The Holden's

XTERRA Farregut, Idaho

2010-06-14T22:42:00.000-07:00

XTERRA Farregut, Idaho
June 12, 2010

After hoping in the water the Sunday prior, I was a little aprehensive about the swim. My swims are usually about survival, hopefully sometime soon I can make the more competitive. For now though it is just making it, and well adding another obstical into it (freezing cold water) I was worried. I actually wasn't sure I was going to do it until the morning of. The temperatures in this area have been about 15 degrees below normal for probably 2 plus weeks and well for some odd reason Saturday was the first day for sun and normal temps for this time of year. When we arrived at the race we found out they had shortened the swim due to the water temp. This was a good thing for me.

So I got my wetsuit and booties on and headed to the beach. I think I got and ice headache when I jumped in prior to the start. Yikes!! The start gun went of and into the water we all jumped. I was so thankful for the booties, my feet weren't freezing, my hands on the otherhand were. I managed to make the swim but was still in the last 3rd. ( I am going to make goal to be at least 1/2 way into the pack before my next XTERRA) So I got out of the water behind a lot of people. Transition was awful because my hands were frozen and I was a complete clutz. I made it out and was on the bike and on a mission. My mission was to catch as many people as I could. There is one girl I have been wanting to beat so I was after her. This bike is much more fun and technical then the weekend prior. I didn't know this until I was out there. I brought the Ibis Tranny, due to the lack of techical climbing and descendng from the week prior. But.... The Tranny never fails me and I had a great ride. The laps were 11 miles long, we did 2 laps, and we did finish on the same techincal section from the week before. I had some trouble getting by on the single track in the begining, but I managed and about 4 miles into the race I passed the girl I was after. From there on I rode my heart out to put as much time between us as I could. In doing so I passed all but 2 women in the entire field. I didn't pass the leader of my age group until 5 miles to go. I knew I had to ride hard and clean through the last little bit. I put about 1 1/2 min on her and managed the fastest bike time by about 5 min, so I was stoked. Now all I had to do was maintain on the run, not knowing how fast the girl I had just passed could run.

The run starts out on a small techincal trail on the lake (would be killer to ride!!) for probably a mile or so. We then headed up this hill climb that never seemed to end. I just kept running as hard as I could yet conserving since it is 6.1miles. I was still passing people on my run, and this is probably what I trained the least for. I figure my years of running in high school, college, and after might carry me through. I was pretty excited to top out because I knew we had to head down and I love trail running especially techincal descending. About 4 miles into the run I got horrible side stiches on both sides. I could hardly run downhill, I just wanted flats or uphills. So I was worried about the girls behind me since I wasn't descending fast at all. I decided to stop for a second and try and breathe them out. It kind of worked but for the most part I to just deal. The descent finally came to and end and the last mile or so is on an old paved trail with a slight incline. I was both happy and sad about that, because now everything hurt and I just wanted to finish. I did make it too the finish and am totally hooked on this XTERRA thing. I supose it helps to do well, I won my age division and got 3rd overall. Now just have to work on my swim and run a little more before the next one.
Kris had an awsome race too. He won his age group and got 3rd overall too. Kind of ironic, we have been having the same placings. Maybe it is some sort of good curse I have, getting the same placings as my husband (we both won last week too). Hopefully he keeps winning, because I am enjoying the ride.

Next on the agenda, is a Singlespeed Tranny. Actually I am going to try and race it as a singlespeed on Wednesday. Should be fun!!!

Mad Dash 4 hr Race

2010-06-14T22:10:00.000-07:00

Mad Dash 4 hour Race, Farragut State Park, ID
June 5, 2010
The past few weekends have been filled with racing, 2 weeks ago the Wenatchee road race and last weekend the 24 hour race. So to say the least we have been a little busy. I am training for XTERRA's also so I have been slipping a bit of running and swimming into the program, well Thursday night I got into a competition with the treadmil in my basement and Friday morning I was pretty sure the treadmill won. Going into Saturdays race my quads were toast, so I was a little apprehensive. It was kind of like old times because Kris's mom came and watched the kids and we headed to the race alone. It was a quiet trip. We didn't time it quite right so we got to the race about 25 min before the start. We managed to make it to the start on time. The gun went off and we headed out. It is a fairly fun course, pretty mellow double track with a switch back here and a couple of roots there. Not to technical in any way. We have had a very unusual amount of rain and very cold weather so the course was actually muddy. I decided to ride my Ibis Mojo, which I was very thankful for later. It is such a smooth ride and descending so much fun on it. Knowing I was going to be on my bike for at least 4 hours meant I needed the nice ride. So I took my Ibis Mojo, my sweet Vanderkitten kit, clear lens Tifosi glasses, and my camel back and headed for the start.

I probably started a little fast for no warm up, but didn't really want to be behind going into the first double/single track. I definately felt my run on Thursday, so that worried me a little. I still charged the climb out of the start and took the lead. Probably not the right thing to do with my legs. The laps were 7 mile laps and I think I was averaging about 38ish min laps. The end of the lap was about 5 min of a technical section if you could call it that, but I looked forward to it each lap. Last year Erika (my Transrockies partner) and I had done this race together. So after about 3 laps I was getting bored. I had started lapping other racers and was pretty sure I had a good lead. My legs weren't as bad as when I started, just a little sore at this point. By 3 hours I decided I needed to set some goals or I was going to lose my race vibe. My husband hadn't laped me yet so I decided to push to stay ahead of him. It didn't work but I managed to creep up on the men in front of me. I saw them on a straight away on my 6th lap and decided they were my target. So I started to hammer, I also wanted to see if I could pull of a fast lap my last lap. Well I must have gone hard because I made it all but 1/2 mile into the last lap and I cought them. So my thought was, now what. Well I supose I am a little demented at times so I decided to see how much time I can put on these guys in the last lap. So off I went. I think in the end I managed to put about 4 min on them, and equaled the time of my first lap. Not bad, another win in the books.

Knowing that the next week we would be doing the XTERRA in this same place, we decided to head down to the water to check it out. Well Lake Pend Oreille is probably the coldest lake in Idaho. Well I couldn't get it, I was actually doubting racing the XTERRA. Good part was my legs got Iced in the 48 degree water.

24 hours Round the Clock Mountain bike race (Team style)

2010-06-02T16:14:00.000-07:00

Here is my race report from last weekends race... Hopefully photos to follow

This past weekend was the 24 hrs Round the Clock race at Riverside State Park in Spokane. I knew from the get go it was going to be a fun year. Last year I did it and won the solo women division, this year I was on a 5 person Coed team. I was pretty excited to race. The course is a 14 mile loop that has a few little hills in it, a couple of rock fields and some single track. It isn't the most technical course by any means, but it is fun. The weather prediction was rain and not too warm, so it could be a nasty 24 hours. We lucked out with only a few hours off and on of rain. My team consited of my husband Kris, my Transrockies partner Erika, her husband Doug, all around good guy Cully Todd, and myself. Kris took off the start and had an amazing first lap giving us a lead over the entire. field. It was sweet, if this was a sign of what was to come we were going to have a great race.
I had woken up Saturday morning with a sore throat and runny nose. I blammed it on allergies and put my race face on. I took my 2 favorite bikes down, the Ibis Mojo and Tranny. My first lap which was aroud 2pmI chose to ride the Tranny. Such a sweet bike, I had an awsome lap. The Ibis Tranny is a hard tail, so you would think you might bet beat up a lot. This isn't the case at all. In fact it climbs like no other, and rails the corners. I had a blast on it and had my fastest lap times. The second lap was around 7pm we had a good lead on 2nd place 20 min or so. I had another good lap, didn't feel as awsome as the first but was able to settle in a little for a good pace. I got up out of the saddle and hammered the few hills making up some time, and still was smooth in the single track. I think I was about 40 seconds slower than my first lap, not bad at all. My 3rd lap was around midnight, I decided to switch over to the Mojo and see how it rode. So I threw my lights on it. We had a small weather inversion and well it was now warmer than when I rode at 7pm. I didn't realize this until I was out on the bike, so I had to stop and take off my jacket. This just started my disfuntional lap. My light was broken (which I didn't know) it kept falling off so I kept having to stop to put it back on. My water bottle kept falling out of my pocket and well it just wasnt the best for me. However it was a total blast on the Mojo. There is one tricky decent and I am pretty sure I went down it faster in the middle of the night on the Mojo than I did during the day. I may not have had the best luck, but I had fun. Unfortunately, those allergies I was talking about earlier were not allergies. I took a quick rest and woke up 1 hour later with the worst sinus headache and was totally congested. I knew I was in for it. It was going to get ugly..
My last lap was supose to be around 5 am. I couldn't sleep, because of the cold and well I was having a hard time syching my self up for the lap. I managed to get my clothes on and get out there despite everything. I gave it my best, but man it was mentally hard. I kept thinking about how happy I was to not be doing it solo. I would go over the rock gardens and my head would just throb, not much fun. My nose kept running so my jersey was a snot rag, and my eyes kept watering. I managed to make it back and well, I was pretty sure I was done. My husband had said he would run 2 laps next time to cover for me. I am not one to usually back out, but I have a lot of races coming up so I gave him my last lap. In hopes that I wouldn't make my self any sicker. He did awsome and pulled some great laps which gave our team a great lead. We finished with 25 laps and in 1st place for the Co Ed 5 person team. I think we ended up 5 overall for the entire race, which is pretty awsome considering we had 2 women on the team. It is much different from doing it solo, but the legs still burn so it was still a big effort. Now I just have to get healthy for Sundays race at Farragut State Park. I want to thank to my sponsors Vanderkitten for the great kits, Ibis for bikes than rock, and Easton and Kenda for a flat free weekend!!

