Leadwoman Event #1 and LMTB Training Camp!

Leadwoman events started out perfect with the Leadville Marathon. It's the first event of the series and it went off without a hitch. I'd given this race absolutely no attention. I didn't even

look at the information until Thursday. One glance at the profile and time cutoff I felt nervous. Please! How can a marathon put me in that frame of mind, nervous and self doubting. Seems fairly ridiculous now but I suppose my demeanor was as result of feeling anxious because it's all starting. The hard work is basically done and now I need to execute. I am finding this to be a weakness. I love the prep. The dreamy part of planning an outcome. Preparing your body for the event is always my favorite part. Watching and feeling the changes all the hard work brings. The transition from preparation to execution is something that does not come easy. It feels like a lost space. A space I am not sure how to manage with confidence. Once it all gets going I seem to find my mojo. That is a good feeling. I wonder if my pre-event start mood is a conservative, you never know what's going to happen default. Never be too confident. I am not sure this is a good quality.

We arrived in Leadville mid day on Friday the day before the marathon. On the drive I tried endlessly to convince Bill to drop down to the half. I was really worried about how the altitude would treat him. Coming right from Europe and an extremely stressful work trip had me concerned for him. He pretty much ignored me. When we got to Leadville and he saw the finishers medal his eyes lit up and there's was no negotiation. He was doing the marathon. It's a cool trinket.

The day was beautiful, the terrain rugged and the scenery amazing. I took it really easy and any time I felt my lungs stress or a mild dizziness I pulled back. Once I made it to the turn which was the high point at 13,300 feet I felt great. I picked up the pace a bit. I finished in 6:02 which thrilled me. I was 3rd 40+ year old and 3rd Leadwoman. Not bad given the effort. This finish left me gitty and more excited for the other events. The altitude was there but not debilitating. My body was fine and I had no aftermath. Not even sore quads! Bill was impressive. When I saw him heading up to Mosquito Pass he looked really good and was feeling awesome. I am always impressed with my amazing husband. He can do pretty much anything and does it with the up most strength. This crosses all parts of his life. He felt really good too and with his non-existent training I was blown away. One event down!

LMTB Training Camp: Bill forwarded me an email he received from the Leadville Series Website. It was about a training camp for the Leadville 100M MTB Race. He asked why I wasn't doing this? I didn't even know about it. While we were hanging out after the Marathon we drove

both the 50M and 100M MTB courses. I got increasingly freaked out. The climbs were grueling and even my Rover didn't like inching up the rocky hillsides climbing St. Kevins and the top of Columbine! That night had some sort of nightmare about the MTB ride. Bill woke me up. I was sweating and ranting about altitude. That pretty much cemented my need to go to the training camp. Bill insisted. I am not sure if he was trying to get rid of me J. After a couple of days in Leadville we all headed to Beavercreek where Bill had a huge work event. The camp was to take place Friday and Saturday. Co-workers of Bill's whose family was also in Beavercreek offered to take Alex zip lining and MTBing while I was at the camp. With him taken care of I called the camp director and asked if I could get a last minute spot. I headed back to Leadville for what would be the most incredible MTBing experience ever.

The camp was full of LMTB 100 veterans willing to share their wealth of information. All the guides had over 7 finishes with a few going for number 15! These folks know how to finish this race. We were broken into groups based on our predicted finish time. The cutoff is 12 hours. I chose the 11-11:30 group. I actually think I will be very close to 12 but wanted to give myself some room and be pushed.

Day 1: We rode 60 miles, the first and final 30 of the race. This takes us up and over St. Kevins and up and over Sugarloaf and down into the Pipeline aid station. We then retraced our steps. That meant we needed to ascend the legendary Sugarloaf climb. This did not disappoint and neither did its descent. I followed our guide down Sugarloaf and asked him to give me all the advice he felt I needed. This was awesome and removed almost all my anxiety. I heard this quote many times on day 1. "You will not finish your race because your descended Sugarloaf fast but you could very well lose your race on that descent". After I did it I could completely see the point. This is a rugged, rutted, steep, slick descent with almost only 1 line down. If you taco a tire or take a bad fall if could be over. The climb back up Sugarloaf was hard and it will be even harder after 80 miles on your legs. Some of it is ridable but there is a good section of hike-a-bike. Hiking your bike up a steep rocky climb is really hard! It hurts my calves and pushing the bike leaves very little use of the upper body to help propel you up.

