The mother of all sinus infections

I had a follow up visit with my asthma Dr. last week and casually mentioned how bad allergies were this year. She looked at me, looked up my nose, down my throat and in my ears and said "it's not allergies, you have a sinus infection." All of a sudden my exhaustion the past couple of weeks made a lot more sense. She put me on some antibiotics and said "call me in 2 weeks if it isn't cleared up." I walked out and thought "cool, now I'll feel better."

Fast forward a week and I'll tell you right now, I do not feel better. This thing is holding on for dear life and WILL NOT let go. I'm tired and want to sleep all the time and my nose has become a constantly running faucet (sorry, that might be classified as TMI). I haven't worked out in 5 days- that's the longest I have gone without working out since the last time I was sick, over a year ago. I was on vacation, I worked out. Family funerals, I worked out. I NEVER miss my workouts. And here I am, 2 weeks before my next adventure race and the thought of actually going outside and running or biking wears me out. Not good.

It would probably help if I actually got some sleep every now and then. With school done for the spring (yeah!! another 4.0 semester, thank god) I had planned lots of fun stuff before I started feeling cruddy and couldn't very well cancel all those fun things :-) One such event was last week... I did something I haven't done for years: went to a premiere movie at midnight. I saw the new Indiana Jones movie Wednesday night - I have seen every single one of the Indiana Jones movies on premiere night and wanted to continue the tradition. The first one came out when I was in high school; I won tickets to the premiere night at midnight and from that night on, I was hooked. This time I went with my friend Aaron, who wrote a great blog on our experience that night. Check it out at Denver Metblogs.

The next night was a workshop on orienteering, a key component to adventure racing. It was a good intro but the true test will be next weekend; I will be spending the entire weekend at the Peaceful Valley Scout Ranch for training and a race. Saturday will be an all-day training session, then the next day will be an actual meet. I need all the practice I can get!

This weekend has been a blur of activity; a day of 4-wheeling, a Rockies game, graduation party and lots of yard work. Despite all that activity I have been working on getting more sleep, hoping to help this sinus infection move on.

But tomorrow... I WILL workout. I promise. Really, I will.

Is summer finally on the way?

Winter has had a tight grip on the weather here in Colorado and it appears it does not want spring to appear anytime soon. However, this weekend spring got the upper hand and we finally saw a beautiful, Colorado weekend; sunny and warm! Thank god for that, I was beginning to get depressed with all the gloomy weather we have been having.

With a nice weekend coming I, of course, planned a lot of outdoor activities. I'm already longing for the freedom I had last summer, when I could take off at a moment's notice with no worries. Not anymore, I have to plan for the weekends like all the rest of you mere mortals out there.

Friday night I saw "Ironman" (awesome movie!) then Saturday the plan was to run in the morning then help mom with her garage sale. My social plans the night before had me out kind of late so I bailed on the run and instead did what every good daughter should do and spent the day helping mom.

Sunday was my 'big workout day' - I planned a brick workout, which is a training session that involves two or more different disciplines (ie trail running, hiking, mountain biking, etc), one after another. I was planning on doing 15 miles on the bike, then spend three hours hiking Eagles Peak at the Air Force Academy. You know what they say about best laid plans?

I woke up and was not motivated AT ALL to get out there, so I dragged my feet for a couple of hours. I finally got my butt in gear and headed to the Santa Fe Trail with my bike, only to be derailed by a problem with my gears - I could only get into 3 gears; low, medium and high. I suppose it was kind of funny to see me pedaling like speedracer on crack - I even ran into a fence during one of my 'changing the gear' phases. At that point I was sincerely wishing the trail was somewhere else and not next to a highway - I got lots of honks during that little incident.

Because of my mechanical failure I turned around early and only did about 6 miles. I then headed to the Air Force Academy, one of the most beautiful places in the world and an outdoor paradise. It's one of my favorite places - I grew up not too far from it and have wonderful memories of attending football and basketball games and various other events.

I was meeting my friend Tori to hike Eagles Peak on the grounds of the Academy (see pic above)- we had been trying to get together to do this hike for months and our schedules had finally converged to make it work!

