Noel, me and kristin after the crested butte race. kristin did awesome, scoring a third place while Noel had a mechanical, and well, i wasn't feeling so hot. the views were amazing though, and some of the best trails i have ridden this year.

Deer Valley 07

I was really looking forward to Deer Valley, since its the first norba at altitude and finally some climbing. i was ready to test out my fitness and if doing all the climbing in boulder has helped- and i have to say i felt way better this year at this race than the past two years. i got the chance to drive to a race finally, and save the money of flying and packing the bike which i was glad to miss. i got in thursday night and met up with some teammates at kimber's house, who live about 10 minutes from the venue. the next day i prerode with kristin and shannon and the trail was faster than i remember- or maybe i just felt better. who knows. but i was pretty excited about it. yeah, there was quite a bit of climbing, but thats the part i usually like. but on this course, i liked every part of it- the downhills where so much more fun than last year. on saturday, we had the luxury of racing earlier, while the men's race didn't start until 2pm- they sweltered in the heat. it was hot for our race, but i was pretty glad we started at 11am, so we were done by the time it got sticky hot.
anyway, i had an ok start, and then i got caught behind some chaos (as usual in a women's field) that set me back a bit on the first lap. it was frustrating, but knowing that i had 3 laps i figured i could make up some time. as the race went on, i felt better and better. on the third lap though i think i settled into my rhythm too much and could have pushed a bit harder. but, i am happy with my result, which was 28th. although i had thought after finishing i was 26th, but oh well. i am feeling stronger at every race, so thats something.
the next day was short track, and i had a great start. i was second row behind chloe and shonny, and after discussing starts with Wendy, i felt like it was now or never- i went for it, and was top 10 for about 2 minutes- and then chaos found me, and i was stuck behind crashes and girls unable to ride their bikes in front of me. how do i always get stuck in that? needless to say, i had an ok finish of 30th. kinda sad since i knew i felt good, and i had the perfect hole shot.
afterward krisitin and i went and rode away our sorrows from another pitiful short track by riding some trails.
the next morning i drove back to broomfield, back to work and reality.

This pic is from the Teva games a few weeks ago.
that was a pretty fun race, with plenty of climbing.

so this is one of my favorite shirts.

Here's some pics from the vanderkitten photo shoot after sea otter. just found out they are up on the website. we were hanging out in this crazy Indian restaurant in san francisco. pretty fun- but my tan lines are definitely not flattering. i'm working on it...

Winter Park Hill Climb

Wow, so i guess i am not a climber- i just got my butt kicked at the hill climb in winter park. it starts at 9,000ft and it climbs up service roads for 5 miles to Mary jane ski area, to over 11,000ft. i heard the view up top was cool, but i just went through the finish, and immediately turned around and rode back down. i know, i shouldn't be such a sore looser, but i felt like i was going backwards and everyone passed me after the start. i pulled my way back up to 6th, but i didn't feel very good. i figured that i needed a good warmup for this, so i rode for about 2 hours before. didn't help. i am the kind of rider that always has a better second half of a xc race- so i am blaming it on the fact that if i had another 5 miles or 2,000ft, i could have won. just kidding. but seriously, i am hoping i was just having a bad day, and that i really am ok at climbing. really.

Teva Games

Last saturday i went up to Vail to meet up with a couple teammates and a climber for the teva games. i really had no idea what it was all about, other than there was a huge purse for the pro racers and i figured i would give it a shot since there is usually no money in mountain bike racing so what the hell. i drove down friday night and we all stayed in this nice but small condo- there were a set of bunk beds in a closet (no joke) that i had the honors of sleeping in- i called the bottom, in case i got too claustrophobic. it was pretty funny actually. barb got the room, which i figured, she did all the logistics of it, and Shannon G got the couch. Gabi claimed the top bunk, but she is so tiny i don't think it bothered her. by the way, she rocked the climbing competition- she's 16 years old and got 9th in the pros. crazy.
So the morning of the race, we got up and rolled down to the main event at the mountain. there were so many tents set up- so much free stuff to be had! i have never been to an event that gave out so much good stuff for free- t-shirts, running clothes, camelbaks, and the usual stuff like granola bars. there were good sponsors like VW (who also had a killer band playing), teva and Trek. Barb and I went to town getting everything we could- we went back to the hotel with 2 bags full of stuff. awesome.
so i suppose i should talk about the race- so i prerode the first small loop of the course, and i think i forgot how to ride technical stuff for a second- we haven't had to ride anything hard in the norbas yet, and my balance was way off. i was flopping around like a fish. so there ended up being like 25 girls on the start line, which was good but bad since they only pay 5 deep. so we start by climbing for about 10 minutes, and i didn't warm up at all. so that hurt pretty bad. probably one of my worst starts of the year. great. the first lap hurt so much and i was pretty far back from the front girls. i didn't think i would make it through the next 2 laps. but as the race went on, not only did i warm up but my skills got better- it was actually a fun race and after my body remembered how to descend technical stuff, was even more fun. i moved up 5 places on the last lap when i finally started getting my legs back. I caught up to Barb, and its always more fun to race with a teammate and keep each other going. its funny, the last couple races we have raced together finishing close- hopefully we will be able to do the same for cross this season too. it just proves how important a good warm up is. if i had more time, another lap maybe, i could have done even better. i was pretty sore the next day- and the day after that. yeah, its all about the warm up. seriously.
that night Barb and i celebrated by getting some ice cream and going to the bars in Vail. who knew that there was such a raging night life there? we met some interesting people and got our groove on at the Red Lion until pretty late. luckily i was not doing the hill climb the next day, which a few of the girls who did the mtb race did- overachievers. we woke up Sunday morning/afternoon, got more free stuff and said goodbye to the teva games. Gabi, Barb and i went back to boulder and hung out for the evening, rewarding ourselves again by getting some good burritos. tasty.

