South Africa Race-Cation Day 6 (Xterra Pre race)

                                     

In the morning, I laid out my gear for the race. As usual, I prepare my race gear way early and Karel typically waits until later in the day. With this only being my third Xterra race, I wanted to see a visual of all my items to make sure I wasn’t forgetting anything for the race. We went for a ~30 min shake out run in the direction of Strand. As we started the run, there were several markets getting set up for the weekend. On the way back, we ran/walked through some of the markets. It was interesting to see the diversity in items at the market tables. On one table was clothing and on another table, were scrapes from electronics and cars. We also passed by a fruit vendor with lots of different seasonal fruits.

After eating a meal, I finished packing up my gear and worked on the computer for a bit.

At 12:40pm, I walked down to the beach to meet up with the masters swim team for their Saturday morning open water swim. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to swim in the ocean one last time. I met up with my new friend Gordon who let me keep my stuff in his car. The beach was packed unlike the previous days when we swam. I opted to swim in my swimskin since it was hot outside but the water was still a little on the cool side. There were around 15 athletes for the swim. Everyone swam at their own pace and we regrouped at the wall. I felt a little cold in the water since I wasn’t swimming too hard. The water was very choppy which was also different from our previous swims when the water was really calm. There were also a lot more boats and kayakers in the water as well. While I was swimming, Karel prepared our bikes for the race. Our Airbnb had a hose which was great for cleaning the bikes each day. Karel brought some cleaning supplies as well as a variety of tools.

After the swim I walked back to the Airbnb, had a quick snack and then around 3:15pm we drove ~25 minutes to the Elgin Valley Railroad market. I heard great things about this market although by the time we arrived, the vendors were shutting down. However, I purchased two wire-art animals from a local maker and he told me how he makes them. We walked around and enjoyed the décor in the inside of the building. We also stopped across the street at another store to check it out.

When we got back to Gordon’s Bay, we parked by the beach and had a pizza dinner at Tally’s Tavern. The pizza was delicious  - thin crust. The beach was rather busy so it was nice to watch the locals play in the ocean. We arrived back to our Airbnb around 6:30pm, prepared our hydration packs and bottles for the race and got into bed around 8pm. Just in time for load shedding. Neither of us felt nervous for the race but really excited to race for the first time in South Africa. 

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

 

\

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. 

Sunglasses for off-road riding

 

On Saturday morning we drove ~50 minutes to Clinton, SC for the recon group ride of the Gravel Battle Sumter Forest race. Southeast Gravel puts on great events and as an added feature, many of the events include a free recon ride to preview the course. 

There must have been over 60 cyclists attending this group ride, which eventually split into the long route (74 miles) and short route (44 miles). We rolled out at 10am and finished the ride just before 2:30pm. We ended up with 70 miles, 4 hours and 19 minutes (including regroup stops and a water refill) and around 3000 feet of elevation gain. I like this gravel course because it has a nice mix of pavement and gravel and the longest gravel section is around 8 miles. The gravel sections can get a bit dicey due to lots of holes so you need to keep yourself focused throughout the entire ride. There are a few gravel hills but they mostly come near the end (with a few spaced out throughout the route) but much of the rolling hills are on the pavement. There is even a water crossing near the end of the ride which gives you something to look forward to throughout the ride. The roads are very quiet - aside from a few dogs which is very normal on country roads. If you are new to gravel riding or are looking for a great course to be competitive (or just to have fun), I recommend this course - or any of the Southeast Gravel series. 

After a bit of time gravel biking, mountain biking and trail running, I quickly noticed how important appropriate sunglasses were for off-road riding (and running). As it relates to riding, sunglasses are not just to shield your eyes from the sun but they are protecting your eyes from debris. I can't tell you how many times I was pelted in the face with tiny rocks when riding on the gravel with the group. 

With coverage and comfort in mind, here are a few other important features when selecting a good pair of off-road sunglasses:

-Adjustable nose piece

-Big lenses

-Durable
-Should not slip/fall off 
-Comfortable and light

-Shape and lens tint/coating (to prevent eye strain)

-UV protection

-Air flow (vents)

Saturday was my first time wearing photochromic shades. From forested areas to the open road, my lenses constantly adjusted to the light, changing from dark to bright depending on the conditions. It was like having two pairs of sunglasses in one….a must for off-road riding.

