Good Morning, Viet Nam

On May 4, 2017May 4, 2017 By kateginsbachIn Global Health, Graduate School, Other Adventures, UncategorizedLeave a comment

My first thought upon walking off the airplane and into the Hanoi airport was, “Oh wow, I’m tall”. Most days I think of myself as being 5’5-5’6″ even though I’m just over 5’9″. I blame this on the fact that Frank and Mary tower over me. I’ve never thought of myself as being tall before arriving in Viet Nam. Most of the people stood up and I soon realized that they looked much taller when they were seated on the plane. This sense of feeling like a giant hasn’t gone away.

church better one — This church is about half a block away from where I’m staying so how I orientate myself

I walked around a bit Sunday night but with the travel and lack of sleep on the airplanes went to bed at 7pm. Both Monday and Tuesday were holidays here, first International Labor Day and then celebrating the Fall of Saigon. I woke up at 4am the next morning and was ready to go. I facetimed my parents because it was early evening for them and waited until the noise of the street crept in to let me know the city had awaken. I got up and went to walk around the Hoàn Kiếm Lake, or “Lake of the Restored Sword”. I also walked across the Huc Bridge into the Temple of the Jade Mountain. Right before the entrance two girls in front of me had to turn around and the man seemed to be gesturing to their shoes. Looking at my sandals I wondered if it was a problem but he let me pass. I later realized it was because they were wearing shorts and had to go back and put smocks on to cover their legs.

lake view 1 — View looking onto the lake from the temple

brdige 2 — I’m taller than everyone on this bridge

The temple is still active with people putting money (fake money) to burn as the offering.

I then met up with one of the guys here for lunch to talk about preliminary things, like areas to go running and what places are the best to eat.

near the temple — My shorts were too short for me to go up into the temple

Tuesday was the celebration of the Fall of Saigon, which is probably a similar feeling to a Brit being in America on the Fourth of July, but with less fireworks. Given that everything was still shut down I decided to make my way to the Temple of Literature and maybe the Viet Nam Museum of Art. Unfortunately both of those are off my paper map by a few blocks and ended up instead at Ho Chi Mihn’s Mausoleum and Museum.

masoleum — Not as busy as I thought it would be on the holiday

There was a temple there as well, which I could not go in because of the shorts I was wearing and they didn’t offer smocks. I also didn’t go into the Mausoleum because it was closed, which I found a little ironic given the day of celebration. I never found the Museum of Art, which is what I was really after. I would go up to a police officer and ask, “English?” and they would respond, “Hello” and that was the just of it so besides trying to point on the map any phrases I knew in Vietnamese that I did not butcher were not sufficient enough to get me to where I wanted to be. I took a cab back to the hotel, which was maybe my first and last cab ride given how terrifying the roads are here.

Yesterday I woke up again around 4 so decided to go for a run when the daylight broke. I decided to go run around Hoàn Kiếm Lake because it was close and that way if I didn’t want to do 6+ miles I could just cut it short whenever. Within about the first 5 minutes I soon realized why I didn’t see more runners, the humidity and the heat even at 5am was miserable. Plenty of people where out exercising, either walking around or doing group fitness, but not a lot of runners. Most of them in normal clothes and a few times seeing their clothes drenched in sweat I wanted to yell, “Cotton kills!” but didn’t. The side street markets were also unfolding spilling out fruits, vegetables, and handmade goods. I couldn’t believe all the activity happening still in the wee hours. I only last 3 painstaking miles and then went back to my air-conditioned room and did yoga. I only had a dinner on the schedule for the day so spent most of the day just roaming around. The Old Quarter is a mix of tourists interjected with the locals. A lot of shops seemed tailored to tourists and then I turned a corner and found myself on a street that only sold coffins and memorial flowers.

Other things:

(1) It doesn’t make much difference whether you look or not while crossing the road, there is always traffic so you just go–sorry mom!

(2) Not speaking anything more than really basic Vietnamese phrases means that I’m surrounded by thousands of people but still very isolated. My mom asked how I would do with it but it hasn’t bothered me yet, I’m actually enjoying it. I do worry that if I do something wrong and someone starts yelling I will have no idea why

(3) I have yet to a store that sells hairbrushes, and I’m in desperate need. I’m debating just cutting it so someone will have to brush it.

flowers .jpg — Flowers outside the Ho Chi Minh Museum

Leaving on a Jet Plane

On April 29, 2017 By kateginsbachIn Global Health, Graduate School, Other Adventures, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Way back in law school when I was looking at different programs I only applied to University of Notre Dame and the main reason surrounding that decision was that it required a 6-8 week international field research component in order to graduate. At the time not sure I would return to law school (I am going back, more on that later), I figured that having the research experience would help me to shift directions. Within about 3 weeks on campus I knew I would be going back to law school and now I am set to go into the field. I’m hoping to be able to update my blog as I travel along. I’m on my way to Viet Nam for 3 weeks and then headed to Switzerland for 4 weeks. To put it in simple terms I’m looking at the intersection of Viet Nam’s domestic policies with an international framework dealing with Pandemic Influenza Vaccines. In 2009 H1N1 pandemic influenza, vaccines were donated to low-middle income countries with Viet Nam being one of the eligible countries. They rejected the vaccines citing import restrictions dealing with quality control issues. In 2011 an international framework was developed to ensure that the countries that were giving up virus samples would receive benefits (i.e., vaccines at the time of a pandemic). Viet Nam hasn’t changed it’s policies so mainly the framework is pointless if the country doesn’t allow for the benefits to be revived on the domestic level. I’ll be looking at what barriers are still in place and how to best circumnavigate them to allow the benefits be derived.

I made it to Chicago with only a few mishaps, mainly getting stuck in one revolving door with my suitcase and then again on the metro going through the turnstile. That one was a little more precarious, with me and my suitcase wedged between the bars and my only thought being, “how is this my life” I had no idea what to do to free myself and instead my body took over and I tumbled over the suitcase and out of the gate. Problem solved. A little girl ran up to me and asked if I was okay. I responded with, I just need to leave this country. And that’s what I did–and they let me!!

cliff divers — Not at Casa Bonita anymore

I hoped on a plane and headed to Dubai, landing after 13 hours. I’m currently in the middle of a 8 hour layover and with very nice visa restrictions I left the airport and did what any other white girl would do: go to the mall and eat tacos. Actually the mall was recommended to me by a friend from Saudi Arabia (thanks again, Nayef!) because it’s right next to the Burj Khalifa (160 floor skyscrapper-tallest building in the world- no I did not go to the sky deck) and they also have the Dubai Fountains which put on a show every 30 minutes. I was a little nervous to leave the airport because I occasionally get lost on the metro in Chicago, and I don’t speak Arabic in any capacity, and have no cell service except when I’m connected to wifi. Thankfully it was pretty straightforward and I didn’t encounter any hiccups. I arrived safely back at the airport about an hour ago and still have 3 hours before my plane leaves for Hanoi. I’ll land there after close to 40 hours of traveling. Fortunately, Monday is a national holiday in Viet Nam so I’ll be able to use the day to orient myself.

