tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49626062470525188892024-03-12T22:56:51.284-06:00 An athlete's account of undergoing breast cancer treatmentAthlete's account of redefining "normal" after undergoing breast cancer treatmentJen Hankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12576100032824293816noreply@blogger.comBlogger171125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4962606247052518889.post-62629937872164417562019-01-01T11:42:00.001-07:002019-03-06T11:27:08.398-07:002018 in Review<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Happy New Year everyone!</span></div>
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I haven't updated my blog in over a year and that is good news. It means life is humming along.<br />
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In my last post, I was recovering from what ended up being a prophylactic mastectomy. That marked surgery #9 in the past eight years and thankfully it already feels like a distant memory.<br />
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This past year, I hit some significant cancer milestones. May was my <b><span style="color: magenta;">5-year cancerversary</span></b> from my recurrence! And just a few weeks ago I took my very last Anastrazole pill. Anastrozole is an Aromatase Inhibitor (AI). AIs block the production of estrogen and since my particular breast cancer was fueled by estrogen, we have been medically (and surgically) eliminating the estrogen in my body. AIs are typically prescribed for 5-10 years, however, based on some testing my oncologist felt that I had gotten maximum benefit from taking the AI for 5-years and that the benefit no longer outweighed the risks/negative side-effects (bone loss, joint pain, hot flashes, and more). I'm really excited to see what my body feels like as I clear the Anastrozole from my system.<br />
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2018 has also been a year of change. After living in Utah since 1999 we moved to Las Vegas, NV.<br />
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Home</div>
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While the move was difficult for me and definitely bittersweet, it was also perfect timing to move to a warmer climate where I could immediately ramp up my training in preparation for some early season mountain bike racing with my eye on hitting good form for the 4-Island MTB Stage Race in Croatia.<br />
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I raced True Grit 50 a few weeks before leaving for Croatia and had a fan. </div>
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Coolest poster EVER! </div>
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4 Islands races across a different Croatian island each respective day for four consecutive days. My recovery from surgeries was smooth and uneventful and preparation went well; we arrived in Croatia ready to perform to the best of our ability.<br />
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CROATIA!!!</div>
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This race was definitely a highlight of the year for me. Not only is Croatia a beautiful and interesting country that I had yet to explore, but the race terrain was challenging and the competition tight and fierce. Because of this, even though the race was only four days, it was one of the more physically taxing stage races I have done. Day 1, I was on fire. Our competition was close and we traded positions multiple times throughout the stage.<br />
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Finding flow Day 1 photo: Sportograf</div>
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We finished the day in 3rd overall in the Co-ed Duo category against an international field.<br />
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Day two was probably the most adverse conditions I have faced in a race for a long time. The skies opened up and it poured from start to finish making the course a combination of muddy and slick as snot and really, really cold.<br />
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A ferry would take us to a new island each morning and we would race off the ferry<br />
photo: Sportograf<br />
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4+ hours of this<br />
photo: Sportograf<br />
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.....and this<br />
photo: Sportograf</div>
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I never really recovered physically from this day and we played defense for the remainder of the race. Other teams struggled too, with one team have a major mechanical that set them back an insurmountable margin. The final day came down to a 20-second difference between 2nd and 3rd overall in our category. Shannon and I came up just short and finished 3rd co-ed duo. Despite missing 2nd by only a few seconds, after four days of racing, I knew that I had given 100%, and therefore I was 100% satisfied.<br />
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photo: Sportograf</div>
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While in Croatia we also took the opportunity to explore Dubrovnik. Dubrovnik is a Medieval-like city (known for where Game of Thrones is filmed) on the Adriatic Sea. We stayed at a little Airbnb inside the city walls and since it was shoulder season and overcast weather, we got to experience the city without the crowds. Visiting Dubrovnik was definitely an unexpected surprise.</div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Riding bikes above Dubrovnik</span></div>
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Me and my adventure partner</div>
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I barely felt like I had settled into Vegas when summer arrived. Vegas is scorching hot in the summer; that is my cue to retreat to the mountains! Since I work in the schools, I also happen to have summers off. In June, I returned to Park City and was back for two short weeks when I had a silly crash while on a weekend trip to Crested Butte, CO that resulted in a broken wrist (scaphoid).<br />
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This is what a broken scaphoid looks like on the outside</div>
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Most of my summer plans were derailed, but I took the opportunity to go for big hikes and attempt to trail run. While breaking my scaphoid was a bummer, I was happy to see my body heal a broken bone nicely, especially a precarious bone like the scaphoid.<br />
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Summer in the mountains is always good, even with a broken wrist.</div>
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This particular view is special because it is ours.</div>
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By the end of August, I was back to mountain biking (mostly) pain-free. Feeling like I had missed out on my summer of racing, I put together an ambitious Fall campaign with marathon distance mountain bike races in Beatty, NV, Big Bear, CA, Pinetop, AZ and Kingman, AZ.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Grizzly 100k podium with Dizzy as my biggest fan</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">I finished 2nd to my teammate and National Ultra Endurance (NUE) series overall winner, Jen Toops</span></div>
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I also committed to racing the local Nevada Cyclocross series. While I put in some solid training to prep for my Fall races, the first cross race was definitely a rude awakening. My body is well trained to race strong for 4-5 hours, but the power required for a 45-minute race was simply not there....and my cross skills were just plain rusty.<br />
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photo: Hugh Byrne</div>
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It was really rewarding to put in some hard work (ie intervals so hard that I collapsed off the bike) and see my body respond. Possibly the best part of racing the local cross series was that we found some Las Vegas like-minded bike crazies who also like Type2 Fun. Vegas is starting to feel more and more like home ❤️<br />
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In 2018, I also had a great interview with <a href="https://dairmagazine.com/dont-just-fight-cancer/" target="_blank">Dair Magazine. </a> Dair Magazine is UK based and is dedicated to exploring how the best coaches, athletes, and artists achieve what they do. I especially appreciated that they not only covered breast cancer survivorship and my athletic achievements, but also Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) which is near and dear to my heart.<br />
<span style="color: red;"><br /></span> <span style="color: red;">Warning:</span> here comes my soapbox:<br />
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<span style="color: magenta;">MBC is when breast cancer has spread to other organs of the body (brain, bones, lungs, etc). There is currently no cure for MBC. While the pink movement has done a great job of increasing awareness of early breast cancer/survivorship, little awareness and less than 2% of research funding is dedicated to MBC. 30% of early breast cancers progress to MBC and 40,000 people die of MBC each year. </span></div>
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As for 2019, it is going to take me all over the country....and hopefully the world! I have lots of racing planned, but I am also challenging myself with some new endeavors. In March, I am heading to Boise, ID to be the keynote speaker at the <a href="http://www.expeditioninspiration.org/" target="_blank">Expedition Inspiration</a> fundraiser for breast cancer research dinner. I am so incredibly honored to be asked to speak at this event and also nervous! I really want to blow them away with my presentation. Here's to new challenges in 2019!<br />
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I wish everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year and beyond! ....and because no blog post is complete without a photo of my Dizzy dog ❤️<br />
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<br />Jen Hankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12576100032824293816noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4962606247052518889.post-60910669446066565952017-11-22T19:02:00.000-07:002019-03-06T11:27:50.994-07:00A little updateA little update:<br />
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On October 3, I underwent a left mastectomy.<br />
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My surgery was scheduled in Las Vegas. My husband recently has taken a job in Las Vegas and a breast and plastic surgeon team he works with came highly recommended. So Dizzy dog and I traveled from Park City to Las Vegas and checked into an Airbnb that would serve as our home base as I recovered from surgery.<br />
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Pre-Op at UMC in Las Vegas</div>
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Although I had a right mastectomy in 2011, I wasn't totally sure what to expect this time around as my surgeons were using a different technique. I was pretty fascinated with this new technique where instead of cutting the pectoralis major muscle and placing the tissue expander underneath, my plastic surgeon placed the tissue expander over the pec muscle (pre pectoral) and supported the entire breast with alloderm. Research shows this method to have decreased acute and chronic pain as well as improved cosmetic outcome. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28574950">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28574950</a> So far, I would say I have to agree! </div>
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I awoke from surgery with minimal pain and only slightly nauseous. I vaguely remember Shannon and my surgeon talking about my follow-up appointment. Apparently, I was an active participant in this conversation with a drug-induced VERY LOUD voice 😂. I felt good enough that Shannon drove me and my 2 pet drains back to the Airbnb.</div>
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Me and my pet drains</div>
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The next day I awoke with minimal pain. It truly was amazing and surprising. My rule of thumb for pain medication is if there is no pain when I'm sitting still I'm good. Tylenol and Ibuprofen were able to control my pain and I only required a narcotic for the first two nights. Based on my experience so far, a pre pectoral mastectomy is significantly less painful than a sub pectoral mastectomy. </div>
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By day 3, I was able to go for short hikes. Nature truly does heal, I would return from my short hikes feeling invigorated and content. I also found out that the suspicious mass that started this cascade of events was completely benign. Phew! </div>
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Hiking with drains</div>
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I found a rhythm of healing my first week post-op. I would wake up, take Dizzy for a walk on the adjacent greenway, take an afternoon nap, and when Shannon returned from work we would go for a hike with increased duration each day. </div>
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At one week post-op one of my drains was removed and I was down to one pet drain. Freedom! </div>
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Note: This is a new mastectomy friendly bra made by Athleta. I have been super impressed with it. </div>
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It is adjustable in every way imaginable, is waaaay more comfortable than the post-surgical bra, </div>
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and it's not pink! If it had a hook for drains it would be perfect! </div>
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At this point I felt good enough to drive myself to St. George to stay at our rental condo. While the Airbnb served its purpose well, it was so nice to stay someplace that felt like home! </div>
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On Day 12 post-op, Shannon and I did a relatively mellow 7-mile hike in Kolob Canyon. Around every corner was a breathtaking view. I highly recommend this beautiful and accessible hike!</div>
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I also started a gentle Range of Motion program. The gentle stretching helped decrease pain, as a stiff shoulder is an uncomfortable shoulder. Note: Post mastectomy patients are at increased risk for rotator cuff injuries. It is super important to participate in consistent shoulder range of motion and stability exercises for life! </div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">In this photo I do not yet have full left upper extremity range, </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">so I used a pillow to support my left arm as to not over stretch. </span></div>
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After my second drain was removed, I returned to Park City and work. I also started riding the bike a bit starting on a recumbent, graduating to a trainer, and eventually riding the roads outside. TIP: Riding the full suspension mountain bike on the road (instead of a road bike) helps dampen out the road bumps and gets me riding outside sooner.<br />
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Weeks 3,4, and 5 I dabbled with a little off-road riding, but honestly it was like magic when I hit the 6-week mark; I could tell my body was properly healed for some legitimate off-road riding.<br />
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Park City weather has been very cooperative for mountain biking this Fall!</div>
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Just one day shy of week 7, I returned for my reconstructive surgery where the tissue expander was exchanged for a permament silicone implant.<br />
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At UMC Hospital in Las Vegas waking up from surgery. </div>
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My surgical team has been AMAZING! </div>
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I am now set-back to post-op Day 2. I can already tell that recovery from this much less invasive surgery is going to be quite quick, however I also know that the first two weeks are pivotal for complete healing of the incision. So, I'm back to walking. If I'm forced to walk, there is no place I would rather be than wandering the desert of Southern Utah!<br />
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Getting some Desert and Vitamin D therapy</div>
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Seeing as tomorrow is Thanksgiving, I am so thankful for my health and this little family of mine. I will be back at it in no time and we're already making plans to make 2018 great! </div>
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Jen Hankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12576100032824293816noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4962606247052518889.post-53061747154701261872017-09-06T19:58:00.000-06:002019-03-06T11:28:19.089-07:00I am a Mountain Bike LiferI am a Mountain Bike Lifer.<br />
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Photo: Michael Darter</div>
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I started mountain biking in college. That was the mid-90s.<br />
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At the time, mountain biking was a "newish" sport and I needed a replacement sport for Horseback Riding. Surprisingly, mountain biking was the less expensive of the two. Flowing through trees and being alone in the forest were just two of the things that made mountain biking appealing to me. It was also immediately therapeutic.<br />
