Race Report: True Grit 50

After a strong three week training block, the True Grit 50 was meant to be a training race to finish off whatever I had left off in the tank.  What I had left in tank was very little as I could tell right off the line.  As the pack raced away from me, I settled into my own race against only myself.  It's one thing to race at your prime after a good period of tapering off your hard efforts, and completely another when you're already beaten after a good hard training block.  My goal was to push myself, but not to completely bury myself.  After all, it's still early in my training up to my first "competitive" race in May.

Knowing that I wasn't going to be competing for a top spot, I decided to race on my Scott Genius 710 that I have set up for enduro.  A short stem, long SMAC Innovations handlebar, and burly Maxxis HighRoller II 2.3 tires is an awesome setup, but not quite what one would consider ideal for fast paced endurance races.  Still, it's my all mountain play bike that can do it all.  Plus, the True Grit is known for being pretty techy.

Let me tell you, there were many times in the race I was very happy to have the six inches of travel.  This was especially true on the first half of the race that had a lot of rough areas including the super techy Zen trail.  

After tackling the techy first half, and dealing with a mechanical (rear derailluer bolt shock loss releasing the shift cable) it was onto more flat trails.  Even the flat stuff the Genius was good to have since the trail had been ridden while wet and it was in need of some smoothing out.

The second half of the race we started out going east and seemed to just be flying along on the flowy singletrack.  When we turned around and started going west we all found out why going east was so easy.  Heavy, heavy, winds.  Yay!  I started out alone, but slowly pulled in the guy in front of me.  I offered him a wheel to suck on in favor of the same after he caught his breath.  I don't road race, but I know all too well the benefits of drafting and never to ride alone into a strong headwind.  We took turns taking pulls as we slowly pulled in racers into our group.  Some stuck with the pack, others pulled ahead or fall off.

We all eventually made it out of the bulk of the wind onto some more flowy singletrack, and then to the last techy section of the race, barrel roll.  With a few more choice areas to have a full squish bike, and final long dirt road to the finish line I completed the race.  I finished feeling pretty worked, but not completely wrecked.  Mission accomplished!

St George has some great riding to be had, and the town was super friendly!  Already thinking about returning next year.  Great race!

I like to thank our sponsor CarboRocket for the great nutrition during the race with their Half Evil 333, and a complimentary Rehab recovery drink after the race.  And more importantly, for taking down our popup tent before the wind destroyed it!  Talk about a sponsor that has your back!  Thanks guys!

Stroke Of Luck

It's been awhile since I've blogged last, so let me catch you up.  After a twelve week block of base training, with a two week vacation to Australia and New Zealand in February mixed into that twelve weeks, I'm two weeks into my endurance training plan.  The first week was in Colorado with temps in the 60's.  I can't complain too much, but after training in the cold since the beginning of December I'm done with winter.  So, for three weeks I am visiting Henderson, NV.  Let me tell you about my first week.  Ever had one of those weeks were your luck seems to be down?  Yeah, one of those weeks.  Let me make a list for you.

• Took out driver side rear strut on drive down, and I had to order the part to repair it, so it took me a week to get it fixed.
• Silver lining: The nice lady we are staying with had her son lend me tools, and I was able to get the job done myself in nice weather.  Plus, if it had happened at home the wife wouldn't have been able to make it to work so it was best it happened now that she is on vacation time.
• Hook that holds down the wheel on my Thule bike rack rusted out and broke off
• Cable on BOA shoe broke
• Crashed
• Several other things that seemed to just pile on... when it rains it pours.

You know what though?  I rode in 70+ degree weather all week on some awesome trails at Bootleg Canyon.  It was a great week!  Yesterday I rode 4.5 hours and found a great loop connection between the Mother trail and the Caldera trail.  The weather called for scattered showers, and although it was clearly down-pouring South of me, I didn't get a drop.  A sign that luck is turning my way.  Two more weeks of sunshine, and ending it with the True Grit race in St George, UT.  Life is good.

