Ian & Sari Anderson 2nd, Zack & Caitlyn Vestal 1st, Linda & Jake Wells 3rd

Racing with Ian is not something I get to do very often since normally one of us is on the sidelines hanging with the kids. The Honey Stinger Steamboat Stinger gave us the chance to race as a duo coed team. Originally we thought we would do the hand-off of the kids when coming through the lap and trading off but thankfully my mom came into town and was able to watch the kids. I don’t think the kid hand-off would have slowed us much but it made it much easier for Ian to warm up for the second lap without having to tow the Chariot and worry about snacks and naps.

It was decided that I would go first which I was excited about as I am not good with waiting around to race. After a quick warm up, I jumped on the line to start two minutes behind the open men. Our group caught the back half of the open men within a few minutes and I wished I had warmed up more and gone out harder to have gotten in front of more people. But I can only learn from my mistake so I sat in a long line of people all wishing they were up a few places and I passed on the short road sections when I could.

As I descended down to the backside of the course, things opened much more and I was able to pass a bunch of racers on the road before jumping back onto singletrack for the remainder of the race. I was fortunate enough to be able to climb the next four miles with Honey Stinger owner, Bill Gamber, who knew the course well.

I crested the final long climb finally starting to feel ready to race and finished much stronger than I had started and raring to go. Oh well, I hope that means I will be getting faster as the Leadville 100 miles pile up. I handed off to Ian knowing I had a few minutes lead over Caitlyn Vestal but many minutes behind Jake Wells. We would have no idea which couple would win until the finish line.

Zack Vestal came across looking as if he was out for a Sunday stroll with Ian just 24 seconds behind him working hard to sneak up on Zack. Linda Wells finished just a few minutes back making the top three in the coed duo race super close. We had a great day and were happy with our finish. The inaugural Steamboat Stinger went off ridiculously well thanks to Len Zanni, Colin Osborn, Nate Bird and their entire team of volunteers. The 95% singletrack course is on the top of my list and should be for you next year as well.

Results here.

Ian finishing strong for our team.

After taking last year off from racing the Ultimate Mountain Challenge when Axel was just two months old, I was excited to compete in four events again this year. However, what I didn’t realize six months ago when I registered for the Sage Burner 50K, that it takes place the weekend before the Mountain Games. I decided to go for it, but in hindsight, that was maybe a little ambitious…

Ian’s parents arrived before the event to help with the kids while I raced and Ian worked throughout the long weekend. I was able to paddle the down river race course a few times before the event helping me have a little confidence on the water (I’ve only kayaked once since this race two years ago). Ian and I were also able to get one quick lap in on the mountain bike course and then it was time for me to hang with the family and try to relax.

Down River Kayak Sprint – Saturday morning: We all convened in East Vail, listened to a brief racer meeting and joked around to hide our pre-race jitters. Gretchen Reeves, Kelley Cullen and I all raced back-to-back at one minute intervals allowing us to judge time lost or made. I went first and within the first few minutes I caught an eddy line with the bow of my boat and spun backwards. Getting moving forward again very quickly, I finished the rest of my run with better lines. Shortly after, Gretchen and Kelley came in together. After the first race I was up 20 seconds on Gretchen, and 1 minute 20 seconds on Kelley.

X-Country Mountain Bike – Saturday midday: I took Juniper into town for a ride on the zipline and enjoyed a few minutes of the event. With a quick hand-off of the kids, I warmed up for race #2. An additional Ultimate Mountain Challenge competitor, Sara Tarkington, joined us at this point. Sara had never kayaked before so opted out of the paddle and took the 30 minute penalty instead. As we started up the first climb with the other women racing in the pro division, I instantly worried that my legs were destroyed from the 50K as I fell off the pack. After just a few minutes I started to come around and catch some the women. By midway through the first of four laps, I had managed to catch and pass my three competitors in the Ultimate Mountain Challenge. Both Gretchen and Kelley stayed close behind for the remainder of the race, pushing me and the pace the entire way. Despite having some chain issues, I managed to stay in front and gain a little more time thanking my new awesome race bike – the Trek Superfly Elite.

