm seeing some pretty significant gains."

I think in general, I'm more motivated this year since I have so much less free time(bike ride time). When I was preggers, I was just riding to not let myself fall apart. Now, every ride has a purpose, whether it be for aerobic adaptations or just rejuvenation.

I have a busy month coming up in April, including the Blue Ridge Adventure Race and the Cohutta 65. I also registered for a trail run race and an off-road duathlon to keep things interesting. Plus, I can always say "Well, I'm just a mountain bike racer" if I get schooled too bad by the runners!

The Sun Shines Again!

2010-03-22T12:46:00.004-04:00

Despite being at a traning seminar last week, I managed to get in some good riding time while getting a healthy dose of Vitamin D in the process. I felt naked riding in only a jersey and shorts on Friday and Saturday, but it was a fantastic feeling.

I rode the Silver Comet on Friday after our training let out, and was reminded why I don't ever ride the Silver Comet anymore. Sure, it was convenient and a good steady workout, but I missed the hills, quiet roads, and the smell of cow poop and poultry farms that I have become accustomed to.

On Saturday I rode a combination of FS roads and pavement, which I call the Gates Chapel to Crandall Loop. I think it is the same loop that was used for Southern Cross a couple of years ago, but I climbed Potato Patch Mtn, instead of descending it. I was five minutes faster up the 5.5 mile climb at a lower average HR than I was a couple of months ago, so that was promising. Feeling the warm air blasting me on the downhills was so rejuvenating. The second half of the ride was pretty mellow, as my bike decided to self-destruct a bit on me and I couldn't push it on the downhills. Apparently, I had worn my bottom derailleur pulley down so much at Heritage Park that the chain actually fell off of it and was running through the cage next to the pulley. Of course it didn't take long to wear through the carbon on the cage, so now I need to replace it, or find one in the junk pile at the shop to cannibalize. (insert cha-ching cash register sound here)

Sunday we managed to sneak in a road ride before the rain hit..ha ha! I fear I'm becoming too much of a roadie these days, but it allows me to train a lot more specifically and the post-ride clean-up is generally a lot less hassle. I'm looking forward to another good week, though I can't say I was thrilled to see snow flakes when I left for work this morning. 70 degrees again by Wednesday...whoo hoo!

Heritage Park 6 Hour

2010-03-13T22:19:00.005-05:00

After three days of rain, and more predicted for today, I was pretty much dreading this race, but knew it would be the best way to get a reasonably hard workout in with the less than desirable conditions. I hadn't raced or ridden at Heritage Park in probably 5 years, but the course was supposedly more flowy and smooth than it was previously.

I did a hard workout on Thursday and I immediately felt the leftovers in my legs when we started the parade lap. Since I didn't have snappy legs, I wasn't as close to the front as I wanted to be when we hit the woods and it ended up getting pretty bottlenecked in the first section of singletrack. Some guy, maybe 3 riders up, went down and caused quite a slow down. We worked our way through and then it seemed we got held up again once we hit a twisty, narrow section that was tough to pass on. It wasn't so much that we were going slow, but it just wasn't smooth...lots of slamming on brakes and then having to accelerate again..what a waste of energy! Near the end of the lap, it finally opened up, and I was able to ride my own pace. I was slightly concerned because we were less than 45 minutes in and I could already feel some fatigue in my legs on the climbs. Ugh..gonna be a long day.

The course wasn't nearly as nasty as I anticipated - probably 50% of it was dry - but the other half was either wet or muddy and I was regretting my choice to not switch out my CrossMark tires with something more mud appropriate, like Nevegals. I was also regretting the fact that my spare bike was a singlespeed with way too hard a gear for that particular course. I'm pretty sure it would have crushed my soul if I had to ride it after the third lap or so. I had the lead at the end of the 3rd lap, but at the end of my 4th lap, I had to stop and have a somewhat lengthy pit to spray off my drivetrain and lube the chain. (Again, wished I had brought a spare GEARED bike, so I could just swap and go). I got passed while pitting, but I doubt my bike would have survived another lap. I managed to catch back up to the girl that passed me, but she picked up the pace once she knew I was back there. I didn't really have the horsepower to stay on her, and I had to take it easy on the muddy sections or I would have ended up on my ass.

So 6th lap, same thing happens. I catch back up so now I feel like I have to try to work hard again. Ugh..a part of me (um..my tired legs) wanted to just lollygag along till the race was over. I snuck past her while a guy was passing, but she stuck to me like white on rice. I tried to give it one last push up one of the longer climbs, but my crapped out legs weren't getting the job done. She ended up passing me back when I ended up off the trail when we overtook a slower rider.

I didn't pit on the final lap, hoping to close the gap, but I didn't really have the strength for anything other than a steady crawl. My bike was dying a slow death and sounded like total crap. And since I didn't pit, I ran out of Perpetuem at the beginning of the lap...not that it probably would have helped. So, I had ended up in 2nd by the finish, about 2 minutes down. Despite not feeling great, my time was good enough for 6th in the Expert Men's category, so I guess I wasn't going THAT slow. I think feeling fatigue on every climb just makes you FEEL like you're going super slow. The course was pretty tough, especially with the soft and muddy sections, and it seemed like there was never any reprieve. Lots of up/down with plenty of momentum killing roots and I just never found a good rhythm. My upper body is totally worked from the billions and billions of roots that we had to ride over. Definitely a good way to keep me on the bike for 5+ hours though..I had forgotten how LONG that actually is. Hopefully I'll get some more long rides in before the next one of these.

Recovery "Ride"

2010-03-07T18:12:00.005-05:00

Nothing on the training menu today other than recovery. I didn't even have to get on the bike but it was so nice, I couldn't resist taking Jayden to Red Top Mtn State Park. We hit the "mtn bike" trail, which is really nothing more than a gravel road. It was Jayden's second ride, and her first off-road ride.

She started making some noise half way thru, so I stopped to check out the situation. This is what I found..

Oh wait, mom, I really meant to say this...mountain biking is so AWESOME!

Here we have Sex on Wheels and Jayden on Wheels...nothing better than a happy baby out in the woods!

We stopped at a beachy section along the lake and Jay would have loved to just roll around in the sandy dirt ! (If mom would let her)

Jayden even had some dirt on her face by the time we were done, so I knew my job was done. I can't wait until she's older when she can say "faster mommy, faster!".

Snake Creek Gap #3

2010-03-07T08:50:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was the last of three Snake Creek Gap Time Trials. I missed the first two due to other events and illness, so I was excited to finally get out there. I was anxious to see where my fitness was, as I was a bit demoralized after NGAR when I had to take two weeks off due to pneumonia, then start over with my training. The weather forecast was sunny and 60 degrees too, so that was a double bonus. My only concern was that I might be a little less than smooth on the technical sections since I have mainly been riding my road bike.

My coach told me to ride hard on the climbs, but not to get much above a 170 HR, then to recover as much as possible on the downhills. This worked out to be a good strategy as I wasn't ready to completely bomb the downhills, so dialing it back a bit was fine by me. Once I crossed Dry Creek (which was NOT dry), I picked up my pace to bring my HR up to 170. The grassy roadbed was a bit messy with some decent sized mud holes. As I got close to the first singletrack section, I eased up since I knew the first part was pretty steep. Once I was able to shift down to my small chainring on the steeper climbing, my legs found their rhythm and I was able to pull away from the guys behind me with a HR in the high 160s. From that point on, I was liking all the steep, extended climbs, as it seemed like I was pulling away from those behind me. I managed to drop some guys going up Horn Mtn and was equally stoked when they didn't catch me on the downhill.

I didn't stop at the sag, and just blazed through the parking lot, eager to hit the next climb and hopefully do some damage. This climb seemed quick and fun. Over the next rolling section, I used my small chainring a lot more than I normally would and it seemed to really keep my legs fresh for the hard section at the end. Some guy I passed asked if I was Willow (Koerber..super fast pro chick) and that made my day! I was rockin' and rollin' on the downhill to the next section of creeks. On the climb out, I was trying to take a drink and managed to lose the bite valve to my camelbak. My Perpetuem was pouring out so I immediately grabbed the hose and stuck it in my teeth. For some dumb reason I thought it was a better idea to ride with the hose in my teeth for 5 miles than just go back and pick up the bite valve. I took a sip about every two minutes until my bladder was drained and hoped that it was enough to get me to the finish, as I had no other calories.

Along the Hurricane Mtn singletrack, I caught sight of Paula and I slowly closed the gap. I hung back, rested, then made sure to pass quickly so she (hopefully) wouldn't try to chase me. I knew she was fast but I thought I was smoother in the rocks, and I had a full suspension bike, so I wanted to take advantage of the upcoming downhills and get in front of her before then. This gave me a bit of motivation to pick up the pace, and shortly thereafter I was able to pass Brenda. Now I was double motivated to keep motoring along.

I think I faded a bit near the end due to lack of calories, but looking at my elapsed time gave me the extra motivation to keep pushing. Once I hit the towers, I was home free, though I wished I had some extra weight to get me down the paved road section faster. I finished in 3:42, which was a new PR for me and I was able to smile the entire time and never did I feel like I was killing myself. Carey smoked the course on her singlespeed with a time of 3:27 and beat most of the guys there. I was happy to be second to her and got to take home some serious cold, hard cash for my effort.

After the first hour, most of my climbing was in the 160 HR range, so now I just need to figure out how much harder I can go without blowing up near the end. Its still early, so I'm excited to see what further gains I can make since I've actually started to train smarter.

Today I'm enjoying my recovery day and going to take Jayden out for either an easy ride or a short hike somewhere.

Challenge Four Adventure Race

2010-02-27T21:55:00.003-05:00

Today Chris and I had a "spa day" (meaning we had a sitter!) and got to race the Challenge Four together. It was sunny and nearly 50 degrees so we were pretty excited to get to run around in the woods. We had some formidable competition in the form of Kevin (one of my NGAR teammates), Bill (a past OME teammate), and Gina.

The race started out with a trail run along a mandatory route that was supposedly marked with flagging tape and volunteers. The problem was that the majority of the volunteers were teenagers who only spoke when spoken to (and even then it was just a mumble), and there were some confusing intersections that didn't have arrows, flagging tape or a volunteer. I'm not sure what happened, but somehow we (meaning us, Kevin's team, and some other front running teams) got directed off course and were kind of running around in circles wondering which way to go. We made our way back to the TA with a couple of other teams and headed out on our bikes.

We had to fight traffic on the way out, as there were runners coming back in, and on the way back in we had to fight bike traffic heading out in the wrong direction. We managed to lose the marking tape on the bike section as well and ended up going out of our way. We also had to contend with a nasty mud bog section that my drivetrain could have done without. When we returned to the TA, Chris scaled the climbing wall while I did the rope maze. The wall actually turned out to be pretty tough, as Chris had to climb the "hard" side since they were working on the easier side when we got there...and he climbed in bike shoes. Next it was off to the log pull which wasn't too terribly bad, but I'm glad I didn't have to do it by myself.