I crushed this day leaving my group and catching the faster groups. Mostly because the Mosquito's were so bad I didn't stop for long. Finishing day 1 was incredible. The level of athletes I was surrounded by were inspiring in all their stories and advice. Once finished I headed straight to the store for a 20 lb bag of ice to prepare myself for the next day. Bring on the ice bath. After a wonderful dinner provided by the camp and the amazing speakers I was pumped to see how my body would respond to day 2.

Day 2: We left with another police escort from the headquarters making our way back to Pipeline where we would pick up the course again. Today we do the final portion from Pipeline to Columbine and back. Columbine is the biggest longest climb on the course taking you to the highpoint at 12,200. This climb is about 5 miles and 4,000 feet. Not many breaks and the top is very rocky and steep. This will be a hike-a-bike section for me. I was anxious to see how much of it I could do before dismounting. We started fast (this seems to be a theme) and I am seeing speeds on my bike I have never rode. Upwards of 35 MPH on my MTB is not a comfortable pace for me but I don't have choice or I will get crushed. I hung in the middle of the pack and forced myself to focus with relaxation letting the bike carry me, not fight it. This is mental ache for me. A constant brain/body conflict! I was feeling good physically and actually excited to see how I preformed compared to the group. I rocked! First girl to summit columbine and was strong. Emotions bubbled up big time as I saw the summit and was still on my bike with some reserves. The leaders came rushing by and I got a ton of atta girls which meant a ton coming from those athletes. Tears began to fall and my grin was no doubt wide. I got to the top and exchanged some high fives with a couple of guys. We began the descent! The top portion was so steep and rocky I thought about dismounting. I held on to it and trusted my bike who never lets me down. My hands ached really bad and we just started coming down this 5 mile beast. I hung tough trying to reposition my hands to relieve the ache but still have control and a good grip on the brakes. This bike has become a very trusted partner and seems to always take care of me. That sentiment was shared by many MTBers when talking about their bike. It's such a huge factor. You must love your bike! I made the decent without incident. In fact, I completed the entire camp without incident. At the base I shook our my numb hands and aching arms. Heading back to pipeline is no cake walk. It's a mild up with sometimes steep but short climbs. 65 miles and another 6,500 feet of climb was done! I loaded my bike and headed back to the family with a whole new confidence I can make the cutoff. Not that it's going to be easy but it's possible! This opportunity was incredible and I am so thankful Bill pushed me to do it. It literally was life changing. Another adventure and a hugely incredible experience!

Now we are all back in Leadville I feel really good. Darin, Micheal, Drake and his dad arrive this week to do the Silver Rush events. Micheal and Drake are doing both the 50M MTB and the 50M Run. Bill is riding the 50M MTB and Darin and I will run. It’s going to be an action packed weekend and event #2 towards becoming a Leadwoman.

Not your typical marathon

Saturday is the Leadville Marathon. The first race of the Leadwoman series. It's not at all your typical marathon which suits me just fine. Much more like an ultra. Mostly on dirt with lots of climbing and descending. We got an email from the RD last night that read more like a disclaimer. There's snow on the course. No big deal for the mountains but the way the email read was interesting. It sounded something like this:

There's snow on the course, volunteers have cut steps on the climbs, don't slip and be cautious, we've dug trenches on the side hills but be sure to not slide down a snow bank, the course is very safe thanks to our volunteers but can be dangerous so be careful with your footing, be prepared for any kind of day weather wise, please be careful to not fall and die on the ice.......

That's not exactly what it said but Bill was laughing hysterically when he read the email. Poor man, I sign him up for stuff that seem like a no brainer. His longest run was pacing me at Miwok in May. He knows how to suffer well though. I on the other hand couldn't be more excited about the email. This is right up my slow ally!

Park City has been amazing. The weather perfect and the endless amount of single track makes controlling myself hard. I've explored a bunch of new trails this time which has made me love it here even more. I can mountain bike right out the door. There's a huge amount of multi-use trails which I am not used to. Most of the trails I train on are not open to MTB's and the ones that are have a considerable amount of snow on them. I have already told Bill and Alex we need to spend more time here next summer! Off the Leadville on Friday.

