As I continue to recover quickly, I am reminded how blessed I am. While in the Outer Banks last week, Ian and I got out for some great road rides, swam in the Atlantic and walked on the beach.
Wright Brothers Memorial, Kill Devil Hills, Outer Banks, NC
Rushing back to Colorado for a very special wedding in Crested Butte, I stopped at home and grabbed my mountain bike. The Tall Boy LTC had not been touched since I crashed three weeks ago. Unfortunately I didn’t have the chance to hop on the bike while in CB due to rain, however I attempted a run…and succeeded. My Saturday run on the Caves Trail in CB South was slow but I was super excited to be running.
Running in the rain on the Caves Trail, Crested Butte South
After a fun night of celebrating two of my favorite people in the world, Jari Kirkland and Troy Hiatt, I wasn’t sore from running the day before so I jumped on the opportunity to run with friends. Stevie Kremer and Sarah Stubbe took me on a fun run that had me ecstatic that I was really running again.
I still have some pain when I twist the wrong way but for the most part I feel great (other than my quads being ridiculously sore from two runs). With a trip to Sun Valley coming up this weekend, I spent the evening getting my bike rideable again. Thankfully my bike did not sustain any major damage from my crash – just crooked handle bars, torn grips and some scratches. With recovery moving in the right direction, I’m trying not to fall again or do too much but it’s hard to hold back now that I feel so much better.
**Update** Check out my good friend Jeffrey Kapahn’s photos from the weekend. Jeffrey and I go way back to Vail – he’s a super talented photographer and a jeweler (he designed my wedding ring!)
Views of Jackson from Snow King
If the La Sportiva Irwin race was my reintroduction to skimo racing, then the Wyoming Randonee Roundup was a full immersion. Three races in two days definitely put me to the test. Whether it was denial or pure naivety, prior to last weekend I had convinced myself that I hadn’t lost my endurance despite not racing in more than a year. I’m not sure if it was a lack of endurance, missing my top-end race pace, or the lack of articulation on my ankle, but by Sunday’s race at Jackson Hole I was a bumbling greenhorn.
Racing began on Saturday morning at Grand Targhee Resort on the Idaho side of Teton Pass. In the past, the Targhee race has been on Sunday after nationals at Jackson on Saturday. Therefore, I’ve never been fresh for this race but this year I felt a little stronger. I reached the top of the first climb just over a minute off of Stevie Kremer–about where I expected I would be. Despite a cartwheeling crash and a small hike back up for my pole, I came into transition with Stevie still there. Although I could see her for much of the second climb, she was already gone by the time I reached the top of the boot pack and transitioned for the second descent. Starting the last climb, I told myself to keep doing what I could do even with Stevie almost four minutes ahead. After a final frigid tuck descent to the finish, I came in under three minutes back.Racing at Snow King
After the Targhee race, there wasn’t much time to do much but eat, hydrate and get back over to Jackson for the circuit race at Snow King right that started at 6pm. Snow King is small mountain with just two lifts, but it’s a great resource for Jackson locals as they allow uphill traffic all hours (Jackson Hole does not permit any uphill traffic except for the race). Forest Dramis, Cary Smith and Pete Swenson set a fun course of about 6-8 kickturns, a boot pack and a descent through some gates. We completed the circuit for 3 laps with a small uphill finish. It was very spectator-friendly and great to have so many people heckling and cheering us on. After just 23 minutes of racing, I finished 41 seconds behind Stevie. That girl is fast!
After an early bedtime, I woke up Sunday morning feeling a bit off but ready to get race #3 over and done with. I was nervous about the weather as it was forecasted to be very cold with lots of wind. And for once, the weather people were correct. The base of Jackson Hole was mild but it was -9 degrees at the top. At the start I stuck to Stevie’s tails as long as I could but I found myself slipping back after about 12 minutes of racing. By the time we reached the top of the first climb I was over two minutes back. Telling myself to race my own race just like I did in 2012, I continued to push myself and managed to pass a few men. Although Stevie continued to put a little more time into me with each ascent, I stuck with the guys I’d been racing around for a while and we created a small gap over a chase group.
Coming into Corbett’s Couloir, the wind was fierce and my hands were numb (despite having hand warmers in my gloves) so I stopped to add over-mitts. We all knew we had to suffer through the short climb to the top of the tram so we could descend back to the bottom of the resort and get out of the wind. I went into survival mode at some point and was happy to begin the long ski down. Normally I enjoy the final climb of the race. But this year, with a lack of snow, the skin track was almost non-existent and I struggled to get a flat ski on the snow with my bad foot, causing me to slip every other step. And this is where I went backwards. Frustrated and feeling defeated, I almost dropped out with just a few kickturns left. I forced myself to keep going and finally I made it across the finish line almost 13 minutes behind Stevie and over 20 minutes slower than 2012.
I was so relieved to be finished – it felt like I had raced a six-day expedition adventure race. But I was also frustrated with my performance. It sounds silly to complain when I finished in 2nd place, but performing to the best of my ability is more important to me than my standing. Having a bad race comes with the territory and it happens to all of us. For a few hours after the race I had decided I didn’t need to race again, but eventually I felt motivated to train harder, do more physical therapy and get myself back in the game.
