Boulder Mountain Tour Results

Here is my up date from the 2009 Boulder Mountain Tour:
The weather this year was nothing less than perfect. With an inversion in effect the temperatures at the start of the course were in the mid 20’s. Clear sky’s and sunshine led to increasing temperatures throughout the race which translates to faster conditions as the race progresses. I took a gamble and waxed a little warmer than recommendations hoping the snow would warm up soon after the start. My skies felt a little slow at the beginning but, overall, I think my wax choice paid off in the end.

The first six kilometers are hilly with some narrow sections making it hard to pass other skiers. After about three kilometers I was making good progress moving to the front of my wave when we approached a steep downhill section. While trying to pass on the outside I was railroaded off the course and crashed in deep snow off to the side. As I pulled my head out of the snow drift I watched my whole wave ski off down the hill. After pulling myself together and bridging the gap I started to gain position in the middle of the wave again. While making another attempt to pass on a narrow section of trail I hit a rut and went down for the second time. Feeling like an idiot and my heart rate spiking off the charts I gathered my self up and started the process all over again.

I ended the race with a time of 1:28:37; sixteen minutes faster than my previous time for a new PR. The summary results are as follows:

Overall Winning Time 1:10:55
My Finnish Time 1:28:37
Overall Place 161
Overall Men Place 131
Division Place 26

Waxed and Ready

Taper week has been going well. I did an easy run Monday, one hour skate Tuesday, one hour easy spin on Wednesday and I just returned from a one hour skate today. I feel good and my sore legs are gone. The weather is predicting snow Friday and Saturday but reasonably warm temperatures. With a little luck the snow won't accumulate too much and the conditions will be fast.

Check in Later next week for the results.

Boulder Mountain Tour Count Down

"If you don't got it, you won't get it"

I drove to the mountain on Tuesday to put in 30 kilometers on the skis but weather in the parking lot was 30 mile per hour wind, 1/4 mile visibility and drifting snow. I couldn't muster up the energy to get out of the car. After having so many great days of skiing I wasn't about to pull a 2:00 suffer fest. I drove back into town and climbed on the rollers for a 1:25 spin. Wednesday looked better but still high winds so I opted for a long 1.5 hour run and a 1 hour spin rather than test the nordic trails again.

Today was the turning point in the weather. Winds are calm on the mountain and not a cloud in sight. I did the usual Kettlebell workout at 6 A.M and then hit the nordic trails for 2 hours. With 40 degree temps on the mountain the conditions were perfect. I did 1.25 hours at race pace keeping my heart rate between 155 - 165 followed by .75 hour, light intensity cool down. My legs feel good and all the Gunther hops I've been doing in the gym are starting to pay off. Saturday will be my last high intensity workout and then I go into taper.

Taper is the worst. It always feels like I'm giving back all the effort I've but in to getting strong but it's a necessary part of the process. I'm tired all the time and my legs are constantly sore. The taper period should restore my energy and the soreness should fade as I focus more on light intensity workouts and lots of yoga. The trick will be to control my eating so I don't gain weight over the next week leading up to the race. Hopefully my hard work will pay off. As my old coach used to say just before each race, "If you don't got it, you won't get it."

Closing in on the BMT

There is just under two weeks before the Boulder Mountain Tour. This will be my last hard week of training before the gun goes off. I taper next week with short duration, light intensity workouts and eliminate the strength training altogether.

I’ve been focusing on race pace intensity and course distance workouts. I think I have my heart rate figured out and know where my lactate threshold is. I hope to keep this under control for the race and not let the excitement push me outside the envelope. Last year’s experience was too painful to repeat; I let myself get carried away and blew up early in the race. With any luck I hope to reserve my energy for the back end of the course.

Training Update

It's been awhile since my last post but don't think I haven't been pushing the pedals and skating like a mad man. As a matter of fact, I've been skating alright. Marsha and I took her nieces to the rink to see how strong our ankles were.

As for skate skiing, I've been able to bag 160 kilometers since my last post. Weather is Bend continues its strange pattern this season. We have had an inversion hanging over town for almost a week. This means cold frosty temps in town with 50 degree sunshine on the mountain. This has made for stellar nordic conditions and the need for a good sun block.

I haven't been out on the road much but I'm still getting in some good spin sessions. I spent a few good hours with Ironman Drew at Juniper Fitness Center. We pushed out a two hour session on the spin bikes followed by 1,000 meters in the pool. I haven't been swimming in over a year but I managed not to drown.

As you can see, the spin room is a very popular place to be on a Sunday afternoon.

Riding for Raspberries

A great, sunny weekend with temps reaching the 50's made for good training. An hour and a half spin Saturday morning followed by 40 kilometers of skating produced a good Bonk. Drooling, incoherent speech, rubber legs....I had it all. Gotta love a good Bonk. It sets the threshold that I need to break through. Hopefully I can break the 50 kilometer mark later this week.

With good weather again on Sunday I pushed out 40 miles on the road bike. With three block to go I hit a patch of cinder and went down in a round-about. Now I get to carry around a few good raspberries for the next few weeks....all in a days work.