'24 South Africa - Day 4 and 5

 

On Wednesday, we woke up to cooler temps and a cloudy sky. Despite not having AC in our Airbnb, we are sleeping amazingly well - 9-10 hours a night! I absolutely love sleeping and I am feeling so much more refreshed. My recovery from workouts is a lot better too. It's great to not be woken by cats throughout the night. 

After eating and working on the computer, we drove 30 minutes and returned to the race course in Elgin Valley for redemption after a low energy ride and run on Monday. It’s amazing how poorly the body performs when it’s sleep deprived, low in energy and off a normal routine.

I’m happy to report that we both felt 100% better. And the cooler temps in the 70s and cloud cover helped a lot! We each rode the course on our own. Karel did the rock garden twice and waited for me after the big loop before we went to the smaller loop. I made the technical sections fine but I had a few rough patches llike getting stuck in sand, blocked by cow puppies and attacked by bushes, I rode almost 30 min faster than Monday. On Monday I averaged 7.7 mph and my legs were throbbing and my heart was beating crazy fast. But on Wednesday, I averaged 8.8 mph. I felt so much better. 

I went through most of the sport nutrition in my USWE hydration pack (3 scoops INFINIT Fructose in 1.5 L water - we are buying our water from bottles just to be on the safe side) for the 2 hour, 17 mile ride. 

Karel finished with 21 miles and averaged 10 mph. He said that after participating in Breck Epic, the rocks here are like pebbles. It's nothing compared to the "boulders" that he had to ride up and down on in Breck Epic. He said that Breck Epic was the most technical and difficult event that he has ever done but it has given him a lot more confidence for mountain biking. 

After the ride, we each set out for a run. We put the bikes in the car, which we felt was safe as there are cameras around the area, outside the country club. We met a guy from Italy who is here for the race and he followed us for the run. Karel went his own way to backtrack some of the course and I followed the course. I took a short cut to avoid the waist-high creek at the bottom of a hill and ended up meeting Karel.

We made a wrong turn on this road here and later realized that there is a new section of the course that takes us through two more water crossings. Below is us backtracking the course for the last water crossing. 

I finished with 40 minutes of running and 4.3 miles and Karel had 5 miles in 42 minutes. After our successful workout, we stopped at the Orchard to get some bread. Karel also got an apple turnover which he said was perfectly flaky. 

We worked for a few hours in the afternoon and then walked down to the ocean/beach in the evening as the sun was setting. 

Thursday was a "lighter" day of training for us. Our plan was to swim at the indoor 50-meter Strand Pool which was a few miles away. It was raining on and off all day and much cooler outside so we thought swimming locally would be better than driving the 35 minutes to Stellenbosch. When we arrived to the pool the lady at the counter said the heater was broken and we could feel the water to see if we wanted to pay and swim. We felt the water and it was on the cooler side. It would have been doable but not enjoyable. Plus the pool was inside and it was dark and since we are on vacation, we decided that we should swim outside. 

Because the Stellenbosch pool opens at 12pm and it was around 10:30am, we made a few stops at bike stores so that Karel could fix one of his pedals, which he lost the bolt during a previous ride. We first went to Pedal Works, which was a small store and they weren't able to find a bolt that would work. We then went to RA Cycles. They also didn't have the bolt (it's a very specific bolt for the pedal) so he ended up buying a new set of pedals that he has wanted to try out. He got the HT M2 pedals. 

When we arrived to the pool it was raining but it stopped shortly after we got in. The pool got pretty busy but we were able to keep our shared lane to ourselves. The pool was filled with mostly triathletes which was great motivation. I swam 4000 meters and Karel swam 3000 meters. My main set was 4 x 400s - steady strong. I was able to do the last 400 on 5:59. My body position felt a bit off today but it still felt great to be in the water. I didn't want to get out. 

After we swam, Karel got us smoothies from the gym cafe/coffee shop and then we drove back to our Airbnb. 

We worked for a few hours in the afternoon. My Training Peaks account was acting up and I couldn't put up workouts for my athletes so I decided it was a good time to stop working and head outside for a run. I went out for a few miles of easy jogging and finished up with 6 x 25 sec hill strides to activate the posterior chain. The weather was great - it was in the low 70s. I ran for 51 minutes and 5.9 miles. 

