Let me be the first of many to extend a HUGE congratulations to Core Concepts! Every year Polartec awards several high tech garments their prestigious Apex Award. This year Core Concepts Carve Full Zip jacket is sharing the podium with other stellar companies including Patagonia, Marmot, and Merrell.

As an avid wearer of the Carve Full Zip jacket let me just say this coat is top notch and extremely deserving of the Apex award. I have been product testing it for the last few months and have yet to uncover a flaw. It fabric is divine for us women, and the stylish details will leave your friends drooling…like my friends are! Right friends? Don’t worry, the Carve Full Zip goes on sale in September.

Congratulations to the Core Concepts crew and especially to owners Noah and Erin! You have been such a joy to work with and I know that as the years go by Core Concepts will become a household name in outdoor apparel. Keep up the great work and I can’t wait to see the Carve Full Zip walking around the streets of Boulder, or on the slopes in Vail. Because, when it comes to ‘Active. Life. Style’ you guys nailed it!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to introduce to you an AWESOME new company that I am going to be doing some product testing for. Core Concepts Clothing. Their products arose out of Idaho from a fundamental desire to get outside and play whenever time exists to do so. They have bridged the gap between function and style and I can’t wait to get to wearing their base layers. Core Concepts will be releasing their 2008 women’s line in Fall 2008 and you can bet your bananas that you are going to want to be first in line to pick up some of their hot-chick clothes (especially after you have to trounce around with me all summer wearing their cute new stuff).

Like check out the Spellbound Soft Shell. You just don’t find technical jackets using Wind-proof Schoeller-WB400 fabric that look this hot on a girl. It’s like totally P-Coat style.

What excites me even more about Core Concepts is that they have taken the challenge of environmental consciousness seriously. They contribute to 1% for the planet which can be super tough for a newer company. Also, they use Bamboo and Recycled Products, along with purchasing bluesign products. All of us outdoorsy folks know that when you buy a piece of technical clothing it’s a very conscious decision. The folks at Core Concepts take your decision very seriously.

I will be reviewing some of their products throughout the summer so I urge you to come out and hike, bike and run with me to check them out too.

It matches my blog!

Tell me that the new Garmin Forerunner 405 isn’t absolutely awesome looking. Go ahead…try, yea, that’s what I thought, you can’t even say it. The new Forerunner is HOT HOT HOT! The last two versions were a bit more lets say…large…maybe clunky is the word. But we still bought them, and we wore them, and we used them. Why? Because WE LIKE DATA. And there is nothing like knowing your pace and your distance.

We were set free by the Garmin Forerunner. No longer did we need to run routes that we “knew” the distance. Nor did we have to just “Run for Time”. Oh no, we could now step out the front door and just start running, letting our feet and heart take us were they may. And boy have they taken me places.

When we got home we knew it all…where we had gone, how far, how fast, how many calories. It was all there. Yet we just got to run, to let loose.

I was very lucky to have trained with a Garmin Forerunner 201 this past year, and I have loved it. It’s especially awesome to get back on the computer and review past runs and rides from months back. However, during the Beaver Creek Snowshoe Race #2 my Gamin suffered an injury. It got torn from it’s wrist strap during one of my many falls. Ever since I have been forced to train with it in my pocket (or sportsbra) b/c it’s doesn’t have a strap any more, nor does it have the pins to hold a replacement strap on. So needless to say when I saw this new one on the market, I started drooling green. The only problem…

Suggested Retail Price: $318.74

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The Cabbage Head Duathlon is a 5K Run, 30K Bike and 5K Run Event. Super Fun!!
Photos by Roger Wieck

Today was the final installment in the Mile High Duathlon Series. I really enjoyed the previous two races so I was excited to finish off the third with a bang. They give away a series award to the person in each age group who accumulates the most series points. You are awarded points for how well you finish in each race. I was tied with another lady going into this race. This makes things particularly dicey. I have a bit of a competitive streak in me, so let’s just say I was gunning to beat a “certain someone” today, and she shall remain nameless.

I like duathlons b/c I don’t have to swim :). It makes transition easy :).

After a beautiful drive up to Wiggins (again BFE) Colorado, I decided to give our friend Chris a call. After all, it was 7am on a Saturday. I woke him up and convinced him to get in his car in the next 20 minutes and drive to Wiggins (40 minutes away for him) to come cheer me on. He totally did it and even got here in time. Roger, my FIL, also called us on his way out of town saying he was heading out to watch. You have no idea what the support of Chris, Roger and Troy means to me. I can not put it into words. I was one of the only people there with a cheering section, and I am always so humbled by the fact that my friends and family get up early in the morning on a weekend to come and watch me race. By the way, at the end of this race several people were asking who “Sonja” was, and they were even called the lady who won “Sonja”. This was all because everyone heard my cheering crew. That’s how AWESOME they are!

