Trans-Rockies 2012

[yellow]

I leave tomorrow for Colorado, on my way to do the Trans-Rockies Run. This is a 6-day stage race, ~120 miles total, from Buena Vista to Beaver Creek. It's been my training focus most of the year. I am nervous, excited, and anxious. We will be running starting Tuesday, August 14 and finishing on Sunday, August 20.

Here's the profile (http://transrockies-run.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/race-elevation-profile-copy-e1341281962247.jpg).

The stages are:

1: Buena Vista to Railroad Bridge, 20.9 miles
2: Vicksburg to Twin Lakes, 13.3 miles
3: Leadville to Nova Guides at Camp Hale, 24.2 miles
4: Nova Guides at Camp Hale to Red Cliff, 14.1 miles
5: Red Cliff to Vail, 23.6 miles
6: Vail to Beaver Creek, 19.2 miles

You have to do this race with a partner (it's not a relay; you run together all the time). My partner, who is much more plugged in than I, is going to be posting Twitter feeds and will be wearing a SPOT that will track her every move. So if you care to follow the gruesome details, you can go here:

Soligrrl's Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/soligrrl)

Live Tracker (http://transrockies-run.com/live-tracking/) (starting on Tuesday; probably under our team name Ti).

Our team name (Titanium, or just plain ol' Ti) is in honor of the titanium in her knee and in my back. We are just oh so clever :p

This is a run of a lifetime for me. Send us some good vibes, ladies!

[Veronica]

WOW!!!!! You are amazing! Good luck, have fun and stay safe. :)

Veronica

[indysteel]

Wow is right! Good luck, Yellow. Sending good vibes your way.

[katluvr]

And I thought I had an adventure coming up next weekend! Ha! Your's looks more challenging than mine. Good luck. I'm amazed at what some of you ladies do!

K

[Anelia]

Good luck! Don't forget to write a review afterwards how it went :)

[Tri Girl]

WOW! :eek: I'm soooooo excited for you and your adventure!!! Sounds like the race of a lifetime. I will be sending good running vibes your way, and speedy recovery vibes while I'm at it. Good luck! I will be tracking you (thanks for the SPOT link) and waiting to hear ALL about it at the end!!! :)

[Wahine]

Yellow!!!! I am soooooo excited for you. Good luck.:D:D

I'll be watching for results.;)

[OakLeaf]

Wow Yellow! Good luck and have fun!!

[yellow]

And I thought I had an adventure coming up next weekend!

K

You do!

For some, an adventure is a walk around the block. For others, a walk around the world. Both meaningful--the stuff that makes up a life. You only get one. We all need to just keep adventuring, no matter the "size" of the adventure!

Thanks, ladies. It will be an awesome week.

(and I obviously can't read a calendar; Sunday is the 19th)

[jessmarimba]

So awesome! Sounds like tons of fun! I think I drove most of that in the last 24 hours or so...haha.

Good luck!

(I might have to put this one on my bucket list)

[indysteel]

For some, an adventure is a walk around the block. For others, a walk around the world. Both meaningful--the stuff that makes up a life. You only get one. We all need to just keep adventuring, no matter the "size" of the adventure!

I absolutely love this.

[Catrin]

Wow, sending you and your partner good vibes and great wishes! I am looking forward to hearing how things go.

Yellow - I love your words about adventure. May I quote you?

[GLC1968]

Oh wow! So exciting! I'll definitely be following you, yellow!

Best of luck to you and your partner. I hope you guys have an incredible adventure and I cannot wait to hear all about it.

[yellow]

You know, there was a time not long ago when an adventure for me was a walk to the end of the block (and not even all the way around). And I still think of the 1 block walks with my 13 year old dog as an adventure. I really, really treasure life.

We just had the pre-race dinner and meeting and the energy was so incredible. and there were so many nice sets of legs there! :D

[SadieKate]

Be sure to ogle Rod Bien's. They have "interesting" curves (and he knows it). :rolleyes:

But, man, they is speedy.

[GLC1968]

You know, there was a time not long ago when an adventure for me was a walk to the end of the block (and not even all the way around).

This is kind of where I am now. I had to 'jog' about 200 yards for a ferry over the weekend and it felt strangely exciting and dangerous (and scary and hopefully not too stupid). :eek:

You are truly and inspiration to me!

[Tri Girl]

they did FABULOUS on day 1. Wow!!! :eek:


Route mile: 22.13 mi
Route average speed: 4.4 mph
Moving Time: 0:04:09
Stopped Time: 0:00:49
Moving Average Speed: 5.3 mph
Current Elevation: 8262 ft

[GLC1968]

They are doing great today, too! It looks like they are in 4th place with the hardest part of the day past them with only a few more miles to go.

Awesome!

[indysteel]

They are doing great today, too! It looks like they are in 4th place with the hardest part of the day past them with only a few more miles to go.

Awesome!

Fantastic! Thanks for the update!