10K Spring Runoff – Sunday morning: I did some rough math in my head before the run began and figured I had about 1 minute 20 seconds on Gretchen and about 2 minutes 30 seconds on Kelley. My goal for the 10K was to run as well as I could and try not to let either Gretchen or Kelley get ahead of me. That goal ended very early in the race when Kelley passed me on the first climb and proceeded to drop me. I stayed as close as I could but my running legs just weren’t there. My goal became to stay ahead of Gretchen and minimize my loss to Kelley. In the end, Kelley ran a great race and finished 5 minutes ahead of me putting her two and a half minutes in the lead. I was relieved that I was able to stay in front of Gretchen and was hoping I could pull something amazing off in the time trial up Vail Pass.

Road Bike Time Trial – Sunday morning: With only an hour between finishing the 10K and starting the time trial, I hoped for a miracle on my road bike. Kelley was starting 30 seconds behind me and Gretchen 1 minute back which meant if one of them caught me, I wouldn’t be able to pull off the overall win. I knew the chance of me making up two and a half minutes on Kelley was slim but I gave it everything I had. Which, as it turns out, was just about nothing. Gretchen passed both Kelley and I very early on and then Kelley passed me about a mile before the beginning of the bike path. I struggled to maintain any speed and felt like I was never going to reach the finish. Gretchen and Kelley were not in sight and I just hoped I hadn’t lost second place.

In the end, I maintained my silver medal as Kelley Cullen took a brilliant win in her first attempt at the Ultimate Mountain Challenge and Gretchen Reeves finished third very close behind me. Results here. It was an exhausting but great weekend of racing and now I am thoroughly excited to take a few weeks off. Ian and I are headed to France for a Polartec Athlete Advisory Board meeting, as well as some road riding and hopefully a little bit of relaxing.

A few weekends ago we packed the family up for some camping, riding and playing in Crested Butte. Despite getting kind of a late start, both Ian and I were able to get in rides on Saturday afternoon and the kids had a lot fun playing in the dirt at the campsite. Unfortunately Juniper spent about four hours of the night coughing in the tent so we decided to cut the trip short and head home a day early. But of course Ian and I both squeezed in great rides before taking off.

Sometimes things work out for the best as we convinced our friend Mike to watch both kids on Labor Day so we could get out for a ride together. After listening to Ian talk about a newer trail at Prince Creek he finally had a chance to drag me around on it. Doing my best to keep Ian in sight, failing most of the climb, I thoroughly enjoyed the descent despite clipping my handlebars on trees numerous times.

Axel taking advantage of some Mom time between laps.

I have no recollection of training the following week (or was it two weeks) but eventually we raced the 12 Hours of Snowmass as a team of three. The course was a few miles longer than two years ago when I first raced in the inaugural event and the additional single track was a great addition. The Honey Stinger team cleaned up with wins in the Duo Men (Scott McCalmon & Nate Bird) and in Trio Coed (myself, Ian & Michael Hayes)  and second place in Women’s Solo (Kris Cannon). Nate and I also managed to record the fastest laps for men and women helping make the weekend very successful and super fun.

Continuing on my record streak, Ian and I managed a few more mountain bike rides together during the week since my mother-in-law was visiting. I think we have ridden together more this past week than we have in the last three years!

Finally, friend and Honey Stinger teammate Todd Kennedy and I managed a great ride up high yesterday afternoon. Probably the longest climb of my season (2-1/2+ hours) up to the top of Red Table Mountain from Cottonwood Pass with some of the best views I have ever witnessed. Despite some cyclocross riding on the descent due to downed trees we discovered some fun single track and rode into Gypsum finishing up a fun adventure. I always forget how much I enjoy the long adventurous rides until I get out one every few months.

My legs were a bit sluggish this morning on my run with the kids in the Chariot but I’m enjoying getting back into shape after baby number two. Lindsay at Carmichael continues to get me out doing intervals and getting me racing again. I may just be ready to really race 24 Hours of Moab this October!

I feel like the swim was a little longer than last year but I was faster which was a huge relief.  By no means was I fast in the water, just not as slow as my first race last year.  I was the last pro out of the water as usual with many of the amateur men passing me but only a few of the women.  This set me up for a better climb up Beaver Creek as I did not have to pass as many people as last year and kept me going on my own rhythm.

