Xterra Portland, Hagg Lake

I have been racing hard now for 6 months, first with the xc mountain bike series and now Xterra.  My body is feeling fatigue and mentally, I think if is tough to continue on at the pace that I have been going.  We've been venturing to different races at least 2 out of every 4 weekends of each of the last 6 months and sometimes even more.
This week, I got clear about what it means to be a stay at home parent. The light went on for me this week as I was feeling overwhelmed, like I was failing at most everything in my life and unsure at how to remedy it all.  I realized that don't give myself credit for what I, and other stay at home parents do.  I absolutely LOVE being home with my kids, tending to our home and preparing yummy food, but what I realized this week is that I have not even been acknowledging my duties at home as "effort".  Yet those duties are the bulk of my every day.  Instead, I pile on part-time jobs, volunteer activities, training schedules and a pretty extensive travel schedule and when I get overwhelmed I wonder why? 

People ask me all the time how I do what I do.  I've responded by saying that I  can do all of this because I don't work and am home with my kids. But I DO work, and I work hard.  My kids are with me all day, every day this summer.  I do all the bill-paying and book-keeping for our personal finances as well as Trevor's Stone work business, AND I have worked full days on Wednesdays for a local Organic Farm WITH my kids in tow.  Some days flow so well,  and I succeed in fitting in a work-out and something productive around the house.  Many other days my daily plan is diverted or delayed, and like today after spending the afternoon in urgent care with Keller after he crashed on his bike, I get nothing done at all.

Having come clean with myself and the expectations I put on myself, I was overcome with a sense of relief.  I barely trained at all last week, allowed myself to sleep in, missed a couple of swim workouts and put NO expectations on myself for my race performance.  At this point, I had already qualified for both the Xterra National race and the Xterra World's so not only did I not NEED to compete in Portland, I didn't have to expect myself to do very well. 

Keller's 9th  birthday was Friday, which meant party mode!  Breakfast in bed, friends at the pool and snow cones in the park.  So much fun to be had that race prep just had to wait.  We returned home from the pool near 5pm and I swear that I heard the basil in the fridge calling me to turn it into pesto.  It would be brown by the time we returned from our trip......so I just had to take care of that!  We had a lovely pesto pasta and sausage dinner and I froze the rest.  We packed the car fairly quickly, as we only were going 2 hours away and for one night.  We ended up not leaving home until nearly 8pm, and upon entering the Hagg Lake area drove past our camp spot and clear around the lake. Tired and irritable, we somehow managed to stay calm, re-trace our steps and finally arrived at our camp around 10:30pm.

After an incredibly restful nights sleep, I woke at 6 and ate my breakfast of  yogurt, granola and fresh fruit with Mat and Liz outside of our van.  From this point on, time sped up and I don't think that I was productive in any way at all except for the chit-chat.  So many friends and family to see and say hello to, but in doing so, neglected readying myself for the race.  At about 8am, Karen DeWolfe arrives and gasps about this 8:30 am start that we have.  WHAT???  8:30???  I have absolutely NO idea that the race started so soon.  I, having not taken the time to view the pre-race packet for details assumed the race started just like many of the others at 9.  Frantic, as I had yet to have my coffee, set up my transition area, put the number plate on my bike or warmed up at all.  I went into crazy Mel mode, spoke to no one,  chugged a delicious cup of coffee and rushed over to transition only to have forgotten my bike shoes and helmet.  UGH!  Well, I got a good warm up here, sprinting to the van for those things and getting back in time to join Lizzy in a 5 minute out and back on the bike. Just as we returned back, the race director was beginning the pre-race meeting.  The transition area was clear, except of course for myself, Liz, Karen and Mat.  We all looked at each other, struggling  to slather on the Glide and get into our wet- suits.  What are we doing???  Well, we made a fine example of what NOT to do, when preparing for a race.  I sprinted to the bathroom one last time and then down to the lake.  Frantic to get my wetsuit on and get the details of the race as the director yells 3 minutes till the start!  WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME????

Needless to say, the swim was pretty crazy.  My heart was racing from the start and my wetsuit felt restrictive around my arms and chest. I gulped a bunch of water, and the coffee in my gut wanted OUT.  I felt like throwing up and seriously contemplated quitting.  UGH!!  So disappointed for putting myself in this position yet again.  Having not managed my time well nor paid attention to the details of the race I set myself up for failure in the most difficult part of my race, the swim.  I pulled myself together for a bit and actually swam very well between the two buoy's, and the bulk of the distance.  Small steps, AGAIN, were able to get me to that shore and on to my bike, my happy place today.