Let me just start by saying that I have found the perfect trail for training - this trail had everything; boulders, scree, icy climbing, incredible views, all in a very steep climb (2000 vertical feet in 1.25 miles). I figure if cadets use this for their training then I should definitely add it to my list.

Tori has climbed this thing numerous times and knew all the ins and outs of the trail, which was good because there were times when the trail wasn't visible and without her I would of been hopelessly lost on my way to the summit. It started fairly mellow but then proceeded to a relentless climb - it just never ended. It took us 2 hours to get to the top (mostly because I kept stopping - I have got to get my hiking legs back!) and from the top we were rewarded with an amazing view of the Academy and the front range. It made the climb worth it.

Coming down was fun - scree on a steep slope is pretty hard to navigate when you have forgotten your trekking poles (what a dolt I am). There was a lot of sliding on my butt and of course the day wouldn't of been complete if there wasn't a fall (there was) and blood coming from some part of my body.

This was a great trail and one I would recommend if you want a challenge, but the best part of the day was spending it with Tori. We haven't been able to spend much time together due to crazy schedules and I loved spending time with her. Thanks for a great time hon!

Want to know a surefire way to flunk your finals?

...just spend the weekend before finals at an Adventure Race - that should do it. It certainly worked for me.

I spent a crazy weekend in beautiful Buena Vista, volunteering for the Adventure Xstream Adventure Race. Being the good student I am, I had brought my books, fully intending to study during some of the down time. If the title above is any indication, you can imagine how much time I spent studying.

I actually went up early Friday so I could get some mountain biking in before the race. Someone had told me about a great 'beginner' trail in Buena Vista, so I was planning on spending a few hours on this 'beginner' trail, which ended up being anything but a beginners trail!

The first mile of the trail was all single track, rocks and climbing - it scared the hell out of me. Being alone and the ultimate beginner, I felt completely out of my element. I ended up walking the entire first mile and finally came to a nice, simple road. From that point on it was fun - the road went about 3 miles before the trail started again and this is where the fun began!

The trail was all fairly simple single track - it followed an old railroad track and had some gorgeous views of the Collegiate Peaks and Buena Vista. I got over my disappointment from the beginning of the trail and actually had fun, which is what it is all about, isn't it?

I rode about 10 miles total, although I figure I walked about 2 miles of that. I have to admit I was frustrated and discouraged at parts - I just would like to be able to do more technical rides and it's frustrating that I can't seem to get to that point. Fear has a lot to do with it and I'm not too sure how to get beyond that. I guess that is something I have to work on.

That night I helped with the check in and registration for the race - I met some great people and got to see some people from camp. One of my all-time fav's was there, Jari from Team Salomon/Crested Butte and my mountain bike/ropes instructor from camp. She had a great present for me, some of her homemade granola (which is absolutely yummy!) plus the recipe. Her and the team were running the 24 hour race and did an Adventure Racing Q&A session before their race began at midnight.

Just as the 24 hour racers began their trek at midnight, a wet and cold snowstorm blew in. Yet none of the teams quit, they kept moving despite the crazy weather. Team Salomon/Crested Butte had some bad luck with their compass and ended up getting lost, and for what I think is the first time ever they ended up dropping out of the race. They were the expected winners so it was a big surprise to everyone.

Saturday morning was the beginning of the 6 and 12 hour races and I was there bright and early to direct traffic and parking. It was freezing and windy and miserable but I think the excitement of the race helped everyone bear it easier. My friends James and Chelsea, who I also climbed Elbert with (pic above), were there to run the 6 hour race (they placed 4th in their division, congrats guys!)

The racers took off for their race and I took off with Caroline to man one of the mountain biking checkpoints. Let me just tell you that I have a great admiration for anyone willing to do a 24 hour race - by the time they reached us they had already ran/climbed/trekked/mountain biked about 80 miles and they looked exhausted. But everyone kept pushing themselves to finish the rest of the course, which included about 20 miles more of mountain biking, a 400 foot travolean traverse and another orienteering course. Impressive!

