Last weekend, I jumped in the car with Greg and some other Ketchum friends to head over to Pierre’s Hole 50/100 miler in Targhee. I’ve raced a 24 Hour race over there and the riding is really fun. It’s just a 4.5 hour drive, so I figured it would be a great way to make sure I kept riding and did not sit on my butt too long recovering from Leadville. I still have more races to do, so I don’t want to let my hard earned fitness slide before the season is over. There were 8 or 9 of us from Idaho all racing the 50 and 100. I signed up for the 50 feeling like I’d earned myself a bit of a lighter day. The 100 also started at 6 AM and I did not want to get up early! What a different pre-race feeling comparing this week to last. I was super relaxed, did no warm up, and just threw a bit of food together at the last minute. It was refreshing to be at a fun race that was just a great riding day instead of a peak race like Leadville with all the nerves, preparation and expectations.
The course in Targhee was 25 mile laps with around 4000 ft of climbing per lap! The sweet thing about that much climbing is that there was equally as much descending. The course was 70% single track and the descents were FUN! I used the first hour as a warm up, then tried to hit the hills harder and push my HR up as high as I could. There was still a bit of leftover fatigue left from Leadville, but overall, I felt surprisingly good. I ended up winning the women’s 50 miler and was 3rd overall. Mud Honey, Sara Schroeder, had an awesome race and was 2nd in the women’s 50. The Wood River Valley had a strong showing in all the races. Mike Shane was 1st in the 100 SS. Greg was 2nd in the SS 50. For me, it was such a blast to camp out, ride bikes and hang out with friends with no pressure. It was just a great weekend of bike riding.
Now, this week is back to the work grind a bit. I have to jump back on more specific training, follow up with a bunch of Leadville interviews and I’m working on planning a birthday/Leadville party at the Ketchum Pump Park this week.
Happy Trails
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