[yellow]

Ladies, thanks so much for the excitement!

The tracking doesn't show everyone, just the people who signed up for the tracking. BUT! We are doing well. We won the stage for our age group today but are still in 2nd overall (for our age group). The gap between us and the really badass French women is about 6 minutes. Tomorrow's stage will be tough; all at high elevation and a lot of flat/rolling (which I don't do very well on).

The group is amazing, as is the energy. I'm having a great time!

I don't know if I'll have reception tomorrow or Friday, but should on . I will check in then!

<3 to all of you!

[Tri Girl]

Good luck, Yellow!!! Keep up the hard work!!!

(I'm trying to talk my hubs into doing this with me next year in celebration of my 40th b-day). You are providing me with such inspiration!!!! :D

[Susan Otcenas]

For some, an adventure is a walk around the block. For others, a walk around the world. Both meaningful--the stuff that makes up a life. You only get one. We all need to just keep adventuring, no matter the "size" of the adventure!


I love this too! May I quote you on the TE facebook page?

[Alex]

WooHoo! Nice job out there today! The pictures on the TRR website are great. Are you camping in those spacious tents? :eek:

[SadieKate]

THEY ARE ROCKIN!

http://transrockies-run.com/results-2/

[Wahine]

I just checked stage 3 results and team Ti is in 1st in their category!!:D:cool::D

[rocknrollgirl]

They are an inspiration! I have done enough hiking out there to leave me gasping, I cannot imagine running it.

[SadieKate]

2nd today but 1ST IN GC!!!!!!!

[Tri Girl]

They are an inspiration! I have done enough hiking out there to leave me gasping, I cannot imagine running it.

me, too!!! I can't imagine (and yet secretly I want to do this one day....)


Go Team Ti!!!! :)

[maillotpois]

This is so cool! Go Team Ti!

[yellow]

We are in Vail tonight and have reception, so here's an update.

We've won 3 of the 5 stages but are in 2nd after today. We had the lead for one day but the badass French team got us today. We had a rough start and weren't able to make up the time. Still, we've been on the podium every night and are very, very, very happy with the way things are going.

What only a select group knew until now is that I went into this with a torn hamstring. I tore it 3 weeks to the day before the race and thought that I might not be able to run at all. I rehabbed it pretty aggressively and have been wearing compression every day (and at night when I sleep). It's cranky but I will finish. Today is the first day that I had to take Lortabs :rolleyes: And, yes, I plan to take a lot of time off after this event!

One more stage tomorrow. I cannot tell you all what an incredible experience this is. An experience of a lifetime. Truly.

Sue

[rocknrollgirl]

Even more amazing knowing that you had a bad hammie. Bring it home and kick some butt!!!!

( and btw, you have inspired me to sign up for a trail race that I have wanted to do for 5 years. It will be the longest I have attempted and I am really, really excited for my "adventure")

Ruth

[Tri Girl]

you've done this with a TORN HAMMY?!?!?!?! :eek:

I was impressed before, but I'm EXTRA SUPER INCREDIBLY impressed now!! :D
Wow!! So excited for you two! SO amazing!

[yellow]

Well, we finished 2nd in today's stage (which was 4 miles farther than we were told!) and 2nd overall in the 80+ women's category. This was a tough day of running since we thought we were going 19 miles and ended up going 23.3. Our category ended up being the closest and most interesting "contest". I am glad we're done and am looking forward to some rest.

I'll post some pictures when I get home. We have the final banquet tonight, which I expect to be a giant party and we head home tomorrow. Wow. What an experience!

:D

[Wahine]

Excellent work!! I can't imagine how hard it would be to have to run another 4 miles beyond what you expected! :eek:

I am so impressed. You've helped me put into perspective a huge goal that I have for 2013. You are an inspiration. Well done!!!!:D:D:D

[maillotpois]

Wow - well done. Just amazing.

[Tri Girl]

Congrats, congrats, and more congrats!!! Enjoy the party tonight, and the much-deserved rest you are going to be getting in the coming weeks! SO impressed and in awe!!:D

[jessmarimba]

Fantastic job! I can't wait to hear more stories from the race. Have fun at the party!

[Veronica]

Absolutely amazing! Well done!

Veronica

[GLC1968]

What an amazing job! Congrats on an excellent finish and I hope your celebration was a blast!

I am in awe. :)

[yellow]

Thanks, all. I'm still riding the happy wave.

There were several professional photographers there and I am looking forward to seeing what they captured (available in a week or so). I know they got some good final finish and podium photos :)

I have a deep respect for everyone who completed this event. Getting up in the morning 6 days in a row and going for a run is no small feat. Our biggest competitors, Marielle and Valerie, are incredible, strong women, and I really enjoyed chasing after them. Very gracious as well. They told us this morning that they had planned to use the event as a training run for Ultra du Mont Blanc in Chamonix (which is in 2 weeks) but we turned it into a race for them. I was flabbergasted and flattered. These women are world-class athletes.