When I received my Rudy Project Cutline Photochromic sunglasses, they were clear (as pictured on the left). But as I was riding, my sunglasses transitioned to a darker shade of purple. I was unaware of this change as I was able to see clearly throughout the entire ride - no matter if I was tucked in the forest with little sun, with the sun at my back or on the open road. Automatically adjusting to lighting conditions gives these sunglasses so much versatility than standard sunglasses. Of note, a photochromic lens is a transparent lens that reacts to light. It has an optimal filter that absorbs WV and infrared radiation while passing visible light. This results in the change of lens color from dark to clear/light. The lenses do not change instantly but take 30 seconds to a few minutes to adjust but they are a great option when you will be faced with different conditions. 

Although my dad is no longer here, he was very passionate about his job as a VA optometrist and I know he would agree that no matter if you are a professional or competitive athlete or a fitness enthusiast, the right pair of sunglasses makes all the difference when you are off-road. 

Because of their versatility, photochromic lenses are great for cycling in various conditions - especially for off-road riding. Take good care of your eyes and make sure to always wear sunglasses to protect them from sunlight, UV rays, dust, glare and debris. 

Note: In doing some research for this post, I came across an article discussing the difference between photochromic and transitional lenses. I found that in many articles, the words were used interchangeably but here's a description of the difference: 

"Photochromic or "adaptive" lenses darken when exposed to UV light, such as when you walk outdoors. When you are no longer exposed to the effects of UV, (i.e. walk indoors), the lenses return to their clear state. Transitions lenses are photochromic lenses that block 100% of harmful UVA and UVB rays."

How to improve your gravel biking skills

Last week (while dealing with Madison's declining health) we had two of our athletes in town for a 2.5 day private training camp. The focus of the camp was improving off-road bike handling skills (gravel biking). We also included swim/run training in the camp as our athletes have several triathlons on their schedule. But with their first ever ultra-distance gravel event (150-mile) happening late summer, it was important that our athletes improve their gravel skills to that they can both feel more comfortable, safe and confident when training off-road. 

Although the weather was not in our favor with predicted rain all day on Thurs and Friday (the two full days of their camp), we got incredibly lucky in that we were able to drive to two different locations and entirely miss the rain. Even better, on Thursday we were able to ride in a short sleeve jersey and shorts! 

For Zach and Ashley's camp (husband and wife from Nebraska) we completed the following over 2.5 days: 

Thursday: 
9-10am: technique focused swim 
1:30-4:30pm: Gravel ride near Sumter National Forest, SC
10 min run off the bike 

Friday: 
7-8:30am: Master swim, group workout
1-3:30pm: Gravel ride near Zirconia, NC
30 min run off the bike

Saturday: 
9-10:20am: Run workout w/ hill intervals

Riding gravel is all the rage these days. Some perks include the wider tires, disc brakes, a change in scenery, being in nature, being able to ride on the road and off the road and feeling much more adventurous on two wheels. More so, many people are switching from road to gravel biking due to far fewer cars/trucks. Although the chances of experiencing motorized traffic is very small on gravel roads, there's a greater risk of crashing due to the uneven surface under your wheels. And not all "gravel" is created equal - neither is tire pressure. There are silky smooth dirt roads and then there are washboard-like roads which will have you bouncing uncomfortably on and off your saddle. Add in climbing and descending, tight turns on loose rocks, deep sand and peanut-butter clay, you may find that gravel riding is much harder than it looks on social media. Oh and don't forget to add in riding over puddles and water crossings. You never know what you will get when riding off road. Additionally, risk of heat stress, fatigue and bonking is also greater than on the road due to the lack of "convenient" stops to refill bottles and to restock edible fuel. 

The truth is that riding a gravel bike is very different than riding on the road. On gravel, you can't just sit on your bike and pedal. Weight distribution is key on technical terrain, especially with turning, braking and descending. With gravel biking, there is a lot of weight shifting that should occur efficiently and smoothly. Whereas you may be able to get away being stiff and rigid on a road bike, safe gravel riding requires you to stay relaxed. For your bike to float freely under you, you need to become the suspension of the bike to absorb the bumps under you. When you watch experienced gravel riders, you'll notice that they are rarely sitting - there's a lot of standing, hovering, moving the hands into different positions on the handlebars/drops and weight shifting. The key is making small adjustments to stay stable and in control. When it comes to turning, this is very different than riding on the road. On a paved road, what you need to do to turn is the complete opposite of riding on gravel. 

Similar to the road, you need to go easy on the brakes. When you squeeze on your brakes, your wheel is not free to roll. Depending on how quick and tightly you squeeze your brakes - and the position of your body - there's risk of washing out, losing control or flying over your handlebars. Learning how to brake on and off road (and the braking power of your brakes) is one of the easiest skills to learn to improve your safety. 