The Grand Canyon: Wild Love

On April 20, 2017April 20, 2017 By kateginsbachIn Endurance Races, Graduate School, Other Adventures, UncategorizedLeave a comment

After some logistical planning we wrote down our route and figured out estimates of time with where we needed to be an when. We weren’t sure of what to do with the North Kaibab trail closure so just planned for 2 hours out from Phantom Ranch and then turn around which would put the total for the day at 12 hours. Perfect.

We headed to the South Kaibab trail around 7:15 and parked in a dirt parking lot and headed to the rim. I had informed Jessie that I was scared of heights and reminded her that if I’m crouching and hugging the wall, I’ll be fine just give me a minute to get over it. In truth, the moment before we stepped on the trail I had no idea just how much the exposure would bother me–I reminded myself to not let fear define my fate (and sung that song most of the way down). I had read and looked at pictures but I get nervous being on the third floor of the law school building and looking down.

We got on the trail, walked for a few yards and then Jessie asked if it was time to run, it was, and so we began going down. The trail was wide with a forgiving edge that gradually fell away instead of a shear drop off, and while a tumble would have resulted in death no doubt, I could at least trick myself into thinking I would survive. The views were astonishing and kept me focused from falling off the edge, it seemed the every corner we came around we would stop and just stare in amazement and then go, “how cool is this?!?” before proceeding on our way.

All the hikers going down were really nice about giving us room on the trail. At one point we came up on a big family and most of the group gave way, except for this 7ish-year-old girl with a red camelbak on, she stepped onto the trail in front of us with no fear and started running, so we followed her. We caught up to the next group of hikers and as we passed through, one of the group members goes, “is that for real?” Inquiring about the child, my response, “Yep, she’s our pacer!” The girl pulled off a little further down the trail, not too far from her family and it seemed like her group was spread out enough that we weren’t just leaving her.

hi mom — Jessie told me to look at the camera, but do you see that ledge, no thanks!

It wasn’t too long before we saw the Colorado River and continued to navigate our way down the trail, and only encountering the two mule trains of the day on this section.

We still had to zig-zag our way down but at least we could see it!

Spent a good mile debating if I would be more scared riding down and up on a mule- verdict a lot more scared.

We crossed the bridge and rolled into Phantom Ranch area just before our estimated time. We stopped at the Ranger’s Station to ask about a trail that had been closed, the one going over the silver bridge to Bright Angel, she told us that it had opened this morning. This was great to hear because otherwise we would have to go back up part of South Kaibab and then over to Bright Angel on a cut-across with no access for water after leaving Phantom Ranch until back to Bright Angel. We headed over to the Canteen and pulled out some snacks and discussed the next part of the plan. It wasn’t even 10am. We couldn’t believe it, what would we do if we only went to the river and back, we’d be done so early so we decided to head up on North Kaibab trail and try to at least get to Ribbon Falls or Cottonwood Campground, even if it was longer than the allotted two hours.

Phantom ranch vibes — Definitely a casual run with a beer break- also I don’t think those postcards have been delivered yet….

We refilled our water, applied more sunscreen and set off again. We walked for a short period with a group of four hikers that were from Texas but then took off in front of them.

One thing that was sensational was how much the landscape changed from the top of the rim to the bottom, with the bottom of the canyon unfolding in a luscious landscape of shrubbery and color.

When I called a week earlier about trail conditions they said that Ribbon Falls Trail was closed and the only way to access was to cross the river, which is highly advised against. It wasn’t till we got to the trail junction that we saw this sign.

As a budding lawyer I would advise against ignoring this sign

We decided to turn back around as some storm clouds began to encroach on us and at this point we were at about 15-17 miles, depending on whose watch you looked at. We started running and continued most of the way back to Phantom Ranch. Except for when we stopped to take Senior Pictures because when you’re in the bottom of the Grand Canyon, why not?

senior pick — Look for this picture on a graduation card near you!

We stopped again at the Canteen to refill water and have a snack before beginning the 9+ mile trek out. We did some wardrobe changes and applied more sunscreen, then took off. We got on the trail and began going up, the miles flew by going down but the tedious task of going up made them drag on, fortunately the views did not suck. We stopped at one point and watched some rafters try to get their raft unstuck from the one rock in the river they could have gotten caught on. We ran into a few people, but not many, and kept climbing the switchbacks on our way to the top. At this point both our watches had died so we didn’t have the best knowledge of how far each point was. We were often greeted with patches of shade, which I was grateful for because it seemed that the South Kaibab trail didn’t offer much coverage and I didn’t want to get sunburned. Approximately 4 miles later we reached Indian Garden Campground, we sat down and talked to a guy who was hiking rim to river to rim, he had done it about 50 times in his life and this was his 4th time this year already–goals. He said out of all the times he’d only ever ran into two snakes. This knowledge made me feel better because in my worst nightmare I would run into a snake on the trail and try to avoid it only to fall off the ledge.

Who knew this little oasis existed? I’m sure, actually a lot of people, just not me!

We refilled our water, ate a snack and the guy informed us we were still about 4 miles from the top and had about 2 hours to go.

We began going up, again, this time at a steeper grade than the previous four miles. Steps began to feel laborious and arduous– every 5 yards was met with a waterbar, which meant lifting our legs just a little higher than just hiking uphill. With our watches still dead (I know I was hoping they would magically turn on too) we could only go off of how far away the rim seemed. I couldn’t believe people ran up this section (the FTK on R2R2R is just over 5 hours–crazy!!). We passed time by talking about plans to come back in the fall, what we would do differently and how we would prepare (yes, we are planning on going again to get the full R2R2R). Most of our concerns centered around nutritional choices, packing sandwiches and more real food instead of makeshift protein and carbs in the form of bars and GU. We also passed time talking about what we would eat when we were done, trail mix was no longer cutting it but we kept force-feeding at 45 minute intervals to keep our energy up.

Realizing our sun was going to be going down soon, we made sure to take even more photos.

