As most of you know the country has been in a heat wave. Record temps everywhere. Yesterday was the Stony Heat Miser Marathon race. For Cat1's it's a 50 mile race. With temps in the mid 90's and humidity to go with it, it was sure to be a scorcher. I didn't want to take any chances so I actually wore tri shorts and the most breathable jersey I could find. I felt bad not wearing the team kit but it was just too hot and the race was too long. At the start of the race I was already sweating just standing still. Coming into this race I knew a few things. I knew it would be hot, I knew I had good fitness, and I knew this was going to be an opportunity to get some points being it was a double points race. The start of the race was a little unexpected. They didn't break up the age groups like they usually do. They sent my group (30-39) out with the 19-29 year olds. We had lined up behind them expecting them to go a minute before us but that wasn't the case. So that meant I would have to pace better in the beginning and not get trapped behind anyone I didn't want to.
The first lap everyone was very cautious. It was already close to 90 degree's and in the sun it felt like a blow torch was on you. I rode pretty conservative as I didn't want to spend it all during the first lap. I went out with 2 bottles of electrolyte drink expecting to get through the first 2 laps. The first 2 laps went well and I made my way through the pack easing up slightly. At the end of the 2nd lap I pitted to swap bottles. I grabbed a bottle of regular water and another Powerbar Perform bottle. On the third lap I continued the plan and watched my HR and fluid intake. After the third lap I had to pit again. I grabbed another bottle of plain water and Ironman perform and half a RedBull. These laps are only about 45 minutes. I was sucking down water like a sponge. I asked my wife to go get a fill up from the aid station because I was going to need it for the fifth lap.
When I came in after the 4th lap I was out of Ironman Perform (3 bottles). I had about a quarter of a bottle left. So I went out on the fifth lap with a bottle of plain water, and a quarter of a bottle of Ironman Perform. During the course of the race I also took in salt pills about 45 minutes to an hour. I also tried to take in some gel but my stomach didn't like it. By 3/4 through the 5th lap I was completely out of everything. All the water and Perform was gone. In total I went through 8 bottles of fluid. Luckily I didn't have much to go. I cruised in to the finish line in 3rd place with a time of 3:52 (I think maybe 3:53). Being a double points day the finish that will help out with the overall for the season. I only have 1 more USAC race this year so I needed it especially after my horrible time trial at Fort Custer.
Congratulations to all that finished yesterday. It was a tough day out there. Some had to make tough decisions about their own well being and finishing a race. Next up is the 32 mile portion of the Breckenridge 100 and a nice little vacation out west.
Just a quick video of some singletrack action with fellow Cat 1 MTB'er Brad Lako. I had a lot of fun and I finally got some GoPro video of me riding. Enjoy!
7am and the siren sounds.The sound of 400+ mountain bikers clicking in and the hum of the knobby tires on pavement signaled that the Lumberjack 100 2012 had begun.For some, like myself, they are new to endurance mountain biking and nervous about the journey ahead.The weather was going to be hot and the trail sandy.This has been called the easiest hundred but today would prove that wrong and the DNF rate was going to be high for this rate and many experienced racers would call this the toughest race of the year over Mohican and Cohutta.
My day started off fast.I lined up in the third row making sure I didn't get pushed too far back on the start.I felt confident going into the race so I didn't want to get pushed too far back in the pack.I felt like I had a 7:30-7:45 finish in me and I wanted to run my own race as much as possible.I'd much rather be the person getting passed than having to do the passing.On the road leading in the pace was high.We were pushing 26mph which is flying on a mountain bike with tiny gears.Within a couple quick miles we were filing into the woods like ant's.Early on the pace of the race was closer to a cross country race with everyone, including me, trying to checkout.The course starts basically uphill.There's a few hundred feet of climbing.This was just what I needed to help thin the pack out.Over the course of the first lap I would get passed but many times find myself passing that person back.I would bridge between groups and keep pushing forward.I would get through one pack of riders and move on to the next.You probably wouldn't think it, but you can draft in mountain bike racing.I would go all out going between the groups and then ease off for a bit once I made my way up to the next group and have a nice convo before I would pass and move on.The climbs on the course weren't terrible except for a couple.There was one that I remember that felt like I was riding a vertical wall.Here is a pic of me walking up that wall.I would only do this climb on the first lap.The next 2 I walked it.There is also another climb at the fire tower that you have to walk.There are wooden stairs in the dirt that you can use as steps.Here is a pic of me walking up the first lap.