Not a wound, but rather a new form of tattooing involving crashing head first into rocks....

Missed the storm

Goals For 2014

As 2013 comes to an end, I'm already looking at how I can improve myself in 2014.

My Riding Life
As mentioned in my last post, 2014 will be my debut as an endurance pro racer.  To prepare for this, I have already started training with a solid base training plan.  I plan on doing a lot more core work.  To help with this, I have started doing yoga.  Not only does this help with strengthening my core, but it also helps stretch out my muscles assisting my recovery.  I have concentrated so much on the fact that I'm not naturally skinny that I forgot to account for the fact that I can gain muscle quicker.  Strong core equals strong platform to push off of which equals more power output.  As far as weight goes, I'm going to get as low as my body and mind will allow wherever that may be.

2014 is also going to be my first year of doing enduro.  I spent four years trying to get better at climbing that I neglected improving my technical skills. I'm already working hard to change that.  Not only will it help me not completely embarrass myself during enduro races, it will improve my endurance racing times as well.

Team Manager Life
Another area I really want to concentrate on improving is being a better team manager.  I've always been a "if you want something done, do it yourself" kind of guy.  This has translated to me working harder than I need to.  I plan to change that in 2014 by delegating more work to others.

Working hard in 2013 has given us a lot of great sponsors for 2014.  The team is more then just race team, we are a marketing firm.  I already have plans on how to promote them and our team.  With 23 incredible team members, it's going to be fun and easy promoting all our awesome sponsors!

Personal Life
I'm not going to be lie, I can be a little negative at times, and perhaps a bit unappreciative.  Quite frankly, I need to be a little more "zen".  It's kind of been a double-edged sword for me.  I am constantly trying to improve myself, but when improvement comes I never enjoy the moment.  I only focus on how I could have done it better.  Everyone deserves to be appreciated, and that includes appreciating myself.

Lofty Goals
Going to be a big year in 2014.  Very excited to into it with a good game plan ready.

Going Pro in 2014

It's official, 2014 will be my debut year of being a professional endurance mountain bike racer!    ...Well, kind of.  Yes, I will be racing at the pro/open class level, but all the races I do are unsanctioned so all I really need to do is sign up for this class.  I will not hold a USAC pro license though and have no intentions of pursuing one.  Why?  Like I said, "all the races I do are unsanctioned".  In case you haven't heard, USAC pro licensed racers are not allowed to race unsanctioned races.  Not complying with this rule could result in fines.  So would I qualify for a pro license under USAC if I wanted it?  Well, I like to think so, but you can decide after looking at my MTB resume.

Four years ago I had a dream of competing in the pro class.  Competing is the main word here.  Last year I grabbed a couple top ten overall stops, and podiums in my age group.  I believe I am ready, so now it's time to make that dream come true and toe the line with the fast guys.  First year goal in the pro class is to grab a couple of top ten spots.

There is another reason for me moving up to the pro class as well.  I am a Team Manager of a fantastic team called Pedal Pushers Racing (PPR).  I have worked hard along with my Co-Team Manager, Eric Coomer,  in getting several great sponsors.  Me racing in the pro class gives my team and my sponsors better exposure.  All of the great support I'm getting will make it that much easier to make the transition.  If you'd like to see all the sponsors, check out the PPR team website: Pedal Pushers Racing: Sponsors   Also make sure to like us on Facebook: Facebook.com/PedalPushersRacing

One more announcement.  With the purchase of my new baby, a 2013 Scott Genius 710, I will trying my hand at enduro. It'll be my first year at enduro so I will be racing in the age group category.  All I'm trying to do is go out and have fun with my team, cheer on my teammates that are much faster at the downhills then I am, and try not to hurt myself.  Should be fun!

2014 is already shaping up to be the best year of racing!  Keep checking the PPR Facebook page for all the fun happenings by the team!