The next section was the canoe and we managed to get to our boat just before Kevin and his team. They had a much faster canoe so they blew by us on the water. The first two paddle points required a climb up a rocky embankment and I humped it up there and back pretty fast so we could stay close to Kevin's team. After CP 6, we could thankfully ditch the boat and head out on foot, which was much faster than paddling or dragging the boat in the 2-3 inches of water. We caught Kevin near CP 7, but they headed out before us. That was a good thing for us, as they managed to get a bit turned around and we were able to sneak by and nab all the CPs before they got back to their boat. Chris did a nice job with the navigation on that section and we were pretty efficient. We needed a buffer, as we knew they'd probably make up at least 5 minutes on the paddle back to the YMCA. The paddle back was a bitch as we had to drag the boat through the shallow section again (and the water was probalby 40 degrees! Cold!!!) The wind was horrendous as we came around some bends in the lake and at one point we were blown sideways into a bunch of stumps. We had a bit of reprieve for about 3/4 mile but again were nailed by the wind as we rounded the last bend to the YMCA. I had visions of the wind catching us and pushing us all the way across the lake, but thankfully that never happened and we were able to keep the nose straight and paddle back in at about 1.5 mph. We didn't see Kevin behind us, so that was good for us.

The last section was an orienteering section that we did on foot. It was mostly on the same trails as the earlier run and bike. We picked up the points without any issues, other than a slight hesitation as to what order to go in. We went in numerical order so we could just run across the muddy inlet to shortcut the trail on the way back in. We arrived at the finish at 5:12 pm, and it was fairly anticlimactic as no one really noticed we came in. Chris ran through the finish with his arms raised in an attempt to draw some attention. Kevin and company came in about 15-20 minutes later. I'm not certain, but I think we were the only two teams to clear the course.

We had burgers and awards afterwards at Little River Grill and even though Kevin's team was technically in a different category than us, the competitor in me still wanted to duke it out with them. We chatted afterwards and they joked that they should have followed us on the trek in the middle of the paddle, and then just smoked us on the paddle back in (which they would have). That seriously would have sucked, but I knew it wasn't Kevin's style to idly follow. Even though there were some issues with the race, it was still a fun day in the woods.

Back from Raleigh

2010-02-23T21:23:00.004-05:00

Well, good news is survived our trip to Raleigh for the Sycamore Scramble Orienteering Meet. The bad news is that there were a bunch of National Team Orienteers there and we got pretty schooled. On top of that, I managed to run 7.8 MILES on a 7.4 KM course...ya think that qualifies as a bad day? At least I got in three solid workouts over the weekend and my body is feeling it now. My bike workout today felt WAY too hard for what it was. It's early, but Jayden is asleep and I need some shut-eye to rebuild all the muscles that I tore up so Chris and I can redeem ourselves at the Challenge Four Adventure Race this weekend. Nighty-nite!

This time LAST year..

2010-02-15T14:35:00.004-05:00

At this time last year, I was at Fort Mountain riding...

Some things to note:

I ACTUALLY HAVE SKIN EXPOSED!!!!

THE SUN IS SHINING!!!!

ARMWARMERS AND VEST!!!!

NO FREAKING SNOW!!!!

Ugh...I hate to be a debbie downer, and all the Northerners with 5 feet of snow are rolling their eyes at me right now, but this weather sucks! I live in Georgia because I like mild winters, no snow, no ice, and no worries. This past week has been a pain to train in. Icy roads, snowy trails...yes, it's pretty...but if you have to do more than just ride along, it can be a real challenge. Not to mention the amount of time it takes to layer-up, put on shoe covers, etc. I'm about to ask my coach to start including all that in my workout time.

This weekend I opted to hit Blankets (yes, it was actually open) and see if I could do my scheduled workout there. I was off to a great start by wiping out on the ice at the bottom of the hill at the end of my street. Thankfully my bike wasn't damaged and none of the neighbors were outside. The roads in my neighborhood were still icy and seriously sketchy to ride on until I hit Sixes Road, where the ice was melted. I popped into the trail and after about 5 minutes realized that I wasn't going to be able to get my HR over 145 so I turned around and headed home. Some dude in the parking lot was kind enough to harass me for not sticking it out...sorry if my training actually has an OBJECTIVE..to GET FASTER...and not just admire the snow covered trees...I can do that on a walk with my daughter thank you very much! I ended up suffering mercilessly doing my over/under intervals on the trainer for an hour, then later that afternoon, after the ice melted off the roads, managed to get out for another hour and a half and do the rest of my intervals.

Sunday we headed up to Noontootla, and I had visions of muddy, wet FS roads. Nope..try snowy, white FS roads. All of 'em...even the ones down low. The climbing was pretty good, though we were getting colder than usual on the downhills since we had to take it easy to avoid sliding out. It never got above 40 degrees and actually started snowing on us pretty good during the ride.

Thankfully, we didn't see any snow last night or today yet, so all there is to deal with are the cold temperatures. Spring where are you? I'm soooo ready.

Adventure Race Class

2010-02-11T10:13:00.003-05:00

That's right kids, school is in session for an Adventure Race Survival Class to help racers prep for the Challenge Four Adventure Race. The class will be at OutSpokin' Bicycles in Woodstock, on February 17th at 7 pm.

Back in the Saddle

2010-02-08T15:45:00.002-05:00

Whew! Back to life as usual and of course just in time for the weather to take a nosedive. Saturday's ride was good to spin the legs. It wasn't ACTIVELY raining and I had on enough warm clothes to stay warm in the 38 degree temps. I was thinking how great it would be on Sunday when it was supposed to be MOSTLY SUNNY and 46 degrees. Hmph...never happend..at least the mostly sunny part never happened up in Bartow County where I was riding. Thankfully it was only a two hour ride.

Tomorrow I have a hard workout scheduled and it is supposed to rain...oh the misery, and there's no way I'll be able to hit my HR zones on the trainer so I HAVE to do it outside.

Recovery

2010-02-04T12:24:00.002-05:00

So I'm sitting out Snake Creek Gap (again) this weekend, as my coach advised me to just do easy rides since I am recovering from illness. I am a little bummed, but at the same time, it is supposed to rain today and tomorrow and sections of the course will probably be pretty nasty. Saturday weather isn't supposed to be great, so I doubt that many uber-fast times will be posted. I'll have to make the call at the last one, based on the times posted so far if I want to show up. It would $130 for a single race, but the 5th place payout in the women's open is $130...I'd hope I can at least get that...depends if a bunch of pros show up at the last race.

This past weekend, Jayden and I did the yellow course at a GAOC meet and she won! Granted I did all the walking and map reading, but still... She made it about 20 minutes this time before conking out. Unfortunately, mom likes to run the yellow course (can be done mostly on trail) like a red course (minimal trail) and Jay got to do some bushwhacking and we slid down a hill on some leaves. What fun! I'm hoping for warm weather soon so she can sit in the bjorn facing outward and I won't have to wear such a heavy coat to keep her warm.

I'm looking forward to the spring and warmer temps. Once we have a dry, warm weekend, I'm going to head up to Mulberry Gap for a mini training camp. We won some free stays from our NGAR win, so you can bet I'll be there.

Major Milestone!!

2010-01-23T16:24:00.002-05:00

Whoo hoo!!! Jayden's first bike ride!!! Mommy and Daddy actually got to ride bikes at the same time. The only issue was that Mommy was working hard and Daddy was hardly working so he pretty much froze the entire time. We went for a nice 1.5 hour road ride up near White...we figured it would be safer than the likely over-crowded Silver Comet.

North Georgia Adventure Race

2010-01-19T09:01:00.005-05:00

The North Georgia Adventure Race has always been an event that I'd consider a "character building experience", that separates the weak from the strong and discards those that come ill-prepared, whether it be in training, gear selection, nutrition, or navigational acumen. This year was no exception. 18,000 feet of elevation gain coupled with nearly 20 hours of steady rain made for some epic conditions.

After going through 3 different teammates who decided they weren't prepared for the challenge, Kevin and I got a call from Chris B. the day before the race saying that he was in...so we finally were a threesome with James and Goble as our support crew. My expectation going into the race was to navigate well, keep moving, and minimize any would-be mistakes. Though I've been riding 10 hrs a week for the last month or so, my runs have been limited to an hour and a half max and I have done NO paddling since May. Chris claimed to be out of shape, and also hadn't paddled in eons. Given these circumstances and a fairly stacked field, I guessed that we'd be able to land in the top 5, but didn't think we'd pull out a win unless there was some tricky nav that we ended up nailing. Going in with this expectation made the beginning of the race much less stressful.

Kevin was our runner on the prologue, and was probably in the top 5 back to the boats. By the time we got on the water and got moving, I think we were in 6th place. We basically slogged through the paddle, losing a couple positions in the process to other teams. By the time we arrived at the last paddle checkpoint, we were in 8th or 9th place. We opted to portage there, and thus the guys threw the boat over their heads and hoofed it up the steep road to the ridgeline of the peninsula. We ran down the road until we saw water in the inlet on the other side and at that point slid the boat down the hillside and got back on the lake. We had about a mile of unobstructed view on the water and didn't see any of the other boats that were in front of us...weird... As we rounded the bend into the main channel, we expected to see a bunch of other teams...no one except for one boat a good distance ahead of us. We spent a few minutes pondering what happened to the other teams and then decided it wasn't worth speculating and that we'd find out soon enough at the take out. I believe we were the 6th boat off the water. We did a full clothing change and hopped on our bikes to make our way towards Fort Mountain State Park, now being in 4th place among the coed teams.

We bombed down the hill and I immediately regretted my decision to forego glasses as I was getting tons of mud chunks in my eyes. Once we hit the paved road we formed a paceline and motored along. For the first time in a long time, I felt well within my limits on the bike. Kevin said not to take any long pulls, but I felt good and we accidentally dropped our other teammate at times. The climb up Peeples Road seemed easy and here we passed another team. Further on down the road we passed another team, so when we hit the Pinhoti Connector, we were the 2nd coed team. This climb wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and was mostly rideable except for a couple of sections up high. We arrived at Ft. Mountain in good spirits, did a quick transition, and checked in at CP 8.

From CP 8 we picked up the Gahuti trail, which was an uphill hike-a-bike, to the 301 trail. In retrospect, I wish we would have just whacked down to the 407 trail..I don't think it was really that bad...and it was ALL downhill. I ended up running a lot of the steep downhill as my 20 lb pack with all my gear for Windy Gap was making me super top heavy and that didn't instill confidence. I definitely didn't want to eat shit while we were doing well, and I think I ran down that mo-fo faster than I usually ride it anyways. We picked up 407 a little ways down, which was a mistake...should have just stayed on 301 because 407 sucked. We eventually ended up bushing down to the 301 anyways and it was a quick ride to CP 9 and CP 10. Out the backside of the park to the pavement and whoo hoo...here comes the RAIN!