Spring has sprung???

2010-04-06T12:54:00.000-07:00

Easter Egg Hunt!!!

It is April and I can't even begin to figure out where the last 8 months have gone. Yes it has been that long since I have posted. I supose taking a full time job didn't help, so now that I am cutting back again I can take a few minutes to post. Noah and Adrienne are just so much fun. Saturday we did an Easter Egg hunt at the park right out our back door and Noah was so cute to help his little sister find eggs and count them. He is such a good kid, and she is a hoot. Actually it is funny I say that because her room is decorated in owls. So we are having fun. Noah is a little lego fanatic, he could spend hours upon hours doing lego sets He is pretty good at it for a 4 year old. I think he can out do me and I have a lego problem if the big boxes come out. Adrienne is just a sweetheart, she is already a Daddy's girl. I am sure that will chane in time so I am going to enjoy the freedom for a little. Adrienne is actually making through daycare at church finally so Kris and I have enjoyed getting to go to service. So we were able to attend service and worship on Easter Sunday.

I have had a growing passion about baking and cooking lately. I think most of my friends know that my goal in life is to own my own cafe/bakery. I absoluelty love to be in the kitchen. It is actually pretty amazing I am not overweight. Anyways I have decided that I am going to start sharing my creations, cause why else bake if other people can't enjoy them. Acutally I just promised my sister Shelly some recipes and I haven't gotten them to her yet. So I will post them. So the first one is my Granola recipe.

About 6 cups oats ( I use use Quaker oats)

1/3 cup oil
1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup Almond butter(or peanut butter or cashew butter ....)

1/2 cup honey

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Almond or Pecans( how ever much you want 1 or 2 cups)

Combine all the dry ingredents. On the stove top combine all the other ingredents with medium heat. Mix them all together, then spread mixture in a shallow pan. You can cover the pan with foil which makes for an easy clean up. Then cook at 350 degrees for 45-50 min, just make sure you check on it every 10 minutes and mix it around so that the edges don't burn.

So there you go. Yummy Granola.

Me and my new Mojo SL!!

Racing season is just starting we have a few plans for the year In 3 weeks we are heading to Las Vegas for the XTERRA West Championships. I honestly just hope that I don't have a panic attack in the water like the last one. Why do we torture ourselves.??? I am pretty excited though. I am riding for Vanderkitten again this year, am riding a Ibis Mojo SL. Such a sweet bike, I think I could turn into a permenant Super D'er. So smooth decending, it actually climbs amazingly well. I was quit shocked. I raced it 2 weekends ago and felt pretty fast on the climbs.

Today I rode my Mojo while Noah was a Montessori. I rode into Deep Creek which was a blast. It started snowing, then raining, and then I got to this field of purple wild flowers and stoped for a second and the sun came out of now where. So I had myself a moment of peace and serenitiy. Beautiful!!! So just another reason I love the fat tires. You can go places that most people will never see.

So here are a few photos from the last few months.

I didn't even know there was a Spokane Tricycle Racing Team. So sweet!!!

TRANSROCKIES 2009

2009-08-17T17:56:00.000-07:00

My friend Erika and I decided last October that we were going to do Transrockies a 7 day Mountain bike Stage race in Canada. At the time we really had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. We just thought it sounded pretty neat and heard from some past competitors that it is awesome. So we signed up Team Vanderkitten/Velobella. Lets just say it was a week in my life that I will never forget. Leading into race week I had 3 goals:

1. Finish Transrockes. I know a few people that weren't able to finish due to injury or just inability.

2. Stay in one piece. No crazy crashes, worked too hard for this to end it trying to ride too much

3. Podium. Would be pretty cool to be on the Podium after Stage 7.

TRANSROCKIES 7 days- 330 miles--47000 feet of climbing --44 hours

Stage 1 Panorama to K2 Ranch 28.2 miles, 7436 feet of climbing--- 4hrs 5min

I am not sure if stage 1 was just tough or if it was Erika putting down the hammer on the first day. She killed me. The day started out climbing and that is pretty much what we did for 2 hours or so. I was having trouble with the heat and altitude, but we just kept climbing. Pretty soon you think you are on top but then they send you up about a 50 meter hike a bike. We thought the hike a bike was hard, we had no idea what was in store for the rest of the week. This hike a bike was nothing. We got to the top of the climb and asked some guy how the down hill was, he said awesome and rideable. Ya right. We traversed across the ridge line which in places was completely unrideable and well just plain out sketchy. At this time we were in 1st for the open women and as we started to head down a rocky face the second place girls passed us. There was a man yelling to walk because everyone was flatting, Erika and I looked down the rocky face and had no trouble getting off of our bikes to walk. This was to our advantage because the Nipika girls flatted. We made a mad dash pasted them hiking our bikes down the face, crossed a creek about 5 times, and finally to the rideable section. Got onto the a fire road and rode our hearts out. Erika had visions of Leaders jersey dancing in her head and put the hammer down. We had one more small climb before the finish which was a little brutal after descending for so long but we managed to stay ahead to take the leadsers jerseys for the day. We were pretty excited. Pink Jerseys, very cool.

Stage 2 K2 to Nipika 45 miles, 9299 feet of climbing ---7 hrs 40min

Stage 2 started out on the road, so Erika being the roadie, took off to stay in touch with one of the front groups. Free speed I think she called it. I don't like riding in packs much, so I hung on the back. We managed to climb really well that day for the first climb, which never seemed to end. I don't know how long we climbed before we turned onto a jeep trail that was so steep we were off our bikes shortly and huffing it. I think we hiked with our bikes and everyone around us for probably 30+ min until we got to this opening and the course went straight up where avalanches come down. Up, up, up. I have never hiked up something so steep without being roped in it was crazy. I stopped to catch my breath at one point and looked behind to see Team Nipika at the base of the Avalanche area. I swear it was like 2 min later and they were passing us. They were like Mountain goats climbing a wall, it was crazy. The decent on the backside was fairly unrideable for Erika and I. I am sure our husbands would have had a blast riding it, but not us. So down we hiked down the first few pitches. The trail was pretty fun once they became rideable. There were plenty of stream crossings and lots of mud and roots to be had on this Stage. We hammered the next climb but never saw Team Nipika again, bummer. I can honestly say after 7 hours and 40 min in the saddle I was really happy to be at Nipika and my famiy. I made the mistake of wearing some running socks and got dirt between the sock and heel and rubbed a raw spot on my heal that grew each day. All in all it was a pretty amazing day. I was proud of us at the end of the day, I don't think I will ever do anything like that again. (Unless I do TR again.) It was pretty amazing. And some of the views were stunning. Definitely an awesome experience.

Stage 3 Nipika to Nipika TT 27.28miles 3703 feet of climbing-- 4hrs 51min of pure mud

Kris went out Tuesday morning to ride the course. Erika and I didn't race until 2pm. He thought it was great, rooty, a little technical, few hike a bikes....fun. Well at about 9am it started down pouring and it rained and rained and rained for the next 6 hours, the course went from fun to complete disaster. We were really hoping to be out on the bike for 4 hours Tuesday. Not so much luck. The first 3rd of the course was the hardest, we were faced with what I called jungle walls. We were literally climbing (hands, feet, bike, what ever you could use to get up) up a mud wall. It was crazy. Once we got through about 12 of those it was pretty good trail for about 5 miles technical and rooty, but fun. Erika and I were pretty happy to finally get to the climb for the day on a jeep road. A little break from the nasty. After the climb came a small crazy decent and then off to riding on cliff wall. It is odd because I am not afraid of heights, but I hate riding on cliffs. I kind of get all stiff and can't move well. So I tried my hardest to ride the edge but I think I cursed out the cliff more than I rode it. I got pretty mad at myself for having so much fear, but sometimes when you tired fear can be harder to overcome. I am pretty sure Erika has a good idea of my dislikes in riding. Needless to say we made it to the end covered in slop but still smiling. Team Nipika definitely had an advantage on us since they had helped build some of the trails and they put some time on us. My heel held up alright but I think it was missing another layer of tissue. Kris helped to clean up both our bikes and replace cable/housing on mine so our bikes would keep working . We went to sleep that night listening to the rain, it was starting to look like it was going to be a messy 4 more days

Stage 4 Nipika to Whiteswan 66.4miles 6712 feet of climbing ---6hours 58min

What can I say, the longest stage of the Transrockies and Erika and I found a way to make it longer. I woke up Wednesday morning having trouble walking with my heal being messed up. I could hardly put on my riding shoes. Pain!!! I tried to stay positive but was not looking forward to today. We started in the rain again on some slippery single track in Nipika and then headed out on a fire road for some time. About an hour in my heel was numb, which was good I supose, I was able to ride and hike a bike with less problem. We were hammering along having a great day. The TR course is marked with ribbons tied on a tree every so ofter. Pink meant keep going along same trail/road, pink and blue on right--take right turn, pink and blue on left--take left turn. Well some silly loggers had some blue ribbon up next to a pink one on the left so we followed some other riders up the wrong mtn. The men in front of us were from another country I thought he kept asking me if I saw the river. So I kept saying yes I see the river, but turned out he was asking if we had seen a ribbon. Damn accents. So we had just made the longest day longer and lost more time to the leaders. Erika and I had a great ride this day once we figured out which way to go. We hammered the climb and flew down the decent, freezing our rear ends off and coating ourselves in layers of mud. In the end we only managed to lose about 20 mins for a 2nd place finish in Whiteswan.

