As spring squalls bombard the valley (we woke up at 4:50 am for Kamiah’s Monday-Friday 5:30 AM swim practice to heavy, wet snow and over an inch on the ground), I thought I’d share a little update on this rest day, 23 days into May.

I’ve been hitting the ground running, logging some big, long rides. I’ve logged numerous 30+ mile rides, two rides over 60 miles and one over 80 miles (6 hours in the saddle), All of these rides have been on dirt and the big ones have pushed over four hours in the saddle. Riding on dirt and riding on pavement are two very different things. You can cover a lot more ground on the smooth pavement surface and it simply beats you up less. But I’ve always been a dirt rider and being on blood thinners, I stay away from two-ton vehicles. Plus, I love riding out on the open ranch roads that fill up my training cup each spring. The bird life in May is superb.

Tuesday’s long ride included rain, sleet, sun and lots of wind–there’s always lots of wind to contend with.

I’m feeling good about the body of work I’ve put in this month and grateful for a single-track ride on Monday. I just put in a big two days to start the week (a threshold interval session, followed by my long ride of the week). I’ve been managing some niggles this month as I’ve ramped up the volume and I’ve been pretty aggressive with the PT, stretching and foam rolling, in hopes of keeping the wheels churning. 

Montana is a tough place to train for big events like the Crusher in the Tushar (teaser) and the Leadville 100. Though I’ve been able to get out on the open roads and found dry enough dirt for my first trail ride of the year this week, I’m still working the trainer (indoor bike). Some people thrive on the indoor bike and do most of their training that way, I’m certainly not one of those people. On a recent call with a handful of USA Cycling Certified Coaches that I meet with from around the country via Zoom each month, one of the coaches who has been a physical therapist for over 20 years validated and confirmed what I’ve always believed to be true, that the indoor trainer is a haven of injury, in her words, “A microcosm for overuse injuries.” It’s just so static and repetitive, so every chance I have to get outside and ride, I take it. But being on blood thinners and living in Bozeman where we have no shoulders, no paths, no ways to get away from the big, ripping trucks and SUV’s full of drivers on their phones, it’s either dirt or the trainer for me.

We’ve got snow in the forecast again this afternoon, so I’m constantly amending my training plan, as much based off the weather forecast as how my body is feeling. I didn’t plan on an extensive long ride Tuesday (it was supposed to be a bread and butter 2-3 hour endurance ride), as the legs were pretty cooked following 4×10 hill repeats the day prior, but you’ve got to be adaptable training here to log adequate saddle time for big endurance events and when the opportunity to bang out your long ride of the week arises, you’ve got to jump on it. 

I’ve pulled off some big rides this month in the midst of a threshold block in my lead up to Leadville. I can’t believe it’s almost June. I’m grateful for the Rose Grant inspired emails and Google Meets, Josh Nelson calls and texts (validation and confirmation), the Mike Durner check ins, the sessions with . 

As a coach and athlete it’s easy to get paralyzed by all the training advice and opinions on the World Wide Web. There’s so much information out there that it can be easy to get overwhelmed with ideas as we dream big and pursue audacious goals. I’m a big proponent that sustainable training comes down to knowing our bodies, listening to our bodies, and remaining adaptable—learning to train intuitively. 

Something might sound good in theory or on paper, but ultimately, what I and so many age-groupers are looking for is consistency, steady doses of dopamine and those feel-good endorphins that comes from training day in and day out—especially outside. No one workout (or intensity block) is worth a forced hiatus from that which helps us to be the strongest and truest version of ourselves. 

Remember, sometimes slow is fast. 

Train smart, train strong, train steady. 

WNbL,