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Breck 68

Posted by sarianderson on July 17, 2011
Posted in: Race Coverage, Race Results, Training and racing with kids. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

Sonya Looney 2nd, Sari, Sonya Bugbee 3rd

With about a month until the Leadville 100, I raced the Breck 68 yesterday as a training race. I opted not to race the Breck 100 as the time on the bike was more similar to Leadville in the 68 than it was in the 100. I hadn’t raced any of the races in this event before and was looking forward to the great singletrack that I had heard reviews of from many friends.

The Breck 68 consists of two separate laps which are laps 2 and 3 of the 100. I was very familiar with the trails of my first loop and rode well from the start. Sonya Looney and I separated from the other women and I was able to pull away a little while passing many of the men that had started ahead of us in the 68 as well as many of the 100 riders. I concentrated on drinking fluid and eating enough calories to make sure I would not bonk during the second half of the race.

As I came through the start/finish area finishing lap 1, my legs felt great but my stomach was starting to get irritated. I figured I had not eaten or drank enough so I took in another Honey Stinger bar and Nuun hoping it would soon pass. Grinding up the Indiana climb, I kept my momentum going forward despite my stomach getting worse. Knowing Sonya Looney, Jen Tilley and Sonya Bugbee were coming for me, I pushed through the pain as each bump I hit on the descent off Boreas Pass hurt like nothing I had felt before.

My legs felt great climbing back up Boreas Pass but I was not racing anymore. At that point I was simply riding as fast as I possibly could hoping I could hold my position for the last 10 or so miles. With a short detour on the descent to verify a course marking, I limped into the finish line in 6 hours and 48 minutes only 17 seconds before Sonya Looney. Thankfully Sonya had also taken the same detour and was never able to see me as she surely would have been able to catch me at that point as she was getting stronger throughout the race. Results here (I’m not sure why I’m in the age group category and not pro but…).

I have no idea what caused my stomach issues as I ate and drank the same things I always do in a race – Honey Stinger chews and bars with water and Nuun. This was exactly what I needed as a tune-up for Leadville. Thanks to Carmichael Training and Lindsay Hyman my legs were ready and felt great. I’m looking forward to the Steamboat Stinger next weekend in hopes of getting past my stomach issues and having my legs feel as well as they did yesterday.

Sage Burner 50K

Posted by sarianderson on May 30, 2011
Posted in: Race Results. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

After a crazy-busy winter and especially the month of April, when I raced every weekend, I took most of this month off. It was a much needed break, especially as I look forward to a summer busy with travel and racing.  This weekend we got back into race mode and loaded the whole family up for a long weekend in Gunnison for the Sage Burner 50K and the Growler.

Juniper happy to see me at the windy finish line.

With the Sage Burner on Saturday and the Growler on Sunday, it was the perfect race weekend for both Ian and I to compete. I had never done a 50K before and was definitely nervous. I wanted to race smart, have fun and still be able to walk so I can compete in the Teva Mountain Games Ultimate Mountain Challenge next weekend.

Despite not feeling particularly fresh or fast, early in the race I found myself running as the first woman and in about sixth place overall. I had a low point from about miles 17 through 22, and a few men passed me as my pace slowed significantly. Knowing that a woman must be close behind and most likely running faster than I was at that point, I ate another pack of Honey Stinger Chews and drank some Nuun. I got myself moving faster, running up the longer climbs and catching a few of the men that had passed me earlier.

I finished as the first woman in the 50K thinking I had a decent lead as I had never caught a glimpse of a woman behind me. However, after being done for just two minutes, Tressa Breindel of Boulder came across the line looking super strong. Good thing for me that the race wasn’t a mile or two longer! Check out the full Sage Burner results here.

On the podium with Tressa and my old friend Dave Wiens

Ian, Juniper and Axel were cheering at the line as usual making the finish that much better. I was pleasantly surprised how good my legs and body felt after the race but I’m unsure why I felt so sluggish the entire five hours of racing. Sunday brought another day of Anderson racing at Hartman Rocks, with Ian competing in the Original Growler – two laps of the same 50K course I ran the day before. Ian had a solid race and finished in six and a half hours, right about where he wanted to be. Growler results here. Overall, an awesome weekend of racing! Next up, Vail and the Teva Games.