The first lap seemed to go well.I had taken my Powerbar Peform in my Camelbak and 1 additional bottle.I also brought along a gel flask.I tried to stick to my usual plan of 1 bottle per hour.I was expecting about a 2.5-2.75hr laps so that amount of fluid should have been perfect.I caught up to Amanda Carey by the end of the first lap and followed her in to the pit area.The first lap went in 2:28 which was right on pace where I wanted to be.I felt very good coming in.I refilled my Camelbak and grabbed another bottle for the next lap.I also slammed some Coke and a Milkyway and took off for the second lap.As soon I got into the opening set of climbs on the 2nd lap I started to cramp.These cramps would continue for the remainder of the race.I rarely have problems with cramps.In the past I've done is just take in a little extra electrolytes and the cramps were gone.I didn't think much of them at first but as I continued on they got much worse.At mile 40 I had to pull off the course due to the cramps.I stopped for a couple minutes and tried to stretch my legs out.Meanwhile watching many of the riders I passed, pass me back.I would start back riding only to cramp again.Over the course of the race I probably got off my bike at least a dozen times.When I got to the aid station I was able to get 4 salt tablets from a volunteer.These really helped me a lot.I also sucked down 5 cups of water.That's when I realized that I wasn't drinking enough plain water to flush all the gel and drink through my system.My stomach also starting cramp and I knew I wasn't absorbing all the stuff I was taking.I was able to complete the 2nd lap in 2:52.My fitness felt fine during the 2nd lap but the cramps were killing me and I was starting to worry about not absorbing enough calories for the third lap.
When I came in after the 2nd lap I decided I was going to take on an extra bottle of Powerbar Perform and fill my Camelbak with just plain water.I figured I was going to need all I could take as the heat was really starting to pick up and the humidity was very high in the woods.My sunglasses were fogging up quite a bit.There was also someone in the tent next to us that overheard my conversation with the guys in my tent and gave me a whole container with salt tablets.Score!Shortly after I started the 2nd lap I went to grab one of my Powerbar Perform bottles.I then realized that I had dropped it at some point.So much for that master plan of 2 bottles.Luckily though I did bring 2 bottles or I would be without completely.The cramps continued through the lap.It got so bad that many of the climbs I would have to get off the bike because I would cramp too much trying to ride up the climbs.Not only was I cramping, my stomach not absorbing, but now I was really starting to notice that I was reaching the end of my fitness.Basically the whole third lap was one big bonk!When I got to the aid station I was dry.I had nothing left in my Camelbak and the 1 bottle of Perform was now empty.I asked if they would refill me.They were kind and filled my bottle up with their drink and my Camelbak full of water.I dumped a cup of water over me and I went on my way.I felt extremely well at this point.No cramps and for whatever reason I felt strong.Completing this race really came into focus.Unfortunately this feeling wouldn't last the lap.I really started to suffer and suffer bad during the third lap.The last 10 miles were an absolute hell on earth.I've never experienced anything like it.I was riding and I had trouble telling if I was riding on an off camber or if I was off camber.Many times it was probably both.Finally the parking lot was insight from the trail and I knew I had finally made it to the finish.I crossed the line in 8:19 and I almost felt like crying.I had suffered worse than anything I had ever done before and I was very proud of myself for not crashing, not having any mechanicals, or most of all, not giving up.For most of the 2nd and third laps I told myself I would never do this again.It was the dumbest thing I could ever imagine doing on a mountain bike.Well 2 days later and I feel differently.I am definitely going to be back again for next year and have the finish I wanted.
Big thanks to my new friends Shaun, Steve, and Keith for letting me pit under your tent.I had the best possible access to my stuff I could have asked for and I look forward to riding with you guys in the future. Thanks to Powerbar for your awesome support. Even thought I am not currently doing triathlon you've chosen to continue to support me. An enormous thank you to my coach Curt Wilhelm from mtbcoach.com.You are a genius with your training plans and the amount of growth I've seen since I started working with you has been incredible.Train safe and have fun and I'll see you all next year at Big M!!!
This past weekend was the next installment of the Tailwind Racing USAC series. The first race was Pontiac Lake TT which I didn't participate in because I was out of town. The Addison race consisted of 2 days of racing. Day one was a 1 lap time trial on a modified course and a short track cyclocross style track. Day two was a cross country race. Going into the race most of us thought that it was a combined race, as it turned out, Saturday was really the only "stage" race of the weekend. Sunday was counted separately. I think they did this so they could draw more racers on Sunday that didn't want to race the whole weekend.