When you are riding off road, it's easy to get distracted and enjoy the scenery around you. While this is easy to do on smooth surfaces, I find that gravel biking requires a lot more mental energy as I am constantly scanning 10+ feet ahead of me to find the best line. And when I'm descending, there's a lot of adjustment to find the right body position to safely navigate down a hill, especially if there are deep piles of gravel or sticky sand/clay. 

Lastly, unlike on the road where you can comfortable ride with your preferred cadence, the key to off road biking is to keep up the speed, which often means pedaling with a higher cadence or a bigger gear - both can feel uncomfortable if you haven't trained yourself to ride with variable cadences (high cadence can cause great cardio stress and low cadence can cause great muscular stress). There are some scenarios where you will feel like you are pedaling and going no where. Learning to pedal at a high cadence, with great power, while also keeping your grip loose and letting the bike autocorrect is a skill that takes time to master. 

Ashley and Zach did an excellent job at their gravel riding camp (no falls!). They tackled all types of conditions from crushed gravel and light sand to thick peanut-butter-mud and washboards. Karel did a great job on helping with water crossing do's and don'ts as well as climbing and descending skills. The biggest takeaway was not to tense up and to just sit on the saddle but to relax, move the body and let the bike flow under you. 

If you are interested in improving your gravel or road riding skills, we have a few slots left for our April bike skills/climbing camp. You can find out more here. 

Every Trimarni camp is guaranteed to include farm animals. 

XTERRA Trail Running World Championship (21K) - Race Recap

Before we left for Maui on the 29th, I found myself feeling nervous and excited for my third-ever trail run. In the days leading up to the event, I ran on some of the course and experienced several extreme weather changes (from sun to heavy rainfall). Seeing how exhausting it was to jog/walk/hike on the course when it was in great conditions, my worries of the unknown started to build as the trail got wetter and muddier. 

The transition from road to trail racing has been a humbling experience for me. I find that I am good at it but not great. My endurance and resiliency has allowed me to experience some success within my age group at my last three events (Oak Mountain Alabama, Ogden Utah and recently in Maui) but I still have a lot of weaknesses when it comes to my skills and abilities. For example, I lose a lot in the downhill sections of trail running.

But what I lose in my lack of skills and experience I gain in my love a new challenge.... even when my heart is beating out of my chest and my legs are burning with lactic acid.

Considering that my first trail run was in early May, I’ve had to quickly learn how to shift my mindset and expectations. Trail running requires so much focus, strength, resiliency, endurance and suffering….and a fair bit of “hiking." My pace and overall time mean little to me compared to how far I ran, the elevation gained and what I learned (and had to overcome) to get to the finish line. 

Although I’m still new to this sport and learning as I go, I find that my body really does well running over rocks, roots, in mud, climbing up and down steep hills and jumping over obstacles. The uneven footing, quick reactions, undulating terrain and changing direction keeps me totally present and works well for my high cadence running style. Over the past few years, trying to improve my running speed/pace has become difficult as my risk for injury increases as I intentionally try to run harder on flat pavement. However, I've learned that I can get a similar (if not better) training response by running on hills and off-road. My heart rate goes up, I feel the lactic acid burning in my legs and I get the benefits of pounding, but in a different way than trying to force a faster propulsion on the track or flat roads. While hilly and off-road running doesn't always transfer to faster paces, it does help me build great resiliency, endurance and stamina - which really helps with long-distance running (especially off the bike). Plus, when I am not injured, I am more consistent with running which means I have more opportunities to improve my fitness - and running is more fun when I am not injured. 

Although I still enjoy and do road running (for triathlon), I am really happy that I found trail running this year (all thanks to Karel and his last minute idea to do an Xterra event). 

Two and One Day Out

On Thursday (two days out from the event), we had the most enjoyable 4.5 hour boat tour with Magic Mergman (I would highly recommend them for a boat tour!). We swam with sea turtles, snorkeled with lots of colorful fish and even saw a Whale tail in the distance. It was such a relaxing day filled with a lot of swimming in the ocean. When we arrived back to our condo, it was nearing 4pm. We used this day as an active recovery day so no structured exercise.

