BlackHillsVacations.com is offering up some great pre-race deals for athletes, their familes, and fans of Primal Quest, allowing them to explore the magnificent Badlands and Black Hills at bargain prices.

Click here to read all about these package deals, which include car rental with unlimited mileage, three nights stay in a selection of hotels, and entrance to the Badlands National Park, Custer State Park, and Mount Rushmore National Memorial, starting as low as $95/person per day.

The offers are good starting now and running through May 31st of this year. So, if you’re looking to get a sneak peek at where Primal Quest Badlands presented by SPOT will be taking place this August, there’s no better time than now to checkout the territory.

It’s been hard to remember this week that it’s still winter and I have four more ski races left before I can hang ‘em up for the season.  We’re having some really warm days in the Gunnison Valley and the bike has been dusted off and moved from the back of the garage and into rotation in the house!

This week started off great with a little recon mission over to Aspen to scout the Grand Traverse route.  The race starts off in Crested Butte at midnight and heads out into the backcountry between CB and Aspen.  Since the 42 mile route takes around 8-10 hours, you’re pretty much in the dark for the majority of the race and its nice to check it out in the daylight, if for no other reason than that its an incredibly beautiful ski!  I cruised over with a couple of other veterans of the race and a first timer too (though the first timer is one of the most experienced skiers, or athletes for that matter, that I know) and we had a perfect day with almost no wind and not a cloud.  The nine hour trip really took it out of me since I haven’t been getting out nearly enough so it wasn’t much of a confidence builder for me but a great trip nonetheless.

The great weather continued into Monday and I just couldn’t resist jumping on my bike and spinning the long tour to Aspen out of my legs.  I went out for an hour and only needed a wind shell and some leg warmers – that’s not much for this time of year in Gunni!  It was so nice to be on a bike again.  Because the ski season is a pretty important part of my training I usually hang up the bike and forget about it for a few months only to rediscover it with a rekindled passion in the spring.  The first few rides are always a little bit of love/hate.  I love riding but hate the sore butt and neck that aren’t quite ready for the abuse!

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Please note this very important change in dates and ensure each of your team members receives the information. We’ve been able to consolidate the event schedule to allow for the race to end on Sunday, Aug. 23, rather than Monday. We thought this would be a positive change for those of you who would benefit from being able to home on Monday, Aug. 24. We encourage teams to invite family and friends for the post-race ceremony and party where we’ll have entertainment and a great meal!

After last weeks little pity party, I decided to dig a little deeper into what should be expected of me in my training around this time.  I searched some data that my team captain sent and found a training program aimed for those beginners who want to train for a marathon.  Now one great thing about this blog is that so many people have taken the time to put in their very welcomed two cents into how I should be approaching this race, so I haven’t been left wanting for advice.

One of my fellow racers in the Wicked AR series (based in Portland, Oregon) said that I should find the time to spend as much time on my feet as I can.  He told me that I should be looking into specific training for a marathon length race and so I did just that.  Kim Dunkin (team captain) had sent me a plethora of information when she told me I was going to race and I have to admit…I never looked at it.  I know, I know…I have been sitting here all this time wondering (read whining) where I should be in my training and all this time it has been gathering dust one megabyte at a time.  One good thing is that I still have time; it is a 16 week training program.  So far, so good.

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Good morning and welcome to the only blog by people crazier than you.

It has been a long, but good, week.  I have to keep my act together for two more weeks before I can have a little break.

Last Sunday I raced at Snowbasin, Utah at the Xterra Winter Worlds.  It was a great race, minus the snowshoeing, which I haven’t done in over seven years.  Needless to say, I ate it a few times.  And even then I am no more motivated to go practice that sport.  Give me skiing any day.  I finished 5th and would recommend that race to anyone who’s into winter sports.

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I got an email from my team captain last week that casually reminded me that we only have 20 more weeks of training till the start of PQ.  My face got long, my feet felt like lead, a sinking feeling settled inside of me as a glimmer of panic raced across my mind.  I am half way there.

You see, alongside the decision to make good on my promise to myself to compete in Primal Quest came the commitment to train for it as well.  That was 42 weeks ago.  The reason for the panic is that Kim reminded me that I am half way through the time I have given myself to prepare for this experience and needless to say, I don’t feel prepared at all.  In fact, I can honestly say I am feeling a bit frantic.

I just see that these past thirty days or so haven’t been very productive for me when it comes to training.  I came out of the box with my feet on fire in January and then February came along with its fair share of setbacks.  Now, I know that overcoming obstacles can technically be considered part of “training”, but hell, I have been doing that all my life.  That is not the part that concerns me.  I am talking about the physical part.

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