So I have to give Tyler a little shout out. He’s caught the blogging bug and I’m lovin’ it. My friend Tyler is one of the most fun guys I know to hang around. He’s got a great head on his shoulders and knows how to work hard when he needs to. He’s the one coming up with the Alphabet Game to play on long bike rides (you’ll have to join us to know about that one), but when it comes time to climb, the boy drops the hammer.

His triathlon blog is great and I strongly urge you all to meander on over and check it out. Leave a little comment love and let him know what he’s doing is inspiring. He’s a dad of three and with the support of his wife Anne he fits it ALL in.

He’s always willing to throw in a little Booo-Yaa to the mix. Enthusiasm, exuberance, yet kindness and inclusiveness are constants with Tyler. He’s just a class act dude.

He ends every post with “I love you Anne” which just makes my heart melt. Check out his blog here.

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.

(Mom and I after the race)

I slept great the night before the race. Like REALLY good. I was afraid that I was getting a little too used to sleeping without a two year old in my bed constantly asking for milk, sticking her finger in my ear, stealing my pillow and kicking me. I had four nights of good sleep, I think that’s the first time in 2.5 years. Steve and I planned to leave for the race at 7am, and we brought along with us Myra and Patty. Myra and Patty were from Portland and they were just great ladies, so upbeat and fun to be around. They were without a car so it was great to be able to give them a lift up to the race site so they didn’t have to take the shuttle.

The race was at Snow Basin Ski Resort. Dad and I skiied there on Friday and it is quite the hidden gem in the Salt Lake City area. Great Resort. XTERRA was hosting the events all weekend and they did a fantastic job with organization and announcing. I think the weekends races will air on TV, although I need to do a little more research on when and where.

After laying down and resting in the lodge for a few hours it was time to get ready. The course was relatively flat, and the snow was very hard so I knew it would be a fast course. A good long warm-up was necessary b/c I would need to go hard from start to finish. I got in a great 25 minute warm up and was able to watch part of the mens race that had started 45 minutes before the women. Steve was doing a great job, he looked really strong, and definitely looked to be in the top three in his age group.

A few race nerves, really my first of the day, started to set in as we got on the start line. It was the kind of nerves that help you get off to a good strong start, so I was happy they appeared. I have had some races recently where I have no nervous energy on the start line and in those cases it usually takes me a while to get going. I am learning that a few nerves before the gun goes off is a good thing.

They counted us down from ten and when we all took off it was a sea of Atlas. It seemed every athlete that was sponsored by Atlas was there, and in bright yellow. Here are two pictures so you see what I mean. The two ladies in black are Myra, and me!

As some of you may remember I applied for the Atlas team this year and wasn’t accepted. I’m a little glad now, as I see those Atlas outfits as a target.

I got out well and as things spread out I was immediately in 5th. I felt great, I could breathe (altitude was only 6,000 ft) and things were just coming together. Around mile 1 the camera man on the snowmobile was filming me, and it was nasty. The fumes were all you could smell and I remember thinking “Peaceful snowshoeing, yea right”. Luckily he went off to film someone else. Around mile two some action was happening. The lady behind me was making a move on me and the lady in front of me was within passing range. I was in fifth and I could see that very soon I could be in forth or I could slip to sixth. As the lady behind me passed me, I passed the lady in front of me and remined in fifth. I remember thinking…That worked out well. The new lady in front of me was an awesome up hill runner, whereas I am a bit faster on the down hills. We had a lot of uphill ahead of us so she pulled some distance on me.

When we were finishing up the first loop I saw Steve cooling down and he shouted to me that the second loop was much quicker. What a relief. That was just what I needed to hear. There was a big hill as we came up near the crowds to start our second loop, and thank goodness for that because you couldn’t slack off with everyone cheering for you! My mom was cow belling up a storm!

The second loop was just FUN. It weaved in and out of trees and was all on well packed down single track. I loved it. On the downhills I would make up distance on the lady in front of me, and on the up hills she would make it back. I was trying to attack and stay strong but she wasn’t coming back to me.

As I came into the finish it felt like the crowd was going crazy. The announcer was saying that I was the last to make the national team. I was overjoyed and came through the finish with such a huge grin, and running as fast as I knew how. When I stepped across the line I knew I had just had a great race, my best yet in snowshoeing. I came across the line in front of some ladies that always seem to be ahead of me in other races. The adrenaline rush was intense. There were lots of hugs and my mom was crying. It was just a rush. My time was just over and hour. Here is an article about the race.

A little bit later my teamate Sara finished her race. She did a great job in her first National Competition and we are all super proud of her. Here is Sara and I.

We waited around for the next 3+ hours for the awards ceremony. The ladies in second and third had to leave so the photo is of 1st, 4th, and 5th.

Here is Steve’s podium appearance and race shot.

Here is dad and I after the race.

Here are the Portland girls after the race, they both had great races finishing 8th and 12th overall.

Results are here.

