Teva Mountain Games

All posts tagged Teva Mountain Games

Ultimately Challenging

Posted by sarianderson on June 5, 2012
Posted in: Race Results, Race Updates. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

I have a love/hate relationship with the Teva Mountain Games. I love that I met my husband at the event ten years ago. I love the world-class competition that comes to Vail for the four-day festival.  I love catching up with old friends. I love all of the activities for kids at the event. And, I love the opportunity to win $2,000.

I hate the schizophrenia of doing four races in two days. I hate the pressure that I feel to perform in front of so many friends and media. I hate the juggling act that Ian and I try to perform as I race, he works the PR for the event and we both try to keep the kids happy and entertained.

Apparently, the love outweighs the hate as I was back again this year competing in the Ultimate Mountain Challenge.

Each year the racing begins with the downriver kayak sprint. A year ago, Gore Creek was almost at flood level for the race. This year, with a record low snowpack, the creek was barely a trickle, making the race much more technical, or ‘boney’ as paddlers like to say. I did a practice run on Friday evening and it helped me stay on line for the race Saturday morning to finish with a 45-second lead over my good friend Gretchen Reeves, and about five minutes over Sara Tarkington (who had never paddled whitewater before).

With a few hours to organize and hang with the kids before the mountain bike race, I managed to hand my bottles off to my coach Lindsay Hyman from CTS and get in a warm-up. I was a bit bummed to find out Gretchen, Sara and I had our own start time two minutes behind the pro women. Since I don’t do many mountain bike races with the big girls, I always enjoy racing among the Olympians that show up for the Teva Mountain Games. Anyway, after our three person category start, my legs felt like lead for the first climb while Gretchen and I traded spots in the lead. Over the first two laps, I managed to gain about a minute lead on Gretchen while she and I rode up through the pro field. Gretchen blistered the last lap and pulled me back in to just 26 seconds. Had we started with the pro field, we would have been 5th and 6th and in the money.

After the mountain bike race, I enjoyed the afternoon with the kids while Ian waited out the rain and lightning to race a shortened mountain bike race. Being cold didn’t seem to slow him down as he placed second in the Vet Expert 35+ category, just 10 seconds behind the winner. A late dinner with friends and six kids under the age of five got me to bed a later than I would have liked, but that’s the nature of this event.

With just over a minute total lead over Gretchen, I knew I had to run and ride strong on Sunday. Unfortunately for Sara, she did not have her best mountain bike race so she was sitting further back. After warming up and feeling less than stellar, I decided I would run my own race, try to keep Sara in sight (at least on the more open sections) and attempt to increase my lead on Gretchen. Pushing through the pain of the first climb straight up Gold Peak, I fell off Sara but kept my head down and raced smart. By mile three, I started to feel pretty good, passed some men and slowly started to catch back up to and eventually pass Sara. I never looked back for Gretchen knowing I was running the best race I had in me. I wore the new ultralight Vertical K trail running shoes from La Sportiva and they felt awesome. I finished the run as the 5th woman overall (again) and increased my lead to about eight minutes.

One of these days I will learn that sometimes the worse I feel in the beginning of a race, the better the race is overall.

After the 10K run, Ian took the kids around the event for a few hours so I could rest as much as possible for the final TT race. I took full advantage to eat and chat with Lindsay. To save every second possible, I threw on the skinsuit Ian got me in France last year and then jumped on the road bike for a short warm up. Starting the time trial 30 seconds and one minute in front of Gretchen and Sara respectively, gave me the advantage of knowing where they were at all times. Both of them passed me together in East Vail and I managed to stay with them for a few minutes before I dropped back. Keeping them in sight and no mechanicals became my goal as I knew that would keep me in the lead after the four events.

Sara Tarkington, me and Gretchen Reeves before the TT start

I did lose two minutes on the time trial but kept my overall lead. Relieved the racing was over, Sara, her fiance Doug, and I coasted down Vail Pass. As much as I hated the pressure of the races, I was very excited to win over such amazing women like Gretchen and Sara. I love that we are all friends and fierce competitors.

Impressively, my friend Josiah Middaugh won his SIXTH Ultimate Mountain Challenge title for the men. He has a great recap of his weekend here.

Gretchen and I have traded places on the podium many times in the Ultimate Mountain Challenge.

Ian and Michael Schilling. One of these days I’ll skip a training session to take a photography class because my skills are seriously lacking.

Throughout the weekend many people asked me how I do it all with two kids and there’s no way I could be doing any of it without Ian’s support. And thank you to Lindsay for the support as well as Honey Stinger, Bontrager, Trek, La Sportiva, Acli-mate and to my friends cheering me all weekend.

Results here and Denver Post story here.

Loving (and dreading) TMG

Posted by sarianderson on February 7, 2012
Posted in: Training, Upcoming Races. Tagged: , , , , . 1 Comment

I have a love-hate relationship with the Teva Mountain Games (TMG). As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’ve competed in just about every version of TMG going back over 10 years. It’s been amazing to watch the event grow and evolve. I look forward to the TMG weekend every summer – hanging out in my former hometown, catching up with old friends, watching all the amazing athletes competing, and of course, punishing myself in the Ultimate Mountain Challenge.

I also stress out more over the Teva Mountain Games than just about any other event I race in all year. The Ultimate Mountain Challenge in the summer, which includes four races over two days, is exhausting. I also feel like there is more pressure on me competing in Vail, and the expectations are high racing in front of so many of my friends. Furthermore, Ian works on the PR for TMG, so he’s talking about the event constantly. It gets to the point where I dread it.

So, now the new, WINTER Teva Mountain Games is just a few days away and I’m getting more and more anxious. The winter version of the Ultimate Mountain Challenge includes a 10k Nordic race, a skimo race with 6,500 feet of vert and the two-mile, Vail Uphill race with 2,200 feet of vert.

I feel fit for the race, but not totally prepared. I skate skied for the first time all winter on Saturday. It hurt. I haven’t been running much, and definitely not uphill. There are some strong women signed up for the UMC, including my friends Stevie Kremer and Lyndsay Meyer as well as US Mountain Running team member Megan Kimmel and National Nordic Champion Morgan Smyth. It’s going to be a really competitive race.

This weekend I’m going to try adopt Axel’s mantra…just have fun in the snow! Hope to see many of you in Vail. Thanks, as always, for reading.

Ultimate Mountain Challenge

Posted by sarianderson on June 7, 2011
Posted in: Race Results, Racing News. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Ahh, the Teva Mountain Games – a very special event for me and Ian because it’s where we met in 2002. We haven’t missed a single TMG since, whether I raced, Ian worked, or both.

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.

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