Quad Cities, 2007

Another weekend, another race. i was super excited to fly back to kc to see all my old training buddies and to drive up to one of my favorite races, quad cites up in Iowa. The first race was on Saturday- snake alley. this one is my favorite, since its almost like a mountain bike short track- nice steep brick climb and super fast decent. i was really hoping to do well since i have been working on my sprinting and descents in CO. as the women's race grew near, the black clouds and lightning started. great. i didn't really care since it was about 80 degrees, and most girls are scared of descending in the rain. perfect for me. so it poured before the start and drenched the course. as we began, i felt really good up the first climb. maybe in 7th or so. as i came around the corner for the second lap of 14, my chain broke. i couldn't believe it. third mechanical in the last 3 races. talk about bad luck. but then a bella who i had just met before the race stops, and hands me her bike. i was like, is this legal? i hopped on her bike and rode the rest of the race. considering i had almost gotten lapped after the chain thing, i managed to salvage my placing of 16th. i was so thankful i got to finish- that was so nice of her to do that for me, and sacrifice her own race. if you are reading this, thank you!
The next day, Melon City, i was on a mission. i was ready to finish a race. the crit course had a nice long hill before the finish which suited me just fine. i felt really good, and got to the front by the last climb. unfortunately i didn't sprint so well, but still ended up 5th. i'll take it. That was the best finish i had ever done at quad cities, so i was happy, and made a little money. sweet. Rock Island was on monday, and the course is flat and fast. i was concerned about being able to sprint all the corners, since i hadn't done a crit like that since last year. it turned out i felt really good, and placed myself top 10 most of the race. instead of power, this race was won on tactics- which i don't have much of. i ended up 7th, but i do think if i had used my head a little better and had more practice doing crits i think i could have been a bit better in the sprint. i was happy though since my friend Catherine Walberg won. all in all it was a great weekend, and good training for upcoming races. i am hoping to go again next year, and tackle that snake alley again..

Norba #3 Fontucky

I suppose that I should also write about the third norba, in Fontana, CA. This race was the next weekend after Santa Barbara, and I was not looking forward to it, since i had such a bad race there last year. All i remember is hot, super sandy and crashing. So the day we drove down, it was actually cloudy and about 65 degrees. nice.

I prerode with a few teammates, and it turned out that the course was actually sort of fun- i don't know what was wrong with me last year. anyway, i felt really good, so i was pretty excited to race again. we stayed with the host family in Redlands who we stayed with last year, and they are super nice and the house is awesome with plenty of room. definitely more relaxing than being stuffed into a hotel room.

anyway back to the race. so on saturday, the day of the cross country, i was warming up, doing some sprints, and my chain skipped and i almost went flying over the handlebars at 30mph. pretty scary, but my strong arms held me back (haha). i didn't think too much of it, or to tell our mechanic Tim about it. i felt really good, and definitely ready to race. my start was ok. i was able to get into a rhythm early on so not much pain- besides the part where i endoed over since i forgot to unlock my fork- i had sprinted up the pavement climb to get ahead of a bunch of girls, and maybe was 20th or so, and jumped onto the single track. i was totally gassed but i didn't care. i was completely into the course that i forgot to unlock the fork, and as i came up over a small berm and down the other side, instead of compressing, my fork pushed against me and i crashed pretty hard. i was ok, but the long line of girls that i had just worked so hard to pass were all passing me. suck. all i could do was get back on and hopefully catch them. as the race went on, i felt better and better. i started my second lap and i was actually enjoying it. weird. maybe i should have been going harder..