When I returned back to the Airbnb, I made a recovery drink and then we rode our mountain bikes a few blocks down the road to order pizza from Mia Bella. The restaurant was super cute with a small brick oven and friendly staff. During our 20 minute wait, we walked over to the SPAR grocery store and Karel went inside to get some fresh strawberries (the produce is sooooo tasty!) and milk. We then picked up our pizzas and rode home (Karel carried the pizzas because his pizza-carrying bike handling skills are much better than mine :) Karel got the Tizka (I can't remember the name) and I got the Margherita (which is a cheese pizza). The pizza was great, especially the thin crust!

I had a hard time falling asleep on Thursday evening but I slept for 10 hours and woke up feeling rested on Friday morning. One more sleep before Xterra South Africa! 

Hello from Bend, Oregon

 

Oregon has been a bucket list state that I've wanted to visit for a very long time. When we were planning our 2023, our focus was selecting different or new events. We only planned one on-road triathlon (IM 70.3 Blue Ridge for me) and the rest were all off-road events. We love triathlon and our swim, bike, run lifestyle but to keep our spark lite for structured training, it's been fun having a different focus for this year. 

Around 2020, we watched a YouTube race recap of the High Cascade 100 MTB event. This was before I started mountain biking. We fell in love with the scenery and the enormous task of riding 100 miles on a mountain bike.  Karel wanted to the Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder 5-day stage race in June and our athletes decided on Oregon 70.3 in late July as a team race. The High Cascade event never left my mind. When I realized that the High Cascades 100 MTB event was a week before Oregon 70.3, we decided this was the year that we should do the event. Just adding to the list of "first time" events for 2023.

My recovery after XTRI Canadaman was slow to start but a week after the race, I was beginning to feel much more normal. I didn't try to rush the recovery but just listened to my body. 

The hardest thing after the race was Campy's health. After returning home from Canada, I noticed that Campy was not acting like himself. He's been showing signs of Cognitive dysfunction syndrome (or doggy dementia) since November. He gets stuck in corners or stares at the wall. He barks at nothing and he gets very confused and disoriented. He drinks a lot of water. He wears diapers all day (and night). However, through this all, he is still eating well (just picky and wants to be hand fed), enjoys our company and enjoys his walks outside. 

But Thurs, Friday and Saturday were not great days for Campy. It was really hard to see him so out of it. I was really struggling as I thought it was nearing the end for my furry best friend. But on Sunday, he turned a corner and was acting better. He still struggles with his dementia (and he can't hear or see well) but it wasn't as severe as it was for the past few days. On Monday and Tuesday, he was much more spunky. I was ready to cancel our trip but Campy made it clear that he was doing much better. This chapter of our life is really, really hard. I'm trying to enjoy every moment with him and leaving him is so incredibly hard. We are so thankful for Karel's mom, who is staying at our house (we flew her in from Czech) until September, for taking such great care of Campy and our four cats. I've been very stressed over Campy's health for the past few weeks as I know we will have to make some hard decisions sometime over the next year. 

A little update from our trip......

We flew Greenville - Atlanta - Portland on Wednesday. We rented a car and drove 3.5 hours to Bend. The scenery was incredible - from the lush forest to desert-like land to seeing snow-capped mountains. We made a stop at Trader Joe's to get a few groceries before arriving to our place. 

After arriving to our Airbnb in Bend (near the Athletic Club of Bend) and after unpacking, we went for a jog around town. Alongside being tired from waking up at 2:15am and traveling to the West coast, the air was dry and it was warm out. But it was still nice to move some blood, get outside and see new sights.

On Thursday, we spent some time getting caught up on work. It was nice to have a 2.5 hour layover in Atlant to work on the computer and then to have free wifi on the flight to Portland (Delta).
Around 8am, we went to the Juniper Pool for a swim workout. The pool was beautiful (25 meters). It cost $8 person to use the facility. It was so nice to swim outside. The water was the perfect temperature. After our swim, we said hi to Erig Lagestrom (Paula had just left for the locker room) after our swim and he gave us some suggestions for where to ride. We picked up some delicious breakfast options from Nancy P's after our swim. Karel built our mountain bikes and we drove 3.5 miles to park across from the Welcome Center to recon some of the course. 

We rode a little more than 4 hours and covered 40 miles and almost 4,000 feet elevation. Much of our ride was over 5500 feet. The terrain is more flowly than what we are used to and very sandy/dusty. We drank a lot. The scenery was incredible. Even though we rode until almost 5pm, it didn't feel like a long ride. We had so much fun on the trails. The course was well-marked and I also had the course file downloaded into my Garmin. 

After the ride we drove back to our Airbnb and Karel rinsed off our dusty bikes and I picked up pizza from Pacific Pizza Brew. 