Big ups to Stevie and John Gaston, who completed a clean sweep of all three races in pretty convincing fashion. They’re both going to be hard to beat this season. Full results here.
(left to right) Jessie Young 3rd, Me 2nd, Stevie Kremer 1st
(left to right) Tom Goth 2nd, John Gaston 1st, Jason Dorais 3rd
I took the day off my skis yesterday and then went back to racing on Wednesday night for the first of the Highlands Skimo Series. Over 25 people showed up for the race, including lots of first-timers, which was great to see. My legs were certainly tired, but thanks to a wrong turn by a bunch of the field, I finished near the front. Next up I’ve got the Sunlight Heathen Challenge on Saturday. I hope and trust all this racing will help get my fitness back to where it used to be. Hope to see lots of you this weekend!
December 7th is D-Day. While officially it’s the “Day of Infamy,” for me it was a day to celebrate. Not only was it my dad’s birthday, but it marked my return to racing.
To say I was anxious for my first race back would definitely be an understatement. I was concerned about my ankle being ready to race, if I remembered how to transition quickly, if I had any fitness and if I would just completely implode. Thankfully, catching up with so many of my SkiMo friends before the race helped calm my nerves and get me into the right head space at the start line.
Despite a very short warm-up, I worked hard from the gun to get on the skin track as far up as possible and as close to Stevie Kremer as I could. Stevie quickly started to open a gap (as I fully expected) so I pushed myself to keep the separation small while still trying to race my own race. There were a few moments in the first ascent when I thought I might hurl, but I managed to push past it without leaving any surprises for the racers behind me.
Keeping Stevie in my sights, I completed the the first two ascents and descents. By the third and final climb, I started to feel better and closed the gap slightly (of course, this may have been because Stevie slowed since she knew I couldn’t catch her, but I’ll just pretend it was all from my effort). The final descent reinforced how much I need to get out and train on the downhills but I was really happy to be finishing in second place, just three minutes behind.
In the end, it was a great day of racing at Irwin Lodge. Bryan Wickenhauser, Dave Ochs and the rest of the crew at Elk Mountain Events put on a spectacular race along with La Sportiva and Irwin Lodge. A special thanks go out to JD and Everett of Sportiva for their support!
Full results can be found here. Congrats to John Gaston who won the men’s race, and then sprinted back to Aspen where he won the Aspen Uphill that night–impressive! Next race is January 4-5 in Jackson!
The last race on my schedule this summer was the Golden Leaf Half Marathon in Aspen this past Saturday. Only a week after the MTB marathon nationals, I had no idea how I’d feel come race morning. What I did know is that last year’s winner, Stevie Kremer, would be missing but that many other strong ladies were registered including Lindsay Krause. As a sure sign that this race season is over (at least for a few weeks), the battery in my heart rate monitor strap died as I was warming up. I was a little bummed because the first climb up Snowmass always produces a high heart rate, but I was also secretly relieved to run free of the numbers and data.
With fast men in the group like Rickey Gates, Karl Remson and Lance Armstrong, the field quickly spread apart in the two miles of steep dirt road climbing before we hit the singletrack. I started on the yellow brick road, aka The Government Trail, right where I wanted to be– in first for the women. I took a quick glance behind me and didn’t see any women coming, but I knew I needed to push the pace the entire race. I think Lindsay Krause is probably faster than I am on the flats so I needed to have a lead coming into the last few miles of bike path into Aspen.
I caught myself enjoying the beautiful scenery and changing leaves a few times, and my feet felt great in my La Sportiva Vertical K’s. But I tried to keep pushing myself and ended up finishing in 1 hour 42 minutes 45 seconds. Good enough to cut just over five minutes off my time from last year and over three minutes ahead of Lindsay Krause. It was really nice to finish the summer knowing that my hard training sessions thanks to Lindsay Hyman at Carmichael Training Systems had paid off. And since my heart rate monitor strap battery is taking a break, I figure it’s time to enjoy a small off season, especially since I have not had one since Axel was born two and a half years ago. But, I have the feeling I will find another race soon.
Finishing the first of many ascents. Photo credit: Jeremy Swanson
Lyndsay and I celebrate at the finish of the Power of Four
Lyndsay Meyer and I have been looking forward to racing the Power of Four Ski Mountaineering Race together for months now. Both of our partners last year ended up on IVs, one in the hospital and one at ski patrol. Although we both finished unranked without our teammates, this year we planned to complete the course together and hoped to finish strong in the women’s division.
We decided to use a bungee cord tow system from the start, ensuring that we would stay close together. Racing in pairs can be difficult when teammates have different strengths, so a bungee gives a big advantage.
I’ll spare you all the gory details of the race, but suffice it to say, climbing over 11,700 vertical feet over 26 miles is no easy task. Lyndsay and I worked well together – I paced on the uphills and she led the way on the downs. We both got pretty darn cold climbing up Highlands Bowl, where it was blowing over 60mph but we kept all our skin covered and thankfully avoided the nasty frostbite that a lot of teams suffered.
In the end, we finished in second place in the women’s division, with a time of 6 hours 28 minutes, behind the super strong women’s team of Stevie Kremer and Gemma Arro Ribot.