Going into this race I didn't have high expectations. My first Cat 1 race was at Yankee Springs but due to DNF I didn't finish it. Also that was a TT race and not a cross country race so Addison was going to be my first Cat 1 cross country race on Sunday. Saturday started off with a 1 lap TT on a modified course. They had cut out some of the usual mountain bike course and ran us on parts of the horse trail. Wasn't really a fan of them doing this. I was concerned about flinging horse shit the whole time. The ground was rather soft. At one point they had pink arrow's setup and I thought I was supposed to make a left so I came to a stop to turn only look farther down that section and realize I was suppose to keep going straight so I lost a few seconds. That really didn't do much for my time though. Other than that it was pretty uneventful race. I went out with another rider but I managed to drop him within the first mile or so and rode solo the rest of the way in. I finished the TT in 29:24.
The next race up was the short track race. This was done on the grass (which was very lumpy) and was about a 1 mile course. It was supposed to be 20 minutes plus 2 laps. I rode my CX bike for this mostly because I wanted to get racing experience on it. In hindsight it was probably a bad decision, I probably could have gone faster on the mountain bike but whatever. The biggest difference is the brakes. They suck on a CX bike compared to a mountain bike so coming into corners I couldn't go as fast. Power output was good around 300 watts for the 24 minutes. Knowing I had another race the following day I didn't want to push too hard. I had also pushed really hard in the TT and I was feeling that. I ended up 6th in the short track which put me 5th overall for the day. Like I said, looking back I should have ridden my mountain bike but I didn't have a lot of expectations for this whole weekend being it was going to be my first real Cat1 race. I found out later that night from my team mate John Osgood that I had won a medal for 5th place. That was cool and it gave me confidence going into Sunday.
Sunday morning I woke up with some tight calf muscles. Mostly like from pushing so hard in the short track race. I iced them early enough in the day that it wouldn't affect me or cause injury so by the time I got back to Addison they were feeling better. I was a bit nervous for this race. I hadn't done a cross country race yet so I didn't know about pacing, how much water to bring, where to line up for the start, the fact that it was going to be 85 degrees, everything was new. Well they did a call up from Saturday's results to the start line starting with 5th place so I was called first to the start line so I went straight down the middle. The race started the leader took off and a pack of 4 of us stayed together for the whole first lap and much of the 2nd. As we caught other groups of riders we couldn't all get through so I got caught behind many times. I would then have to work really hard to bridge back up to the last riders in my group. I eventually did but the first 2 riders in my group were starting to make a gap and I was riding with the third rider in my group. Half way through the third lap I made a pass on the rider in front of me. I felt pretty good at this point too. I had conserved some energy so I was able to push pretty good and put in some time. The problem now though, was that I was alone. This is the hardest type of racing to do. I was tired at this point as well so most of the last lap was spent alone. I passed a couple more guys in the groups that went out ahead of us but that was pretty much it. There were 2 guys from the 40-49 group that left behind us that caught me right at the end of the race but I just pulled over and let them pass. I knew I was ahead of the 5th place enough that I didn't need fight and I figured they were in their own race fighting for the win so I just let them go. I finished in 4th out of 11 30 seconds behind 2nd and 3rd and 3 minutes ahead of 5th. Overall I'm very pleased with the result. I wasn't sure how I would do but it turned out great. I got another medal and I got to do the rollercoaster hands for the group picture. Next up is Hanson Hills 100. This is going to be crazy. My first mountain bike century. I'll keep everyone posted after that.
This past weekend was my first try at endurance mountain biking. It was the Stony Creek 6/12 race held at Stony Creek by Fun Promotions. I originally wanted to race the 6 hour but I had a concert to go to that night and the 6 hour started at 2pm so that wasn't going to work. I still wanted the racing experience however so I signed up for the 12 hour. With the 2 hundreds coming up, I wanted to make sure I had all of my questions answered before I did them. At the beginning of the race during the riders meeting, the promoter said that the race was actually being cut to 5.5/11.5 because they need to be out of the park by 9pm so instead of finishing both races at 8 they were going to finish at 7:30. Obviously that didn't matter to me. I was going to finish when I had to.
I set my pit up at my car which was parked along the start of the course. That way all I had to do was pull 2 feet off the trail to pit. I put my cooler with my bottles in it and loaded up my gear. Earlier in the week I spoke to my coach Curt about tactics and nutrition. We decided on 1 bottle of sports drink per hour and supplement with gel. So I I took 2 bottles of Powerbar Ironman Perform and a flask of gel. I also took a can of Big Air and air chuck, and a bag with a tube and tire lever in case I got a puncture. I should have take a tool with me too but I didn't. I paid a little for it later.