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Now, 20+ years later, I can honestly say that mountain biking has changed my life. Mountain biking is special and it has always been there for me during tough times.<br />
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The past few months have been no exception. My husband and I are in the midst of making some big life decisions, but all that seemed trivial when the results from my "routine" July MRI showed a suspicious new mass in my left breast. This is my "other" breast. The one that has never had cancer. If you know radiologist lingo it was subjectively deemed a BI-RADS 4a-just suspicious enough to warrant a biopsy.<br />
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Me and my husband at the races this summer. Photo: Michael Darter</div>
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So I went in for an Ultrasound guided biopsy. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, the ultrasound didn't detect the mass so I was then scheduled for a MRI-guided biopsy. Two weeks later I returned for this procedure. The oncologist, who came in special for this my appointment, sat me down and told me he had reviewed the previous MRI and was concerned that there was a high risk of rupturing my implant during the procedure (I have a small implant to help with symmetry). We discussed the options. I decided to not risk the rupture on that day and made the decision to schedule a mastectomy. It is tentatively scheduled October 2nd and will be confirmed after consultation with the breast and plastic surgeon later this month.<br />
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While this may seem like an impulsive decision, it really wasn't. I have been thinking about getting a prophylactic mastectomy for a long time. I just don't like down time so I was putting it off. This mass just made it a little less prophylactic and a little more urgent. I am at complete 100% peace with this decision.<br />
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Now, back to being a Mountain Bike Lifer. I continued to ride and race my bike this summer, and while I was often distracted, felt fatigued due to mental stress, and even considered pulling the plug on the race season many times, I can't imagine what a basketcase I would have been without mountain biking. Once again, mountain biking was my savior.<br />
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This past weekend I raced the Park City Point 2 Point, a 75-mile, 12,000+ feet of climbing, 99% singletrack race course that is basically in my back yard. I have raced the pcp2p three times. I know how hard it is both physically and mentally, and honestly, I wasn't sure until a few days before the race if I had the mental strength to finish it this year. Finally, the Thursday before the race, I committed. Saturday morning the alarm went off at 4:30 AM in time for me to eat breakfast and get to the race start by 7AM. I then spent the next 8.5+ hours racing my bike as hard as I could. While I didn't score too many PRs, I rode my personal best ON THIS DAY and that was good enough to finish 10th place Pro Women in a solid field. For 8.5 hours my mind was completely in the moment. I didn't think about the mass or the upcoming surgery, I focused on one pedal stroke at a time, eating, drinking, some suffering, and even occasionally taking in the views. If nothing else, the pcp2p reminded me just how incredibly strong I am!<br />
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Park City Point to Point 2017 Photo: Angie Harker</div>
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Point to Point finish smiles Photo: Angie Harker</div>
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I now have 4 weeks of off-season before the rest of my Fall/Winter is spent recovering from surgeries. I will happily take all positive vibes that this is a benign mass, or better yet nothing at all! As for the next 4 weeks, I plan to make the most of it! #mountainbikelifer<br />
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<br />Jen Hankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12576100032824293816noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4962606247052518889.post-44034788245742815962017-05-01T20:32:00.000-06:002017-05-01T20:32:21.227-06:00Rotor Big Race in Madrid, Spain2017 has been off to a whirlwind start-in the best possible way-and I finally have a moment to reflect on everything that has happened before the next whirlwind.......<br />
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The year started with me getting my brand new, beautiful Pivot Mach429SL bike built up, just in time to pack it up for an international flight to Madrid. Yes, you read that correctly. I felt like I had barely returned from Cuba and I was one my way, this time solo, to Madrid, Spain. <br />
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New bike day. Had to make a quick trip to the desert to break it in.</div>
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New bike was barely built before I took it apart to pack for Spain<br />
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So the year started with another big trip, this time to Spain to compete in the Rotor Big Race. Rotor Big Race is promoted by one of my sponsors, Rotor Bike Components; they also happen to be some of the nicest people in the bike industry! <br />
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The weekend started with the "fun" ride for Rotor athletes and friends. I was definitely a bit starstruck riding around with the likes of Olympic Bronze Medalist, Carlos Coloma, and Downhill legend Cedric Gracia. <br />
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The fun ride really was fun! We rode some pristine trail in Torrelaguna, Spain (just North of Madrid) that unfortunately had to be removed from the actual race course due to recent heavy rains and concerns over hundreds of racers causing ecological damage. The ride ended up being around 2 hours with loads of climbing. Some of the racers used eBikes to not over-exert the day before the race. Those Europeans are smart!<br />
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Race morning was brisk; it was barely Spring in Spain after all. I think I completed my entire warm-up in my puffy! <br />
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The Elite Women's field was full of talent including two Olympians and the Brazilian National Champion, but I had been training hard and felt ready to give my best effort. <br />
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With a huge mass start, it was very much appreciated that the promoters made sure the Elite women had a spot on the front line. The race was fast, ferocious, and a lot shorter than I was expecting. I rode away with 3rd place Elite Women. <br />
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Lots of high speed racing at Rotor Big Race. Finding good wheels to draft was key. </div>
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Pre-race photo shoot</div>
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This number plate is a keeper</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">There is something magical about racing in different countries. Traveling and bike racing are my two favorite activities and when combined I simply can't stop smiling. I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel to Spain and am grateful to </span><a href="http://rotorbike.com/" style="text-align: left;">Rotor Bikes</a><span style="text-align: left;"> for being such amazing hosts. </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">....and since I was in Madrid, I took some time to sightsee. </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Here I am pictured in front of the Royal Palace. </span></div>
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As for the rest of the season, 2017 is full of lots of fun races. I am trying some new events and also racing a chunk of the NUE (National Ultraendurance) series. Although after Cuba and now Madrid, I am feeling a strong pull toward combining my passions of bike racing and international travel. My dream: stage racing on each of the continents! What should be next? </div>
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Jen Hankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12576100032824293816noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4962606247052518889.post-35537930127767080882017-01-27T19:27:00.001-07:002019-03-10T14:04:18.343-06:00<br />
Extremely honored and excited for Bicycling magazine to feature my story. You can read it here:<br />
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<a href="http://www.bicycling.com/culture/people/life-lessons-from-mountain-bikings-toughest-dandelion">http://www.bicycling.com/culture/people/life-lessons-from-mountain-bikings-toughest-dandelion</a><br />
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<br />Jen Hankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12576100032824293816noreply@blogger.com52tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4962606247052518889.post-26483489528104020822017-01-03T21:22:00.004-07:002020-07-27T17:34:46.881-06:002016 race season wrap up-TAKE TWO and Happy New Year!This post should be labeled Happy Holidays and while I wish everyone a very Happy Holiday season, my 2016 race reporting is (surprisingly) not done yet! <br />
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Shannon and I made the last minute decision to bookend 2016 with another stage race.......in Cuba! <br />
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<span style="color: red;"><b>New race season stats: 1100+ miles and 100+ hours of racing. Holy crap! </b></span><br />
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We learned about the <a href="http://americas.titantropic.com/">Titan Tropic</a> at Interbike in September. Titan Tropic is a second year event and this year would be the first year Americans were competing. Who could pass up an opportunity to race bikes in Cuba? Not us!</div>
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Coordinating and preparing for an International stage race on such short notice was a bit challenging, however every opportunity to travel and compete in events like this feels like an opportunity of a lifetime. I was incredibly grateful to be traveling to Cuba and I'm pretty sure I was beaming the entire week! One of my favorite aspects about International stage racing is the anticipation of arriving to a new country. This definitely takes me out of my comfort zone because I'm a planner and preparer, however I have learned to embrace the unexpected during these trips. In some respects, knowing that I have to be flexible with my normal 'plan' takes a bit of the pressure off! The adventure component of this trip increased to a 12 with the passing of Fidel Castro. We arrived on Day 7 of Cuba's 9-days of mourning. <br />
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San Marti airport in Havana was small and security was lax. There was a crowd of people outside the airport and we quickly found the race representative coordinating our transfer to our hotel. We were also greeted by Havana's Old Cars.<br />
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The outside of San Marti Airport</div>
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Our hotel in Havana became Titan Tropic race central for a few days</div>
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Our first afternoon in Havana we went for a townie ride exploring the city. I was surprised by how safe and clean the city was. While there weren't bike lanes, the cars for the most part were respectful. </div>
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One of my favorite things about stage racing is that your fellow racers become family by the end of the week. Titan Tropic was no different. </div>
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We found the ocean. The sunset was amazing.</div>
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The pre-race meeting was very official. There was an English translator,<br />
however it seemed some of the information got "lost in translation". </div>
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On transfer days-days we raced to a new location-we loaded our belongings up<br />
into this truck to meet us at the new destination</div>
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The race provided us with bottled water for the week. </div>
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I get thirsty and got to know the water distributors well. </div>
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Race bikes resting in the racks before the first day.</div>
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Gearing up for a week of exploring Cuba by bike! Shannon and I raced in the Mixed Duo category. We have to stay within 2 minutes of each other throughout the race and work together to go as fast as possible. What this looks like is Shannon carrying most of our gear to keep me light and fast. I draft off him when appropriate and he even gives me a push to help me accelerate-usually when I'm trying to grab hold of a group to draft.</div>
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Home is where you ride to. In this case it was Soroa, Cuba. Another thing I love about stage racing </div>
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is the anticipation of finishing and seeing our home for the night.</div>
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This tree is 600+ years old. It was breathtaking and much more beautiful in real-life</div>
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The Americans know how to recover from a long stage in Soroa. </div>
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Giving my bike some love....<br />
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Just another morning gearing up to race my bike with rad people in Cuba!<br />
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The Americans performed quite well. Tinker Juarez finished 5th overall and Kevin Hines 10th!<br />
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Some of the Americans. We always welcomed morning clouds. <br />
They would give way to the scorching sun midday. <br />
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Locals cheering for us from horseback. <br />
Horses were the primary mode of transportation in the remote parts of Cuba. </div>
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Scenes from the saddle: a local smoking Cuba's finest export</div>
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More scenes from the saddle: Ox are used for most of the heavy farm work.</div>
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The finish in Vinales</div>
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Accommodations in Vinales. Despite the snoring, I actually slept quite well in the tents....<br />
Vinales was also my first experience with dump ditches......</div>
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Tree ornaments. I'm pretty sure nothing dried the entire week with the humidity. </div>
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Our bathing accommodations made from palm leaves</div>
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The famous mogotes in Vinales. Vinales is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. </div>
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Smiles for Miles</div>
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This photo captures the reality of a stage race; I'm pocketing a Honeystinger waffle in my cheek. Proper and consistent fueling is key to successful stage racing! </div>
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This is quite possibly my favorite photo EVER! </div>
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On Day 4 Shannon succumbed to stomach issues. He vomited multiple times throughout the stage and couldn't eat for 24 hours. I had to push/pull/drag him to the finish. The Titan Tropic medical team took excellent care of him, giving him a liter of fluids for dehydration and Rantadine for his stomach. He was able to race strong and defend our lead for the final day of racing. </div>
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Me pulling Shannon for once. </div>
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Just riding along....in Cuba! </div>
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Cuba has excellent dirt! </div>
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After just over 21 hours of racing, we finished 1st place Mixed Duo.</div>
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Teamwork makes the dreamwork. </div>
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We finished on the beautiful white sand beaches of Caya Jutias.</div>
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The most beautiful finishing venue ever! </div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-7aiv51VE-4/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-7aiv51VE-4?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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Here is a video that Titan Tropic by Gaes made summarizing the week. </div>
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Shannon and I can be seen at :18, :28, 2:12</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/id_fg1ze9ng/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/id_fg1ze9ng?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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.....and here's a video that Shannon and I made. Check it out! </div>
