This past month has been a whirlwind of lots and lots of time on the saddle. To give you an idea, Debra and I have already ridden well over 20 hours together in one month! With the ABSA Cape Epic being a team event, we know that the more we can ride together, the stronger a team we can be! Trust me, the teams competing in this event will be cutthroat however I have heard countless stories from people who have done these type of events where there were two very strong women riding together, not working together as a team and at each other's throats. Our plan is to go into this race as physically strong and as cohesive as possible!

Over the past month some of my big weekends have included:

Thanksgiving weekend: 5 hours at Picket Post Trail (part of the Arizona Trail that spans from Mexico to Utah), 5 hours the next day riding up Mount Humboldt, then the next day doing 5 hours to Bartlett Lake and back. I felt amazing and surprised by my awesome recovery each day that weekend however the morning of Bartlett Lake, I woke up with an upset stomach and diarrhea. Not a good combo when you are headed out for a long ride that requires a bit of food for energy. However I decided that it could be very possible to wake up in Africa feeling this way so I'd better get out and try to ride. My friend Sarah rode with me that day and I never told her my stomach issues, just that I was tired from the previous days rides. It took 2 hours into the ride before I could stomach some water. She talked my ear off and motivated me up that long climb from the lake and somehow I made it home just fine on minimal water and food. I thought this was a great 'key experience' for the Cape Epic.

Made it to the top of Humboldt - Thanksgiving weekend!

The first weekend in December, Debra and I did the AZ Endurance series race/ride in the McDowells. This is an underground event where you have to upload a gpx file to your garmin and navigate your way on their course. We knew the areas we were riding quite well, however it was our first time using the navigation feature on the Garmin so as you might have already concluded, we got lost! It took us hours longer than we predicted to make specific points on the course so by the time we got through Brown's Ranch, just over the half way point on the 61 mile course, we were over 6 hours into our ride! We had not planned to do a 10 hour day so we decided to hit the road back to the parking area. We still got in over 7 hours in the saddle (just under 6 hours of ride time) and about 55 miles! Even after such a long day, we were fresh for the next day's ride on the Sonoran Trails.

Debra getting bad with it at the top of Browns Ranch during our 7+ hour ride navigating through the McDowells.

Yes, I started with bright colored socks until the sleet came! So happy to be finished with that last lap at Dawn till Dusk.

Finally, last weekend was the Dawn Till Dusk event where we raced on quad teams. My friend Tricia and I came up with the idea of inviting as many women as possible into a pool where we drew names out of a hat and formed random teams. We had 8 quad teams so the promoter gave us some VIP tent space for the race! It was an epic day to say the least and a lot of fun with so many women! The first lap started in the rain and on my last lap we ran into dark thunder clouds that dumped sleet! Debra's quad team took the win as their team had been sitting in 2nd when their rider Darci came through (surviving the sleet), Debra took off for one more lap while the other team (who was standing in 1st) ahead of them didn't want to go out in the weather so Deb's team won! I had intentions to try to chase down Debra (we were on different teams for this race) for that final lap however I was pushing to make the time cut for one more lap and with the storm, missed the cut-off and I came as a frozen, wet popsicle! Our team took 3rd place though!

Now you might be wondering how we can do all of these miles and feel so fresh the following day. Part of this has to do with how we are training. The other is food! Think of a vehicle - you would put fuel in it to run. Now if you bought a fancy sports car or motorcycle, it might require better fuel for the engine. Same thing goes with being an endurance athlete, we have to put in the good fuel:) My personal diet is pretty simple. I eat meat, dairy, lots of veggies/greens and yes pasta, rice and a variety of grains. I try to stay away from processed foods. On the bike, I eat as much real food as possible as it helps the GI tract and gives you sustainable energy. I'll break it down for you for you for what I do on average for long 4+ hour rides. Again, everyone is different so what works for me, might not work for you:

Pre-Ride: The night before or the morning of, I usually take an electrolyte pre-load drink mix. This helps load your system with a lot electrolytes and is ONLY for when you are doing super long endurance events or racing in extreme heat. I only use this for 4+ hour rides and especially in the heat. For breakfast I like things like oatmeal (with a dollop of coconut oil), granola, or eggs and bacon. Coconut oil = rocket fuel!

Ride Food: My ride food includes: dried fruit (figs, dates, mango), rice/potato cakes (Skratch Labs Portables cookbook has lots of ideas!), or fig bars. I'll carry a honey flask or honey gels if it's a race for quick energy. Dates and figs are nice because you can pop one in your mouth every now and then for a quick burst of energy and they have lots of potassium.

I made a pan of half PBJ and half raspberry/chocolate chip rice cakes.  I personally liked the raspberry the best but PBJ got the most kudos! — I made a pan of half PBJ and half raspberry/chocolate chip rice cakes. I personally liked the raspberry the best but PBJ got the most kudos!

Drink: I put Skratch Labs in my bottles. On my mountain bike I usually carry my Osprey hydration pack with water. I have the Osprey Raven 10 which holds 3 liters and extra pockets for tools and food. Because I have so much water but need a lot of electrolytes, I also carry my Klean Athlete electrolyte tablets. 2 tablets = one bottle of electrolyte drink mix. Cowboy cyclist, Jason Hanson turned me on to the idea of using the electrolyte tablets when I watched him race at 24 Hour Nationals this past summer.

Recovery: Over the years of racing, I have found how important recovery is. I used to suffer from migraines after every big ride or race and it would wipe me out for the rest of the day. So, from fine-tuning my recovery technique, I have been able to help control/get rid of those nasty headaches for the most part and also have found myself to have better energy and legs the next day. One thing I do is to immediately fill a bottle with recovery mix. I use the Klean Athlete Recovery mix and will often add a scoop of the Klean Isolate Protein powder (if mixed with milk it's sooo delicious!). Another thing I drink sometimes is kefir. It's basically a yogurt drink with lots of probiotics so it settles the stomach and helps the immune system. Then I clean up as soon as possible and get into clean clothes. If I have driven somewhere to ride or race, I'll bring along a towel or wet wipes to get all the grime off of me. Once I'm cleaned up, I'm ready for some real food and probably a beer! After all of that and I'm home, I take a good 15 minute soak in a tub with epsom salts. Epsom salts are amazing! They will help get rid of the toxins in your body so your body can recover faster. Or if you have crashed, they help the bruising and stiffness go away quicker.

Those are a few of my 'secret' tricks for having extra energy and better recovery for extreme and epic endurance rides. The holidays are going to bring another big block of riding so watch out, I'll be busy making some potato and rice cakes next week! Maybe I'll see you out on the trails!

Be safe and Happy Holidays!!