Ian on lap 1 of the Growler

VooDoo Fire and my sport schizophrenia

Posted by sarianderson on April 26, 2011
Posted in: Media Coverage, Race Results, Training after pregnancy. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Coloradans are notorious for being schizophrenic about their sports in the spring, and I guess I’m no exception. This month I completed my own version of a triathlon – racing on skis, trails and then my mountain bike. Three weeks ago, I finished on the podium at the Five Peaks SkiMo race, winning the coed division. Two weeks ago I placed 2nd in the Desert Rats 25 mile trail race. This past weekend, at the urging of my coach, I signed up last minute for the VooDoo Fire 70-mile mountain bike race in Pueblo. Of course, Ian immediately saw an opportunity for me to podium in three different sports in three consecutive weekends. I wasn’t so sure since I had only been on my mountain bike once this year.blank

Axel getting his mommy fix before the start

I dragged the whole family to Pueblo and even subjected our friend Scott to the five-plus hour drive with screaming kids and all. Excited to be out of the car, Scott and I enjoyed a quick recon on part of the course on Friday afternoon while Ian pulled the kids through Lake Pueblo State Park in the Chariot.

The race started early on Saturday morning with a neutral start, a short paved climb and then on to the singletrack. We were fairly backed up for the first 16 miles or so because the course was 90% singletrack. Once things opened up a little, I was feeling good and riding well. I came through the first lap about 12 minutes behind the lead men and at the neutral feed zone Ian handed off food and water, while Juniper rang her cowbell and Axel bounced in excitement. I had no idea where the next woman was so I continued to push the pace.

Scott game face

I passed lots of guys on the side of the trail with flats and mechanicals, so I tried to race smart and only passed where I could see I wouldn’t hit a cactus or pick up a bunch of goatheads. When I came back through the finish area to start my third lap, Ian Squirt lubed my chain and let me know I had at least 20 minutes on second place. I continued to ride hard as I felt great and knew there was still a lot of potential for flats. Plus this was a “let’s see where we’re at and what we need to work on for Leadville” race, so the only way to do that was to race against myself.

Sari game face - the SmartWool arm warmers are great, BTW

With just a few miles left, I saw our friend Scott a hundred meters in front of me. As I got closer, hoping to beat him to the line, he realized it was me and threw the throttle down to hold me off by 4 seconds. We finished in 5 hours 14 minutes, Scott in 14th and me in 16th overall. A great day of racing for both of us.

Full results here.

A quick note on gear. I wore the Osprey Verve hydration pack with Nuun tablets in the bladder and I was really happy with my decision for this race. The singletrack was really winding and there were not a lot of opportunities to grab a water bottle . The Osprey pack was light , convenient and kept me hydrated for the whole race. I dumped Honey Stinger chews into my jersey pocket so I could eat quickly and easily as well. All in all, it was a great system for a longer race but I will probably use it in shorter races as well.

And totally off subject, the Outside Magazine piece is now online if you missed it on the newsstand. Check it out here.

Headed out for lap #3

Post finish smiles

Five Peaks of Breckenridge

Posted by sarianderson on April 10, 2011
Posted in: Race Coverage, Race Results, Training after pregnancy. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

Yesterday started a busy month of racing with the COSMIC Five Peaks Race in Breckenridge. Jan Koles and I teamed up in hopes of winning the coed division and placing well in the overall standings. Mission accomplished. And the best part – we had fun.

With a short skin and ski to the start as a warm-up I said good morning to Jan as the race started right at 6am. After an hour and 20 minutes of climbing we reached Peak 9 for the first time in 4th place overall. Despite being warm for 7am in ‘Breckenfridge’, the wind was howling and we were pelted with granular snow on the descent. Jan and I quickly mastered the teamwork of the transition with him arriving a few seconds in front of me and helping with my skins. We climbed a steep boot pack and then hiked a wind scoured grassy and rocky ridge back to Peak 9. With the bare ground it felt as if we were racing in Europe.

Jan and I battled with the team of Chris Kroger/Scott Simmons for 3rd place overall as the teams of Max Taam/Pete Gaston and Bryan Wickenhauser/Mike Kloser had opened up a gap on us. As we topped out on another boot pack we skinned towards the top of Peak 8 with a tailwind blowing us right up the ridge. The wind was blowing us over as we tried to pull our skins so we dropped into Whale’s Tale in an attempt for some reprieve.