We continued up the switchbacks. My first trip to the Grand Canyon when I was 5, I have a picture of Wayne and I by this arch on the trail. Upon seeing the arch, I figured we were very close to the top, what 5 year-old with a fear of heights would venture that far down? Apparently, this one, especially if I was with Wayne. Thinking that it would only be about 100 yards from the top I thought we were almost done–I soon found it was definitely closer to a mile.

tunnel — Wasn’t sure how little Kate made it this far down

The top seemed so close but visually still far off. The day had started turning to dusk and I asked Jessie if I should put my headlight on. While it wasn’t necessarily warranted at this point, I had drug it around the entire canyon in the event of having to use it and well I wanted to make it worth it. She said no. We kept walking and came upon a second tunnel. I started laughing, I bet this is the tunnel we made it to when I was a kid, and here I thought I was a fearless individual as a child, good to know I’ve always been risk adverse. The second tunnel we went under was only .18 miles from the top (I looked it up later). We could see the lip of the rim peeking out above. It was dark enough now that I was able to justify my headlamp but only because I saw one below us. I told Jessie, “better to be safe than sorry” but in all actuality I just wanted to use everything that I had packed at least once. We reached the top of the rim, saw the trail sign, I said, “Jesus, Mary and Joseph, we’ve made it!” and that was it. The finality was rather subdued. No fanfare, no one handing out water, no collecting a medal, and yet it was beyond comparison to finishing some races.

We grabbed some dinner showered and retrieved our car (taking enough steps already, we opted for a taxi). I think the dust I had collected on me made me close to the tannest I have ever been in my life. We went to bed early and the next day headed up to Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend.

We’re planning on doing it again this fall with options for R2R (going before Oct. 15 to get a car on the north side) and doing R2R2R–if interested let me know!

Here’s also what I’ve been telling people, even if you have no earthly desire to ever hike or go down into the Grand Canyon- GO! I could have spent hours just sitting on the rim. We did 32-33 miles and 12 hours going into the depths of not only the canyon but my soul– being completely present and in awe of my entire life. I left with a cup overflowing of gratitude.

Here are some more photos from the adventures:

after 2 — Stereotypes may be based off of my life

after 3 — Used up all my strength combating my fear of heights the day before so stayed seated

after 4 — Really, I refused to stand so we ended up with an ‘Awkward Family Photo’

after 6 — Less gear was required for Antelope Canyon but we still should have brought snacks

after 7 — How excited we are to go back next fall!

TBD: Grand Canyon

On April 8, 2017April 11, 2017 By kateginsbachIn Endurance Races, Graduate School, Uncategorized1 Comment

“How many miles a week are you doing?”
“Ohhh, about 40-50, but I’m not a runner…”

I’ve never defined myself as a runner even when it is my primary activity and recently it’s been no different. After fat bike nationals I put the bike up for the past few months and have been building up my mileage running. Still I don’t count myself as a runner. With my master’s and traveling I’ve decided to cut back on mountain bike racing this summer which presented the perfect time to get in running shape for rim to rim to rim in the Grand Canyon. I picked dates, emailed a group of friends and we were off, tickets were bought and training plans swapped. Some conflicts came up for a few of the girls with other trips popping up. Still Jessie, my friend from high school and Allison were in–no way would my mom let me do this by myself. We all bought plane tickets which made it very real.

I kept running and even started to find the treadmill enjoyable on bad weather days (which there were a lot). About 2 weeks ago we found out that a rock slide had closed off the trail to the north rim, North Kaibab, quashing any idea of rim to rim and certainly not rim to rim to rim. Bummer, but quickly found another option of going down to Ribbon Falls, except that bridge went out earlier this week. And the only option would be to cross the river which they HIGHLY recommend against. A few more trail closures have cropped up in the past week, and we have a plan of going down South Kaibab to Phantom Ranch and then over to Bright Angel and back up, or some variation of that. We figure with the trail closures it just means we’ll be back this fall to conquer R2R2R, sorry mom, but more time for you build up your pray bank for me!

We’ll see but we definitely bought enough snacks for the whole R2R2R jaunt.

Here is a picture of my first trek to the Grand Canyon – as my uncle reminded me it’s as dangerous as it is pretty- I responded, so just like me!

P.S. Sorry if the formatting/typos are a little off on this post- limited access has me posting from a mobile phone and I’m somewhat techno-challenged.

Cyclocross Collegiate Nationals

On January 7, 2017January 7, 2017 By kateginsbachIn Cycling, cyclocross, Graduate School, Uncategorized1 Comment

I don’t have an iron stomach. That person in our family with that is actually our dog Nessie, she’s eaten 6 whole chickens (bones included) in her life time and has remained un-phased. I know my limits, like how many M&Ms I can eat before throwing them all up on the side of the trail. And usually what to avoid and when.

The morning of collegiate nationals was the same as every race morning, same breakfast, same coffee. I went to make a bottle of skratch to drink in the time between packing up and getting the race venue but couldn’t find it. No worries, I had beet juice which was lower calories so would just throw a bag of gushers in to get me to where I needed to be. Done.

I got to the venue and warmed up on the trainer, I had pre-ridden the course the day before, the unrelenting rain had made it slick but with many sections still ridable.

preride bike .JPG — My A bike after the preride

I reviewed the course in my mind, this line on that section, remember that feature. I went to the start without too many layers on and took my place after they had called me up. I didn’t know where to start so slotted in behind one of the girls I recognized. The start was fast beginning on pavement and immediately threw us straight into the mud. It was chunky, peanut butter mud and the bike squirmed beneath me. I got it back and had some grass to recoup on only to be fed into the next section that was again, completely thick mud that reduced my cadence and increased my power output. Pushing through this section and expending all the gushers I had eaten earlier I was met with the “Bonk Breaker Hill” where it just opens up on the hillside and becomes ‘choose your own adventure’ to get up it.

weldon weaver photo .jpg — Bonk Breaker Hill- Photo by Weldon Weaver

I jaunted up at an angle to reduce the total ground coverage that I would need. At the top it was still not ridable and I continued to just slog away across the top of this hillside. Getting over the hillside only proved to have an off camber section that had been rutted in so much that everyone was still running. Around that section and I was greeted with a nice grassy downhill, only to land again in a huge mud section. It was flat and not terribly rutted so could muster through, from there we were swung around to the pit (where you can get a different bike). I opted to wait thinking I would want my “A” bike for this next section. I was wrong, everything had gotten incredibly torn up and the water had seeped into any exposure in the ground making for a very precarious situation. I fumbled and bumbled through the dicey section as spectators yelled. I regretted not switching my bike out as mine had become so covered in mud that it added at least 5 pounds. Finally a cement slab offered a reprieve to get back on my bike and pedal. That was short lived as I was soon off, only to get back on, to get off, run over some barriers, hop on, to hop off, run down a hill, and then up, hop on, and around a curve into the flyover. I managed to pedal up to the flyover but with too little of speed I had to hop off and run up, hop on and ride down, turn a corner and hop off, hop on mash through the mud and hop off and finally hop back on and head to the finish. Oofta. Lap one done.

screen-shot-2017-01-06-at-8-46-24-pm — The top of Bonk Breaker Hill-Photo USA Cycling

My stomach was a little upset but I just figured it was due to all the running and it would work out on the second lap. The lines that were initially rideable had gotten bogged down and it was more of just mashing through. I went into the pit and did my first bike exchange only having talked through what to do the day before. I nailed it, right Drew? Or at least managed to do it without falling on my face. I opted to switch to my single speed on this section because with all running my single speed is lighter to carry. I was back in the pits and switching out bikes again before I knew it. My A bike came back clean which meant it would also be lighter to carry and I took off running the back section in the woods. The second lap was very similar to the first lap except for crashing right before the barriers as I slid around the corner and went down. I got back up and lugged my now very muddy bike over the barriers with me.

