Ladies' Mountain Bike Weekend at Fire Mountain

Man, this was SUCH a fun weekend!

It all came about during a SORBA ladies' ride a few weeks ago, and several of the girls (i.e. everyone but me) were discussing doing this event (Fire Mountain Women's Enduro). They talked about getting a cabin for the weekend, riding on Saturday, and doing the race on Sunday. I thought about it, and decided on a whim to join them - my first Enduro (i.e. "real" mountain bike race).

Educational Sidebar: An "enduro" is a combination of endurance and downhill racing. You ride the entire course (i.e. you don't get shuttled up to the top of the mountain) but you're only timed on the downhill sections ("stages"). Results are based on the cumulative time of all stages combined.

Anyway, I'm NOT a downhill racer. I'm much better at slow and steady pedaling up hills, and not so good at bombing down a mountain. I had zero expectations going into the event, and met all zero of them. 😜

We had a crew of 6 going up on Friday, and 4 of us carpooled together starting after work. We got up to the cabin around 8:30pm and finally headed to dinner at Nantahala Brewing Company around 9pm. The food was eh, and I was wayyyy tired, but we still made it up until about 1am just hanging out at the cabin after we got back.

Home for the weekend

The next morning, had some awesome breakfast casserole then rolled out to the trails to meet some others who had driven up that morning. Rode together for several hours and got in 9.2 miles with 1,400 ft of climbing, with plenty of stops and socializing. It was supposed to be rainy the entire day, so we were pleasantly surprised that we stayed dry and relatively warm!

After a great morning/midday of riding, we headed to the cabin to drop off bikes and do a quick-change before heading into Sylva for their 3rd Annual Brew Hop festival - yep, beer festival during ladies' bike weekend = perfect timing! We enjoyed a just-enough-but-not-too-much afternoon of yummy beers and food in the lovely town of Sylva, NC (who would have thought??) then ended the night with some mexican food before crashing relatively early back at the cabin.

The next day, it was the Big Event. We got up to the trails and loaded up in the COLD (32F) weather, had our pre-ride meeting, and then we were off! The start of an enduro is pretty low-key since your timing to get UP the mountain doesn't matter at all. We casually rolled out about 10 minutes after the official "go". We'd all bundled up pretty heavily, but by the end of the first climb, we were all definitely warm!

We hung out at the top for a while, then started out on our first downhill run! It was long (10+  minutes for me) but exhilarating! Next we had to turn up and go back up the same way again, then down another fun downhill for Stage 2. The "climb" to Stage 3 was minimal, and Stage 3 was also very short. Finally we had one last climb up the mountain followed by a long Stage 4 downhill to finish.

Whee! Total of 14.2 miles with 2,100+ feet of climbing.

Mountain x3

So, the results?

LAST in my category, but there were at least 3 slower people overall... so I'll take it. Besides, a field of only 26 total racers was pretty small, so I definitely did not expect to place. I'm proud of myself for getting out of my comfort zone, doing the race, and actually not falling over!

Considering doing a few more of these this year... but I need to work on my downhill skills for sure.

Action-packed Easter

Monday
Did: strength
Had to reduce the superset activities because my PT exercises are taking over and occupying ALL of my workout time. *sigh* Was a good session, though, but I did something to my right shoulder and now it hurts. It's always something!

Tuesday
Did: #10kTuesday treadmill ladder - 58th consecutive week
I posted to the early downtown group last night but as of this morning, the only person who'd said they'd be there had backed out... and I'm just not brave enough to attempt downtown in the early morning hours by myself. So into work I went and actually KILLED it on the treadmill with a ladder workout @ 5k pace.

10k PR is 47:39 and I was below 46 minutes when I hit 5.9 miles. JUST SAYIN'

Yeah. By the time I'd reached my cooldown, I could have easily pressed onward at a faster pace and gotten a PR for a 10k. WHAT? However, I refuse to PR on the treadmill, so I slowed down and cooled down as I'd planned. BUT STILL. 0_0

Wednesday
Did: 10.5 mi @ 16.0 mph road bike ride
Solo road ride today, did the hill + USC Upstate loop. Managed 16 mph average despite 10+mph headwinds for part of the ride! BLEH. Felt nice though, even though the sun didn't come out as I'd hoped.