TOE 50M MTB & some training:

TOE 50M MTB: This was quite a race. 8,000 feet of climbing. It was a great way for me to evaluate my MTBing progress. The climbs were long and all on gravel roads with the exception of a few grunt trail sections. Once you completed a 30+ minute climb you would descend on single track. Short, steep and fast. Sometimes the trails were just too gnarly for my skill set which would cause a dismount. Mostly unplanned in the form of a fall. I fell more on this race than I have fallen in my whole short MTBing career. I had only 2 half endo's and believe it or not they were both in the same place! Since the course is 2 loops I got the opportunity to perfect things. Just by accident Micheal and I were together pretty much all day. This made for some good laughs! A nice light hearted approach to craziness made the falls much less painful. I do have a nice large bruise on my right bicep. My handlebar met my arm on the way down, ouch. My splits for the loops were exactly even! Now that is endurance J. I absolutely loved the race and would do it again in heartbeat.

After TOE50M I took one day to get all myself pulled together before I did the 13 hour drive to Utah. My family is in Paris working. Yes, Alex has his first job. It was short 5 day stint at the Paris Air Show. Quite the learning experience for him and dad. Since his job is not affiliated at all with Bill's company Alex got a good lesson in working for someone else. He's growing up! I am spending 2 weeks here in Park City. I've been busy getting to know trail systems I am not familiar with. So far it's been a great time. Bill and Alex will be joining me in a few days and we will make our way to Leadville. It's going to be a great summer but I will miss my animals! I already miss my needy cat. However, our house sitter is spoiling them like crazy. What I am not missing is my "To Do" list. I know I make my life way more complicated than it needs to be. I can't pull my type A distraction tactics here in Park City.

TRAINING: I feel like my training is coming to a close. The volume is still high but mentally I am focusing more on the races which start on July 2nd with the Leadville Marathon. Bill will be running it too. Should be a fun time.

Last Friday I hired a guide to take me on a killer mountain bike ride here in Park City. This is what my workout called for: "2 hours, Mostly below threshold except for a 30 minute black out push. Focus on cadence and holding that hard effort". I have not ever had a workout that said "black out push" but I like it. I envisioned working so hard that my eyes would be rolling in the back of my head. When I showed up for the trip I was ready to get schooled. My guide just happened to be a crew member for the second place woman at Leadville MTB, incredible. He told me right away he would be returning with her this year as her mechanic. Not only did he make adjustments to my bike but he gave advise straight from her mouth. When we arrived at the trailhead he had me go first so he could get an idea of how I rode. It started out uphill and right away my heart rate was screaming. It was narrow, rocky and dry. Wonderful single track but elements I have very little experience on. Where's the wet mud? After about 7 minutes of climbing he had me pull over and this is what he said, "Watching you climb up this hill is making me tired"! Good thing I have no ego around this. My reply, "Well I am already tired". He said, "You have a really strong upper body why aren't you using it"? I said, "Oh, this is just for ascetics it doesn't get used much". He said, "That's about to change"! My thoughts were….bring it on…it's about time this came in handy". He showed me how to stand and ride uphill. My heart rate dropped at least 20 beats and it was so much more efficient and easy. After about an hour warm up and lots of skill lessons it was time to "black out". We stood at the bottom of the valley and he said we're climbing up there. He pointed and I said, "By that house way up there on the third ridge". His reply, "No, beyond that". Sweet! I got my head in the game and off we went. He got in front and tried to keep pace with my new climbing skills. Around tight switchbacks with lots of loose gravel my rear tire would spin. I would reposition and get a better grip all the while

staying out of the gully. He pulled over and got behind me. I continued to ride and my breath was coarse. I needed more air and at moments I felt like I was going to puke. He said, "Your doing awesome Ronda do you need a break"? Nope, I'm riding. That's all I could muster. I crested the top and was elated but almost blew chips. My heart was beating so hard I could see my chest thump through my jersey. A high five from Chris and an atta girl was reassuring. At that moment I felt pretty darn invisible and certainly very alive! It took me 47 minutes to make the climb and someday I will return for a rematch.

