Catch-up

A little catch-up on recent activities....

Well today was fun... Shawn volunteered at the Blue Ridge Extreme event. What is the Blue Ridge Extreme? Well, think road bikes and the largest darn climbs you can find traversing the Blue Ridge Parkway.

I followed the early riders out of the meeting spot and climbed the first hill before seeing Shawn at rest stop 1. Yeah. Shawn. After the warm up, I left the rest stop. I was supposed to do the climb and return before 11.30am so we could head back to town. No problem. Happily, I was off. Why not pull a bunch of people through the flats and up the hill. What started as a helpful pull for a lovely woman on the flats, quickly became a 10 person pace line with me pulling the entire time. I was happy to give some of the riders a quick reprieve before their first major climb of the day.

Ok. Crabtree Falls Hwy climb was likely the longest climb I've ever done... One of the guys on the paceline pulled away with me and we bantered the entire way up. 10 miles of climbing felt like 10 min (but it wasn't 10 min... not even close). I ran out of water near the top to find the rest station oasis. Peanut butter and jelly never tasted so good.

Right before heading down the mountain I saw friends from Cville. Frank Ortiz and his son were on the metric century route and he broke a spoke (not a safe to decend with a wobbly wheel). I offered my wheel set to let them continue. Thankfully Shannon, Shawn's future sister in law was at the rest station with a car. She let me ride down with the bike to rest station 1, while she continued to take photographs of the riders (photographer du jour).

Too bad I missed the decent; but I felt good about helping a friend... oh and helping out the riders who I pulled. A couple of them said thanks when they finally reached the rest station. What did the rest of the day hold? Aye, well... after an hour on the couch... I hit the pool for laps and a walk with the neighbors.

Catch-up: 18 hrs on the farm.

18 hrs. Oh yes, 4pm Saturday, Aug 16 to 10 am Sunday. I rode with a friend, alternating laps. All night. I must say, a duo team was one of the more difficult types of races this season. As a two person team, you theoretically should ride faster than as a solo... so you do. Alternating laps means that you only have 50 min rest between laps- just long enough for your muscles to cool off.

Either way, Christy and I pulled pretty fast laps the first few times around the course, then settled into a regular pace... kicking butt. In all, we finished 18 laps total, winning the 4-person women's class, duo co-ed and another few classes... depending on how you categorize us.

All the rest of the Bike Factory teams did well. Shawn finished 1st male solo (after tending to a fellow mtb-er for 40 min or so- Amazing). Ken and Dave took command of the race finishing a close second overall (to a 4person team). Also, our female 4-person team were awesome!

For more information on this race and to see photos... check out the newly updated Bike Factory Blogspot- see the team
http://bikefactoryracing.blogspot.com/

What is next?
How about the SM100 next week.
http://www.mtntouring.com/mountain/htm/shenandoah_mountain_100/page_sm100.htm

Cville International Tri

Ok. So, when you are feeling a little bored of your normal work-out... what do you do? Ah... sign up for another race. This time it was the Charlottesville International Triathlon. It was also an opportunity to participate in an event with friends from my morning Tue/Thurs run group.

Road Triathlon, Denelle? Are you serious? Yes. .9mi swim; 24mi bike; 6mi run

Sunday morning, Shawn headed to work... me too. I racked my bike next to a few friends and headed to the water to stretch. There were over 2o0 participants, but solid competition... enough people in Cville and Richmond talk about who plans on showing; many of the competitors were people I didn't know. For me... this was a work-out... low pressure... driven by the need for a little exercise. Heck, I had to remove the cob-webs from the road bike in order to prep for the event.

Women 30 - 39 were the 4th launch of the event... the water felt cool as we entered the water and prepared for the start. The first lap was ok... it took a while to get comfortable, but by the end, I started to coast and not only pass other girls, but people from other heats as well. I tried waving to a friend of mine under the water second lap... but he didn't see me... oh well.

Transition was hard... road shoes are slippery... note to self. However, I was excited to get on the bike. Yeah legs! Legs felt good... a little sore from mtb the day before, but still nice. I saw Joy about mile 4 and was happy to see that she was doing well. A little after,
I was passed by a woman in my age group... incentive to pedal harder. Yeah legs! I chase down the cyclist for a number of miles. I pass my friend Jake who was having a solid race and wished him well (and teased him a bit too). A few miles from transition, I see this woman toss a full bottle of drink at a mail box; not cool... but whatever. Jokingly I say, 'Awe, I am telling on you...' Wow... what stress does to a person... she flips and starts yelling at me about my negative attitude and that she threw her bottle there so that the owner of the house would find it... oh... or so she could go back and pick up the bottle later (right). Either way, I congratulated her on her great bike leg and wished her well on a race that must have been less than optimal... Oh... then I dropped her and finished minutes ahead... I didn't even see her during the next transition.