As this point in the race I had no idea where I was in relation to anyone else and my stomach was still acting up. I did more running and made it to the finish line to be told 2 more laps. I floundered my way to the pits and grabbed my singlespeed back to be informed I was in 15th, dang I don’t even see anyone that I could catch. I ran up the hill to find that my stomach was feeling better, it must have worked itself out. I stuck to the same routine as the 2nd lap opting to run most of the places. I got done with my third lap and went out for the final lap, somewhat surprised: if you are too slow (compared to the leaders) they don’t let you go but I made it. I ran into the pits yelling “they let me do the final lap- suckers!” and grabbed me other bike. Last time up the hill and over on the crest I saw a girl in front of me. Maybe, just maybe I could catch her. Down the hill and back into the pits where I was offered a beer, “Sorry I only drink tequila” and rode away. Slightly less dramatic exit as I was having to hop back off and run again. It wasn’t until the barriers that I thought this girl was really in reach, we had just taken over another girl who was running and I was planning my attack, not too early because I’m not sure I have it in me to go hard from this point. I would edge up to her wheel and then she would take a better line, I would edge her and she would stay on. Finally I was able to run around her and get back on my bike faster, or at least it seemed like it. I had miscalculated and turned the corner to realize there was another roundabout.

throw-up — Nothing says you’ve arrived like throwing up across the finish line

Oh crap, so I started to dig and started to dry heave. Oh no, this is not good. I was so close to the finish, my stomach was churning and the involuntary reaction was getting less intermittent, don’t let her catch you, heave oh no, oh no, oh no. I saw the finish line I was so close, and as I crossed that was it, I dangled by handlebars I threw up beet juice all over my leg and the side. Oops.

I ended up 13 out of 25 without knowing what to expect my only real goal was to finish on the lead lap and not get pulled. It was incredibly fun, even with all the running and mud and fortunately for me I get to do it all again in the single speed category.

blood vs. beets .JPG — Some of this is mud, some is blood, and some is beet juice.

*The hop on and offs that I write about are not as smooth as they seem here but instead become more laborious for me with each one I do and eventually losing all form and efficiency. Really quiet a show.

Derby City Cup

On November 23, 2016November 23, 2016 By kateginsbachIn Cycling, UncategorizedLeave a comment

I told Sully before the my first cross race a few weeks ago that I wished all my fitness for 10 hours at Leadville would compound down into 30 minutes. He reminded me that it didn’t really work like that.

I haven’t had to deal with USACycling in any real capacity until this last race. I bought my collegiate cycling license and because I had never had one before was placed in the bottom category, okay no big deal. I immediately applied for an upgrade after copying and pasting my racing resume, while non of my past races have been ‘sanctioned’ under USACycling I figured they would at least be able to see that I knew what I was doing. Denied. I tried again, going a little more in depth with what I had accomplished. Denied again. They don’t take non-USACycling races into account at all–uhh…okay. I wasn’t that upset except for the fact that I would be racing at 8am and not 11. Sully joked that it was almost like doing Leadville to have to wake up that early. Even though I had applied for an upgrade to Cat A, I still had no idea what to expect in Cat B. Cat B’s were grouped in with all women Cat 4 and junior girls, with all the women starting a minute after the cat 5 guys. My experience with cyclocross is limited, last year I only did two races and raced against the same fast lady both times.

The morning of the race I got to the venue with Sully and had just enough time to sit on the trainer for 7 minutes–I quickly worked to get my heart rate up. It was still chilly and the fog had yet to lift and as I sat on the trainer and my angst with USACycling grew more, it was early, cold, and not enough time to drink all the coffee, and they couldn’t give me an upgrade-gahhh.

At the start line, I was in the back because I haven’t done any races so my call up was last–the gun went off and we all jockeyed for position on the straight pavement before it funnelled into the grass. I was about mid-pack and followed a girl an S-turn when she went down. I bobble and had to put a foot down and re-negoiate around the line I had been on. The next feature was four spaced out steps which required hoping off the bike, running up, and hopping back on. I’m not the smoothest at these transitions but as we approached I realized that my technique (albeit ugly) might give me a slight advantage to make up time.

up-the-stairs — Still have no idea what I’m doing

We kept riding in a pack, and was unsure at what point we would spread out. The course winds around into the forest and feeds into a 50 foot or so sand pit with a 180 at the end. I had practiced riding in the day before but realized during the race that those in front of me were getting off and thought I should follow their lead. I hoped off, threw my bike on my shoulder, like Sully had shown me the day before, and started running and after a few paces I realized I could run faster and work to get in front of people that way.

running-the-sand-pit — Run…Run as fast as you can

This was a nice realization, even if I can’t ride that fast at least I can out run them on one short section, perfect. I jumped back on my bike and rode the next, much shorter sand section, which I almost got through without face-planting but cut the corner a little too close and dug my front wheel in a little too hard and went over a little too fast. Slightly embarrassing, but the plus to racing at 8am is that there aren’t that many spectators. I got up and hopped back on to catch back up to the girl in front of me.

The course was really fun. The mid-section in the woods had some technical features that I knew my mountain bike skills would help on and hopefully help me to catch up to the other girl, or give me the over confidence to embarrass myself again. I did catch her in the back section but was nervous with the next feature being a stair run. After sprinting up the stairs there isn’t much of a platform to get back on my bike before plunging back down to the course. It caused for some slightly sketchy descents with not a firm grasp with either hand.

after-the-stairs — Yes, they put man-made features on the course…for fun

There is one last sandpit that is just long that it was worth running, followed by a straight away, one sketchy, steep descent that always made my stomach drop, another up, down, hop off and run up the hill and then the first lap was done. 2 to go. On the pavement to gather speed and go into the S curves. Up the stairs and and into the woods, run the sandpit, back into the woods…this is where I noticed that something had made my bike slightly angry how far would I have to run at this point, the chain was making a lot of noise and it was skipping around on the rear cassette when I wasn’t shifting.
I kept trying to find a good gearing that it would want to stay on but to no avail so I did the next logical thing, start praying — I got through the entire rosary while trying to calculate how much further I would have to run if my bike broke. I tried not to mash the pedals going on the climbs and gingerly shift. One more lap, I kept checking my chain to see if maybe something had just gotten stuck in it. Sully had told me I had about 20 seconds up on second place towards the start of the third lap. Again, run the sand, into the woods, “our father…please don’t let my bike break.” I kept riding, gingerly shifting and getting off at any uphill that I thought would make it more cantankerous. I was finally on the last push uphill when I decided it would be okay if my bike broke because I could make it to the finish and still maybe win. It didn’t break and I was able to finish 1st overall for the wave and finished 5 minutes ahead of the 2nd place Collegiate B ride. I told Sully later that my bike had been making a weird noise. He went through it and found that my chain had broken and was shocked that it hadn’t come off while I was racing.

first-podium — It was more than just me–promise!

