Alas, my bum is starting to heal..yippee. Two weeks ago, the last weekend in August, was the NMBS race of the year in Brian Head, Utah...nothing like 10,000 feet to kick your butt. I had a pretty good short track, won a preme, which in turn blew me up a little and dropped back to 10th. I finished 3rd overall in the short track series for 2008, not bad considering last year I got pulled from every single short track except one :) The xc was one big loop, 5 miles of climbing off the start, and some pretty wicked single track. I was riding really well, pacing well, until hitting a corner just a little too fast. Both wheels started to drift and I went down hard, tearing off my right butt cheek and skinning my elbow and knee. It was tough getting back in the groove, but I managed to settle in again and pick off a few more riders. I think I was moving up into 8th place, with 6th and 7th with in view, and I flatted...yuck. After wasting my CO2 and the tire only holding for a corner, I ended up running for almost an hour into the second feed zone...only to find that everyone had packed up and left (they thought I'd DNFed somewhere). One of the three guys left had a pump that I used, and finished the race 40 mins back...not too bad..hehe.
This past weekend was the XC8 at Buffalo Pound, SK. Super cool race. Dallas and I drove down and camped fri and sat nights. It was an 11km, I'd say 9o% single track loop, and I managed 8 laps. I finished my 8th lap three mins before the cut off to do another lap, and the girl was like "You can still do another lap"....to which I said.."nooooo, noooo I caaaan't" in a slurred voice. I was absolutely cooked and headed straight for the hamburger stand. I do have to say, I absolutely loved coming across "the bee" aka Tory a couple of times...she definitely mad me smile :)
I've entered the working world again...for now....if you can call what I'm doing work...well, it is really busy. I'm working mornings at Starbucks again, that means 5:30 am starts..yuck. So if you're in need of a good buzz in the morning..stop in and see me.
Tomorrow we find out if the Bow 80 is a go...keeping the fingers crossed.
Ciao
Wednesday, 10 September 2008
Monday, 25 August 2008
TR
Helllllooo!!!
Sorry everyone, I've been taking a little bit of a blogging hiatus, but I think it's time for a quick update.
Transrockies...definitely didn't start out the way that I had planned. Friday before the race I started to get funny guts, but I shrugged it off, thinking it was just a one day thing. But it only got worse, and I spent more and more time on the toilet. Then come Sunday morning while waiting in line to sign in at the start, I found myself throwing up in the rose bushes infront of everyone...lovely, I know. I decided to sit the first day out, and ended up getting 1.5L of IV and a good dose of gravol. The morning I was determined to ride...but I couldn't even keep breakfast in, so I decided to sit another day out and headed to the hospital for some advice and hopefuly medicine. Instead I got another litre of IV, another good dose of gravol, directions for just a clear liquid diet and the doctor told me that I wasn't going to be riding this week (I'd show her :)
I seriously considered packing it in a couple of times and heading home to my nice warm toilet versus the cold stinky outhouses that I was frequenting..I'm sorry, I know. Day three I got up, managed to keep down a little breakfast and suited up to join Dallas who had hammered the first two days (as long as I signed in with him in the morning, he was allowed to ride with another team and we would take the maximum time penalty). Day three was a 45km TT around Nipika, which worked out good because I could bail and be close to the finsih at all times if I got in trouble. It was an extremely slow and painful ride, but Dallas stuck it out with me (and my dad joined us), and we managed to finished our first stage as a team.....to which I celebrated by heading straight to the bathroom.
Things slowly got better through out the week. Day four was 109km to Whiteswan Lakes, and Dallas had to practically drag his girlfriend the distance...but we made it and finished in 6th. That night was the the first supper that I ate in five days...most of which I kept with me. Day five into Elkford was a tough day..we'll leave it at that. But it was the best damn supper that I'd ever eaten that night..and man did I eat a lot.....lots of lost and missed calories to make up for.
Day six into Blairmore was another long day, and we actually managed to race that day..yippeeeeee...and finished 2nd. And finally day seven into Fernie, we were both pretty shattered from our hammer ride the day before, but pulled off a 3rd place. To which we finished up 10th overall in the mixed category....not bad for starting out in last place and 6 hours behind after the first day.
I've been pretty shattered all week, practically just drooling in front of the tv or napping most of the day. Over a week later, I'm still feeling a deep down tired, but when I'm on the bike, I can definitely feel some good base fitness. This past weekend we did a great 5 hour hike to have lunch at the top of Grimm Pass...and my toes are still killing me...and a 3.5 hour road ride up Highwood Pass....my butt is still sore...yikes.
Getting ready for my last flight of the season, heading down south to Brian Head, Utah for this weekends final NMBS race of the 2008 season. Can't believe it's that time of year again.
I want to send out a huge thanks to Dallas for putting up with me and dragging me through the TR, and my parents for being the best damn support/cooking/everything crew at the TR. As well as everyone who helped and encouraged us along the way. I'd definitely do it again, I mean, it can't be that hard again...can it??
