Two Lisas, race swag and Colorado beauty

We're in our hotel room at the Best Western in Buena Vista, we've bonded and we're ready to race!

This morning started way early - at 04h30! Alex dropped me off at Kennedy airport for my 07h30 flight. I got hassled at security about my trekking pole; they wouldn't let me through and check-in wouldn't check it because "it may get lost", which it probably would. The supervisor told me to try another security entrance, which worked and I made my flight just in time.

I then slept the whole way (about 2hrs) to Atlanta, sprinting to make my flight to Denver because we were late arriving from New York. I thought I'd be ok because we arrived at terminal B and I would be departing Terminal B... except when I got to the gate it had changed. I ran to Terminal A, making the back of the boarding queue at 10h43... the plane was scheduled to depart at 10h50 and fortunately it was late. I sat to two very nice people and slept most of the way to Denver.

Devon, from Gordon's Outside PR team, was there to meet me. She whisked me off to join another journo Mike at the car. We then went to collect two other journo-runners, Matt and Kyle. Coincidentally I'd received an email from a sporty US acquaintance Steve on Wednesday just before I left for the airport. He said I should look out for two of his friends. So as I get out of the car, Matt asks if I'm Lisa... he's just recevied a text from Steve to look out for me. Y'all, the world is small.

The drive from Denver to Buena Vista is just under three hours. We drove through some lovely scenery - pine forested foothills and grassy valleys dotted with pretty little yellow flowers. The Collegiate mountains surround Buena Vista (five of them, each named after colleges - Yale, Harvard, Princeton etc) - we'll run through/past/around them tomorrow. And in the background are higher mountains on which there are smudges of snow. The town itself is cute and quaint and spacious. You can tell you're in the West because of 'saloons' and signs in cowboy/western font.

At the race we whisked through registration at the local museum. My teammate Lisa Watson, an accomplished skier, had checked in earlier to collect our race goodies. I met some other journos and runners before heading for our hotel. There I met my teammate, Lisa - she's great and we are going to have a super run together. We had a quick 30-minutes together before returning to HQ for dinner and pre-race briefing. I saw Gordon again, for the first time since Primal Quest 2004. And at dinner I bumped into Louise Cooper, an ex-South African who I first met at Coastal Challenge in Costa Rica in 2005. Louise returns to SA regularly to visit family.

Lisa and Lisa

There are around 270 runners at this third edition of the Gore TransRockies Run. The race will limit the number of participants to 300 and it will certainly start running a waiting list because this event is certain to become THE race to attend. So far the organisation has been superb, dinner was delicious and if what I've seen so far is anything to go by, this race will be right up there for supported events.

Returning to our hotel room I got my first look at our race swag (pronounced schwag) - Stuff We All Get (I knew what swag was, I just didn't know it was an acronym). We've got beautiful GoreTex jackets, girly run tees, aluminium water bottles, Nathan running water bottle, a Timex watch (way cool!) and bits and pieces like Salomon cap, Gu gel and Baker Cookies. And, as media, we got these really cool Salomon RX S-Lab slip-on fancy-pants shoes. And all our gear for the race goes into these large duffel bags. Nice. Very nice.

We love swag and I don't think it is ever possible to get and appreciate too much swag, especially when the gear is so cool and so useful. Lisa agrees.

We've got a late start tomorrow. We're going for breakfast at 08h00, race briefing at 09h00 and start at 10h00. Yes, late start and sure to be hot out there. Weather is nice and warm (quite hot actually) but at least the air is dry and not that run-into-a-wall humidity of NY and Atlanta. We'll really have to watch hydration tomorrow.

Till after Stage 1....

Short visit in New York

I'm in New York and it is sweltering and humid here - they type of humidity that slaps you in the face. I haven't stopped sweating since I arrived yesterday afternoon. My friend Alex met me at the airport and we headed back to his place so I could shower and change before going into the city. I slept quite a bit on the plane from Joburg to Atlanta - and the whole way from Atlanta to NY - so I was fully functional for our evening link-up with my other NY friend, Kim.

I met Kim in 2005 at the Coastal Challenge staged ultra in Costa Rica and although we've kept contact over the years, we havn't met up in person since. So great to see her again and to catch-up. Although a good few years have passed, it was like I'd seen her only a few weeks ago. I'll see our third amigo, Sandy, next weekend when I pass through Atlanta.

After seeing Kim, we headed back to Alex's place where I got to meet his wife, Flora, for the first time. I've heard so much about her so really nice to finally meet her. She's an amazing make-up artist.

I spent most of today in the city, walking around and looking at buildings. Alex had a meeting so I went to a nearby gym to try out one of their dance classes - super fun and I have some nice new variations on moves to introduce to my classes at home. Alex met me after the class at an awesome computer store - so many great toys there! Oh yes... yesterday before we met up with Kim, we swung past B&H Photo - a photographic mecca. Too many desireable things there!

Then we took a long walk across the impressive Brooklyn Bridge and into Brooklyn. We ticked one "Thing to do" off my list when we grabbed a cream cheese bagel and sat in a park below the Manhattan Bridge watching a storm roll in. We walked back along the Manhattan Bridge, through China Town and into Tribeca and other neighbourhoods. I really enjoy looking at the different buildings.