The race began at 8am with the 12 hour teams going out first. The solo's went 1 minute later. At the beginning of the race I just wanted to sit back and get a feel for everyone's pace. Now they're pace was going to be obviously slower than mine as they were doing the 12 and I was doing the 6 so I figured I could catch up with some of the guys in team race as they would probably be keeping a higher pace that the 12 hour solo's. I sat in about 3rd going into the Rollercoaster section. Within 10 minutes or so, the group I was with had caught up to the 12 hour team riders at the back of the pack. This slowed us for a bit but I figured it's such a long race I'm not going to push or be agressive here. Just wait for the doubletrack and make a move. That was pretty much what I followed. Once we exited the singletrack I just pushed past as many as I could on the doubletrack before we got to the Pines section of the course. I probably pushed a little too hard and paid for it a bit around the 2.5hr mark. I basically maxed my HR out until I got to the pines. Once I got about 3/4 of the way into the Pines I caught up to one of the guys on a 12 hour team. We rode together through some of the doubletrack and then I went on by myself.
I was pretty much alone from this point on with the exception of when I catch up to someone else here and there. I got through 3 laps of the course and then decided to pit. It had been about 2:15 or so and I was all out of fluid and gel. I stopped at my car and changed bottles and gel flasks. It took me about a minute to complete. I felt good about this but, it was not the only pit I was going to take. About 25 minutes into the 4th lap I needed to go to the bathroom. I pulled off the course and that cost me a little time. Then on the next lap, I started to feel like I needed more calories and fast or I was going to bonk hard. This is when I realized that I pushed a bit too hard in the beginning. I stopped for a second to take in some cola and half of a Powerbar Triple Threat. Within a few minutes I was feeling good again. This was good news but the bad news my right shifter was coming loose. I needed to pit yet again. I stopped at my car and grabbed a wrench and tightened my shifter and back out on the course. Did a couple more laps that were only a couple minutes slower than my first few so I was very happy to be keeping a consistent pace.
I finished my portion of riding with 7 laps in 5:28 minutes. My Garmin showed 65 miles but I later found out that the course is actually a mile or so more than my Garmin showed. I actually rode more like 73 miles in 5:28. The problem is my Edge 500 does what's called GPS aliasing so when I am doing switchbacks, the device doesn't think I'm going anywhere. Someone on the MMBA website pointed this out to me.
Overall I am very pleased with how the race turned out. I think I accomplished what I needed to going into the Hanson Hills 100 and the Lumberjack 100. Endurance mountain biking is hard though. Much more than I would have anticipated. I really beats you up. I had that 15 miles into the Ironman run feel going about 5 hours into the ride. I was happy to fnish. Unfortunatly leaving early like I did cost me a win. Had I raced the 6 hour race, I woud have been sent out for another lap at 5:28 which would have been 8 total in probably 6:15-20 and would have given me the win. The person that won the 6 hour event 7 laps in 6:16. Like I said though, this was a good learning experience for me and adds a lot of confidence going into the next endurance event which is the Hanson Hills 100. I am also doing the Addison Oaks stage race this coming weekend. Here is a video of the race from this weekend. I'm the guy slowly climbing up the hill.
This past weekend I raced the Yankee Springs TT. Well attempted to anyway. I had to borrow my wife's bike as my fork is currently in need of some repair. I was unsure that I was even going to race but I didn't want to use it as an excuse. My wife's bike is a Niner Air 9 with a Reba XX fork. It's a really good bike but as I found its not mine and I was totally not comfortable riding it. Not to mention I never road the race course before and it wast first Cat 1 race. So all new stuff at a race. How many triathletes would do that?
The race started out ok but as it continued I just didn't feel that great on that bike. I had some of my parts off of my Specialized but it still wasn't the same. The biggest issue I had was with the shifting. Since I was using my wheels with my cogset I needed to readjust the shifters but I didn't. It totally slipped my mind. I found myself missing shifts and not getting all my gears when I needed them. I made some passes on a few guys and got passed. Thats just how time trials go. I came though the first lap in 52:06. Not bad but not to my potential. I had just passed another rider and was heading up a climb when my shifting started slipping again and real bad. So bad that the chain sucked and I ended up snapping the rear deraileur hanger and the chain. That was pretty stupid of me. I should have not continued to push but I was in full freak out mode. In Ironman racing I never freaked out like this.