Sorry everyone, I've been taking a little bit of a blogging hiatus, but I think it's time for a quick update.
Transrockies...definitely didn't start out the way that I had planned. Friday before the race I started to get funny guts, but I shrugged it off, thinking it was just a one day thing. But it only got worse, and I spent more and more time on the toilet. Then come Sunday morning while waiting in line to sign in at the start, I found myself throwing up in the rose bushes infront of everyone...lovely, I know. I decided to sit the first day out, and ended up getting 1.5L of IV and a good dose of gravol. The morning I was determined to ride...but I couldn't even keep breakfast in, so I decided to sit another day out and headed to the hospital for some advice and hopefuly medicine. Instead I got another litre of IV, another good dose of gravol, directions for just a clear liquid diet and the doctor told me that I wasn't going to be riding this week (I'd show her :)
I seriously considered packing it in a couple of times and heading home to my nice warm toilet versus the cold stinky outhouses that I was frequenting..I'm sorry, I know. Day three I got up, managed to keep down a little breakfast and suited up to join Dallas who had hammered the first two days (as long as I signed in with him in the morning, he was allowed to ride with another team and we would take the maximum time penalty). Day three was a 45km TT around Nipika, which worked out good because I could bail and be close to the finsih at all times if I got in trouble. It was an extremely slow and painful ride, but Dallas stuck it out with me (and my dad joined us), and we managed to finished our first stage as a team.....to which I celebrated by heading straight to the bathroom.
Things slowly got better through out the week. Day four was 109km to Whiteswan Lakes, and Dallas had to practically drag his girlfriend the distance...but we made it and finished in 6th. That night was the the first supper that I ate in five days...most of which I kept with me. Day five into Elkford was a tough day..we'll leave it at that. But it was the best damn supper that I'd ever eaten that night..and man did I eat a lot.....lots of lost and missed calories to make up for.
Day six into Blairmore was another long day, and we actually managed to race that day..yippeeeeee...and finished 2nd. And finally day seven into Fernie, we were both pretty shattered from our hammer ride the day before, but pulled off a 3rd place. To which we finished up 10th overall in the mixed category....not bad for starting out in last place and 6 hours behind after the first day.
I've been pretty shattered all week, practically just drooling in front of the tv or napping most of the day. Over a week later, I'm still feeling a deep down tired, but when I'm on the bike, I can definitely feel some good base fitness. This past weekend we did a great 5 hour hike to have lunch at the top of Grimm Pass...and my toes are still killing me...and a 3.5 hour road ride up Highwood Pass....my butt is still sore...yikes.
Getting ready for my last flight of the season, heading down south to Brian Head, Utah for this weekends final NMBS race of the 2008 season. Can't believe it's that time of year again.
I want to send out a huge thanks to Dallas for putting up with me and dragging me through the TR, and my parents for being the best damn support/cooking/everything crew at the TR. As well as everyone who helped and encouraged us along the way. I'd definitely do it again, I mean, it can't be that hard again...can it??
Friday, 8 August 2008
Transrockies
Just finishing up the last minute packing of all the gear needed for a seven day mountain bike ride through the Canadian Rockies. This year the Transrockies covers about 550km and rumored over 12000m of climbing (ouch...). Starting in Panorama, we'll make our way south and eventually end up in Fernie. Along the way we'll be making stops at the K2 Ranch in Invermere, two nights at the Nipika, the very remote Whiteswan Lakes, Elkford and the Crowsnest Pass.
Dallas and I are competing in a pretty stacked co-ed field and I hope our bodies and bikes hold out for the journey....as well as the good weather.
Dallas and I are competing in a pretty stacked co-ed field and I hope our bodies and bikes hold out for the journey....as well as the good weather.
Saturday, 2 August 2008
Mud and Guts and Stuff Like That.
This is going to be an interesting race :) Lots of peanut buttery mud, slippery roots and rocks...yikes.
Bromont World Cup - women tomorrow (Sunday) at 11:00am....here we go again.
Bromont World Cup - women tomorrow (Sunday) at 11:00am....here we go again.
Tuesday, 29 July 2008
How Slow Can You Go???
That's the name of my game at the moment. I must first off apologize because I'm going to be a bit of a downer in this post. It's really quite weird, I mean, feel great, very motivated to ride and race, pre-rides and warm ups feel good....but come race day, I've only got one speed...not fast enough. As you've probably guessed by now, the World Cup in Mont St Anne was pretty much a disaster. I got pulled from my first World Cup in five years..yikes...since my very first one at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary.
After the first lap I was suffering so much but from so far back that I just couldn't figure it out. I pushed hard through the second lap, actually riding the technical sections better then usual, but still finding myself moving very quickly backwards through the field. The third lap I really struggled mentally, feeling really down about how things were turning out and the fact that no one would feed me a beer on course. My fourth lap actaully felt the best and I was able to move up four spots and snag 29th just before I was pulled.