The first 5K was fast, fast, fast. It was a hot day and the ladies in the lead were duking it out! I kept wondering who the girl in the lead was. She looked so familiar, but I couldn’t place her, and it was more than just a normal “seen her at a race” familiar. Humm. I finished the first 5K in fifth place, BUT I CAME OUT OF TRANSITION IN THE LEAD. That’s how smokin fast I was! My first transition time was 28 seconds and there were several men who had a faster first transition, but no women…not a one. HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I don’t know what but this just makes me laugh, b/c it’s like free time!

The bike was THE BOMB. I got passed by Heidi who is just the best person to race with b/c she says all these nice things to you when you pass her, and when she passes you. AND she always thinks of a new nice thing to say. She is like the Hallmark Card of Triathlon. I loved it. Plus, she’s just a super cool stud chic! Two months ago, at the Barkin Dog Duathlon, Heidi beat me by almost 3 minutes on the bike so I really wanted to stay with her today. I have been working so hard on my bike that I really wanted to push it here. We passed each other back and forth, back and forth. Always, a nice comment from Heidi…did I say how much I love this girl?? Somewhere in there Sabrina passed us like a bat leaving purgatory. Sabrina is the “familiar chic”. Again…where do I know her??? I continued to push hard. I knew that both girls are great runners and I needed to stick close to them if I had any chance in the run to get them. I biked like I have never biked before

Transition #2 was studly fast as well, but not as exciting b/c I didn’t pass 5 girls in it! I just put on my shoes and took off my helmet. Kinda basic.

The second run hurt. I couldn’t get my legs to return like they usually do. Even at the one mile mark, I still felt icky. It was hot, I was hot, I just didn’t have a lot left. It was a-okay though. I was happy.

I finished in 3rd place for the age-group women competitors. If you add in the Elite women (who go in a special wave ahead of the age groupers) then I was 6th overall woman. I had a better race than the lady I was tied with for the series award so I ended up winning that. I got a gift certificate to a Boulder bike shop…woo hoo! Heidi is in my age group so I ended up with 2nd in my age group

So after the race Heidi, Sabrina and a few other ladies were introducing ourselves and I remarked that Sabrina was rocking the house on the bike. I asked if her bike had a name and she said yea ‘The Bear Basher”. SUDDENLY it all became clear. Like two days ago I was reading an article about a triathlete who hit a bear on the bike course of the Boulder Peak Triathlon. Yea, she totally hit a bear and crashed her bike. The Boulder Peak triathlon is in two weeks and I am doing it this year. So now I know why she looked so familiar. HAHAHAHA! Here is the article

SHE HIT A BEAR!!!

Stats:
Total: 1:34:42
Run (5K): 20:36
T1: 0:28
Bike (30K): 49:36 (22.55 mph…I was going zoooooom)
T2: 0:32
Run (5K): 23:32
2nd in 25-29 women
3rd age-grouper woman
6th woman (including Elites)
55th finisher out of 250

Results

This morning we headed out to Bennett Colorado (BFE-Colorado) to race in the Big Sky Duathlon. The race sold out this year at around 300 competitors, which I guess is like 100 more than last year!

The race was a run/bike/run format with 4K’s on the Run and a 25K Bike. The run course was a two-loop run through a delightfully popular Bennett neighborhood (insert sarcasm). The ladies went out fast! At around 6:20 for the first mile I was in 9th. The Elite women had started in a separate heat (#1) and in the final heat (#4) was all the rest of us ladies. So yea, they went out fast, but it didn’t hold for most of them. By the second loop I was in 4th/5th…somewhere in there. As we headed into transition I was ready to get on the bike. We had all run a fast first run and the bike always makes me recover from the run. I had a really quick transition and came out of transition in 3rd.

The bike was a long out and back course with rolling hills. I passed a lady and was into 2nd. Then I got passed…twice, so back in 4th. This all happened by mile 4 on the bike. After that I settled into the bike and just tried to focus on keeping the ladies ahead in sight. By the turn-around point they had one minute on me. The bike back was like a bad stint in solitary confinement. The ladies ahead were out of sight. I wanted to catch them but they were clearly faster than I. So I just tried to stay mentally tough, stay in my zone, spin the legs hard, and think “go-go-go” “faster, faster, faster”. I took a glance behind me and didn’t see anyone back there either, so I was truly ALONE!