My legs felt great and so did my bike!  I have been riding my full suspension 26in wheeled bike for the last few weeks, and getting back on my King Kahuna 29in hard tail felt amazing.  This bike is so fast and handles really well.  I was feeling in control around the corners and over the bumpy meadow sections, and was able to keep a really good pace.  The Hagg lake trail is really fun.  It is up and down and all around and did I mention Fast?  Some of the course markings were  lacking in some areas which left me at times confused about being off course and I even blew right through a turn. Lucky for me, Shane Kroth, the race director was in the right place at the right time and was able to get me back on course fairly quickly.  Phew!  I came back into transition feeling strong and received word that I was in 4th place.

trying to pick my way through that run

I left transition feeling strong, but was reminded just how hard I pushed it on the bike at the first climb.  I managed to keep my legs moving and was able to pass quite a few people.  I enjoyed the pavement section where you could see other runners ahead, and pushed myself a bit.  I think my track work-outs are paying off!  My new Saucony race shoes felt great until I came to the grassy, rutted, and off camber section.  Geez, this part was really hard.  It was slippery and difficult to gauge where to put my feet, and I twisted my ankles a couple of times.  The second lap was fun as I knew that I was nearly done.  I came into the finish and saw that my time was 2:21:35, six minutes faster than last year! 

Xterra friends are fun.  Another race, another memory and we grow closer!

Liz, Mel, Karen and Shelley.  The ladies of Team Dirt

Although I had myself a tough swim, the rest of the race felt great and I improved my time on both the bike and the run.  I MUST get myself a swim coach if I want to do well at Nationals and World's.  We'll see where I get with that one.....

The rest of the day was filled with fun in the sun with friends and family by the lake.  Corvallis had quite a showing,  with Karen, Liz and myself all finishing in the Top 5 overall!

Keller experiences Coke in a bottle for his 1st time!  Thanks to Mat :)

We have a few weeks off!  I look forward to some mellow camping at our favorite spot, Waldo Lake :)

Its a happy day!

Xterra #3 Black Diamond Washington

One thing that we have learned from chasing races all of these months is to be open to change.  We always make a plan of departure, with a general idea of what our time spent away might look like, but more often than not, things come up and our plan requires adjusting.  Being open to change, and frequent check-ins between Trevor and I are necessary to keep the stress level down and to ensure that our trips, however they turn out, are fun for everyone.

This weekend was one of those times where our initial plan was entirely thrown out, and we all just went with the flow.  In doing so,  we were relaxed, free, and had experiences that we otherwise would not have had.

For various reasons, we decided to wait until Saturday to leave, and ended up not leaving Corvallis until about noon.  A very large traffic jam in Seattle resulted in our arrival at the lake to be after 7pm.  Ordinarily, I would pre-ride the bike course and take a swim in the lake, but being that it was so late, I declined Trevors offer to do so, and instead insisted that he get out and ride and come back to tell me all about it.  The kids and I hung out at the lake, ate dinner and attempted to fish a bit.  The boys had fun seeing Toby, the race director's 2 boys that they had met weeks before on Vashon.  Toby and his crew were busily tending to the last few preparations for the race Sunday morning but were so gracious in welcoming us. Lake Sawyer park is not open to camping and this rule was strictly enforced even with the 9am race start. We had planned to stay with Mat up in Sammamish, which was another 45 minutes away, but with it being so late, and knowing that we had to turn back around so early in the morning, we were reluctant to get back in the van.  Not a problem here apparently, because in no time both Toby and Patti were quick to offer space to park our van at their place for the night.  Ahh, what a relief. It was well past 10pm before we arrived at Patti and Bills "campground on the sport court."  There were already quite a few racers there, so we quietly pulled in and went right to sleep.

I slept really well despite the mosquitoes that were buzzing around all night keeping Trevor awake :)  The alarm sounded at 6am and I enjoyed a bowl of Nancy's Yogurt with granola, walnuts and raisins on the sport court.  The others athletes were awake as well, and we all exchanged "good-mornings!" 