We arrive at Windy Gap in 2nd and find that Nuun is still there..cool. We get shoed up and head out towards CP 12. We opted to run most of the road, then take a trail that cut the corner. It worked out pretty well except the road was at a lower elevation than shown on the map, so we had to drop down to it. The whack to CP 13 on Grassy Mtn was pretty decent, although my teammates who were wearing knickers through the briar patches may tell a different story. We ran into Nunn on the way up and arrived at CP 13 before them, however it all came back together at CP 14, where we really took our time to ensure that we stayed on our bearings so we wouldn't miss the small high point. The Milma and Windy Gap trails back to the bike drop were a sloppy mess and I'm amazed no one from Enduraventure or Nuun busted their asses as we jogged a pretty good pace to the trailhead.

We took a bit of a long transition and Nuun got out before us. My teammate wasn't feeling the love on the gravel roads, so we lost about 10 minutes to them on the way to Mulberry Gap. Once there, I asked for a Coke and my wish was granted. Chris had one too and it seemed to give him a boost, as we rode a decent pace up Pinhoti 3 and 4. As we neared the top of Pinhoti 4, I saw the lights of Nuun going the wrong way on the old roadbed. I told my teammates this and we quietly snuck by and headed to CP 17. We got more Coke at CP 17 (whoo hoo) then had to contend with the cold and windy as hell Tatum Lead Road. It was a bit chilly on the downhill and then we hit the Pinhoti trail which, while still downhill, got us off the exposed ridgeline. Lots of little creek crossings on the trail, most rideable and one with ice chunks still in it. By the time we reach CP 18 we're pretty cold and anxious to begin the Pinhoti Connector climb to warm back up.

Back at Ft. Mtn, the first thing we do is get dry and warm. Goble plotted our points and laid out a route for us while we took care of getting warm and eating. I think we stayed in the TA for 45+ minutes and no sign of Nuun...that was comforting. Since we started this section at 3:45 am, I took fairly conservative routes to the first few CP's, utilizing the trails whenever possible. The fog made our lights useless for spotting long distances, so whacking was risky. Goble had made us a second O-map so that Chris could help out with this section which was great, as my brain was starting to get a little foggy too. We worked out out attacks to most of the points and were nailing them. I do think I was on the outs on this section for a little while when I broke up a "M&M picnic" between Chris and Kevin and also when I insisted we crawl straight up a hillside to avoid going around the long way. Sometimes tough love is necessary, and I figured a win would void those memories from their minds. After we hit our 6th O-point, daybreak hit and we started to move a little faster, picking up the two points south of Hwy 52 pretty easily, and then making the final climb to the radio towers to nab the last point. Wouldn't ya know, we had issues with this one, in the form of we walked right by the point...twice! We saw a small hole on the ridge, stopped there and hmmmed and hawwed, not noticing the huge gaping hole over to our left where the CP was hanging. We ran around in circles for about 15 minutes doing our WTFs until another team was kind enough to give out a yell when they spotted the point. Yup, sure enough it was about 20 feet from where we had walked by...twice..but we didn't notice it since it was kind of off to the side of the ridge. With that final punch we were outta there and just had a 1.5 mile jog back to the finish on the paved road. We arrived at the finish around 10:45 am and didn't see any other teams hanging around. When we heard the cheering as we ran into the cabin, it was confirmed that we had held onto our lead and won the 2010 edition of the North Georgia Adventure Race.

Preparing for the Deep Freeze..

2010-01-07T12:49:00.002-05:00

Whoo hooo...high of 31 degrees/low of 16 degrees for Dahlonega, GA on Saturday. Tell me again WHY I sign up for races in January?? Isn't there some saying..."Fool me once, shame on you....fool me twice, shame on me"?

By the time the race starts it should be up to about 19 degrees at the low elevations and probably single digits up on the ridge. To make matters worse, the only sag is up at Winding Stair Gap, where it will be wretchedly cold, windy and anything left there in liquid form that isn't hard liquor is gonna be solid as a brick. Perhaps I shall test out my new thermos and leave some hot chocolate..not that I will want to stop to drink it.

I have my clothing choice dialed in, as I've done enough cold Adventure Races to know what works best, including a shower cap over my helmet. Not stylish, but keeps the wind off the head on the descents and being windproof is going to be essential.

The following weekend is NGAR, where we will all undoubtedly freeze. Buy up some stock in whatever company makes those chemical handwarmers, as I foresee a whole bunch of racers flocking to REI in the next week to buy boxes of them.

In other exciting news, Jayden is now tall enough to fit in the jogger/bike tow-behind. Lucky for her, her chariot is completely enclosed, waterproof and windproof, so she can stay toasty warm while mom and dad turn into icicles. We put her in it the other day and her eyes got all big and she looked a little worried...but that may have been because daddy was running it around the house doing wheelies with her in it. I'm hoping to get her out for a short run on Sunday if I still have feeling in my toes after Saturday's ride.

Falling down on the Blog...

2010-01-03T22:26:00.003-05:00

Sorry for my lack of updates lately. I've been at home for the holidays but Jayden has also been out of "school" for the past week and a half, so even when we were home, we were busy. I've also been training with my new coach for two weeks now and so far so good. The best thing for me is that I have to upload my workout files nightly, which makes me far more likely to get out on my bike when it is wretched cold outside.

He advised that I skip the first Snake Creek Gap, and that I get some good riding in this weekend in its place. Despite the cold temps, it wasn't THAT bad and I had a couple of good rides. This coming week is a recovery week before Southern Cross. I still haven't decided which bike to ride...I can ride my cross bike and have the shit beat out of me and ride slow on the downhills or I can ride a tank of a hardtail 29er that I borrowed from the shop. Hmm....decisions decisions..

First Snow Ride of the Year

2009-12-21T11:31:00.002-05:00

I wish I could suck at my job as much as the weather man sucks at his and still collect a paycheck...so where exactly was it supposed to be 45 and partly cloudy yesterday?

Our plan was to ride the Pinhoti's up to Highway 52 then head over to Tatum Lead Road/and the adjacent ORV area. After climbing up to Hwy 52 and nearly wiping out on the pavement (black ice), we crunched through some fresh snow on Pinhoti 4 that really made for a lot of work on the climbs. We popped out on Tatum Lead Road, which was covered in a sheet of ice. Not so much fun when you need to go downhill. At that point, we decided we didn't want any broken bones for Christmas and we headed back down the mountain and just rode the Pinhoti Trails in reverse. At this point, my lack of cold weather gear (sleep depravation made me forget my jacket) came back to bite me in the arse and I was starting to get chilled. Considering it was 38 degrees at our car when we finished the ride, I'm assuming it was easily in the 20's up at the higher elevations.

Today I started training with my new coach, Mike Schultz. Today was a strength day, tomorrow is an intensity day to gain some data about how my HR responds to stress and how quickly it recovers. Thankfully (or not), Miss Jayden woke up at 5 am this morning, so I was able to get my strength workout in before work. Its nice to know that I can just relax (is that possible with a 4 month old??) when I get home tonight.

Family members will start arriving at our house tomorrow so we should have quite the crowd for Christmas...7 adults, 2 babies, and 4 cats. It should make for a nice chaotic holiday!

Specialized Gear Reviews

2009-12-16T21:48:00.002-05:00

I had a chance to try out some new Specialized cycling gear that I wanted to comment on (since nothing else exciting is going on).

The first is the Women's Deflect Hybrid Jacket. I won this jacket as a door prize at OutSpokin's Customer Appreciation Night. I was pretty stoked...not that I really NEEDED another jacket, but I liked the cut and styling as well as the fact that the sleeves zip off and the jacket becomes a vest. I am sorry to say that after wearing this jacket 3 times in different conditions, I am quite disappointed. The biggest problem with it is it's lack of breathability. Even with the sleeves zipped open (similar to pit zips) and the front halfway unzipped, I still got a ton of condensation on the inside of the jacket. While the jacket is indeed windproof and hence, quite warm, once you start doing any aerobic activity you end up soaked from the inside. I found this even happened when I did a base level road ride where my heart rate was generally in the 140s. When I wore it on a misty road ride, it stopped raining for the last half hour of our ride, and when we finished, the jacket was dry on the outside and soaked on the inside. Something is wrong with that picture. Bottom line..looks better on the hanger than it performed out in the field. Some smarter fabric would do much to improve this product.

Next I tried the Women's BG Motodiva MTB Shoe. The sole was good and stiff although the tongue was also very stiff and was digging into my ankle. I'm hoping this issue will go away as the shoes break in..if not I will have to do some trimming. The toebox was nice and roomy, with plenty of room for my Merino Swiftwicks. I noticed the ratcheting mechanism did not seem to work as smoothly as on my Sidi's, so I'm anxious to see if I can actually get the shoes off after a bunch of mud buildup. I haven't spent a lot of time in these shoes, so will report back after they have been thoroughly abused. So far, they seem pretty decent, assuming the tongue softens up a bit.

Cross Season Finale

2009-12-07T14:06:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was the final race of the 2009 Georgia Cross Series. I have to say I'm sad that it is all over as I truly had fun racing this season. Perhaps it was that there were some stong ladies out there that never let me win easy, or perhaps I was motivated and well rested after a 9 month hiatus from interval training. And to think it all started with a "what the hell-lets give it a try" decision to go out and race a month after giving birth. Attending all the races was a constant struggle, as my entire family was sick with cold after cold during the entire month of November. I did quite a few races feeling like crap (of course against my better judgement) but it all worked out (and was somehow worth it) in the end, and I got to stand on the top block of the series podium.

I wasn't where I wanted to be fitness-wise, and the constant illness kept traning to a minimum. Any fitness gains were to be made through racing each weekend, which did not amount to much considering my body was already fighting off various germs and infection. So while I didn't pick up much speed over the course of the season, I did become more comfortable with the high intensity riding, so that the last races of the season seemed much easier physically than the first race, where I was gasping for air and running scared. While I didn't have the speed to match the top girls, I did enjoy playing cat and mouse with some others who were closer to me in terms of speed and that made the racing very enjoyable. There is nothing more satisfying than launching a successful attack.

I am looking forward to next year and hope that some smart training will help me get back the speed I once had, as it seems the Georgia Cross series gets tougher each year.

Georgia Cross - Elks Aidmore

2009-11-30T13:03:00.002-05:00

The second to last stop of the Georgia Cross Series was this past weekend. Of other notable news, our entire household has been sick for the entire month of November. I am keeping Kimberly Clark in business by buying more Kleenex every week!