Plus we were both a bit sore from our training on Wednesday as that was more of a 'recon' day to see the course (Karel and I swam in the morning, he mountain biked and I ran mid day and then Karel ran in the evening). On Thursday evening I ordered pizza from Dollie's Pub and Cafe (Margherita pizza) - it was delicious. I always have pizza two nights out from a long distance event - it always hits the right spot in my belly. I went to bed early (as usual) and was asleep by 8:30pm. It's so easy to get to bed early when we are in Hawaii! 

On Friday (one day out), I went for a swim in the ocean with Karel. The conditions were not bad, even though there was talk that the swim would be cancelled due to increasing energy/wave height over the next 48 hours. Once we finished a "loop" of the swim course (no buoys, we just guesstimated with our watches) Karel went to the swim course tips meeting in the Ritz hotel and I went out for another loop. I ended up meeting a new friend (Amanda), who is a great swimmer and new to Xterra. We had a lot of fun swimming together and even took some time to check out the coral reef to look at some fishes. The water is clear but not as clear as in Kona by the pier. 

After swimming two loops of the course, I joined Karel and our friend Ross in the Ritz hot tub to loosen out my legs. I decided not to run on Friday and instead, used my swim as my pre-race warmup. If I had my bike with me, I probably would have rode as well but wasn't planning to run. Instead, I did a session of ECFIT mobility in the afternoon and enjoyed a nice plate of pasta in the condo while Karel attended the Xterra triathlon athlete welcome banquet with Ross. Karel was stocked to see that there were over 20 athletes racing the triathlon. He was happy to sit with them, speak Czech and meet some new friends. At this point (Friday evening) it was confirmed that the swim was cancelled for Sunday.

I went to bed early but had a little trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. I could feel my nerves as I counted down the hours until it was time to officially get up at 7am. 

Race morning
Although there is a lot to love with Xterra, the later start times are amazing. My event didn't start until 9:30am! I started my morning with my typical pre-workout/race snack of a cinnamon raisin bagel w/ peanut butter and jam and banana slices. I ate this around 7:45am and followed it up with a 20-minute ECFIT mobility session. I made sure to do at least 20 minutes of mobility every day during our trip to keep my body healthy on race week - especially after the looooong travel to an island in the middle of Pacific ocean. I also had a cup of coffee and glass of water. 

After my mobility session I did a run around our condo complex (~10 minutes) and then put on the rest of my gear (Naked Hydration band + 2 x 10 ounce Nathan hard flasks, each filled with 1 scoop Orange Skratch). I also brought with me a sleeve of Clif ginger chews and a gel just in case. I had Karel's mountain bike gloves (he had two pairs) to use for holding on to trees or if I feel on the trail. I decided no visor/hat but had my Roka sunglasses (with specific lenses for shaded conditions in the woods) and ON CloudUltra trail shoes. 

I jogged a few minutes to the race venue while Karel rode his mountain bike. It was very kind of Karel to spend his entire morning out cheering for me while he was also needing to prepare (and rest) for his event on Sunday. I realized that I arrived to the venue with plenty of time to spare so we went up to our friend's room (Ross) and hung out there until a little after 9am. I did a few more stretches and warming up before lining up to the start on the grass field around 9:20am. 

Although it rained much of the morning on Friday, it had dried up so I wasn't as nervous as I was before (when Karel rode on Tuesday it was super wet, slippery and muddy). 

Quick Stats

12.8 miles
2:04 total time
2316 feet elevation gain 
2nd age group (35-39)
11th overall female

Mile splits: 
8:43
10:42
11:19
8:35
8:52
9:43
9:25
9:23
11:33
10:28
9:09
9:16
8:31

I didn't wear a heart rate monitor but I could feel my heart beating in my chest from the first few steps of the run. I had studied the course (and ran on half of it) so I knew what was coming. The first 3 miles or so were mostly uphill with a few short downhill segments (which I found impossible to recover in). My breathing was heavy and my legs were burning. We started up hill on the grass, which turned into pavement before heading off road, then back on the road, through a tunnel and then on to the trail. The trail was clearly marked for us which was a good thing because it would have been really confusing as it felt like we were running in a jungle. There were a few pavement segments but nothing that would last more than a minute or two. The conditions were not super muddy but there were a few muddy spots where I had to be careful with my footing. I took my gloves off a few times and put them back on just to feel a bit more safe with the steep downhills. 

I did my first "hike" (aka power walk) for about 3 minutes up a steep hill. There were times when I was by myself and times when I was with other runners. It was tempting to walk when others were walking but it was also encouraging to run when others were walking. Everyone was really supportive and cheering each other on. I liked when I had people around me as I could watch their footing to know where to run, especially on the downhills. 