We sat at the checkpoint for about 8 hours, keeping track of all racers and making sure they were ok and didn't need anything. The day had cleared up some by then but the wind was a brutal reminder of the storm that night. The racers came to our CP after 5 miles of what was suppose to be an "easy, downhill ride." Instead they fought into the wind, making it feel like they were climbing uphill the entire 5 miles. Just another aspect to adventure racing, the unexpected always seems to happen!


The day didn't finish until late into the night and in the end the top team for the 24 hour race was Boulder Performance Network, who finished at about 17 hours - an impressive performance despite the weather. Good job guys!

Here are some of the Pics if you want to see more.

I headed home that night, I needed to be back for mother's day. But the weekend was a blast and it makes me even more determined to try a longer race - anyone want to run a 12-hour race with me in July???

Oh, and I didn't flunk my final, although I did end up putting in a very long all-nighter, which I imagine will take me weeks to recover from. It's just not as easy as when I was 20!

The weekend cannot get here soon enough

Never has a weekend looked so good.

Have you ever had one of those weeks where you feel like chucking it all and living the life of the unibomber? Yup, that about sums up my week. I'm not going to go into details but if there ever was a perfect time to have a 3 day weekend, this would be it.

I am heading to Buena Vista for my much needed long weekend - I'll be volunteering for a Gravity Play Adventure race . I figured this would be a great way to see what a longer race entails (they have 3 races to choose from: a 6 hour, a 12 hour and the 24 hour race). This is the same company that put on the camp I attended in March - there should be lots of people from the camp there, including my wonderful instructors Team Salomon/Crested Butte. Can't wait to see Jari and the rest of the guys!

I'm heading up early Friday to do some mountain biking for the day - I haven't been outside all week and can't wait to do nothing but breathe fresh mountain air and think about nothing but my heavy breathing and burning legs - "clear your head, flush your brain" will be echoing in my head, I am sure.

Friday night I'll be helping with registration and all-day Saturday I'll be at a mountain bike checkpoint, tracking racers and cheering them on. I plan on taking lots of pics, so be prepared for a nice long, report.

Have a great weekend everyone!

A Beautiful (and cold!) day in The Garden

The picture above was my view as I took my place at the starting line of the "Take 5 in the Garden" race Saturday at the Garden of the Gods. Can you imagine a more perfect setting for my first running race?

It was a cold morning, 25 degrees when I arrived at 7am and it only warmed up a little bit more by the time the race started at 8am (I was wishing I had my long johns on!) The race had 2 options - a 5K or 5 miler and since I'm a gluten for punishment I chose to do the 5 miler. When I signed up for the race I was given the warning that this course was "hilly and strenuous and only for people in excellent shape." You know what, they were absolutely right. It was a tough course, one hill after another that pushed me, my legs and my lungs hard - I heard one runner call it brutal, I would say that was a fair description!

One of the more difficult hills was at the beginning of the course - a 1 mile climb that felt more like 10 miles! Lots of people fell behind fairly quickly but I did something I have never done before, started out strong and fairly fast (for me anyway). I got into a good rhythm and started to move pretty quickly down the other side of the hill.

The hills started taking a toll on me at about the 3 mile mark. My legs were doing fine but my lungs protested. Despite using my inhaler right before the race, I was having difficulty breathing and I had not brought my emergency inhaler with me. I started to walk more in an effort to catch my breath but it didn't help much. I just couldn't breathe well and decided to just press on - I had the goal to finish under an hour and I was determined to make it, no matter if I could breath or not. (Note to self: ALWAYS take your inhaler to races.)

At about the 4 mile mark I met a great lady by the name of Laura and we began to chat - she said she had been trying to catch me the entire race but I was too fast (that made me laugh... me, too fast? that is just too funny). Once I started to walk she caught up and we decided to finish the race together. We had a great time on that last hill and she is a big reason why I pushed it even harder at the end - well, that and her sister (who just happened to win our division with a time of 42 minutes), who was waiting at the last 1/4 mile and encouraged us to speed up to the finish. I ran hard for that last section - my lungs and legs were burning but it felt so good to finish strong and hear the crowd cheering us on!