so before the last uphill (not sure if you could call it a climb) i stood up to get up a steep part, and it felt like my chain dropped, so i started pedaling to get it back on. not so much. it broke. double suck. and i was as far out on the course as you can be. figured. so i decided to ride the downhills, and run uphill. needless to say, i got pretty tired doing that. so, i cut the course and went back and dnf'd. i should have told Tim about the chain thing during warmup- that was a pretty big indicator that something was wrong. oh well, the race was good up until then.

sunday was the short track, and it was a beautiful day- i was happy to have another chance to race. i prerode the course, and tried to make it fun- but i knew it was gonna hurt- riding up the dual slalom course, you need quite a bit of upper body strength to make things easier. im trying to pump up at the gym, but im not quite there yet. so, it was a struggle in every way. i actually placed higher than i ever have- 27th, so thats something. i am slowly making my way to the front girls.. well, not quite.

Before the start of the short track- it was super HOT!!! Barb, Kristin, and me.

Santa Barbara Norba

I know its been a little while since i raced this one, but i figured i would at least get something down about it. Actually, it turned out to be a super fun race (the cross country anyway) and one of my better finishes, so thats good. So i flew into Ventura a few days before, and drove down with ryan on Friday. i have never done the race, so i hadn't ridden the course. I decided to just preride after the short track the next day (saturday). Saturday was one of the hottest days i have ridden this year. so needless to say, i melted on the short track race- i didn't have a bottle with me while racing, and that was a big mistake. i would have drank anything- even a sip from a bottle on the ground, or drool from the girl in front of me. ok, maybe not. thats kinda gross. so i stayed in longer than expected too, almost made it to the end- i didn't get to do the last 2 laps. so close...
sunday morning was beautiful- sunny skies, a cool breeze. things couldn't have been better. i decided not to preride after the short track since it was soooo hot and i figured it would do more harm than good. i am glad i didn't since the course was pretty straight forward. during my warmup for XC, i rode the first 15 minutes of the course including the first climb. i was really relaxed, and had a pretty good start. the first 30 minutes were pretty painful, but once i got things going i felt really good. i had the chance to catch up to a teammate, Barb, and we worked together for the second half of the race. i lost her on a steep climb, which is not my strong point, but i finished well, and was actually smiling as i crossed the finish line. i was happy with my finish, and looking forward to spending the next week hanging out in Ventura , doing some good riding in the sun.

Teammate Kristin and I discussing the TT

This was warm up before short track-notice the pouring rain the the background..

another muddy sea otter short track...

Sea Otter

I was pretty excited to be going to another race, and hoping to get revenge from last year's bad race at sea otter. i arrived in monterey, CA on wednesday night, and got a chance to preride the course with Kristin D. and Wendy S. on Thursday. the course was in great shape, and the weather was beautiful. i had a good feeling about Sunday, and I was really looking forward to the super fast course.
The weekend started on Friday with the Time Trial. we were preriding it the day of the race, and it was taking us around 7 minutes to do. this was gonna be a lung burner-not exactly my best event. sure enough, i burnt the hell out of my lungs and finished in 5 minutes. i ended up around 35th-ish, which is fine, whatever. the next day was short track, and it was pouring rain, seriously. my sister kristin came to watch, and i felt bad that it was on the day with the worst weather. she braved it though, and cheered in the rain and mud. another event that ended up around 33rd. i seem to be stuck in the 30ies. i just wanted to get it done so i could look forward to what i came out for, which was the cross country.
the next day, sunday, i woke up to clear blue sunny skies. awesome. it was a tad windy, but whatever, its a mountain bike race, right? we got to the venue, and i started doing all my standard prerace stuff, hopped on the bike and warmed up. The pro guys went off before us, which is nice so we don't have to deal with them trying to pass us midrace. i got called up close to the back which i don't understand, but there was a long road section to start around the leguna seca raceway so i didn't care. my legs felt good, and i was ready. the race started and after a few close calls on the road, we crammed onto the gravel road to start the real race. i was so excited to be racing, and got a little ahead of myself coming up and over the hills. with the wind was at our backs, i launched up over and down a super fast decent and barreled down ruts from previous rain storms. my speed was a bit excessive for my own strength, and my left arm decided to give out as i was picking lines downhill. needless to say, i went down pretty hard. luckily no one else went down or ran over me, which was nice. i fell onto my shoulder, and i layed there for a while and thought about things- if i should keep going, if i broke it again, if i totally ruined the rest of the season.. i got up and decided to keep riding. i raced the rest of the race- well, more like i rode the course a couple times. i finished, not last suprisingly, and very sore. my shoulder was not broken, but holding onto the bars proved difficult through the race and i had to take every downhill very slow. suck. not a good race. but, there is always another one. so, i am recovering and taking lots of ibuprofen. i leave next week for the santa barbara norba, and then the fontana norba. i am staying in CA between them and hanging out with Wendy and Barb so that should be fun, and hopefully my shoulder will hold up.

