Camp Update

Greetings from camp HTFU…. is this day two or is this day three? Whatever day it was it was a fantastic day. First of all if you are a company looking to sponsor an aspiring athlete you might want to get the name Marit Chrisloch-Lauterbach. I know, the name is long, but it is a name you will not only NOT forget, but you will be seeing more often.

What's the definition of HTFU? Marit. What's the definition of guts? Marit. What's the definition of the hardest worker I have ever met? Marit.

Enough said. Just trust me on that.

Again today was a fantastic day. It was a day of climbing, and that's with a capital C. I will admit to wussing out of climbing Panther Mountain. And I am very comfortable with my bail. I do believe I would have gotten to the top. An 18% grade, 12X23 gearing, and a terrifying fear of descending this thing with rear brakes that were locked open, this was just plain unsafe.

The better value for me was to bail with Elizabeth and fill up in the rolling flatlands while the other girls took the challenge. And they did. Jen and Marit made it to the top, so Gold stars for them.

The next 3+ hours were awesome. I climbed the biggest climbs I have ever climbed. I was able to keep the girls within my sight but I was behind them. This group is absolutely stronger than me. Which I am comfortable with. I knew that coming in here. I accept it, and I really feel proud of staying as close as I did.

Where I did lose time was where I didn't expect to. The descents. I am a self admitted terrible descender. And as kid as they were they waited for me at the bottom of each big hill. Dunstan (quite clearly the most talented + kindest + patient + everything else really good) cyclist I have eve met circled back a few times and gave me some descending pointers.

I kept begging them to stop waiting for me at the bottom of each hill, but they'd have none of that. Little did they know that I do have internal GPS and I could find my way home. I should have had a map. I worried because when you descend for 20 minutes and then stop muscles get cold and tight and I did not want to be the cause of any tightening or missed work.

But they'd have none of that.

Matt whom I had met yesterday rode back with me, and after I drilled him to admit if they sent him back (he pinky swore me that they did not), I rode with Matt for a while. As I was climbing in my small ring and 27 I noticed that Matt was climbing in a 54 big ring. He told me what he was training for, something with the name ASSAULT in it, some epic ten billion foot climb over 200 billion miles and he had to build his strength by climbing this entire ride in the big ring.

Okay so I have nominated Matt to be the only male member of Camp HTFU. Maybe he can be the King and Marit can be the damn queen.

I rode for four hours and two minutes and I felt great. I would come to this climb prepared to ride at least with a 12X 25. Trust me on that, I did it all with a 12 X 23 and it was hard. I am not sore, nothing hurts, so in retrospect I wonder if I took it too lightly.

Tonight at dinner we had great conversation, and great food. I really love Greenville. The downtown is quaint and happening. The restaurants embody history. And the weather….. oh the weather.

The sunshine came out today. It was warm. That's the reason I came here. For the sun and for the hills and that's what I found.

After dinner I went out for a solo 30 minute run. The air was warm and the streets were busy. I just soaked it all up.

I am learning a lot at camp.

A year ago I would have been pissed at myself for not hanging onto or not leading the pack. I would have spent the ride condemning and criticizing myself for being the slow girl.

I felt very proud of myself. These girls are a class above me. Realize that I am not putting myself down; I am respecting their and my own abilities. I am working within myself this weekend. I haven't ridden over four hours, on any roads since Nov 4th and I certainly have not worked on hills.

The bike training I have done has been a lot of tempo work and a lot of FTP work. I felt that begin to take effect. I did feel very strong, in the gearing that I had, at the point of the season that I am in….. I felt excited.

I had fun. I worked on my descents. I didn't beat myself mentally and I didn't nuke myself. I likely should have nuked myself a little more.

Tonight I enjoyed the warm evening as I ran. I enjoyed a conversation with my husband as I set outside. It felt good to be outside. It felt good to be warm. It felt good to be in South Carolina.

Another stellar day in Camp HTFU!