My goal had been to finish under an hour and that is exactly what I did - my official time was 58:50. Not too bad for a first-timer who couldn't breath for most of the race :-)


It was a tough race to pick for my first one but I'm glad I began with it - might as well get the tough ones out of the way now. I'm already planning for next year - the course we ran is being added to my training schedule and by next year you can bet I'll be one of those running at the front of the pack.

Quote of the Day

"Clear your head, flush your brain."

Said by my Spicoli/Yoda inspired spinning instructor right before our much loved 'free ride' this morning.

I love this guy.

Albuquerque is a cool place for an Adventure Race!

All those years ago, as I watched the Eco Challenge Adventure Race, I never imagined I would be running a race myself. Yet after last weekend I am able to say that I am one of those who has experienced one! It wasn't a 10 day, 700 mile race like the Eco Challenge (more like 11 miles and 4 hours); but for me it was just as big and important as any other race out there. It was a great experience and I'll say this right now... I'M HOOKED!!!

I headed down to Albuquerque early Saturday morning, and arrived around 1pm at Linda and Jerry's house, my team mates who live in Albuquerque. After a nice lunch (fresh spinach from their garden - what a treat!) we headed out to the area that the race was taking place to see what we might expect during the race. This ended up being a good thing, although I wasn't so sure while we were riding - let's just say that I had thoughts of throwing my mountain bike into the trash after the day was done. Yes, I know, irrational thoughts, but that's what can happen when you have hundreds of cactus pricklies stuck in your butt. (I'll get to that story in just a minute).

The area was mostly single track, which I have NEVER done before. Just imagine me, who is still learning to ride in a straight line, trying to stay on a narrow trail with rocks and trees as obstacles. I was actually doing fairly well for most of the trail, although there were spots I had to walk through. That was until I got to a very narrow, sandy portion of the trail. I lost control, fell and landed right on a cactus plant.

We spent the next 30 minutes pulling cactus out of me (I also spent it cursing all desert vegetation, mountain bikes, single track, and anything else I could think of that I was mad about). Once I was pretty well cleaned up, we got back on the trail but I was still a bit ticked and hesitant to get back on the bike. I was also trying to talk myself out of running the race the next day - if the trails were going to be like this I wanted no part of it!

I snapped out of my mood (as I usually do) and got back on the bike to finish the rest of the ride. Our time on that trail ended up being a good thing - the trail we actually had to race on was much easier than we expected and our experience the day before was VERY helpful during the race.

Before I tell you about the actual race, let me first give you all a brief description of what an Adventure Race is (since that is the most common question I get from everyone)

ADVENTURE RACING 101
Adventure racing is kind of like a triathlon but with different disciplines like navigation/orienteering, mountain biking, trail running, rock climbing and rappelling, kayaking and lots of other inventive stuff (I've heard of everything from riding a camel to inline skating to puzzle solving are involved - always interesting!)

The race is all about teamwork and navigation, not so much speed (although you are going fast the whole time!). At the beginning of the race you are given a topo map of the area and coordinates of where checkpoints will be - you map the checkpoints then figure out how to get to those places to get what they call a passport stamped. You are given points for each of these check points so it's pretty important to map it all correctly.

Once you figure out the checkpoints you have to figure out the best route to get to those places while doing the required discipline - for my race we had to start with trail running for the first 6 checkpoints and end with mountain biking for the final 5 checkpoints. We did a total of about 11 miles for this race, but many races can go for as long as 10 days and over 700 miles! I don't think I am quite ready for those races yet (but maybe someday).

Tutorial Finished... on to the race report!

We had 4 hours to finish the race and it included trail running/trekking and mountain biking. The race was mostly about navigation - there were 11 checkpoints for us to find and some were not that easy. A key problem we had was due to a lack of listening on our part - at the preliminary meeting they mentioned that all of the checkpoints were only 10 meters from the trail; what we failed to hear was "and dry creek beds." Every single one that we had a problem with was in a creek bed - we just kept thinking there is no way it would be that far from the trail. Lesson learned - always listen carefully at the pre-race meeting!