2013 Scott Genius 710
My new enduro bike!

Race Report: Winter Park Epic 50

This race report is really, really late.  I apologize.  Lots of exciting things are happening with the team as we pursue sponsorship for 2014!  As the team manager, I am heading this project so my resources have been spread thin.  Anyway, onto the race report.

The Winter Park Epic 50 happened in a very bad week for Colorado.  For more than a week straight, it rained here in Colorado.  Although my house was okay, friends to my north in Boulder, Lyons, Longmont, and other areas were not okay.  Roads, homes, and anything else that came into the flood's path was destroyed.  I honestly didn't think that this race was going to happen, but at 11am Friday, a day before the race, the race was still not canceled.  All the roads to get to Winter Park were closed including I-70.  I emailed the race director and he had confirmed that I-70 would be opened by that afternoon and the race was still on.  I reluctantly made my way up to Winter Park anticipating the worst.

When I made it up to Winter Park things were moist, but it wasn't raining.  I checked out the trails on my pre-race warm up ride, and things were better than expected.  Definitely rideable.  That night and into the morning it didn't rain which made things even better.

I sat there at the start line feeling guilty.  There were areas that were in a state of emergency and there I was about to embark on my last endurance race of the season.  Once I was given the green light to go, I tried to put those thoughts in the back of mind and concentrate on the task at hand.  I knew I wasn't going to do great after two disappointing races before this one, but I felt better than I had for the last month and a half.  I ended up 13th in the Expert Men class.  Seems like I was finally coming back from my slump just in time for cyclocross season.

So how was it?  Fantastic.  It was a great race and I'll be returning again next year.  The rain even held off long enough for me to wash down my bike and hop in my car.  As I left town it started down pouring.  Perfect timing.

No more long stuff for me until February.  Great race to end season, but very sad timing for many unfortunate folks.  My sympathy goes out to anyone affected.

Race Report: Park City Point to Point

I knew I wasn't going to do well at this race.  After the atrocity that was the Leadville 100, and then going out of the country for a couple of days for vacation in Madrid followed by a week in Dublin for work, I was not mentally or physically prepared for this race.  My only goal was to finish it, although I was hoping for something around eight hours.  

The start of the race went pretty well until I got a flat maybe at around mile fifteen.  Honestly, it didn't really upset me at all.  I knew I wasn't going to do well and it was another reason to just enjoy the ride without pushing the pace too hard.  As the day progressed, my performance slowly became worse.  About 3/4 through the race I hit a wall.  I had gotten behind on my nutrition.  This was partly due to the aid station locations.  There was one at 1/4 and one at 3/4, but nothing at the half mark.  I never finished my first nutrition bottle before grabbing the second at 1/4.  So there I was, climbing up another long climb going so slow a turtle could have passed me.  I thought for sure that I had bonked and not only was my race over, but the season.  I ate a honey stinger and some shot bloks hoping it would bounce me back a little.  Luckily, it did after about twenty minutes or so.

On the race website it stated the race was 14,000 feet of climbing.  At about mile sixty I wasn't even close to that.  Another racer mentioned that there was one last climb before the finish.  The whole race I was expecting a couple of monster climbs, and with only fifteen miles to go I was thinking the last climb was going to be some 3000+ beast.  I was already in a bad place so I conserved as much energy as I could.  I finally came to that climb within the last couple of miles, and although it hurt like hell, it wasn't even 1000 feet.  I finished the race not even breaking 10,000.


My final time was 9:10:37.  Terrible would have been 8:45.  This was just pathetic.  This, my friends, was another lesson in endurance racing.  My July was a big month... perhaps too big.  I was so worried about under doing it since I had a vacation scheduled in the middle of my race season that I ended up over doing it.  Another thing that didn't help is that I had began training in January, and after eight months I was burnt out.  This was my first year of having a big race schedule so I'm still learning.  Next year I'm going to take January off, simmer down a little in July, and hopefully still be competing into early September.  You're always learning in endurance racing which may be why I love it so much.

