Xterra Lory

I went through many boxes before I found my triathlon gear, but when I found it, my race belt still had a race number on it from my last triathlon. August 2012. Ooooops. I thought I did one in the spring of 2013, but maybe not :-)

During nursing school I swam maybe 10 times. 

I biked maybe 10 times. 

All short and easy, because it was exhausting :-)

Good news: I ran almost every day, sometimes twice a day. 

I signed up for Xterra Lory about 1 month ago and had my training all planned out. Well, that didn't go the way I hoped and I ended up swimming once in week 1 (1000 m) and once the day before the race (1000 m). 

Running was right on track with tempo runs and track practice and even a few long runs. 

Race day showed up and I had no idea if my wetsuit would rip from being retired for so long.

The weather was beautiful and the 59 degree lake was perfect. 

 The wetsuit didn't rip. SUCCESS.

 The foggy mountains made it a perfect race start.

 I even warmed up. The swim was around 800 m long and I knew my max was at 1000...mhhhh...I swam halfway to the first buoy and breast-stroked back. 

 Ironically I swam the exact same pace as I did when I trained in the pool 7 days/week. Ha. No more of that. 2 times a month is enough :-) I stopped 3 times to let water out of the goggles ( I borrowed them that morning because I couldn't find my OW ones).

I took my Sailfish wetsuit out of retirement. That suit is fantastic. No tired arms, no chafing. I actually really enjoyed the swim :-) 

 I like the road for riding and trails for running. Trails for riding make me feel scared. I lost A LOT of time on that ride. The first lap, I got passed by...I stopped counting how many peeps. The second lap was fun but still kind of slow. I am not sure if I liked the "moving over for passing" and being stuck in a "traffic jam" that happens in Xterras. I just smiled and tried to tell the competitive me that this is fun and a workout and not a race. I really enjoyed just being out there and riding fast (for me).

 Onto the run, which I thought was 4.2miles, but actually was 5.2 miles. 

 2.5 miles up, 2.5 miles down.We ran not only over the first hill, but continued onto the second one!!!

I passed a few ladies but had no idea what place I was in. JR later told me after the finish that I came off the bike in 10th or so, so he didn't want to tell me during the race because he thought I would be sad. Good husband. 

 At mile 3, on a steep downhill part, I launched off my left foot to jump over a rock, but unfortunately landed on a sharp rock with my right foot. Ouch. It sounded like a chiropractor adjustment, but it did't feel good. I hobbled back for the last 2 miles, but was just happy to be out there.

 I ended up 4th overall. This race attracted a lot of pro's and I was happy to be right in the mix after all that time off. I opted out on the water slide. I didn't have enough momentum and honestly didn't know what to do :-) Awkward moment :-) Later JR said it was probably a good idea, he saw a lot of people with bloody arms and legs who slid down it ;-)

My foot kept swelling and turned black and blue. Time to go get an Xray. Luckily nothing was broken, but a possible ligament tear (as per MD). Today is day 4 and it still feels funny and hurts, but tomorrow I want to go running again. This no running is not working for me :-)

Well, I am excited to have done this race (thanks PAM for encouraging me). I have already snooped around trifind to sign up for my next race.

I will definitely increase my riding between now and the next race (not the swimming), and I am so excited to ride my new FUSION bike. It is going in the mail today and I am hoping to have it built by this weekend. I cannot wait to ride for this great company, their bikes and wheels are fun and fast!!! But the bike needs its own blog.

Colorado Fall Classic

Life is busy...I started working 5 days/week...even though it is only 8 am - 1 pm, it is tiring:-) I guess I have been spoiled :-)

The nice thing is that I make my own schedule, so if I need to take a week off, I can. 

I am participating in an Xterra triathlon on May 31st...yikes, what was I thinking. I still haven't swam...not even once. I just listen to my body and do what my body likes: running and biking. 

The race takes place in Lory state park, just outside of Ft Collins. The riding and running is beautiful. The race will go on the beginner trail, unfortunately there are still 2 spots, where I have to get off the bike. I guess I am a below-beginner on the mnt bike. Give me a cross bike and it is a different story :-) Here are some images of the beautiful scenery running and riding at Lory:

 Running makes Jack tired. So tired that he takes ANY spot in the yard to sleep :-)

 The Xterra will be all fun and no racing. Especially with possibly (very likely) zero swimming, minimal mnt bike skills and a killer run with tons of elevation and switchbacks.

This week was strange: 5 year anniversary, JR's birthday and my graduation from nursing school...and I celebrated all the above by myself :-( JR is over 3000 miles away from here :-( Buuuhhhhhh. Maybe I need another degree so I can finally have a celebration!!! Just kidding ;-)

 The chickens have been laying eggs every day, I think they like the warmer weather. 3/day and one of them is HUGE, the other one small. Chickens are very easy to hold in a yard, they don't need a lot and they give back every day :-)

I am trying to get back into racing after taking a year off. Running is my priority and am very happy to say that I am competing in the Colorado Fall Classic Marathon this September. I am looking forward to the race and to finishing FAST. The race has a 2500 ft loss in elevation. I am supporting local races whenever I can, and this marathon fits perfectly into my schedule. Here is to a great running summer!!!