Stage 5 Whiteswan to Elkford 54.3 miles 7393 feet of climbing--6hours 35min

We were struck with more rain again . I was so thankful for the warm cycling gear that I did bring. It wasn't much, but it was enough. This day was another day of climbing. Erika and I were rocking the climbs. We passed team Nipika and never looked back. The climbs were nice, the first one was an old jeep road which was a good grade, the second was an old trappers trail. It was actually pretty cool it winded up next to a creek so we were constantly hearing the relaxing sounds of water. It rained off and on through out the ride but for some reason we didn't mind it as much. Probably because we were in front of Team Nipika. We got to what we thought was the top of the climb only to learn we would spend the next 30 min on and off our bikes hiking/riding. Not that it really surprised us. Once to the top we were to descend the famous TR decent known as the Rock Garden. Probably 1/4 mile of fairly steep trail with small and large loose boulder like rocks that covered the entire road. I chose to run down the entire Garden I was too tired to man handle my bike and worried about crashing. Erika tried a couple of times to get on but the rocks told her who was boss and she ended up running down too. We were sure after the Rock Garden Team Nipika would be on our heals so we rode like crazy to get to Elkford first. We had a great time doing it the rest of the trails were pretty fun and were so happy to be in Elkford. We got our second stage win. Yippie. We rolled in and rode straight to the bike wash like we were told to do by Kris, cleaned the bikes, then cleaned ourselves. We were pretty impressed that our bikes were still working, just covered in mud for 3 days now and not really any problems. I hobbled around the rest of the afternoon with my heel taking another beating with the hike a bikes and now trying to swell. Thank God for compression socks and neosporin.

Stage 6 Elkford to Crowsnest Pass 62.6 miles 8092 feet of climbing--- 8 hours 23 min

The mud was definately slowing everyone down, there were puddles everywhere and mud just didn't let the bikes roll. So Stage 6 was by far the longest (time wise), coldest, most brutal, and mentally toughest day of Transrockies for me. It started out with a road climb to some really sweet single track. Well the single track was rooty and you had to stand and pedal for a lot of it which tore my heal apart. I had a lot of trouble riding in the beginning. Tears would start to run down my face from pain....stupid heal. I never had doubts about finishing, just wanted the darn thing to go numb like it had each 3 days prior(it did later). So I did my best, but I know I slowed us down. It was hard mentally to know I was the weak link. I tried hard to keep the bad thoughts out, but it was hard. We finally got to a dirt road to descend on and it started pouring rain it was all but maybe 45 degrees, the snow line was just above us and some people even said they saw snow on the side of the road. We got to check point/feed 1 by shivering our way down. I can honestly say this was the only time during TR that I really wasn't having fun. It sucked!!!! We were covered in mud and freezing our asses off. We stood at the checkpoint and probably looked totally dazed. We grabbed a couple of things and headed to the climb, praying that it would bring us warmth. It did warm us up a bit, but not enough to take off the jackets. We climbed what seemed like for ever, until we finally descended on some fire road and logging roads. The logging roads were crazy they, the biggest mud fest of all. I am sure Erika and I ate our fair share of nasty mud and cow plop this stage. Then we were in for the 3 sisters. The 3 sisters are a set of 3 peaks in which some are ride able and some are hike a bike. It was brutal after being in the saddle for over 5 hours. Erika and I had fun trying to ride as much as we could and passed many hike a bikers as possible. Actually I just didn't want to hike a bike because it tore my heal apart. I would do anything to stay on the bike at this point. But after awhile we too were doomed to hiking. The mud puddles and muck were everywhere, it was actually kind of like a puddle obstacle course. Once again we were impressed with the Kona and Ellsworth for even working at the end of the day. We finally made it to Crowsnest I think both of us wanted to cry, never been so happy to be done with a race in my life.

Stage 7 Crowsnest Pass to Fernie 46.4 miles 4241 feet of climbing-- 5 hours 45 min

The final stage, what more can I say we were pretty excited. We knew that in less than 6 hours we will have finished Transrockies. We started in the rain again on the road and Erika was all over the free speed. So I drafted as best I could. We hit some steep double track in the first 20 min, my chain slipped and I was off and hiking up. By the time I got back on my bike I realized my eyes were watering and I was sniffling. I didn't realize that I had pretty much been crying the entire hike up the steep. I was in a lot of pain at this point. I really wasn't sure how I was going to make it, I just knew I had to. (Over a stupid heel ) I wanted to scream. Erika was long gone and I needed to catch up. So I worked hard to move through everyone but wasn't making much ground and my legs were on fire. Erika had waited for me thank goodness and we hit the next road section together. The best part about this section was that to make the puddle obsticle course harder there was a barb wire fence right next to the edge of the impassable puddle. We cleared it and kept riding. This stage took us through everything mud, rivers, more mountains, and we got to finish on some pretty sweet single track. My cleat started to come out so we had to stop and fix that, which took some time because I had to get the mud out of the screws. Our bikes were once again covered with a few layers of mud. We finished the single track and hit the road in Fernie for the Finish. Erika and I had talked a little along the way about the finish and we joked that we might get choked up and cry at the end. Well our emotional release went a little differently than expected. We got to the road and my bike was squeeking really loud with every pedal turn and Erika's was grinding non stop. We made some comments and when it just kept going we started laughing. We had these beautiful bikes 7 days ago that now sounded like junkers. We went through the finish laughing in 5 hours 45 min and I honestly couldn't believe it was over. What an amazing ride!! An experience of a lifetime, and I got to share it with a good friend. I couldn't have had a better partner to do the race with and I am so thankful she put up with me to do it. It was sureal for some time after we had finished. It hit in full force though about 2 hours later when my ankle and heel were already swollen and my body started to shut down. It knew that we were done and it was time to rest.

We did it. My goals were met.. I finished, in one piece, and we were 2nd overall in the Open Wms division. Erika and I, both moms of 2 children, and we did it.

Now my bike on the otherhand did make it but is in need of a complete overhall...lets see entire drive train is toast, chain, middle ring, granny gear....toast, headset frozen and locked, front cable and housing solid and not shifting, free hub body on rear hub is toast, bottom braket not too smooth but kind of still turning, grips have permenant hand prints in them, turned my bike over and water and mud came running out of the seat tube (not good). So it needs a little TLC.

So there it is. Transrockies 2009. Next year BC Race with my hubby?!?!?

24 Hours Round the Clock

2009-05-26T11:36:00.000-07:00

24 Hours Round the Clock 2009 Solo

About 2 months ago I decided I was going to try another 24 hour race solo. At the time it sounded like a great idea. Last Tuesday I couldn't figure out why I thought it was a good idea. Wednesday the reality set in and I was so nervous. I looked at the start list which only made me sick to my stomach and I also started remembering what I felt like after the last one. Ouch. So I made it to Sat morning and was race ready. I had Kris, Noah, and my Dad there to support me. My little bundle of smiles, Adreinne, played with her Grandma's.