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I traveled to Cuba wanting to race hard, but also wanting to experience and learn about the Cuban culture. This was our 4th stage race racing Mixed Duo. Shannon and I have the teamwork pretty well dialed. With the exception of the occasional snafu; like when Shannon almost took me out by hooking my handlebars, or when he ran me over when I crashed, we worked together flawlessly. I think we are even better racing partners than we are riding partners because we shut up-there is no time for husband/wife bickering- and focus on working together to go faster. Sharing the race experience is very special to us. <br />
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I found Cuba to be a charming country to visit. Cuba is beautifully diverse, both the landscape and the people. Cubans are proud of their country and very welcoming of Americans. While I gained a better understanding of the country, there is still so much I don't understand. </div>
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What I know for sure is that this experience whet my already damp palate for more international stage racing. Cheers to 2017. May it be full of health, travel, bikes, and adventure! </div>
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Jen Hankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12576100032824293816noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4962606247052518889.post-60332020298738185972016-09-14T13:39:00.000-06:002020-07-27T17:35:19.609-06:002016 race season wrap-up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I recently wrapped up my 2016 mountain bike race season. This one was special for so many reasons.</div>
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It started with a trip to Chile for the 6-day TransAndes stage race. This happened to coincide with with the 5-year anniversary of my original breast cancer diagnosis. <a href="http://athletefightscancer.blogspot.com/2016/02/transandes-race.html">I have already written about this trip so I won't repeat myself, but Chile was quite the memorable experience</a>. I hope to duplicate the adventure many times in new (to us) countries!</div>
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After Chile, I didn't miss a beat and pushed through 8 more months of racing. <span style="color: red;">Total stats for the season were approximately 800 miles of mountain bike racing in ~80 hours!</span> 4 wins and lots of podium finishes. While the season results were great, I am most proud and pleased that my body held up beautifully. I did not succumb to a single illness or injury all season....not even a cold. I am grateful for good coaching and nutritional support. I am most grateful for a body that has been poisoned by chemicals, radiation, and surgeries, yet keeps bouncing back. I love this resilient body of mine!</div>
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It would be misleading to say that nothing has changed with my body from cancer treatment. I have had two rounds of chemo (2011, 2013), radiation, and countless surgeries. I need to take lymphedema precautions and some body parts don't work the same. I was also forced into surgical menopause at the tender age of 38 which comes with its own set of challenges. I continue to take a cancer medication that depletes my body of estrogen and thins my bones. However I have not been good at just accepting the new normal. I strive to defy it and push my body to be its old self. </div>
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While I don't like to give unsolicited advice to others, here are a few mantras I find useful for myself: </div>
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<i>Never give up. Never give in. </i></div>
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<i>Be kind to my myself. </i></div>
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<i>Winning lies in trying more than results. </i></div>
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<i>No excuses.</i></div>
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<i>Find peace and happiness in what I do everyday. </i> </div>
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My short off season will be full of beautiful Fall mountain bike rides, skills practice, hiking and trail running with Dizzy, weight workouts to balance out the imbalances from the repetitive action of riding/racing my bike for thousands of miles this year, stretching, and after a long season of training a welcome lack of structure. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5mXXm5ZEekpF3Tu-_5jW8f5r71A0lK6Xu6okQJ0K32fa1sELZ1JPKXKkUkCAr8W3Ai-BUskFdYK2rs_6qckNt8oc0UaZPZA6dbB9Dh4sXBaJ4mbyiJ5XEJiqzi4p1jpjJE_wCCVS4Fbk/s640/blogger-image--1346364700.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5mXXm5ZEekpF3Tu-_5jW8f5r71A0lK6Xu6okQJ0K32fa1sELZ1JPKXKkUkCAr8W3Ai-BUskFdYK2rs_6qckNt8oc0UaZPZA6dbB9Dh4sXBaJ4mbyiJ5XEJiqzi4p1jpjJE_wCCVS4Fbk/s640/blogger-image--1346364700.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Spending time with my BDF during the off season</div>
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Here are some memorable photos from the season:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0bmksU58pXDQRl2GQNMW_9k_0JSmPSEu30lXo-O5wsFvCsTJ02WdQziz3XIk1_ACRvafh-CBAbvZT4iVxDRs7fJYlYB5fRnhlKvX89PNcfuVShnh6k0HRYdxU49l8RxaJRassDh61Mek/s1600/p2p1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0bmksU58pXDQRl2GQNMW_9k_0JSmPSEu30lXo-O5wsFvCsTJ02WdQziz3XIk1_ACRvafh-CBAbvZT4iVxDRs7fJYlYB5fRnhlKvX89PNcfuVShnh6k0HRYdxU49l8RxaJRassDh61Mek/s640/p2p1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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On the start line of the Park City Point to Point </div>
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My final race of the season</div>
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75 miles, 10,000+ feet of elevation gain. 8.5 hours race time. </div>
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Crossing the finish line at the Park City Point to Point in 6th place Pro Women</div>
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Shannon and Me after Pierre's Hole 100k in Grand Targhee, Idaho</div>
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On my way to the win at the Wasatch Back 50. Jordanelle in the background</div>
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Top step of the podium for me and my Pivot Mach429SL at the Wasatch Back 50</div>
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<br />Jen Hankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12576100032824293816noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4962606247052518889.post-80923206168147849142016-06-12T12:05:00.001-06:002019-03-06T11:29:36.173-07:00Learning about Lymphedema<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As an Occupational Therapist, I learned about Lymphedema in school. As a breast cancer patient, I became at risk. This past week I attended the continuing education seminar, "Practical Applications of Manual Lymphatic Therapy: Enhancing Patient Outcomes in a Variety of Care Settings". Not only did I get some CEUs for my OT licensure, but I brushed up on current research and treatment for lymphedema. </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What is Lymphedema?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">Lymphedema </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">is a condition of localized </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluid" style="background-image: none; text-decoration: none;" title="Fluid"><span style="color: black;">fluid</span></a><span style="background-color: white;"> <span style="color: #444444;">retention and tissue swelling caused by a compromised </span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lymphatic_system" style="background-image: none; color: #444444; text-decoration: none;" title="Lymphatic system">lymphatic system</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;">, which normally returns </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstitial_fluid" style="background-image: none; color: #444444; text-decoration: none;" title="Interstitial fluid">interstitial fluid</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"> to the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoracic_duct" style="background-image: none; color: #444444; text-decoration: none;" title="Thoracic duct">thoracic duct</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444;"> and then the bloodstream.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span> <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span> <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What does it look like?</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5CY4j6PIgDfU0GZ6zj4S_UE6f2DQCAzCHnDnR2tb7EWKDetGgehaw-9PVdRJXOI4Lb3_pcs4Hco7nWYGlsFp3mygDbyFSBRdIKoAtkChi5r-sg2vlOT5xwOvUqcFgBOmyipiC25JESv4/s1600/lymphedema.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5CY4j6PIgDfU0GZ6zj4S_UE6f2DQCAzCHnDnR2tb7EWKDetGgehaw-9PVdRJXOI4Lb3_pcs4Hco7nWYGlsFp3mygDbyFSBRdIKoAtkChi5r-sg2vlOT5xwOvUqcFgBOmyipiC25JESv4/s1600/lymphedema.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span> <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Here are 10 take-home points from the seminar:</span><br />
<span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span> <span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1. Lymph nodes serve as a vacuum to pull fluid through vessels. They also cleanse and purify our body and stimulate WBC production. When compromised through removal and/or radiation fluid build-up can occur.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">2. Lymphedema occurs in 25% of breast cancer patients.<br />3. There is no cure for lymphedema. There is treatment.<br />4. Manual lymph massage can be very effective. To a certain extent, fluid can be re-routed to<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"> other, stronger lymph nodes. I do a quick lymph drainage massage every night.<br />5. The latest research supports no limit on exercise! The key is to gradually build the duration and intensity of any new exercise.<br />6. If swelling is present, wear a compression garment while exercising. If no swelling, compression is optional. Yay me! I hate compression sleeves when it is hot out.<br />7. Protect affected area from sunburn, abrasions, and constriction. I will continue to wear my sun sleeve while mountain biking. Partially to protect my arm from the sun, partially to protect it from abrasions from rubbing up against trees/crashes.<br />8. Clean and apply antibiotic cream immediately to any cuts/abrasions to reduce infection risk.<br />9. Stretch the crap out of affected limb. Scar tissue build up and adhesions will further compromise any remaining lymph nodes after surgery/radiation<br />10. A great position paper on exercise and lymphedema: <a href="http://www.lymphnet.org/resources/position-paper-exercise" rel="nofollow" style="color: #365899; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.lymphnet.org/resources/position-paper-exercise</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />**If you do have lymphedema secondary to breast cancer treatment, I recommend seeing a Certified Lymphedema Therapist (CLT). They have over 100 hours of specific training whereas a "therapist trained in Manual Lymph Drainage" can have as little as 6 hours of training**</span></div>
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Jen Hankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12576100032824293816noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4962606247052518889.post-23008280931248491872016-05-16T20:57:00.000-06:002016-05-16T20:59:32.123-06:003 years, my soapbox, and all things bike! Today I am celebrating 3 years of remission! Three years is a HUGE milestone, but my motto is every single day that ticks by that I'm in remission is worth celebrating! <br />
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What's not worth celebrating is the (too) many women who are not in remission and have progressed to Stage IV breast cancer, for which there is NO CURE. I am finding myself becoming more and more of an advocate and supporter for increased awareness and research funding for Stage IV breast cancer and here's a few reasons why:<br />
-30% of early stage breast cancers will progress to Stage IV (metastatic breast cancer). So while this affects me personally, it also affects many of my close friends that I have met through breast cancer. I will repeat. There is NO CURE for Stage IV breast cancer.<br />
-While 30% of early stage breast cancers will progress to Stage IV, only 2% of all breast cancer research funding goes toward investigating Stage IV breast cancer. <br />
-Each year ~40,000 women (and men) die from Stage IV breast cancer. Despite progress in treatment, this number has remained virtually unchanged for 30 years! <br />
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Ok. Off my soapbox and back to bike racing! <br />
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This Spring has been exceptionally full. Since my last post I got a new race bike, raced a ton, bought a travel van, and was featured on Reebok's blog!<br />
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I'll start with the new bike since everything seems to be centered around biking. I am the lucky new owner of a Pivot Mach429SL. This is quite possibly the fastest and most fun bike in the world and I am so grateful to Pivot Cycles for their support.<br />
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My new ride is a sweet one! Pivot Mach429SL</div>
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I am also grateful to my other supporters including: DNA Cycling, Stan's NoTubes, Go-Ride bike shop, Xpedo pedals, Kask helmets, Ergon, Bliz eyewear, HoneyStinger, Shimano, and Carborocket!<br />
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In addition to the new bike, Shannon and I purchased a travel van. We weren't exactly in the market for a new van especially since one of my personal goals is to declutter and simplify. Having a driveway full of vehicles isn't exactly in line with that, but this particular van was a better deal and in better condition than I thought possible so we are chalking it up to a 'happiness investment'. It already has seen many adventures! <br />
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Our new 'home' on wheels. 2012 Nissan NV high top. </div>
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#vanlife is freakin' awesome! </div>
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Over the past few months racing adventures have taken me back to St. George and Moab, Utah as well as Prescott, Arizona. I have even had a few podium appearances! <br />
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3rd place podium at NUE True Grit Epic 50 miler. <br />
My legs were just okay for this race, but strong enough for a podium! </div>
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Finish line high 5s</div>
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2nd place podium at Moab's Thaw Massacre marathon race</div>
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Carving between the rocks at Thaw Massacre</div>
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Dizzy dog enjoying Moab's desert</div>
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Post-race shenanigans in Moab</div>
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20 miles into Epic Rides Whiskey 50 where I finished 17th in a heavy-hitting pro field</div>
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Prescott, Arizona is unique scenery and nice climate,<br />
although it rained most of the weekend we were there</div>
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Finally, Reebok contacted me wanting to share my story on their fitness blog. Over the course of a few weeks I put 'my story' into words. I won't deny that this process was emotionally taxing, but hopefully my story will help dispel the myth that women should sleep and rest through cancer treatment. I can't tell you how many people encouraged me to do just that! And it's not just little 'ol me telling folks to exercise, there is solid research showing that exercise not only helps you tolerate treatment better but also reduces risk of recurrence. And for folks not undergoing cancer treatment, maybe my story will motivate a few to get out and exercise! You can read my story here: <a href="https://fitness.reebok.com/Blog/2016-04/How-Pro-Mountain-Bike-Racer-Jen-Hanks-Used-Fitness-to-Crush-Breast-Cancer-Twice/">Reebok blog</a>Jen Hankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12576100032824293816noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4962606247052518889.post-44849566219525052212016-03-08T15:57:00.000-07:002016-03-08T16:02:30.696-07:00Off to the races! At TransAndes my body proved that it is now able to recover from consecutive days of racing. Post TransAndes my body proved that it wouldn't shut down after a stage race. You know how sometimes you are able to will your body through something just to have it crash and get sick once the event is over. Well, that can happen post big races. Cancer treatment exacerbates it. <br />
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The week after TransAndes I took it easy, but the following week I was back on the road to compete with the Pivot Burrito Factory team at 24 Hours of Old Pueblo in Tuscan, Arizona. While I wouldn't say that I was 100% recovered from TransAndes, I was pretty close, and good enough to help our team win the overall in the 5-person co-ed category!</div>
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Photo: PinkBike</div>
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While the racing at Old Pueblo is fun, the vibe of the venue is unmatched. Old Pueblo's "24-Hour Town" is home to over 3500 people in the middle of the desert for the weekend. The scene is often compared to mountain biking's equivalent to Burning Man. I'm still working on getting the campfire smell out of my clothes.....</div>