So not the best showing for my first Cat 1 race but I have a lot of racing ahead in my mountain bike career. The takeaways from this race are first, don't race just to race and second, stay calm in mechanical situations. Doing something stupid can be very costly both to the race and financially.
So far 2012 is kicking off to be amazing. 1st race I did, I won. It was a 2 lap sport class race at Bloomer Park in Rochester. This was my first mountain bike race ever so I was a bit nervous. My original plan was to just sit back and watch and see what happened on then on the last lap make a move if I felt confident. Well the plan changed in the first turn. I was sitting in 2nd and the guy in front of me crashed going from pavement to dirt. I took the lead and didn't look back. He got up pretty quick and was blocking the trail so we had to wait for him. But as the race went on, my distance between him and I grew. He stayed in 2nd and my lead kept increasing. I ended up winning the race by a few minutes. My lap times were good enough to get me 3rd in the Expert class. After the race, I looked up the person that got 2nd in my race. I found out he was actually a Cat 1 and was sort of cheating by riding that class. So beating him made me feel pretty good about the race I had.There's a video a company of the race. You can view it here. I'm the guy in the Castelli gear. The course was very technical. A lot of up and down and winding all over the place. Also much of it was new so the dirt was very soft in those sections.
Here's a pic of me after the race with my winnings. The one thing I really like about mountain bike races is the obsession with beer. These guys are amazing. They will kick your ass on the trail and then everyone parties and drinks beer. These racers are great athlete's too, trust me. After the race, I contacted USA Cycling and requested an Cat 1 Offroad license. They approved it.
This weekend I competed in a race called Barry-Roubaix, The Killer Gravel Road Race. Let me tell you, it lives up to it's name. What a race. It's a very challenging gravel road race with over 1000ft of climbing per hour and your doing this on gravel. It's like doing Ironman Lake Placid on a gravel road. Just not as long. To make matters worse, they have a couple of sections of about .5 miles that are just all sand. The point is to get you off your bike. Technically, this is a Cyclocross race, but I don't have a cross bike so I did the best I could on my mountain bike with cross tires. The biggest problem I had was running out of gear. I would draft off of someone but I would spin out and they would ride away because they are on a cross bike with 48t and I'm riding my mountain bike with a 40. It makes a large difference. Plus I have suspension fork and they are all rigid. So while I have the best fork on the market with a lockout, it's still not the same. I ended up like 22nd in my age group. Not too bad but I could have done better. In the 2nd sand section coming back, I also collided with another rider. After picking my bike up I realized the rear wheel had fallen out of the bike. I panicked trying to get the wheel back in but had to flip the bike over and get it back in. I probably lost about 3-4 minutes in that whole fiasco. I also have a bunch of scratches and cuts all over my legs.
This was also the first race I did with some members of my new team, Team Sandbag. I met them when I riding one day. They were out for a group ride at the park I was riding. They noticed my Ironman stickers and we talked a bit. As it turns out, the team manager Todd Powers, is looking to do some triathlons this year so we are sort of swapping mountain bike and triathlon stories. So a group of us were in attendance at the Barry Roubaix this weekend. From right to left, Me, Todd Powers, John Osgood, Kevin Nolly, and Brad Dunkin.
After the race the party begins. Not only was my teammates from Sandbag there, but so was Kevin Neumann or as he is better known as @ironmanbythirty. It was great to meet him and hang out in person as we've chatted so much online. I also got to meet Jason Mahonky, the main and pretty much only, guy at XXC Mag. Jason is a great guy. He writes awesome stories about endurance mountain bike racing, and just general offroad awesomeness. Give his magazine a look. There's more to this than just racing and he really captures that in his magazine. Also in attendance the badass physical therapist who can also run and ride a bike pretty darn good, Clint Verran. This guy is a genius in so many ways. I don't trust very many people but Clint I trust. So far everything he has ever told me has come true. All throughout my knee surgery recovery, he's told me the truth and what to expect and he's been dead on. He also gave me some tips going into the Barry Roubaix that helped out a lot. And of course, we both enjoyed the post race festivities!
So cheers! The 2012 season is officially underway. I am restarting my training plan from Curt Wilhelm the Mountain bike coach, in prep for my A race the Lumberjack 100. I have a couple weeks off to pack in some miles before my next race which is the Yankee Springs time trial. It will be my first race as a Cat 1.