Anyways, back to the race...it was a really fun course. Lots of high speed corners and fast downhills. Wish I had the opportunity to ride my SS there, as it would have been a great SS cross course.

I had a bad start as I pulled out of my pedal and couldn't get clipped back in quickly enough. I think I had to settle for 5th place going into the woods, which was not what I had planned. We immediately hit some off camber singletrack, and as the riders in front of me slowed, I could see the two leaders pulling away quickly. On a small climb I was able to pop back into 3rd but I botched riding through a ditch a little later, caused a bit of a pile up and lost even more time to second place. By the time I got back on my bike 2nd place was well out of sight. I tried to chase but guess I didn't have that "extra" gear, so I just rode steady. There were a couple of attacks from Becca and Elizabeth, but both riders slowed after attacking so I was able to maintain contact. I pretty much just waited for the others to get worn down a bit, then picked it up and rode off into 3rd place by myself, picking up time in the technical sections.

Next weekend is the final race, which I am thankful for as all these Sunday Cross races, while great fun, are a huge hinderance to my endurance training. I really wish the races were Saturday instead..

Hopefully by early December, Jayden and I can finally get rid of our colds and I can get back to some semblance of actual training. I'm looking into hiring a coach for 2010 so I can try to get back into XC racing shape. I'd like to build some power and improve my speed so that I don't have to use a "wait for the other riders to get tired" strategy in cross. It looks like I'll be focusing on shorter races next year, as well as some off-road duathlons.

Here's our podium..I'm trying to get Jayden comfortable with being up here for when she starts out-riding me!

Barnsley Gardens CX

2009-11-23T10:32:00.004-05:00

One word...MUDFEST!

I don't think I have ever felt quite so retarded while doing a cross race...EVER! After being sick all week and not riding and then hearing that the course would be roadie style, I wasn't terribly motivated. I basically figured I'd show up, see what happened, hope I didn't go into a coughing fit during the race, and collect my series points.

My morning started early, as I went to help Chris set up for an Orienteering meet that we (well, really HE) were hosting at Sope Creek. My "help" consisted of dragging 50 lbs of water out into the woods in the tow-behind kid carrier on a saturated Sope Creek trail. It was raining hard when we got there and I figured I'd be going slow anyways, so I didn't feel like taking off my hood and putting on a helmet. I met some runners out on the trail and they must have thought I was the worst parent ever with helmet-less mom dragging the kid trailer around in the 40 degree rain and mud. If they only knew all I had in there were water jugs, and thankfully they didn't see when I flipped the whole damn thing over on my way back in. Ugh...my only pair of bike shoes were soaked and they would remain that way until I put them back on when I got to the cross race.

When I got to Barnsley Gardens, I noticed that the racers were completely covered in mud. Apparently the course had been changed back to its original format and was grassy and very muddy. I was horribly unprepared, as I had left my spiked bike shoes at home, which resulted in me slipping and sliding all over on the messy running sections. Running is usually a strength of mine, but you'd never know it with how I was flailing around out there. I then made the #1 stupid decision of the day and opted to ride my MTB after a quick pre-ride on the cyclocross bike. There were some corners that I couldn't ride well on my CX bike, but I figured I'd be fine on my MTB. WRONG! They were so chewed up by the time we raced that I was off my bike running anyways. I felt like I was just doing everything wrong...picking bad lines and sliding out and bogging down...falling into a creek up to mid-thigh and having to "seal" myself back out...cursing under my breath as my fat tires just bogged down in the peaunt butter mud...and generally just not wanting to push hard...argh!

I rode with two others for 2 laps and we swapped out the lead as each other would fall down or slide out. I think on the third lap we lost one girl and were down to two. I took the lead again as Becca slid out in tight corner. We hit a slippery singletrack section and then all of a sudden it was quiet behind me. When I made it to the long run up the spectators said I had a good 10 second gap. At that point I figured I needed to get my head on straight and ass in gear. I ran hard up that run to get out of sight and had finally gone around enough times to start picking the faster lines through the mud. Over the next 3 laps or so I built up a nice gap by finally starting to ride smarter and was conveniently caught my the men's leader right near the finish so I was done on that lap. I couldn't believe I pulled out a win with how things had shook out, but I guess the other girls were having issues as well. Next stop, Conyers!

On the mend?

2009-11-19T11:24:00.002-05:00

So I finally went to the doctor yesterday and got some antibiotics. I SEEM to be feeling better, however, it is Thursday and this is usually the day where I come down with some new, miserable symptom...so we shall see.

Apparently with the forecasted rain this weekend, the Barnsley Gardens cross course went from "tight and technical" to a mixture of pea gravel and pavement...yuck! Sounds like a suffer fest to me or perhaps a recipe for some road rash - both of which I am not looking forward to. The thought of resting up all weekend to go ride 45 minutes on pea gravel is fairly unappealing to me, so I think I might just head up to do the Chili Dawg ride on Saturday (in the rain...yay!) and show up at the cross race with whatever I have left in my legs and collect my series points. It would be nice to win the series, but at the same time, its a real hassle to HAVE to show up when you're feeling crappy or have a better alternative. Grumble Grumble...

Paulding Meadows Cyclocross

2009-11-16T09:50:00.004-05:00

Another week of having a cold..now it has taken residence up in my lungs so I spent the greater part of last week coughing up crap. I've decided to go for the Series Overall in cross, so I have to make an appearance at the remaining races...hoping to be healthy by Barnsley Gardens next weekend.

We raced at Paulding Meadows park, which is the site of the very first cross race I ever did back in 2000 or 2001...before all the cool kids were racing cross. The course this past weeknd was the best I've raced on at that park. Very twisty and some super fun, fast, swoopy downhill sections. The sand on the backside was interesting, but it was pretty packed down by the time we raced so it was fairly benign. There were some muddy sections too, mostly on downhills, so I opted to ride my mountain bike again. I knew I'd lose a bit of time on the paved climbs and straightaways, but I'd gain some time in the mud and have a heck of a lot more fun on the downhill sections.

I got a good start, either that or the other girls LET me have a good start, as I kind of have a target on my back after finishing pretty consistent at the last few races. I popped into the grass in the lead and was able to maintain it the entire race. I'd gain a few seconds in the muddy sections, which forced the other girls to have to work harder on the paved climbs to catch back up. I think this took a lot out of them, because after the first lap, I started to open up a sizable gap.

Riding the mountain bike made the course just seem more fun, as even with the fork locked out, it was a much smoother ride than on my cross bike. By my last lap, I had a 1.5+ minute gap, and I could hear the men's race leaders charging up behind me on the course. I only got passed by one guy, but it meant I was done on that lap so I eased up a bit on the final half mile, as my throat was starting to hurt pretty bad...that and my legs were just a wee bit tired.

When I finished, I was very pleased with the victory, but I felt pretty crappy. My throat was dry and irritated, so coughing was pretty unpleasant. The hot 75 degree weather wasn't helping either! After about 10 minutes of drinking fluids, my body settled back down so that I could retrieve my bikes and feed Jayden. I was so dirty that little chunks of mud kept falling out of my hair onto her while she was nursing. Thankfully she didn't notice and was just happy enough to be back in mommy's (dirty yet loving) arms.

Georgia State Cyclocross Championships

2009-11-09T09:51:00.002-05:00

After coming down with a nasty fever and sore throat on Thursday night, I thought my hopes of bringing the Georgia CX State Champion Jersey back to the Randall household were all but gone. Thankfully my fever subsided Friday afternoon and with the help of some extra strength Tylenol, we packed up the car Saturday morning and made the long drive to Savannah. Jayden slept the entire 4+ hour drive, even when we stopped to eat lunch. I actually had to wake her up to feed her when we were half way, for fear she'd wake when we were on the road again and turn into a ravenous, screaming velociraptor. She was so conked, we had to do everything short of dumping water on her to get her eyes to open.

When we got to the venue at the Savannah Speedway - a dirt stock car track - I found that the course was flat and extremely sandy. There were a lot of sandy corners and if you overcooked any of them, you'd be on the ground and likely out of contention. There was also a short section of the course that had some BMX style humps that were pretty fun, although I wasn't going to try to jump anything on my cross bike. I was a little worried about Sunday's race because the course didn't seem like one that favored any of my strengths...it was fast, flat, and only had two short off-the-bike sections.

Only 6 girls lined up at the start (as opposed to the 12 we had at the previous race I did), 5 from Georgia and Kim F. from Tennessee. Only the Georgia residents were eligible for the jersey, and we knew Kim would likely just ride away from all of us, so it was a race for second place in the race AND the State Champion Jersey.

Becca went out hard after Kim and I could tell she meant business. I hopped on her wheel to save some energy and see what she had going on. After she lost her momentum in the first corner, I passed her and took the lead. We went back and forth with her coming around me on the straights and me passing in the corners for much of the first lap.

After she came around for one last attack, I let her burn some energy and then counter attacked right before a twisty section. I was accelerating faster out of the corners so I built up a few second gap.

Once I hit the back side of the course where the BMX humps were, I gunned it again, gaining a few more seconds.

I repeated this process each lap, and gained a couple precious seconds in each corner. I was suprised that I actually felt decent, and while I couldn't power away and come close to catching Kim, I was able to ride pretty steady the entire race.

When I had two laps to go, I rode hard, thinking I'd be passed the men's leaders and would be done with my race on that same lap. Funny enough, I was about 10 seconds too fast and had to ride another lap - which I complained about as I rode by Chris...

It turned out that Becca had been caught by the guys, so she couldn't chase anymore and I could have rode that last lap as a cool down and the outcome would have been the same. However, I was nervous and wasn't 100% certain she had been caught so I still kept pushing...no getting pipped at the line for me this time!

So I was actually second in the race, but was the first Georgia resident so I got to take home the Jersey. Here's the Georgia State Champs Podium - finally I'm on the tall block!

This is what it feels like when you do a cross race with a head cold...

So I'm wondering how many more colds there are at Jayden's school that we are going to get before we can all be healthy again. I'm tired of being up to my elbows in snot!

Weekend Update

2009-11-02T10:03:00.003-05:00

Friday - OutSpokin' light demo and night ride cancelled due to rain. I went and rode anyways but came home so filthy that I had to get in the shower with my riding clothes still on. Got in trouble because of the mess I left in the shower.

Saturday - Took Jayden and Chris shopping in the morning then Chris and Jayden carved a pumpkin.

For some reason, this photo reminds me of mini-me from Austin Powers...

We went to the GAOC Night-O in the evening...still raining. Chris killed everyone using a strategy that involved hitting all the easy to find, closer in, and lower point value controls. He found a ton of them though in an hour. I, on the other hand, chose to go for the far out, hard to find, high point value controls which did not work out so well. Spent close to a half hour running around in circles in a series of ditches trying to locate one of them. Missed the time cutoff by 16 seconds, so was penalized on top of my already crappy run. Did not feel like I even got a good workout in since I was spending so much time looking at my map going WTF...