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Here are some photos from the weekend:</div>
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The LeMans (running) start is mayhem</div>
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Sunsets in the desert can't be beat! </div>
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24-Hour Town games: Tire toss</div>
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After Old Pueblo, I had two weekends back home to recover and train before traveling to St. George for the Intermountain Cup season opener. My early season fitness paid off with a convincing win in the Pro Women category! </div>
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This was my first ICUP (Intermountain Cup) win since before my recurrence in 2013!</div>
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Game face</div>
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While there were a few rocky sections, the majority of the course was fast and smooth </div>
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making it the perfect course for a 29er hardtail.</div>
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After winning the first lap prime and the race, I was rewarded with a fistful of $$! </div>
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(Note: sneak peak to my newly build Pivot Mach429SL. I am in LOVE!!)</div>
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While winning is exciting, I think I am most excited about the fact that my body is tolerating and responding to my ambitious early season racing. I was concerned that I may come back from Chile broken, but instead I returned with an early season fitness that I have not experienced before. 2016 is off to a great start! <br />
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Jen Hankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12576100032824293816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4962606247052518889.post-72047681418236030442016-02-08T19:51:00.002-07:002019-03-06T11:31:21.721-07:00TransAndes: The RaceI have been racing for a long time and have had the opportunity to compete in some great events in amazing places. TransAndes was such a great experience that it has shot right up to the top of my list! Read on for the race story or just check out the photos! <br />
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Stage 1:<br />
Shannon and I didn't really have a strategy going into the race. No expectations. Just have fun. We kind of talked about not going too hard on Day 1 to allow ourselves to get our bearings and not burn all our matches from the get-go. We got to the starting line early and lined up toward the front. We had a clean, safe start for a few minutes until someone swerved into me and I swerved into Shannon causing him to crash off the side of the road. Oops. I could tell he was okay and kept going telling him to catch up. Maybe not the most compassionate thing to do, but definitely the best strategy. Despite what felt like a solid start, we had enough racers in front of us to cause us to come to a complete standstill as we hit the single track. Things were slow moving for the next 20 or so minutes as minutes ticked by and racers who got a clean line through the single track were riding away. Things got downright ridiculous when we got to the first suspension bridge. On the far side of the suspension bridge there was a wood ramp that was too slippery to ride.....and even to walk down. This was causing a traffic jam on the bridge where we were essentially stopped for minutes. All we could do was wait in line, take the time to recover, and enjoy the beauty that surrounded us. With ~30 riders on the bridge, I am glad that I didn't find out that the maximum weight capacity was 6 riders until later that night! Yikes! <br />
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The 6-person capacity suspension bridge lined with racers. You can't tell from the photo but when there are more than a few riders on the suspension bridges they<br />
sway from side to side so much they are impossible to ride! <br />
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The view from the suspension bridge. </div>
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These are the only two photos Shannon took while racing the entire week. <br />
After this it was all business. </div>
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Once we got across the suspension bridge, the trail widened up and the real racing began. Not long after, we caught up to another co-ed team of Chilean's ChiChi Garcia and Claus Plaut. We raced with them for a couple of miles until they attacked and ultimately dropped us at the top of a climb. That night we learned that it was ChiChi and Claus' 8th TransAndes. Note to self: When they attack on a climb it means a downhill is coming up. They did this to us time after time throughout the week. After 72 kilometers and over 2300 meters of climbing, we ended up finishing the stage happy, hungry, and surprised to be in 3rd place. TransAndes does not ease you into the racing.....but there was a hearty lunch waiting for us at the finish! </div>
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Stage 2: </div>
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Day 2 was another cloudy day. We knew getting a solid start would be important as the suspension bridge once again came early in the stage. Today's stage was a mere 47 km with 2150 meters of elevation gain in one big climb. My legs were a bit flat on this day which wasn't really a surprise because Day2 of stage racing has historically been the hardest for me. My body seems to be fatigued from a hard day racing but not yet adapted to the stage racing routine. After a mediocre start and some bad luck letting racers get between us and our competition we spent the first half of the stage chasing down another Chilean co-ed team of Maria Paz Lizama and Eugenio Parra. We finally caught them midway through the stage and climbed them off our wheels. Soon after we overtook ChiChi and Claus only to have them pass us back on the descent. Once again we finished the day on the podium in 3rd. </div>
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The first few days of racing were overcast and chilly. <br />
I actually think this benefitted us to acclimate to warmer temps.</div>
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(Photo: TransAndes)</div>
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Day 3: It started raining in the evening and didn't let up all night or morning. Today was to be the longest stage of the race where we raced 97 km from Huilo Huilo over a volcano to Catripulli. Shannon and I left our cabana dressed in all our rain gear and rode the 2km in the pouring rain to the venue. We then packed up our race bags and loaded them in the race truck to be transported to Catripulli. It never occurred to us that the stage may be cancelled, but as we hung out in the breakfast tent we heard rumors of "suspension". Soon after, the race director announced that Stage 3 would be postponed to the following day. We would continue the stage race one day behind schedule and the final stage, a 12 km time trial, would be cancelled. Although I was geared up for a long day of racing in the the rain, as soon as it was announced that the stage was postponed I happily went back to the cabana and sat by the fire to warm up. Since we were now a day behind schedule I had to figure out how to contact our cabana in Pucon (where the race ended) so they would not cancel our reservation when we did not show up. </div>
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Cozy by the fire in our cabana </div>
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Stage 3: We woke up Thursday to blue skies. Our 'rest' day had served my body well and I was feeling fresh and ready to race. Today we were actually going to get to race from Huilo Huilo to Catripulli. We once again packed up our race bags and hauled them to the race truck for transport.</div>
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Teamwork goes beyond racing<br />
(Photo: TransAndes)</div>
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The first 8km of the stage was 'neutral' as we traveled a gradual downward sloping gravel road with construction randomly scattered throughout. It was sketchy and felt dangerous. I mentally shut down <br />
a few times and wanted to back off but Shannon would 'encourage' me to stay with the leaders.<br />
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This photo shows the racers haulin' down the road and running into construction</div>
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Photo: TransAndes</div>
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As soon as we hit the 'safe' trails my legs were on fire and I immediately worked my way around the Maria and Eugenio and then ChiChi and Claus. Midway through the stage we caught our Portuguese friend, Pedro, and rode with him up the enormous climb. I thought perhaps we would stay away from ChiChi and Claus, but their tactical savy and descending speed once again got the best of us. We rolled into the finish once again in 3rd at in 5hours18minutes just a few minutes behind ChiChi and Claus, however the damage was really done on Maria and Eugenio who finished almost 40 minutes back. <br />
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Sucking wheel<br />
(Photo: TransAndes)</div>
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Catripulli was beautiful....and warm. We found the perfect tent in the shade and chowed down a big lunch. After awards we settled into our tent and quickly fell asleep only to be awakened by these crazy noisy birds. Even with my earplugs, these were the noisiest, most rambunctious....and nocturnal birds I had ever heard. I joked that I was going to yell all day to keep them up in revenge. Surely they must sleep sometime! Needless to say, we (along with most the other campers) did not get a restful night sleep.<br />
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Not a bad view from the camp</div>
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Stage 4: We were warned that although Stage 3 was the longest, Stage 4 would be the hardest. While there was a boatload of steep climbing, I respectfully disagree. Stage 3 was harder! The day started with us heading out of Catripulli with another long 'neutral' start. Once again it was sketchy. We were traveling along a road shared with cars and were supposed to stay to the right of cones. Impatient racers trying to improve their position would swing outside the cones, play chicken with oncoming traffic, and then swing back into the group causing it to be a dangerous mess with cones flying everywhere. The group was still tight together once the real racing began and I narrowly missed a pileup. I was sitting on someone's wheel and decided to move to the left of him. A second later another rider hooked bars with him and they both went down. Soon after we hit what was referred to as "The Wall", a 1.5+ km hike-a-bike. I don't really consider myself good at hike-a-bikes, but on this day I was; perhaps all the hiking I do with Dizzy is paying off! We passed handfuls of racers up the hike-a-bike including both the co-ed teams that we raced closely with each day. Despite getting a bit of a gap early in the stage, ChiChi and Claus caught up with us somewhere along the descent and once again finished just a few minutes in front. Maria and Eugenio once again finished a few minutes behind. This stage was especially cool because we rode a trail that is exclusively opened for public use exactly one-day-per-year. For the TransAndes! <br />
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The Catripulli race venue</div>
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Free beer was provided at an impromptu afternoon gathering<br />
while early finishers cheered racers still coming in</div>
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Stage 5: <br />
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The final stage of the race would take us 60km with a relatively mild (by TransAndes standards) 1300 meter elevation gain. Today's start was not neutral and in my opinion it felt safer as groups splintered apart much more quickly. I made some solid passes early on and once again we found ourselves in front of the two Chilean teams. The first 25 km ticked by quickly as the terrain was fast and rolling, however I was busting my butt to stay in a draft so this is possibly the hardest 25km of the race for me. I was pretty spent by the time we reached the climb, but we were in a good position, and I recovered nicely. The forest was dense and dark making it difficult to see. At around kilometer 35 we missed a turn. We weren't off course for long, but it was long enough for ChiChi and Claus to catch up. We put up a good fight, but once again came up short of 2nd. Highlights of Stage 5 include getting up and personal with Villarica Volcano, an active volcano that spews smoke, and riding over solidified lava flow reminiscent of Moab Slickrock. <br />
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Solidified lava flow from Villarica Volcano</div>
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We crossed 5 suspension bridges over the course of the week. </div>
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Some were only 20 feet above water, one was over 200 feet high. </div>
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This one on the way to Pucon was relatively mild and sturdy.</div>
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After 5 days of racing we covered 228 miles with over 34,000 feet elevation gain in 21 hours 21 minutes! What an awesome week of racing!<br />
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Podium (l-->r) Claus Plaut & ChiChi Garcia (Chile), Mary McConneloug & Mike Broderick(USA), Jen Hanks & Shannon Boffeli (USA)<br />
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Up next: Post-race thoughts......</div>
Jen Hankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12576100032824293816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4962606247052518889.post-6314317445371700642016-02-07T09:56:00.000-07:002016-02-07T13:29:24.508-07:00TransAndes Stage 0: Getting there......We left our house for the airport at 4:00 AM. After flying Salt Lake City---> LA---> Houston---> Santiago---> Temuco we bummed a ride to our Temuco hostel from the super nice race promotor who happened to be at the airport coordinating shuttles. We arrived at our hostel after 6:00 PM the next day. The following morning we took the 2.5 hours shuttle to Huilo Huilo, Chile aka the middle of nowhere!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0kYkoKDGKInTvKSkvnLh9osJXG8dR1jf-bp-S-RgDj6EXZD_2w1l2zavCxdDn_N5uZjk7bA7Gi4gOSOUpEJRUUIDAxMJvBOX_p2DGvdKd4LXvhew8S2krGz4P98Xx8AVaGIAABuyiYTg/s1600/IMG_1378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0kYkoKDGKInTvKSkvnLh9osJXG8dR1jf-bp-S-RgDj6EXZD_2w1l2zavCxdDn_N5uZjk7bA7Gi4gOSOUpEJRUUIDAxMJvBOX_p2DGvdKd4LXvhew8S2krGz4P98Xx8AVaGIAABuyiYTg/s640/IMG_1378.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I have not mastered the art of packing light for a stage race. </div>
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We had about 200lbs of luggage between the two of us! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq2xl0apjOue-yNMJi9ESXOe7EIRgxc2mG0h8BvmpSmJ8w5LXl23PEVRkpCm3Yt6wnI0NQlJqP9JODkLuYWKoH3TW_n-SAfJOJStv1CBbOo7h0QTHYBHoWm4Dtit-7fs5OnRah1iscxFk/s1600/IMG_3140.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq2xl0apjOue-yNMJi9ESXOe7EIRgxc2mG0h8BvmpSmJ8w5LXl23PEVRkpCm3Yt6wnI0NQlJqP9JODkLuYWKoH3TW_n-SAfJOJStv1CBbOo7h0QTHYBHoWm4Dtit-7fs5OnRah1iscxFk/s640/IMG_3140.JPG" width="640" /></a>Our hostel in Temuco was very comfortable. No one spoke English, but I was able to understand our host well enough to understand that she was very worried about how we were going to travel with all of our luggage. This was also the last time we had good wifi for the week. At first not being 'connected' made me nervous. What was going on in the world? I had no idea. Not being able to check work email also made me uncomfortable at first. By the end of the week I enjoyed it..... <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzA-fFb0w7DhR653_7uBBi5uHIPKmSuJkM908_HEzHvvYFsl0anu0vXouHqgkpGsMO3Cb0McWxK2AvTjiCBRwEQlQEwyF_QhKM0LWsOJ6A-2ZbgTRuuBsMYNIgD066D9OTkVfpDGuyrYQ/s1600/IMG_1389.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzA-fFb0w7DhR653_7uBBi5uHIPKmSuJkM908_HEzHvvYFsl0anu0vXouHqgkpGsMO3Cb0McWxK2AvTjiCBRwEQlQEwyF_QhKM0LWsOJ6A-2ZbgTRuuBsMYNIgD066D9OTkVfpDGuyrYQ/s640/IMG_1389.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The TransAndes folks arranged shuttles for the racers from Temuco to Huilo Huilo </div>
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where the first three stages of the race started.</div>
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The closer we got to Huilo Huilo, the more beautiful the scenery became. We drove past lakes, mountains, and volcanos. </div>
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The transfer to Huilo Huilo also gave us the opportunity to meet some of our fellow racers. We became friends with Argentinian Pablo whose enthusiasm was infectious as well as Pedro and Luis from Portugal who became our good friends over the week (photos to come). This was Pablo's 2nd time racing TransAndes. He told me, in broken English, that the last time he raced the power from his legs caused a volcano to erupt. He was funny! </div>
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Our shuttle delivered us to our first cabana in Neltume, 5km from the race venue. </div>