Trail running shoes on. Race belt on. Water in hand. Its 500 m later when I curse myself for not putting on a hat to protect my eyes from the sun.... but manage. The run is two 3 mi laps on the Dam loop+. Lap one I see my friend Kate who is spectating. Hi Kate. I also learn that I am in 2nd place. Cool. Lap two... I'm glad that I'm almost done.

End result: 3rd woman overall. 2:32:23. Swim... not so great 14th overall. Bike leg... 2nd by 10 sec and 5th place run. My T1 was a whopping 2:06... whoa. too long. It was good training and I needed the workout. Another note to self: Road biking is fun; I should do it more frequently. Any mtb takers?

Other news:
Joy 5th/11
Jessica 8th / 11
Annette 4th / 9
Hank 9th / 17
Jake 4th / 18

EX2 - july 13

Ok, so i am a little late with a post about the Xterra EX2 event... the weekend in MD.

7:30 Saturday- Hop in the car w/ Shawn and meet Kate and Ed at the Panera
7:35 Saturday- I should double check if my mtb shoes are in the car
7:40 Saturday- Go back in the house and find my mtb shoes
8:05 Saturday- Into Panera for breakfast fixins & loading the dynamic duo's stuff into the barge
8:30 Saturday- Are we there yet?
9:20 Saturday- Shawn, why is the police man pulling us over? Arrgghh.
10:40 Saturday- Did we take a wrong turn?
11:05 Saturday- Are we there yet? Soon.
11:45 Saturday- We arrive at Rocky Mt State Park.... EX2 venue.


After dropping Kate and Ed off at a hotel, Shawn and I hit the trails. First lap we played, stopping over technical areas to pick fun (and manageable lines). The EX2 bike course is comprised of 2- 7mi laps. Each lap is 1/3 road or fast, flat lines, 1/3 root/rock gardens, 1/3 ROOT/ROCK GARDENS (really). I picked up the Ziggurat hard tail for the loop. I found the trail much easier than last.... everything rideable, which isn't the case for a majority of the EX2 participants. Two notable parts of the course are the steep climb, someone's revenge. Short, steep... but really manageable & my favorite a huge rock washout.... filled with 1' or larger rocks. First lap I was 50% on clearing the obstacle. Second lap, I tried the full suspension... which felt great against the massive roots and rocks. Ultimately, its the hard tail for tomorrow... too much flat for the full suspension. The best part of pre-riding the course was seeing Shawn 'play'. He had a blast riding through the different sections of the course.... he was like a kid with a new toy.

Race day:
Shawn and I camped, we woke, washed, ate and headed to the transition area for set up. For some reason, I wasn't feeling great about the race... I didn't have that typical excitement and something just wasn't right with my stomach. Oh well...

Swim: One, two, three strokes.... not right. four, five, six, forty... team lady with the two piece bathing suit... please stop hitting me as you swim. Swim, swim, swim, oh... darn... I'm off course... ok, out of the water. It's a two lap race with a quick run between laps. The second lap I felt better and started passing more people.... but missed my friend Kate. She was having a great swim and I knew I had to play catch-up to find her on the course.

Bike: Thank goodness I am on the bike. Its a road climb before entering the woods and I see Ed on his first Xterra. He confirms that Kate has been out for a while. I hit the woods at speed passing many of male riders that can swim... they started 2-3 mins. before. Easily I make my own path overtaking those guys that are having difficulty with the initial rock gardens (if they are having trouble this early, they are in for a long race). I see Shawn about 15 min in... he's changing a tire. During the revenge climb, I am cut off by a guy walking his bike up the hill (arrgghh). More walkers are to be found at the washout. Luckily, I warn a few of these that I am riding through... from almost a stop, I clear one of the tougher lines through the area with sufficient speed to also climb the immediate hill. 1 mi to the transition for the second loop, I see Kate. I know I've passed nearly every other girl when I see her. I see my mom at transition (hi mom!) and hit the road. I pass Kate on the road, but she's ready to stay on my wheel for the entire second lap. There is one other girl out ahead, a roadie pro... and good swimmer. Kate and I stay close for the second lap and Shawn joins us to keep us motivated.