Although it took me all day, I still checked the Park City Point to Point off my bucket list so I consider it a success.  I didn't give up, even though I was pretty sure I was going to literally die out there.  I will be back next year to try it again.  Just one more endurance race left this season, the Winter Park Epic.  I'm going to suck at it badly, but I just can't pass up fifty miles in Winter Park.  This is going to be "fun"!

Race Report: Leadville 100

Bling!

Pain.  Just pure pain for the duration of the race.  I'm not sure what was going on, but I wasn't running on all cylinders.  Hell, I wasn't even running on half cylinders.  The whole race felt like what the last painful hour of a long hard endurance race feels like.  No, scratch that, it felt worse.  Something was not right.

You think a lot during a long race, and when something is going wrong you can't help but try to analyze it.  About two and a half weeks before the race I went to Seattle for three days, and then spent seven days at sea on an Alaskan cruise ship for my wife's birthday.  Although I had a lot of fun, there was one problem with going on that cruise.  It didn't even occur to me until someone mentioned it the day before the race, but I had just spent several days at sea level a mere week before an extreme high elevation race.  Was that really the culprit?  Was the altitude really getting to me that much?  It certainly felt like I couldn't get enough oxygen to my muscles.  I've done a couple high elevation races this year including the Breck 100 which goes up past tree line a couple times, but I didn't feel the effects of the altitude then.  The feeling of swaying like I was still on the cruise ship wasn't helping either.  The levels of dizziness varied and at times it was hard to even stay upright.  It certainly made the descents a little more 'interesting', and meant I wasn't making up any time on the downhills.  Thinking back to the the Breck 100, maybe that was what left me so depleted.  The rule of thumb in endurance racing is to give yourself two weeks recovery after an effort like a hundred mile race, and the Breck 100 is about the toughest one that exists.  Instead, I did a forty miler the next weekend, took one week off, spent three days during the week of the cruise going hard on an exercise bike, and then trained the week of the race.  Definitely not a full two weeks of recovery.  Whatever the case, every climb was a battle that felt worse then any climb I've done in my four years of endurance.  I just didn't have any spark.

A solid time for me would of been around 7:30.  Somewhere around 8 hours should have been reasonably obtainable.  Instead, it took me about 8:40.  In the Leadville 100 you get a silver buckle for completing it under twelve hours, and a big gold buckle for under nine.  Even feeling as horrible I did, I still completed it under nine.  Let me tell you, I really had to earn it.  Maybe it's better that way anyway.  Had I gone out and felt great it would of just been another race to me.  Instead, it was a physical and mental challenge beyond any I have overcome.  I'll always remember the race because of this.  Plus, I can proudly say I didn't walk any sections.  Not even the infamous power line climb!  Mission accomplished!

Power Line Climb

Let's take some time to analyze the race itself.  The Leadville 100 has gotten a lot of slack for being non-technical and catered to road racers.  Hell, I even used to call it the 'roadie-thon'.  After doing the race myself, I apologize.  Yes, there is a lot of double track, a fair amount of pavement, and little singletrack to be found, but with 1800 plus racers it's the perfect setup.  Any more singletrack and the bottle necks would have been terrible.  It had a pretty good share of rocky climbs and descents to test your technical skills, and is quite a bit more technical then what it's given credit.  I like to point out that it was a professional mountain bike racer, not road racer, that broke the course record this year.  Sure, a road racer could do well at this race, but it's definitely a mountain bikers race in my opinion.

The race was very well run and everything went very smoothly.  There was a lot of great charity events going on like Ride 2 Recovery, a charity for wounded veterans.  The meetings were full of emotional and inspirational speeches.  Just seeing the pure joy in finishers eyes was worth going to the Leadville 100.  For some, this race means a lot more then just another race on the calendar.  When you see a man was two mechanical arms cross the finish line because he was wounded fighting for all of our rights, you can't help but feel inspired.  It's great to see so many people reach such a difficult goal.  Congratulations to all the racers who completed this journey.