There have definitley been a couple of tears and I've been pissed off since Sunday.....trying to stay positive is a really hard thing to do right now..I am totally ready to sit down with a carton of ice cream to help quench my woos. Trying a little bit of a different game plan for this next week, and I'll see how things go this weekend in Bromont.
After the first lap I was suffering so much but from so far back that I just couldn't figure it out. I pushed hard through the second lap, actually riding the technical sections better then usual, but still finding myself moving very quickly backwards through the field. The third lap I really struggled mentally, feeling really down about how things were turning out and the fact that no one would feed me a beer on course. My fourth lap actaully felt the best and I was able to move up four spots and snag 29th just before I was pulled.
There have definitley been a couple of tears and I've been pissed off since Sunday.....trying to stay positive is a really hard thing to do right now..I am totally ready to sit down with a carton of ice cream to help quench my woos. Trying a little bit of a different game plan for this next week, and I'll see how things go this weekend in Bromont.
Friday, 25 July 2008
Nationals
It's been almost a week now since the dreaded nationals race last weekend in Mont St Anne. It's an absolutely amazing course with lots of technical sections, lots of climbing...in other words a "real mountain bike course"....I know, how cliche. I felt wonderful going into the race, very well rested and coming off a good racing weekend in New York. Even during the warm up I was feeling that it was going to be a great race....the end of my nationals curse.
Welllllll...I definitely didn't have the race I was hoping for, but my ride was great. I seemed to be loosing time everywhere. The steep climbs, the tough techy sections, the flat trasitions, the .....yeah, just about everywhere. It seemed the harder I tried, the farther I feel behind. Ended up finishing in 6th place, which really isn't bad, but it was over 11 mins down from the leaders and over 6 mins down from Wendy Simms and Amanda Sin in 3rd and 4th, where I realistically believe I should have been.
I've spent the past week replaying everything over in my head....I like the idea that you learn way more from the events you don't do well in then the ones you do do well in....and I'm ready to give it another shot again. This weekend on almost the same Mont St Anne course, with some cool mods, is the next World Cup race. I'm feeling good and I'm really excited to race again....
Welllllll...I definitely didn't have the race I was hoping for, but my ride was great. I seemed to be loosing time everywhere. The steep climbs, the tough techy sections, the flat trasitions, the .....yeah, just about everywhere. It seemed the harder I tried, the farther I feel behind. Ended up finishing in 6th place, which really isn't bad, but it was over 11 mins down from the leaders and over 6 mins down from Wendy Simms and Amanda Sin in 3rd and 4th, where I realistically believe I should have been.
I've spent the past week replaying everything over in my head....I like the idea that you learn way more from the events you don't do well in then the ones you do do well in....and I'm ready to give it another shot again. This weekend on almost the same Mont St Anne course, with some cool mods, is the next World Cup race. I'm feeling good and I'm really excited to race again....
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
New York
Hellllooo....I've had really shotty to no cell and internet coverage, and I've felt so isolated....I know, it's pretty sad. I'm sitting in a small motel with Amanda Sin and her husband Kasey in Lyndon, Vermont and I've finally found some internet.
As a quick recap, the cross country on Sat was great. A really fun course with lots and lots and lots of climbing....which almost means lots of downhill :) Finished 6th there, had a solid race that I'm really happy with..but was definitely hoping for a podium.
Sunday was the short track and it went great. It was fast paced and a group of about 7 of use stayed together for almost the whole race..expect for the two luna girls, Katerina and Georgia, who broke off the from. In the last lap I felt great, so I attacked really hard to move up into third...and I closed the gap fast to the leaders and only finished 3 seconds back...yeah baby..hehe. 3 seconds..ugg..should have tossed my water bottle and saved the pound...hehe...but it was my best placing as of yet so..yippee..
Did a little teaser of a recovery ride today in East Burke on the Kingdom trails (damn racing and having to recover and get ready for nationals..and ..and)...definitely have to come back and check out more riding here sometime.
Right now, we're just packing up and gettting ready to finish our drive north up to Mont St Anne...ciao
As a quick recap, the cross country on Sat was great. A really fun course with lots and lots and lots of climbing....which almost means lots of downhill :) Finished 6th there, had a solid race that I'm really happy with..but was definitely hoping for a podium.
Sunday was the short track and it went great. It was fast paced and a group of about 7 of use stayed together for almost the whole race..expect for the two luna girls, Katerina and Georgia, who broke off the from. In the last lap I felt great, so I attacked really hard to move up into third...and I closed the gap fast to the leaders and only finished 3 seconds back...yeah baby..hehe. 3 seconds..ugg..should have tossed my water bottle and saved the pound...hehe...but it was my best placing as of yet so..yippee..
Did a little teaser of a recovery ride today in East Burke on the Kingdom trails (damn racing and having to recover and get ready for nationals..and ..and)...definitely have to come back and check out more riding here sometime.
Right now, we're just packing up and gettting ready to finish our drive north up to Mont St Anne...ciao
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