The race started with a LeMans start then off and riding. I was really feeling good. Took out on a pace I felt I could hold for some time and had fun. The course was 15 miles and was a mix of 6 short hills, some single track, more rock gardens then my back side wished for, a little techincal climb and decent. The last 24 hour race I did I lost a lot of time in the transition. To much time at the tent between laps. So I wanted to improve on that. The first couple of laps I was in race mode and after about 3 laps I was all business. I did a lot of thinking about what I was going to down for nutrition when I got back. You get to a point where it is hard to take anything down. By the 3rd lap I told Kris and my Dad to just tell me what to do what to eat. That is just what they did. I came into the tent. They would shove food in front of me " here eat this, drink this." As best I could I followed what they said. They were more with it than I was and new what I needed for fuel. I tried not to argue or oppose anything unless I new I would vomit. After 6 laps my mind started doubting myself. I was keeping a pretty fast pace and new I needed to settle in for a few laps. The results were messed up so we didn't know where I was. For all I knew I had someone 20 min back, which isn't much in a 24 hour race. So I fell apart a little. Kris was awsome and got my spirits back up and I was off and riding again. That was the only time I lost it, after that it was business. Ride my lap, get to tent, get food, and get back on the bike. I was pretty excited for night to fall, it would give me somthing else to worry about besides what my body was feeling. I rode throught the night and my lap times were still good. Kris fell asleep with Noah and I was so thankful by Dad was there to have warm soup, chai tea, you name it he was ready for me. We kept my stops at the tent down around 5 to 10 min and I was out riding again. I figured even slow I was better to be riding than sitting. I headed out for my last lap in the dark so excited for morning. About 3:30 am a team riding went to pass me and clipped my handle bars. I went down hard and it hurt. I layed there for a minute more worried I wouldn't be able to finish than if I had broke anything. I finally got up and shook it off. Got on my bike and tried to ride. My knee was bruised pretty badly but I just get pedaling. I think my knee hurt for the next 9 hours of riding. I had a really slow lap that lap. I got back to the tent and Kris had great news for me. They had posted current times/laps and I was 1 1/2 laps ahead. I was excited and in dis-belief. So I washed my face off, took off some clothes from the cold night riding and headed out again. It was getting harder to ride, I felt like I was riding so slow, but my lap times weren't really that bad. So I just kept with it. Pretty soon I was on lap 16 and 2 laps ahead. I came around to the tent about 11:10 and was feeling a little sureal beacuse no matter what happened at this point I had won. I had to check the time board for myself so I walked over, and it was true I didn't have to go out for another lap. So with the knee pain I was having decided to sit and call it good at 16 laps. I think it took a good hour to realize I had won. I had wanted this so bad it wasn't real to me yet.

It only took about an hour before all the damage to my body set it. I was having trouble walking, I realized my hands had been numb since midnight and the bruising from the crash was starting to show up. Even today (Tues) I still can hardly hold a pen or even type for that matter. But it was worth it. I accomplished my goal I raced the 24 hours solo and I won, I rode 240 miles, I had 2 kids and I can still manage good results. I was honestly proud of myself for the first time in a really long time and I couldn't have done any of it without my support team Kris and my Dad ( and Noah). My family is the best!!!! Thanks to Vanderkitten for being a great sponsor and for their great kit that kept my bumm from totally sore. I am truely blessed to have all the support that I have!!!! Thank you!!!!

1st of 16 laps. Looking pretty good at this point.
Just sat down after final lap. In total dis-belief that I won and a little out of it.

Now playing while Mom races.

Walking up for the podium. Yippie!!

I won....so happy!

Sea Otter aka Sea Hotter

2009-04-25T11:04:00.000-07:00

I got home Monday afternoon from a very warm (ok hot) trip to California for the Sea Otter Classic. This was my first big race of the season. I was really nervous. We got to Monterey area about 1 am Friday morning and I needed to be at the site and practicing Super D course by 9am. Well we didnt make it there by 9am but I did however manage to meet up with Dave from Vanderkitten get my kit, get dressed and head up to practice. I got one run it, I felt like I had 1am legs (heavy and slow). The course was fire road and fast. It was sandy in many places which I wish I could have ridden twice so I knew where to slow up. As far as Super D course it was pretty lame but what can you do. It was a lemans start and we had to start on our hands and knees with our heads touching the ground. I had a pretty bad start and couldn't get clipped in. I moved into 6th place pretty quickly. The race went by fast I had a few mistakes which costed me in the end but the real mistake was trying to pass for 5th place in the last corner and well sliding out and ending up in a sand pit. I ended up losing my place and finished in 8th. I was a little dissapointed, but was really just glad to be on my bike.
Sunday was the Cross country. I had been nervous about this race since I landed in San Jose. I think a combination of not getting in the training I needed because of the weather in the NW and being tired from being up with a baby (6mo old). I had a few goals one was to finish, not be last, and well give it my all and see what happened. I got out to Laguna Seca on Sunday and it was all but 90 plus degrees. About 50 degrees warmer that what I am use to training in. Shock. I found out they were shortening the course, which was a good and bad thing. I am an endurance person, but with the temp I was happy to limit my exposure to the heat. The race started out really pretty fast. I tried to go out hard but was still in the second half of the pack. I raced hard, about all I remember thinking about was how hot I was. My legs felt good but everytime I would start to push harder my head would throb and I thought I might melt. I drank as much water as possible with the one bottle I had, took the feed and got another bottle and tried to ration it. My mouth kept getting dry so I wanted to have a sip or two for the last climbs out. I kept trying to push harder it just wasn't seeming to work, I stood where I could and tried to keep my head in the game. After the start I didn't get passed and was able to pass many people along the way falling to the heat. All in all I was pretty satisfied with my finish, it is really early in the season for me and I have a lot of room for improvement. So hopefully over the next few weeks/months I can get my legs going and be flying by 24 hours and Trans Rockies. Next race Tuesday night circuit race, haven't road raced in about 3 years. Should be fun!!!

Oregon Coast April 2009

2009-04-11T14:26:00.000-07:00

Noah looking for Sea lions in the sky...

Can't beat running and playing in the sand.

Trying to stay warm watching the sun set on the beach.

So it use to be when I was in high school we went to the Oregon Coast every spring break. It was such a blast to spend another spring break there. We went to Gearhart, OR just north of Seaside. We pulled a late night drive to get all the way to the coast while the kids were asleep. I can't say it was the best of weather, but I don't ever remember spring break having good weather on the coast. It was however a blast. My entire family was there Thursday which was cool. We walked down to Pop's sweet shop for a warm mocha and the best scones I have ever had. Noah loves the beach. He just loves to run, look for shells and sand dollars, fly kites, and chase the surf. The sun managed to break through on Saturday morning so instead of heading to Portland like planned we stayed the morning in Seaside. We went for a small hike at Ecola State Park which is beautiful. Then spent some time on the beach where Noah was making friends right and left. He was covered in sand before we knew it. So much fun!!! We headed back to Portland and spent some more time with Shelly and Maggie. Sunday was the day for the MTB race.

So it has been over 1 1/2 years since I have done a MTB race. I was a little nervous to say the least. My sister offered to watch Noah and Adri so Kris and I could race. I owe her big time. So we headed out to the Hornings Hustle. It is a pretty cool course always a little muddy. It really wasn't to bad this year. There was still pleanty for slippery snotty hills to climb and descend, but no mud pits. Sweet!!! There was a nice creek crossing to clean the bikes off each lap. It was warm out a nice 70 degrees. Mind you the highest I think I had ridden in temp wise was 45. It was a little warm. We warmed up and headed to the start. There were 12 women lined up in the open/pro catagory. As if I wasnt a little nervous before, now I really was. I felt pretty good, my legs were a little loaded but hopefully would work themselves out. I raced in second most the race. I say most because I broke my chain with almost 2 miles to go. I thought there was a lot of downhill so I originally didn't fix it and ran the ups and coasted the downs. This wasn't really working very well. So I had to fix it, I really need to work on being a faster mechanic. Needless to say third place passed me so when I got my chain fixed it was all or nothing. So I hopped on my bike and sprinted for the entire last mile. I caught her as we entered into some single track and we got stuck behind some slower races. As soon as it opened up to the climb right before the finish I sprinted and well I got 2nd. Yippie. I was pretty stoked. So now it is time until Sea Otter Classic next weekend.

Adrienne's Baptism

2009-03-28T15:29:00.000-07:00

Wow, it has been awhile since I have posted. I guess I have been busy. Adrienne is almost 6 months and I can't believe it. We had her baptized last weekend. She is such a little sweet heart, hungry and all we made it through the service with out too much of a fuss. It was a good weekend. Adrienne is starting to sit on her own, which she is very proud of. She is quite the talker and loves her brother. She loves to watch him and smiles when he plays with her. It is very cute. Noah has been learning to ski, he is almost ready to go on his own. He loves it. He is

going to play soccer this spring and can't wait. God has blessed me with a beautiful family, I am forever thankful!!

Well training offically started I think back in January. So far that training has been very cold and lately very wet. That is how I know training has started... when I make myself get on a bike when it is 17 degrees out or when it is 35 and raining like crazy. So it has been very busy between kiddos, work, and ride time. I seem to be managing. We will see how things go. I am racing for Vanderkitten this year, after 5 years with Velobella. I guess it was just time for a change. We all need one once and awhile. Vanderkitten is a clothing company from the Bay area, they make kick a$$ cycling kits. Check them out www.vanderkitten.com . Well this week we are headed off to Oregon for a weekend at the coast and plan on hitting a MTB race down there on the way back. Then 2 weeks after that it is down to the Sea Otter classic. I am a little nervous about both being away from my family and to race in the Pro field again at a national race. I think it will all work out though. All I can do is give it my best so that is what I will do. I am doing a few races here and there but the big plans are for 24 hours Round the Clock solo, the NW Xterra, and Trans Rockies with a good friend of mine Erika. I might even attempt a few road races, we will see.

My baby girl 3 1/2 months old

2009-01-15T21:36:00.000-08:00

Winter Wonderland

2008-12-17T15:38:00.001-08:00

Praise the Lord for sisters!! Seriously I have the 2 best sisters in the entire world. They are my best friends and I love them. I took Noah and Adrienne down early to Portland to Visit Shelly, Jared and Maggie Jane. I dont' think we could have fit more into the weekend. Lets see a Bakery a day, Zoolights, Shopping, a Christmas train ride with Santa, swimming, and well a Cross race. It was the best weekend ever. Most of all spending time with family. Noah is still talking about his Maggie Jane and Kris and I are still cleaning all the mud off of our bikes and selves. Adrienne is turning out to be a good little traveler and putting up with the craziness of her family. She is my little sweetheart! I am dreading heading back to work next week. I guess it is the way things go though. I am so blessed to have a wonderful nanny for them, it makes it easier. I will miss my time with them. Well till next time.

