Posted by: sarianderson | July 7, 2010

Well, I Finished At Least

It has been a few weeks since the Crested Butte 40 and my last update.  We have had the Anderson clan in town since the CB 40 so things have been busy but lots of fun!

I’m not sure what I was expecting at the Crested Butte 40 but I knew I needed to start slow and not get caught up in the sprint off the start line. For the first time in my life, I climbed the first switchbacks in last place but actually had passed a few girls by the time we hit the first descent. I had been worried about the Cat 1 men catching me in the first miles but I managed to stay in front of them until the technical riding and continued with them for the first 9 miles. And that’s when I felt like I’d been racing for 50 miles and could barely make it up the next road climb. As much as I wanted to quit, I suffered on at a ridiculously slow pace until the first aid station at mile 19. After a few jokes and some great support from Ian, Alissa and Juniper I began catching people (men and women) on the long road climb up to Deer Creek. By the time we hit the hike-a-bike, I was feeling decent and put my adventure racing suffering skills to work and began to pick up the pace. The final climb up Mt. Crested Butte was still brutal, but I managed to not let anyone pass me and continued to catch a bunch of people that had blown by me early in the race. As horrible as I felt, it was nice to finish strong and know that I have maintained some endurance. Now I just need to continue to get that high end back with lots of speed work and hard training.

Although I hadn’t expected a lot for the race, I was somewhat disappointed with my finish. I raced against a group of super strong women but I had hoped not to finish forty five minutes behind the leader. It will take time to get back into race shape but I’m not the most patient person in the world. This gives me a good idea of where I stand and how much work is left to be done.

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Posted by: sarianderson | June 21, 2010

Lots of Riding, Running and Cows

Summer’s finally here both by the calendar date and the weather! I had a busy week of training with lots of intervals running and riding.  I’m slowly starting to feel stronger during these sessions even when I pushed both kids in the Chariot last Friday for some running hill repeats.  That was a tough session!

I am racing in the Mountain States Cup Crested Butte 40 next weekend so I had to get out for at least one long mountain bike ride beforehand. I set out early Saturday morning and headed over Cottonwood Pass to Gypsum and then up into the Eagle maze of amazing singletrack.  At about three and a half hours of riding, I came up on the tail end of a cattle drive and ended up driving about six cattle back to the group. Just a little smelly. Despite being slowed down by the cowboys, I was able to really enjoy four hours and fifty miles of riding.

Sunday was Father’s Day which meant I left early again so Ian could be a father on Father’s Day.  Isn’t that what the day is for? Oh well, but it was great of him to let me get out for two plus hours of trail running with Elinor before he enjoyed a long ride. I was amazed how great my legs felt after a hard week of training which gave me more confidence the CTS coaching has been a very good investment.

I’m a little (okay, a lot) nervous for the race this weekend. The CB40 is technical and therefor not a fast forty miler. My ride on Saturday was the longest in ten months (and the longest I have left Axel so far). What if it takes me six hours to finish? Will I be able to make it without stopping to nurse? I raced for five days when Juniper was five months old but hadn’t done a race this long this early in the game.

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Posted by: sarianderson | June 16, 2010

Strike…But Back At It

In anticipation of actually getting internet at the house this evening after the lightening strike last Monday, I figured I’d get started updating what’s been happening for awhile.

The first week of June, I went up to Aspen to participate in the second meeting of the Polartec Athlete Advisory Board.  We enjoyed great food and discussed product we have been testing (including Power Shield Pro and others I cannot discuss) as well as new ideas and future product.  JustAZipper.com has a nice recap of the week if you’re interested otherwise all I can say is that I’m very excited about what’s to come from Polartec!

Axel and I left directly from Aspen and headed to Vail (I was a bit spoiled that week) for the Teva Mountain Games.  Ian and Juniper had been there for a few days, Ian working and Juniper playing with some friends.  The last two summers I have competed in the Ultimate Mountain Challenge consisting of four events in two days and the two years before that in the adventure race.  With Ian working and Axel only eight weeks old, I had to skip the UMC and just race in the 10K trail run on Sunday morning. This 10K is unlike any other I have raced including trail races – it is brutal. Most of the climbing is so steep that even the leaders are relegated to fast hiking so I was happy to finish just a minute or so slower than my time from last year (even with a stop to dump the rocks from my shoes). I missed competing in it all but it just wasn’t possible this year.

Dropping some ounces before the mountain bike race.