This morning we went for a swim at Juniper, we worked all day on the computer and this afternoon we rode our bikes a few miles to pick up our stuff for the event at Sagebrush cycles. We weren't too tired/sore from the ride on Thursday. It's going to be a very long and hard day (likely over 10 hours for me) and while I'm nervous to do something for the first time, I'm looking forward to the event and seeing more of this beautiful area. 

Whitewater Off-Road Triathlon race recap

 

Keeping with our theme of the year, the Whitewater triathlon on May 6th was looking to be very rainy (we've experienced rain for all five of our off-road events this year). We debated if it was worth doing the race but on Thursday of the race, we decided that we would still gain a lot from the race experience. After we registered online, the weather started to improve and based on my Epic Weather app, it was looking like the weather would work out for a dry day of racing. 

Although this race had a small participant list, it didn't make the race any less important to us. We still felt the nerves/anticipation for anytime we show up to a start line, we want to give our best and we know to do so, the effort is going to be uncomfortable and there will be obstacles to overcome. The really cool thing about off-road triathlon racing is that the entire race experience feels more like playtime than something serious like on-road triathlon racing. Swimming in open water, riding a mountain bike and trail running is fun and we love the vibe of racing off road. 

After a tough group swim in the morning, we left for Charlotte/Whitewater center around 1pm, shortly after my mom picked up Campy so that he could enjoy 1.5 days with her. There was a little bit of traffic during our 2:15 hr drive so we arrived a little later than we had planned. We paid the enterance fee and changed into our bike gear and around 4pm. With the issues of getting off course at the Whole Enchilada a month ago, we wanted to recon the course to make sure we knew exactly where we were going. The course was mostly well-marked and Karel also had the course in his computer to follow. After around 8 miles and an hour of riding, we were having a lot of fun and completely lost track of time. At 10 miles into our 15 mile ride we decided to stop the ride as we somewhat familiar with the last 5 miles. 

After picking up our race stuff, we made a stop at Harris Teeter to get some items for dinner (I had a bag of microwave basmait rice mixed in Amy's No Chicken Noodle Soup - a typical pre race meal for me) and then we made our way to our friends house (Christi) for the night. Christi and her partner Pam were out of town so we had her house to ourselves. I've known Christi since we met in a running race in 2005. 

We both slept ok (tossed and turned) so we were not feeling really rested when we woke up at 5:15am.
Karel had his typical oatmeal concoction and I had my typical waffles (3 of them) + PB, Jelly, Banana. 
We watched some of the PTO race on the computer as we were doing mobility/foam rolling and then left around 6:30am to make the 20 min drive to the Whitewater center. If you are ever in this area, I suggest checking out this place. It's really cool to see people rafting/kayaking on the rapids. There are also a lot of great trails and activities. And it is dog friendly! 

We set up our transition area and then got warmed up with some jogging. We each did our own thing and met near the lake around 7:45am for the pre-race meeting. There were only ~50 athletes in the full distance with only a few girls. Although every off-road triathlon race seems to have something unique to it, this was the first race that we've done where we had a 1/2 mile gravel run from the swim to T1. We wore a pair of trail shoes to the swim and left them on the bench by the dock to put on after the swim (since I wear socks on the bike, I also had my socks with my shoes). I wore my compression sleeves under my wetsuit. 

The water was 65 degrees and I was a little worried it would feel really cold but it was absolutely perfect. We had an in-water start which we both really like as it gives us a chance to warm-up in the water and adjust the wetsuit. 

The swim took us out to a buoy, around the buoy (to our right), then a long straight to another buoy (turn right) and then back to the dock. When we started, I found myself in a group of ~4 guys along with Karel. I was shocked to see Karel there with me as he hasn't been feeling good in the water. Karel has great take out speed where it takes me about 10 minutes to get myself into a good rhythm. After the turn buoy, I was able to pick up my effort and Karel stayed behind me. I was able to get a little away from him but he was doing a great job trying to stay on my feet. I exited the water first overall and Karel was right behind as we pulled ourselves up the ladder on to the dock. The sprint distance athletes were gathered for their pre race meeting as we got out of the water so it was encouraging to hear their cheers. 

I removed my wetsuit and sat down on the bench to put on my socks and ON trail shoes. Karel stood up and put on his shoes. I grabbed my wetsuit and left the area before Karel but he quickly sprinted by me as we ran up a steep trail before making our way to the gravel. I actually really enjoyed running to T1, it was different and a fun way to clear the mind after the swim. We weren't sure if we should run with our wetsuit on or carry it but after trying to run with it on in the pre race warmup to the lake we knew carrying it would be the smarter option. I wrapped mine around my neck and Karel opted to hold his in his arm. 