Not to put the horse before the carriage but I started talking about what to do for an upgrade. Mainly because there was a race the next day and was debating doing it. There wasn’t a collegiate category and my collegiate license wouldn’t cover it so I would have to get a non-collegiate license in order to race and upgrade in that category which would upgrade me in collegiate (is that not clear to anyone else?). The reason I wanted to figure out the upgrade was because it was one of the last races I could get to before Nationals and you have to be an “A” to race Nationals. I figured it would be fun to road-trip out with Sully and fun to race even if I get clobbered on. I talked to an official who wasn’t terribly helpful and slightly discouraging. I went through all the scenarios with Sully and finally figured if I wanted an upgrade I probably needed at least another good race result so I didn’t come off as a one-hit-wonder. I found an official who was helpful and told me to track him down the next day for an email about an upgrade.

That night I did what I could to recover, which wasn’t much, except wash my kit in the hotel sink because I had only planned on racing one race that weekend- Ha!

The next morning was more angst, but at least with daylight savings time it wasn’t as dark or as cold. The field looked similar to the day before but with some new faces. I had no idea how my legs were going to respond to a second day in a row of racing. Sully had told me, don’t go out too hard, just sit and see what happens. I tried that but by the time we were off the pavement I was behind only 2 girls. I hand’t intended to go out that hard but also didn’t want to get stuck behind anyone on the technical sections. By the time we were up the 4 stairs I was in the front and with my shifting much better and I utilized it. Into the woods, and into the sandpit–I’m not sure what that says about me as a bike race if I think the running sections are my strong suit. The race course was mostly the same as the day before with one of the back sections cut shorter which nearly caused me to go through the course tape as I hadn’t anticipated it. I was able to maintain my lead throughout the race and hold on through the finish.

After talking to the conference director he suggested waiting till December so I only have to buy a 2017 license (the year runs January to January) and then apply for my upgrade and then get my collegiate license and will be upgrade automatically after the non-collegiate upgrade. Knock-on-wood but if everything works out I’m be able to race collegiate nationals–and spend more time with this guy.

after-the-race — Because who doesn’t want to do a bike race in Hartford, CT in January

100 Tatanka

On August 2, 2016August 2, 2016 By kateginsbachIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

“Hi! Can I jump in the back of your truck?” I asked as the man rolled down his window. I was about 30 miles into my scheduled 100 mile ride, out of water and 2 miles from the first scheduled stop when I ran into the “Big Herd” of buffalo.
“Yes! Jump in!” I threw my bike in his box and then jumped in behind it. A few minutes later he stuck his head out, “do you want to sit up here?” “Sure, do you have room?” So I jumped out and then hopped up into the front seat. I was greeted by a man and wife and their niece and two puppies on vacation from Missouri. My mom thought this was funny as the lady who found me on the side of the road when I got a brain injury was also from Missouri.

I had started the morning, like I start all big ride days, putzing around. I finally rolled out around 11 (I know, I know…) and wanting to get some miles in took the back road into Custer State Park, I also thought this route would have me avoid any of the herds thinking they would be up higher since the temps were over

100 degrees. I was getting off of Wildlife loop road and heading towards Blue Bell (maybe 2 miles) where I could refuel (I had just run out of water), I looked to my right and saw the ‘Big Herd’ to the right and looked ahead and saw a line of cars stopped. I thought they were all stopped to take pictures (uh, tourists) when I took the right and realized that the herd was on both sides of the road and buffalo were zigzagging back and forth over the road. I wouldn’t be able to turn around and ride 30 miles back without water given how hot it was so my only choice was to negotiate around these guys (this herd is a little aggressive, already having one goring for the year). I edged a bit forward keeping close to one car, there is no way I’m going to make it through this without getting gored, I saw the headlines, “Higher-up at Wind Cave National Park has his niece gored by Buffalo, clearly not teaching her anything….” I would never survive another family dinner if that happened. I looked ahead and saw a truck with a tandem in back, seeing they were still about 30 feet back from the hustle and bustle that was taking place ahead I made my move. Thankfully they took me in. We made it through without too much trouble. They then dropped me off at Blue Bell where I could get more water and snacks and continue on my way.

Top of Mt. Coolidge

I did continue but cut it short at 80 miles instead of 100, my computer read out 106 average temp for the day and my stomach started to fight back after about 50 miles with some fatigue setting in. I’ll blame it on the heat, but it was a good ride to have after the Tatanka 100- did the same amount of mileage in half the time.

2/3 of people in this picture are legal scholars (hint the one in the middle is not….)

I also finished working and for those of who don’t know I ended up working at my parent’s law office. Which I really tried to avoid coming into the summer, because I didn’t want them to realize I
had NO idea what I was doing! I had a different internship to begin with but once that fell through at the last minute this was the only thing open. I’m actually so thankful that I was able to be in my parents’s firm. I ended up spending most days with my dad and had a really inside look into the legal profession, which is certainly filled with hilarity, and not a lot of dull moments. I also realized just how lucky I was to be able to have my dad as a mentor in a potential career, and to see him in that capacity as I’m sure most people aren’t that lucky.

I’m headed to CO now to hangout until Leadville (I have wedding festivities down there the next 3 weekends). I’m looking forward to is, although this has been the first summer I’ve spent in the Black Hills since getting into mountain biking it has been better than I thought. I am hoping for less snake sightings in CO!

106 degrees=straight to DQ!

Tatanka 100

On August 2, 2016August 2, 2016 By kateginsbachIn Endurance Races, UncategorizedLeave a comment

I spent a lot of the Tatanka 100 thinking about Lance Armstrong, but probably not for

Getting ready

reasons you would think. There is a video of him doing a Beer Mile (run a lap, chug a beer, repeat x4) I was watching it with Wayne one day and after the first lap he walks off the track mumbling, “this isn’t what I expected…” Wayne’s response was, “what did he expect..it’s a beer mile!” That’s what I kept saying, “this isn’t what I expected…” and then a little voice would pop into my head saying, “well, what did you expect, it’s the Centennial Trail” and I would respond back with, “I don’t know…not this” which is how 13 hours of racing could really be summed up, not at all what I expected.