Thursday
Did: 4.5 mi @ 8:32/mi cross-country run
Didn't feel like speedwork today, plus had a hard run Tuesday that my legs are STILL a little sore from (what??) so I decided on an "easy" (yeah right) run at lunch on the cross-country trails. Was a gorgeous spring day and really just wanted to get out in the sunshine a bit. Felt so nice!

Friday - Holiday!
Did: 16.5 mi mountain biking
The rare treat when daycare is open but work is on holiday = mountain biking for mom & dad! We went to Tsali (near Bryson City / Cherokee NC) and enjoyed a great day on the trails. We got sprinkled on a little bit, but the sun came out towards the end of our ride and it was just perfect. The trail system consists of 4 loops (Left, Right, Mouse, and Thompson), but only 2 are open to bikes on any given day. We got to ride Left and Right loop. We started on Left loop with the knowledge that Right loop has several opportunities for short-cuts if we got tired.

River and reservoir that Left Loop went around

At the top of Left Loop.

We did an extra little side-loop to see the overlook... it was worth it!

Bikes at the overlook

Gorgeous view

We finished up Left Loop and proceeded to the next intersection where we decided we'd tackle Right Loop. We ended up doing ALL of Right Loop for a total of 16.5 miles and 1,500 ft of climbing!

Decisions, decisions

Got a little muddy

Yep. Mud.

Felt really good about this ride and excited for next weekend - I've signed up for the Fire Mountain Enduro, and all-women's mountain bike race. My first "real" mountain bike race. Eeeek!

Saturday
Did: rest
I'd thought of doing a long stroller run today, but realized I hadn't had a rest day all week so decided to be lazy.

Sunday - Easter
Did: 12.01 mi @ 9:28/mi avg
After not getting a long run yesterday, I got the wild idea to run Altamont from the house (9 miles round-trip) when we got home from Easter Sunday church service. A few miles into the run, I then decided "Hmm, I kind of want 12 miles today."
So I did.

The Mountain.

Ran up and back, total ascent time 23:26, then did a loop around Furman to get to 12 total.

I made it!

Felt great, but didn't realize the warm Easter sunshine gave me a sweet head start on my sports bra tan for the summer.

Ouch.

Whoops. Gotta remember the sunscreen from now on!

Normal week?

Monday
Did: strength

Good session today, and probably going to be sore tomorrow due to not lifting last week. Whee!

Tuesday
Did: 6.24 mi @ 7:57/mi avg
Whew, thank you early downtown run group for pushing this into a tempo run! Man I had to work hard for this, but totally worth it. Ran in the early morning fog/humidity and it was like running through pea soup, but at least it wasn't HOT. Just humid. Had a nice group and they were cool enough to take my suggested route edits to make a perfect #10kTuesday. Yessss!

PT Appointment
I also had an afternoon PT appointment, and honestly, I should count it as a second workout for the day because the therapist kicked my BUTT. I was sweating for almost an hour of core exercises. Lots of work on the stability ball, some stretches, and some "tests" with planking. I held a low plank for almost 2.5 minutes, and then a little over a minute each of side planks (elbows) and supine plank (also elbows). That was hard. But hey, if it was easy, it probably wouldn't be doing anything!

Wednesday
Did: 4.65 mi @ 8:45/mi avg, 8x hill repeats
Originally wanted to bike today, but with 15-20mph wind gusts, I opted to put it off until tomorrow. So, hill repeats it is! I'm focusing on hills for the next 3 weeks leading up to the Ville-to-Ville Relay on April 14th. I'm running the "Hillman" leg, so need to get lots of elevation under my belt.

The Hillman

I trotted over to USC Upstate and ran down and up both sides of the little "valley" near campus 4 times, making a total of 8 hill repeats. They aren't as long as they should be for really good hill repeats, but they certainly get the heartrate pumping.

Yep. Heartrate hills!

Happy that each of my splits for the hills were sub-7! The last one just barely, but hey, it counts.

Followed this by my PT workouts on the stability ball - tough stuff!