Karel was out of transition before I got there. I felt like I had a good transition and put on my shoes, helmet, sunglasses and hydration pack. In past races, I had my helmet on my handlebars and would forget to put it on until I grabbed my bike so I had my helmet on the ground and everything went smoothly. I ran my bike to the mount line and started riding. 

The mountain bike course was around 23K (or 14.2 miles) with around 1100 feet of elevation gain. Most of the elevation came in the back half and it was much more technical in the last 8 miles of the course. The course was really flowy and fun with a lot of roots, ups and downs and tight corners. I struggled on some of the obstacles in the last 8 miles as I was getting really tired and they are very technical. I only saw Karel once and he gave me a cheer. I was passed by several guys but nearing 10 or so miles, I found myself alone. The course was really well marked. 

I had a total of 90g carbs of NeverSecond Berry in my USWE hydration pack along with about 1 liter of water (33 ounces). 

Karel led the entire race from start to finish and had a great time on the course. I also had a lot of fun on the bike as I felt like I was just playing in the woods. The hard part about mountain biking (especially in a triathlon) is that the heart rate stays elevated the entire time. It's like a short distance triathlon. You need a lot of strength, power, stamina and skills to negotiate the terrain. It's a very different change from long distance racing where it's all about riding your own steady state effort and dealing more with muscle fatigue than cardio stress. The course ended up being close to 17 miles on my Garmin (1:42 ride time). 

After arriving back to the transition area as the first female (there were only 3 of us, which means we need to get more females into off road triathlon racing!) it was time for the run. My legs felt really good and I really pushed myself on the run. I loved the flow of the trails and it was constantly up and down for 4 miles and 400 feet of elevation gain. I had 1 flask of C30 Neversecond berry that I kept in my trisuit pocket. I don't wear sunglasses on the trail run but had a visor on. I wore Hoka trail shoes. 

As I made my way to the finish line, I smiled big as I had so much fun. This race wasn't about winning or needing to prove anything but just having fun. I love that off road triathlon racing can be hard and challenging but also bring us so much joy. This was a good tune-up for us as we will be participating in Xterra Oak Mountain this weekend and we expect a lot of tough competition. Although I'm just doing the off road racing for fun, Karel is hoping to put together a really good performance this weekend. 

Overall Results

Karel Results                                        Marni Results 

What did we learn/do at our MTB clinic/camp?

 

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In early January, I found myself watching a lot of mountain bike skill videos on YouTube. As a complete newbie, I want to learn as much as I can so that I can improve my skills while building confidence and safety. Although I still love triathlon training and racing, I really love bike riding. It was only a matter of time until I added a mountain bike to my collection of bikes.

Karel is much more experienced and skilled than me in mountain biking, there are several skills that he is struggling to learn on his own. And after breaking his hand last May, there are certain obstacles that cause him to tense up (ex. bumps, drops and jumps). Karel has been an exceptional teacher as he has taught me how to go up and down certain rock garden features and how to safely navigate over roots. But since neither of us don't know what we don't know, we felt it would be worth our time, money and energy to invest into a mountain bike clinic. 

In late January, Karel came across Lon from Single Tracks Skills. I reached out to Lon regarding a private camp for me and Karel. Karel participated in his first Xterra triathlon at Oak Mountain in Pelham, Alabama which is the location where Lon holds his group and private camps. Karel was really excited to share the trails with me as I only saw the trails from my feet (I participated in the trail run race). 

Because of our busy schedule (and Lon's high demand for group and private camps), we set the dates of March 14th and 15th for our private skills session. 

When Karel and I arrived to Pelham on Sunday afternoon (13th), we headed right to Oak Mountain. The 5 hour drive went by rather quickly. I was really tired and sore from my morning long run (with hill repeaters) but I was really excited to get out on my mountain bike. I was surprised with my skills as I hadn't been on my mountain bike in two weeks (I'm trying to balance Ironman training and riding off-road) and this was a new trail that I had never scene before. With Karel as my guide, we rode for ~90 minutes and loved every minute of being in the company of all the trees. The trails were very well maintained and each trail had its own special features. I could tell Karel was super happy as he loves riding his mountain bike and it only feels like "play time" for him - never training/work. 