Halloween 2008

2008-11-03T19:08:00.001-08:00

A Sleeping Pumpkin and the Fire breathing Dragon.

Racing again...

2008-11-03T19:00:00.001-08:00

Well I am back racing again, this time racing myself into shape though. You got to start somewhere I suppose. I raced the INWCX race at Riverside. It was hard.... ok, brutal being only 4 1/2 weeks post baby. I enjoyed every minute of the race though. My HR hit 193, which I didn't know it could still do. I guess being out of the race scene for 10 months can have really good effects on your desire to race. I have been pretty excited to get back out there. Can't wait to do another one. Adrienne will be 5 weeks tomorrow. I can't believe how much she has changed. She has become a lot fussier, but mainly a lot more cute. She is a doll and puts up with her big brother wanting to give her kisses all the time pretty well. He is handling the big change pretty well. He dressed up as a dragon for halloween and got to go trick or treating. He thought it was pretty cool. I think he said it was awsome actually. He is a load of fun. Not much else going on, I will try and post more photos.

Noahs first bike races

2008-10-21T13:16:00.001-07:00

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Noah's first bike race was a typical fall day. It had been raining and windy all day, we asked if he wanted to ride or stay home. Of course he wanted to ride. Mind you the only time Noah had ridden his bike was in the house. We had taken him outside many times, but he didn't want to ride. We weren't sure how it was going to go over. We got there and he was sure and steady, very serious. He did it though and was smiling ear to ear. So we decided to take him to the next kids fun race. It was a beautiful day and Noah was so excited. He did much better this time and didn't have to have Dad help as much. Now he loves to ride around the block with us. I am so excited this motivated him to ride a little. He is such a little stud.

3 Weeks... I can't believe it

2008-10-21T13:08:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been 3 weeks since Adri was born. Time flies. She is already putting on some chub, which is just so cute. I have been having a blast staying home with Noah and Adrienne. I could really do this stay at home mom thing. Well I would race bikes I supose and maybe get an early bird job as Starbucks. Sounds like the life!!! Noah is still doing great with his little sis. Yesterday Noah and I made bat wings. He thought this was really cool.

Here is Noah being silly with his newly made bat wings. Well I started riding so I a super excited about that. I feel good, not fast, just good. It has been so awsome to get outside and ride. I had been on the trainer almost the entire last month of my pregnancy because I didn't want risk anything. I am really excited to get back into racing and well get back into shape. So I will have to wait and see how next season goes.

Baby Adrienne is Here

2008-10-03T20:36:00.001-07:00

Adrienne Novalee Holden

Born Sept 30, 2008

3:15 pm

7 lbs 15 oz

21 inches long

Well after 9 months of waiting she is finally here. I was due Sept 26 but had set a date to be induced Sept 30th because my doctor didn't want her getting to big. Noah wasn't very big but was posterior and didn't want to come out. So with 2 1/2 hours of pushing, forceps, and finally a vaccum we got him out. So my doc wanted to try and avoid that. Well my due date came and went so I just planned on heading in on the 30th. So we did. They got everything started and broke my water that morning, and well I was pushing by 1 pm. Problem was that Adrienne was posterior also, so no matter how hard or what position I pushed in, she didn't want come out. So just before 2 hours we got my doc and with my history she just decided to use the vaccum and that helped and she was out about 15 minutes later. So now we have a beautiful baby girl. Noah is so excited to have a baby sis and well we are just so happy to finally have her here.

A few Pictures

2008-07-21T21:39:00.000-07:00

Greenbluff Cherry Picker Trot 2008

Noah killing me on the walk/run.

The larger side of life...

2008-06-24T18:31:00.000-07:00

Well.....I have been absolutely terrible about posting. I guess I have been busy. I can hardly believe I am 27 weeks pregnant now. My belly is starting to look like I stuffed a ball under my shirt. He He He. It is all fun though. Noah is so excited to have a little sister. I love the way little ones think. Noah is 3 now and when we had the ultrasound 2 months ago, he thought the baby should come out of the ultrasound wand. Now there is a thought!!!! Wouldn't that be awsome if that little wand could just pull the baby right out. Sweet, no labor. I would be game for a few more kiddo's. Besides that I have been able to mountain bike still which I am so entirely thankful for. I might loose my sainity otherwise. Noah and I do a lot of hiking too. He loves being out on the trails. Last week we found an eagles nest and it actually had eaglettes in it. The crazy thing is Noah has a stuffed baby eaglette at home that makes noises. It sounds just like the real thing, he thought it was cool We are pretty lucky up here in the Northwest!!! Kris has been busy training for this, that, and the other. I think he might have gone roadie on me. I mean he trains on his mountain bike but keeps entering these road stage races and kicking his own arse. 'Till next time.....

California 2008

2008-04-22T20:40:00.000-07:00

So we just got back from California. We headed down so that Kris could do the Sea Otter Classic. Kris did both the Short Track and Cross country. He had some good races, his stomach was a little messed up all weekend. During the cross country he had to make a pit stop, which is never a good thing in a Pro race, but he finished. The weather was something fierce, between wind and clouds, it wasn't warm. I am currently 17 weeks pregnant... so not really racing this year. Noah and I had a lot of fun watching and cheering for Dad, although he was really just wanting to play on the jumping castle that was down in the mix of all the vendors and tents. Now he thinks he needs one for his birthday. Can't beat that smile though. Besides racing we got to do a lot of things while we were there.

We went to the aquarium in Monterey which was pretty amazing. I think we all loved it. Noah thinks hammerhead sharks are pretty cool. He had fun touching the star fish and watching Dad touch a sting ray. We spent a lot of time on the beach, it was cold, but Noah just loves the sand. We hiked around on the rocks, which any 2 1/2 year old boy would love. Kris and Noah even tested out the water. Noah wasn't to excited about swimming after putting his feet in, it was freezing cold.

We spent some time with Kris's Aunt Karen and Uncle Frank who we haven't seen in quite some time. It was fun. Karen made an amazing post race meal for us spaghetti and meatballs, both turkey and/or beef. It was really good to see them again. We made it home Monday afternoon to more nasty weather and snow. Yes.... Snow at the end of April, what is wrong with Spokane. I suppose I won't be complaining about the cold in August when it hits 100 degrees. This is why we love it here.

Happy Easter

2008-03-23T20:44:00.000-07:00

Well we had a wonderful Easter. Noah and I had fun Saturday doing crafts and then when Dad got home we decided to color eggs. Which wasn't all that much fun with a 2 1/2 year old. We all kind of had green and red fingers after wards. Here is Noah's art work. I had to cut and paste a few things but, he did most of it and did a good job. Well Easter came and with that meant the Easter bunny came. Noah thought this was pretty cool. After the morning we took Grandma Esther to church and to brunch at Ripples. It was pretty special. She watched Noah so we could get in our Easter MTB ride. And well we then had our second huge meal of the day at Nana and Papa's.

Now for what to do with all that ham that is left over. Actually I don't eat much meat but I actually like honey glazed ham. You got me on that, I am not sure what but I do. So here it is

Fried Rice with Ham and Peas

3 TBS oyster sauce

2 TBS soy sauce

3 TBS vegetable (peanut) oil

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup frozen peas

1/2 pound of baked ham, cubed

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 cups rice (cooked)

1 1/2 cups bean sprouts

1. Combine oyster and soy sauces in small bowl; set aside. Heat 1 1/2 tsp of oil in large skillet on medium heat. Add eggs and cook to make scrambled eggs. Then transfer eggs to small bowl.

2. Increase heat to high and heat remaining 2 1/2 tsp oil until hot. Add peas and ham and cook. Stir in garlic and gradually add rice and oyster sauce mix until heated. Add eggs and bean sprouts cook, stir consistently, until heated through. Then serve.

Then eat up...

2008-03-02T20:29:00.000-08:00

So this was my night the other night. I had just I had gotten Noah to sleep( I thought), so I headed downstairs to do a little trainer time. I was chatting on the phone while riding and well didn't check on Noah for about 45 minutes. Usually if he gets up he comes and gets me. So I finally wandered upstairs to make a double check and well his light was on. I cracked open the door and saw this. I had to quickly close the door because I started laughing so hard. Noah had changed his diaper and decided he needed some lotion. So on the ground there were 2 tubes of lotion and well 2 tubes of diaper cream. He had covered himself and the diaper cream is think and white as you can see. So Noah had become half ghost. I had just boughtBurts Bees diaper cream (which isn't cheap) and well it is pretty fragrant when used in masive quatities. He smelled like a rosemary bush. I told him he smelled pretty good and maybe I would got night night with him. So I got him cleaned up and we went and layed in bed. Right before he fell asleep he says to me. "Mama, Nanu made big mess all by himself!!" He was pretty proud of getting himself all lotioned up. It was pretty darn cute. You just can't get upset with that. He is such a little bundle of fun and suprises.