Transition: I rack my bike. The entire rack falls. Crap. What do I do... a race volunteer sees this and helps pick up the rack. I put on my shoes... grab a hat...ooops. I forgot water... and head out the shoot behind Kate. Pass Kate. Run, run, pass another guy, another guy, another guy. I'm not feeling that strong... but they must be feeling particularly week, especially navigating the rooty trail. The run is pretty technical. At one point, you navigate a rocky ravine. Every step you pray that your ankle doesn't twist. Before heading out of the ravine, you actually climb on all fours up boulders. This is where I find Shawn... and hear him agree that the run course is just 'not rideable.' I head to the finish line... never to see the pro, but knowing that I've closed the gap on the lead she established on the swim. 200 m before the end of the race, I see my grandmother. Veering off course, I hear the spectators yelling me to the finish ( and telling me that I am going the wrong way)... but I want to give my grandmother a kiss first. I do, and sprint to the end.
1st amateur, 1st age group and winner of the regional title again; I've maxed out my points.

Kate finishes shortly after... Ed finishes strong as well.
Shawn got in a good workout.

Oh... before I forget... the awards... so Kate and I tried to get a free race certificate for nationals... but each cert was valid for the sport race the day before. Instead we sign up Shawn and Ed. Shawn brushes the entry by saying... but I don't have a wet suit. Quickly we hear that the winner of the wet suit cert is Denelle... Will Shawn do Xterra Nevada? Stay Tuned

Just another day.

Nice run this morning. There is a group of 5+/- 3 of us Cvillians who meet at 6am and motivate each other to keep healthy. We ran our typical stairs run... I typically skip the stairs... but that is another story. Either way, mid run I felt good and was able to push my legs for a spell. Thanks to Tim for pushing me on the way back (by pushing... I mean giving me someone to chase). My legs ached mid-day, but felt better after more stretching at work. This evening I spent some time in the pool and felt great... I felt even better when I saw Tucker at home. T & I met others in the common area for a little human - canine interaction at the Doggie Ice Cream Social. He's sulking as I'm typing.... yes, T... I am coming to play with you again.

Looking forward to moving to the new house... but there is so much to do. We move next week and I haven't started packing.

Oh, well.

FORD #2

FORD, what is it? No, not the brand of car... it’s the Fredricksburg Off-road Duathlon, ironically sponsored by Toyota. Run - Mtb - Run. In many ways, this combination is more trying than a full triathlon. The entire idea of running at a fast pace (almost a sprint) before hopping on the bike is completely nuts.

Michele, Scott, Shawn and I started our trek at 6.15 from Cville. An hour before race start we arrived and immediately started setting our transition and stretching. By 9am we headed down to the start line with C. Tankersley and wished each other well. The first part of the run is a flat stretch of gravel road before turning a corner and heading up a hill. No, it’s not a hill. Its a climb that more than 50% of the group walks. This leads you to single track, a creek crossing and the remaining flat or descending trail. Shawn, the 'non-runner', but talented sprinter was a head of me; Scott was as well. Michele and Christy were behind. The hard part about the run was the mixture of non-covered trail, which was hot, humid... which made breathing difficult. By the end of the run, I passed Scott and was definitely breathing heavy (not in a sexy way; not at all) I was the first woman into transition and completely on my way out before seeing the next woman.

A .75 mi flat section allowed me to divert some of the building lactic acid, while passing a number of guys. The trail transitioned into moist single track. Rooty with log jumps... the first part of the mtb course was fun. Though, as the trail started to climb more guys had difficulty continuing on the saddle... that meant a lot of stopping and starting again. Scott met up with me shortly before the pack started to break up and was on his way. More than half way through was a really cool dark tunnel to more trails. That is when a friend, Paul, met caught me... Of course, this was just in time to see me endo over a difficult 2 limb log jump. Ouch. Not too much later was the transition to the run.

Run. Run. Run! Those were the word in my head as heading up the second climb. I knew Paul was ahead, so I set off to catch him. The last 200m we were neck in neck. I actually coaxed him to catching me as I passed him and started sprinting to the finish. We crossed the line at the same time. Happily, I was greeted by Shawn, who finished in 2^nd place after the bike leg, but was passed by three others during the run. Likely, those that passed him on the run actually train by running…. A potential lesson for the future…

Christy, followed by Michele, head into transition. I saw the two of them on the run trail, so I knew they would be coming in sometime soon. What Shawn and I didn’t know is whether our friend Whitney who trailed Michele going into transition would be able to catch up to them on the run. Christy held her time gap for a 2^nd place finish. Michele ended up in 3^rd for a Female Bike Factory 1 – 2 – 3 victory. Scott finished 1^st in his age group and had a great race. Whitney placed 4^th.

Following the race was the most delightful jump in the river to get clean… well of course until some of the fish started nipping at my toes. After a BBQ will all of the participants, we picked up some cool-io lavender mugs prizes. Oh yes, even the men picked up lavender mugs. Awesome.

Brownie Crit 6/18

Brownie Crit - n - an event which involves racing multiple mtb laps prior to talking trash and eating brownies. Best held at Teventrails.