As has been the case for the last couple of weeks, I felt very sluggish on the bike.  I haven’t put as much time in on the bike as other years and have skipped all the local races which really gets the high end going but I’m still slower than I should be.  Around a half hour into the climb I passed a few other pro women that are great swimmers and started to settle into a pace.  The pace turned out to be slower than last year but not as bad as it could have been.  Once we arrived home, Ian discovered my rear disc had been rubbing so bad he couldn’t get my wheel to spin a full rotation on its own.  I don’t think this changed where I placed overall but I’m sure it made me hurt a bit more.

Coming into T2.

We transitioned into the run up at Beaver Creek resort with a great crowd cheering everyone on.  The run is on a combination of singletrack and dirt road and seems to climb and climb.  Although I was a few minutes slower than last summer, I was able to pass a few men and only get passed by one.  Not bad considering how I felt.

Finally finishing.

I finished in 9th place quite a ways back from the top three women: Shonny Vanlandingham, Danelle Kabush and Sara Tarkington.  With an amazing field of women I was excited to still be in the top 10 and to have finished the race.  I plan on taking a bunch of rest the next few weeks to fully flush this cold out of my system so I can hopefully start to feel closer to 100% again.  Check out the race results with splits here.

The family, including my mom, is headed over to Vail this weekend for the Teva Mountain Games Ultimate Mountain Challenge.  Last year I raced well for the four events – downriver kayak, mountain bike, trail 10k and Vail Pass time trial – to place second among the women behind Gretchen Reeves and just ahead of Keri Nelson.  I know Gretchen is back to defend her title and I believe Keri will be back trying to better her performance from last year.  I’m not sure how fit I’m feeling this year, but the challenge will be a good one.

After running around with Juniper in tow last year, Ian decided he was up for the challenge this year.  It was a difficult decision whether to race pro or amateur but after some coaxing from me he decided to go for the pro race.  The only difference is the mountain bike race – 4 laps versus 2.  The pro women do three laps of the mountain bike course so unfortunately Ian and I aren’t quite racing head to head.  Bummer, because that would have been the best race out there.

Ian and I will still be battling it out in the kayak race, 10k and hill climb.  It should be some fun, family competition.  May the best spouse win!

The kit is a simple, DIY way to add metal studs to the bottom of any shoes or boots. It comes with 20 tungsten studs and a small, specially designed screwdriver to add them to your outsoles. Apparently, the technology comes from Italian rally car tires.

The dirt road up to our house gets pretty icy in the winter and for a while I’ve wanted to add screws to my running shoes. Matt Carpenter has detailed instructions on how to make screwshoes on his website, but I’ve never taken the time to do it. The Sportiva Hobnail Kit seemed like a simple solution.

I was in a hurry to go for a run this afternoon and I grabbed the nearest pair of shoes so Ian could add the hobnails.

Unfortunately, we didn’t really pay attention to the label on the bottom of the shoes that said ‘Nike Air.’ Sure enough, on the fourth hobnail, the was a small hissing sound and that was the end of my midsole cushioning.

Psssssssssss

We chose the next shoes a little more carefully, and went with a pair that didn’t feature gel or air in the midsole. The hobnails went in easily and we created a pretty simple stud pattern that focused on the midfoot and the heel.

The hobnails worked great on my run and I could barely feel the extra weight of the metal screws. The best part is that the studs can be easily removed so I can switch them to any shoes. The hobnail kit is a very cool stocking stuffer idea for anyone who runs in the winter!

The New York Times wrote a great story on my friend and sometimes teammate, Dave Wiens, the guy who beat Lance Armstrong at the Leadville 100 this summer. Check it out here.

Here's a shot of Wiensy and me racing at the 2005 Raid in France. He's looking a little worked in this shot

One race series that seems to be gaining in popularity these days is the Merrell Oyster Racing Series. It’s basically a one-day urban adventure race that combines athleticism, thought-provoking strategy and some downright zaniness. My friends Lisa Jhung and Sarah Bowen Shea just competed in the San Fransisco Oyster on an all female team. Read Lisa’s account, a recap from SBS and one from Andrea Minareck at National Geographic Adventure.

Sounds like fun. I might have to put together a team for the Denver Race next year.