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The cabana was actually quite large and very clean, </div>
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both which came as a surprise to me as I had no idea what we were booking.<br />
Neltume was also the closest thing to a town to the race venue. <br />
We were able to pick up some groceries and cooked rice and veggies the first night. <br />
It cost less than $5.</div>
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We built bikes up before spinning over to the venue</div>
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We rode over to the the race venue, registered and got our race bag. </div>
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Registration was a breeze and everything was very well organized. </div>
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I'm sure the volcano museum was very interesting, </div>
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but it was also important to the racers because that is where el banos were located. </div>
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Our first day in Chile was a picturesque 80 degree day. Before we were 'disconnected' I had seen that the forecast was going to take a turn for the worse the following day. </div>
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Chile is known for its woodwork. </div>
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We thought it was super cool how the roots remained attached to the rafters of this building </div>
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and how logs were used as insulation. </div>
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This canopy hotel is very close to the race venue. It also was super cool. </div>
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The day before the race we moved to our new accommodations, </div>
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a cabana that was only 2km and a big hill away from the venue. <br />
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Since we didn't have a vehicle we kept our race bags in our tent at the race venue. <br />
We would load up our backpacks and just bring the essentials to the cabana. </div>
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We were thankful for this cabana as the skies opened up and temperatures cooled off for the first three days of racing. Our wood burning stove kept us cozy warm. </div>
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It was a soggy start to the race. <br />
I wasn't too disappointed though as the mild temperatures helped us acclimate.<br />
Most of our training took place in 20degree weather. </div>
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The opening ceremonies included traditional Chilean dance. <br />
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Every night (as well as lunch) we were fed a feast of all-you-can-eat fresh local fare. <br />
There was always pasta. Lots and lots of pasta. <br />
There were also dishes with lentils and garbanzo beans. Sometimes there was rice.<br />
The veggies and fruit were fresh and a variety of meats were served.<br />
Free Chilean wine and beer were also a highlight. <br />
I easily consumed upwards of 10,000 calories/day, but I needed it,<br />
stage racing puts my metabolism on overdrive! <br />
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On Monday January 25th we awoke to cloudy skies and damp dirt for the first stage of TransAndes 2016. On the same day 5-years ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer. </div>
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Over the past 5 years I have thought many times that my racing days and especially </div>
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my days of epic adventures like TransAndes were over. </div>
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Despite the overcast skies, what a glorious day to be lining up healthy, strong, and in remission. <br />
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Up next: The Race! </div>
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<br />Jen Hankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12576100032824293816noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4962606247052518889.post-52680444168902975952016-02-06T10:51:00.001-07:002016-02-06T16:36:29.273-07:00 The lead up to TransAndes.......I can't believe it has been almost 7 years since I did my last big mountain bike stage race. I slipped into the stage race lifestyle so easily that it felt like I had never 'retired'. <br />
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There is something magical about stage racing. Wake, eat, race, eat, recover/hang out, eat more, sleep, repeat. Throw in limited access to the outside world and true bliss is achieved. <br />
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My goals for TransAndes were simple. Be fit enough to have fun and not get an overuse injury. Easier said than done when the race falls in January and you live in Park City, UT and it is puking snow every day! Seriously. What is up with all the snow this year!<br />
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My training leading up to TransAndes was solid considering the weather obstacle. We made a few Holiday trips to the desert for big miles while our winter rides at home were more focused. I think I only rode the trainer a handful of times, so I became a bit of an expert on what it takes to train in the cold.<br />
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Here's a few tips:<br />
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The essentials:<br />
1. High quality winter riding boots. I have the <a href="http://www.lakecycling.com/">Lake MXZ303 </a>winter riding boots. I wear these in temps below 35ish with just wool socks. I recommend going a 1/2 size bigger than your normal bike shoes<br />
2. <a href="http://www.barmitts.com/">Bar mits </a>: These work great for endurance/tempo riding. For intervals I wear <a href="http://pearlizumi.com/en/Shop/Ride/Road/Unisex/Essentials/Gloves/P.R.O.%20Softshell%20Lobster%20Glove/p/14341301021">Pearl Izumi lobster gloves</a> with liners. <br />
3. Layers-nothing specific here, just a lot of breathable layers<br />
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Many of my rides would start with intervals followed by a few hours at endurance pace. I would change out all my sweaty base layers after the intervals so that when my body temperature dropped later in the ride I didn't get cold. <br />
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Pretty simple, but it actuality it took me about 4 times as long to get ready to ride than it does in the summer!<br />
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Just like summer, though, there is beautiful nature to be seen on the bike in the winter. <br />
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My Pivot Les became my go-to bike for winter training. In this photo I mounted 27.5 wheels on the 29er frame so that I could run 2.8" tires in the snow. Not quite a snow bike, but almost.......<br />
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Some days my race set up was sufficient to tackle the snow</div>
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This photo was from one of our trips to the desert. This is the bike I ended up taking to TransAndes, however I rebuilt it with a 2x11 to tackle the Andes steep climbs. A full suspension bike is the way to go for a stage race; after consecutive days of racing being being able to sit on the saddle (as opposed to standing over bumps) becomes cherished!<br />
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Up next, TransAndes report!<br />
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<br />Jen Hankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12576100032824293816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4962606247052518889.post-27979759708704443842015-12-28T10:58:00.001-07:002019-03-06T11:31:50.290-07:00This is one way to celebrate a 5-year cancerversary On January 25, 2011 I received the diagnosis of Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. <a href="http://athletefightscancer.blogspot.com/2011/01/searching-for-inspiration.html">Here is a link to my first ever breast cancer blog post. </a> A lot has happened since 2011. I had four surgeries and chemo. Went into remission for two years before being diagnosed with an axillary recurrence. I then underwent surgery two more times, more chemo, and radiation. I have also ridden my bike for hundreds and hundreds of hours and over 10,000 miles! <br />
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On January 25, 2016, exactly 5-years from my first diagnosis, Shannon and I will be in Chile lining up for the <a href="http://www.transandeschallenge.com/w2/en/">TransAndes Challenge</a>, a six-day mountain bike stage race. <br />
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I wish I could say that I am celebrating five years in REMISSION, but that darn 2013 recurrence has put a blemish in my record. I AM celebrating being five years out, healthy, strong, and still in remission despite my recurrence! <br />
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There are lots of words I can use to describe my emotions about this, but mostly I am just feeling focused and determined to be prepared as best I can for a 6-day stage race in January while living in Park City, Utah with temperatures hovering sub-10 degrees right now! That and a whole lot of excitement!<br />
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At TransAndes, Shannon and I will be racing as a co-ed duo team similar to how we raced at TransAlp in 2007 and TransRockies in 2008. Although Shannon is much faster on the bike than I, we must stay within 2 minutes of each other throughout throughout the race. Shannon's job is to help me go as fast as I can. He will carry the majority of our equipment to keep my load light. He will stop at feed zones and replenish water and food for both of us while I blow through; then he will chase me down and pass me food. My job is to keep moving as fast as I can! Our goal is to race hard, soak in the experience, and have fun! <br />
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I can honestly say that this race has intrigued me since I first heard about it years ago. The inaugural TransAndes race was in 2009 and in 2012 they had a booth set up at Interbike (a trade show). Shannon and I joked about doing it; maybe in 2014..... When my recurrence happened in 2013 I had serious doubts my body would ever recover enough to race a 6-day stage race. Last year, as I gained confidence in my body, I started to watch airfare prices to Chile via daily email notifications. Last June, prices dropped by a few hundred dollars and with the click of a button our joking about racing TransAndes became a reality. It really was that easy! <br />
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Now for the harder part; preparing for a January stage race in the midst of a harsh Park City winter. We are fortunate that St. George is a short 4 hour drive South and we've been able to do training camps over Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks. We have also had to put in our fair share of cold winter rides up North. I am a cold WIMP!!! I pretty much run cold all day long, but have figured out ways to make riding in sub 20 degrees pleasant.....well at least tolerable. I will do a whole post on winter riding gear/tricks, but in the meantime, here are a few photos.....<br />
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The countdown begin. We leave in just over 3 weeks! <br />
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<span style="color: cyan; font-size: large;">Some winter riding photos</span></div>
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Snowbikes packed down the snow enough that I was able to ride my standard 29er hardtail on trails!</div>
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In this photo my 29er is converted to what I call a "chubby" bike. </div>
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I used 27.5" rims w/ 3.0/2.8" tires. This works great for most snow conditions. </div>
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With consecutive days of 2 feet+ of snowfall, </div>
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dirt roads are now completely snow covered in Park City. </div>
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On this particular day the snow on this road was a bit deep for my set-up. </div>
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We traved to St. George, Utah for the Holidays and one final training camp before leaving for Chile</div>
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Dizzy always travels with us! The hardest part about going to Chile will be leaving him. </div>
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Fortunately one of his non-fur (human) buddies will be staying at the house and taking care of him. </div>
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Although temperatures are about 30 degrees warmer down South, </div>
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we were still able to find some snow</div>
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I never tire of the views. Southern Utah is truly a special place.</div>
Jen Hankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12576100032824293816noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4962606247052518889.post-31614674605624959352015-11-06T09:23:00.001-07:002019-03-10T13:57:50.748-06:00Purpose2Play interviewI was recently interviewed for the online magazine Purpose2Play. Purpose2Play reports on "positive and powerful stories based on good intention". Editor-in-chief, Kim Constantinensco, interviewed me and the result was a detailed description of my diagnos(es), subsequent treatments, and how I continued to ride and return to racing as Pro mountain bike athlete. I was honored to be interviewed and one of Purpose2Play's <a href="http://purpose2play.com/p2ps-five-most-read-stories-october-2015/">top October stories</a>. My story has already been shared on Facebook almost 500 times! Here's the link and some recent riding photos on my beautiful <a href="https://www.pivotcycles.com/bike/Mach-4-Carbon/">Pivot Mach4Carbon</a>. As I watch the snow fly outside my window, these beautiful Fall days a few short weeks ago seem like a distant memory!<br />
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<a href="http://purpose2play.com/pro-mountain-biker-jen-hanks-pedaled-through-two-rounds-of-cancer/">http://purpose2play.com/pro-mountain-biker-jen-hanks-pedaled-through-two-rounds-of-cancer/</a><br />
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<br />Jen Hankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12576100032824293816noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4962606247052518889.post-38785981129248872052015-10-15T14:48:00.001-06:002019-03-10T14:04:46.003-06:00ESPN-W StoryA few weeks ago I received a message from Kelly O'Mara a writer with ESPN-W about doing an interview. I agreed and we chatted on the phone for about 30 minutes on a Friday morning. A few days later she contacted me asking if Shannon would be available to talk with her. They spoke for another 30 minutes. <br />
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I have been interviewed a few times and it has always been question and answer. This was different. Kelly was given the task to write my story, and I was interested to see how she interpreted the conversations. Well, Kelly absolutely nailed it. Not only was she able to accurately tell my story, but somehow she also captured an essence of who I am and how I feel about this whole breast cancer thing. She didn't stick to the stereotypical breast cancer taglines like how I "beat" cancer or "won" the fight, which by the way, aren't terms that reflect how I feel. Even the title "How Mountain Biker Jen Hanks rode out cancer, twice" is perfect. And even though it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month aka October, the story wasn't pink washed. <br />
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So without further ado, here it is! <br />
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<a href="http://espn.go.com/espnw/athletes-life/article/13840201/how-mountain-biker-jen-hanks-rode-cancer-twice">http://espn.go.com/espnw/athletes-life/article/13840201/how-mountain-biker-jen-hanks-rode-cancer-twice</a> <br />
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I also provided a "typical" anti-cancer/healthy athlete meal. Most of my dinners are some sort of variation of this. <a href="http://espn.go.com/espnw/athletes-life/article/13838734/jen-hanks-anti-cancer-meal">http://espn.go.com/espnw/athletes-life/article/13838734/jen-hanks-anti-cancer-meal</a><br />
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Enjoy!Jen Hankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12576100032824293816noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4962606247052518889.post-19668228501820480402015-09-13T17:11:00.000-06:002015-09-13T17:21:16.112-06:00Dipping the toes......2015 has had its ups and downs. I am going to focus on the ups because they are just more fun to talk about and certainly more on topic. <br />
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First, my routine MRI came back negative. This means ALL CLEAR! Despite this being "routine" I admit to having some (haha. understatement of the year) scanxiety as I am at ~2 years out from my recurrence; approximately the same amount of time between my original diagnosis and recurrence. It was a HUGE relief! <br />