Sunday - My mom went back to Illinois and later in the morning I went for a ride at Pine Log.

The leaves are really pretty on the trees but I sure hate them on the ground! I'm waiting to get the stick of death in my spokes...getting faster though and forcing myself to work hard on the climbs...gotta put in a good showing this coming weekend at the Cyclocross State Championships if I'm healthy. Jayden got her first cold yesterday and infected both Mommy and Daddy. Despite having a low grade fever and some sinus congestion, she slept ok and was in a good mood, so we are thankful of that.

Today I'm back at work, but am only staying until around noon so I can go home and take care of my little pumpkin.

Halloween Festivities

2009-10-28T08:21:00.002-04:00

This Friday, OutSpokin' is hosting a light demo at Blankets Creek, which of course includes a night ride. Costumes are highly encouraged, so Chris and I will be out there. I hope it isn't cold, as my costume will lose its appeal if I have to put on several layers underneath it...

Saturday night is the annual Georgia Orienteering Club Night-O. This year it will be at Dauset Trails, which is certain to be a disaster if my HID light doesn't work. It didn't work at Midnight Rush but seemed to be functional again once I got home and tried it in my living room..grrrr. The event also includes a pot-luck cook out and I'll be bringing my banana pudding, so that in itself should give you reason to attend.

Midnight Rush

2009-10-27T13:15:00.004-04:00

...its an adventure race, not one of Jayden's night time feeding frenzies! This past Saturday, after weeks of diligent pumping to build up a hefty milk surplus in the freezer, I got to have a day away to do a 12 hour race up near Cornelia, GA at the Lake Russell WMA. I was originally going to race with Kim, but she got sick a couple of days before the race, so I was adopted by Julia and Thomas, who were on a second OutSpokin' Bikes team.

The race started with a "prologue" trail run section that took about an hour and a half. I set a moderate to fast pace at the start and was surprised when Thomas (a pro mountain biker/all-around-badass who doesn't ever run) was right there next to me, and Julia (a seasoned xterra/dualthlon/XC/AR/all-around-fast-chick) was falling a little behind. Apparently, Thomas is good at everything he tries... We walked a little bit towards the end, but were still within the first couple of teams back to the TA. We picked up our bikes and after realizing that we weren't coming back to our TA at our campsite until the race finish, I tossed my manual breast pump in my pack for later use...fun eh?

The next bike section was all gravel or paved roads. Thomas was on his singlespeed, so he set a nice fast pace up the climbs that kept us working. The nav was straightforward so we were able to move through that section pretty quickly and made our way to Currahee Mountain for our next transition.

Once at Currahee Mountain we got another map for a trekking section that was mostly on trails with a little bit of bushwhacking. Again, the nav was pretty straightforward and there was, of course, the obligatory bushwhack up Currahee Mtn. My "girls" were getting pretty swollen, so I had to pump about halfway through this section. I went off into the woods a bit and sat down to get pumpin'. Thankfully only one team came by, but they did ask if I was ok...I'm not quite sure they realized what I was doing.

Once we cleaned that section, we were back on our bikes for an even longer ride back to the start/finish. When I strapped on my Niterider, I found that it didn't work, so I was relegated to wearing my headlamp. No worries though, as both Thomas and Julia had good lights. The nav was still pretty easy, although I did blow by one CP that we had to backtrack for because I wasn't watching the map and distance close enough. Once we hit the paved road back to the campground, Julia's light totally went out, but we were almost home so it didn't matter.

We finished about 11 pm and had obtained all the checkpoints. Julia and Thomas stayed up and made a campfire and pasta...me - well I just crawled into my sleeping bag and went to bed. A fine end to my "day at the spa".

Cool Cyclocross Video

2009-10-20T17:52:00.005-04:00

This is pretty cool...courtesy of Steve Hagan.

Georgia Cross #2

2009-10-19T08:13:00.004-04:00

After a week of feeling pretty crappy from mastitis, we headed up to the cyclocross race at Montaluce Winery in Dahlonega. I wasn't sure how it would go and I was a bit worried since I didn't really get to work in any intervals after the last race...I had hoped to be faster. I heard the course was "straight up and straight down" and after a quick pre-ride, I decided my weapon of choice would be my mountain bike.

I think I made the right decision for me, because my legs were a bit heavy and I needed the easier gearing on the climbs. I was also able to ride the downhill section much faster, which let me save some energy for the second half of the course. I ended up third again, which I was happy with considering we had a field of around 12 racers this time, but I just didn't feel strong and quick. I felt like I was on the defensive the entire race, rather than the offensive.

Nice weather is rolling in this week, so I hope to get some workouts in and then will head to Lake Russell WMA for Midnight Rush this weekend for a long walk in the woods.

Chris got a fancy new camera and took a ton of pictures. Here's just a sampling...

Julia Radmann rounds a corner

Julia just loves the barriers and is all smiles

Kevin "Roofus" Adams on the gradual climb

Thomas Turner gettin' it done

Thomas's mom can add professional waterbottle hander offer to her resume after all these years of racing

Julia and Trish watching Thomas take the win in the Men's A Race

Women's A podium...love my little pink bunny!

Frogtown 10 Mile Trail Challenge

2009-10-11T09:50:00.002-04:00

Part run, part obstacle course - the Frogtown Trail Challenge was one of the most fun events I've done in a long time. The trails were of the unmaintained ATV type with lots of logs to hurdle and ditches to climb through.

The first mile had us running through the woods with three ditches to climb through, which caused mass chaos right off the line. I was glad that I took off fast and was just behind the college cross country runners to avoid any bottlenecks. The next major challenge was a straight up, off-camber 200' vertical climb up a big hill that left me and everyone else gasping for air. I held the women's lead for about 5k but was passed somewhere between mile 3 and 4. We had to go through a culvert under the road which was waist deep on me. Mile 4 to 5 was probably the toughest for me...just felt slow...but then I started to feel better. Between mile 5 and 6 was a long section that we had to run in the creek bed which was pretty fun and tiring at the same time. I managed to not trip over any submerged rocks or logs, so yay for me!

At mile 6 I grabbed a couple shots of gel from my drop bag and the next two miles went by quickly and I felt fast again. We had to cross a creek on a log - thankfully no bottleneck there, but I did slip and slide down the embankment on my way down to the log. I'm sure there was a photographer there too to catch it all.

When I got to mile 8, I was thinking whoo hoo...only 2.3 more miles! It was the longest 2.3 miles ever, as the distance seemed to really be dragging on. There were a couple of big hills that I probably took it just a bit too easy on, as a second woman came charging by on the flat coming into the finish. I didn't even see her, and I thought I had a large gap behind me so I wasn't pushing super hard on the last mile. I wish I would have known she was coming, as I would have picked it up to keep her from bridging up to me. I felt good, but I didn't have any sprint left in my legs after all the log hurdling and high knee running through the creek.

I ended up finishing in an hour and forty minutes. I was the third overall female and won my age group. I ended up in the top 20-25 of 180 or so racers, so I was pleased with that considering I haven't run ten miles since my last long adventure race...and certainly not at that type of pace.

It was a really fun event that I'd definitely do again!

Georgia Cross #1

2009-10-06T18:55:00.002-04:00

Against my better judgement (ha), I headed down to Macon for the first race of the Georgia Cross Series. I had raced at the venue before and felt that the course didn't suit me very well, but was pleasantly surprised when I saw that this year's course had a couple of forced dismounts through the sand. The Women's A field was pretty stacked with a Pro XC racer and a handful of roadies. My start was bad, as expected, as I just didn't have the horsepower to go out that fast. As we hit the transitions, I started picking off the girls in front of me and eventually made it up to third. I held the girl in front of me to the same gap for a couple of laps, but just never could catch her. The intensity HURT, in a good way, and the running sections were pretty brutal - especially since they all seemed to be at the end of the lap.

It was great to get out there and it reminded me of some things I need to do to perhaps improve my placing next time...

1. Arrive early enough to do more than one lap of a pre-ride and do it at race pace. I misjudged how long the drive there was and we got there late. I didn't do a lap at near race pace, so I didn't have all the corners dialed in and lost a good bit of time on the first lap.

2. Shift to an easy gear before the transition so that you can ride out the hill instead of running the entire way up it...had I done this, I may have been able to catch 2nd place.

3. Do some freaking intervals that involve running up a hill, then jump on your bike and push so hard your eyeballs bleed.

No pics this time...hopefully I can get Chris to go to the next one and take some photos with his snazzy new camera.

Outing with Jayden

2009-10-02T16:16:00.003-04:00

Some pics from Boling Park. We also went to Kennesaw Mtn on Tuesday, but she didn't get to go to the top of the mountain. Next week...

Before we took these pics at the bridge, Mom ran a 21 minute 5k (uh...not with the Baby Bjorn), so she is getting back into running shape.

Red Top Bubba Goat

2009-09-20T19:10:00.002-04:00

Seeing as we've have nothing but downpours this past week, I guess I didn't expect today to be any different. We packed up the car - which it takes twice as long because we seem to have twice as much stuff we have to pack, including our little munchkin. At the last minute, I decided to run the short Bubba Goat course (8K) while Chris did the long course (12K). After completing the "short" course, I'm really glad I didn't do the longer one because the short was plenty long and I got a mother of a blister on my heel that tore open and was shooting fire up my leg every time I had to run up a steep hill. I ran pretty clean - a few less than optimal routes since I was getting annoyed at having to whack through vines, ivy, and small pine trees and one entanglement with a nasty thorn vine, which left me with holes in my tights, shirt, legs and torso. I did make the mistake of NOT skipping one control (which you were supposed to do - I'm blaming it on sleep deprivation) so I ended up being out there a few minutes longer than I really needed to be. Still came in right behind Goble and made him work for the last 50m as I tried to run him down. Felt good...could keep up with Chris, Anna, and the other fast people until our two courses split.

More rain forecasted for tomorrow, so it may be another day on the trainer unless we get a break in the weather that coincides with one of Jayden's naps. I hate to say it but I wish I could at least ride at Blankets, but it has been closed all week due to the massive amounts of rain we've been having. Hopefully the sun will shine again soon!

National Orienteering Day

2009-09-13T15:23:00.002-04:00

Yesterday Chris and I took Jayden to her first orienteering meet. Sure, she slept most of the time, but we're confident she'll be running the white course by the time she's two. It was good to get out and run around in the woods, even if we were a little bit sleep deprived. I felt pretty good jogging without the extra 17 lbs of baby, and it was certainly nice to make it an hour and twenty minutes without having to go to the bathroom.

The next National Orienteering Champion!