2008-02-17T19:42:00.000-08:00

THIS IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN DREAMING ABOUT.

Mt. Spokane in the summer. I found these old pictures in my computer. It was an epic day riding treacherous trees. Kris and I's favorite trail. Mind you it is even more fun to ride up and see how few times you can have to put a foot down. Kris is the man when it comes to that. Well the snow finally melted enough that we could get outside to ride this week. We still have about 12 inches in our yard but the roads are clear.

Actually it has been very pretty here. Sunny and cold. We took Noah up skiing a few more times. The last time there was a ton of powder and well the boys were skiing and I was snowboarding, of course. Gotta love the powder !!! Well Noah got tired of skiing so he hopped on my snowboard with me. It was pretty cool. He just stood up on the inside of my step and we had a blast heading down the mountain. He thought is was pretty cool. He now thinks he needs a Snowboard. Could you imagine a 2 1/2 year old on a board. It would be pretty funny. We had a blast though. Besides that we have been working hard and well riding the trainer way too much. 'Til next time......

2008-01-28T17:31:00.000-08:00

I think even Mother nature is sick. We got 14 inchs of snow from Saturday to Sunday(current total of 19inches in my yard), with another 12-16 expected. Not sure what this is about but I do know my car is barely making in around. We haven't seen a winter like this since the 80's. The plow doesn't come on my street I don't think we exist on the Spokane map. I was fed up with winter and I actually rode the bus this morning, the only person jealous of that was Noah. He loves the bus. I went XC skiing with Erika on Sunday which was fun. She totally kicked my butt. I guess my backcountry skiis out of the 80's don't do the job on the groomed stuff. We would get to the top of a hill and I would actually have to work to go down and she sailed away. It was still fun. I managed to fit a little run in with my big sis which was awsome. She hasn't asked me to run with her in a really long time so I was excited. I actually kind of miss running and am planning another marathon when it can fit into my MTB schedule. We are both putting in our great base miles for the year, it is always fun spinning on a trainer most every night. Kris has been training quit a bit. He is getting for a rip roaring season. Not sure yet what he is focusing on probably MTB and some road stage races. We have this pull up competition, in which when we started I could hardly do 1. The goal is to do more then 1/2 what Kris and and I win. Wel I am up to 2 sets of 7. Pretty close to kicking is rear. Yippie.

So I am on day 10 of this horrible cold I got, now it is in my lung and I sound like I have been smoking for years. It is kind of funny. Well I just hope I get better soon. I am kind of tired of being tired. Till next time.....

2008-01-15T19:59:00.000-08:00

Nanu's Winter Adventure

Noah calls himself Nanu, I can't remember what is means, but I think little one. I will have to look it up. Anyways he has called himself that since he was about 1 1/2 y.o. Silly Kid.

Spokane has been blessed with a crazy amount of snow this year. Although it keeps melting and about a week later a storm blows in and we have more. We live high enough above town we don't seem to loose as much and the stupid plows haven't figures out that there are people living on my street so they don't plow. My little VW Passat has been rubbing her belly for nearly two weeks now. I might complain a little, but we do love snow. I think I could actually live in Alaska. I would miss summer but maybe later in life we could move to Arizona or something. Actually I love it where I am. We have 4 distinct seasons and more mountain bike trails from our door step than we could find anywhere else. We have been snow shoeing just on the back side of where we live, as you can see I am the pack horse ( notice no little boy in back pack), so not too heavy of a load..... he was running around. I have been trying to teach him to ski, he is 2 1/2 and well he just likes to go fast ( kind of like Mom and Dad). Only problem is he hasn't totally figured

out how to slow down. It is fun either way, I really miss some of the things Kris and I use to do before mountain biking became such a priority. I had the joy of Snow boarding for the 2nd time in 3 years. It was a blast the only thing I forgot was where my edges were so I crashed a few times. It was a blast. Here is a picture of our snow pile, it finally covered up the lamp out front. Crazy year. It melted enough to clear up the roads so on Sunday Kris, Vinny, Tony and I went for an icy cross ride. It was fun. I actually made it 3 hours with them. I was stoked. I also am able to run again which is so awsome. It has been 16 weeks since I have been able to run so I am pretty excited about that. Happy trails and slopes!!!!!

2007-12-20T21:02:00.000-08:00

Ho Ho Ho!!! Merry Christmas!!! Noahs big breakfast with Santa. So Saturday we went to the Five Mile Grange which is about 1/2 mile from us and had breakfast with Santa. We felt like it was the back when days. What I mean by that is breakfast was $3 per adult, kids free. I didn't think you could get served food anywhere for $3 anymore. They also had a white Christmas tree, I think those went out in the 70's. It was a blast thought, oh ya, and check out Noah's awesome Moon Boots, they were out of the 80's. Actually they were Uncle David's when he was kid. The crazy things people keep. Oh well Noah thinks they walked on the Moons so he loves them. He He He. After breakfast with Santa we headed up the mountain for some snowshoeing. I love the fact that we have a totally wild child that puts up with all the silly things Kris and I do. The funny thing is he loves doing it all with us. We had a blast at the Mountain. We took his sled and pulled him for a while, he hopped on my back for a spell, and even made some of his own tracks. He is such a little crazy man. He is going to be just like his dad, I know it. We had lots of fun. I think the next adventure is skiing. It should be interesting.

2007-12-20T20:51:00.000-08:00

So the winter fun and chill begins. Kris and I were lucky enough to get a sitter so we could go out on this 2 1/2 hour adventure in the snow. It really wasn't bad we had previously had about 4 inches of snow that had melted a little and compacted down. Unfortunately left the road ways really icy. It then proceeded to snow over night. When we woke up that morning it was about 24 deg out. It was about 28 deg when we left at 8am. It was crazy though because it was so slick on the roads that we could hardly stay tire side down and well it took us forever to get off the hill.

We had a blast laughing at each other looking like dorks. We had so much fun we went out 3 days and 4 more inches of snow later to try to more fun. Sundays ride was a bit different. From my house you can ride trails down to the Riverside State Park which is a huge park that runs along the river shown above. Anyways we had to pedal all the way down the switch backs to get down there. It was crazy usually we are just coasting bombing down. Well not Sunday. It was a blast though. We ended up riding more road than usually on Sunday. I would have to say the conditions were more liked groomed powder rather that deep powder found on the trails. Hmm time to get the skis out.......

2007-12-05T22:50:00.000-08:00

I totally forgot about these pictures.....A little indoor football on Thanksgiving. Can't beat that. I don't think Nana was too impressed.

2007-12-04T12:58:00.000-08:00

Rain, Rain, and then there was Mud. Kris, Noah, and I were in Portland this past weekend. It rained the entire time were were there. Friday we went into town with my sister and Maggie, we went to lunch at the coolest restaurant. It is called Grandma Leeths. They have basically a day care in the restaurant where you can see your kids play and watch while you eat peacefully. The food was wonderful also which can be hard to find in such a place. We pre-rode Friday afternoon for the cyclocross race and the course was pretty uneventful except a little mud which turned into more Saturday and a lot Sunday. Friday night we met up with his brother and family and had dinner Friday night. It is always fun to let the cousins play. Saturday came and I met up with the Bellas, we had a pretty good showing 10 stong. Saturday we both raced which neither one of us had our best races but we had fun playing in the mud. Crashed a few times, ran over and mounted one of the posts (that was a little embarrasing). It was fun to take the KONA out for a stoll in the mud even if it wasn't a great race for me. Even in the rain Noah had a great time cheering us on, he just loves to ring that cowbell and yell at every cyclist. He is the best fan in the world. We later treated him to some swimming at this community center where they have a really cool water park and slide inside. He was pretty excited. It rained all night long and Sunday the course was a mess. My knee was hurting from the race and well the roads were suppose to be something terrible so Kris made and executive decision to skip his race. We ended up heading to IKEA. I have never been to IKEA and it was an experience. The place is huge!!!! I think we ran through about 1/4 of it and got tired and left. Noah wasn't really appreciating the shopping either. We went and picked up Kris's Mom and headed home. Lucky for us the weather held off and we had rain the entire way.

2007-11-28T18:04:00.000-08:00

So off to P-town tomorrow. Kris, Noah, and I are heading down to Portland for the US Grandprix of Cyclocross tomorrow. We are racing Saturday and Sunday, should be fun. It has been an interesting season for me. I tore my MCL (Grade II tear) 8 weeks ago pre-riding for a local race. I was actually starting to come around after my last injury and feel fast again. So that really put a damper in the fast thing. I decided to hop in a local race about 2 weeks ago and see if racing at the GP was even possible. I can ride my bike pain free it is the running and barriers that doesn't agree with the knee. It was a rather humbling experience to work that hard and get 3rd place when I know was riding way faster 8 weeks ago. It took me about 40 minutes to figure out how to ride the skinny tires again. They let me down the last time so we had to have a little time to get to know each other again. Once I figured it out I was much smoother and made up about 30 plus seconds on 2nd place in a matter of a lap. I guess it also didn't help that I had to walk the run up and well the training thing would probably help. So guess the question is why would I really want to race in an elite race when I don't have the training to do so. I would never run the New York Marathon untrained so why I have decided to do this is beyond me, but I have. I am going for the adverse condition theory. I love love love riding in mud, so hopefully it is muddy. It is just fun and maybe that will propel me along to do well. In fact tonight I went night riding in about 5 inches of snow just so I could get that totally out of control feeling you get like when you ride in Mud. It is very similar to riding in Snow although the icy sections under the snow will catch you off guard. Luckily there usually isn't ice under the Mud. So off to P-town we go. Should be a fun weekend of racing. After all that is what it is really about having a blast and pushing our bodies to do things they probably weren't meant to do. So 'till next time.