We woke the kids, packed up the van and were at the race site by 7.  The parking area was nearly full, but we squeezed in only to get a spot right next to Mat and Rob Jackson from Portland.  It was great to see Taylor Seavey and his parents there as well.  The kids were so excited about their first kids triathlon of the season and were anxious to set up their transition.  Between making their breakfast, us coffee and the chit-chat that comes with the race scene, I again found myself behind schedule with not much time to warm up.  Mat asked if I wanted to bike a bit, but upon seeing me filling water bottles and my transition bag he rescinded the offer.  "You have not even set up transition yet?"  I got myself together pretty quickly, found a great spot in the transition area and took off for a 10 minute warm up ride. By the time I returned the announcer was alerting all athletes to the pre-race meeting.  It was getting really hot, and I was already sticky and dripping with sweat.  Most people were wearing their wetsuits already, but Mat convinces me to go without one.

One last trip to the bathroom before heading down to the lake and I see that Karen DeWolfe is here!  So surprised that she made it, and super excited as I knew that she would love this course.  This girl is one incredible athlete, and today Corvallis would definitely represent! 

The only on wearing a blue swimcap!  Alleck said it was really easy to spot me :)

The swim started out a bit rough and I actually was punched in the goggles.  This hurts just as much as it sounds like it would, but the pain did not last too long.  I remained calm, and just tried to find my own space.  I felt good the entire swim, and was really happy that I did not wear a wetsuit.  The water was so comfortable, and my arms and shoulders felt free.  I swam along side the same group of people the whole time, and although I felt good about this, seeing my swim time at the end has me thinking that I was being too conservative.  I was swimming very calm, and took note of how great it felt......maybe an indication that I could go a bit harder?"  My swim time was 1:15 faster than last year, and I took 45 seconds off of my transition by not having my wetsuit to take off.  Not exactly the results I was looking for, but I'll take it.

I felt great as I got on the bike, and noticed right away that my legs felt strong.  I tried to hammer the road climb as best as I could to get to the trail before all those in front of me.  Still, the first 1/3 of the first lap was REALLY backed up and slow.  The trail was very rocky with tight corners, and once those riders in front of me tired of the rocks the trail opened up and I rode most of the remaining bike leg alone. I was happy that I chose to ride my full suspension, as it made for a much smoother ride.  Although I had a great time, I noticed a few times how mellow I felt, all alone in the silence of the forest.  I had to remind myself that I was racing after all and tried to pick it up a little bit. I came across the river for the second time and was told that I was in 3rd place.  I knew Karen was out there and that there would be no way I could catch her.  I had no idea who the other woman was, but I was comfortable in third.  Next weekend is Portland Xterra and I really want to do well there.  I chose to stay steady, calm and just maintain my position.  No one was telling me that anyone was close, so I assumed that I was pretty far behind.  I stayed hydrated with Hammer Heed in my Veleau hydration system and managed to eat my entire flask of Hammer gel which helped me with the 90 degree heat. 

Trevor gives Alleck a pep talk

That's Keller!  What great form :)

He's ready to kick hard!

Alleck finishes with a smile!

Keller totally rocked it!

I came into the transition to my kids cheering loudly.  They were all smiles as we exchanged words on how the kids race went.  They held the kids race during the my event,  which was a bummer to miss it.  Luckily Trevor captured the excitement with photos and video, and I heard blow by blow from each of the boys on the ride home.  They absolutely loved it!

I headed out of transition and my legs felt awesome!  The more I do these triathlons the less my legs argue with me about running after a bike ride.  It seemed like I was running faster than I wanted too, but it felt so good I just continued on.  Along with me came a 16year old named Ethan that would run with me for most of this leg.  We both agreed that it was way more fun to be with someone so we stuck together.... that was until I spotted Jo Markham making her way around second lap.  I  was happy to see her and yelled a "hello!"  She was having a difficult run and says to me that I will probably catch her.  It took Ethan and I about 5 minutes to make it around the upper loop and as we came through the lap point I said to him, "lets see how close we can get to Jo." At this point there was a carrot for me to chase and this brought an element of fun to the race that before had been lacking.  I really  did not see too many women out there on the course.  My legs continued to feel good, and I made sure to stay cool by dumping a cup of water over my head at every aid station.  This is a little trick I learned from my friend John Klish and it really works!  I never felt too hot or dehydrated.  After coming down the lower loop and onto the road I spot Jo up ahead.  Although I lost Ethan in my quest, I did find Jo!  I had a silent celebration with myself and figured I would just come upon her quietly.  Just then she turns around and sees me.  She stopped at the aid station to drink and I give her a holler.  "c'mon Jo, lets go!"  I headed up the last loop with a little more pep in my step and finished strong in 2nd place.