Sunday I got out for a short ride at Blankets...that's pretty much as far as I can go in between feedings at this point. I definitely felt lighter and faster, and it was nice not having to worry about crashing. Oh, and no more pedaling with my knees out and my jerseys fit again. Ah, all is right with the world again!

Welcome Jayden Corinne Randall!

2009-09-07T16:30:00.003-04:00

Our new little bundle of joy, Jayden Corinne Randall

Born September 2, 2009 at 1:44 pm

6 lbs 10 oz, 19.75 inches

Mom, Dad and baby are doing very well. Chris and I are getting 6 or more hours of sleep per night, although mine is in small chunks as I have to get up often to feed her. The delivery went without any complications and I am recovering very quickly. I feel good and do not have any soreness or swelling, so I should be able to start doing some easy riding soon.

In the meantime, Chris and I have been going for walks at night to keep the blood flowing to the legs. Jayden has been very good so far, with fairly minimal fussing and lots of sleeping. It has been fun hanging out at home with Chris and doing the mommy and daddy thing. I can't wait to get her out in the Baby Bjorn - maybe at National Orienteering Day next weekend.

Weekend Ride Pics and Still no Baby...

2009-08-31T08:11:00.006-04:00

We headed up to Bear Creek on Saturday so I could try out my 29er on the 5 mile climb up to Potatopatch Mtn. For whatever reason, I've never had the opportunity to ride my SS all the way to the top, so I figured what better time than when at 38 weeks...anything to pass the time, right?

Crazy enough, I made it without too much trouble, although without working abdominal muscles, I couldn't generate a lot of power on the really steep section of road and had to resort to a cadence of what felt like 30 rpm. Dreadfully slow it seemed on that section, but overall, we were the same speed as going a pretty good clip on geared bikes.

After making poor Chris (who'd much rather ride singletrack) suffer up that climb, he wanted to go down Bear Creek, which I wasn't totally jazzed about because I knew I'd have to be slow and I knew it would be muddy. But knowing that compromise is important, we headed down the slightly squishy Bear Creek Trail. I stopped about halfway down the downhill for a bathroom break and we heard some strange animal snarl/growl/I don't even know...that I'd NEVER heard before. Chris said it sounded like a cougar....and of course it came from down the hill where we had to go. I usually think the peeps who claim they've seen cougars in North Georgia are full of it, but we stayed close together anyway...just in case!

That was the highlight of our ride as the rest of the downhill was pretty slow and uneventful for me...oh, except for us both getting doused with chiggers or something in the grass field before we hit the hard left onto the singletrack. All of a sudden we were both itching like crazy!

I like this picture...I look normal sized.

So lets see here...I'm carrying 16 lbs of baby and baby related goop, plus 6 lbs in my pack (yes, I weighed it). Please tell me I'm going to feel fast and light after she is born??!!

Gosh, I'm freaking huge!

Sunday we finished putting shelves up in the nursery closet so now I can officially say that room is DONE! I was having Braxton Hicks contractions all day, so I was beginning to get excited. I went for a long walk/jog that evening to move things along. As I was laying there in bed trying to fall asleep they seemed to get stronger so I was like whoo hoo!!! FINALLY! But no...they subsided by morning and now I haven't felt a peep. Bummer because I really didn't feel like going into work today...Please tell me this isn't going to drag on for another two weeks!

Fall Weekend in August

2009-08-24T13:21:00.002-04:00

We just had a great weekend, with crisp fall-like temperatures. I was glad I convinced Chris that we should go riding rather than clean out the garage on Saturday, because it was absolutely gorgeous up in the Mountains and dare I say even a bit cool in the shade. It would have been a great weekend to camp up there, but the thought of being on a Thermarest didn't sound all that appealing.

Sunday we headed to Red Top Mountain State Park, where Chris spent some time teaching orienteering skills to some folks while I did my pregger bike/hike brick. Another fine day in the woods and another week I can cross off my calendar. Supposedly only 3 more (or less?) to go!

Bricks

2009-08-20T12:35:00.002-04:00

..or more appropriately named...my "pregger brick". It consists of 5-6 laps on the Red Top Bike Trail on my singlespeed and then a hike around the 5 mile Homestead Trail. I've gotten to the point where about 2-3 hours is all I feel like riding, so I'm putting the usual long Wednesday ride on hold for a few weeks in lieu of some shorter workouts closer to home. I still think I'll drag Chris up to the mountains on the weekends, after all, I won't feel so bad if my water breaks in my OWN car! Perhaps driving on some crappy, washboardy FS roads would help in that department??

We had our final baby shower last night, again at Pappadeaux. Great eatin', except for the fact that all that spicy cajun food really works me over at this point! Got a lot of cute gifts and I just finished putting a baby swing together. I hope she uses this stuff for longer than 3 months...because if not we'll have one mother of a garage sale!

Off to the doc today for my weekly checkup where they essentially just weigh me and check my blood pressure, then send me home to cook some more. Good times!

Strong AR

2009-08-17T11:38:00.002-04:00

We had a nice weekend up in Tennessee where Chris raced the Strong AR with Kim and Goble. I had meant to ride around and take pictures of them on the bike, but they ended up moving faster than I predicted so I missed them and ended up never seeing them on the bike.

I did manage to get in a good ride on the Big Frog Loop, where I saw 2 bears...one of which I nearly collided with coming around a corner on a downhill. He heard me coming down the road and was trying to get away, but ended up running across the road right in front of me. Thankfully I wasn't going super fast and my brakes work well! Always lots of wildlife up near the Big Frog Wilderness, but I was happy once I made it back to the main FS roads where the racers were riding..just to scare off any other bears and boars that happened to be hanging around. Did I mention I really don't like boars?

Chris and his team did well, although a somewhat conservative approach on some of the bike points cost them time that took them out of contention for the win. They still finished 3rd among some stout competition though, so it was still a good showing for them and they took home some cash for their efforts.

We spent Saturday night in Etowah, TN at Kim's parent's cabin, which was nice and peaceful. Sunday we just lounged around, dried gear, and consumed calories.

Now that the race is over and I am in my 37th week, I am going to start my 5 mile a day hiking regimen (on my non-bike ride days). Hopefully all that walking around will spur some action and the little kicker can make her appearance a couple of weeks early!

Tick Tock

2009-08-13T17:43:00.002-04:00

That's me a ticking-time bomb...wondering when I will actually pop. I'm less than a month out so I guess it could be any day now. Thankfully it wasn't yesterday, as we went for a MTB ride in the rain, but in all honesty, it was nice to not have the sun beating down on us. And hopefully, it won't be this Saturday either, as Chris is racing at the Strong AR and I think his teammates will be just slightly annoyed if I go into labor and force them to pull out of the race. Frankly, I'll be slightly annoyed too, because I think his team will do really well. Next week though...I'm completely open!

We had another doc visit/ultrasound today and by their estimations, the little porker is up to 6 lbs 2 oz already. I guess it's all the apple dumplings, ice cream, and chocolate milk (all "recovery" food) I've been eating. So much for having a small baby, as I'm sure she'll pack on another 2+ pounds if I go the entire 40 weeks...ugh. It also just goes to show that the amount of weight you gain does not determine how big the kid is gonna be when it pops out, so somebody please tell those doctors who recommend a 30 lb minimum weight gain that it just makes the women plump up, not their offspring.

Gotta go stretch my legs on a hike tonight and maybe will go ride at Red Top tomorrow.

Jacks River Falls and Tanasi

2009-08-10T09:00:00.002-04:00

Had a fun weekend out in the woods. Convinced Chris to ignore all the household chores we needed to do and instead go for a hike to Jacks River Falls on Saturday. It was pretty as usual, but very crowded. Lots of girls in bikinis, but I was afraid to take my shirt off for fear of making everyone run and hide!

On Sunday, we headed up to the Ocoee Whitewater Center so that Chris, Bryan and Kim could do a little training before the Strong AR this weekend. They decided to do mostly forest service roads, so I joined them on their ride. I have to say the riding is getting tougher on me, but I managed to survive another 3 hours in the saddle. I'm really starting to have a hard time getting enough calories in for both me AND my passenger and my legs just aren't recovering like they used to. My body used to buffer lactic acid much more efficinently, not to mention this extra weight HAS to be slowing me down. I keep telling myself that I'll be stronger afterwards, so that is my light at the end of the tunnel!

Month 8

2009-08-06T17:10:00.002-04:00

Allright...home stretch...with an emphasis on SSTTTTRRREEEETTTTCCCHHHH! Hopefully a month or less left of this whole baby cookin' gig. My doc said its likely that I'll be a couple of weeks early just due to my size - that was music to my ears! I hope he guessed right! I'd like to make it until August 15th, as I'd hate to interfere with Chris's plans to race the Strong AR up in Tennessee, but anytime after that, let the contractions begin!

Still riding and was able to get out on the new 29er Singlespeed on the Noontootla loop on Wednesday. Every time we head out on ride, I wonder...hmmmm...what's going to happen today...I'm hoping that I end up with some great story to tell my daughter some day about how I went into labor at Winding Stair Gap and had to ride back to the car and go to the hospital in my bike clothes. It just wouldn't be right happening any other way.

Nursery DONE!

2009-08-03T10:47:00.003-04:00

How is it that puttting the final touches on a freaking bedroom is more exhasting than a 3.5 hour ride in the Cohuttas? We FINALLY finished our nursery yesterday but damn, I need a recovery day now!

Our color scheme was blues and greens and did I mention there are some frogs? Hopefully she won't have frog-o-phobia! It is not a "girlish" room, but blues and greens are soothing on mom's eyes, and that's what really matters at this point! I like pink on my bike jerseys, but not on my walls thank you very much...

Saturday

2009-08-01T20:14:00.002-04:00

Had a nice ride today with Chris up near Ellijay. We essentially did the route used for Southern Cross in reverse, so we could do the big climbing at the beginning of the ride. I was a little concerned that it might be a bit over ambitious since my rides during the last 3 weeks have been in the 2 hour range (mainly due to time constraints and riding partners), but I felt pretty good and was able to climb pretty much the same as usual. I keep telling Chris that at some point I WILL get way slower, but he thinks I'm lying..

Honestly, I'm amazed that he was able to go blazing down FS 17 and 630 with no rear brake whatsoever...I wouldn't have been so brave! The pavement ride from Crandall back to FS 18 was pretty hot, especially compared to the shady forest roads, so we stopped at the river and cooled off and refueled. I dropped some crumbs from a blueberry muffin into the river and attracted some pretty big fish that came right up to me...probably tastes better than worms, so I'll remember that should I ever take up fishing (ha!).

Tomorrow we should hopefully finish the nursery and I might hit Blankets for a SS ride in between thunderstorms if I'm feeling motivated. The One9 hasn't come in yet (grr) so I'm still impatiently waiting.

