It's coming...

I'm talking about fall...

I can't believe that the race season is almost over. Time flies when you are having fun, eh? I started the season with an entire kitchen cabinet filled with Hammer products, and this is all that I have left...

One lonely little vanilla hammer gel!

For some reason I've been saving it. I've been carrying it around in my jersey pocket on every training ride for 2 weeks now (seriously), but find myself eating other things any time that I get hungry....

It's getting darker earlier and earlier and that bums me out. I barely made it home in time tonight. The street lights were on and I could barely see...

I had to do a workout with a few 15 minute L4 intervals and they went surprisingly well. I say surprisingly because every muscle in my body is sore right now and I was convinced that I wasn't going to be able to get my heart rate up (my power tap is being serviced right now so I'm back to training with my HR monitor).

There were plenty of road riders out today, so I had a lot of rabbits to chase. It made the intervals go by pretty fast and my HR was right where I needed it to be. I was done before I knew it and looking forward to an easy ride home, but then I realized that I wasn't going to get the luxury of an easy spin. I had to hammer. And I mean HAMMER!!!

This is where I realized I was in trouble...I still had a half hour to go and it was getting dark

The last couple of blocks home....eek! On a side note, the profile pics are getting better... I at least got half of my face!
Riding in the dark on the road freaks me out and obviously isn't safe. Tomorrow I'm definitely attaching lights to my bike.

I was so, so happy to finally get home. Especially when I opened the door and smelled food! Scott beat me home from his workout and was cooking away.

Here he is showing off his "cooking outfit!" Move over Julia Child, there's a new chef in town :-)

Late night edit: I just had a total freak out! I was washing dishes at midnight (yup, total night owl) when my phone started ringing. What the heck? Instantly I imagined that some catastrophic event had happened (because why else would someone call so late?) but didn't recognize the 503 area code.

When I answered I heard this crazy voice ask, "is this Danielle?" When I answered "yes" they said, "Do you ride for the Kenda team cuz I heard that you are really fast."

I wish I could have a picture of what my face looked like. My eyes must have been huge. Not only did I hang up on the person, but I threw my phone across the room. I was like, "crazzzzy stalker on the phone." Ok, totally overreacting, but it's raining and kind of spooky out. Plus, who calls people in weird voices at midnight???

They called back and I'll tell you who! Gotta love friends on the West Coast :-)

Nice interview...

Here's an interview with Jenna Rinehart, the overall female winner at Ore to Shore. I met her after the race and she was really nice. So nice in fact, that she let my husband draft off of her for part of the race :-)

I totally agree with her comments about the WORS races. I hope to get to more next year because the competition is crazy tough, and the atmosphere is great! If only we didn't have to drive around the lake to get to there!!!

Training 101

I totally lucked out yesterday! I rode for 3.5 hours and did not get rained on. Shocking, because when I headed out the radar map was covered with one big green blob (rain) right over Grand Rapids. Even better, the sun came out towards the end of my ride. It was windy out, but that's just good resistance training, right?

The sky looked like this for most of my ride...

My sad attempt at taking a self-portrait...see me in the bottom left corner? ha ha!
This is week 2 of staying at home and getting training in and my workouts have been going well-minus the extra rest day I had to take due to being in a benadryl coma.

My coach was totally right when she said that I needed to get consistent training in. During the summer I didn't realize that I was pedaling myself right into a big "endurance race hole," but I see it now. Now that I've been putting day after day of training in my legs are starting to feel mucho better.

Look!!! I can wear gloves again and my wrist is no longer the same size as my leg...(insert sigh of relief here!)

This weekend is going to be pretty low-key. About 3 hours of riding each day and then the EGR crit this Sunday. I'm going to have to force myself to wake up really early so that I can get get my ride in before Toni races!

PS. I think I just jinxed today's workout with this post about not getting caught in the rain. It's looking very dark and gloomy out right now...

Going back to the roots (and rocks!)

I have a few more weeks of training, but I'm planning on doing this race next! It's definitely a tough course, but probably one of my favorites out of all the hundred milers I have done so far. And I have a sneaking suspicion that I will enjoy the singletrack downhills a lot more with my Carbide!

I'm crossing my fingers and toes that Scott and I will be able to camp out an extra day or two while we are out there, but we will have to see....

Well, time to try and get a 3 hour ride in before work. My hand is still "large and in charge" and I have a killer headache today. Ugh. I usually feel better once I start pedaling. Hopefully that will be the case today!

Edit: I take that back about the pedaling part. My coach has me taking it easy instead. This is a good thing because I feel absolutely lousy!

One of these hands just doesn't belong

Every time I look down at my hand I want to scream. My hand looks like it belongs on a 400 pound body.

Yesterday I got stung by a bee (through my glove of all things) and today I can't close my fingers. I actually went to the doctor because the swelling goes half-way up my arm. And since the office had to fit me in last minute I got my favorite Physician's Assistant. You know, the one who couldn't diagnose poison ivy.