So, is the Leadville 100 everything that it's hyped up to be?  Of course not, but any great marketing campaign is always over hyped.  Is it worth pursuing to get it off your bucket list?  Absolutely!  If it's your goal to do this race, then I encourage you to keep on pursuing it.  You won't be disappointed.

It was a great one to get off my bucket list and a fantastic experience, but I'm glad the Leadville 100 is over.  I don't intend to do it again.   I rather leave one more spot open for someone else to get into this race and mark it off their bucket list.

Race Report: South Kettle Classic

After a bunch of races with big climbs and long descents, I was hungry for a change of pace.  I was craving some good old Midwestern singletrack.  The South Kettle Classic has been on my radar for quite awhile, but since it relied on flying stand by through my lovely wife's flight benefits (I have mentioned this before, but she's a flight attendant) I didn't list it in on my race schedule.  South Kettle State Park is located between Madison and Milwaukee.  It is also only two and half hours from my hometown of the Quad Cities.  This meant I had a couple of options available.  Milwaukee flights quickly filled up so that was out.  Madison was looking good until a couple days out, so that dropped off the list.  The only option left was the Quad Cities.  Although it was a little more driving, it was the cheapest option since I had place to stay and a vehicle thanks to my supportive parents.  I'm truly blessed with great parents.  I flew in on Thursday night, got about five hours of sleep, and worked remotely on Friday from my parents.  After a long work day and a nap, I went for a ride at one of local trails, Scott County Park.  These trails are tight, twisty ones without a dull moment.  I snaked around the turns brushing by bushes and trees like ski gates.  This was perfect practice for the South Kettle Classic.  

I showed up at the south kettle trailhead ready for some fun.  The start was “lemond” style where you run to your bike.  A tri athlete's motto is swim, bike, run.  My motto is bike, bike, and bike some more.  Notice how 'run' isn't in there.  I prefer it that way.  My 'run' was more like a light jog.  I don't know how far back I started out, but it wasn't anywhere near the front.  I slowly picked off riders whenever I could, which in this twisty singletrack coarse was a bit of a challenge.  I wasn't in too much of a hurry though.  After all, my only goal for the day was to give myself one more beating after a hard block of racing to earn some vacation time off.  It's been a long time since I've ridden in Wisconsin, and I honestly didn't remember it being so rocky!  There was some great rock sections that made my Colorado heart sing.  The trail was so much fun, but I have to admit I was a little out of practice of the twisty stuff.  The locals had the advantage for sure.  I did my best to stay off the brakes and find my flow.  The fact that I was down to the last millimeter on my front brake pads was more inspiration to stay off the breaks.  Didn't realize that until I unpacked the bike.  I never really knew when I was climbing so I just tried to push hard on anything that felt like up.  I heard the locals talk about the “big climb”.  I think this was a short section that was a little steep and full of loose rock.  I just blasted it every time.  After five laps of clipping trees and bushes I felt pretty cooked, and so were my brakes that were completely depleted during the last mile.  Ended up fourth among the local pros.  I happily took it and got out of there before awards to hang out with more friends and family back in the home town.  The trip ended with an added bonus of a first class seat back into Denver.  Not a lot of sleep, but had a lot of fun seeing some familiar faces and riding some once familiar trail.  I also was able to try my brother's strawberry blonde that he home brewed.  Absolutely delicious.  I'm not the only one in the family with a talent.

If you haven't already, I strongly suggest checking out one the races in the Wisconsin Endurance Mountain Series (WEMS).  Like I overheard the race director saying, there isn't a bad WEMS race.  I surely enjoyed mine.  Now it's time for some relaxation on an Alaskan cruise, and then back at it with the Leadville 100.