training camp 2007, Norba #1

So the season has finally started. The first race is out of the way, the jitters and the question of "did i train enough this winter" are exposed. And, to be honest, it turned out better than expected.
The week began in Tucsan, AZ where our training camp was held. The team, consisting a few of us from last year's team (Kristin, Shannon H, and Rebecca) and many new faces (Barb, Shannon G, Natasha, Alex F, Erika, and Sara J) that made up our new team. I flew in Tuesday, and my first ride back on my mountain bike was on Wednesday with the team. i was pretty nervous since i hadn't ridden the mtb since my crash back in July. But, it was just like i remembered- super fun and lots of rocks. needless to say, my back and shoulder was sore for the entire week, but who cares. My physical therapist wasn't too happy though when i got back, but thats another story.
so after a few days of training with the new team, we got to the race venue in phoenix on friday. i got my new bike built up, a hot scandium kona that turned out to be 3 lbs lighter than last year's bike. sweet. i decided to do short track saturday night under the lights- it started at 7:30pm so it was dark which was interesting, since it was downtown Fountain Hills and we raced through a dusty parking lot. i got called up last (i was #72) but made my way to midpack within the whole 8 minutes i got to race. at least it opened up my legs a bit for sunday, but i coughed up one of my lungs after inhaling so much dust during the race. On sunday, i got called up 41st, which was a big improvement, and definitely helped my start. My first lap was pretty good, sitting in top 30 (~25th) which i didn't realize until later. by my last lap, i really didn't want to finish it. i was so hot, and my lungs hurt pretty bad. all i could think about was a big bowl of ice cream with some chocolate chunks in it. that movitivated me to get across the finish line, although i hit a wall that last 10 miles and lost about 6-7 places. i ended up 36th, which i am happy about since i have only trained about 6 weeks this entire winter, and had 2 surgeries. so, hopefully this will be a good year for me..

Cross Nats

What was I thinking? I mean really, I haven't raced really this whole season, but for some reason I decided that I was going to race cross nationals in Providence RI. The only reason I had was that I had gotten some UCI points in KC, and so I wouldn't be starting at the very back. And so I did it- no expectations, other than to have some fun and try to remember what its like to race again instead of standing around watching everyone. Oh, and not to crash on my shoulder, as an order from Alex.
warming up I wasn't nervous at all, since I wasn't expecting anything from myself- but once I got lined up and looked around and realized exactly what i was doing and who was around me, I got nervous. Luckily i started somewhere in the middle but i definitely did not ride agressive- and that means there was a lot of corners I got chopped in, but i wasn't about to risk crashing over a stupid corner. that means i lost quite a few places on the first few laps. i felt pretty good overall, but there were times i got too comfortable sitting behind someone, and i would have to tell myself that i was racing and to get going. being comfortable is definitely not something anyone should feel in a cross race. i think i just didn't have that drive to risk it but i think overall it turned out ok. since i didn't bring an extra bike for the pit, i suppose from the start i wasn't super serious about the race. its funny how things change though once you're actually on the start line. Going out and "having fun" wasn't on my mind when i heard the gun go off. it was an instant flashback to the last race i did, short track in brian head, UT. i have to say i was pretty excited to be in that group of girls, racing again.
I'm glad i did it, but i probably wouldn't say that if i had crashed and messed up the shoulder. I'm going to stick to training for a while and get through the surgery in January to get the plate out. Then I should be good to go for mtb season.

I raced again this weekend, this time at the ks state cross champs. it was definitely warmer, with the temps getting up to 45 or so. with some ice still in the shady spots, it made for some muddy corners that would eventually cause me to go down, but whats new. I prerode the course a couple hours before the race, and of course it changed since there were 2 races before me. my start was bad, and ended up chasing for the first part of the first lap- i managed to get into 2nd and pretty much held that spot for the rest of the race. i felt really tired, probably since i have been working a lot and not sleeping more than 5 hours a night. those holiday parties can add up. so, for the 3rd year in a row, i am 2nd. i am definitely feeling the lack of strength in my upper body since i haven't been in the gym and i am favoring my left side more than i realize. its becoming pretty sore today as i sit here at my desk, but hopefully the ibuprofen will kick in soon. the course was pretty challenging with quite a bit of climbing and some good running sections. i had a hard time pulling up on the bars for the steep sections and it cost me about 30 seconds by the end of the race. it was good practice to get another race in before nats next weekend- it should be fun to race with my teammates that i have been watching for the entire season. i am still not 100% sure i am racing though, if my shoulder doesn't get better there might be a change in plans. but after the expensive entry fee i feel a bit obligated to race or at least start. we'll see.