2007-11-05T17:54:00.000-08:00

Noah The Dragon

So here is my little Dragon, although he calls himself a sharp tooth. He was awsome on Halloween, totally in full character. I think he growled at every person he trick or treated. Even Papa and Nana. He was pretty impressed that every house he went to they put candy in his pumpkin. Oh the simplicity of being a child and the littlest things that make their day. We had fun, Kris got off work way before me so they took off trick or treating before I got home. I caught up to them and was able to enjoy going to the grandparents. It was fun. Thursday we went climbing down at Wild Walls, turns out Noah is quite the climber. He got harnessed up and made it 3/4 of the way up before he realized how far up he was and wanted to come down. Didn't scare him much because he went right back up with Papa.
Kris returned the Sunday prior from a trip to Kentucky to race in the US Grand Prix of cyclocross. He had fun. He had crummy call ups for the start so it is hard to get out fast. He did good and was excited to come back to Spokane. Turns out Louisville makes Spokane look fashionable, which I thought we were pretty behind times. This past weekend he raced in a local race and he looked awsome. He is really stepping it up and getting his game on. He got 2nd but not before long he will be doing some damage on the cross courses. As far as me I am still out. I rode this weekend but not sure when I will be up and racing again. The knee just isn't ready. The frustration is setting in. Well till next time. Happy riding.....

2007-10-30T15:47:00.000-07:00

Is this not the cutest little face you have ever seen? I think he might have gotten into trouble right after the picture. Halloween is tomorrow I think he is going to be a Dragon, he has a pretty good ROAR so be very scared and run if you see him... He He He..

I have decided that I should be riding a tricycle with Noah, maybe I would stay healty. I crashed pre-riding a course about 2 weeks ago. I actually wasn't going to race because we didn't have anyone to watch the little man. My husband found a friend who's wife would be there 10 min before my race. So we got to the race site early so that I could at least have 1 pre-ride lap. Well that was all it took. There was an off camber corner on wet grass and me pretending to be Katie Compton...someone I am not. I took it to fast and crashed. The top tube managed to scrape its way down my shin which was actually the only thing that I thought hurt at first. Then I stopped riding for a second and I realized I couldn't walk, my knee was messed up. Well after about 15min I got back to the car and was really upset. Kris took off for his warm up and I hopped on the trainer to see how bad I was. I really didn't feel bad riding it was just walking that killed me. So for some crazy, stupid, idiotic reason I decided to start the race. Other that my knee I felt awsome I had a really good lead after 3 laps but decided something was really wrong. So I pulled out. We originally just thought I strained my MCL, only to find out after 2 nights of not being able to sleep that I tore my MCL. It really isn't my year, unlike this spring I am taking some time off to heal. It is possible I will be racing at the last GP in Portland.

2007-10-18T21:06:00.000-07:00

Well things have been changing around the Holden household. I recently got a new job and work Mon, Tues, Wed and every other Saturday. I work at Yoke's Pharmacy, the store is pretty slow now but I hope to get the numbers up and get busier in the next year or so. It is absolutely wonderful. I get to see Noah much more. This is a picture of Noah last Friday at the park. We have lots of fun on my days off. It is really nice because Kris has Thurs off also so we get an extra day to spend as a family. Well it is fall and that means cyclocross season. I just love cyclocross it is so painful and yet fun at the same time. There is just something about being in the purple zone for 50 minutes. Unfortunately I managed to crash pre riding last week and will be sitting out a few weeks to let a MCL heal. Kris on the other hand had an awesome race last week and he is heading to Kentucky next Friday to race in the Grand Prix cyclocross races. So wish him luck.

More next time.

2007-08-23T14:36:00.000-07:00

Can you believe Noah is 2 years old. It has gone by so fast. This past year has been so wonderful and Kris and I are so blessed with this amazing child. Naoh (aka Nanu, Noodle) He goes by a lot. Kris and I fixed up this old tricycle so he could ride it. He absolutely loves it.

2006-06-09T22:33:00.000-07:00

June 5th, 2006

Noah's 1st Birthday. We had a little get together on June 4th with Aunt Shellly, Uncle J., Aunt Sue, Uncle Brent, Cooper, Courtney, Nana, Papa, Grandma Esther, and June Wyrick. It was fun. Noah got to open presents and eat cake too. He had a great time, so much fun that he decided to walk. He was so proud of himself that he decided to clap and do it again. Such a little cutie. We wish you all could have been there. So he is now offically 1yo. Can't even believe it.
Cooper and Courtney helped keep Noah on task with the opening. He kept getting distracted by the ribbons. I think we all had fun. Thank you to everyone for the wonderful presents. I will post more photos later.
Shann

2006-05-29T18:37:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was the 24 hours Round the Clock race in Spokane, Wa. Not knowing what I was getting myself into I signed up to do it solo. I raced the course Wednesday night on my Kula Lisa and realized this was not a course for hard tail. I hadn't recieved my Queen Supreme yet so I called up my bike shop and asked what they could do for me. Well to get to the point, Scott from Kona was coming over to race on a two man team and brought me a bike and somehow managed to get mine to Spokane by friday morning. I had 2 full suspensions to race on, Scott and Kona saved my rear!!!!
I started off really well with some great lap times, keeping my heart rate in a good zone, taking plenty of fluids, and trying to eat as much as possible. Eating is the hard thing for me I tend to get really sick and food doesn't like to stay down. So of course I wasn't getting enough. My husband and Dad calculated that I needed 600 calories for each lap. I was maybe gettin 300-400. So around 7 laps or 8pm I was getting nauseas and my stomach was trying to cramp. I came into the tent had some chicken noodle soup, some fruit, and some Enlive. Enlive is kind of like a juice form of Ensure with 300 calories. It was amazing, half way through the next lap I was feeling so much better which was a good thing because I was heading into night. This is were the mental battle started for me. Not only was I tired but it was dark and raining. My lap times stayed pretty good it was the breaks that were killing me. I couldn't eat while I rode because I would gag whenever I tried, so I had to stop at the camp and down whatever I could. The hardest was getting back on the bike in the cold and rain. This is where Rebecca Rusch made her move and put some time on me. Rebecca is this amazing superstar adventure racer and my toughest competition.
My second lap in the dark I headed into the mud pit and came out with something clicking on my bike, I asked the guy behind me if he could shine is light on my wheel. I had a thorne in my tire that had a branch attached to it. Not thinking and being half out of it I pulled the branch out and of course air came with it. I put my finger over the hole to block it and started to freak a little. I really didn't want to change a tire in the middle of the night and in a mud pit. I think I actually started praying and the stragned thing happened, when I took my finger off of the hole the air wasn't leaking anymore. I thought to myself... ok my husband must have put Stanz in. I rode about 1/2 a mile and there was my husband so I asked him, he said no he didn't put Stanz in. I rode 6 miles on this tire, air leaked slowly, but I made it back to camp. I still don't know what happened or how I didn't flat out on the course.
About 1am my knees started to really hurt, my rear end was taking a beating, and I was starting to have nerve pain shoot up my hands. I knew I had to be mentally tough, so I just started telling myself morning was coming. My husband was awsome and would go to sections of the course to see how I was doing and how I looked forward to seeing him. My dad was great he would rub my legs and knees while I ate Chicken noodle soup and coffee. Yes coffee it was keeping my blood pressure up because I was getting a little dizzy at times, oh ya and it was warm!!!!! My support crew was something else. Morning came and I was hurting but excited for the light. I had accomplished goal number 1 riding through the night. The only bad part was that my breaks were longer than my competition and she had put a bit of time on me.
Morning came I was gaging down the Enlive with each lap and trying to put some solids in. I was feeling better. Riding hard though the night was really starting to wear on Rebecca so my husband was pushing me to go for it. I put on the MP3 and got a grove on for awhile and was starting to make up some time. At 9 am Rebecca had gone through the start/finish about 10 minutes in front of me, my husband told me he would think I was awsome if I could go and pass her. So what do you know I went out for a hard lap, 12 minutes faster than any lap I had done in the last 8 hours. I blew by her at the top of a hill. I was so excited, but she still had 2 laps on me which unless she stopped it was impossible for me to make it up. On the other hand I had now accomplished goal number 2 finishing 15 laps. I still had 1 1/2 hours to go so I went out on another lap and boy was I ready to see 12 noon. It was a lap but I finished with 16 laps and in 2nd place. So my first 24 hours was awsome and painful. I could barely walk Sunday night and I couldn't bend my knees at all. I think the hardest part of the weekend was Monday morning at 3am when Noah (my baby) woke up and then again at 7am. Reality hit that eventhough I was tired and sore I had to get up, be a mom and then go to work in the afternoon. So I did it 24 hours solo....240miles. Oh yah, here is a picture of my mechanic working on my shifting...He He He.