That's my only MTB ride since TOE 50M. The rest of my training has all been running. My leg speed has suffered a lot but Matt said that would happen. I have let go of some of those expectations and filed it away under "Fall project". Currently I am around 7,500. The tent I slept in went to 9,000. I think I got some benefit from it since I am not gasping for air too badly. However, it's not gravy. I still feel a tug on my lungs.

Beacon Rock 50K

You simply can't pass up a race that is held in the Gorge. It's just one of the most awesome places to run on earth. James put on another whopper. I guess if you're going to run in the Gorge you would expect it to be brutal. The Beacon Rock didn't disappoint! 4 bit climbs. Two times to Hardy Ridge and two times up Hamilton Mountain. I got a bit over 8,000 feet of ascent.

My left glutes have been racked for quite some time. I am waiting for them to adapt. Seems they're taking their sweet time. Runner's aren't known for their back ends. Generally pretty flat and under developed especially the lower glutes. Along with the glute hamstring tie in. If you run in the mountains or on lots of hills the medius and maximus are usually strong. The lower glutes get ignored in the running process. Mine are no different! However, biking especially MTB makes the lower glutes and upper hamstring work like dogs. My dogs are barking and they have been for months. It's a slippery slope of thrash and recover but not quite 100%.

After the 6 hour ride with it's grunt like terrain my lower glutes, piriformis and upper hamstrings were racked! I been living on a softball and a foam roller. They were just coming around on Friday. When I say coming around I mean I could walk and run without flailing dramatically. I feel like an old dog who has bad hips that curl under their hind quarters.

On Sunday at the start of Beacon Rock I felt pretty good. Mostly rested. After about 1 mile I knew it was going to be bad butt day. Climbing was pretty easy but any downhill was not so much fun. The lack of length in the tight glute/ham tie in area made descending rough. After a slow 25K where I took 2 Advil I considered calling it day. I did the normal mental battle for about 1 mile into the turn. I quickly left before my mind could settle on a decision. For the next 2 miles I grimaced and still considered turning around. I really needed this long hard run though. I ran into Esther who was just so positive and lovely. I chatted with her for a few minutes and left feeling better about life in general. Her upbeat demeanor was encouraging. Further up the trail I ran into Melissa who said, "Ronda, so good to see you and you just a beautiful as ever" I almost fell apart. She said, "You always brighten up the trail and are such an inspiration". I held back tears. I was so moved. What a nice thing to hear. A very generous compliment but I took it. After that I was completely uplifted. My butt still hurt really bad but I stopped dwelling on it and began to move better. When someone calls you an inspiration it's best to try and live up to the title and not waste it. I started thinking of who inspires me. It's a pretty good list and that helped me get over myself too.

Moving past the "uhggg" when is this going to end into a more positive mental space makes almost everything better. It's the true battle in this sport. It's what keeps us coming back. It's the perfect schooling in the power of decision. Though uncomfortable and sometimes painful moving through is many times better than not. All in all this was a great training run. Hard, humbling, slow but rewarding at the same time. Darin and Micheal had stellar runs. Amy opted for the 25K and won it. Beast had a great day out there too. I really did well with my post race stuff. I made sure I hydrated, ate really good, took an ice bath and slept as much as I could. Since my cardio wasn't taxed I don't feel as bad or tired. My glutes will be on ice all day, in the car, in a chair and any time I can sit. Hopefully I can get them repaired enough for the TOE 50M this Sunday. The Test of Endurance 50M MTB race with 8,700 feet of climb. This will be my last event before the Leadville Marathon on July 2nd.

This one's gonna hurt...

Beacon Rock 50K this weekend. I am excited to spend the day running around Hamilton Mountain. I suspect this is going to be tough event! This last week was pretty much a bust for me. I was exhausted! That 6hr mountain bike race destroyed me. It's been really hard to describe the kind of fatigue the long mountain bike races bring. I am not physically hurti

ng but it seems to give me this overall deep fatigue. My heart rate during the events is pretty high but not out of the ordinary when compared to trail running. I am wondering if the constant adrenaline drip might be zapping my system. Topping off the hard effort. It's such a new sort of tiredness.