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I also had some notable races this summer. First up was the Brian Head 50 miler in Brian Head, UT. 7000+ feet of climbing over nearly 50 miles at 10,000 feet elevation was no joke. The Pro class was devised of primarily strong Utah locals. My race was fairly uneventful as I raced in 2nd place off the gun and finished in 2nd nearly five hours later. The highlight was that my climbing legs were alive and well and my radiated lungs handled the high elevation well. The challenging, rugged, and technical course added to my stoke! <br />
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The wildflowers in Brian Head perfectly match my bike!</div>
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Brian Head podium</div>
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Last weekend was the <a href="http://www.thepcpp.com/">Park City Point to Point</a>. The PCP2P is a point to point race that climbs over 14,000 vertical feet over 75+ miles of single track while traversing 3 ski resorts (Deer Valley, Park City, The Canyons). With a large pro payout it attracts some of the fastest ultra endurance racers in the country. <br />
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I know how hard the race is. I raced it pre-cancer in 2010. After my diagnosis and especially after my recurrence I swore off doing races this challenging. As silly as it sounds with all the racing I do, for a while I truly didn't think my body could tolerate this challenge and a small part of me maybe thought it was not healthy for me. Well <a href="http://athletefightscancer.blogspot.com/2015/02/green-means-go.html">Dr. Irwin put my 'bad for my health' concern to rest</a> and I have come to the conclusion that the mind is stronger than the body. I wanted to race the P2P so I was going to race it! <br />
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Despite the 4:45AM alarm, I slept solidly the night before the race. While I love to sleep, I'm not sure this is a good thing as often my best races are after a crummy night of sleep. Go figure! I woke up happy, excited to race, and pleased that the overnight cloud cover resulted in a relatively warm Fall morning in the mountains. <br />
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It was still dark when I arrived to the start. I was happy to be greeted by Shannon. </div>
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While the temperature was mild, the wind was howling. Unfortunately the wind was out of the West, which meant we would have a head wind for the majority of the race. My race started down the Round Valley bike path at a mellow pace. Once we hit the dirt, the speed ramped up. I rode conservatively as I didn't want to redline this early in the race and sabotage finishing. Round Valley is my least favorite part of the race. The sun is still blindingly low and the Expert male racers are all amped up making sketchy passes. Once we hit Skid Row and started heading to the ski resorts I found my climbing rhythm and started passing some of those over-eager dudes back. I chugged along at a nice pace until the first feed. <br />
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My feed was super quick (huge shout out to my stellar support) and I was on my way climbing up Team Big Bear. I immediately noticed the heaviness of my pack and food on the steep climb to Guardsmen (Note to self: consider taking feed at Guardsmen instead of Silver Lake). Additionally, my stomach became a bit angry and while not debilitating, it was annoying. This lasted the next couple hours, but I marched along. By the time I got to Shadow Lake, my stomach felt better, I had been refreshed by some cool mountain rain, and there was a nice, long downhill to look forward to. Finally the wind was at my back. I sailed into the 2nd feed at Park City Mountain Resort and was greeted and cheered on by my hubby, Mom, and support. I had so much happiness to have made it this far and I was confident I could finish the race. <br />
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Stocking up at the final feed of the day</div>
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I exited the feed and climbed the mean little kicker of a climb before I started ascending the final sustained climb of the day. <br />
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"mean little kicker of a climb" out of the final feed zone</div>
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At this point I was over 6 hours into the race and all the power was zapped from my legs. I felt like I was crawling up Armstrong trail and rocky sections I usually glide over stopped me. When the trail turned down, I let off the brakes and let my Pivot Mach4 roll. The last hour or so of the race I battled the climbs and then descended the rocky Canyons Resort trails as fast as my tired body would allow. I arrived to the finish at the Canyons in 8:47; a little slower than my goal time of 8:30, but respectable and good enough for 8th place overall in a stacked women's field. It only took me about 5 minutes after I finished to decide I would be back to try and better my performance. <br />
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It was great being greeted by my Mom at the finish! </div>
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I have done quite a few 50-milers since my cancer diagnosis, but the P2P was the first time I have wet my toes in ultra endurance racing since 2010. Although I was a few minutes shy of my goal time, what I am most excited about is my recovery after the race. Recovery has been one of my biggest challenges since cancer treatment, and I feel that my post P2P recovery has been right on track. With the 2016 race season around the corner, I am excited to wet my entire feet in some ultras! Jen Hankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12576100032824293816noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4962606247052518889.post-23949343301695636612015-06-24T19:28:00.000-06:002015-06-24T19:28:20.183-06:00Having a full head of hair never gets oldIt's true. After having lost my hair twice in the past five years, there have only been a few months where the reflection in the mirror looks like <i>me. </i>I'm just starting to get to that point again and it really doesn't get old! Even though I love that my hair is growing out-chemo curls and all- Dizz still steals the show with his good looks! <br />
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<br />Jen Hankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12576100032824293816noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4962606247052518889.post-18334384763920777162015-06-02T07:55:00.000-06:002019-03-06T11:33:19.179-07:00BonesI often say that my race performance is a litmus test for my health. Correlating race performance to being cancer free is such a bad idea on so many levels, I get it, but I can't help it. Those deep thoughts can be the topic for another blog......Last weekend, I experienced a different litmus test. I crashed my bike. Hard. On pavement. About 30 seconds into a race. And I didn't break a bone! <br />
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Crashing hard on pavement is brutal and can result in broken bones no matter how solid your bones are. Due to cancer treatment my bones aren't the most solid. I don't know exactly when I developed osteopenia. Likely after my first round of chemo in 2011 or my second round in 2013. I do know that in 2007 I had a bone density scan that showed beautifully strong bones and by 2013 I had osteopenia. If you are a numbers person, here are my numbers: <br />
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<tr>
<td style="background-color: #bec0bf; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 13.0px; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px; width: 108.0px;" valign="top"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: #bec0bf; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 13.0px; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px; width: 108.0px;" valign="top"><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10px;"><b>11/2007</b></span></td>
<td style="background-color: #bec0bf; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 13.0px; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px; width: 108.0px;" valign="top"><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10px;"><b>11/2013</b></span></td>
<td style="background-color: #bec0bf; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 13.0px; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px; width: 108.0px;" valign="top"><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10px;"><b>11/2014</b></span></td>
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<td style="background-color: #e3e4e4; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 13.0px; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px; width: 108.0px;" valign="top"><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10px;"><b>Lumbar spine</b></span></td>
<td style="border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 13.0px; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px; width: 108.0px;" valign="top"><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10px;">T-Score: 1.2</span></td>
<td style="border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 13.0px; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px; width: 108.0px;" valign="top"><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10px;">T-Score: -.8</span></td>
<td style="border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 13.0px; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px; width: 108.0px;" valign="top"><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10px;">T-Score: -.9</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #e3e4e4; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 13.0px; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px; width: 108.0px;" valign="top"><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10px;"><b>Total hip</b></span></td>
<td style="background-color: #efefef; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 13.0px; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px; width: 108.0px;" valign="top"><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10px;">T-Score: .4</span></td>
<td style="background-color: #efefef; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 13.0px; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px; width: 108.0px;" valign="top"><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10px;">T-Score: -.3</span></td>
<td style="background-color: #efefef; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 13.0px; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px; width: 108.0px;" valign="top"><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10px;">T-Score: -.3</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #e3e4e4; border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 13.0px; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px; width: 108.0px;" valign="top"><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10px;"><b>Femoral neck of hip</b></span></td>
<td style="border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 13.0px; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px; width: 108.0px;" valign="top"><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10px;">T-Score: no score</span></td>
<td style="border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 13.0px; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px; width: 108.0px;" valign="top"><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10px;">T-Score: -1.6</span></td>
<td style="border-color: #000000 #000000 #000000 #000000; border-style: solid; border-width: 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px 1.0px; height: 13.0px; padding: 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px 4.0px; width: 108.0px;" valign="top"><span style="color: black; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10px;">T-Score: -1.5</span></td>
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</tbody>
</table>
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What do T-Scores mean?<br />
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<b>Normal: </b> T-Score: > -1<br />
<b>Osteopenia:</b> T-Score: -2.5- -1.0<br />
<b>Osteoporosis:</b> T-Score: < -2.5<br />
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Fast forward to 2013. I had undergone chemotherapy in 2011 and again in 2013. Bone loss is a side effect of chemo AND I was also about to have an oophorectomy and start an Aromatose Inhibitor (AI) which can result in rapid bone loss. So we did a bone density scan to get a baseline prior to surgery. My numbers had tanked from 2007. My lumbar spine and hip thinned significantly and the femoral neck of my hip now had osteopenia. Darn it! I hadn't even had the oophorectomy or started the AI. The good news is that one year later, after adding consistent running and weights to my training regimen, my bone density remained steady despite the oophorectomy and AI. Clearly what I am doing is helping.....<br />
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Back to my litmus test. If there is any upside to a high impact crash that left me with (temporarily) debilitating road rash is the fact that I now know my body is still strong enough to sustain a high impact crash. That said, I have no intention of going out and crashing hard anytime soon. After my crash, I dug deep, ignored the pain, and went on the finish the two hour race! <br />
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Here are some photos from the race. I raced my brand new Pivot Mach4. Fortunately the bike was not injured in the crash:) <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-5rOZCJzn743U4pHnxTUaGD4WYoYaFzzgLuti1KFdLCHssUsUQLAurNPW1Kk8rp85ysIui5hJ_aFI8F-74s3EZKEiR_UmaSEDBt1w5SvLSluXjFtH5MTs6miVVHWjpKXUSiG35GvA_1Q/s1600/Draper+start.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-5rOZCJzn743U4pHnxTUaGD4WYoYaFzzgLuti1KFdLCHssUsUQLAurNPW1Kk8rp85ysIui5hJ_aFI8F-74s3EZKEiR_UmaSEDBt1w5SvLSluXjFtH5MTs6miVVHWjpKXUSiG35GvA_1Q/s640/Draper+start.jpg" width="640" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-5rOZCJzn743U4pHnxTUaGD4WYoYaFzzgLuti1KFdLCHssUsUQLAurNPW1Kk8rp85ysIui5hJ_aFI8F-74s3EZKEiR_UmaSEDBt1w5SvLSluXjFtH5MTs6miVVHWjpKXUSiG35GvA_1Q/s1600/Draper+start.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-5rOZCJzn743U4pHnxTUaGD4WYoYaFzzgLuti1KFdLCHssUsUQLAurNPW1Kk8rp85ysIui5hJ_aFI8F-74s3EZKEiR_UmaSEDBt1w5SvLSluXjFtH5MTs6miVVHWjpKXUSiG35GvA_1Q/s1600/Draper+start.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>All smiles before the start<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4k0CckwfCYGeV0kCrZzQiELTXhVqfnJ1ZTlgUn0Q6YW1vEoCudklO0I0M665hDy_yIZfGA6HmHDeJOYeX6iJ3HwiExm2dsehBVVshNexKT6Wv5Uic4sbYFCBRwPhZD74TL2y0Wf2x8fA/s1600/SpecialOrders-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4k0CckwfCYGeV0kCrZzQiELTXhVqfnJ1ZTlgUn0Q6YW1vEoCudklO0I0M665hDy_yIZfGA6HmHDeJOYeX6iJ3HwiExm2dsehBVVshNexKT6Wv5Uic4sbYFCBRwPhZD74TL2y0Wf2x8fA/s640/SpecialOrders-4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I was pretty emotionless this race. Trying to suppress the pain from my crash.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj84mqnavdmsi3Ye4ej6TTN7djajvKW-tmyfb0wgLt0-QMKBn2b-nUJ1CO6eTZBtcjxHTeECjZL_5o1qYyNAa8ImbSk0e7-quOdnbFwl5Z1oHv1-SXlQRn8eXmbIG0URKLa1qjD7Ptwyk8/s1600/draper+rocks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj84mqnavdmsi3Ye4ej6TTN7djajvKW-tmyfb0wgLt0-QMKBn2b-nUJ1CO6eTZBtcjxHTeECjZL_5o1qYyNAa8ImbSk0e7-quOdnbFwl5Z1oHv1-SXlQRn8eXmbIG0URKLa1qjD7Ptwyk8/s640/draper+rocks.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The rock garden was the most fun part of the course on the Mach4 </div>
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Smooth as butter</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzxnlRJ2cV21Z1uWvIqSrnr6lCkrc_OMwqyQJYoH_hLGHL5zCvnplD_9IjrHIpE0DN4Ix5L4yhRWZ25_igaxVfrlGHjcHCDDe-DOOg2nvVt_waX00exHp2_MdhV3yMUltOJXAcTfzODtk/s1600/SpecialOrders-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzxnlRJ2cV21Z1uWvIqSrnr6lCkrc_OMwqyQJYoH_hLGHL5zCvnplD_9IjrHIpE0DN4Ix5L4yhRWZ25_igaxVfrlGHjcHCDDe-DOOg2nvVt_waX00exHp2_MdhV3yMUltOJXAcTfzODtk/s640/SpecialOrders-10.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Duking it out with my good friend </div>
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Moved up from dead last 30 seconds in to 4th. One minute off the podium. </div>
<br />Jen Hankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12576100032824293816noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4962606247052518889.post-61460432895403469212015-04-17T09:46:00.001-06:002015-04-17T09:49:08.471-06:00A day on the bike is always better....I am in the midst of 3-consecutive weekends of traveling and racing. I usually try to limit my traveling/racing to two weekends/month max. Working, traveling, and racing can be a bit exhausting and my performance usually reflects this. At the same time there is no other way I would prefer to spend my time, and I was soooo bummed after missing out on True Grit last month due to my untimely 12-hour flu. Since there are 3 super fun races all within a 5 hour drive, I decided that I would just go for it in April. <br />
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Weekend 1: ICUP #2 (XC): Cholla Challenge</div>
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I went into this race feeling great. Training was solid and I slept perfectly the night before. The course was quite possibly the best Green Valley race course ever put together. After a solid start and a series of mistakes that may or may not have cost me a few positions, I finished a respectable ho-hum 4th. I had very little time to reflect on this performance as I barely had enough time to finish my recovery drink before my family arrived to town for the Easter weekend. We spent the rest of the weekend hiking around Zion and Snow Canyon with some early morning rides thrown in. <br />