Another Week Down...

2009-07-31T11:56:00.003-04:00

...In the midst of my 34th week of being preggo and not a whole lot happened this past week. After last week's 5k, I decided I was done suffering on runs so I've decided I'm just going to walk really fast from now on. I still enjoy a little jog on the uphills, but the downs are just a wee bit uncomfortable.

Work is slow right now, but I'm getting huge, so its not like I can actually take advantage of the down time and pile on a bunch of training hours. Yes, I'm in self-preservation/maintenance mode right now - ride enough so I'm not a complete mess when I get back on the bike after the baby is born, but not so much that I go into labor on the side of the trail!

The hubby and I went for a hike at Boling Park yesterday and managed to not get too lost on the trail system there. We went down some new trails, which seemed to fork everywhere and all had yellow blazes. A little convoluted, but we managed to loop back around to the Etowah River trail and make it back to the car before the thunderstorms rolled in.

It was raining this morning so I suffered through the "Trainright Climbing" video. I haven't had my trainer out in months so I was a little cranky about it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my Niner One9 arrives at OutSpokin' today so Chris can get it built up for a test ride tomorrow. Even if it doesn't arrive, I see mountains in our future because I'm going a bit stir crazy at the moment.

Looks like my sis-in-law is gonna beat me in the race to have a baby. She's due 5 days after me, but went into pre-mature labor a couple of days ago. Needless to say, she'll probably have her baby in the coming weeks and save herself almost an entire month of waddling around and getting huge. I'm so jealous, but I guess you can't win them all!

St. Simons Island

2009-07-23T10:04:00.005-04:00

Been a while since I posted anything as we've been traveling for baby showers and work - figured it was time for an update. The past 4 days we were down near Brunswick, GA on St. Simons Island for a work conference. Of all the conferences that you can chooose to go to, this one is probably the best since it is right on the beach and has a bunch of activities that allowed me to burn off some of my energy.

There was an educational bike tour planned as part of the conference, so we all brought bikes this time around. Knowing that the bike tour probably couldn't be considered actual exercise, I went for a road ride around the island beforehand. Quite a lot of traffic and not the best environment for training. Oh wait, I'm not supposed to be "training" anyways...less bike riding, more kegels, right?

Anyways, there were a lot of bike paths - mostly wide sidewalks - but they were more suited to the 8 mph beach cruiser type cyclists. Chris later told me he saw all the tri-geeks out doing laps up and down the causeway bridge into Brunswick - the biggest "hill" in the area.

On Tuesday morning there was a 5k run, which I waffled about doing since my previous run was fairly slow and uncomfortable. I figured I'd give it a go and just run until it didn't feel so good and then just fast walk the rest. I guess running first thing in the morning before eating or drinking anything helped take some weight off, as I had a great run (for someone of my circumference) and averaged 7:20 per mile, for a final time of 22:49. Sure it was over 2 minutes slower than usual, but considering I expected 8 minute miles as a best case scenario, I was pretty excited. I did have to run fast though to get back to the hotel bathroom before I peed myself, so I guess I was fairly motivated.

Later that afternoon we had a volleyball tournament where we've been the runner-up the past two years. Well, for some strange reason, we were able to pull out the win this year. Perhaps it was because I played less agressive at the net and focused on passing the ball to my much taller teammates. Or maybe the other team was thrown off by my belly, thinking IT was the volleyball and missed the real one when it came to their side of the court.

Some pics from the race finish. Although he finished about 2 minutes ahead of me, Chris, being a nice guy, came back to run the last 20 feet with me. And yes, they thought it was necessary to pin two race numbers on me...

As always, thank goodness for black clothing and head-on photography...

Packing

2009-07-09T12:17:00.003-04:00

We're headed to the Chicago area for the weekend for a tandem baby shower for myself and Chris's sister. We are both due about 5 days apart. No, we didn't plan it like that..

I'm looking forward to seeing a bunch of family members that I haven't seen since our wedding and of course some good food. I was promised Bob Chinn's on Saturday night (kick ass seafood place) and the shower is at Pappadeaux on Sunday. Any weight I haven't gained thus far, I will be sure to make up for this weekend!

Yesterday we had a nice ride in North Georgia - about 4 hours of fireroads and lots of climbing. It was overcast and relatively cool, but the roads were squishy in places and we finished the ride covered in mud freckles. I think that was the first wet ride I've had in several months.

My S-works still fits comfortably but my knees are definitely hitting my belly now when I sit down and pedal. I guess that's why I like to stand up so much :) Still waiting on the new 29er singlespeed...I have a feeling the gods will taunt me by having it show up right about the time I go into labor, or right after the delivery when the last thing I'd want to do is be in the saddle!

Month 7 - Check

2009-07-04T08:43:00.002-04:00

Whoo hooo! This weekend marks the end of my 7th month. Although my body is going through major changes right now, riding is still enjoyable for the most part. I noticed on yesterday's ride that my abdominal muscles have officially left the building. As I dropped into my granny gear to ride up Pinhoti 1, I realized I had no core strength due to the muscles being stretched apart and it was WAY HARD to do that steep climbing. It was all legs for me, and they were tired legs at that from doing a long ride Wednesday and some running (yes, actual RUNNING) on Thursday.

Chris has been working on his running and seems to be improving very quickly, so I am very excited for him. We've also gotten to the point where we can enjoy long MTB rides together, although it comes with some pretty bad timing. Does anyone know a good baby-sitter so we can continue to ride together after the baby is born? I don't think we can put her in the Chariot until she's 6 months old...

Much Needed Weekend Ride

2009-06-28T15:44:00.003-04:00

After a very stressful trip home the night before, Chris and I made our way up to North Georgia for a much needed "recovery" ride. We rode mostly forest roads with just a couple of miles of singletrack to connect the roads together. I really like riding the MTB a lot more at this point - mostly because it is so much more comfortable than my road bike. I did notice that when I sit down to pedal and lean forward, my belly can almost rest on the nose of the saddle. That I found a bit disturbing...but funny at the same time. Only two more months before I can return to my normal size...

There's no place like home...

2009-06-26T07:41:00.003-04:00

Wow, what a tiring trip and I didn't even do all that much other than eat and sit in a chair all day. I think that was part of the problem! Traveling while obviously round and pregnant was interesting. I got jokingly harassed by the flight attendants "You're not going to have that baby on the plane are you??" and an older lady asked if I needed help getting off the airport shuttle bus. DO I NEED HELP??? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Do I look weak and frail? I've specifically been doing upper body weights so as to NOT look weak and frail.

Anyways, just getting home was quite an ordeal. After paying $50 to change to an earlier flight, we had the pleasure of sitting on the runway for 45 minutes due to isolated thunderstorms. Mind you this was the first rain Houston had seen in the past 30 days...lucky me I guess.

Once we finally arrive back in Atlanta, I go to hop on the train back from the D Terminal and find it was out of service. So not only do I have to lug my uncomfortable luggage around (gotta get one of those rolly-suitcases with wheels instead of my shoulder duffels), but I have to fight my way through a thousand slow moving people as we all try to make a mass exodus out of the airport. Every time the corridor narrowed, there was a HUGE bottleneck and we'd have to stand around and wait. It reminded me of TransRockies day 2 last year...except this time I was much more impatient. Whenever I saw an opening, I'd go charging through as fast as I could, luggage and belly flailing...I'm sure it was quite comical.

I finally made my way out of the airport (after 45 minutes) and get on the parking shuttle, which was jam packed and of course, as luck would have it, I was one of the last people dropped off. At least my car was still there...

So I'm FINALLY on the highway and I find that 285 is just full of idiots driving 65 mph in pretty much all lanes. By now I'm seriously cranky and ready to put all these pokey drivers into the wall. Argh! Get the hell out of my way!!!!! Raging hormones coming through! I call Chris to complain and he tells me to be careful and relax...ok..trying to relax.

FINALLY get home, and find that the upstairs AC unit crapped out that day. So much for a good nights sleep in my own bed! The world is seriously conspiring against me. I had a restless nights sleep, so I'm hoping today will be better.

I'm looking forward to a MTB ride with Chris tomorrow to cleanse my soul of all this crankiness.

Currently in TX

2009-06-24T12:27:00.002-04:00

Been in Texas now for a couple of days at a training course. I'm not used to having to sit in a chair for this long each day, especially with the little one poking at the ribs all day. At least its half way over...We miss daddy!

Siege on Ft Yargo/Baby Shower

2009-06-21T10:01:00.003-04:00

We headed up to Fort Yargo yesterday for the Siege sprint AR where Chris, Kim and Julia did battle with 102 other teams. It was extremely tough to be around so many racers and NOT be racing...I tried to convince Goble and Peter J. that we needed to throw a threesome together, but I think we were short one bike and a canoe...so the three of us settled for chasing teams around and taking pictures. Here they are all clean and smiley before the race:

Their first special test was trying to fit 3 bikes, 3 coolers, 3 bins and 3 people all in a 6' x 6' square transition space...considering how much open space there was in the vicinity..this was a bit goofy.

The race started with a run to retrieve a numbered passport which indicated which race discipline each team would do first. Unfortunately, the OutSpokin' gang had to paddle first which turned out to be somewhat of a disadvantage as that section had the fewest possible CPs on it. They had some initial frustration on one of the early paddle points that was hung under a low bridge, but after that, things seemed to go pretty smoothly.

Next they were off on the bikes which was good, because it meant that I could ride around and take pictures of them going to the various bike CPs. I managed to get a good bit of riding in throughout the race and thoroughly enjoyed bombing down the new "Monster Mile" which is full of whoop-te-dos. The team didn't seem to have any problems with the bike section and obtained all but one CP.

Finally they headed out on the trek where they picked up a bunch of CPs, but had to skip quite a few due to the time cutoff.

Gearing up..

How could you possibly look this happy jogging around in 98 degree heat wearing a pfd???

As the finish cutoff was drawing near, I began to get worried. At about a minute and a half from the cutoff, I saw them running up the hill. I told them they had 30 seconds for extra motivation...sorry guys :)

Not as clean, but just as smiley as when they started...

The awards were pretty anti-climactic, as they only announced the top three teams in each division, but did not specify which place each team got. Chris checked the CP totals of the other teams, and it looked like they were unofficially first by 5 CPs, so it was a good day for Team OutSpokin'!

After the race, Julia and Kim organized a Baby Shower for Chris and I in one of the picnic shelters. It was pretty quick, since we were all hot and tired. We ate some good food and opened presents (yay!)

Only at a Randall Baby shower would the mom-to-be still be wearing her bike shorts. Also of note are the bike and canoe in the background. Precious!

I opened gifts while Chris ate banana pudding:

This was her "transition area" outfit from Julia (after yesterday, we may need to get a "Daddy Rules" onesie as well):

All kinds of goodies for bathtime!