2006-05-26T10:41:00.000-07:00

Teething

Noah is now 11 1/2 months old. I can't believe he is almost 1 year old. He is so much fun. This week has been a little rough he has been teething. He now has 4 teeth. It is kind of funny because Grandpa Holden had told us most kids have 6 teeth by 1 year. I think Noah decided he wanted to make Grandpa happy and is working really hard to have 6 by 1 year. He He He. That means in a matter of 3 weeks....4 teeth. He really has been teething like crazy and has been just a little edgy. Besides that he is great. He found out how to climb onto a chair and then onto the table, I shouldn't be proud of this because now I really have to keep an eye on my little monkey.
I may be making a nickname change also for him. For the longest time we call him Noodle, partially because he is tall and skinny, I am starting to think monkey is better.

Kris and I have a crazy few days coming up. I am competing in the 24 Hours Round the Clock. It is a 24 hours mountain bike race, then on Monday we move. Yippie. Our house is done and it is beautiful. We are both very excited for the move, 5 blocks away. He He He. Till next time.....

2006-05-26T10:36:00.000-07:00

Kris at XTERRA Tamecula

So this past weekend Kris flew down to California to participate in the XTERRA West Championships. This was his first XTERRA in the US, he did one last year in Canada. For some strange reason he had a wild hair to sign up as pro. I guess if you are pro Mountain bike you can race pro at the XTERRA's. I thought he was crazy, but there is only cash for the pro field. I will let him tell you about his race........

Well the race::: I got the LA and drove to the site. When I got there it was 90+ degrees and hot and dry. I got all my pre race stuff and rode the course. It was a whole lot of single track that the next day during the race I would pass 154 age group racers after I gulped and sputtered through the windy swim with some minor breaking waves. So the first day there was hot and I slept amazing considering the LA freeway was 40 feet from my window at the hotel that was on the beach. Well the otherside of the hotel was on the beach at least.
Race Day: I got there early and talked with the race crew and suddenly was signed up for PRO. Mind you I have done one Xterra, two offroad sprint Tris and one road tri. I was slightly over ambitious. The evil of money paid twelve deep was my motivator. In four hours I would find out that 20th really does not payout any cash for the pro field.
The race started with me swimming. This is odd for me since I had not been in real water before this year. And no, the 40 degree, 30 foot swim trying out the new Xterra wet suit in Sacheen Lake does not count. I hit the water hard and then started climbing and clawing onto the pro women at the back of the field. I got out to the right side and had not more thrashing feet at my head. When I sighted for the bouy I noticed it was no longer in front of me and was replaced by reeds. The bouy was due left 30 degrees and the pack was 100 feet to my side. Yes I realized I can't swim and think at the same time. I decided I should stop holding my breath now and actually learn how to breath in open water, at least when my head is above water. Needless to say I did beat one pro male swimmer and he later was cheering me on from the sidelines wondering what crazy fool would still try to finish when 180 other age group swimmers including the whole mens and womens pro field were ahead.
The bike. Lets sum it up with this. I get on bike after two minutes of trying to put on wet socks and finding out my helmet goes on with the straps under my chin not behind my ears. Yes it was backwards. (Note to self: learn how to swim). Once on the bike, while climbing the first hill I noticed it was all age groupers around me. I decided to give them a break and run up the first hill passing most of them the honorable way. Well after numerous people shuddering at the pounding I relentlessly drove into the mountain bike hills I came out to finish the bike and start the run in 26th place. Not bad 154 people in 20 miles of single track. That equates to 7.5 people per mile.
The run: Well for most of it I just stood there and let the scenery and most the people pass by me. I cheered them on and got them gatorade and GU. I then noticed I was still running and not on the side of the course. The heat stroke had hit home. I ran and sputtered up two 1000foot hills and once on top decided it was faster to roll in a ball down than run. When I ran to the finish they gracefully told me I was not quite done and needed to continue running for 1.8 more miles. after 56 minutes of running I had lost 40 places overall and finished in around 66th.
It was all fun. Especially the horses on the single track leg of the run. Yes I will be back in the Tri saddle in a month in Oregon. My next offroad Tri.

2006-05-12T18:26:00.000-07:00

Noah at 11months playing in the back yard.

2006-05-12T13:21:00.000-07:00

Ok so it has been some time since I wrote so here we go again. I will start with Noah, he is 11months now. I can't even believe it, he is the joy of Kris and I's life. We both love spending time with him and watching him grow. He is crawling all over the place and like Mom and Dad climbing everything. He is such a happy baby. Life is good.

As far as racing goes I was down in California at the NORBA #1 in Fontana this past weekend.
Never in my life did I think I would race a bike for 5 1/2 hours. I didn't exactly start the morning out how I would have liked to, preparing for a marathon is a little different than a cross country race, more nutrition and water... in the fluster of it all I forgot a jersey and had the joy of riding in my new Hincape Windtex vest. You could say it works very well, I felt like I was was wrappped in seran wrap. Needless to say prepare the night before. Not knowing what pace to set or how much water and nutrition to take I was hesitant to test my abilities in the first half. I think the hardest thing about marathoning is keeping your head in it. There aren't many competitors so you are out by yourself for awhile. The 2nd and 3rd lap I hooked on with a couple of guys, it was nice to have some company but I noticed their pace was slowing so I needed to get a move on. I never saw them again. Somewhere after 3 hours your body starts to really get tired and your mind starts to drift. I remember at one point imagining my husband in front of me, hollering at me to ride his wheel we were going to have fun and get going. No I wasn't hallucinting just trying to buy some time. On my 6th lap my legs were really starting to cry, they were tired.... I just kept thinking to hold my pace up the hills and I would make it. So I just did that and moved into my last lap. Lets just say the finish line couldn't have come fast enough. I was wasted. Mind you this was my first ever race over 3 1/2 hours and onlymy 2nd ride over 5 hours. I remember looking down at my Cat eye Computer and thinking it was broken, I never did see my heart rate drop below 168 bpm, a scary thought. So I learned a lot about marathoning and am looking to do much better next time in my JERSEY......
That night I was exhausted. I had called my husband to tell him about my 6th place finish and he asked if I was doing the XC the next day. I really didn't think I would be getting out of bed on Saturday so of course I told him probably not. I fought with myself about this doing the XC all night and into the next morning. Having only done a few pro races it is a little scary to enter a pro XC race having raced 5 1/2 hours the day before. Saturday morning came way before it should have and I headed out to the site early thinking I maybe I would do the Super D. With a little push from Jed, a shove from Alex, and coaching from my husband I was suiting up, in my jersey this time, for the Pro XC. I had great race. Mentally I was having a great race, riding wheels when I needed to, passing when I could, and downhilling with whatever strength I had left. I was getting frustrated climbing behind some women on the second hill, so I tore into the shrubery and pass about line of 8 women. It was reassuring to me that I still had legs left enough to pass these women. This race was much more entertaining than the day before, there were many women to work with, chase after, and try to drop. I rode about a lap with Kim and it was awsome to have someone to work with. The second lap came, I found myself passing a few more women on the hill climb, unfortunately for me I think they passed me back after I crashed a couple of times. With only one lap to go I was so excited, this seemed short after the marathon. Once again I attacked all that I could on the hills and tried to ride a clean downhill. I finished and wasn't last ...I was happy.

Kris was a good Dad and stayed home with Noah.

Well Kris is leaving next weekend for Temecula for the XTERRA West Championship race and the weekend after I am racing 24 hour solo. Till then.

Mexico/Sea Otter Trip

2006-04-10T18:33:00.000-07:00

This past week has just been a crazy one. We started by going to Mexico for 4 days. We enjoyed 80 degree weather and lots of swimming. We spent the vacation with my family which added to the fun. On Wednesday we headed to Monterey for the Sea Otter Classic, which is a big MTB race in Cali. It was my first real Pro MTB race so I was not only very excited but very nervous. Kris also was racing in the Pro stage race. It was a little bit crazy having Noah down there and both of us racing but we managed. Kris's Aunt Karen from Menlo Park came down to help out and the girls at the Velobella tent were awsome. So the Super XC came first, what a crazy race. I did alright, the mud down there was something else. Kris didn't get a warm up because he was doing his Daddy duties, but all in all a good day. Next was the TT Kris had an awsome race only 4 minutes but he was middle of the pack, I wrecked and was towards the 2nd half in the results. Saturday brought us another mud bath in the short track. I had great start top 30, then was taken out in a crash at a corner and lost my groove and got pulled. Kris did awsome in his race he was 8th in his heat. Sunday was the long cross country I had a great race again, my shifters busted about 1/4 of the way through the 2nd lap. So I was a supper spinner and lost some time but came in 35th. Kris had a rough start and just barley got to the start line he finished. After the XC was over we were homeward bound.