Since I was thrashed this week I missed one of my runs. I gave it the good girl scout effort but aborted after 1 mile. I was just toasted and felt I was riding a fine line anyway. Instead I took a nap! I was out cold and had to peel my face off the pillow. Today was the first day this week I haven't been dreaming about my bed. I think I am on the mend. Just in time too. I have to keep a close eye on myself right now. I get so caught up in the fun I forget I am not supergirl. I am bit edgy as well. If one more person reminds me I am in my mid forties their gonna get hurt. As if once you hit 45 your done. Not buying it yet. However, when you're cooked at this age it show

more :) It's hard to hide the drooping, I feel like crap look.

I am sleeping at 9,000 feet now. The tent won't go up any further. One more week in this tent and I can't wait to get out. Though I have created quite a homey feel it's time to move on. My cat is going to be devastated. I think my recovery has been hampered a bit from some restless nights. After a hard long effort I have dreams I am being smothered. This of course wakes me up and I scramble out for air. This disturbs both Bill and

my cat. Bill jokes that I am my own circus act, ya know, tents, animals and various other stunts.

Hopefully Beacon Rock won't push me over the edge, literally!

How big is your bubble?

13 chain drops and only 2 working gears made the Washougal 6hr MTB race a bit of challenge. Though my temper tantrum was quite dramatic a good solid time out got me back in the game. It was hot too. 85 degrees at the end of the day. The course was not what I expected. To me it felt like MTB short track racing on steroids. Lots of short steep ascents. The descents weren't long enough to get a good flow and most ended with a hairpin turn. Tons of elements. It had it all, single track, logs to jump, slippery rocks to climb and lovely rutted motor cross track. I took some good falls but nothing horrible. I have a few bruises, a handlebar jab mark on my chest and sunburned arms.

I went into the day ready to test myself. I wanted to see how hard I could go and what might be exposed. A sore butt? Racked up legs? Fatigued arms? The one element I wasn't expecting is mechanical issues. I don't really know much about how to fix my bike. Little by little I am learning which is good. I am like a kid in a candy store when people are working on their bike. Hovering over them asking a ton of annoying questions. Although I dropped a few F-Bombs and had moments that make Barbie look mature I got some great experience. By lap 3 (18+) miles I had put my chain on 13 times. On any shift up my chain would jump off. I now know how to put my chain on!

With the terrain I could have used more gears for sure but since I didn't have them my choice was to quit or deal. I wanted to quit but chose to deal. I always wondered what it would be like to ride a single speed and I got a taste of it. Good news is I was able to ride 4 more laps with the 2 gears and no chain drops. Took my bike in today and the derailer is bent. It's brand new. Cyclepath is awesome. They are going to replace it and bend the one I have back so I can use it as a spare. They walked me through all the issues and I can now see exactly what's going on. Lots of great practice. In Leadville anything can happen so now I know I can work with it, though not at all ideal, doable. Todd Janssen who calmly fixed his punctured tire minutes before the race started was

amazingly calm. I would like to channel that. With all of his adventure racing experience he's a wealth of knowledge. He said, "I can pretty much McIver anything on this bike" when referring to how he handles repairs. That's pretty cool. To have that kind of confidence. The knowledge that you can fix it enough to get you moving again is where I would like to be. With each race and each experience I am gaining just bit more confidence.

My bike handling skills got a serious upgrade on Saturday. With each lap every obstacle got more routine. Jump over a log, sure why not? Point your bike down the rocky hill and fly, okay! Skid around the corner and fall, no big deal. Bill took some serious falls on Saturday. Endoed again but rolled a couple of times along with it. He was battered. Micheal met his share of gravel as well. I think Todd was the only one of us who stayed upright! I was pretty thrashed after the ride. I rode in a high heart rate all day. Pushing myself as much as I could. I was beat for Sunday's long run. Fortunately Micheal was in no rush so in a fogged state I got it done.

I am riding the line of exhaustion right now. The last 2 days have been sort of a blur. I am paying close attention to indicators and trying to eat well and sleep as much as I can. It's busy at home. Alex is finishing up his Freshman year and his Europe trip is right on heals of his last day of school. All the Colorado plans are done and we have everything all lined up. It's coming fast and I am getting increasingly excited.