WooooHooo!
An extended race report will be up tomorrow, but the race went fantastic! It was my best race of the year. I felt like my season was a series of small steps upwards, and this was the final step up the mountain. Small successes layered on top of each other, with this being the sum product of all those parts. I also need to say that Steve trained me so well for this. This season my training needs were more of the mental kind than the physical kind. Getting myself to the biggest race of the snowshoe season in the mental capacity to not “get in my own way”. Steve did a great job helping me with that (lots of talks on our long bike rides together). Physically I feel super strong right now, but not so fast, so EXACTLY where I should be.

I don’t want to spoil the race report, but my overall finish was 5th, and the top five men and women are named to the USSSA National Snowshoe Team. In past years the national team has traveled abroad and competed in the Wold Snowshoe Championships, but the word on the street is that this years Worlds has been canceled due to lack of funding. So I’m not sure where that leaves me…but I feel very honored to be a member of the national team.

Thank you so much for all your support and well wishes. I could feel all of your vibes through the entire race. I ran for you all, and I hope I made you proud.

Later today a Mental Monday will be posted, and tomorrow will be the race report.

Tomorrow is the day.
Clock is set back.
I’m ready.
Time to rock.

We arrived safely in Ogden, Utah this evening after some 400 miles of driving today. The drive was uneventful and the scenery was amazing across Utah. We soaked in the Glenwood Hot Springs this morning. It was snowing while we were in the pool, totally cool! Dad and I had a fun drive, we did a lot of singing, and wildlife searching.

Yesterday’s skiing at Snowmass was THE BOMB. Amos (great family friend, and phenomenal Alpine Guide) acted as tour guide and took us out for a great day of “out of bounds” stuff (my first time doing the OOB thing), and man am I spoiled now. We skied in thigh deep POWDER down some steep stuff. It was exhilarating and totally a blast. I was pleasantly surprised that my skiing has gotten good enough to ski beyond park boundaries. It’s made me excited to get into some more backcountry skiing. Even when the resorts are skied out, there is still so much great powder to be had! Fun Times!

After we checked into the hotel this evening we headed out for dinner and to pick up my race packet (see above pic). It seems like this is going to be a great event, well run, and tons of fun. Tomorrow is the Ski Mountaineering Championships, Saturday is the XTERRA Winter World Chamipnships (running, snowshoeing, mntn biking, and then ski mountaineering…all in one race), and then Sunday is my race, the USSSA National Snowshoeing Championships. I definitely plan to go watch the XTERRA Winter Champs on Saturday, but I know I am going to come home wishing I did that race as well. I already had a few people give me a hard time at packet pickup about not doing it. It seems so up my alley…so maybe next year!

I also got a bit of information about the XTERRA 21K XDURO trail races. These sound like a total blast with the World Championships being held in Hawaii in December. How fun would these races be? Trail running, half marathon, trees, logs, rivers, and mud, all in one event…sounds like me!

The snowshoe Shuffle today went great. I think it was one of the best races I have had this season. The weather was quite wintery! Most of the course had 8-12 inches fresh powder from the night before. It was snowing cats and dogs, and I’m pretty sure it stayed well below 10 degrees. I love adversity.

I got a great warm up in, mostly just to keep warm in the snow. I lined up for the Dash for Cash as usual, and had a great dash! I got a good start, sprinted as hard as I knew how, and won the $100! Woo Hoo, 2 out of 4…not too bad of a record. Here is a photo near the race finish.

As usual after a D4$ win, you really feel the nervous energy fade away for the start of the race. I was relaxed and ready to have a fun race. I lined up on the start line and after a countdown we were off. Very soon into the race the 10Kers were in the powder. One lady post-holed with her snowshoes up to her upper thigh! Eek! She got totally stuck, and it wasn’t until several miles later that she passed me, what a bummer for her. I had a little lazy section around mile 2, but after reminding myself that this was the last BC race, I picked up my chin and kept chipping along. Even though it was really snowy it was beautiful to be out there, mostly alone, enjoying the race and the peace. I loved it. Around mile 3 I was amazed that I was only half way done, it felt like I had been out there for eons and covered so much terrain. At mile 4 I woke up and really started pushing, knowing that I had enough in me to finish strong. From here I continued to ramp up my effort all the way through the finish, and as I came down the last downhill, I was in full stride, running as hard as I could, and making all sorts of wonderful noises. I think the 5Kers that I passed (who were walking) thought I was a total weird-o as I came by grunting, and spitting. Dad and Amy were cheering their heads off for me and boy did I appreciate it! Not one of my prettyist moments, but definitely an intense one. Here’s a shot dad took of me coming into the finish.

the post race was all about warming up…I highly recommend bringing a thermos of warm fluid to snowshoe races, total saving grace! Troy and Annie had already headed back to the condo b/c it was so cold. Dad, Amy, Amy’s mom and dad, and I hung out at the post race raffle. I got to collect my $100 for my win. Here is a shot of me on the podium with the mens D4$ winner.

And here is a shot of me acting very giddy b/c I just won money!