Although the next 4.3 miles were net downhill, there were still some punchy segments. And as if a 16-18% grade wasn't hard enough, the slippery mud and roots made it even tougher. Whereas in Ogden, Utah I could not wait for all the suffering to be over with, I was really enjoying myself and just focusing on one mile at a time. 

I had been practicing drinking from my flasks while running on the trail (this makes drinking while running on the pavement super easy now!) and I felt I did a good job drinking from my flasks within each mile. I kinda just listened to my body and drank when I felt like it was smart/safe to do so on the trail (primarily on the downhills). I also grabbed cold water from each aid station for sipping and cooling. 

Although I didn't have any low moments, I could feel like my legs were getting really tired. Sometimes they felt numb from all the pounding, climbing and downhill running. I didn't have any falls and only a few times I stepped in an awkward way but never hurt myself. The biggest struggle was side stitches which I seem to get when I trail run. I think a combo of my breathing pattern (and breathing heavy), run cadence and my rib cage often moving in a different direction than my pelvis as I try to keep myself upright, causes the side stiches. There were times when I needed to adjust my effort/breathing but the terrain wouldn't let me so it was interesting to try to figure out how to stay focused and still listen to my body. 

                                                  

Karel was a ninja on the course - he was everywhere. It was so great to see him and to hear his cheers. 
The magic moment of the race was when I heard my watch ding at a mile split and I thought I was at mile 7. I looked at my watch and I was at mile 9 - winning! Because the course wasn't marked with mile markers (just arrows) I only used my watch for reference to know what mile I was at.

Nearing the end of the run, I passed a girl on an uphill who had passed me earlier on a downhill section. After around 9 miles, I felt my endurance was really kicking in as I was passing more people on the course (mostly guys).  The girl I passed was really great at running downhill and I just couldn't keep up with her. She passed me back soon after the duck pond on another downhill section. Nearing the last big climb, we had a fun section where we went around and over trees. Aside from this section, there wasn't a lot of technical aspects of this run but a lot of very steep and twisty up and downhills. 

After making my way to the pavement (this run course went through an old golf course so that is why there were several paved paths between the trails) I approached the very last climb which was on pavement. It was at least 18% grade. I walked for 3.5 minutes (.3 miles) of this final climb as everything was hurting. But I was power walking and still passing other people who were walking. I then saw two girls ahead of me - one of the girls was the one that passed me on the downhill and she was out of sight until this final climb. And then another girl that must have passed me near the beginning as I never saw her during the run. There were also a few guys as well. Karel saw me as I started the climb and gave me one last big cheer before he went to the finish. 

Once I got almost to the top of this nasty climb, I was committed to start running and to not look back. Oh did it hurt and I didn't want to start running but I knew this was my last chance to pass a few girls before the rocky downhill to the finish. For two minutes (.28 miles) I ran and it was so uncomfortable. I passed the girls and I just went for it. I didn't look back and couldn't really look back as I was making sure not to fall on the rocky trail as I ran as fast as I could to the beach. For the next 1/2 mile, I ran as hard as I could. I stumbled over the dry rocky creek and on to the beach. I took a look behind me and I could see one of the girls I passed on the hills in the distance and I tried to sprint of the sand. It was so hard and I felt like I couldn't find any firm sand by the water but I gave all I could. 

Karel was near the finish and cheered me in to the finish line. As soon as I reached the finish line my legs started shaking and I could hardly stand. It felt so good to fall to the ground as my legs were completely empty. Karel couldn't believe that I passed so many people in the closing miles but he was also confident in my endurance from so many years of long distance training and racing. 

I couldn't believe that I was 2nd in my age group and 11th overall female. There were a lot of very fast trail runners and it was inspiring to see the fitness and skills of these elite athletes. 

After the event I hobbled my way back to the condo, cleaned up and went back to the race venue for the awards ceremony. Karel relaxed while I spent a little time relaxing at the beach and enjoying the crashing waves at the ocean. Since we had confirmation that the swim was cancelled as a big storm was coming so Karel was mentally preparing himself for a challenging duathlon on Sunday. 

Although I didn't feel too sore on Saturday afternoon, my hamstrings, quads and calves were so sore on Sunday and Monday. Wow - trail running is hard....and so much fun! 

I'm already searching for my next race! 

Gravel Riding - So Many Climbs!

