Been a while!

I had a really great year! I got a chance to run some really great places, and in the process won the Trail Runner Trophy Series Fiend, and a trip to the Canadian Rockies.
More to come on that!

Happy New YEAR!

Random Pics

Last year I took a picture with the purple dinosaur at the Black Partridge Open, figure I should take another one, same as last year, dirty legs, it was a muddy, sloppy day, filled with riding with great ladies!

The newest addition to our family, I know what you are thinking, that's one sexy Prius! Me too, takes us everywhere with the bikes for so much less!

GU socks, pick shorts, ready for the Gnaw Bone 50K :-)

Shorter hair, have to say, loving it, super easy!

Running and Biking..........

In the middle of February I started looking at Trail Runner Magazine, specifically their Trail Runner Trophy Series, and I thought, that looks like fun, how do I sign up? Like most things I find myself drawn to its not easy. I was a runner, well, I ran 50 miles last fall in Chicago, very hard, but I felt a sense of accomplishment, not in the time I finished, but just the finishing it at all. So I said to myself, how many of the series races can I do in a year? Will my running improve? I hardly ever ran on the trails, always beating pavement, and let me tell you trail is so much harder! So far I have done four of the races, and looks like I will do another fourteen before the end of the year, three will be in the same weekend, Friday a 10K, Saturday a 25K, and Sunday a 50K in September! I also have another double weekend with a similar stack up. Right now I am eighth overall in the standings for the series, and mostly cannot believe it! Happy to say my trail running, even the training is enjoyable.
Two weekends ago I ran the Dances with the Dirt-Gnaw Bone, never been at a trail race where we ran thought the woods, no trails, lots of thorns, crazy elevation, snakes, big river crossings, and mostly had fun, I wanted to finish in under 8 hours, and was pleasantly surprised to cross the line in 7 hours 4 minutes, good for 2nd in my age group, and 10th out of all the women.
Biking is good, mostly gearing up for longer races this year, and helping Joe train for Leadville. We will be at the Lumberjack in a couple weeks, looking forward to it! Local races are a fun distraction from lots of miles. This weekend spent both days on the road bike, 65 miles each day. This weekend we will be doing another 200K Saturday, and a century on Sunday.
Keep pushing......it has to make you stronger!

200K+

This last weekend was the first of the Quad City Randonneurs brevets, it was a 200K distance leaving from the Quality Inn in Eldridge, IA, with a turnaround in Nichols, IA. Similar to everything else that I seem to do for road riding, it was a very windy day that started off with a temperature of 34. Nothing I like better than being cold and riding in the dark, which is how we started out. Not too long into the ride Joe and I missed a turn with a couple of other guys. Bummer, we had to turn around and ride back, look for it, and resume the course. When the mobile check point, read VW Van, found us, the informed us we were now one person shy of DFL, no big deal right, this is not really a race, just a long training ride with Casey's checkpoints.
The rest of the ride out went pretty good, I was surprised, we started to see guys from our group on the road, and then we met the lead pack coming back at us, a pretty large group of guys, about8 miles before our turnaround.
Joe and I took a little break, sat around in Nichols, ate some food, got more water, talked with other guys out for a nice long Iowa ride and then turned around and headed back. All day I could hear that "against the wind" song in my head, the return trip was pretty brutal with the wind in some sections. Then it started to happen again, we continued to pass guys, and I don't know why that makes me happy, but it does.
Joe and I finished in 10 hours, 5 minutes, with 134 miles, and happily went to Hardee's for some large hamburgers, and curly fries!

Results: QC Randonneurs 200k Brevet - April 2, 2011

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Getting Warmer!

Rockford is finally coming out of the deep freeze we call winter! This week we are expecting temps in the 60s! I am so happy to outside running and biking without four layers of clothing! I have actually run this week in short sleeves, and was not cold.
This weekend I am running the Rock Cut 20K, and the weather looks like it will cooperate and be really great!

Inside

This weekend was hard, spent 5 hours on the trainer in the basement at the gym on Saturday, ran 17 1/2 miles on the treadmill on Sunday. The weather has been awful, read blizzard, forcing me to be inside all the time. I have a glimmer of hope, this weekend we may reach the 40s, read happy!