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mary
carlson
"smiley
chick"
dob
2.24.75
based
in Spokane, WA
fave
food Sushi
fave
band don't really have one favorite and it really
depends on my mood. I like music that inspires me and
that I can sing along to (Natalie Merchant, Indigo Girls,
etc.). When I am working out I like a very different
type of music, a lot heavier and louder (Disturbed,
Tool).
fave
color Again, I don't really have one favorite color.
I love the outdoor colors in Spokane, very colorful
in early spring with everything blooming, a little drier
in the summer but always green and beautiful. Purple
has recently made its way into my life, which is odd
because I always thought of purple as such an old woman
color. Maybe I am turning into one, NAH, I don't think
so. I even painted my bedroom purple; donÕt ask me how
I convinced my husband of this.
started riding 3 years ago
started
racing 3 years ago
hobbies
mountain biking (of course), yoga, cooking, skiing,
training and working out, spending time with my hubby,
and just being outside
best
cycling moment Winning races!! I must be honest
this is an awesome feeling. It is also great to finish
a race knowing you couldnÕt have pushed yourself any
harder, even if you didnÕt win.
fave
trail The Beacon in Spokane. This is the location
of my first mountain bike ride and first mountain bike
race.
education
BS in geology from Eastern Washington University in
2000. + Intern at the U.S. Geological Survey- which
turned into a job. At the USGS I learned GIS and later
took GIS classes at school. I am now a GIS Specialist
at the U.S. Geological Survey.
why
I ride Mountain biking makes me feel alive, free
and empowered especially on a sunny day in nice twisty
single track
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23.jul.04
Getting
back into the swing of things. This season I have
definitely experienced many highs and lows. I started
out with a couple of wins, got sick, a couple more wins,
and then overtrained. Ugh!!! The overtraining has actually
been a good thing. Not because I have some free time
but because I learned a lot, and probably have never
felt better on my bike. The most important thing I have
learned is to listen to your body, really listen. If
you don't feel like riding or don't feel strong it is
a good idea to take time off. I took a full week off
and then eased back into my riding. At first it didn't
feel good to ride, I was kind of sluggish and scared
that I would overtrain again. But then, I started having
these wonderful rides. I was powerful again. It had
been a really long time since I felt powerful on my
bike. It is amazing how easy it is to forget that invincible
feeling and get sucked into the mentality that you have
to keep training to be strong. The opposite happened
to me- I took a lot of time off and I don't think I
have ever ridden so well. My endurance has probably
suffered but now I remember why I love to mountain bike.
A special thanks to Tonya. I was really frustrated and
felt like my season was over. I was really hard on myself
for being so stupid for overtraining again (I overtrained
last year too). With a little guidance from Tonya I
am now signed up to do 3 National races in the next
month. It makes such a difference to have someone believe
in you and a team to nudge you along when you need a
push.
20.apr.04
A
lot has happened since my last journal entry. Let's
see.. I had planned on racing NOVA but my flight was
canceled. Talk about a let down. NOVA would have been
my first National race, ever. I was ready for it. I
had just come off a local win and I was physically and
mentally ready for NOVA. Luckily there was a local race
in Spokane I raced in and won. The win made me feel
a little better about missing NOVA. The next few weeks
were awful. For some reason I am very vulnerable to
inner ear infections. If you have ever had one you truly
know it is awful. The day after my race in Spokane I
started feeling the symptoms of the infection. I felt
awful and the only way to not get dizzy was to lay down.
So I spent most of a week off my bike, laying around
the house. I felt better by the weekend so I did a couple
small rides and didn't feel too bad. Monday came again
and along with it the dizziness. So once again I was
forced to lay down and not ride my bike. Meanwhile my
doctor is prescribing me these funky drugs that helped
with the dizziness but messed up other stuff, my eyes
were dilated. Do you know how hard it is to ride a bike
in the sunshine with dilated eyes? I had my dark lenses
in my sunglasses and was still squinting. By the next
weekend I decided I was going to ride no matter what.
My husband agreed to stay close on a small road ride.
A 1 1/2 hour endurance road ride killed me. I was so
depressed, only weeks before I could ride for 3 1/2
hours in my endurance zone, no problem. I started thinking
about my training leading up to NOVA, I tapered my workout
down for 2 weeks before my race week, then was sick
for 2 weeks. So it had been basically 5 weeks since
I had done any real training and I could sure feel it.
I have increased my weekly hours each week and Sunday
did a 2 1/2 hour endurance ride, so I am getting there.
I sure don't feel like I did before NOVA but I will
get there. It was really hard for me to let my fitness
go but I would have just been sicker if I fought it.
Saturday I have another local race, I will keep you
posted. Cheers
8.mar.04
Not
placing 3rd
While
driving with Josh to the first race of the season in
Lewiston, Idaho, I told him "I don't want to get third
place". I didn't care if I did better or worse, third
place was for last year. Last year, my first in the
expert category, it was as though third was my destiny.
No matter where the race, who raced, or the course....I
could do not better or worse than third place. I was
pretty nervous on the drive. I kept telling myself I
had nothing to be nervous about this was just a warm-up
for Nova. It's funny how all these local races I did
last year were such a HUGE deal, now they pale in comparison
to the national races I am training for. When I got
to Lewiston, my nervousness settled. I knew I was going
to race and do the best I could do. I warmed up and
then it was time to line up on the starting line. I
wasn't nervous and was actually happy and excited. Excited
for a new season of NOT getting third place. We were
off, I was in third position riding at a very comfortable
pace. I hadn't ridden the course I only knew that it
was 7 miles, 700 vertical feet of climbing and I had
to do three laps. The girl riding in second started
to pass the first girl so I followed. I sat in second
for a while, the pace was really easy, we were climbing.
I thought I can sit here and save my energy for the
last lap or I can go for it and have fun. Well, I went
for it and had a blast. The course was very challenging
for such an early season race, a really long granny
gear climb followed by winding single track (the Devil's
slide), not to mention the wind gusts at the top of
the hill. As I was leading the way for the women I was
having a great time and breaking away from the second
place girl. Lap 1 done and I am still breaking away,
lap 2 done......lap three begins and I know I can win.
I push it even harder, crossing the finish line I realize,
I finally did it, I didn't get third place. I won a
race for my first time as an expert. I was so excited,
finally out of my third place rut. The only bad part,
I didn't have my mtbchick jersey to display.
Worst
Moments in Cycling I actually have two and they
happened within two months of each other. It was the
Washington State Championship race (2002) and I got
a flat tire after 10 minutes of racing. I fixed the
flat but in the process of removing the tire messed
up my brakes and didn't know how or have the tools to
fix. I had to take a DNF. This taught me a great lesson
Š I need to know how everything works on my bike. The
other horrible moment in cycling was when I separated
my shoulder... OUCH. In last years off season I started
a little free riding. I was getting more courageous
each time I rode and started doing small drops. The
small drops turned into medium drops until one day I
thought I could conquer all drops. I rode up to this
3 foot drop, which I had successfully completed before,
going really slow. Everyone knows (including me) that
you need a little speed to make the drop or your front
tire will hit first and you will go over your handle
bars. Well, I proceeded to take the drop at this really
slow pace, the entire time I was telling myself you
are going too slow, stop, but I didn't stop and didn't
go any faster. I just rode down it, as my front tire
hit the ground I went flying as did my bike. I landed
on my head first then my shoulder. After a few minutes
of shock I was finally able to sit up, and then finally
stand up without passing out. Luckily my husband and
some friends were with me to help me push my bike down
the hill and take me to the hospital.
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