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The Pivot Mach429 is smooth as butta' on the rocky desert terrain Photo: Lori Leger</div>
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I spend a lot of time in the desert and the scenery continues to blow me away</div>
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Photo: Angie Harker</div>
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Yeah! Droppin' the 'A' line</div>
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Photo: Angie Harker</div>
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Photo: Angie Harker</div>
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Photo: Angie Harker</div>
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Not my best race, but still a smile on my face!</div>
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Photo: Lisa Palmer Leger</div>
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Photo: Angie Harker</div>
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Weekend 2: ICUP #3 (EXC): Thaw Massacre: </div>
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My post race recovery plan of hiking after the Cholla Challenge didn't exactly feel ideal and all week, despite an easy training schedule, my legs were throbbing. After a mediocre night's sleep before the race, my legs were still throbbing before I even got on the bike. Despite this, I have enough experience to know that there is not always a correlation between pre-race legs and race legs so I was optimistic for a turn-around once the racing began. Since this was my first marathon distance race (40 miler) of the year and I didn't have an opportunity to pre-ride the course, my plan was to keep my pace manageable off the start and focus on looking ahead and scanning the technical trail. Smooth, efficient, no costly mistakes. The plan seemed to work because just a few miles in I found myself in 2nd where I remained for the rest of the 4-hour race. The 2nd lap was crazy hard as the rough terrain was taking a toll on my body and fatigue was setting in, but I was able to clear my mind and zone out the pain and fatigue, until I crossed the finish line, where I basically was non-functional for ~20 minutes! My experience with cancer has taught me to keep moving forward no matter how I feel or what my body is going through. No matter how my body feels, it is always better to go for a bike ride than not go for a bike ride. On the worst days, it is always better to get out of bed than to stay in bed. In comparison, finishing a hard bike race is actually quite simple. <br />
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Looking pretty serious on the start line</div>
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Photo: Angie Harker</div>
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Looking forward to a long, rough day in the saddle</div>
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Photo: Angie Harker</div>
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My Pivot eats up Moab's rocks</div>
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Photo: Angie Harker</div>
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Check out my baby pony-tail. This is very exciting for me!</div>
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Photo: Angie Harker</div>
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Sticking to my plan of looking ahead and scanning the terrain.</div>
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Photo: Angie Harker</div>
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The 7 consecutive miles of slick rock on Circle 0 felt especially rough lap 2, </div>
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but the scenery certainly made up for it! </div>
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Photo: Angie Harker</div>
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Podium!!! Yes that is a hard earned wad-o-cash! </div>
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Keeping my winnings close:) </div>
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It has been interesting paying for everything with singles this week. </div>
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Weekend 3: Today Shannon and I are heading back to St. George for the 6 Hours of Frog Hollow where we will race as a duo relay team. The course is crazy fun, the competition stiff, and it is yet to be determined how my legs will feel. No matter what the results, a weekend on the bike is ALWAYS better than a weekend off......<br />
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Jen Hankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12576100032824293816noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4962606247052518889.post-91425390089171188092015-03-14T12:50:00.001-06:002015-03-15T08:31:24.770-06:00Racing is hard. Not racing is harder. Last weekend I headed to the Desert for the first ICUP cross-country race of the year. The season is still young, and this was a tuner for this weekend's 50-miler True Grit Epic.<br />
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The tuner went great! It was a relatively large Pro Women's field and my expectations were, well, I didn't have expectations. I just wanted to ride as hard as I could, have fun, and see where I ended up. I ended up in 2nd place which was a solid start to the season! <br />
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Photo: Angie Harker</div>
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Photo: Angie Harker</div>
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Photo: Angie Harker</div>
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On Sunday, feeling surprisingly recovered, I dialed in my favorite parts of the True Grit race course. I returned home to Salt Lake for a few days of work that were relatively unstressful and felt good on the bike everyday. Wednesday night I went to bed feeling great only to wake up five hours later feverish, nauseous, and vomiting. It was an ugly 12 hours; uglier than chemo! By Thursday afternoon, my fever had broken and I was able to eat some food, but the damage was done. In less than 12 hours I lost 3 pounds. Not good! Nor ideal prep two days before a challenging 50-miler in the hot desert! <br />
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I spoke to my coach and she asked me what my thoughts were about racing. Honestly, at that point I couldn't fathom racing 4+ hours in 48 hours. I responded that if I woke up Friday feeling good I would consider it. She shut me down:) Heck, it's March. There is so much racing (and training) to be done. I don't need to start the season in a deficit! <br />
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I have no idea why I got sick. All I know is that it was bad timing. As bummed as I am to miss True Grit, I am equally excited about the rest of the season. I have put together a super fun and exciting 2015 race season and I am really, really looking forward to the April racing! Bring it! Jen Hankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12576100032824293816noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4962606247052518889.post-48790776532953234072015-02-22T09:05:00.001-07:002015-02-22T16:22:06.912-07:0024 Hours of Ole' PuebloI'm the first to admit that I'm not the biggest fan of 24-hour racing. I like to sleep at night almost as much as I like to race my bike. Almost...... <a href="http://www.epicrides.com/index.php?contentCat=5">24 Hours of Old Pueblo</a> may be the one exception.<br />
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With over 3000 people congregating in the middle of the desert just north of Tucson, Arizona, 24 Hours of Old Pueblo is the biggest 24-hour race on the planet. Ok. I don't know for sure if it is the biggest 24-hour race on the planet, but it just may be! And the race vibe was fantastic! <br />
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Shannon and I flew into Phoenix Thursday night. We ended up staying at a hotel in Phoenix and getting some much needed sleep before driving the two hours to the race venue on Friday. We spun out our legs on the race course and quickly learned that what the course lacked in technical terrain, it made up for in precarious cacti just waiting for you to let your guard down, get too close, and impale you. <br />
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There are no meadows of flowers at Old Pueblo. Just meadows of cacti! </div>
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Totally not kidding about the danger cacti. Our race bag came with a cacti extractor (aka hair pick).<br />
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It's all about technique. <br />
The proper way to use the cactus extractor to extract a cactus. </div>
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Shannon and I teamed up with some of the Pivot crew on a 5-person co-ed team. And while we didn't know who our teammates were until the morning of the race, we couldn't have asked for a better team dynamic or more fun crew to race with! </div>
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After 24 hours of racing, perfect weather, jockeying between 2nd and 4th, and some late night strategizing and calculations that was downright comical with our fatigue, we rolled in in 3rd place. While the result was fun and exciting, the highlight of the weekend was most definitely spending time with new and old friends alike. <br />
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The course was lined for the Lemans start<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcjTCinuyHkuBGLjpxDxlhECtdExgAnUngknP7lOuuGQSeLWOMVS7gpPp_U9djw5BbmmOP4avZIW46vKKtV66leZiunJcTtQ-zhCHJLQEEyhHryMo1SKqwsydnnq6JVWc4FSnnmvDeU6w/s1600/24OP+podium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcjTCinuyHkuBGLjpxDxlhECtdExgAnUngknP7lOuuGQSeLWOMVS7gpPp_U9djw5BbmmOP4avZIW46vKKtV66leZiunJcTtQ-zhCHJLQEEyhHryMo1SKqwsydnnq6JVWc4FSnnmvDeU6w/s1600/24OP+podium.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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The Pivot Pro posse on the podium</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Another highlight of the weekend was visiting Pivot headquarters in Phoenix. I have no photos because what goes on there is top secret (not exactly:), however I will say this: A LOT of heart, soul, love, and pride goes into every single bike. It is no wonder that </span><a href="http://www.pivotcycles.com/" style="text-align: left;">Pivot bikes</a><span style="text-align: left;"> ride so well! I am honored to be a small part of this extraordinary family!</span></div>
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In other news, I received this message after Friday's "routine" mammogram:<br />
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I think I will have a great weekend! </div>
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<br />Jen Hankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12576100032824293816noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4962606247052518889.post-53217870629762316962015-02-08T18:41:00.000-07:002015-02-21T10:30:46.528-07:00Green means go! <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">We all should know by now that exercise reduces risk of breast cancer and recurrence. Study after study has proven this and even mainstream media has reported on it....so it must be true:) But is it possible to exercise TOO MUCH and INCREASE the risk, especially the risk of recurrence if you have already undergone treatment for breast cancer? Now, what sort of crazy person possibly exercises TOO much? In my opinion no one, but some may say you're lookin' at her! I'm not just talking about exercising, I'm talking about doing epic things. Prior to breast cancer my cycling career was gravitating toward challenging, ultra-endurance type events. I competed in multi-day mountain bike stage races including TransAlp Challenge, TransRockies, and Breck Epic. I raced ultra-distance events such as the Lumberjack 100 and Park City Point to Point. In fact, the year of my diagnosis, I was planning to race the BC Bike Stage Race with a friend. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Breast cancer changes things. Although I have successfully returned to racing and even competed in some longer distance events (True Grit 50, Moab Rocks Stage Race), I haven't felt the gravitational pull to do ultras. I have been feeling so good and believe I am physically capable. And after undergoing cancer treatment twice, I KNOW I am mentally capable. So why haven't I done any ultras? I think in the back of my mind I have wondered if perhaps such grueling events are bad for my health. Health comes first. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Recently, I have been feeling the urge to do something epic, and although I don't have a clear picture of <i>what</i> event(s) I want to do and <i>how</i> I will get there, I needed an answer. Would this be detrimental to my health and increase my risk of recurrence?</span> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">The theory being too much or too intense of exercise causes inflammation in the body making</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"> the environment more favorable for cancer cells to proliferate. I have had people I respect 'suggest' this to me. (Note: I have had many more people I respect say excessive/intense/extreme exercise is perfectly safe for me). Regardless, the thought that training and racing could possibly increase my risk for recurrence lingers in the back of my mind. To get a conclusive answer I contacted Dr. Melinda Irwin, Professor at Yale, who dedicates her profession to studying breast cancer and exercise. Note: Who knew it was so easy to find an email for a Yale professor and to get a response within a day!!!!! </span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br />Dr. Irwin's response:<br /><br />"Thank you for your email!!! Sounds like you are doing everything right!!! Since you have been active for many years, you can exercise at levels much higher than the average person…so you are less likely to experience any detrimental side effects of intense exercise. Any risks would simply be muscular injury related, but you are very likely lowering your risk for recurrence and mortality".<br /><br />Basically Dr. Irwin just gave me the green light to do as I please with my cycling career! </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Hmmm.......<a href="http://www.transandeschallenge.com/eng_/index.html">dreaming of this</a>.....it just so happens that this race is in January and in 2016 will be exactly 5 years from my original diagnosis....</span></span></div>
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Jen Hankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12576100032824293816noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4962606247052518889.post-212244103494967392015-02-01T11:39:00.002-07:002015-02-02T08:34:29.073-07:004 yearsJanuary 25, 2011 was the day we received the news I had breast cancer. While I don't think about that specific day too often, Shannon and I do acknowledge it by taking a January "trip". In 2012 we went to Hawaii. In 2013 we went to Mexico. In 2014, we went to the OR for surgery which definitely doesn't count. and this year we traveled to Nicaragua. We are celebrating health, building memories, and getting out of Utah in the midst of winter! <br />
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Why Nicaragua? We are interested in traveling to places off the beaten path. Where there is unspoiled natural beauty; and since I can only tolerate laying on a beach for about 5 minutes without getting bored, adventure must abound. I also love learning about new cultures and since I know un poco Espanol, practicing is fun. We don't need 5-star accommodations, but we do need good food. Warm is good too:) Central America fits the bill perfectly; and we chose Nicaragua. The photos really do say it all! <br />
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After a day and a half of travel to the pacific coast of Nicaragua, we were greeted by this sunset. </div>
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It was really special; little did we know that every night would be equally beautiful.</div>
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On this trip, Shannon informed me that we have been together for 20 years. 20 years!!!!! I think he is mistaken, but regardless it is a loooong time!</div>
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After all this time, we still kinda like each other:)</div>
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The beeches seemed deserted and it felt like we had them to ourself<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwfT-zC0cH_Ys-fUEyRQlSLquzdZIiNdkdi0PuKthnnKBG5_xFCVlP2_e1BXWFkXo31loHMPQrwgmns7D2liZnu6gDNJ0nIwkCfbVPaC7cNPXmpNJ-2N1u8w6PqnQVtlwWixc3WEpqD7Q/s1600/IMG_0287.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwfT-zC0cH_Ys-fUEyRQlSLquzdZIiNdkdi0PuKthnnKBG5_xFCVlP2_e1BXWFkXo31loHMPQrwgmns7D2liZnu6gDNJ0nIwkCfbVPaC7cNPXmpNJ-2N1u8w6PqnQVtlwWixc3WEpqD7Q/s1600/IMG_0287.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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We didn't miss a single sunset</div>
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I took a lesson and surfed for the first time. I quickly learned that no matter what, surfing ends with a crash. Sometimes it was more graceful than others:) </div>
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I could get used to the beach bum lifestyle if it involved Nicaragua and surfing!</div>
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We surfed till dusk</div>
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and explored the beach rocks. you never know what is around the corner...</div>
