Masters Nats Action Shots
Final lap in the Points Race.

On the pain train in my 2km Pursuit.

Life Just Keeps Getting Better

After the big high Friday night, I woke up Sunday with another national race on my mind. This time the team pursuit in 90F+ weather. My team had never actually ridden a pursuit together before we lined up on the start line that morning but we each had good knowledge of pursuiting and exchanges...and it worked! We won the race and set a national record. It was the most painful, yet fun, four minutes of my life! :) So that makes two national championships and national record 11 months after being diagnosed with cancer...so good to have my life back and so fun to win a national championship with my good friend Renee!!! :)

Kate=Cancer Killer and National Champion in 11 months time!
I woke up singing "I Gotta A Feeling" this morning and knew it was going to be a good day...I was anxious for the Points race but also knew I wanted to win it bad, real bad...and I did!!! In order to win, I had to have one of the best races of my life. While I made a few mistakes, I rode it well enough to to stand on top of that podium and wear the stars and stripes jersey I have been gunning for since the day I started chemo. I mentioned in my last post I told my chemo nurse I would be on the podium this year...well, really I told her I was going to win a jersey this year...and I did!

And I was blessed to be able to share the experience with my parents. They have supported my racing for the past six years and when I told them I was riding well and going for the gold, they decided to come watch my quest. It is big to win a national championship but it is even bigger when you win a national championship the same year you were diagnosed with and beat cancer. As I rode my rollers yesterday I realized today's race was on the eleven month anniversary of my diagnosis. Eleven months ago to the day I was diagnosed with cancer...so all I have to say is take that cancer!

And I certainly could not have won without my local cycling ladies, some of my favorite people in this city. Many thanks to Aim (farthest left) who raced the Points race for me tonight. She was like my safety blanket and it was huge to know she was out there to help me win. And I certainly could not have done it without Katie's (left side of me) guidance! I told her I wanted to win a jersey the same year I beat cancer and she got me on top of that podium. In fact, I surprised her with my burst of speed tonight...sprinting has not been my forte but I am starting to get the hang of it and have a few good accelerations in most races now. Renee (right side of me) gave me the lowdown on the women in her race tonight (our groups were combined) which was a huge help. And Melissa has been an awesome support and fan throughout everything. Really, they have been there for more than one race or this season, they have been there for six years and I was so happy to celebrate with them tonight. And many thanks to the rest of my cheering posse...it was so fun to see the stands full knowing many people were out there for me as well as knowing I had people cheering for me all over the world! :)

Masters Nats Day 1
So, today was the start of Masters nats and the beginning of the end of a year-long journey. As you may recall, I was diagnosed with cancer 10 days after racing at collegiate nats last year (I am lucky enough to qualify for three different track nationals each year...and two of the three happen to be on my home track back to back years). On the first day of chemo, I told my oncology nurse I would be racing at masters nats and gunning for the podium the following season. Well, here we are, 11 months later and I was standing on the podium! :) I took third in the 2km pursuit this morning and had a solid ride. Not as fast as I wanted to go but probably the best executed pursuit I have ever ridden.

But even greater news is Renee smoked the field today and won the stars and stripes jersey. She had the fastest woman's time of the day earning herself a national championship. Up next is the Points race on Friday evening and then team pursuit (Renee is on my team! :) ) Sunday morning. While bronze is nice, I am definitely looking to get higher on that podium over the coming days! :)

More Pics from the Greatest Week of My Life
Playing "Polish Horseshoes." Fun game but I stink at it. The goal is not to get as many points as possible but to score 21...I kept scoring over 21 and knocking my team back down to 16.

Hanging out before dinner...I believe this was Fish Taco night and that is why we were hoarding the serving table. Best fish tacos I have ever eaten, hands down, no comparrison!

Hanging out on the water...have I mentioned I love being on the water?!

Paddle, paddle, paddle...I love whitewater kayaking and totally plan on doing it again this year! And, by the way, the water seems way more intense when you are sitting in that boat and paddling through it.

Break time in the hot springs. Our second day on the river took us down to Glenwood Springs and we got to hang out in the non-commercialized hot springs before finishing our section that day. They were warm to scalding hot depending on where you sat, smelled like sulfer (rotten eggs), and came with a water snake.

First day of camp we played water polo on the pond. In this picture I am on the defense but I really spent most of my time cherry picking and scoring goals! :)

Paddling downstream with the award balls strapped to my head...they clinked the whole way down the river and I felt very "special."

My awesome roomie, Sharkbait, on her birthday. We surprised her with a luau on the last night of camp.

Pretending to be a hardcore rock climber...just like I pretended to be a hardcore downhiller earlier in the week.

