The past few weeks have been nuts. The lead-up to the TransRockies (mountain bike event) was a bit frantic as I tried to get everything dialled for the start of the world’s toughest mountain bike race on August 10th. At the sound of the gun, I let out a big sigh: “That was fun…” It may seem easy from a participant’s perspective, but it cost me two weeks of 4 to 5 hours of sleep per night…Although everything had gone relatively smoothly from an pre-event organizational point of vue, from now on, everything I did would be for the most part, reactive – an entirely different ball game.
I have to admit that I love the pressures that come along with game day- although in this case, game ‘week’. For 8 days my radio and cell phone chirped from 7am to 10pm. I tackled job after job as best I could, most of time with the support of a great TR crew – In the end, the participants were happy and for me, that means job well done. Thanks to everyone at TR (crew and vollies) for all your help!
So here I am 4 days later driving through ‘Big Sky’ country on route to Colorado for the Gore-Tex TransRockies Run. I’ll be the first to tell you that my past 2 weeks are NOT the best way to prepare for a 6-day trail running event…The last good workout I did was a 3-day block that finished on Aug 3rd. I tried to maintain my running during TR bike but I only managed 3 runs barely totalling 4hrs… With the cumulative lack of sleep I was faced with, the best thing I could do was rest – so I did.
On August 18th, I wrapped up TR and flipped my brain to ‘race’ mode. Priorities changed to maximize recovery as quickly as possible. There’s no real secret – good food, and lots of rest. After giving my body a chance to rebuild a few of the million brain cells I killed during TR, I decided it was time to push the ‘ol hear. Yesterday, I grabbed my poles and headed up Georgetown for a 5X 1min workout as hard as I could. I was presently surprised by my body’s reaction to the effort. Although I wasn’t feeling super fast, my heart rate actually climbed close to max, meaning that the pump was starting to feel strong – a good sign.
Almost forgot…I found a running partner! I managed to convince a good friend of mine, Dennis Colburn of Edmonton to race with me just before TR. Dennis is one of the most complete runners I know, having raced in everything but the kitchen sink. He’s a multiple winner of the Calgary Stampede marathon, competed at the World Mountain Running Championships, accomplished adventure racer, and recently, won the 2008 Rock and Ice Ultra, a 6-day ski race in Canada’s Great White North. Speed and experience will be the key to a solid result at TR-Run…I have no doubt that our combined know-how and friendship will make for competitive team when the terrain turns up!
When I was 17yrs old, my coach at the time (and also a great motivator) was always giving me inspirational quotes from athletes and sport personalities…Although most were quite korny, there was one in particular that stuck with me: “There’s no point in worrying about what you can’t control. Instead, focus on what you CAN control.”
Giddy Up-
Tune in daily for a glimpse ‘Behind the Scenes’ of my TransRockies experience -
I have to admit that I love the pressures that come along with game day- although in this case, game ‘week’. For 8 days my radio and cell phone chirped from 7am to 10pm. I tackled job after job as best I could, most of time with the support of a great TR crew – In the end, the participants were happy and for me, that means job well done. Thanks to everyone at TR (crew and vollies) for all your help!
So here I am 4 days later driving through ‘Big Sky’ country on route to Colorado for the Gore-Tex TransRockies Run. I’ll be the first to tell you that my past 2 weeks are NOT the best way to prepare for a 6-day trail running event…The last good workout I did was a 3-day block that finished on Aug 3rd. I tried to maintain my running during TR bike but I only managed 3 runs barely totalling 4hrs… With the cumulative lack of sleep I was faced with, the best thing I could do was rest – so I did.
On August 18th, I wrapped up TR and flipped my brain to ‘race’ mode. Priorities changed to maximize recovery as quickly as possible. There’s no real secret – good food, and lots of rest. After giving my body a chance to rebuild a few of the million brain cells I killed during TR, I decided it was time to push the ‘ol hear. Yesterday, I grabbed my poles and headed up Georgetown for a 5X 1min workout as hard as I could. I was presently surprised by my body’s reaction to the effort. Although I wasn’t feeling super fast, my heart rate actually climbed close to max, meaning that the pump was starting to feel strong – a good sign.
Almost forgot…I found a running partner! I managed to convince a good friend of mine, Dennis Colburn of Edmonton to race with me just before TR. Dennis is one of the most complete runners I know, having raced in everything but the kitchen sink. He’s a multiple winner of the Calgary Stampede marathon, competed at the World Mountain Running Championships, accomplished adventure racer, and recently, won the 2008 Rock and Ice Ultra, a 6-day ski race in Canada’s Great White North. Speed and experience will be the key to a solid result at TR-Run…I have no doubt that our combined know-how and friendship will make for competitive team when the terrain turns up!
When I was 17yrs old, my coach at the time (and also a great motivator) was always giving me inspirational quotes from athletes and sport personalities…Although most were quite korny, there was one in particular that stuck with me: “There’s no point in worrying about what you can’t control. Instead, focus on what you CAN control.”
Giddy Up-
Tune in daily for a glimpse ‘Behind the Scenes’ of my TransRockies experience -
1 comment:
Your new partner sounds like just what you need! Best of luck.
Holly
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