There wasn’t one thing that went catastrophically wrong but enough little things that results in one large biomechanical malfunction which resulted in my slowest race ever. I had started the day not feeling at 100%, maybe around 70% having raced the

Monday before but I figured I had 83 miles for me legs to figure it out so wasn’t too worried. I had only decided to do the 83 miler a few days before, thinking I would just be doing the 35. I figured the longest it would take me would be about 10 hours. We started on pavement for a neutral roll out of about 3 miles before hitting the trail. Within about the first 6 miles I soon realized why the times were so slow from last year, the trail gets pretty congested to begin with and then there are a lot of hike-a-bike sections, but not hike-a-bike roll your bike along with you, more lift your bike up, put it on the rock and climb up yourself. Oofta, definitely no rhythm to the ride. The first aid station was at mile 16 so I kept thinking about that, trying to stay on pace and get my legs shook out.

I made it to the first aid station and made a plan to get what I needed and get out of there- I moved quickly. I left following two guys out, one local and one from CO. The heat was definitely starting to take its toll and after about 3 miles and half way down a descent the local guy went down on the left of the trail, he cramped up and and waved both of us along saying he’d be fine, so we kept descending and I kept drinking to stay on top of any cramps that might be headed my way. We got to a road with no course marking….ohhhh crap! Still not sure where we missed the turn we turned around and started back up what was initially a nice reprieve. We realized our mistake was where the guy cramped, as we both had been looking left the trail had taken a fork right. It was frustrating and took me a while to recover mentally from. Between the 1st and 2nd it’s still pretty primitive trail, with stair hiking (my favorite), and a feeling of bush whacking through some areas with grass brushing against my handlebars and thick grass stalks that had only recently been pushed down to forge the trail.

Driving the struggle bus…. Photo: Randy Ericksen

This is the only time in my life that I’ve actually been concerned with a race cut off time- and it was going to be close, especially because I had taken a break to sit down on the side of the trail and eat something. I rolled into the aid station and saw lots of riders milling around. I ate some apples and laid down on a slab of cardboard for a while. I then got up and walked over to two women that I had talked to earlier in the day, they were calling it, not wanting to waste their whole day. It was so tempting, to bail with them, so I sat and ate some chips and pickles that they had given me while weighing the pros and cons. Pro: I’ll be done with this wretched race. Con: I’ll have to ride longer tomorrow. I got back up and overheard people talking about turning the aid station into a recovery aid station, that they were going to start pulling people…I grabbed my bike and got out of there deciding to at least make it to the next aid station.

The section was hot, exposed, dusty, and on a two-track open to motorized vehicles. It sucked the life out of me, or what was left at that point. I really started to get frustrated and started to do a lot of soul searching to get me through- I came up with a mantra “sometimes fast—sometimes last.” I also thought back to a ride I had done earlier that week with Barb when I had looked down and saw a snake below me on the side of the trail. I called back to Barb, “there is a snake back there” her response “where?!? I don’t see it, but I don’t look down, I look at where I’m suppose to be going” very wise words as I had started the day trying to look where I was going to avoid any mishaps with snakes and as the miles slowly crept by and the time seemed to be exponentially faster at passing, this became my thought process too, stop thinking about where I am right now, in this very moment and think about where you are going, this is training for Leadville, this doesn’t matter. It didn’t make it any easier though. I stuck with it but getting to that third aid station almost did me in. I

He was suppose to be tied up for directions

rolled in 3rd aid station, grabbed the only drop bag I had packed for the day and promptly sat down in a chair that was provided by the boy scouts running the station. I grabbed a cup of chips, then grabbed another one, then another, then another, then another, then another-the most chips I have ever eaten during a race but I think my body wanted the salt. And then I sat there, and sat there, and sat there, and sat there weighing if I should drop out or not. I talked to the race directors from the gravel race I had done earlier this year in Spearfish as one had crashed out and the other pulled the plug and they offered me a ride back and then I weighed the pros and cons with them. It was most frustrating because at this point I was already toasted and racing for the next weekend was off the table so even if I didn’t finish at this point I didn’t gain much. They were familiar with the next section and gave me low down. It seemed there was really only one good climb out and then it was rolling. And so I finally got out of that chair and back on my bike.

The climb wasn’t bad, no more rock features so I was able to stay on the bike and just pedal. And that’s what I did. For the next 35 miles, there were a few short climbs that I had to get off and walk up because my legs had nothing left in them. I rolled in to the last aid station, nearly depleted and so happy to know I was now getting so close. The man put a cold wash cloth on my neck and the lady poured me a coke, which I didn’t think I wanted but promptly drank. I sat down on a cooler and pulled out my cell phone to text Barb and give her an update, I had a message from my coach, “how’d the race go?” I burst out laughing and yelled, “THIS IS THE LONGEST RACE EVER!” I texted Barb with an update, letting her know I still had 17 miles to go. Even with 17 miles left I still knew it would be close to 2-2.5 hours. I left the aid station with enough fruit snack bags to get me through the week (better to be safe than sorry). I was doing well until the last 4 miles. I thought back to this little girl who was put a bike with training wheels, on her parents taking their hands of her she began screaming, “GET ME OFF THIS BIKE!” I have never identified more with a child than those last miles. Tears began to well up in my eyes from the frustration the day had brought. I cut through a cow track, which had a goat walking down it, which was a bit of a comedic relief. I knew the ending was at a city park but had no idea where the park was in relation to where I was and when I came up on one park that was

desolate I had figured that everyone had left, fortunately I saw signs to keep going and was soon on the bike path. I was ushered into the high school track and saw a lone person standing at the opposite end. Again thinking this was the end, and was depressed that it took me so long that everyone was gone–she then pointed me around the corner where I was greeted by Barb and the finish line.

I rode the next day, just to make sure that I could but the next few days were a little rough. I’ve even spent time questioning why I’m doing Leadville again. I’ve been opting for trainer workouts over going outside so I could at least watch 30 Rock and not have to think about anything.

I’m so thankful that Barb did the 17 miles and was willing to drive me home, otherwise I think I would have just laid down in the grass and stayed there until I ran out of fruit snacks.

She finished wayyyy before me!

Here are the numbers:
Distance: 79 miles
Time: 12:56
Avg. Speed: 6.10
Elevation: 10,417
Avg. HR: 145
Avg Power: 95
Time spent at aid stations: 2 hours–I wish I was kidding!
Quarq provided live tracking, which was nice when I was talking to Sully about dropping out at each point along the way and he could offer me up points of encouragement.
Just a note my goal time for Leadville is 9:35- I was at mile 53 when I hit that mark in this race…almost comical.