Friday
Did: nothing

Saturday
Did: Milliken Earth Run 5k
Not bothering with a race report for this one - it's our "home court" cross-country 5k event at work for the Corporate Shield series. I'm always on the race organizing team. I didn't feel well yesterday, so didn't really intend to race today. Still pulled off a (barely) sub-25 time, which I was happy about considering the circumstances, plus the rain held off and it turned out to be a great day for the race!

The home team

Sunday
Did: 7.9 mi mountain biking @ 6.8 mph avg moving speed
Today was a Ladies' Ride at Dupont. The forecast was temps hovering between freezing and 40F, and we ended up with just that... and getting pelted with ice about halfway through the ride! Was a great time in the woods with lady shredders, and enjoyed camaraderie afterwards at Swamp Rabbit Brewery. Fun day!

Foggy

Rock Quarry

Nice views!

Edited to add: more group pics from the rock quarry!

 

 

European #10kTuesday

[Written and back-dated after trip]

I was in Europe for a work trip from 3/10-3/17, and the only exercise I did (other than walking around from place to place and through airports) was, of course, #10kTuesday because HELLO it's not optional.

I was in Gent, Belgium for a few days, and started out the run on the hotel's solitary treadmill. The "gym" is really more of an awkward alcove in a hallway where they've stuck a treadmill, a stationary bike, and an elliptical. Despite how safe and comfortable the city is, I really didn't feel comfortable venturing out on my own in the dark early morning hours. Plus, it was cold (43F) and raining steadily.

So, awkward stuffy treadmill it was... and UGH it was terrible. I suffered through 8k until I saw the slightest bit of dawn outside the window.

Ugh.

/feelings

Walked out the door to the chilly rain and set off on a loop that I knew would be approximately the right distance for the remaining 2k of my run.

Ah, much better!

Het Belfort van Gent

And I earned a new #10kTuesday pin on the map!

#thesensationthatssweepingtheGLOBE

Definitely not a fast one for the record books but one for the memory books certainly.

Busy. And Rainy.

Monday
Did: strength
This was an after lunch session, not my usual morning session, so I was dragging a little. Turned out good, though! I made the recommended adjustments per the physical therapist's recommendations (no deadlifts 😭, no crunches, 50# for squats) and brought back the pull-ups and tri-dips. Having to start over on those (30# counter-weight) but hey, it'll be good to build that back up and focus on good form.

I do miss my ab workouts, though. *sigh*

Tuesday
Did: #10kTuesday treadmill progression
Ran indoors due to rain predicted for ALL DAY but of course when I arrived at work this morning it was barely drizzling. Ugh. Oh well. I was not motivated for this run - woke up so tired and just wanted to sleeeeeep. I thought of various intervals I might try but ended up settling for a progression run. Ticked the pace 0:30/mi faster each mile, started at 9:30/mi and did 5 miles that way, then did a final 800 at just under a 7:00/mi pace. That was hard.

Progression.

Again, though... very happy to knock this one out in the morning. Makes the alarm clock worth it.

Wednesday
Did: nothing
Morning dentist appointment and busy workday.

Thursday
Did: 4.66 mi @ 8:26/mi 
Just a regular ol' run. Outside! It was chilly but nice. Felt good to just go run with no goals.

Friday
Did: nothing
Insane day at work, and I leave the country tomorrow.

Saturday
Did: 24 mi bike ride
Family bike ride on the Swamp Rabbit! Our original plan was to ride the watershed, but calculating the logistical timing of everything revealed that we didn't have enough time to get that done before I needed to leave the house... so we opted for a family ride on the trail instead. We rode to downtown, to the YMCA, intended to stop at the playground near the zoo except *somebody* fell asleep in his bike trailer, so we continued on back to the house. It was a nice ride, and a gorgeous day!

Sunday
Did: lots of walking in Gent, Belgium
Saturday afternoon I flew to Belgium, which put me arriving here at about 8:30 this morning. I only got like 3 hours of sleep but I've already gotten my 10k steps and it's only just after 9am at home. Hee! Yay walking in a beautiful city.

Love this.