On the Brooklyn Bridge

Tonight we're chilling at home - I fly early tomorrow morning via Atlanta to Denver, Colorado. I like flying via Atlanta because there is a Ben & Jerry's icecream place (I discovered Ben & Jerry's during my US visit in 2004) in Terminal C; I has Ben & Jerry's for breakfast yesterday morning... one scoop of Cake Batter and one scoop of Chocolate Brownie icecream.


Tomorrow I land in Denver at 12h00. Devon, from Gordon's crew (Outside PR), will meet me at the airport. From there we shuttle through to Buena Vista. We've got a media thing in the evening and somewhere around I'll hook up with my teammate for the race, Lisa Watson. Exciting days ahead!

Count down to TransRockies Run

In two sleeps I'll be on the plane to the US for the TransRockies Run, a 180km, 6-day staged ultra. I outlined the daily distances and stage profiles last month - Running in the Rockies. My thanks to Gordon and Kelly, from Outside PR, for making this possible.

TransRockies Run is a paired race (like Cape Odyssey) and my teammate will be Lisa Watson. We'll meet on Saturday afternoon and start running on Sunday morning. How cool to have a team with 2 x Lisa!

There will certainly be race coverage on the event website and during the race I'll post to this blog - hopefully images too.

The place names, which are handy for checking weather forecasts, are:
Stage 1 (Sunday): Buena Vista to Railroad Bridge
Stage 2 (Monday): Vicksburg to Twin Lakes
Stage 3 (Tuesday): Leadville to Nova Guides
Stage 4 (Wednesday): Nova Guides to Redcliff
Stage 5 (Thursday): Redcliff to Vail
Stage 6 (Friday): Vail to Beaver Creek

The weather website is www.weather.com

According to the 10-day forecast for Buena Vista, we can expect rain - there's a 40% chance of rain for Day 1 and similar - or greater - probability at other locations throughout the week. This explains why a waterproof jacket and pants are mandatory equipment for the race. Ho-hum.

My travel plans are as follows:
Depart JHB Wednesday night. Spend Thurs and Friday in NY to visit photographer friend Alex (he came SA to photograph Bull 2005 in the N. Cape). We will see running friend Kim (we ran together at Coastal Challenge in Costa Rica) for dins on Thursday night. My list of 'Things to do in NY' includes a run in Central Park followed by a cream cheese bagel!

Then on to Denver, Colorado early on Saturday morning. Arrive at noon and shuttle through to Buena Vista. Meet teammate Lisa in the afternoon and media function in the early evening. Start running Sunday through to Friday. Post-race dins on Friday night.

Very early shuttle to Denver on Saturday morning and flight to Raleigh, North Carolina. Hopefully see running friend Sandy (completes our Costa Rican trio; last saw Sandy early 2006 when I flew through Atlanta to Hawaii). My transit stop is unfortunately very short... Arrive in Raleigh on Saturday evening - met by my cousins Michael and Avril. Running friend Bob visits Sunday, from Virginia. He has run Augrabies Extreme here in SA many times and we did the Mountainback 80km in Pensylvannia as a two-person relay some years ago (Mountain Masochist, which I did after the Penn. run starts in his home town of Lynchburg). I have Monday and Tuesday with cousins. Fly back to Joburg on Tuesday night. Home Wednesday, 2 Sept. What a whirlwind!

Till then...

Triumph's super new sports bra

Girls, I have good news for you; Triumph has a new sports bra on the market, the Triumph Triaction Seamfree Crop Top. As the girls of Team Triumph AR (me, Lauren & Debbie), we are very fortunate to receive fabulous sports bras from Triumph for each race. We all race in Triumph's Medium Control Top (standard crop top), a style that has been around for many years. The Seamfree Crop Top is quite different in style, fabric and fit.

Sports bras work in two ways. Tops that 'Conquer and divide' have separate cups; compression tops squish the girls as flat as possible. I - and most - prefer the latter. Separate cups are more suited to bustier ladies than those in the small and medium category.

Like the common Triaction Medium Control Top, the Seamfree Crop Top squishes. The straps criss-cross and the hook-and-eye rear fastening means that you don't need to dislocate your shoulders to get into and out of it. There are four rows of three hooks (most common is three rows of two hooks), so the rear band is wider than usual - more support.

The fabric is completely different to what we've had before... new fabric composition, double-layer, quicker drying than the Medium Control Top and engineered with varying weave according to where support is most needed. And, most of the product is seamfree. I say most because there are seams - but they are not on the front body of top.

I've been running in this top for 2 weeks and I love it. No chaffing, great support and superb comfort. Nice and snug. I have not tried it with a backpack yet - this would be the final test for AR suitability... In the past I have had a hole gouged in my back by hook-and-eye fasteners under a heavy backpack, which is why the Triaction Medium Control Top (pull over your head; no fasteners) has been such a winner, even though it takes hours to dry.

Of interest, the Triaction Medium Control Top has been updated. The fabric feels a bit softer - but this could just be in contrast to my old ones, which have had a lot of wear - and there is new trim around the straps. For the rest the design, sizing and fit is exactly the same.

I have the hot pink Triaction Seamfree Crop Top. Lauren and Debbie have the navy blue. I'm not sure what other colours are on the shelves but I can most definitely recommend that you get one (or three!).