Lindsay at Carmichael Training Systems has been working hard to get me faster after the pregnancy and had me doing hill repeats and intervals throughout the week with a mountain bike race mixed in. My legs were sufficiently tired after Saturday’s running repeats and then we headed to Boulder for the Newton Running Form Symposium and Clinic.  Danny Abshire (Newton founder) and Ian Adamson (my old adventure race teammate) gave a great talk on the importance of proper running form to help prevent injuries and increase speed and efficiency.  After an hour and a half run through Boulder and up Mt. Sanitas in the pouring rain on Sunday morning, I joined the Newton crew again for the form clinic.  About thirty runners showed up to have their form critiqued and to practice what we had learned the night before. If you are able to get to one of these clinics, I highly suggest it! If you can’t make one, check out this video for some great tips.

Despite having missed two training sessions early in the week, I had an awesome twelve mile run with both kids in the Chariot this morning. With the temperature perfect, the wind still somewhat calm and not many people on the path, I was able to push my sixty pounds at an average 7 min. 50 sec. per mile pace. With all the foundation CTS has been having me build, I’m excited to get to the next phase of my training when I start to really prepare for racing again. I think I may be able to set some PRs and push the pace in some mountain bike races.

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Posted by: sarianderson | June 2, 2010

Busy Times

Start of the Vail Pass Hill Climb Time Trial. The last of four events.

I’m really looking forward to the next four days but they’re also going to be super busy.  Tomorrow Ian and Juniper leave for Vail for the Teva Mountain Games and Axel and I head to Aspen to meet with the Polartec Athlete Advisory Board.

Sometime in the midst of packing for Juniper, driving to Aspen to pick up truck parts, going to the grocery store, nursing, parenting, etc. today, I’m hoping to get out for an hour ride and some hill intervals.  It’s at these times that I’m thankful for the 1,490 feet of climbing in three miles up to our house – perfect for hill repeats.

Tomorrow I’m looking forward to a day with Axel and then dinner in Aspen with the Polartec group.  Friday we’ll be brainstorming new product before I head to Vail as well.  For the past few years I have competed in the Ultimate Mountain Challenge, racing four events in two days.  As amazing and fun as that is, this year I’m looking forward to enjoying the other aspects of the mountain games including the kids areas and cheering my friends on.  I hope to run the 10k trail race Sunday morning to see just how slow I am in comparison to last year.

I better get on with my large list of to dos so I can enjoy the hill repeats this evening.

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Posted by: sarianderson | May 29, 2010

Great Start to a Memorial Weekend

Thanks to my extremely supportive husband, I was able to get out for a great two-and-a-half hour mountain bike ride this morning.  I had to do some hill repeats so I headed out to Prince Creek to take advantage of the dirt road then got to enjoy some great singletrack.

I finally put cleats on my new shoes and absolutely loved the BOA lacing system in the Specialized shoe.  I received the shoes through the Honey Stinger team and was totally surprised by the comfort and adjustability of the shoe.

Normally long weekends mean that I get an extra day of training without pushing the kiddos but this weekend is Ian’s turn to race.  He left after my ride for the Gunnison Growler which sounds like an amazing race.  I wish we could be there to cheer him on but it doesn’t make much sense.  Instead, I’ll enjoy a nice long run with the kids in the Chariot and hopefully some pool time.

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Posted by: sarianderson | May 27, 2010

8 Weeks and It’s A Go


Photo by Kristin Anderson / Vail Daily

Eight weeks to the day after delivering both of my children, I have participated in my first race.  It was the Beaver Creek Vertical Challenge with Ellen Miller after Juniper and the Vail Rec District Hammer in the Hay this time.  I didn’t feel amazing at either race but enjoyed the effort and being back racing.

Thanks to our amazing friend Kerry White and her parents (in from Australia), both Ian and I were able to race.  After a couple nursing sessions for Axel we were on our way.  For the first time, I lined up in the back of the group of starters – Women’s Pro and Men’s Vet Expert.  It was fun to have Ian line up next to me and even better to see him weave through the group to the front of the pack (while I stayed in the back sucking in lots of dust).

By the end of the four lap race, I was one of the last racers on the course and I finished third (out of three finishers since one girl decided to drop out).  I felt like I was hours behind everyone since I couldn’t really see anyone else, but I finished only one and a half minutes behind second place and about five minutes behind first.  Although many men beat me that don’t normally, it was awesome to be racing with friends again and getting my heart going.