Scott and Chris passed us on the descent and left for the final climb a few seconds in front of us. I fell off of Chris, Scott and Jan by about a minute which gave Chris and Scott 3rd place overall. My legs were fried so we took our time on the last descent and finished in a time of 3 hours 55 minutes 7 seconds. Good enough for 1st place in the coed division and 4th overall. Despite being a fairly short race, I don’t think I took in enough liquid or food which was probably why my legs were so tired by the end. Throughout the race I only ate 1-1/2 packets of Honey Stinger Chews and 1 Honey Stinger Gel as well as about 16 oz. of water with Nuun.

My Honey Stinger teammate Max Taam and my Grand Traverse partner Pete Gaston took the overall win from Bryan Wickenhauser and Mike Kloser. Wick broke his ski behind his binding on the first descent and toughed it out for second place. Very impressive.

Sari & Jan relaxing post race

Race organizer Pete Swenson changed the course up a bit from the inaugural race last year and was thinking the winners would come in at around 5 hours. I’m not sure why we were so much faster but it probably had something to do with the great conditions, snow and volunteers. With no wrong turns made and volunteers giving beta on what to expect next, the race was superbly organized. Thanks to all the volunteers especially the ones I know personally – Pete Swenson, Monique Merrill, Sebastien Sxay and his girlfriend Anne and Jason McGowin.

Five Peaks results are here.

My Garmin info here. I’m not sure why it shows we had 20 minutes of stopped time. Our total transition time equaled about 5 – 8 minutes.

Great photos from Kevin Krill at Crested Butte Photography here.

The Suffering Is Over

Posted by sarianderson on October 11, 2010
Posted in: Gear, Photos and Videos, Race Results. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

Everyone has been asking me all day how I’m feeling and I can only answer ‘fine’. The 24 Hours of Moab race has come and gone and I feel surprisingly great. Max Taam and I snagged the national championship in the mixed duo division and also placed third among the men’s duo teams by finishing 19 laps.

Prior to the race I was a little nervous about having the endurance to ride a total of about 12 hours and to be able to keep my laps consistent. It was a nice surprise to manage both and even pull off the fastest women’s lap of the race. I could not have have done this six months after having Axel without Lindsay Hyman of Carmichael Training Systems. Not only has Lindsay been coaching me and getting me back towards race shape but she also gave me an amazing nutrition and hydration plan for the weekend. I was able to get through my nine laps (135 miles) without ever being nauseous, bonking, or even feeling the need to drink caffeine. I drank a full bottle of water with a nuun tablet each lap to keep my electrolytes high and then another full bottle or two during of water between laps. My top priority of the race was to make sure I had plenty of energy to continue to nurse Axel throughout the race and this was no problem.

Thankfully and miraculously Max and I did not have any mechanical, lighting issues or major crashes. We both raced on our Trek Top Fuels with Bontrager XR1 2.4 tires which were perfect for the sandy, rocky and hard packed course. I was also super impressed with my other gear holding up to all the sand and dust including my SOLE Lightweight Sport Socks, SOLE footbeds, Specialized S-Works shoes with Boa Technology, and my borrowed Ay Up lights (thanks Kerry White!). And arriving just in time, the new Honey Stinger Waffles were a huge hit with everyone – thanks Lance!

The Honey Stinger/Trek teams raced well all weekend also claiming a national title in the Men’s 4 Person division and second place in the Men’s Duo and Women’s Solo divisions. Nice work all!

 

Juniper, Axel & I just before the start of the race.

 

 

Max got to enjoy the Le Mans running start.

 

 

Brian Edmiston. My awesome support crew who was happy to help with everything...even the babysitting. Thanks so much B-town!

 

 

Happy mom and daughter after the race.

 

 

Ross Schnell and I were crowned the "King and Queen of Moab" for posting the fastest race laps.

 

 

Juniper is thoroughly enjoying the Stars & Stripes jersey!

 

 

Thanks to Ross Schnell for the RV to relax in and Cynthia Reynolds for amazing food and support!

 

 

Me and Max - happy to be finished.

 

And here’s some cool CONTOUR helmet cam footage of Max at the LeMans running start.