If you’re considering doing a road bike century this fall, then I highly recommend the Blue Ridge Brutal in beautiful Ashe County, NC on August 16th.

I’ve done this ride almost every year since I first started pedaling a bike. It was the first century that I completed, and it’s one that keeps me coming back year after year.

The scenery of course is absolutely beautiful, the climbs are punishing, the downhills are fun, and the event organizers are top-notch. The food and music greeting you after the ride make the day even more festive.

I remember the first time that I did the Brutal, and it sure was different than it is now. I’ve seen it develop first-hand into a very well run event. The first year I did it there was no music at the end, but there was great food (the most important part!)… and the course is different now… the added climb up 194 at the end of the ride sure makes for a more challenging route than the straight shot down flat Todd Railroad Grade Rd.

This year, I am sad to say that I won’t be able to make the Brutal… I’ll be attending a wedding in the DC area. But you can bet I’ll be back next year… and good luck to all of you who decide to tackle the 2008 Brutal!

No, I’m not running cross country… although I did my share of it in high school and college.

I’m excited to be helping with the Athens Drive Cross Country team this year, so I’m officially a running coach now. We started manditory practice this week in the evenings, and that means only one thing… school is just around the corner now.

It’s a fun time of year, for me at least… I don’t know about the kids. I’m looking forward to being back in school. My room has really come together well and, with a few more finishing touches, it will be ready to go by the first day of school.

Yesterday I rode my mountain bike over to practice and biked with a group of kids (I’m still keeping running to a minimal) during their run. It was a blast! I love where we get to run at… we’re so lucky to be located right near Lake Johnson and have easy access to the trail system there.

We did some core after the run, and then I biked back home.

I leave for Crested Butte, CO this Saturday… I can’t believe it’s almost time! I’m going to mountain bike my life away! I have a lot of stuff to get ready before the trip… it’s going to be a jet-set paced couple of weeks… and then school will start, routines will fall into place, and life will settle down….

HA! Yeah RIGHT! Not my life! “Live in the fast lane,” that’s what I always say…

I woke up yesterday morning to my dog Sheldon squirming and yelping (much like every morning at 6am) ready to get out of the tent. I rolled over and let both of the dogs out, and after breakfast we went over to the start area.

Xterra Panther Creek started with an 800m swim or so in the beautiful lake. I had an okay start… was gapped off from the faster swimmers, but I just made up ground as I went. I ended up coming out of the water 4th overall… um, how does that happen?? Oh well, I’ll take it! Off to the bike transition I went…

There was a long run uphill to the transition area on rocky gravel. Ouch… oh well, I wasn’t going to take the time to put on shoes. I got to my bike and headed out on the trail. This bike was pretty challenging for my riding style. There wasn’t nearly enough sustained climbing in the course, and all the climbs seemed to be followed by a downhill… and each downhill twisted around tight turns and then into another uphill. I was wishing I could downhill like my friend, Deb Elliott. She flies!! Since I’m such a newbie on the mountain bike, these downhill and twisty elements are not my forte. But I was really happy to force myself to race on a twisty, flowy course like this… it makes me a better rider. The more momentum you carried through all the downhills and turns, the better… and I just power through that stuff right now because I am so cautious on all the downhills. There was a really cool rocky section with some bridges and whopdidoos… and I rode through that fairly clean… only a couple dabs and I was through. I was happy about that!

Off the bike and onto the run… I was thankful that the run was not technical at all. By the time I had twisted and turned my way through the bike, I was looking forward to an easier time on the run. And boy, what a treat to just have a double track run… only the first mile was single track (it followed the same course as the bike). So I just kept a steady pace and kept it going until the finish. I still haven’t been running much so I don’t have racing legs on the run, but I did feel like my form was much, much better this race… thank you Dr. Swank!

The finish was right at the foot of the lake… perfect. I was dying to get back in the water. As a matter of fact, when I passed Joe on the way to the finish I said, “I’m getting in the water…” as a hint to where I would be when I finished this thing!

I met the Xterra rep after I crossed the line. He was really nice, and very funny giving out prizes. They had gatorade drinking contests, pushup contests, and all kinds of crazy antics to see who got race swag… much more entertaining than the usual “drawing of the race numbers,” eh??

I actually got a free entry to Xterra Nationals in Tahoe later this year… gotta see if I can swing the airfare, but I am hoping, hoping, hoping to get to go and race!

After the race while we were waiting in the shade for the awards, I asked Joe what he thought of my race. His response, “Well, you could’a beat more men.”

Priceless.

See the standards I have to live up to??

Thanks to all my sponsors for believing in me and keeping me going! I couldn’t do it without all of you.

And MANY thanks to the Race Director, RaceDayEvents, and the Panther Creek Park Rangers for putting on such a wonderful race!

See more pictures from the weekend here!

We’re leaving for Xterra Panther Creek this evening. Actually, we’re visiting my parents on the way, but we’ll end up there tomorrow sometime… time enough for me to pre-ride the course, get checked in, and set up at the campground.

Check out my schedule & results page… Joe embedded a google map of all my races so you can see where they are at on a map. Cool, huh? Well, at least I thought so. There will be more races added… just so you know. He’s only got my August races up so far.

I’m really excited about the race this Sunday… well, the whole weekend all together! I look forward to seeing my parents and spending time with Joe and the dogs at the campground. The race is just going to be icing on the cake.

Sheldon has done well on his short runs this week. He ran 4 days in a row. Pretty good for a little puppy!

Have a fun weekend… wherever you are!!!