Raising the Bar really puts on a top notch event, with a vendor area that offered plenty of post race food and drink and lots of friendly people.  The location was ideal in offering shade for the athletes to gather.  We hung out for most of the afternoon swimming, fishing and recapping our day while Matt Betts and Trevor went out and enjoyed the trails.  They arrived back with all smiles and one flat tire! 

The ride home was filled with laughs and reggae music.  We were eager to get home so we drove straight through, stopping to pick up a pizza once we arrived in Corvallis.  We all gathered on the couch to watch the Olympics and enjoy our 10 o'clock dinner.

Keller races with fire. 

We head to Portland tomorrow for the 4th regional Xterra event, and then look forward to a few weeks off.

Life is good.

The adventure to and from LaGrande with a race in between

                                                               The Adventure
We left Corvallis just in time to catch the prime Friday five o'clock traffic in Portland.  I-5 came to a stand still just before we got to I-205, so we quickly changed course and got on I-205.  Moments after my sigh of relief that we managed to get out of that mess, we found ourselves in the same exact position on this freeway.  Hot, tired and hungry, the kids began to complain about  this and that, but really they were just plain hungry.  It was about 6pm, and we had been in the car for 2 hours, but traveled only about 70 miles. 

We barely made it over the 3 lanes of stopped traffic to the exit, but figured we should stop for dinner and wait out the traffic.  A large church parking lot off the freeway offered a pleasant dinner stop complete with a tree for shade, a curb for sitting on while we cooked our dinner, and a big open space for a few games of hide and go seek.  By the time we got back on the freeway, the traffic had lightened up and we continued on. 

Although our plan was to get all the way to Echo, Oregon, just an hour away from LaGrande, we decided to stop in Hood River for the night and save the bulk of the drive for the morning when we could enjoy the beauty of the Gorge.  This also gave us the opportunity to stay at the Tucker Park Campground along the Hood River.  The campground was full of bikers, wind-surfers and kite boarders who all came to Hood River to enjoy the outdoors so we felt right at home. We picked our spot right next to a gigantic rock where the kids challenged each other and themselves to find the fastest route up and down.  Trevor and I enjoyed a beer while timing their climbs on the stopwatch. It was fun to walk around the campground and pick out the "choice" sites right along the river.  Next time, we'll know to get there just a little bit earlier!

Mike's Ice Cream shop in Hood River.  YUM!

Beautiful Hood River

The drive along the Gorge is amazing.  Windsurfers and kite-boarders, cliffs and rock formations.  We listened to old time fiddle music while we made our way to Morgan Lake in LaGrande where the race would be held.

Trevor's folks and our 2 nieces drove from Missouri to visit us for 10 days.  They timed the drive so they could meet us in LaGrande and see the race.  This was pretty exciting for us all, as we had not seen the girls in a few years and they had never before seen a triathlon race.

I did not sleep one minute the night before the race.  I managed to stay calm, and rest my body although my mind just raced about this and that.  Nonsense really, but I just could not shut it off.  No time to fret about a lack of sleep, I clumsily readied myself and tried to appear cheerful to everyone around that was anxiously watching my preparation.

                                                                      The Race

The horn sounded and we were off.  I positioned myself on the right, but made sure there were people on both sides of me.  I felt great at first, had my own space and really don't think that I was knocked into by anyone.... that is until I decided to stop and look around a bit about 300meters out.  Once I broke my rhythm it was hard to get it back.  That little voice inside my head kept telling my to lift my head to make sure I was on track.  After rounding the last buoy I knew I was headed home and forced myself to keep my head down.  It helped that I was swimming next to a guy who was about my pace.  We swam the entire 600 meters or so together which helped me remain confident that we were on course.  I figured that I had a lot of catching up to do, but when I hopped on my bike, my legs just did not feel that great.  Not sure if it was due to the elevation, the fact that I was due to start my period, or the lack of sleep the night before.  Regardless, I gave it all I had but it did not feel too good.

I was surprised to find Lizzy at the base of the first major climb. We exchanged a few words and she asked me how my swim was.  "Apparently not that bad if I am here with you now."   I was happy to have caught up with her so soon, since she is such a strong swimmer.  This gave me a bit of confidence that maybe I was not too far behind the leaders.