I came into transition…Troy was cheering, telling me I was in 4th. He was excited…I felt lonely! I had another quick transition and was off on the run. I didn’t have too much trouble this time getting the running legs going again, the first mile was around 6:40. BUT the girls ahead were out of sight. I didn’t see a single one of them, not even on the open stretches. I asked Troy where they were when I ran by him…he said about a minute, but it was actually about 2. There was just no way. Apparently the picture was the same behind me…no one!

The finish was uneventful as I was all by myself and since I was in wave #4 all the men were done and snacking, no cheering, just sort of boring. All in all I was happy with my performance, this race was a real mental test for me. To try to stay in the game when you are all alone is tough, but I know this will happen again in the future. A funny note…If I had been in the elite race I would have been 3rd, and I would have won a whopping $10.

Final Time: 1:19:02
Overall Place: 57
Female Place (non-elite): 4th
Female Place (with the elites added in): 6th
Age Group Place (25-29): 2nd
1st Run (4K): 15:45 (6:20 pace)
Transition #1: 0:48
Bike (25K): 44:45 (20.8 mph pace)
Transition #2: 0:46
2nd Run: 17:10 (6:54 pace)

I had two races this weekend, the Barkin’ Dog Duathlon and the Title 9K for Mothers Day. All pictures above were taken by my FIL at the Title 9K race today.

Barkin’ Dog Duathlon. It was to be a really warm weekend, and it started off HOT. The Barkin’ Dog Du was a 5K-run/30K-bike/5K-run event. Kinda like a triathlon but replace the swim with a 5K run. Arriving at the race site was a bit intimidating, it felt like everyone had such fancy bikes and they all looked like they were in such great shape. I found what I thought was a good spot in transition and racked my bike and set out my bike shoes, helmet, and water bottle. The race was to start in waves with the Elite competitors first, and then all the men, and relay teams, then the 35 and under women, and then the 35 and over women. After about a 25 minute late start we were off. I didn’t want to run too hard in the first 5K because I knew that I had so much more of the race to go. I had forgotten my watch so I had to go off how I felt. I felt good, I raced hard, but I felt like I left quite a bit too. I came out of the 5K somewhere around 9th in the heat. I tried to make my transition as quick as possible, off with sunglasses, off with hat, throw hat on ground, on with helmet, on with glasses, off with running shoes, on with bike shoes, grab the bike, run out of transition…it took about 1:07, not too shabby.

Onto the bike and cruising’. The bike was about 18 miles, and went around cherry creek and up and over the Dam road and back. I got passed by a few ladies, and I passed a few myself. I felt like I really held my own on the bike, especially for my first time. I learned a few lessons, I need a hydration system. Being on the aero-bars the whole time makes it hard to drink from a caged water bottle, I need an aero-bottle. Also, I need a better system for tying on the race number to the bike. After a mile or so the wind hit my bike race number and made it hit my leg every pedal stroke, ouch, so I had to rip it off. Probably not a legal thing to do in a bigger race.

After the bike it was back to transition, quickly into running shoes and off, but this time it felt horrible. Your legs feel like lead weights after the bike and it’s slow going to get them moving. After about a mile I was back and going. I managed to pass many men and one woman. Coming down the finish stretch a guy yelled to the dude ahead of me that he better speed up or he was going to get passed by a girl…but to me the funny thing was that if he was a man, he had started in a heat AT LEAST 7 minutes ahead of me, so really…I had passed him LONG AGO. All in all it was a great first race, a few lessons learned and a really tough effort.

Results:
First 5K Run: 21:38
First Transition: 1:07
30K bike: 51:57 (average 21.528 miles per hour)
Second Transition: 1:06
Second 5K Run: 23:07
126/479 in the race
13th woman (non-elite)
3rd in 25-29 age group (women - not elite)

Mother’s Day Title 9K. I was having a bit of trouble getting going this morning. I had a rough night last night trying to recover from the duathlon. It took a toll on my body and I needed a nap and lots of food to get things on the healing side. I woke up this morning with no appetite, and felt sick to my stomach. We got to the race site really early and had a rice walk around before anyone got there. Once people started getting there and I met up with some Mountain Mamas I was feeling better. I got Annie loaded up and with a little bit of a late start we were all off. There were TONS of women in this race and the start was really slow. It felt like eons before I was able to get around people and get going with my pace. Once in the clear I was off. It was hard running with Annie, I haven’t done it in awhile. She fell asleep for a bit. Troy was riding his bike and so I saw him many times on the course. Even Roger and Marla (FIL and MIL) showed up to cheer and take pics. I started picking off baby jogger after baby jogger and finally got to a place that I was amongst runners of my pace.