Ian finished in a strong fifth although I think he could have been third or fourth if he had started with the front of the pack and not pulled two guys to the finish so they could pass him at the line.  Our friend and Honey Stinger co-owner/team captain, Len Zanni, took top honors in the Men’s Pro in a field of super strong racers.  Nice job boys!

Hammer in the Hay results can be viewed here.  Vail Daily article here.

Since this was a training race, I continued this morning with my training from Lindsay at Carmichael Training Systems.  This meant an hour run with five 3-minute hill repeats.  Yep, officially whooped from racing last night and running hill repeats in 80 degree weather but it’s all worth it!

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Posted by: sarianderson | May 21, 2010

Starting to Suffer Again – Thanks CTS!

I’m super excited about my latest sponsorships – Honey Stinger, Carmichael Training Systems and Chariot. I’ve been raving about Chariot for three years and just can’t imagine life without it. I have been racing with the Honey Stinger mountain bike team since last summer.  The Stinger chews are by far the best energy chews on the market so much so that Juniper would rather them over candy and ice cream.  And the newest of the group is Carmichael Training Systems (thanks to a partnership with the Honey Stinger team).

I waited to start getting coaching until this week when I felt like I could increase the intensity after Axel’s birth.  My coach, Lindsay Hyman, has been amazing listening to my goals and time and schedule restraints then making a schedule that works for me.  So far I have added some intensity to my workouts with some running strides and fartleks (with the Chariot and both kids).  Next week looks much tougher with a bunch of hill repeats as my power and climbing legs are seriously lacking right now.  Apparently I like to suffer as I’m looking forward to these workouts and the pain they’ll cause.

Thanks so much to all my amazing sponsors – you rock!

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Posted by: sarianderson | May 14, 2010

I Just Can’t Live Without It

I rant and rave about it all the time, but I really would be a miserable person, mother and wife without our Chariot.  Ian has been away since Monday morning and won’t be back until late Sunday night.  For many people this would mean either no exercise or a lot less.  Not for me thankfully.  I have been able to get out with the kids in the Cheetah 2 for runs all week logging 6, 7 and 10 mile runs.

Juniper continues to amaze me by asking to go running so she can be in the Chariot with Axel.  I’m not looking forward to it but I know being a big sister will eventually wear off.  Meanwhile, I’m taking advantage of the ease of the two happy kids in the Chariot while mom gets an extra workout pushing 50+ pounds while running.  It’s got to be doing something extra for me and helping me get back in shape after delivering Axel.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited for Ian to come home so I can also ride my new bike.  I’m just so thankful to be able to get out and train while he’s away and to know I am teaching my kids a healthy lifestyle.

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Posted by: sarianderson | May 12, 2010

Yippee!

I finally got to ride my new Trek Top Fuel last night.  It was just down our road and back up but it was nice to be out on my own bike.  I’m looking forward to a weekend of riding the trails.  It feels like it has been a long time since I had a good mountain bike ride.

Since this didn’t post last week like I thought, then I’ll add that I also got to check out the new bike on Red Hill and Forest Hollow/Scout over the weekend.  I’m super impressed with the Top Fuel and how it felt super comfortable right away.  I was concerned it would take some getting accustomed to but I immediately had confidence in the bike and therefor my riding.

In other news, my little man is no longer very little.  Axel is already 6 weeks and has gained almost 3 pounds!  His weight gain in the only thing saving him from surgery for the larygomalacia so I’ll be feeding him as often as possible.

8 lbs. 12 oz.

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Posted by: sarianderson | May 3, 2010

Plodding Along

We have been plodding along as a family for the last few weeks.  Axel is doing well – still very noisy while breathing but he is still happy which helps us get through it.  The oxygen and the floppy airway are definitely harder for Ian and I than it is for him which is comforting.

Despite the oxygen and the extra steps it takes to do everything, Axel, Juniper and I have been enjoying Chariot runs in between snow storms.  Juniper has been asking to go running so she can hang in the Chariot with Axel.  This has really helped me to get out the door and motivate.

Having my mother-in-law in town allowed Ian and I to get out for another road ride together this weekend.  I still don’t seem to have any climbing legs but am not sure I’m ready for hill repeats to get them back.  It has been almost five weeks since Axel was born and I’m starting to feel like I can really put a good hard effort in including a two hour trail run and some intervals on the trainer (we’ve had lots of snow recently).  Although it’s not happening as fast as I would like, my fitness is starting to improve as well as my patience and coping skills from lugging the oxygen around.

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