We met Lon at 10am at the South trail parking lot in Oak Mountain (FYI - the entry fee is $5 per person per day). Lon was extremely personable and throughout the entire day, we could tell that he was very invested in us and wanted to help us however he could. I really liked how he would show us a skill, break it down for us, tell us why it was important and then have us practice. He also gave each of us different cues and skill progressions based on our abilities. With Karel being much more advanced than me, Lon did a great job working with each of us - paying attention to and recognizing each of our skill sets. Karel enjoyed seeing me progress and I really loved seeing Karel do things that he didn't think that he could do. Karel's objective from this camp was to improve his skills, speed and terrain awareness so that he can ride faster, stronger and better in his races. Although I want all of that too, I'm not there yet. My focus is on riding "fast" and technical sections better (and safer). I really like mountain biking because it's very similar to swimming - fitness can only take you so far. There are so many skills to learn with specific movement patterns and techniques. Although some people have a natural ability to learn skills quickly, many people get on a mountain bike and get lucky with certain skills.....until they don't. It's very important to me that I learn skills correctly so that when I advance my skills and fitness, I can keep myself safe so I don't get seriously injured. 

Because we purchased Lon's online clinic in February, we had watched most of the videos which allowed us to move quickly through the ground control skills. For the first two hours of our camp, we spent time on a grass field practicing "ground control" skills like body positioning, braking, jumping, hops, pedal drops and turning. As much as we wanted to ride the trails and practice skills there, we found great value in practicing skills in the field. Just before lunch we went to the trails to practice some of the skills that we learned. Immediately I felt so much more confident with higher speed off camber cornering and riding over small obstacles. Karel was learning super quickly and he found himself doing skills he could never do before (like jumping over logs). 

After eating lunch by our car (we brought bagel sandwiches that I made in our Airbnb),  it was time to head out into the trails. 

Although we spent all afternoon on the trails (in perfect sunny 60-degree conditions!), we didn't cover a lot of miles. To get the most out of this camp, Lon would stop us at certain sections of the trail to discuss specific features. "Section training" is something that Karel does with me when we ride. Anytime we come up to a specific trail feature that requires a specific series of skills (or something that scares/worries me), we will stop at that feature and discuss it. Sometimes Karel will help me understand the best "line" to take whereas other times Karel will demonstrate how to go over/around the feature a few times before I try. Sometimes I will succeed and sometimes I won't. But I always try a few times before moving on. 

Lon new the trails so well that we covered so many different features. There were so many teachable moments out on the trail and it was extremely beneficial to be able to spend time on each specific feature. Because Lon's skills are exceptional, Karel found it really helpful to ride behind Lon and to learn directly from him. Lon even played a game with Karel where he would call out when to jump or bump over certain features and Karel would do whatever Lon told him to do. It was truly a "game" for Karel and I think that's why he loves "playing" on his mountain bike. 

Around 4:30pm, we made our way up to "blood rock" which is a series of tricky to maneuver, uneven and jagged rocks (this was also part of the Xterra Oak Mountain bike course). This segment was more for Karel but I learned a lot watching Lon (and Karel). Nearing 6pm, we headed down the mountain on the trails and I felt really confident with my skills. I learned so much after one packed day! Karel and I were exhausted and we couldn't wait to do it again the next day. 

Unfortunately, we only had one nice day of weather. We shorted our next day to two hours and focused on pumping and jumps at the BMX track and then went to the "lightening" trail which was a series of steep bumps and berms. Even though it was a little sketchy due to the light rain (and cold), we spent a good amount of time on two specific jumps where we both practiced jumping. I have a long way to go but it was fun to feel my progress and to feel much more confident on this type of terrain. The nice thing about Oak Mountain is that for every advanced feature, there is also a less advanced feature on the side. To be honest, even though the weather wasn't ideal on Tuesday, it provided a great "real life" scenario of how to ride on wet conditions. Karel and I learned so much about how to ride over roots/rocks and selecting the best line when it's wet/rainy. 

Karel and I drove home on Tues afternoon and left with so much excitement and eagerness to continue to work on our skills. Lucky for us, we have an awesome pump track just a few miles down the road in TR where we can practice our skills. I'm really excited about my next MTB event on March 26th. It's been fun to combine Ironman training with mountain biking but I've never considered us to adhere to "conventional" Ironman training methods. 

If you are new to mountain biking or want to improve your skills, we highly recommend Lon from Single Tracks Skills. He's an exceptional teacher and phenomenal rider...and an all around incredible human.