A different path

The week following the Test of Endurance 100k race, July 8th to be exact, I fell and hurt my knee. It was not a spectacular fall, nor was I doing anything dangerous or traveling at high speed.  Nope, I was climbing a steep pitch on my mtb bike at roughly 2 mph.  What happened next was a clumsy, slow motion chain of events where I landed on my back with my feet up the hill and my bike still clipped to my left foot.  Yes, there was a pop, a warm sensation and the glaring internal alarm inside of me that said "sh--, this is bad". 

Many days full of pain, worry and appointments with specialists later, it was determined that I had sprained my MCL, the medial cruicial ligament on my left knee. This was about the best scenario I could ask for really.  Surgery was not recommended, and both my ACL and Meniscus seemed to be in tact and strong.  Really, I lucked out.  I was given 6 months to full recovery with Physical Therapy and rest.

I was forced to slow it down, and I stopped running all together.  While I stopped mountain biking,  I continued to commute by bike at slow speeds. I noticed that movement to my knee actually helped loosed things up.   Swimming felt great, and so I used this opportunity to work on my swim, the weak link in my triathlon.

 My friend Blair Bronson, a fantastic swimmer and coach worked with me 2x/week for 2 months and literally broke down my swim to the bare bones.  While my progress was at first so slow, I questioned whether it was even possible, and a few times left the pool in tears.  Blair stuck with me, and encouraged me to stick with it too.  I do not think I got my heart rate up in that pool for at least 4 weeks.  Each day was full of slow and focused drills of 25 meters that taxed my body and my mind.  I was rewiring my muscle memory, and teaching my body to swim differently.
One day, it clicked, and I can say that I now am swimming stronger, faster and with much less energy. 



Trevor always takes great race photos!
 

So racing the High Cascades 100 mile mtn bike race in Bend was out of the question, however Trevor was feeling strong and ready to do his best.  The boys and I volunteered at both the Swampy lakes and Eddison Aid stations.  I enjoyed the experience of this event while getting a much different perspective.  I see now, just how much effort goes into a production like this.  Mike Ripley and his crew at Mudslinger Events truly do an amazing job. 



Trevor was in and out and looking very strong!

Our post for the day.  It was HOT!

This course is difficult, and it was HOT.  80% of the starters finished the grueling 100 mile trek over the best single track in Bend.  I was blown away at the number of riders that dropped out at Eddison, with only 25 miles to go.  We had racers sprawled out under our tents, with bags of ice on their bodies in hopes of cooling  them.  It was an intense scene, and we worked hard to care for those who had dropped, while fueling those who chose to ride on.  The boys had a great time offering cold soda and Endurolytes, and with these offerings made quite a few friends.

Trevor had a great day on the bike.  The heat did not effect him the way we saw it wrecking with other people.  He fueled with Hammer Nutrition Fizz, for most of the day believes that the extra electrolytes helped him.  This guy also works outside, slinging rocks and pavers for a living.  I say he did a little bit of heat training leading up to this race!  He finished in 9hrs 24 minutes,  nearly 15 minutes fastersmoking fast and feeling good.



Alleck kept the Nutella and Peanut Butter Sandwiches stocked

 

We splurged by staying at the Mt. Bachelor Village Resort for the rest of the weekend, where we lounged at the pool and indulged in long and slow family bike rides.
We ended our weekend with a shuttle ride to Swampy lakes Snow Park by Cog Wild Shuttles, where we rode the 17miles back into Bend.  This is an incredible ride, and perfect for beginner mountain bikers.  Its pretty much all downhill!

The very next weekend, Keller joined a team of juniors in the High Cascades 24hr race staged at Wanoga Snow Park.  Trevor came back to report that this event, again put on by Mudslinger events, is one of the best he has been to.  Trevor, still recovering from the week before, was there as support for Keller.  Keller rode 43 miles in 24hrs and had a blast!  He is proud to say that his fastest lap occurred at the wee hours of the morning when it was freezing cold. 

We spent the rest of the summer camping and riding, riding and camping.  We invested in a really nice bike for Alleck, and immediately could see that we all would benefit.  The fun factor instantly went up, as Alleck now can climb just as fast, if not faster than the rest of us!  And now, with a working front shock, he is much more confident on the descents. 

We rode a lot.  The boys both learned to ride with clipless pedals, and we had a blast. 

Each year, we vacation for a week at Waldo Lake, our most favorite camping and riding destination.  The goal for this year became that we would ride together, the 26 miles around the lake by the end our of weeks stay.  The boys were so motivated and excited, that we met this goal the very first day we were there.  And then proved it the day after with another go around.  Trevor and I were giddy to say the least.  Riding with our kids has become so much fun!

I would say that our summer ended almost perfectly at the Best in the West Triathlon festival in Sweet Home, Oregon.  Keller completed the sprint distance triathlon on Saturday, and was the youngest competitor by far.  Inspired, Alleck convinced Keller to do the Tri-A-Tri short course as a relay with  him on Sunday.  They both had a blast and are already plotting next years attack. 

Keller's race went like this:

Keller back stroked the entire 400 meter swim, as he did not want to put his face in the water.
The buzz in the morning about possible blue green algae got him a bit worried.
He dealt with it though and got it done!

One huckleberry Hammer Gel  down the hatch and ready to ride!

He ran as fast as he could

And he was proud to have completed his first sprint distance Triathlon!



And Alleck's race went like this:

Keller was ready for the swim, and this time he did free-style!

Trevor rode along side while Alleck crushed the bike segment



He almost got this one!

Yep, I'm hard-core and love to race!



Looking at all these photos makes me really excited for next season!  Until then, the Norland's will be cross training at the mountain!  We are praying for snow and hoping to start this next weekend.