Training Log Archive: kissy

Middle at Western Champs, Idaho City, ID

This was much more to my liking. Very intricate gold mining terrain, with a lot of controls. I was doing so great, pretty much hitting every control dead on, until #14. Even looking at the map now, I'm not sure how I spaced out so much, but I did. I way overshot the control, which would have been bad enough, but I added so much more climb with the mistake. Grrr! It would have been such a great run without that one error. Oh well. That's the name of the game.

On the way home, we stopped by Craters of the Moon NM...perhaps not the best idea in 100+ degree weather. Luckily, it was a little cloudy with some slight rain drizzles to keep the worst of the heat at bay.

A lonely Swampfox climbing a cinder cone:



On top of the cone, looking out over the lava flows:



Popping out of a lava tube:

C • Cinder cone 1

C • That lava tube must suit yo... 4

Green-middle - Splits

Ultralong at Western Champs, Idaho City, ID

I can now honestly say that ultra-longs are not my thing. This was a long, physically demanding course, and I made some very stupid navigational errors, which just compounded the misery. And, once I heard what the temperature was going to be, my goal became just to finish the course, which I did.

It was hot...not so bad in the beginning, but by the end, it was kind of brutal. I probably should have stopped by around control 12, but I just wanted to finish. Donna Fluegel said I looked like hell when I finished, the worst she's ever seen me. It took me a good while to recover, even having to stop and sit down on the way back to the car. I was very glad when it was over.

Ultra-Green - Splits

Event: 2015 Gold Rush - USA Ultra-long & Western States Championships
 

Sprint at Western States Champs.

It was quite hot. I was okay for the first 2/3 of the course, but then it was out in the open for the final few controls, and I could definitely feel the heat. I hit all of the controls fairly cleanly, so my lack of speed was the main factor in my time. (It wasn't a particularly navigationally-challenging course.) I think I ended up second woman on the course, though, behind Eileen Breseman, so I'm happy with that.

We met Sam for dinner in downtown Boise, at a pizza place that Brooke recommended. It was full inside, so we sat outside. It was still pretty hot, but bearable with a nice cold beer.



Then we went walking around the capitol, where Mikell and Sam got into some kind of argument with some trappers.

C • Pizza 1

Gr-Br-Or-sprint - Splits

Happy Father's Day to my dad, Bob Beecroft, who died far too young. (Yes, that's mom.)



And Happy Father's Day to Don, who stepped in and has done a fabulous job guiding me and making my mom so happy! (No, that's not mom!)

C • Father's Day 2

C • you have mail 1

This was not a good day. :-( I could blame it on the heat and not having done this long of a course in quite a while, but the truth is my navigating was abysmal, beginning with the first control. I'm not sure why I wasn't concentrating or thinking very well, but I bobbled almost every control, with major mess-ups at 10, 12, and 13. And a spectacularly bad route choice from 4 to 5.

And, finally, the heat got to me, and from 12 on, I was toast. I didn't resort to lying down in a stream like Brooke (although I wish I had thought of that!), but I definitely hit the wall. So glad when I got to the finish and could just sit down and recuperate.

The day got better, though, when the last stragglers (me, Amy, John, Doug, Jen, and JP) finished packing up and went to a very nice brewpub....oh, sorry: The Very Nice Brewpub in Nederland. A great way to end the day.

Red - Splits

After a pretty crazy week at work, I decided it was time to explore the Cherry Creek trail again. There was definitely much less water this time, with the trail becoming impassable only down at Confluence Park. By then, though, I was able to hop on the South Platte River trail, which still had a few spots underwater.



It was a beautiful evening after a very hot day.

WARNING: Incredibly cute kitty pictures.

C • kitties 8

Barre class.

Body Pump

After sending Peter and Gail on their way to the Rocky Mts., and working in my garden all morning planting about 40 plants, I biked back to the art show that Gail and I went to on Saturday to see if I really wanted this other painting I had been thinking about. I biked so that I had to be really committed to wanting it since that would mean riding back home and then driving back to pick it up.

It took a little bit to find the booth again...I was not a good remembering girl. I needed Gail there to keep me straight. Eventually I found the booth and the painting was still there! After I looked at it awhile, I decided that if it was a little less expensive, I might get it, but at the current price, it wasn't as perfect as I would have wanted it to be. So, I rode home empty handed, but satisfied.

And then, off to the Gardens for my Sunday shift.

C • Painting 1

It was finally a beautiful afternoon, with no threat of storms, so I headed off on my bike to take a look at Cherry Creek and Confluence Park. Well, the trail was still flooded in spots, which I gamely rode through. One spot, though, had some sand bars hidden in the water, and I almost went down. I finally came to a point, though, where there were rapids on the trail, so decided it was time to go up on the streets. Made my way down to Confluence Park and saw all of the flooding. I rode home through downtown, in all of the bike lanes. It's so nice to live in a bike-friendly town.

Barre class

Body Pump class

Hanging out streamers at Magness Adventure Area at Peaceful Valley. RMOC is hosting the CSOL Championships there on Wednesday, so Brooke and I streamered the locations. Probably was not a necessity, but it's always nice to have two sets of eyes on a control location, no matter how easy it is.

It was a beyond beautiful day. Blue skies with fluffy white clouds, temps in the upper 60s. Driving back home, though, there was an ominous black cloud just south of Castle Rock, and it looked like it was moving north.

Barre class. This was the most difficult class she's taught. It definitely tested my limits.

Last night, Colorado was hit by some devastating weather. A massive hailstorm passed over my house around midnight.



And this is the aftermath:









Just yesterday, I was walking around my yard, thinking how beautiful it was...the flowers were just coming out, my veggie garden was just taking off. I literally thought, "I think I'm done. Now just to enjoy it."

If I was a religious person, I'd say this was God punishing me for being too prideful. But, I'm not, so...Mother Nature is just a bitch, sometimes.

C • Weather 7

Body Pump. I felt really good!

Body Pump class. I could feel that I hadn't been to class for a while.

This week's CSA bounty:

- 1 bunch mint
- 1 head green leaf lettuce
- 1 head red leaf lettuce (this was beautiful)
- 1/3 pound arugula
- 1 bunch radishes...yay

So, tonight I blanched some snap peas, plunged them into an ice bath, and then mixed them up with a little olive oil, Maldon salt flakes, and some of the fresh mint. It was delicious!

Tomorrow I'll make a salad with the arugula, a little oil and citrus champagne vinegar, and shaved parmesan. Yum.