In a conversation with someone the other day we were talking about Leadwoman events. They wanted to know how I felt about it and if I was concerned. I am most certainly concerned. They looked at me in a comforting manner. Assuring me that I need not be afraid of failing. Failing is okay. I was sort of taken back. I felt like I should be sitting on shrinks couch but yet I have no fear of failing. Failing is not my issue. I have learned and thrived more from my failings as we all do. I don't like it but that's not my issue. What I don't like is bursting my own bubble. My internal feeling and drive that I can do anything I set my mind to. The notion I can put forth the effort and work necessary no matter how hard and achieve my goal. I don't like having my bubble burst. That's what I worry about. I fear becoming complacent with my dreams. Accepting I am not able to dream and accomplish. Not making the cutoff at the Leadville 100 MTB will burst my dream bubble. If I do make the cutoff at MTB race my bubble is still intact and that's what I really want. Nothing catastrophic will happen if it gets burst but I won't lie it's not going to be easy to brush off. The conversation went on and they are still sure it's the same as fear of failing but it's not. For me, it's much different.

More risk...some reward.

"Hey, what category are you in"? I got that question 2 times during the Stampede. Amusing in one way and a total boost in another. The start for the Sister's Stampede was well executed. The Cat 3 riders went 30 minutes before the Pro and Cat 1 riders. The Pros and Cat 1 left 5 minutes before the Cat 2 men, then the Clydesdale, then the Cat 2 woman. Perfectly spread out. Since my group was last I was last! Not kidding, very last for about 5 miles. Then the hills came and I caught a couple of people. I wasn't taking my sweet time either. I was riding as fast as the synapses in my brain could take in the terrain. XC MTBer's have this perfect balance of Power, Speed and Endurance. I find their athleticism fascinating. Oh, and let's not forget Guts!

The course includes a loop that must be completed twice. By the time I arrived at the junction the pros and cat 1 riders were coming around for their second loop. Monitors held me at the junction while the first group of speedsters launched onto the trail. I quickly remounted and made my way into the loop. Just as I was getting my MTB on more pros and cat 1 riders came from behind like a freight train. I unclipped and pulled to the side and watched them go by with amazement. With incredible speed and power they took on the rocky butte like it was nothing. I realized this was just the beginning of many more pullovers. I decided to make the most of it by tucking right behind the group and trying to stay with them as long as possible. This is where I got the question about which category I was in. I could stay with them on the short climbs but the minute the terrain would flatten, become technical or head downhill they were gone before I could get my gears changed! I played this game several times and was proud I could climb so easily. Seemingly effortless. Maybe it's the 6 inches I cut off my hair J

I was really happy with my day. I rode everything, didn't fall and took more risks than I have before. I am still super slow compared to all the other riders despite the fact I felt like I was riding very fast. At some points I was doing 13+ MPH on single track that is not straight. All the trails seemed to be very curvy with a Ponderosa Pine on every corner just begging to be a bounce pad. I clearly have endurance which is no shock. After I finished I could have gone out and rode it again and most likely faster. I was completely fine. Not at all fatigued. My cardio was barely taxed. I am really banking on this being my only hope for Leadville. My ability to stay in the game.

I ran 14 miles of the course the day before while Bill, Alex and Ryan rode. It was great to watch Alex and Ryan (Alex's best bud) ride with absolutely not a care in the world. Alex jumped rocks and showed me some of his best moves. Desperately trying to teach me how it's done. The boys rode the short course (Cat 3) and had a total ball. They learned a bit about pushy people and nasty un-sportsman like attitudes. One kid told Alex to F-Off when he asked to

pass. Alex replied by passing his butt and dusting him but good. He handled it more maturely than I would for sure. Alex is too cool to wear bike shorts and his butt is paying the price but he said it was worth it because he had no intention of wearing those diaper shorts (his words). Bill had a great ride on the long course but took a bad endo onto a boulder. he's fine but beat up. He loves his new bike!

The next day I had a 10 mile run. It was a rough go. I was low on food for 2 days and felt it. I'm trying to drop a couple of lbs and my body is adjusting to having to consume some of itself. Next up is a 6 hour ride on Saturday and long run on Sunday. With only 4 weeks to go before the first Leadwoman event it's packed from here on out.