And the night I won my award, on land achievement, I was adorned with the Christmas tree ornament ball decoration necklace...the one that was strapped to my head on the last day of paddling.

First Descents=The BEST Week of My Life EVER!
Okay, I hope you are ready for a long post because I have a lot to share...it was really hard to choose which photos to use because the entire week was fabulous! Even more difficult is to put into words the greatest week of my life. Most of you know I love being on the water and in the mountains. Well, being on the water in the mountains was the perfect fit after living through 11 months of what I consider to be the worst year of my life. I am definitely hooked on whitewater kayaking and am already planning my next paddling excursion (right after track nationals!) But it was not just the kayaking that made this week so great, it was definitely the people. I was surrounded by a group of people who knew how to laugh and have fun no matter what life has brought them. I can honestly say I have never laughed so hard in my life nor have I laughed that hard every single day of my life for a week straight. We were real and shared our experiences but also grabbed the bull by the horn (so to speak) and lived life to the fullest during our week together. I cannot remember the last time I felt that alive. When I got home, multiple people told me I was glowing. That is all thanks to First Descents which reminded me how great it feels to be alive and thriving.

So, now that I have gushed about how great First Descents is, I will take you on a little journey of my week. The first day was spent on Eagle Pond learning how to put our equipment on (yes, we had to wear all of that everytime we got in our boats) and how to escape our boats if it capsizes. I even started to learn how to roll but got too cold and have to save rolling for another day. The greatest part of the day was when we played water polo on the pond. My team totally dominated the game and I scored a hatrick and maybe more...just call me Cherry Picker! :) Oh, that is the other thing. We all went by nicknames for the week. My name was Wheels (I am sure you can all figure out why). In this picture is Shark Bait, my roommate, who is AWESOME!

Day 2 was spent downhilling on Vail Mountain in the morning and on the river that afternoon. I brought my bike and rode every morning before camp started by didn't want to wear my kit to downhilling. Let's be honest, I don't ride on dirt and I didn't want to pretend I was good at it. As you can tell, I looked like a hard core cyclist that day...complete with a special Nalgene handlbar holder! The cool thing about this activity was that a few mountain bikers in Vail spent their summer fundraising so they could rent equipment and take our entire camp downhilling. The support for First Descents in the Vail valley is awesome!

And it wasn't until I saw this picture that I understood Hangry's (he gets angry when he is hungry) fascination with my tan lines. They have definitely gotten bad over the years!

Wednesday was spent down by Redcliff rockclimbing. It was a fun day and I scaled two different routes. The rockclimbing guides actually choose some pretty tough routes (upper end of difficulty) so I was psyched to get up them both; although, I couldn't move my hands by the end of my second climb.

The rest of the time was spent on the water kayaking. I don't have any pictures yet because I did not take my camera on the water but our photographers are sending CDs out with all the photos they took. I will post them when they get here. Every night we were treated to dinner by a different local family. One night a local chef made us fish tacos which were AMAZING! And we always finished the night with a campfire and awards. Whoever won the award had to strap the it onto their helmet the next day on the river. I spent Friday paddling with those balls taped to my helmet. One woman on a raft asked if I was celebrating Marti Gras and I told her I was special...I definitely looked special with those on my helmet!

As I said, the people were amazing! I am not going to post them all up here but a few noteworthy ones are being included. This is Skittles, my partner in crime. Each night we took random pictures on the cameras laying around as a surprise. We definitely got a lot of good laughs doing that. And she happens to be a person with an incredibly dry sense of humor that can make an entire room burst out laughing. For example, on the last night one guy was talking about the "special energy" our camp emits. Skittles said "Well, most of us have been radiated" in a room full of cancer killers. We were rolling on the floor laughing.

Eco, on the left, and I met on Twitter a few months ago so it was fun to finally meet her in person. She thinks she is going to get me skiing this winter and I may have convinced her to run a marathon with me when I turn 40...yes, I am already planning it as I will need a long time to build my base. Hyphy, on the right, is my Hodgkin twin. We were the only two Hodgkin killers at camp.

This is Bongo. He was actually a counselor but was also a camper six years ago and fell in love with kayaking. He promised to teach me how to roll this fall. But, more interestingly, he actually grew up in Chris Carmichael's house! He grew up in the Springs and his family sold that house to CC when he was a kid. Crazy!

And, last but not least, Smelly, our camp director. She did an amazing job of getting us everywhere and was an awesome teacher. I was stoked to run my first class three rapid with her and sad to say goodbye. Smelly is another one that can make you laugh until your stomach hurts.

Well, that's it in a nutshell. The greatest week of my life at the end of the worst year of my life; although, things started turning around...I think August may be the start of a great year to come. After all, I will be 30 so things have to get better right?! :)