Greyrock Mnt Trail and the Coop

A few things on our "Colorado bucket list" were:

growing Hops (check)

having a huge above the ground garden (check)

having edible things all throughout the yard (check)

...and getting organic chickens (as of today: check)

We found this adoption program, where 2 year old chickens, who no longer produce at a 100 % rate, get retired from this organic farm and you can adopt them. So we adopted 3. Brunhilde, Gertrud and one that still needs a name :-)

 Catching the chickens was fun. I have never attempted to catch one. Those little creatures are fast!!! Luckily I found some gloves from nursing school in the truck to catch them and hold onto them better.

 I knew that I would need these someday. 

 Bringing the chickens home was very exciting for Jack. 

 He wasn't sure if they were playmates, so he stared at them and barked a little.

 He loves sticking his nose in the coop...off course only with supervision.

 Their temporary home...

 Jack is making sure his new friends don't go anywhere...

 We connected the chicken coop to a space behind our garden house...they seem to love it as they explored the area all day. 

 They already laid two eggs, I am guessing it is a thank you for the new home (that's at least what I tell myself).

 In the afternoon it was time to explore. My friend Pam gave me an incredible book for christmas and I have the goal of hiking (or running) all the Northern Colorado Trails from the book and writing feedback and taking pics. 

 Today's run was Greyrock Mountain. It is just about 20 min outside of Ft Collins up the Poudre Canyon. The trailhead is easy to find and great for dogs and hikers. The loop is about 6 miles long (we skipped running up Greyrock, that this is STEEEEEEP). The trail was very very rocky and very steep. The first two miles were so steep that we had to walk some. Our average pace was 12 min/miles, little did we know that the elevation gain was 1500 ft on the way up and another 1500 ft on the way down. Yikes. We will be sore tomorrow. 

 This is the picture from the book. That was the flattest and least rocky part of the trails. I would recommend the trail for day hikes, overnight hikes, dog hikes (multiple streams available) and especially for practice if you plan on hiking the Grand Canyon!!! We will need to come back and hike this trail with backpacks!!! 

Tomorrow's adventure: Bacon Loop 10 miler and Carter Lake bike ride :-) 

Off to a fresh start...

I struggled to leave Ft Collins after Christmas...1 more semester had to be done. I thought it would be fun to take my snow shoes and XC skis, but Flagstaff was pretty much winter-less, except for one day (and it melted the next day again). My friend Amber had just won the National Snowshoe title and I was super motivated to go out and try it out...

 It absolutely kicked my butt. She is an animal on those things, I don't know how she can run that fast on these things :-) It was a great workout and I can't wait for more snow shoe snow. 

The semester ended up going by faster then expected and once we hit spring break we started having the "DONE" mentality.

I had to come back to AZ for my capstone in the Emergency room in Show Low, but I came back with scrubs only. 

Good bye Flagstaff, it was nice, but I am so happy to go to Colorado.

 It was nice to get a warm welcome in Colorado with our great friends. We "cruisered" around town and celebrated being reunited (and St Patties day ;-).

 The week went by way too fast. I got a lot of yard work done, a lot of running, no riding or swimming...

 Then I was off to Show Low, AZ. The drive was loooong, but I was lucky and only had 11 days in Show Low. One more time driving through an AZ sand storm:

 I worked the night shift, but had the goal of still running 2 times a day. I would get off work at 6:30 am, run, sleep 8-12, eat, sleep 1-4, run, go to work. It was fantastic. My times got slower with the lack of sleep, so halfway through I decided to leave the Garmin at home :-) Happy running only. 

 I had a fantastic experience in the ER. The high paced environment was exactly what I wanted. I met so many people and it was great to see people get better and even go home after spending time in the ER. 

My shift was done Tuesday morning at 6:30 am and I sat in the car and drove for 11 hrs to Ft Collins. Finally home. 

Since then I have been doing the following:

Enjoy watching JR become a hunter...

 Building a 12 ft by 12 ft organic garden...

Get a job (YAY)...

And sign up for a triathlon...

Yep, training started today. I have 6 weeks to get my butt in shape for the return to triathlon. Today I went swimming. It wasn't petty. The nice thing is that I can take the cruiser and be at Mulberry pool in 1 minute. No excuses. Tomorrow I will join the CSU triathlon team for track practice and on Wednesday I will join the weekly group ride. I will most likely get dropped like a hot potato, but I am excited. 

After taking one year off from swim and bike training (or actually even more), it is fun to look forward to a race. Without limits made it possible for me to race Xterra's and Triathlons that they put on in Northern Colorado and I can't wait. Just pure fun and exhaustion. Since I am starting from scratch, I am totally looking forward to wobbly legs coming out of the water, forgetting where my bike is and how to take off the wetsuit, and simply pure exhaustion during the race.