Work Harder

Getting ready to head up Hope
Photo: Shelly

Every time I hear a grunt or a moan or some version of the toddler whine I immediately utter what has become my favorite phrase...work harder...nope no whining just work harder. That's not to say my kids don't work hard...they do, but oh about 99% of the time they're whining if they just work harder they'll accomplish whatever it is they're trying to do.

Leaving Winfield
Photo: Shelly

So come early August I found myself whining about how I could not crack that 80 mpw mark. I didn't have time, life was too crazy and there was no way it was going to happen...and obviously if that didn't happen I would never finish RRR [insert eyeroll]. Well the answer was easy...if I expect James and Robert to work harder when they whine well then that's exactly what I needed to do. Somehow I upped the efficiency of my daily routine, I found every way possible to save time (thank you Amazon Prime and Sprouts Farmers Market for the free grocery deliveries - yes it is as amazing as it sounds) and I made it happen. I only hit one 80 mile week with over 20k in vert, but the following week, which was my last real training week I hit 73 with 20k in vert including pacing Hope Pass and Powerlines at Leadville. After pacing I managed 2.5 hours of sleep before hitting the finish line to congratulate Annie and then driving home. I could have forced those last 7 miles on Sunday, but I was beat down and exhausted and knew in my heart and legs that the work was done. Those 7 miles to hit 80 was not going to make or break my race. It was time to rest, relax and take care of my body.

Eclipsing on a mountain top...no where I'd rather be for a
once in a lifetime event

Overall I'm pretty happy with this training block. It definitely could have been more structured and more specific, but I've already surpassed last years total vert, my legs are showing muscles I never knew existed and I can feel how much easier each climb is. I know the work I put in has paid off and I'm excited to test it out at Run Rabbit Run.