In the end there were three of us baby joggers battling it out for what we thought was the first baby jogger spot. I ended up second in the group after a long hard push to the finish. Little did we know there was a baby jogger like 5 1/2 minutes ahead. So I finished as the third baby jogger. I think my official time was 45:02, they said like 8:04 min mile pace. Here is the data from my watch, it’s pretty funny!

Results:
Overall in Race: 47th out of 1627
Official Time: 45:02
Category: Jogger: 3rd of 111
Time to get to the start line: 0:58
Mile 1: 10:18
Mile 2: 7:22
Mile 3: 7:18
Mile 4: 7:49
Mile 5: 7:44
Last 0.52: 3:35

Yea! So…pretty wild! We had a great time after the race hanging out with Mountain Mamas and their families, it was great to meet some of the husbands of the women I adore. Also, after the race I felt like a whole new woman, I felt recovered from the previous day, like this was just what I needed to get rid of my funk. Good Times.

Today was the last of three races in the Chilly Cheeks Duathlon series. When we arrived at Cherry Creek state Park the temp was about 25, but it quickly warmed up. By race time it was probably in the mid 30’s. We started in heats A-Z, I was in G. First off was a 10.8 mile bike ride, it was the same course as the other duathlons. I forgot to switch back to my clip-less pedals, so I was in my running shoes, with pedals with toe clips. Less than ideal, but worked just fine. Transition was interesting, you racked your bike and then had to run to the end of the transition area, tag a poster that said “Tag Me”, turn around, run back through transition and out the same way you biked in. I guess there was too much snow to have a normal transition, so that was what they came up with. The penalty for not tagging the sign was 30 minutes on your time! Eek.
The start of the run was TOUGH, I felt like a brick. It’s a very strange feeling to get off the bike and try to make your legs run. It doesn’t quite work. So I trudged along, waiting for my legs to wake up. I downed a packet of HammerGel, and things started feeling better, I passed a few ladies, and then a few guys, and FINALLY my legs came back to me. Whew. Then I flew, I flew as fast as I could. The race officials had shortened the course to 2.5 mile run due to some crusty snow drifts that they didn’t want us running through. So I knew I could haul tail and I wouldn’t bonk, b/c the distance was short enough. So I went. We had a long stretch of snow, which was crusty enough that I was able to cruise through it. Then we hit the road for the last mile and I was able to let it all loose. The finish was on an uphill which made things less than spectacular, but it was still a great race and a really nice course.

The stats: Time 59:06…felt good to be under 1 hour! I won the fat tire division for the ladies. That made 3 fat tire wins in a row, so I “took” the whole series in that division! I was the 6th female, regardless of division (so in competition with the road bikers). I was the 6th fat tire overall (so including the men). They gave away series awards at the end and I scored a whole bottle of hammer gel, and big tub of HEED (high energy endurance drink by HammerGel) for my win in the 0-39 fat tire age group.

A special thanks to Troy and Annie for being my ever constant “cheerers” and “supporters”.
Also a big thanks to Racing Underground Events and Timing. They did an absolutely wonderful job at putting this very successful series together. These events run like clockwork, but with a very relaxed, easy going feel to them. They think of everything, and have become familiar faces. Awesome job to them!

I ran the second installment of the Chilly Cheeks Duathlon Today. The course was completely snow covered. Here is a description of the course that the race director posted Thursday evening:

Run-1: Approximately 1.5 miles in length. Starts on the road for approximately 0.5 miles. The road here is 100 percent snowpacked, and may be a little slippery in spots. The course then moves onto park trails which are a mix of packed snow trails, and a couple of short stretches where my footprints are the only ones. I will pack-out those stretches with snowshoes on race morning, but expect the final mile of the first run to be a fun challenge.

Oh, I said I would pack it down, but don’t expect too much. It will still be very uneven. I had a blast out there today!!! Plan on a 1.5 mile time that is similar to what you would run for 2.5 miles.

Bike-1: Approximately 4 miles, of which 90+ percent is currently hard-packed snow. The final 0.5 miles into transition are a little rutted. It is supposed to be above freezing and sunny on Friday, so the snow pack may get a little slippery in spots. I would use a mountain bike if I were racing, but the decision is completely yours. I am definitely recommending that everyone stay off the aerobars!

Transition-2: The parking lot for this transition is partially plowed. I have asked to have the rest of it plowed for race day, but there may be up to 6 inches of soft powder in this transition.

Run-2: Approximately 2.5 miles in length. We have switched it from a loop to an out-and-back because it will be more runnable for everyone. From the look of things, this stretch has already been used by several hundred walkers and runners, so it is a wide, well-packed trail. I comfortably jogged it at about a 7:30 pace today.