I've gotten stung in the past, and had a bit of swelling, but nothing like this. I have to admit that I was hoping for a quick fix because I have shooting pins and needles up to my elbow and can't close my fist-which means I'm going to have to tie my hand to the handlebars for the time being. And don't get me started about the itching...it's going to drive me cuh-razy!!!

Anyways, the P.A. told me that there is no quick fix and gave me some Zyrtec. Eventually my hand will go down but in the meantime I'm going to have to walk around with a hand that could rival the Michelin man's. Actually, I think mine is bigger :-)

A week of training and no racing

This weekend I'm staying home and will not be racing Fool's Gold. I'm disappointed because I have heard really good things about the race and I was really excited to see those race directors!

However, I'm also a bit relieved that I'm not doing the race because the drive would have been about 28 hours. I spent 14 hours total in the car last weekend for Ore to Shore and am looking forward to a car-less weekend. Plus I raced the last 2 weekends, I guess I can take a weekend off :-)

The drive isn't the main reason why I'm not doing the race though. My coach has been looking over my training/power logs from the last couple of months and noticed that we need to make a few changes to how I schedule my races. I've been racing/recovering so much that I haven't gotten any solid training blocks in for months. And I miss training really hard. So that's what I'll be doing for the next couple of weeks. That being said, I'm still going to be doing some racing. But they will probably be closer to home and races that I can train straight through.

And speaking of training, it's time to go get a 4 hour ride in right now....

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend!!!!

Ore to Shore Race Recap

Podium pic: 3rd-yours truly, 1st-Jenna Zander-Rinehart (Specialized), 2nd-Kyia Anderson (Cannondale)

Since Ore to Shore is a 48 Mile point to point race, the race started in downtown Negaunee. Scott and I arrived at 8 a.m. and already people were lining up their bikes for the 9:45 a.m. start.

We ended up really lucky with the weather. It rained during the night, but by the start of the race it was just a mist. Temps were probably only in the high 60's-which I personally like.

While waiting for the start I tried to prepare myself mentally for how painful the start was going to be. Apparently I did not prepare myself enough, as it was completely brutal!!! Not only was the start on the road, but it was a mass start-which meant 800 some racers hammering down the road as fast as they could.

Scott came along the side of me and told me to latch on to his wheel, but that DID NOT go well at all. It was really nice of him to try, but every time I would gain contact he would accelerate and drop me and I would have to bridge back up. After a few minutes of trying I backed off because I was borderline ready to blow up in the first 2 miles. It was slightly frustrating as I watched about 5-8 women hammer past me while I felt like I was going backwards.

After a few miles the road turned into doubletrack and I started catching most of the women who had passed me. A few of them latched onto my wheel, but I was pretty confident about the pace that I was going and decided that I would pick it up a bit. We had to climb up a toboggan hill and our group broke up more. At this point a guy with a Ski Hut jersey and cool twin six socks (yes, I'm totally biased!) came and told me to bridge up with him. He set a really great pace and my legs started feeling better and better.

Eventually I settled in with a pretty fast group of guys. Besides one hike-a-bike, the rest of the race was fast, fast, fast. There are no monumental climbs on the course, but that means that there are no monumental downhills either. We basically had to hammer non-stop the entire race. Especially through the sandpits!!!!

In the middle of the race there is a road stretch that is about 5 miles long. There were a few roadies in the group that I was riding with, and the pace started to surge anytime we hit a hill. It hurt like crazy, but I knew that riding alone on the road would be a lot worse.

The rest of the race flew by. The pace was hard but at the same time I never felt like I was going to blow up. Before I knew it I was bike-surfing down the infamous sand hill. It's always such a good feeling to make it to the bottom without coming to a complete stop. After that I pretty much put my head down to my handlebars and rode alone to the finish. The last 2 miles were pretty rough. Bumpy doubletrack with wood chips AND a headwind. I allowed myself one look back, but other then that stared straight ahead until I crossed the finish line in 3rd place.

So let's recap...I did not get lost! I did not get sick! I did not have any mechanicals! I did not crash! And I finished with a pretty good time of 2:59:something. Can I get a woo-freaking-hoo? I think I had a perma-grin on my face for the rest of the day :-)

After I crossed the finish line Scott and I had to ride our bikes back to the start area to get our car. Not only was the ride back almost 1000 ft of climbing, but we also had a headwind. I could tell that I raced pretty hard because I had nothing left. We stopped at a bagel shop and I filled my water bottle up with coke and ate a cinnamon-raison bagel on the ride home. I'm so glad we stopped because those extra calories saved me from having to take a nap on the road! Every once in a while I would get cocky and try to break away from him, but he was able to shut me down within seconds :-)

I definitely plan on going back and racing Ore to Shore again. I have no clue what my schedule will look like next year, but this is a race that I would love to win someday. It's definitely a different type of race. It's a mountain bike race that you have to treat like a road race, and it's a distance that requires some pacing. For XC racers the race is about an hour longer then they are used to, and for me it was about 3-6 hours shorter! I do know this...the next time I do this race I'm going to do a lot more speed work beforehand in preparation for the start!

yeah for 3rd place!