We finished that race in 3 hours and 50 minutes. That was our goal, to make it back before the cut off and we did! We actually went pretty fast but our problems finding a couple of the checkpoints killed our time. But we had fun and made our goal, so it was all good in the long run. And we weren't even last - there were two other teams that beat us back to the finish but they didn't find many of the checkpoints so we ended up being 9th out of 11 - pretty good!

What I loved the most was the amazing comraderie among racers and an honor code that you have to help another team if they are having any difficulties or are in trouble. Lots of teams will race together to pool resources and support each other, despite also competing with the other team. It's just a great sport and one that I am growing to love. I can't wait to do more races!


It's always amazing to me to be around people who don't know what my life use to be like and the weight that was such a burden to me. But what I have found in talking with other racers is that they have also overcome things in their lives to be there - I'm just one of the many who has come through some sort of crazy journey and somehow survived. Through the entire race I just kept thinking about that, how much has changed, how much I have changed and how amazing it was that I was able to do all the things in the race with no problem. I can't imagine going back to what my life was before - this life is just too much fun!

A Quick Update

I know, it's been a while... missed me?

Life has been a little wacky lately - I've been trying to get caught up after a couple of long weekend trips and have been feeling a little overwhelmed and tired. I did run my first adventure race last weekend (what fun! But more on that later, I promise), and I am trying to finish out this semester by actually studying (such a novel idea), so life is getting in the way of my blogging.

One little glitch that happened this week - I was diagnosed with asthma. Not a super severe case but enough that it does slow me down considerably when I workout. I have been noticing problems with my breathing for a year now but in the past few months it has progressed quite a bit. Then during my race this weekend I was having lots of problems breathing and continued to have problems after the race. That's when I decided to get it checked - the doctor said "yes, it's asthma" then sent me home with over $300 (after insurance) worth of prescriptions that I need to take daily. I can already see a difference and hope I can get this under better control for my next race. Asthma kind of runs in the family so it isn't a surprise but I wish I had been the one family member that wasn't affected.

I promise I will write an update this weekend on my race (pics and all!). It was a great experience and now I can honestly say that I fulfilled my big goal, to run an Adventure Race!!

"This bike had better be worth it"

I'm giving my mom credit for the title today - those were her exact words as we traveled to Amarillo to pick up my mountain bike. We endured icy, snow packed roads for the majority of the trip and were relieved to finally reach my brothers house. So the big question would be... was it worth it?? You bet!!!

Despite a big height difference between me and my brother, the bike was a perfect fit. We spent some time putting on a new seat and peddles then headed out to test it out. Due to my later than expected arrival, we opted to stick close to home and hit some of the dirt roads around his house. We spent an hour tooling around, helping me get use to the gears (which are a little different than most bikes) and adjusting the seat a few times so it was at the perfect height. I also got a mini bike maintenance lesson on how to change a tube, how to lube the chain and a couple of little things like that. My brother is truly a saint and I am so blessed to have him - I do believe he is almost as excited as I am to start riding and I love him for that. THANKS STEVE!!!

I'm still not entirely comfortable on a bike - but the more I ride, the more comfortable I become. I plan on riding all week - to school, to work, etc... basically, a lot! "Become one with the bike" is the mantra this week.

I chatted with my team members about the race next weekend and we officially have a team name - "Wandering Soles" it is! Quite appropriate, I think. They live in Albuquerque and had the opportunity to do a mini trial race with the same group that is putting on the race next weekend, so they were regaling me with stories of the day. Their experience is going to help a lot because at this point, I feel a bit in the dark on what to expect. I suppose that is part of the excitement, the unknown of it all.

When I first said "I want to do an Adventure Race" I don't think I ever imagined what I was getting into and how it would affect me. The idea that I can do this, actually complete one of these races, is still beyond the scope of my imagination. Yet I catch myself planning for future, more ambitious races. Not only that, but I want to do well in them. I do believe that I am a bit more competitive and ambitious than I ever imagined, which is all pretty new to me - it's hard to shift the perception you have of yourself to something entirely different. But I suppose that is part of the journey, isn't it?

