Beautiful sunny day and managed to remember all of my gear. Off to a good start. Men's wave went first - good ridence. Decided to start wide and move across towards the buoys. Good start, no one in my way, a few waves made breathing to the left a little challenging. It was an out and back but when I turned around the sun was right in my eyes and I could not see. Slowed me down a bit but no biggie!
On the bike feeling pretty good. Hilly course all the way to Naramata (painted rock) felt pretty strong and passed a few people which for me was nice. Lots of time on my own - time to think - I thought about my friend who injured himself badly a few years ago in a mountain bike accident - what he would give to ride his bike again. I thought about " the power in the present moment" all things that kept me going and made me push harder. On to the run - followed Rene's advice and started slow. Was feeling pretty crappy. Hoped it would pass, at about 3 km it did. Started feeling better. Took my time to drink at the aid stations - dumped a glass on myself each time and managed to get some down too. Finished feeling strong and running strong - felt good and had fun. What more could you ask for!!

http://peachclassic.ca/

Way to go Erica! Glad the race strategy worked so well and love how the 'power' quote keep you present and moving forward so strong. You are amazing and I am glad you're having such a great season.

Rene

I had the best day with my husband, Trent, at this year's Salty Dog 6hr enduro mountain bike race.  Fitting in time to train when you're a parent and working full time can be a challenge... as many parents out there can relate to.  We each entered the event as solo riders but then later decided to take advantage of the opportunity to spend the 6hrs riding together.  Hey, it was suddenly like a 6hr date and let me tell you - it totally made the day for me.

We were up at the crack of dawn and loaded up the CRV.  We dragged our 8yr old son, Carter, out of bed and had his breakfast ready to go in the vehicle.  My parents were staying in Salmon Arm to golf for the weekend, so they helped us faciliate two different start times between our race at 10am and Carter's race at 11am.

Trent and I got our first two laps in and then met Carter for the finish of his race.  We hung out for a bit with my parents and heard all about Carter's adventure.  He said he had a lot of fun and couldn't wait for the following year again.  (it was his 2nd consecutive year)  He even came 11th o/a.  My parents celebrated by taking him for ice-cream on the way back to Kelowna.  We are just proud of him for getting involved and working so hard and glad that he enjoyed the experience again

Trent and I then got back in the game for another 4 laps.  Our goal was to ride for 6hrs and no less than 6 laps.  We were actually using the day as a training day the BC Bike Race... where it will be 7 'dates' in a row!  We'll see if we're still on honymoon mode after day 4. (smile)

It was a great experience and we walked away with areas that we need improvement on and areas that worked suprisingly well for us.  The first 3 laps Trent felt great and was holding back for me while I suffered and tried to bring my heartrate down, while the last 3 laps I felt great and Trent suffered stomach issues which resulted in a bonkfest.  (guess next year we enter our team name as: Spazz and Bonk)  What do you do?  We just hung in there and we still managed to meet our goal of 6hrs and 6 laps.

It was my first 'offical' mountain bike race.  Last year I entered this event but broke my rear derailer in the middle of my 3rd lap, so I couldn't continue.  I have to admit - I had that cheesy "I LOVE YOU MAN!" feeling at the end and was really happy.  To top it off, I was 5th in my age category and 14th female out of 49.  Makes the chaffing on my ass feel that much more justified!  The best part of the day, however, was being at an event that involved our family, good friends and fellow athletes.  KCU team made it's presence and I felt proud to be part of the club and represent Kelowna Cycle.  Can't wait for next year!

FAT DOG Keremeous, BC

100km relay event in the back country.  Does life get any better than this!?  Solo or teams of 6 can take on this epic journey on July 23rd and 24th.

7SUMMITS Rossland, BC

P.A.C.E. sponsored the launch of this trail race in 2007 and again in 2008.  Unfortunately this event was cancelled last year.  We are rooting for this awespiring course to make it's comeback again in 2010 because we LOVE this trail more than any other in British Columbia.

Because P.A.C.E. is so passionate about this trail and the town of Rossland, we have decided to go down and do the 7summits trail regardless of the event outcome.  We will include another epic training day on one of the other 7summits for an unforgettable back-to-back training weekend.  Please note: this race is usually held in September and P.A.C.E. will be heading down in July or August for a training weekend.

NOT-A-RACER  Kelowna, BC

Not everyone who trains with P.A.C.E. takes part in races.  Many athletes simply love the challenge, people and want to push their fitness to be in the best shape they can.  Plus it helps them stay motivated and fit during the summer beach months!

We will use the Fat Dog and 7summits as our motivation to train and stay in top knotch shape this summer!

Wednesday evenings 6pm - speed, strength and interval workouts.  All workouts are NEW for the summer series with a variety of NEW locations.

Saturday mornings 7am - going the distance... we build and/or maintain our endurance base with a fun, social and challenging long run in nature.  NEW locations this summer as well.

I will be posting the clinic dates for the upcoming Summer Trail running clinic and Speed Clinic which prepares roadies for OIM in October, very soon!  Thanks for all the inquiries.

It was a HOT workout on the Tower of Doom... or a.k.a. Hell Hill tonight. Athletes perservered the intense climb and thrashing descent for 3-5 repeats. Kudos to everyone to pushed through this grueling workout. Honorable mention to Stephanie who had to get her long run in mid-week and did 1.5hrs first and THEN added... on 4 repeats to finish her 3hr + endurance run as she trains for her 50km in San Fran in July.

Many PACE athletes are also parents and have a difficult time balancing the time required to train for their goals and quality time with their family. Here are a few reminders for you busy parents out there:

1. don't underestimate the value of shorter workouts. You will benefit from 15-20min of core and upperbody in the morning and a brisk lunchtime bike or run.
2. Get creative. Ride to work. Tow your kids behind your bike on your weekend rides.

3. Make race weekends family getaways.
4. Maintain family time. Eat dinner together 4-5x's per week to stay current on eachothers lives and plan out family time as you would your training sessions to ensure it is a priority.
5. This is the time of year to be up with the chickens! Get your workouts done while your family is still in slumber.