 

On Friday afternoon, I asked Karel what his plans were for training on Saturday. I mentioned to him that a small group was riding at 8:30 from the parking lot at North Greenville University (a popular meet-up place for cyclists, around 20 minutes away) but I really wanted to go gravel riding. Karel was excited for the off-road adventure so he planned a route that included a mix of grave and road. He wanted to show me some of the segments that he covered during the Belgium Waffle Ride. 

We decided to leave from North Greenville University and it worked out great that we started our ride with a few of our friends that were riding on the road. The first ~60-minutes was mostly climbing as we headed toward the Watershed and the up the Hendersonville side. We accumulated around 1500 feet of elevation gain on the road, while chatting with those in the small group. The time went by fast and sometimes I forgot that I was on my gravel bike. That's the nice thing about having a gravel bike in that you can comfortably ride on the road in a similar position to a road bike but you have the option to head off road anytime. This makes for so many more riding options. Although the gearing and tire pressure/width is different than a road bike, Karel and I didn't feel held back on our gravel bikes. 

Once we entered North Carolina, we parted from the group as they continued on with their ~75-mile ride. Karel had planned for us to do 80-ish miles and while I didn't have any expectations for this ride, I started to do some math and realized that this would be a very long ride. But the weather was absolutely perfect - sunny and in the upper 40's and we had plenty of hydration/fuel on board between our bottles, hydration backpack and snacks in our bento box. And the scenery was just so breathtaking as the colors of the leaves were so bright and beautiful. 

For the next hour, we rode mostly on gravel in Dupont State Forest. We were surprised it wasn't more busy on the trails that Karel picked for our ride. The gravel was in great condition as it was packed and not loose. We accumulated ~1000 feet elevation gain over 12 miles off road. 

We had a few miles on the road before we started climbing Jeter Mountain. This was my first time climbing here but Karel remembered it from the BWR. He had to tackle ~2.63 mile, ~900 feet elevation gain climb at the end of his grueling gravel ride. This time was a bit "easier" because his legs were fresher but the 18% grade near the top and the steep ongoing climbs were not easy on my legs. Karel has really gotten stronger on the bike thanks to all the efforts he has to do on the mountain bike to get over rocks/roots while climbing so I spent all of the climb by myself and Karel waited for me at the top. We then had a really fun descend (with a few more climbs/flat sections) for about 5 miles. Although we didn't have a viewpoint at the top of the climb, the scenery around us was incredible. We warmed up a lot with all the climbing but we had a bit of a chill going downhill. With my undershirt, long sleeve jersey and vest, along with toe covers and ear covers, I felt like I dressed really well as I never got too hot or too cold. 

Although my legs were feeling pretty smashed by 45 miles (3:15 into our ride, averaging 13.4 mph and accumulating almost 4000 feet elevation gain by this point), I really enjoyed how Karel was taking me to places that I've never seen before, all thanks to being off-road. We are lucky that we have bike friendly roads so it was never difficult to get from one gravel section to the next as we shared the road with the cars (although most of the cars had mountain bikes on them so we knew we were in good company with like minded people). 

The next 20 minutes had a mix of road and gravel before we started our last long gravel climb. By this point, my legs were so tired but I was committed to our adventure. Karel was riding strong so he just went ahead and turned around for me at the top of the climb. Our last gravel climb was 3.63 miles and took me 25 minutes (~8.5 mph, ~900 feet elevation gain). I had no idea where I was in relation to Dupont and Flat Rock (I figured I was somewhere in between) but it was really cool to be somewhere for the first time and to have no idea what was coming next. 

When I finally got to the top of the climb, we were rewarded with a fun descend with a few switchbacks. Although I'm still a bit tentative on the gravel, I couldn't help but think that there was a time when I was scared of descending and now I can almost stay right behind Karel on technical descends. I know with time and practice, my skills off-road will improve. We had another few miles on the road before we made our long 6.3 mile descend down the Watershed. The road condition on that section is really bad so I felt like I could descend better on my gravel bike than on my road bike.

Nearing the end of our ride, we were glutton for punishment so we included the Callahan Mountain Climb to finish off our ride. I showed Karel a few new roads that I discovered with Alvi last weekend and then 75 miles, 5:15 hrs and ~7000 feet of elevation gain later, we were back at the car. And I was so relieved that my longest gravel ride was complete. My legs were toast and I was exhausted and satisfied. 

As I was riding, I couldn't help but think how lucky we are to have such incredible routes to ride on. Off-road or on the road, we have endless options to motivate us to get outside, even when it's cold out. Whether it's road biking or gravel biking, I love being on my bike as it's a free and fun way to explore, adventure and to enjoy nature.