So many awesome people from all over the world. And so many nice legs. I did some filming and will make a short movie over the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, here are some photos.

The tent city
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1/tasdan/Just%20for%20Fun/TRR%202012/tent-city_arrowhead.jpg


Our one day in the red "leader" shirts (I'm on the right)
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1/tasdan/Just%20for%20Fun/TRR%202012/leader-day.jpg


At the finish with some of the new friends we made
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1/tasdan/Just%20for%20Fun/TRR%202012/ch-le-mi-su-bi-da.jpg


The final podium. Yes, I was yelling "RAWR!" (or something like that!)
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1/tasdan/Just%20for%20Fun/TRR%202012/final-podium-1.jpg

[Alex]

Super cool! Love the matching skirts, too.

It's one thing to run all those miles 6 days in a row, but it is quite another to do it after sleeping on a little pad in a 7x7 tent with another person every night. :p

Congratulations!

[Tri Girl]

WOW!! I'm so happy for you and all you accomplished over the course of the race. LOVE the matching skirts and the red leader shirts! You're amazing, Yellow!! :D

RAWR... LOL ;)

[colby]

Yellow, you're amazing! And your running partner, AND anyone who finished that race. So amazing. RAWR!

[indysteel]

Color me in awe. Congrats on an amazing accomplishment, Yellow!!! You rock!!

[Veronica]

You guys have great calves! :p

Why is your ankle taped?

Love the skorts! You inspired me to get one for my upcoming race that Thom and I are doing as a relay. He's going to run across the finish line with me but refused to get the cupcake shirt and the skort I got so we would match. Go figure. :D

I know TE could rush them to Maine, so they would be there waiting for him.

Veronica

[yellow]

V, I got a blister on the bottom of my foot on the last day (very fast, non-technical downhill and it was hot and my feet were kind of sweaty = blister); the wrap was to pad it (it hadn't been drained at that point).

There was a couple there that wore matching kilts every day. Many guys who wore matching shirts. One of the Gore reps said we were the best dressed duo there. There was one day that we only had matching shirts. It seemed so weird when the rest of our outfits matched!

I put a bunch more photos on Photobucket, here (http://photobucket.com/TitaniumTRR2012)

I really love this one, taken by one of the photographers at the finish.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1/tasdan/Just%20for%20Fun/TRR%202012/super-happy.jpg

And Alex, yes, the tent city sucked. But I went to bed so giddy each night that I was able to tolerate it :p

[Wahine]

Love the photos. Especially this one.:D

[Crankin]

I'm in awe, too. I can't breathe well above 5,000 feet and my running sucks.
But, I see the allure of this. Trail running has always intrigued me.
Veronica, I think Thom would look great in a skort. He has the figure for it :).

[Tri Girl]

the photos are fantastic!
LOVE that one at the finish line :D


Did you get a new bib # for every day, or did you have to use the same worn-out crumpled up bib every day?
Did you have to share your tent with your partner?
Do they offer vegetarian meals?
It's the little things that make me wonder (and if you can't tell, I'm already seriously pondering doing this for my 40th birthday next year although I'm also wondering if they offer a "caboose" t-shirt to the pair in last place...which I'm certain is where I'd be). ;)

[yellow]

Did you get a new bib # for every day, or did you have to use the same worn-out crumpled up bib every day?
Same bib every day. It held up OK.

Did you have to share your tent with your partner?
Yes. However, you can pay a little extra to have your own tent or a little more extra to stay in hotels along the way. I ran with several folks who went the hotel route. I'd strongly consider that if I ever do this again.

Do they offer vegetarian meals?
Yes. Veg, vegan, gluten free all accommodated. TONS of food options. And all of the food was awesome.

It's the little things that make me wonder (and if you can't tell, I'm already seriously pondering doing this for my 40th birthday next year although I'm also wondering if they offer a "caboose" t-shirt to the pair in last place...which I'm certain is where I'd be). ;)
The longer you wait, the more it costs. They are running the lowest price now through Sunday. They then sell in waves, with the price increasing with each wave. It's worth every penny. Absolutely. And the list of schwag is almost overwhelming. Gore Running Wear is the primary sponsor, so everyone came home with a Gore jacket, gloves, and windstopper blanket (as well as a couple of shirts and a pile of other things from the other sponsors).

They did give a prize to the DFL finisher each day (pair of La Sportiva running shoes)! :p The cutoff times are very, very generous.

[Alex]

An interesting blog about the TRR experience.

http://vanessaruns.com/2012/08/21/10-surprises-at-gore-tex-transrockies/

[Tri Girl]

Yellow- thanks for answering all the questions! I'm still working on convincing the hubs to do this with me. I may have to do the 3 day solo option. I also have to talk with my boss about being absent the first week of school (that might be a deal-breaker as I'm not sure she'd actually be OK with that...I mean, she can't fire me over it, but she can sure not renew my contract the following year). Thank you!!! :)