I said it to myself: break six. I said to my friends: break six. I repeated it over and over again in my head on race morning: break six. In case you're not catching my lingo, break six means getting a time of under six hours in a race. That was my only goal for the Gunnison Growler, and it turned out to be quite a lofty goal.
Race Morning & Start
It was a cold morning in Gunnison for the Growler. Nothing unusual there as it's always a cold morning in Gunnison on Memorial day weekend. Without even a countdown, the shotgun to start the race shot off startling everyone. After a neutral start, the race began on a steep hill lovingly called "Kill Hill". I paced myself perfectly to keep my heart rate down on that first big climb, but it still wasn't enough to keep me from overheating. I was wearing a skull cap, and by the time I was nearly to the top I desperately needed to take it off. I used a trick I've done many times. I took off my helmet while riding uphill, held my helmet in my teeth, and went to take off my skull cap. Everything would have went smoothly if I had remembered to take off my sunglasses first. Unfortunately, I did not and my sunglasses went flying off. After dismounting, grabbing my sunglasses, and hopping back on my bike I was left with quite a bit a ground to cover to catch up to the front. I knew right then that it was going to be a long race.
Climbing "Kill Hill" Post Skull Cap Mishap |
Even with my skull cap mishap, I was feeling pretty good. In years past, the race would quickly transition from dirt road into singletrack making it hard to pass, but this year they started it with a much longer dirt road climb section so I was able to make quick work passing a large amount of racers. I soon found myself within eye shot of Jeff Kerkove, a well known crusher in the endurance field. I tried my best to catch up to Jeff to congratulate him on his recent engagement to another local crusher, Karen Jarchow (KJ), but the closest I got was still a bike length away.
Photo by Matt Burt |
Photo by Dave Kozlowski |
End of Lap One & Beginning of Two
After Skull Pass, I was at 1:40 and thought that if I could finish the first thirty two mile lap at 2:40, I would be sitting pretty good. To my disappointment, at 2:40 I was still on lap one, and at 2:45, 2:50, 2:55.... Finally at 2:58 I rolled through the line to finish lap one. After a two minute pit stop to shed some layers I started my second lap right at three hours.
Photo by Matt Burt |
Photo by Matt Burt |
The last couple of miles of the Growler is a lot of mean technical sections and climbing. You have to work hard for every inch. I knew the pain that was coming, and I was ready to take the damage. I over concentrated on the technical sections to clear everything I could while still pushing myself into blurred vision on the climbs.
Tech Section in Last Few Miles Photo by Dave Kozlowski |
Full Throttle to the Line! |
This was my third attempt at racing the Growler counter clockwise, the first two times ending in disappointing DNFs. That made this victory even sweeter. I was greeted by cheering team mates that I'm fortunate enough to call my good friends with hugs, and high fives. I was also greeted by a sip of Colorado made Fireside Bourbon, and a growler for the Growler of Barrels & Bottles brew. Hanging out while celebrating with friends made all the pain worthwhile. I love my team, Pedal Pushers KIND Racing!
Seconds After Crossing the Line - Mission Complete! |