Clean, clean feet...dirty, dirty legs

The last 2 days....

Have been busy, busy, busy!!!

On Thursday we had some familiar faces in the house. Juli and her husband Chuck are in Michigan visiting family, and naturally they had to come visit us first...ha ha! We did a short spin on the rail trail, and I think they might have already been missing the mountains. I don't blame them one bit!

Afterwards we all went out to dinner, but it was a low-key night since Scott and I had to wake up early to drive up North.

Crossing the bridge...
This sign is one indicator that you have crossed into the Upper Peninsula...
The other indicator are all of the cheese curds at local shops along the highway...
After finally arriving in Marquette we suited up to get an hour spin in on the last bit of the course, most of which is wide open....
Luckily we come down this hill in the race (we were riding it backwards), but you have to keep pedaling or you will come to a complete stop...
Michigan sand...it sucks the race right out of your legs!
Our ride finished right at the start of registration, but people were already lined up out the door. I think there is usually about 1000 people registered in the Hard Rock (48 miles) and about 1200 people registered in the Soft Rock (28 miles).

I haven't done this race in a few years but I do know one thing. The whole race is going to be freaking fast as it favors the really powerful racers! Not only are there over 80 females registered, but there is a handful that finish in the top 10 in pro Norba races. This will probably be the shortest and fastest race that I do all summer, and it should be interesting to see how it all turns out. The course is pretty flat with a few rolling hills, and there are many pavement sections where the hammerheads go to town.

Hopefully the weather will hold out. Right now there is a 60% chance of rain, and just the thought of all of that wet sand makes me very sad for my drivetrain...

We start at 9:45 a.m. so send good race vibes my way :-)

Next please!

I'm racing again this coming weekend...egads! Scott and I are leaving early morning Friday, since the drive is 7-8 hours long. Kind of crazy that we have to drive so far for a race in Michigan, but Ore to Shore is in the upper peninsula, which is kind of like it's own state. In order to get to the U.P we get to cross the Mackinac bridge-which means that we will be within a really close proximity to saltwater taffy and fudge shops galore...mmm!

But first I have to race! And this race is going to be a toughie. I looked at the registration list and there are currently 80 females registered. How awesome is that? It must have something to do with a good payout AND more importantly an EQUAL payout. At least to the top 5!

Anyways, more on racing later. I have much to discuss about the rest of my schedule, but not at this moment. Now I need to get myself away from the computer to get a 2 hour ride in before work.

6 hours of Stony Creek

Scott and I headed over to the East side of the state to do the 6 hours of Stony Creek this past Saturday. I was scheduled to do a 5 hour ride this weekend and decided that racing would be more fun! The decision was totally last minute and I was scrambling until 11 p.m. on Friday night getting all of my bottles and hydrapaks ready for the next day.

We had to be up at 4 a.m. (which was totally brutal) and still barely made it to the race venue in time. The race started at 8 a.m. and we pulled into the parking lot at 7:30. By the time we registered, dressed and found a spot for the cooler it was time to line up.

I had talked with Lynda the day before and she told me to keep the race pace easy. Since it was just a training race there was no point in burying myself. My game plan was to get out front in the first lap and then keep my HR moderate for the rest of the race.

I think I did pretty well. My HR was definitely high during the first lap, but I felt surprisingly good. I had a hard time holding back because all that I wanted to do was hammer away. The course was completely different then what we raced on for the marathon and I absolutely loved it. There seemed to be a little bit more climbing, and the singletrack was broken up with really fast doubletrack. You basically had to be on the gas the entire time.

By the middle of the second lap I settled down into the right HR zones. The first 4 hours flew by and I was having a blast. I felt so tired after I got home from Breckenridge, so it was great finally feeling normal again. After 5.5 hours I rolled into the pit area with 6 laps. By this time I was feeling every bump on the course and considered stopping, but I wasn't sure how far back my competition was. I went out for another lap and am really happy that I did as 2nd place was only 20 some minutes back. That's too close for comfort!

I finished 1st female and 3rd overall out of the guy's with 73 miles in 6:21. Scott won with 8 laps but I am happy to report that he did not lap me. It was close but I managed to hold him off-HA!

I was expecting to be sore this morning but I'm not. Maybe a little tired, but I did a 2 hour road ride to loosen up my legs and they felt pretty good. Next up for me is Ore to Shore. I haven't done this race in a few years and I can't wait!

P.S. The VCC dirt ride is back in business with yours truly leading it. It will be at Luton Park for the next couple of weeks. Be there...6:30 p.m. on Monday night.