Sarah Borst Jarvis

 (If there is only one Quadrathlon out there, we might as well call it a Championship, right?) What are the best races out there? That's a pretty subjective question.  Depends on what you like to do. But some races are just different than others. I've raced a lot - road bike, mountain bike, cyclocross, road run, trail run, road duathlon, mountain duathlon, road triathlon, off-road triathlon, winter triathlon, classic ski, skate ski, under 20 minutes, over 12 hours... I've gotten a pretty good sampling of races. A few really stand out to me. Ones that were put together so well that you can't help but have a good time, even if you have a bad race. I really like the Wahsatch Steeplechase, Squaw Peak 50, the Sundance/Soldier Hollow MTB race series, Ogden XTERRA and Quelle Challenge Roth.  It's the combination of the type of race it is, how much thought and effort the organizers have put into it, the type of people it attracts, and what kind of vibe it has when...

Remember the Kahtoola Agassiz Uphill Race ?  Last year Karl won himself an awesome pair of Microspikes! Ever since then he had been excited for this year's uphill extravaganza.  And so had I! Flagstaff puts on some great local races and you definitely don't wanna miss out on this one. Except that Karl did almost miss out in the end because I was late coming home from my one-woman triathlon. But, in the end, we made it to the start with a few minutes to spare.  The race is simple :  Start at the bottom of the ski resort.  Climb (almost) to the very top either on foot or ski.  Fly back down.  Karl was not quite ready when the gun went off (which seems to happen regularly) but must have made  his way to the front rather quickly. He is the guy in the green shirt in the front on the left in the above picture. He has been having all sorts of niggles and issues and his training has been sub-optimal . Also, he was only ...

(Expression taken from here .  Picture borrowed from here . I am glad I am not the only one...) Last weekend's training was a complete failure . Pretty much. I am still trying to figure out whether my body or my mind or my soul failed me. So bear with me! It was the end of run week . The week before that was bike week which went rather well except for one big blow-up on the trainer. Not even Coach M was sure whether or not this workout was possible. The week before that was swim week. I met my goal of swimming 30,000 meters (30k!) in 6 days which, overall, went better than expected. I almost lost my mind a few times and have no idea how actual swimmers can handle 90,000 meters in the pool per week. I would go nuts! I knew run week would be the most difficult of the bunch and it lived up to its expectations! Let's skip straight to Friday's run since enough brain cells were destroyed that I can't remember any of the other runs. The plan said the followin...

I loved my off-season in late September and October. I am starting to think that it was not as off as it could/should have been but there's no looking back now! I loved base/heart rate training in November and December. Against what some people might think: I enjoy going slow! I feel no need to push the pace unless Coach tells me to. Now we are back at it! I have mixed feelings but, as we all know, there is nothing I like more than a little sufferfest. So far being back in training as manifested itself as follows: Frequent ice baths . I passionately love and hate them at the same time! Especially in the winter when it takes me up to 5 hours to stop shivering after I get out. I have 10 blue ice packs in the freezer that I throw in the (already very cold) tub water and it gets the job done. Put them back in the freezer. Ready for next time. Cheap and environmentally friendly.  I am back in the compression socks . Kinda glad it is winter and I can hide them under my p...

In case you missed it, I attempted a race report here a few days ago but it got so lengthy that I had to turn it onto a pre-race report. Consider yourself warned... Yup. That would be a heel strike Start:  Running races hurt. A lot. I try to mentally prepare  myself for the pain cave . But you never quite know what it's going to be like in that cave until you enter it. Running races are simple. I love simplicity . You just show up, chat it up, line up, and then try not to blow up.  Mile 1: 6:35/mi Surprised at how calm I am. No pre-race nerves whatsoever. I guess that after competing in one sport or another for the last 25 years, I am kind of over it. At least in a low-key race with no pressure. While it's nice in some ways, I miss the feeling of nervousness, anticipation, anxiety, and excitement all rolled into one.  Mile 2: 6:48/mi Running with new-found friend, Marci, for the first few miles. We met at the start and she is goi...