Thanks to Julia and Kim for taking the time to organize this for us. Any shower where I can mountain bike first gets two thumbs up from me!

Just another Thursday

2009-06-18T11:40:00.002-04:00

So I guess its officially hot here now, since the temps today and in the next few days are supposed to top 95 degrees. My hubby is lucky enough to be out on Lake Allatoona today for a company outing. They rented some boats..er I mean yachts...and a jet-ski...and instead of some lame pot-luck picnic, they are probably getting rowdy, making waves, and sliding down the waterslide beers-in-hand. Apparently computer geeks are better at planning social activities than engineers, because I have yet to have a company picnic that was that exciting.

We are nearing completion of painting the stripes in the nursery and should finish that up tonight. One of our cats, Fudgie, likes to "talk" to us while we paint, but his tail got a little too close to the paint tray this morning and he was left with some green stripes himself!

The weather looks pretty nasty for road riding tomorrow morning, as I have a doc appt. that will keep me from getting out there before 9:30. By then it will be 85 degrees in the sun and I will be hard boiled by the time I'm finished. Sounds fabulous...eh? But, since the Siege on Ft. Yargo is Saturday, I feel obligated to get some bike miles in on Friday. I know...I must be neurotic since I'm in my third trimester and I still worry about miles and hours, but I'd like to stay as active as I can, while I can, since I'm sure that last month will be a doozy.

I finally got a new pair on Inov-8 shoes yesterday, after about a month of size swapping...funny, but I now have three pairs and they are three different sizes, ranging from a 7.5 to 8.5. These new ones are RocLite 320's so I hope to try them out on my next hike/jog. I'm so very much wanting to race right now and yearn for the days when I can go back to falling down and beating the heck out of myself. I guess I'll have to live vicariously through Chris as he teams up with Kim and Julia this weekend to defend our title at Fort Yargo. No pressure...

Good Weekend

2009-06-15T11:48:00.003-04:00

Despite the threat of isolated thunderstorms, the weather gods were smiling upon us this weekend and I managed to spend a lot of quality time outside. On Saturday, Chris and I went for a 3.5 hour MTB ride near Springer Mtn and the Fish Hatchery and on Sunday it was more of the same on a forest service road ride with Kim. I had a crazy amount of energy last week and was on my bike about 10 hours, plus I did a couple hours of hiking and even managed to jog (gasp!) a little bit without being all achy afterwards. Notice I said "jog" as what I was doing was a far cry from a "run". I'm waiting to downgrade again to a "fast waddle".

We started painting the nursery, and all that is left to do is add the darker color stripes and white trim. Chris gets to have fun installing an outlet in the ceiling for the special lighting we're adding as well as a third switch to turn it on. Glad he knows how to do all that, because I'd end up setting the house on fire if I had to mess with any of the wiring! I'm "nesting" like crazy, trying to organize and purge things we don't need...and believe me there is PLENTY!

Progress is Tiring!

2009-06-10T21:52:00.003-04:00

Whew! I'm pooped! I managed to motivate myself to get on the road bike this morning, which ended up being a decent ride once I was out there for a little while.

We picked out the paint colors for our nursery and spent the evening cleaning the room out so we could paint in the near future. It was no easy task since the room was serving as Chris's office and he had 5 years worth of junk piled up! I think I went up and down the stairs about 50 times! We are painting the room with 3 different colors, so it should be interesting.

Third Trimester

2009-06-06T15:23:00.003-04:00

Who hoo! Today marks the official start of my third trimester. I guess this is when things start to get ugly...So far I have been blessed with minimal weight gain (7 lbs and it appears to be all baby...or at least that's what I tell myself) and minimal aches and pains. I credit this to remaining active and not letting pregnancy get me in a slump.

Being an endurance athlete, I'm used to some part of me usually aching, so the back pain and rib pain is tolerable, as long as I get my mind off of it. My belly is starting to feel pretty tight and crammed, so I'm hoping my skin will stretch a bit more before my ribs start getting all deformed. No stretch marks yet, but I'm so small that I don't see how I will avoid them...sigh.

We celebrated the day with a 55 mile road ride up at White. Here I am with my cross bike that I converted to a road bike since its a teensy bit more comfortable to ride with my big belly. Normally I would refrain from a side-view pic, but Chris says I still look like my normal self from the front. I wore one of my old SoBe jerseys because I remember them being loose...hmmmm...

Sadly, I am getting slower while Chris is getting faster, which I think is payback for all my years of racing and "torturing" him (his words) on MTB rides. Its hard now not to notice the little creature growing in my belly, as I think she requires more oxygen - because it sure seems like there is less for me! I'm hoping to at least get another month out of my cross/road bike before I have to start riding my much more upright MTB on the roads. Oh, won't that be shameful! Thankfully I haven't experienced any changes in balance or center of gravity yet (I also attribute that to riding on a regular basis), as I'm still smooth and coordinated in the singletrack. I'm sure the words singletrack and third trimester shouldn't be used in the same sentence, but really, I ride better than I can walk!

Oh well, I'm out to see if I can help with some yard work outside, then we're off to a party at my boss's house.

Summer is finally here!

2009-06-03T16:31:00.002-04:00

Or at least the sultry temps are here! Kim and I headed up to the Bear Creek area for our Wednesday ride. I'm not sure if we just need to acclimate to the heat, but it seemed like we were both bungeed to a pile of bricks that we had to drag up the hills behind us. I told her she was having "sympathy fatigue" for me. We ended up riding the Pinhotis and then Bear Creek and decided that was plenty. Kind of a "short" ride compared to our usual adventures. It must be that I just turned 31...

I do have to say the the trails were in fantastic condition. Good and dry and I was glad to have brought my S-works so as not to be rattled to death coming down Bear Creek. I even saw a small bear..it was so cute and cuddly looking. I'm sure its momma had big teeth and sharp claws though...

We have a big presentation coming up at work for a huge job that I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we win, as it will mean job security for me for the next several years...and that is REALLY important right now.

Falling Down on the Blogging...

2009-06-01T10:44:00.003-04:00

Wow, a whole week went by and I haven't posted any updates. Last week was pretty good. We received our box of new stems from Thomson, as I had to cash in a bunch of freebie certificates to get some higher rise stems to make riding more comfortable. I also switched my road wheels to my cyclocross bike, which is a bit more comfortable to ride and has brake levers on the tops of the bar, which is where I've been resting my hands lately. After a suicidal squirrel ran in between or through? my wheels on Friday, I figured it would be good to have brakes where my hands actually are!

Chris said I was starting to pedal "knees-out" on my road bike so we had to do something drastic, lest I look like those goofy people who can't seem to raise their seat high enough. We had a nice 55 mile ride on Saturday morning, but I was reminded of how much my scrawny body still sucks at breaking through a headwind.

Sunday was the GAOC Canoe-O where I was a bit over-zealous and Julia and I ended up going a minute overtime. I'm not sure what the penalty was, so I guess we'll have to wait until results are posted. We were up against Kim and Chris who were paddling our other canoe, so I figured we'd either beat them by a hair or go down fighting. Looks like we went down fighting at least. After paddling, us girls headed out for a MTB ride on the Fort Yargo trails while Chris sat through a lengthy GAOC meeting.

I have to say that there is quite a lot of quality trail now at Fort Yargo and we rode the new "Monster Mile" section. Unfortunately, we were going in the uphill direction, so it was more like the "Cadence-of-30-rpm-and-a-lot-of-grunting Mile" for Julia and I on our singlespeeds. I'm pleased that my IF still handles great, despite us raising the handlebar a bit, but then, I'm convinced that it truly is the world's greatest bike.

I have a belated B-day present hopefully coming soon...a Niner 29" scandium singlespeed. I'm excited to have big wheels! Can't wait to see how they roll! Thanks again to my super-hubby for picking out a practical gift for me! Maybe now I can stay far enough away from him that he won't rub my back wheel!

Memorial Day Campout

2009-05-25T15:52:00.005-04:00

We just returned from a fine weekend campout in North Georgia. The weather cooperated with us for the most part, only raining at night and being cool and cloudy during the days. We ended up staying in the same site as last year since it was quiet and private. We set up camp on Friday morning and then headed out for a ride through Cooper Creek WMA, up Wolfpen Gap and then back down the Duncan Ridge Trail.

Our basecamp. The Ez-up Tent was a great addition to our camping arsenal...especially when it sprinkled.

We thought we had the perfect spot, but were invaded late Friday night by a threesome who couldn't find anywhere to camp and wanted to camp down the hill from us. It was a good distance away, so not a huge deal, other than the fact that we'd have to smell their smokey fire and the creek down the hill was our bathing area...

On Saturday, we did the Noontootla Loop with some extra riding back to the campground. I brought the camera with on all our rides, but of course didn't want to stop to take pictures... I think I was already driving Chris crazy enough with my incessant bathroom breaks.

Happy Bikes...

After the ride and some lunch, we went for a short hike on the Cooper Creek Trail, which was quite a wake up call for me. I haven't been hiking or walking much (even though it is highly recommended for pregnant peeps) because it seemed rather useless to me, especially when I could easily do a 3-4 hour MTB ride instead. Well, it turns out walking really helps a lot and puts you in a completely different position than riding, so it strengthens different muscles and ligaments - especially the ones that hold up your belly. Suffice it to say, those muscles and ligaments were beat by the end of our short hike, so I guess I need to add walking to my regimen.

Sunday morning we slept in and then went for a hike on the Yellow Branch and Mill Creek Trails. This hike went a bit better and was a little longer than our hike the day before.

Later that afternoon we did a short ride around the Cooper Creek WMA. Chris said he'd be tired and I'd drop him, but he lied, and ended up making me chase after him. When we got back, we had dinner and some toasted marshmallows until the rain started. It rained pretty hard during the night, so we ended up packing up the next morning to head home. The sun actually came out up there, so we could have gotten in another ride, but I was pretty beat, and figured it would be nice to get home early and dry out all the gear.

We followed up with a nice lunch at the Japanese Steakhouse, where I of course ordered my usual double order of fried rice with my meal and ate way too much of it. Now I'm full and happy!

About to head out into the woods...

2009-05-21T12:12:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow we leave for a 4 day camping trip up in North Georgia that will hopefully be full of fresh air, long rides, and relaxation. Since I won't be riding for 8 hours a day this time around, I don't know what I will do with myself!

I picked out some good routes to ride that hopefully Chris will approve of. After yesterday's "test-ride" of a trail I was planning to take him on, I had to reconsider due to the unruly late-spring vegetation and the mandatory river ford with optional beaver pond swim near the bottom. Seems the lakes and creeks are way up down here, but they sure haven't warmed up much yet.

Hopefully we'll stop and take some pictures so I have something exciting to post when we return!