Start Line

It's time.... RACE time!
Buck Hill fun,fun,Fast!

Race Time Soon! Win the Battle!

Lonie and I are excited for the upcoming season!                                                                                             
 We are always inspired by this guy:

http://sauberlarry.blogspot.com
"Now if you are going to win the battle, you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do."   General George S. Patton

Go Big! Lar

Win that Battle Racers!

WINTER, WINTER, GO AWAY!!!

I am sure most people are ready for some warm weather!  I heard next week the weather will be back in the 60's!  Last week, we got a lot a good riding outside.  Fortunately, Lonie and I don't mind riding on the trainer when it is not nice out.  The trainer is especially great for intervals and just generally "killing yourself."

Lonie and I are glad to be biking again.  Looking back, we did not start biking until May last year.  It is a lot more fun to race when you are in shape for it.  Lonie and I plan are racing a few of the series races and then see what races pop up this summer.  I love the summer, warm weather and sunny days!  

We went to Arizona over spring break!  I absolutely love the mountains.  They are so pretty and I never get tired of looking at palm trees.  We visited Lonie's parents who live in Mesa.  We went hiking in the Tonto National Forest and the Usery Mountains.  We did not bike this time, but next time for sure.  I was bummed to come home to Minnesota, it snowed the day we flew home.  

Speaking of snow....I recently found out that the 2015 National Snow Shoe Race will be in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.  http://chippewaoffroad.org/2014/corba-hosting-2015-u-s-national-snowshoe-championships.  My dad and I did the 2011 Snow Shoe Nationals in Cable, Wisconsin.  I placed 12th out of 43 women and 3rd in my age.  I was very happy with this result, my second ever snow shoe race.  I will do a blog post at the end of the summer about training for snow shoe racing.  

This is the start of the 2011 National Championship Race.  That is me in the white shirt, those women are exceptional athletes.  I am eager to compete in this race again.

That is it for now, train and race on while you can!  Life is short and you only live once!  

Train on!

Still hammering out the Fatigue Repeatability- 

Who will get the  KOM  rok at the L-M-L ?----------watching.

Pedal ON!

Lifting Weights and Endurance Sports

                              Why Is Lifting Important?

This is me in 2002 after winning the Catalina Island Marathon.  Catalina Island is located off the coast of California and it is an off-road marathon.  The total elevation gain was 4,310 feet, hardest race I have ever done.  Here is a fun article from Multisports.Com  http://www.multisports.com/news/1016524800.shtml.  

Looking back over the past 12 years of racing and working out, I realized that lifting weights is just as important as building your engine.  Proud to say, my mom taught me how to bench press in 9th grade.  I was so weak back then, I could barely lift the 45 pound bar.  Then I played soccer at the University of Louisville in 1995 and we had  to lift weights.  I only played one year of college soccer and then tore my ACL,MCL, and meniscus in 1997.  I bet that would not have happened if I had been lifting weights for a longer duration of time  to strengthen my legs and improve my muscle imbalances.  I realize now how "fringe" of an athlete I was.  

In 2000 I moved to California and started running.  When I mean I started running, I mean I started "over doing it running."  I had the mentality that more was better and I never lifted weights.  I ran an average 8 miles per day, 12 miles on Saturday, and 16 miles on Sunday.  Wow, what a mistake!  I couldn't even do 10 pushups, I could not jump or sprint at all.  Running long distance decreased my functional movement efficiency which you truly need in life!  

In 2003, I was running at the "Camp Pendelton Mud Run," and tore my meniscus again.  I then moved back to Minnesota in 2004 and started doing triathlons.  When I was running and doing triathlons, I had a weak posterior chain, poor flexibility, poor power, poor muscle mass, and poor anaerobic capacity.  

Thank goodness, I ran into Lonie (my now husband) and we started dating.  He has been lifting his whole life, but I was still not convinced that I  should be lifting as well.  It wasn't until 2010 that I started lifting like I should.  Now, after lifting for 4 years consistently, I have never felt better!

Last year we joined a Cross Fit gym where we learned how to do perform the Olympic Lifts.  The Oly's would be  the clean/jerk and the snatch.  If you have never tried Cross Fit, it is addicting.  The competition between yourself and other people in your class is amazing!  

Lonie liked olympic lifting so much, that he went and got his Cross Fit Level I Certification and his USA Weightlifting Sports Performance Coach Certification (USAW).  Since Lonie has all this knowledge from his college degree in Physical Education/Fitness/ and Wellness and recent certifications, we decided to lift on our own.  Now we are incorporating lifting and biking!  

We typically bike 5 days per week and lift weights 3-4 times per week.  Once the race season starts, we lift 1-2 times per week.  Lifting has done so many great things for me. Here is a list of the advantages of weight lifting:

• Increased posterior chain
• Increased  lean muscle mass
• Reduced cortisol
• Gained the ability to jump again
• Reduced muscle imbalances 
• Reduced my chance of injuries
• Increased power out 
• Longevity in the sports
• Eliminated knee pain through weight lifting
• Reduced chance of ending up in a nursing home!!!  
• But, beware you must recover from all workouts!  
• LOTS OF FUN!!!!

This is me at a Cross Fit gym last May dead lifting 243 pounds for a one rep max.  I never could have done this in 2002-2010.  Lifting heavy weights improves your speed and power.  Don't worry women, you won't get big!  You will build beautiful, strong muscles that you should be proud of!  Dead lifting is crucial to increase strength in your posterior chain.  Cyclists are quad-dominant, so it is imperative to work on your posterior chain as well!


Here is a link to Lava Magazine:  http://lavamagazine.com/linsey-corbins-future-why-and-how-shes-changed-the-way-she-trains-forever/

Thanks for reading, lift heavy, and bike hard!

I Corinthians 9:24
Do you know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?  Run in such a way as to get the prize.

Winter Training ....Go USA!

2014 Olympics

       We have not visited our blog forever.  So, now we are back! It has been entertaining following other peoples blogs about winter biking. Maybe one day it will be an Olympic sport? Curling or Biking? I choose biking. We don't winter bike like our brother Larry Sauber. He enjoys the winter fat biking a ton! He is always out ripping it up. Keep it up Lar!  

     
     We have been lifting weights (X fit) and biking inside and snowshoeing on occasion.  It was fun this morning watching 2014 Olympics on the trainer while doing a watt test while the speed skaters were giving it their all as well.  Maybe not an Olympian, but still striving to get after it.  

     I remember watching the 1984 summer Olympics, I was fourteen year old kid. After watching the track and field athletes I would go out side and attempt to run down the street as fast as I could! I thought I could do that one day! However, I never became an Olympian, but the Olympic spirit is still burning today. 

      Give or take a few months I'll be 44 years old. So, I think it's been close to 30 years of working out for me. I feel better now then I ever have. I think the key to training and racing is to work out gradually and consistently. Many athletes will take it over the edge and experience burn out. 
     
to be continued.. thanks for reading! 
GO USA!

"Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another".
                                                                          prov 27:17