The Yoda of the Cycling World

It’s been unbelievably busy lately – my move has added about 2 hours to my commute and trying to prepare for this upcoming adventure race has been a challenge. I’m pretty motivated, but when that alarm goes off at 4am, that motivation can go right out the window! Forcing myself to head to bed at a much earlier hour than most people is the big challenge - my social life is seriously hurting but at this point I kind of prefer the whole 'staying awake while I drive' aspect more than my need for social engagement. Who needs a date anyway.

I've been ramping up my workouts to get ready for the race and one of the things I've added is a spinning class 3 times a week - love, love, love it! The fellow who leads the class has a unique approach to his instruction - he likes to do visualization and throws in lots of inspirational sayings to get us going. The funny thing is he is a bit like Sean Penn in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" - I catch myself laughing at some of the things he says, with that ting of a surfer dude accent. But what he does works - I truly HATED riding on stationary bikes before but no more, he knows how to get me in 'the zone.' Now we'll just see if it translates to the open road - I pick up my bike this weekend and Steve and I plan on doing a ride Saturday in Palo Duro Canyon State Park. I don't know what kind of trail he's taking me on, but I have a feeling he's going to want to push me a bit - I'm all for a good push now and then and now seems as good a time as any.

My first race is just 10 days, 11 hours away! It will be in Albuquerque on April 20 and I'll be racing with a couple I met at camp. It includes mountain biking for about 10-15 miles and trail running/trekking for about 5-10 miles - we won't know exactly until the day of the race. I'm nervous yet excited all at the same time. On top of that, it's another item I can check off of my 'dream list.' It's funny, I keep checking things off of this list yet it keeps getting longer - at this rate I'll be 80 before I finish the darn thing. (hey, that was one of my goals... to be doing stuff like this when I am 80. Let's hope I don't finish the list before then!)

The other night I decided to lay out a schedule of all the races I plan on doing this summer - it was then that I realized that this is going to be a crazy summer... and a lot of fun! I'm going to post it on my blog with the thought that this will keep me accountable to all of you and that I might actually RUN these races. :-)

Registered/Confirmed:

• April 20: New Mexico Adventure Racing Club Sprint #1 - I'll be racing with Jerry and Linda, a couple I met at camp. First adventure race for all of us!
• May 3: Take 5 in the Garden- a 5 mile, very hilly run in the Garden of the Gods. I actually enjoy running hills - it's probably because I get the reward of a fun, downhill run after the climb. :-)
• May 10: Gravity Play Buena Vista Adventure Race - I'll be working as a volunteer for this race. This is the same group that put on the camp I attended, it will be a great introduction to what a longer race involves and what to expect when I run one of their races.
• May 26: Bolder Boulder 10K - this race was one of my first goals when I began to lose weight. I'll be running this with a group from work. I keep hearing how much fun it is, can't wait to experience it myself!
  

Tentative:

• June 8 OR July 12: New Mexico Adventure Racing Club Sprint #2 OR #3 - I'll be running one of these races with my brother Steve. We need to finalize the date but he seems pretty excited to be doing a race.
• June 21 - July 2: Primal Quest - I might be on the support team for a team running this amazing race (it's a huge race, kind of the ultimate challenge of all the adventure races) It would probably be just a few days, but what a great way to spend those days!
  
• July 26-27: Gravity Play - Summit County Adventure Race: I want to do either their sprint or 12 hour race but need to find a partner/team that is willing to put up with a slow newbie (Anyone out there interested??)
• September 6: Gravity Play - Vail Adventure Race: Would like to do the 12 hour race for this one, but once again need a partner/team. Anyone??
• October 19: Denver Half Marathon - this is REALLY tentative, not sure I want to take on a half marathon. A lot depends on how the summer goes.
• November 16: San Antonio Rock n Roll Marathon - I'm more likely to run this half marathon. I would get to visit my Aunt and Uncle and run at a beautiful location (that just happens to be at a much lower altitude than Colorado - you would be amazed how much of a difference that makes!)
  

Did I mention I also have a goal of climbing 10 14ers? And who knows what else might come up - I like having a schedule but I also want to be flexible and open to trying something/anything new. I might as well add more to my dream list - I don't want to get bored, do I?