Lastly here is a shot of Amy and I. Allthough we missed all of our friends that usually do the races with us, it was great to spend time together, doing one of the sports we both love. Good Company! She has come so amazingly far this year. She’s such a RACER now, and I love watching her continue to outperform herself.

My time was somewhere between 1 hour 5 min and 1 hour 10 minutes, and dad told me I was fifth, but the results aren’t out yet. I’ll update the post once things are out.

Tomorrow is the final installment of the Beaver Creek Snowshoe Adventure Series. I’m sitting here in a condo in Avon (thank you Roger), just reminiscing a bit about all the fun Beaver Creek races I have done this year. Last year I was always attending these crazy races alone, but this year they have been packed full with friends and family. I have seen so many people grow and change from scared newbies to experienced racers. You all know who you are…congratulations! Most the people that show up to the races have helped me in some way shape or form, as have every one of you who are reading this. I am constantly amazed by all the support I get, and what awesome feats your support allows me to accomplish.

Next weekend I get to travel to Ogden to race in the National Championships, and I sit here tonight, thinking about how both tomorrows race, and next weekends race are the icing on top of the cake (or the whipped cream on top of the Butterscotch Malt I had at lunch…mmmm). The training is all there, nothing different is going to happen on that front in the next week. My support system is behind me, and you guys aren’t going anywhere, right? It’s time to look up, enjoy the view, take it all in. Because if I didn’t I would be letting you down. So here’s to the start of an AWESOME FUN BODACIOUS next week, and my final two snowshoe races.

PS Do you like today’s photo? My dad took it this afternoon. It’s the bomb huh? We went out this afternoon and took a ton of super great photos. When I say “we” I mean he did all the work, I just ran around pretending to be a model. I plan to roll them out slowly, because they rock. Can you tell my dad loves me? I love him too!

PPS Okay, Okay, just one more…but then you are cut off…

I have a quick second to post some photos and to write a quick blog entry so here goes. First off, we are having a BLAST up here! We have been skiing, I have been training and skiing, and everyone is generally happy! We had a quick bout of the flu that went through mom and Annie, but they are now on the mend.

Jeremy Wright Snowshoe Champs were CRAZY. Like I thought, everyone came out with their A game and it was tough competition, to put it lightly. The course was awesome and started at the top of the strawberry lift at Beaver Creek. It was defintely a “high altitude” race and you could feel how thin the air was. We had great weather, blue skies, light whispy clouds and in the 40’s. The dash for cash was once again a total riot. I got second this time, and boy, I was close…but just not quite there! After a teary moment of silence for Jeremy Wright (avid snowshoer, died in Afganistan) we were off.

The race started uphill and went up up up for some time. I just wasn’t feeling it. Last week I had to take Sunday/Monday/Tuesday off due to illness, but I’m not sure if that was it. My legs were heavy, and I felt sluggish. I had to remind myself several times that it was 100% okay to treat this as a training run. Once I believed myslef, I calmed down. Somedays you just don’t have it. So I tried to enjoy the course which had a nice mix of powder and groomed trails. Around mile 3 I started to feel better, like I had a little more in me, like I could actually start racing. So I picked it up. I started making up the huge gap that had developed between me and the lady in front of me. I continued to feel better and better and by mile 5 I was racing hard. I passed several people and was able to stay strong. Coming over the last hill my dad was there taking photos. I totally would have walked that hill, but he was there, so I ran it. Boy was I pooped. The finish was downhill and I was really glad for that.

I finished in the 8th place overall for the women. I am happy with that given the way my race went. Steve had some really kind words after the race, and I know in my heart that this is where I need to be right now. It’s easy to want to enter the 5K and win and get to stand on the podium, rather than race a race that is twice as hard and not come close to the podium. But racing the with the top of the top is what makes you strong, both in body, and in mind. I was not trained or tapered for this race. They are just strength training exercises, and they will make me a stronger triathlete. So, as I told Steve yesterday “I will keep on keeping on”.

I hope that some day Beaver Creek hosts the USSSA Championships b/c it would be the IDEAL location for a Championship race, as it was on Sunday!

We hosted lunch back at out condo after the race. We had lots of friends and teammates over and I had a blast! Massive amounts of Pasta, salad and cookies were eaten, and the company couldn’t have been better.

I am hoping to blog at least once more, but since we don’t have internet in the condo it makes it a little tough! Dad, Vahid and I have been skiing with the helmet-cam and we got a GREAT clip of dad and I crashing one after another that I am definitely going to post soon.

Here are a few pictures from Sunday. Here is me coming up the last hill.

Here is Troy, Annie and I after the race.

Here is Jon, Beth, Me and Jewles after the race.

Here is Amy on the lift on the way back down.

I LOVE this shot of my dad that I took. We never have pictures of him b/c he is usually the photographer!

Lastly here is an awesome shot that I took when I was on the lift coming back down. My dad was skiing under the lift and I got this awesome photo. I should totally be a sports photographer…not!