This week's Brownie Crit was 6pm at Teventrails. I rushed from work to make it to the farm in time for the race. Typically, I can save a few minutes by changing into cycling clothing at red lights (I do not advise readers to try this at home). My legs were still a little sore from this weekend, not to mention morning runs... but I had built up sufficient angst during the day that needed to be released.

The course was fast, 1.8 mi. Goal = 3 laps. After a pre-ride, nearly 10 of us hit to the field in a mass start. Closing in on the first corner, I saw a friend endo into brush. I avoided this maneuver and pressed on, way behind Shawn, Dave and a few of the normal fast mtb-ers and/or sprinters. Luckily, there were a few guys I was able to keep pace with. The first lap was fine, I managed to keep my peer group behind me. By second lap, two of the guys pulled ahead. Third lap, I closed the gap and was able to catch up to one of those guys... but not enough to pass him before the climbing finish.

All in all... a nice ride.... good brownies & a fantastic Chipotle dinner warm-down. Tomorrow morning, 6am run group. Gee, I can't wait for the weekend to rest. Wait, we a have a duathlon to race... Rest... well, there is always next week.

Xterra East Coast Championship - 6/15/08

For as long as I can remember, there hasn't been a day with more agreeable temperatures for the Xterra East Coast Championship. I used to tell first time participants that this race has 4 disciplines - swimming, biking, running & staying hydrated. Good weather favors those outside of Virgina but didn't seem to be too big of a factor for my race.

Xterra in Richmond seems to get bigger each year. 2008 brought a 21k trail run event companion to a shorter run & 2 different mountain biking events held Saturday. These events kept many of my friends thoroughly entertained as they were able to compete on Belle Island, while I pre-rode Sunday's Championship Xterra course. Two others from New Mexico and I casually took to the trails to get a feel for the terrain; I hadn't ridden the course since the National Off-road Duathlon in June. The pre-ride proved fast, so I followed up the ride with a pre-view of the swim course before heading home.

Race day, Shawn and I drove up from Cville with Tucker (the St. Bernard) in the back. I set up for transition and headed to the water for the swim. The forth wave, I found myself swimming next to my friend Kate across the James. We both headed out of the water about the same time for the short run before swimming back to the start. The water was about bath temperature and shallow in parts. Although I got off course, I felt strong and was able to catch up to Kate from the exit to the transition.

The bike ride was fun; my mantra seemed to be pass, pass, pass. I was able to pull big gears in the flat and ride the single track, passing faster female swimmers and the male heats that started before us. There was an excellent female cyclist who I saw multiple times and grabbed my wheel whenever possible. She passed me once on the course, but I was able to get by her after she got stuck behind a rider having difficulty on a rooty hill section. Shawn and Tucker were found a couple of times just off of the singephotos cheering along the way, so were a number of Richmond locals on the course. Encouragement was greatly appreciated. After the half way mark, I saw one other female competitor and had no clue what place I was in... nor did I heading into transition.

Transition from bike to run was quick. Running shoes on, I belted my number into place, put on my hat and grabed a drink before heading out. The first steps felt awkward. I'm so used to my Garmin helping me to gauge my pace and speed; I had no clue how fast I was moving. All I knew was that there were no more women to be seen. Twenty five minutes into the run I saw a woman ahead of me in the distance. My friend Scott cheered me on and guarenteed that I was putting down a faster pace than she was. As I got closer, I recognized the woman as the strong female cyclist. I have no idea how she passed me. All I knew is that I was closing the gap between the two of us. One foot in front of the other... one foot in front of the other... my concentration on closing the gap didn't prepare me for the pint-sized speed demon in full Timex gear that passed me right before I passed the female cyclist. Smiling, the Timex girl cheered me on and headed to the finishline as the first place amateur. I passed the female cyclist and beat her to the finishline with room to spare.

All in all it was a good day. I finished first in my age group and #2 amateur (even beating the time of one of the pros and 1 second behind another)... hooray. The best part of the race was celebrating with my mom, fabulous boyfriend Shawn, oh... and of course Tucker. Kate also placed first in her age group... qualifying us both for Xterra World's in Hawaii and solidifying our standings for the regional point series.

My friend Maggie had major difficulties on the bike when she lost her seat; she still managed to finish. Mark R, Scott and Michele C were all amazing; this was Mark's first time beating me this season (maybe the last?)... This was the first Xterra for Scott and Michele (I'm so excited for them!) Congrats to all. Great race.


Final time and splits:
Swim: 21:45 35:04 min/per/mi
Bike: 1:35:16 11:33 mi/per/hour - 2nd fastest
Run: 50:11 8:05 min/per/mi

Overall: 2:47:12