Finally got my summer tan!

Teamwork makes the Dream Work

On July 18, 2016July 18, 2016 By kateginsbachIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Colorado Trail riding…

I was having dinner with a group of friends about a month ago when one of the girls casually brought up that she wanted to do a mountain bike race this year. I pounced on her having found out about a week earlier that my teammate for the Firecracker 50 last year wouldn’t be able to race this year and was still slightly bummed at having to find a new teammate. “The Firecracker 50 is a great race, it’s so much fun! You’ll only have to do 25 miles and I’ll do the other 25, c’mon you’ve run 30 miles- you’ll be fine!” Fortunately her boyfriend got on board with this plan and he found a teammate too.

Squad Goals

I was a little unsure the morning of Firecracker how my legs were going to react for the day. Two days before I had spend 3 hours on the Colorado Trail (completely worth it!) after an hour of intervals up at Leadville and the day before did a 2 hour ride with some friends, while I wasn’t exactly pushing the pace I wasn’t exactly sitting around in compression socks either. I had to keep reminding myself that it was training and everything counts towards Leadville whether or not my legs are on.

The race started with Allison going first, I rode the parade with her and Dave (whose partner was also going first). I think what really sold her on the race was getting

Ready to Race!

to be in the parade and I hoped that her enthusiasm would keep throughout the race. After leading her out, Dave and I took off for the park where the exchange zone and finish area was. There Sully (because he’s the best) washed my bike, because a clean bike is a happy bike and we waited.

The next few hours were a bit agonizing, last year Sully had been on course so I had an idea of when I would see my teammate, this year was a little harder to guesstimate. I kept drinking and eating just to be ready–I even got dress after the pros got done with their first lap because chamois time is training time. I still get nervous for shorter races, probably more so than longer ones because they still seem so foreign to me so sitting around waiting was not helping the butterflies in my stomach. I was sitting watching people come down the front side of the mountain, looking for a blue camelbak when I heard “Ginsbach/Jasinski team is through!” “Oh Crap! That’s me!!” I now know how how Superman felt every time he had to do a quick change in the phone booth- I stripped off my sweat shirt, jumped up from my chair and followed Sully (who had grabbed my bike) at a jog to the transition area. I checked in with Allison to see how it was and how she felt, she said she had fun, number plate was switched and I was on my way.

The first 7 miles is a steady grade up Boreas pass, I was familiar with it from last year and having

Easing into this camping thing

spent a night camping up where the road feeds into the trail. I kept thinking it was going to turn really steep but it maintained a nice steady railroad grade. I kept trying to average between 9-11 mph while riding conservatively enough to make it to the first aid station and top off my fuel levels. I was also worried my legs were going to go out in the first few miles but figured I would keep pushing until they did.
This section is why I will never do the 50, or at least have reservations before signing up. Beginning the second lap fresh every person I seem to pass was a hollow shell who seemed so defeated by having to being the process again. Most were beyond gone a “good job” or “nice work” and I wished I had more that I could have offered to get them up the hill.

I reached the first aid station grabbed a bottle and some chews because it had been a while since I had eaten anything and started on the trail. This course is so much fun, and with the rain that week had brought the dirt was especially good. I began descending and would slowly pick people off always trying to make sure not to encroach on them and let me know that whenever a good spot was available I would go around. I kept riding and soon found myself at the bottom of Little French, which is synonymous with this race. It’s a loose, two-track, baby head rock climb that I only ever remember being about 50 yards but as I approached it this year I realized it actually begins much farther down. I kept turning the pedals over, reminding myself how much I hate hike-a-biking and those unfortunate souls around me motivated me to keep riding. I got my rear wheel on a rear rock and spun out which made me immediately hop off, take 2 steps and hop back on to keep going. The last 50 yards (the part I remember from last year) I spun my rear wheel out on another rock and hopped off, realizing it was a little too steep and a little too loose to get a good start I power walked the rest of the way thinking this is also great training for Leadville.

The next section is super fast and super smooth, and I soon found myself at the second aid station and pushing towards the last one. There is so much good single track in this race that I was soaking it all up, and was into the last aid station before I knew it. Right after the aid station I went to pass a guy, there was plenty of room and right before making my move he stood up and took off. At first I thought maybe he had heard me coming and wanted to stay in front of me and then I realized this guy is a really good climber. I stuck on his wheel, and we moved up through more people. I began to

Didn’t take the “A” line on Race day

recognize areas that we had rode the day before and when we were at a log I knew we were close. I stayed on the guy’s wheel and let him pull me up into the bike park. This is the best part of the course, it’s almost 2 miles of just full on descent with jumps, log features, and berms, so much fun! I followed the guy through one of the switch backs and the top when he asked if I wanted to go around, I hesitated, this guy had just pulled me around for 4 miles and he was going to let me go first on this descent?!? But then I took him up on his offer, telling him that if he needed to get by to let me know. I rallied down that descent, trying to stay focus enough on what I was doing and not get too far ahead of myself. I came into the finish and the guy who let me go in front wasn’t far behind, I thanked him for pulling me the last 4 miles and letting me go first.

Charging

I got done and found my teammate and found out that I lost to Dave’s time by 9 minutes…if only I had known. My time was the exact same as last year, which is good and bad. Good to think I got done with law school, haven’t ridden much at elevation, and haven’t done a lot of big climbing days. Bad because I’m not sure I’ll be faster at Leadville at this point.

Crushed it.

Doing the team event might be one of my favorite races of the year. It seems that the race director does everything in his power to make sure that everyone has a great time out there- fully stocked aid stations (they give you bottle hand ups so you don’t even need to stop), sends out emails before with all the details and even instructing people on how to pass and get passed. And the course is incredible (almost worth signing up for the full to do it twice!) every time you get close to being mental broken down over a climb you are rewarded with a tasty, well-earned descent.