Week Summary:
One bike, one strength, and only a little over 10 miles of running. Not a great week but hey, I'm healthy and happy, so I can't really complain.

Another good week.

Monday
Did: strength
Another good session. Closing in on 100% bodyweight for squats... little over 90% there. WOOT.

Feeling GOOD.

I try not to post too many topless selfies, but I'm proud of the work I've done and want to document it, darn it!

Tuesday
Did: 6.23 mi @ 8:52/mi avg w/ stroller
Had to do this one after work in TR with the little man after I picked him up. We didn't get started in time to do one half then join the Pint & Pie crew, but we finished the overall 10k in time to get a table with them... which was a good thing because Sidewall Pizza was PACKED. I'm getting ahead of myself...
Started off fine, decided we'd run to the far north end of the SRT then turn around and do whatever additional was needed to get the full 6.2 miles. Just after the turn-around, D goes "Mommy, I need go potty!"
Cue panic. We're nowhere near anything other than a gas station, so we go in and discover their only restroom is out of order. GREAT. There's nothing more heart-breaking than telling your potty-training toddler "Sorry, we don't have a potty..." essentially telling him he'll just have to poop in his pants. He was thankfully wearing a pull-up, but still, not pleasant. And then, after the run, having to clean him up and change him in a restaurant bathroom. Gah, what chaos. But we did it, and enjoyed delicious pizza, even though we stayed out wayyyy past bedtime.

Pizza + Running = perfect date night

I also had my first physical therapy appointment earlier today, which went much better than expected!

Wednesday
Did: 11.0 mi stationary bike
Blah, rain today. So indoor bike again! Did the "intervals" program and pushed  hard on the last 30s of each 2-min high-resistance interval. It was fine. Also, my hip flexors are sore, so I guess PT yesterday really worked something!

Thursday
Did: 4.65 mi @ 8:07/mi avg #speedworkThursday
Treadmilled it today for the 3x3x400 workout that I did a few weeks ago.
3x400 10k pace
3x400 5k pace
3x400 1M pace
200 between each 400
400 between each set of 3

Yassss love this routine. The intervals are short enough that I it doesn't seem daunting, but the total distance is a nice amount and the gradual build to the hard push at the end is awesome.

Yep, those are intervals.

Also found a new training anthem... Imagine Dragons - 'Whatever it Takes'. The chorus just pumps me up and gives me that push to work hard!

Whatever it takes

'Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins

I do whatever it takes

'Cause I love how it feels when I break the chains

Whatever it takes

Take me to the top, I'm ready for

Whatever it takes

'Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins

I do what it takes

🙌

Friday

Did: #yogaFriday

Saturday
Did: 5.32 mi trail run 
A fun and different Saturday activity - headed up to the Blue Ridge Parkway with Megan, Robin, & Dale to run on the Mountains-to-Sea trail. It's part of the first leg of the Ville-to-Ville Relay that we're all doing in April, and Robin (who's doing Leg #1) was eager to test out the terrain. It was a great opportunity/excuse to head up to Asheville for the day! We ran a simple out-and-back for a total of 4 miles together, then Megan & I did an extra 1-mile loop near the parking area. It was a gorgeous day and we all had a great time.

Dale comin' down the mountain

Robin high-steppin' down the trail

Mountains-to-Sea Trail

Plus, the beer at Catawba Brewing and Burial Brewing afterwards didn't hurt, either! ;)

Sunday
Did: 24.2 mi road bike ride
I'd thought about getting in a solid hour ride before meeting up with Robin, Dale, and Megan, but my legs were more tired than I'd expected them to be after yesterday's trail efforts, so I opted for a short spin through Green Valley before heading to Furman to meet up. We rolled out towards Little Texas and conquered the roller coaster road that is Little Texas Rd. It was worth it for the beautiful sunshine and distant mountain views!

Megan wheeling past some beautiful bradford pear trees!

Dale & Robin coming into the turn 

After we got back to TR they headed back to campus via the Swamp Rabbit and I headed home on McElhaney / Old White Horse. A beautiful morning to ride!

Summary:
Short on the running distance this week (16.2) due to trail running instead of long-running this weekend. But got 2x bike rides, strength, and yoga! Another good week.