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It was a bit of a sketchy hike, that could only be done at low tide, </div>
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but the payoff was a beautiful sand dune. </div>
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The locals called this area "Shark's Bay". I was told the sharks in Nica are gentle. Hmmm. </div>
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Bikes are a primary means of transportation in rural Nica. Our condo came with bikes for us to use. We rode these bikes to nearby Playa Gigante which is a town that is actually on the map. I guess I was putting out mega wattage; I broke the rusty pedal at the axle. </div>
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Food at the government controlled grocery stores is very expensive in Nicaragua. For this reason, many Nicaraguan's live on self-sustained farms where they grow all of their food. This particular farm used an adapted bicycle to supply power to their irrigation system. RAD!</div>
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We then traveled from the Pacific coast to Ometepe Island on Lake Nicaragua. There are two volcanos on Ometepe. This is Maderas. It is not a live volcano.<br />
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Ferry ride to Ometepe. It was a bumpy ride. <br />
My mantra was "I will not get seasick, I will not get seasick"!<br />
Afterwards, Shannon said he thought we were going to capsize. It was rough! </div>
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Ometepe is full of monkeys. There are Congos, White-faced, and Howler. </div>
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If you look closely, you can see the baby monkey on momma's tail.</div>
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We immediately starting exploring with a kayak tour</div>
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Concepcion from our kayak. There is always cloud cover at the top of the volcanos. </div>
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This particular volcano is live. </div>
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We were living dangerously on a small island with a live volcano. </div>
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It has not erupted since 2009. </div>
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Beauty was around every corner on Ometepe</div>
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These palmas are over 200 years old. </div>
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Mayan petroglyphs on Ometepe Island.</div>
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On our 8+ hour hike up Maderas, we came across leaf cutter ants. The ants use their incisors to cut leaves. They then form a procession and carry the leaves back to their "home" where the leaves are used for compost. In the moist environment mushrooms grow which the ants eat. </div>
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Leaf cutters are self-sustained ants. I found them fascinating. </div>
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The Maderas hike was the hardest I have ever done. It was steep, rooty, muddy, and slippery. </div>
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Going down was just as difficult as going up. </div>
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It was like a whole different damp world up there!</div>
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Once we summited, we descended for another 20 minutes to this lake. </div>
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Green is my favorite color. So many shades of green on Maderas!</div>
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It was a typically, foggy day at the top of Maderas.</div>
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Like I said, the hike down was treacherous</div>
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Concepcion from a lookout on Maderas</div>
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We hiked, and hiked, and hiked for 8+ hours!</div>
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At the base of Maderas is a coffee farm. These are the coffee trees that supply much of Seattle with boutique coffee. The coffee was just harvested in December.</div>
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This is the equipment that cuts and removes skin from the coffee beans.</div>
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The beans are then spread in the sun to dry and the best beans are selected</div>
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We became adventurous with our eating. </div>
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This was a hidden treasure we found with excellent smoothies and homemade Nutella! </div>
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The sunrise on Ometepe was just as spectacular as the sunsets!</div>
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Nicaraguans love bikes just as much as us!</div>
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The day after we hiked Maderas, we circumnavigated the volcano. </div>
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We rode these fine steeds for over 40 miles. The bikes held up fine until 9 k to go where my freewheel broke. We tried to use vines to fix it, which actually kind of worked for ~3k. </div>
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A Nicaraguan girl doing her own laundry.</div>
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The homes are simple and modest; clearly there is much poverty. But the people of Nicaragua are some of the nicest and happiest people I have ever come across. </div>
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Something to be said for simple living and that money doesn't necessarily buy happiness. </div>
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Hard at work on a Sunday building a church.</div>
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No need to wait for a driver's license; </div>
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the local children use horses and bikes for transportation </div>
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just like their parents.</div>
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Checking out the volcano we hiked on our last day on Ometepe. </div>
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I love the consistency of the cloud cover at the top.</div>
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Horses wandering the beach just outside our casita</div>
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There are very few cars on Ometepe. This is what a traffic jam looks like!</div>
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The white-faced monkeys like to beg for bananas</div>
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Cooking up plantains like a local. They call them tostones. </div>
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The local laundromat.</div>
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Concepcion and Maderas from our ferry leaving the island</div>
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On our return to the airport in Managua, we made a short stop in Granada. Granada is a colorful and beautiful city and is considered the most historic city in Nicaragua. </div>
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Although we only visited for an hour, the city clearly had a great vibe.</div>
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Nicaragua exceeded my expectations in every way possible. It is beautiful, the people are kind, the food is off the charts healthy and delicious, and adventure abounds. My post-cancer treatment body also exceeded my expectations. Despite many "normal" people experiencing illness and digestive issues when traveling to 3rd world countries, I was delighted that my body held up just fine. </div>
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Here's to many more years of celebration and adventure both on and off the bike........</div>
Jen Hankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12576100032824293816noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4962606247052518889.post-23632366471407675112014-12-30T16:44:00.000-07:002014-12-30T19:41:49.927-07:002014 Reflection: A year of change, rebuilding, and acceptance2014 has come to a close. Four years ago, if you asked me what my life would look like in 2014, my response would have been much different than reality. This year has definitely been a year of change, rebuilding, and acceptance, however even though it isn't exactly what I envisioned 2014 looking like four years ago, the year started AND ended with good health which makes it a pretty fabulous year! <br />
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The numbers, as they often do, have a direct correlation to fun factor. If my calculations are correct, I spent over 450 hours on the bike and 70+ hours of cross training (weights, running, hiking, skate skiing, etc). Like I said, 2014 had plenty of fun!<br />
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It also had quite a bit of change. In January, after weeks of Salt Lake City's notoriously poor air quality and feeling under house arrest to preserve our health, Shannon and I put what was supposed to be our 'forever' home on the market. My health simply can not wait for Utah legislature to get their act together and make the changes necessary to have an immediate impact on air quality...<br />
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Allowing this type of pollution from refineries is, to put it bluntly, allowing murder</div>
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Moving day<br />
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By April we had moved into temporary housing and in June we moved into our new 'forever' home in Park City. It was a ton of work and definitely a team effort (my Mom put a roof over our heads when we were between homes and served as our real estate agent), however every time I drive into Salt Lake's haze I feel grateful to live in the mountains. So, so, so grateful! The world class mountain biking outside our door is definitely an extra bonus! Did I mention how grateful I am?!?!!!</div>
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The view of Salt Lake City's air pollution from the mountains</div>
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A year of rebuilding: While chemotherapy and radiation for my recurrence culminated in 2013, I still had one big hurdle to overcome in 2014. In January, I underwent a bilateral salpingo oophorectomy (which means my ovaries and fallopian tubes were removed). I have blogged quite a bit about the reasoning for this surgery so I won't go into the details again, but in my particular situation oophorectomy was not only indicated, it was necessitated. I <i>wanted</i> this surgery like I want a hole in my head. After all, having your ovaries removed puts you into immediate and permanent menopause and all menopause's glorious side effects. Definitely not part of my life plan; especially at 38! But it was what it was and I accepted it.<br />
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Surgery day. Woke up feeling good and relieved to just have it done! </div>
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My first ride post-op. </div>
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Lifting your leg over a bike is surprisingly difficult post-abdominal surgery; hence the ladder. </div>
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It probably took a solid 6 months for me to tolerate "normal" clothes </div>
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rubbing on my sensitive abdomen. Yoga pants became my best friend!</div>
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(Note: Man am I glad to not be sporting this hair-do anymore:)</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">I won't sugar coat it. Menopause has been challenging both physically and emotionally. I get embarrassed and honestly a bit annoyed that I can relate to 50-somethings when they are experiencing a hot flash. Almost one year after surgery I still experience nightly hot flashes. (although they are much less intense than they were over the summer-perhaps because I have learned to turn the thermostat waaaay down before bed). While 50-somethings like to joke about it, and I <i>do</i> like a good joke, menopause is still no joking matter for me.....In fact, I cringe a bit even saying the word....menopause, menopause, menopause. Haha. </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Back to rebuilding: Even with menopause (cringe:) my body has once again shown resilience and has rebuilt into resemblance of a bike racer. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig5gm2I279Mc4LzvEQo8mcHzHmDekPefW9BCFv9zZtYsNsb0N-uENrO45PfeOD_x3uXUoNc164lMov9QUc4wYHWppIBxxsa_x579rM3BoL5n1cmHwh0cnC9YuamGp05D-OfI3GbF3v9PM/s1600/snowbird+girl+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig5gm2I279Mc4LzvEQo8mcHzHmDekPefW9BCFv9zZtYsNsb0N-uENrO45PfeOD_x3uXUoNc164lMov9QUc4wYHWppIBxxsa_x579rM3BoL5n1cmHwh0cnC9YuamGp05D-OfI3GbF3v9PM/s1600/snowbird+girl+photo.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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A highlight of the year was riding and racing with my favorite girls again.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif4ISk_0SAZcERgcSWIPN0luQeYbFk5DDARBytPTxuV2qrhxpvk4M_yWtktc-xl924oLjYbGqszRCTt9hl_vMEJD6gpFl_QJdBu-csDMp6ryduz8mn3XYSSNww5OgdbL-ECCgx6_oQUG8/s1600/DSC_1275.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif4ISk_0SAZcERgcSWIPN0luQeYbFk5DDARBytPTxuV2qrhxpvk4M_yWtktc-xl924oLjYbGqszRCTt9hl_vMEJD6gpFl_QJdBu-csDMp6ryduz8mn3XYSSNww5OgdbL-ECCgx6_oQUG8/s1600/DSC_1275.JPG" height="418" width="640" /></a></div>
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Another highlight was winning Moab Rocks stage race.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBDM8I_UaifDuksARcC5k45u9V_30Qe6wzAytO8P1ATB0aKmKUAE5eLNHKMIjI5lfyYIJle5F5p3b6_qOJiWSyTN4RU_7ZOGBmhzMgKdsizzpOb9rTmft-0TYHmPi2mFYgqhA4LbPQvec/s1600/Jen+&+Dizz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBDM8I_UaifDuksARcC5k45u9V_30Qe6wzAytO8P1ATB0aKmKUAE5eLNHKMIjI5lfyYIJle5F5p3b6_qOJiWSyTN4RU_7ZOGBmhzMgKdsizzpOb9rTmft-0TYHmPi2mFYgqhA4LbPQvec/s1600/Jen+&+Dizz.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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My best buddy has been through so much with me and brought me so much happiness.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFOblR-4bYJtNs4CUIiFCYiwENIHEFt9HzVRUWdnv7x1o_a8ywIv6L5NN9sqZTtperdfu2PolYXaMtMZl5G50caI978aDLzZFBBCkSip0EJY8eBSUd-sRq0XyIOtrEb01Om5lnqtFODx0/s1600/City+Creek+session.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFOblR-4bYJtNs4CUIiFCYiwENIHEFt9HzVRUWdnv7x1o_a8ywIv6L5NN9sqZTtperdfu2PolYXaMtMZl5G50caI978aDLzZFBBCkSip0EJY8eBSUd-sRq0XyIOtrEb01Om5lnqtFODx0/s1600/City+Creek+session.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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Pretty psyched to close 2014 healthy and strong enough to session without apprehension</div>
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Southern Utah's technical terrain.</div>
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A year of acceptance: I used to think I had complete control over my life. "Work hard, chase your dreams, don't give up, make 'it' happen". While I definitely still stand by those words, sometimes life throws adversity, and 'it' simply doesn't happen. One of the most important things that I (when I say 'I', I really mean 'we' because Shannon and I are teammates in this life) have learned is to accept what we can't control. In my eyes, acceptance is very different from giving up or quitting. Acceptance has most definitely been a work in progress and sometimes the amount of things requiring acceptance is overwhelming. But with acceptance comes peace and peace brings me happiness. As for the things I can control. Well, I take great satisfaction in still controlling them:) </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFh1gfgBMi9YME3DN74U_oQE3uLsCdcuiwldvI_eeeba4Ff3OkvrqpC6Ddcsggpl9llATI05ybx4VfUosgnsPgxYqCVP66oE00Kys3zfX8edPziT9JuSjwwmFxykTw_q-utao_Sx7iEes/s1600/Jen+&+Shannon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFh1gfgBMi9YME3DN74U_oQE3uLsCdcuiwldvI_eeeba4Ff3OkvrqpC6Ddcsggpl9llATI05ybx4VfUosgnsPgxYqCVP66oE00Kys3zfX8edPziT9JuSjwwmFxykTw_q-utao_Sx7iEes/s1600/Jen+&+Shannon.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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Ringing in the new year with my favorite dude!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWQ3dg8_QF33dQ691GoghyphenhyphenN_homkZphv2hjBvaoW3Ok7SqINNfWz8l9BHnS0-XX0jqFjN4Z0nnlyffoY5XJkeh8khz9JK9ZlKkecJNeuBrGreIen0jT1MITiVl0VtquQ6cChc4b9GTORg/s1600/IMG_0115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWQ3dg8_QF33dQ691GoghyphenhyphenN_homkZphv2hjBvaoW3Ok7SqINNfWz8l9BHnS0-XX0jqFjN4Z0nnlyffoY5XJkeh8khz9JK9ZlKkecJNeuBrGreIen0jT1MITiVl0VtquQ6cChc4b9GTORg/s1600/IMG_0115.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Taking a moment to soak up the sun and take in Hurricane Rim's beauty</div>
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So although 2014 looked a bit different than it was supposed to, it turned out to be a pretty sweet ride after all. <br />
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And while I have learned that there are no guarantees, here's to more good changes and continued rebuilding and acceptance in 2015 and beyond. <br />
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HAPPY NEW YEAR! </div>
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Jen Hankshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12576100032824293816noreply@blogger.com1