Here are the numbers:
Distance: 25.1 miles
Time: 2:35:41
Speed: 9.66mph
Average power: 152
Average HR: 157
2 Bottles (1 Skratch)
1 bag of HoneyStinger Chews

This weekend I’m doing an 83 mile mountain bike race in the Black Hills. I wasn’t too concerned until I started looking at the finishing times from last year, women were from 9-16 hours and the fastest men were around 8 hours. Could end up being a much longer day in the saddle (with more snake sightings) than I was thinking…

Queen of the Hills

On June 22, 2016July 12, 2016 By kateginsbachIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

The 15 hours leading up to the Queen of the Hills race at the Black Hills Fat Tire Festival did not give me high hopes for the race itself. Packet pickup was advertised as going till 5 and after arriving at 4:30 we learned that they left at 4. We went to the next location where we were told they didn’t have our packets there and it wouldn’t matter anyways because they didn’t have our race numbers so everyone would have to get them in the morning before the race. There really wasn’t a lot of information about the race on the website either, it’s a race that combines a hill climb, cross country race, and downhill time segments for the overall. I asked if there were separate waves or different start times, no mass start. How the timing worked for the three separate categories- there will be people there so you’ll know which portions are timed. Are there any feed zones? There will be people with coolers that will have water. We were also told that the course was marked so Sully and I left to go try to preside. The course was marked but not in any fashion that really made sense of where to go and our only race course map was a strava file which left much to be desired. We rode around for 1:30 and only went 6 miles because at every trail junction we would stop and try to negotiate if the course went this way or that way. Let’s just say I was not impressed, and left feeling anxious about what was going to transpire the next day.

Getting my HR down after the climb. Photo: Randy Ericksen

The morning of the race, having to get our numbers we arrived earlier than usual only to learn that it was going to start an hour later at 8 instead of 7 because of thunderstorms. We put our numbers on then went to get more coffee, or at least me more coffee. We came back after the rain had stopped and warmed up. They then started the call ups. They didn’t do separate waves but did divide us by age group, and there were so few in my age group that I ended up in the front row with all the boys. I still get really nervous racing with guys because I never know how it’s going to go. The race started on a bike path for about a mile or so before the hill climb begins, this helped tremendously to spread everyone out a little bit and have them fit into their proper position. Doing the hill climb even with a warm up doesn’t change the fact that my legs were immediately filled with lactic acid and it felt like my heart was beating out of my chest.

Going down! Photo: Randy Ericksen

I followed the wheel in front of me and towards the top I had to hop off to scramble up some rock features, I apologized to the guy behind me who told me I was doing fine and to keep doing me. I made it up the climb and saw the people that indicated the time section was over. Keep pushing but continue recovering. I was focused on riding when a minute or two later I heard a familiar voice, “Kate, there is a snake, get off the trail!” I have been told that enough times to follow the voice up to Sully who was standing off the trail with a stick in his hand (I wish there was a photo). He was calling out to the other riders warning them too. I immediately hopped off my bike and ran towards Sully when I noticed a snake in the middle of the trail, coiled up, hissing, and moving around. I then remembered that snakes can jump (or so I’m told) and I moved a little faster. Sully got in front of me and we avoided it completely- about 15 seconds later we heard a shriek and later found out that a lady had run over it. That snake was pissed, and I’ve never stuck around long enough to see a snake get that reactive. I continued on Sully’s wheel for a bit thanking him for stopping otherwise my race might have been over if I was the one to run over it- he was soon gone as we got on a descent and he took off.

After the descent I got passed by a lady, and tried to stay on her wheel for a bit after she told me to hold on but I couldn’t keep pace with her for too long and watched as she slowly pulled ahead. The course flows really well with a few short climbs and two big ones. The course wasn’t terribly crowded either and on the back side of the course the distance began to grow between each rider. I was riding along looking to the switch backs above me to anticipate what was coming when I looked down and saw it slithering underneath me. I screamed having run over a snake and got chills running down my spine. Two minutes later I saw a course volunteer, “I ran over a snake back there!” “Was it a rattlesnake?” He inquired. “I don’t know but it could still kill me!” I didn’t know if it was a rattlesnake, but there are signs posted about them being over the hillside, and after the first encounter was not sticking around to find out.

Photo: Randy Ericksen

The one unfortunate part of our preride mishap is that we went down this section that we were convinced was the timed downhill, it had a few drops, rock waterfalls and was really fun to go down. During the race I found out that we actually got to go up it. I made it up one of the features before having to get up and run the rest of the way up. The climb does feed into the timed downhill portion but it has more berms and less rock features. I started down and was passed by two guys but both were really nice saying they’d see me on the climb again. I got done and started lap two by asking if the snake at the top was taken care of. They didn’t know but figured I would check again at the top of the climb. I started up and again had to get off at the portion that I ran up on the first lap. This time I stopped and gave a guy one of my extra CO2s since he had a flat. All I asked in return was that if he got in front of me he’d warn me of any snakes. I also asked that of any guy who passed me at that point and throughout the rest of the race. I check with the volunteers at the top about the snake and they thought it was gone. I was still reluctant coming around the corner and the section where Sully called me off for the snake. I then realized the faster I went the less time I would have if I did see. It was gone and I continued on my way. The first lap they cut out about 2 miles due to the rain and then decided to put it back in on the second lap, which made for some very challenging mental math trying to figure out how much I had left and how much of my bottle I could drink. It didn’t seem to add much elevation which I was grateful for at that time and I got to the rocky climb sooner than I thought (miscalculation

Sully working hard. Photo: Randy Ericksen

on the mental math). I was nearly out of my one bottle and just really wanted water. I got to the top of the climb and there was a group of volunteers there, I asked if they had any water and they told me further up the climb before the descent. I went to get back on my bike and completely missed landing on the rear wheel, yeah still not sure how I managed that- they all kind of stared at me and I said, “actually do have tequila” and then I got back on my bike and climbed up. I reached the top of the climb and saw the two people who were suppose to have water. I was only 2-3 miles from the finish and it was mostly descent but the sun had been exposed long enough and I had been out of my bottle long enough that all I could think about was stopping. I wasn’t sure what the situation was so when I asked they took a bit to dig a Dasani bottle out of the cooler. I stopped for a few chugs and then handed it back and continued down into the finish. I got down to the finish and found Sully who had finished 3 minutes before me. I had saw him on one of the switchback climbs and tried to catch him but couldn’t do it.

I finished 2nd overall for women and first in my age group. I was 1st in the hill climb for women, 2nd in the cross country, and 3rd for the downhill section. When I was talking to Sully beforehand I actually thought it would be reversed, with the hill climb being my worst section. I think if it hadn’t been delayed an hour the weather would have been perfect and one bottle would have been enough. I also thought the water station would be a little bit better since the race was 24 miles, but next year I’ll just bring someone to feed me. The race was actually a lot better than I was anticipating and it seems like it has huge potential to grow and really be a destination race. I’m grateful to have options to race close to home. It seems that all the people who race in SD are really nice–I always stress so much about it–so I’m always very thankful for that (I haven’t done a race yet in the state with anyone mean).

All that for a pair of socks…

We spent the next day going over some of the trails on the Wildcat Classic course (a race in August that everyone should come to!) that is outside of my hometown. Mainly we just climbed up to go down the amazing descent at the end–but definitely worth it.

Trails outside of town I can ride to makes me VERY happy!

Kate Farrell Ginsbach

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