The bike course was rough.  In 17 miles there was nearly 3000 feet of climbing, which on this day felt really hard.   The descents were steep, loose and very rocky.  I'm pretty sure I felt each and every rock and root and at times worked hard just to hold on the the handlebars and stay on my bike.  I wished that I had ridden my full suspension bike for this course, but had to deal with what I had.  I would get close to the women in front of me on the climbs, and then we would hit a big downhill portion and I would fall behind again. I could never quite get there. At one point as I climbed up to the top of the ridge, the sky opened up to me.  I knew that whatever was to my left was spectacular, as I was at 5500ft, but the trail was so rocky and rutted that I could not take my eyes off of it.  Finally, I could not ignore the temptation any longer and I guiltily took a quick peek.  It was absolutely incredible, as I shouted out WOW!  The LaGrande Valley, lush and green surrounded by mountain peaks. Although I only caught a glimpse of this view, the excitement fueled me for a while. When I came bouncing down the meadow and nearly bounced right off my bike, I told myself over and over to be light on my bike and hang on, advice I gleaned from pro-rider Adam Craig's write up in a magazine. Soon enough, that part was over and as I came back down to the lake Trevor was there to tell me that I was in 4th place.

The run course was equally as difficult as the bike. For some reason the course was changed from last year and sent us down this steep gravel road only to have to turn right back around and climb back up. This goes against my trail running philosophy of not ever doing out and backs, but rather loops.  How boring!  But, I bit my tongue, kept my legs moving and took this opportunity to eat a Hammer gel Tropical with caffeine.  I remember reading once in a friends blog that she loves the caffeine gel's late in a race and I needed something to get me through this one.  It was getting hot, was really dry and my legs still just did not seem to be moving so well.

Having so many people on the course I knew was a huge pick-me-up.  Mat's parents were both out there, Trevor and the kids, Lizzy's friend Sarah and my in-laws.  I would be feeling pretty low and tired and then I would hear one of them cheer for me and I began to feel strong again.
I worked hard to catch the women in front of me to take over the 3rd place spot.  As I was on my 2nd lap around the lake,Trevor rode along side me on his mountain bike.  I was so fatigued that I said nothing until I blurted out, "where is she?"  He thought that I was asking about the girl in front of me, and said "not far at all."  I responded, "oh shit" because I was wanting to know if I was being chased.  I really did not want to get caught on the run, so  I picked up my legs and pushed as hard as I could around that lake. About 2 miles from the finish I saw a women up ahead of me. Assuming that she was in 2nd, I picked up the pace to finally catch her with about 200 meters to go.  I would later find out that the women I passed was actually on her first lap around the lake, and I in fact finished in 3rd place.  Although I was a bit disappointed by this realization, it was good practice to push my body till the end. I think I usually would settle into my place and do just enough to hold it. Today though,  was a race until the end.  Although the field was small, with maybe 100 participants, those that did show up were very strong. 

The kids participated in the Kids Duathlon, and we all had a blast cheering them on.  Keller decided that it would be good practice to wear his clip less peddles, so had to change shoes twice.  He stayed positive despite being the ONLY ONE that had to change shoes.

Alleck was the youngest participate in the long course, and finished his race in a sprint.  He was so happy just to be out there, and rode sections of the trail that only the day before he swore he would not.

The best part of their race was all the support out on the course.  We all spread out, and cheered them along.  This was the longest race that they have done, and it was really hot!

As Alleck crossed the finish line, the rest of the kids gathered around him and cheered.  One new little friend that he met picked him up while he congratulated him.  It was about the cutest thing ever to watch these red-faced kids debrief with each other about their race.

kids "long course" podium.

                                                      The Adventure Continues.......

We drove to Baker City that evening and enjoyed dinner at the Barley Brown Brewery with my Aunt Arlene.   She graciously hosted our large crew in her Farm House, and she and I stayed up way to late catching up.

Then next morning my cousin Marty and his kids taught us how to fish.  They came with poles galore and we all worked together to catch grasshoppers to use as bait, just like we did when we were kids!  We fished the pond for Bass and caught 5!  The kids were ecstatic and insisted that we eat them.  I was a bit unsure since this "pond" is really the watering hole for cattle, but a local neighbor assured us that as long as we cooked them through, it would be just fine.  I brought our stove out of the van, and before long the fish were gutted and cleaned, fried and eaten.


Catching a fish.  A dream come true!

This is how they roll in the country

A camp stove, a plate and a stack of forks.  We made it work!

Many more adventures await as we head out to Black Diamond where the kids will participate in their first triathlon of the year!