Bike-2: Approximately 6 miles in length. Again, 90 percent snowpacked roadway.

Run-3: approximately 25-50 meters in length. Just rack your bike in the main transition and run to the finish. It will be snowpacked.

They started the race in a series of 8 heats, which took off 2 minutes apart. I was in the 6th heat, and heats were chosen randomly. In run 1 I was the first lady off the starting line and throughout the 1.5 miles was able to catch up to people in several of the heats ahead of me. The course was shin deep power that sent your feet every which way. I am used to this with the snowshoe racing, so I just cranked through it. I passed a lot of people walking and cussing. People seemed to hate it, and it was quite painful when your feet are going everywhere and you are fighting just to keep from falling down, but it’s all about attitude, and mine was of pure fun and enjoyment.
Bike 1 was fun, I was wearing my Ipod, so I matched my cadence to my songs and cranked up the resistance…just like spin class.
Run 2 was wild, the first 1/4 mile was on an icy road, then it went to a snow packed trail, but the trail was only packed WELL about 1 foot across. On the way up one of the hills a guy running downhill assumed I would step off the 1 foot packed portion for him and he ran into me so hard it knocked me off the trail, and almost knocked me down. AND I had stepped half way off for him..just thought we should split the trail…seems obvious. I yelled a *very* nasty word that starts with F and ends with “er”, and took it as an excuse to run harder. The run was out and back, so I started counting how many women were in front of me, there were 4. Not that it matters, because we started in heats, so it’s all a little confusing. However, since I was in the 6th heat and no woman had passed me, I knew if I passed ladies, that they were from heats before me. At the turn around in the run I passed the 4th girl, but the other three seemed to be too far ahead.
Back to the bikes, I had a really quick transition, passed a few guys just by being quicker to put on my helmit, and was off. Once again, matching my cadence with the tempo of my ipod worked wonders. I was able to pass 4 guys on the ride back.
The last run is only 30 meters, so essentially you throw your bike on the transition rack and RUN…helmet and all! For the first time in all the races I have been running I won something. At this race the race director just hands random people prizes as they finish, and he handed me an awesome Orange GoLite shirt in Women’s Large, it fits perrrfect. I was sooo stoked about this and did a little happy dance at the finish line. I felt GREAT during this race. I felt like my body and mind loved the adversity. I really think I race better when the conditions are crazy, I just find it fun. Last night I was really worried about riding my bike on the ice. I fell on my bike about a month ago on the ice, and so I felt a bit skittish. But this morning I woke up feeling that “If I fall, then I fall, no bigee“. And, I didn’t, in fact I felt really stable on the ice.
Results came out this evening and it turns out I was the second Woman overall! My time was 1:18.17. The first woman was 7 seconds ahead, the 3rd woman was 3 behind. If only we had all been in the same heat, then we would really know who’s the bomb, but with this format, I’m sure that we all had to run our races pretty much in isolation. Too Bad. I was the 29th person overall in the race (out of 115). I once again held the title of fastest woman in the fat tire division. Allthough, allmost everyone chose to ride their mountain bikes today (your classification depends on what bike you will ride for all three races, so people in the open division can choose to ride a road bike or a mountain bike depending on the conditions, whereas I MUST ride my mountain bike for all three races…I did this b/c I don’t own a road bike :)…YET!).

I have two races this weekend and the nerves are starting to build up a little bit. On Saturday I have the second installment of the Chilly Cheeks Duathlon. Last month was the first installment and I won the mountain bike division for the ladies (there was only 5 of us :)). I drove the bike course yesterday and it’s 95% covered with snow and ice. I am praying that they make a last minute change to the course, but they haven’t posted anything on the website. The race is a 1.5 mile run, followed by a 4 mile bike, then to a 2.5 mile run, and finishes with a 6 mile bike. Three transitions should be positively crazy!

On Sunday I am running the Frosty’s Frozen 5 Mile. This is also the second installment of the “Winter Distance Series”. I didn’t run the first installment though. My friend Lindsay convinced me to run the last two. She signed up for the entire series. I’m excited about the 5 mile, it’s a bit longer race than the 5K’s (3.1 mile) that I’m used to. Lindsay did great on the last race, and we seem to run right about the same pace, so I’m excited to run with her.

So, wish me luck this weekend. It’s supposed to snow the entire weekend, so my warm weather active gear is probably going to get some good use. I am really excited that both these races are in the Denver area. I’m not quite ready to jaunt back into the mountains after the car accident two weekends ago.