Race Report: Breck 100

It was a chilly and moist morning in Breck.  I started the first loop of three with arm warmers.  It took me a couple pedal strokes up the first climb to analysis it was going to be a long, long day.  My legs were already sore after racing the last two weekends.  They felt like they were already going to cramp.  I don't train for 100 milers so all I was really looking for was to finish.  I wasn't too bummed when I realized there was no way I was going to push the pace.  The race was full of fantastic singletrack showcasing what Breck has to offer.  Absolutely amazing downhill sections, flowly singletrack, and enough techy to keep you on your toes.  Not to mention all the amazing views.  I thought for sure that by the end I was going to be cramping and I would be deep my pain cave.  Surprisingly, there wasn't a moment in the race that I felt too terribly bad.  I was able to go out there and really enjoy myself.  I had a lot of fun.  Even when it started running during the last big climb up boreas pass I was in good spirits.  Sure, I didn't place that high with only getting 6th in my age group and 26th overall, but it was nice to go into a race without the pressure of ripping my legs off.  I finished with a respectable 10:07:41.8 and didn't feel like dying trying to do it.  I'm confident that if I hadn't done the Firecracker 50 I could have been standing on the podium, but I just couldn't resist doing such a fun race.  Last year I did the Breck 68 and felt like my legs were going to fall off.  This year I did the whole 100 and felt solid all day.  I have made some amazing gains in this last year.  Hopefully that trend will continue for 2014.  One more thing.  I did do well enough in the race to gain enough points to place 3rd for the RME series even after skipping two races.  Wasn't my intentions to go for podium status in the series, but it was a pleasant surprise to end a great day of racing.

Race Reports: 40 in the Fort and Firecraker 50

 After a solid training block in June, I started my second round of races.  The first up was the 40 in the Fort.  The wife tagged along for the trip up to Fort Collins and because of our awesome friend Chelsea who lives up there we had a place to crash.  Friday night we went downtown Fort Collins to meet up with more friends and for dinner had the best pre-race fuel ever...sushi!  I woke up Saturday ready to race... well after a quick stop for coffee at a gas station I was ready.  There was no age classes so I was in the open class.  I started out strong and stayed with the pack.  The course definitely catered to the locals in order to pick the right lines.  After a good portion of single track, there was a long dirt service road with some crazy steep sections.  Next, an insane downhill section with a loop back to the service road for a bit, and then down another insane downhill.  It was all roots, rocks, and unsustainable rutted downhills for miles.  I've done many races and I've never seen such difficult downhill sections in an endurance race.  I really worried about the safety for myself, and other riders that were less skilled.  Somehow, I avoided danger and ended up with a 5th place finish.  No blood and a top finish equaled a good day to me.

Next up was the Firecracker 50.  I love this race, but unfortunately it hates me.  The first year I did the race, I cut a sidewall which was then quickly followed by cutting up my arm.  Last year, I was lucky enough to find a nail from a old mining shoot in my tire.  This year was my forth year of doing the race and I came with a new set of rubber and fresh sealant.  I started strong with at least fifty high fives!  The start of the race is actually the beginning of the fourth of July parade in Breckenridge.  I keep on forgetting to bring tootsie rolls to throw out.  Next year for sure.  After the fun, neutral start it was straight up the first and biggest climb of the race.  I hung on the lead pack and was fourth to the singletrack.  After some sweet singletrack with a fun downhill section it was big climb number two up french gulch.  I made it up the steep rocky section feeling good.  Next was a long section of singletrack with sharp shale rock and the old mining shoots with nails.  I avoided the nails this year, but the shale rock not so much.  A particularly sharp one punctured my tire right through the thick tread.  The hole was about a quarter inch and too big for sealant to patch.  I pulled out my spare tire and changed it out quickly.  When I went to fill the tube with my CO2 it was apparent the spare tube was bad.  I had just used the tube a couple weeks ago for the Growler and it was good so I have no idea what happened.  My only option was to hike my bike until I ran into crew or someone gave me a tube.  I hiked for about 15 minutes before that happened.  With a fresh tube in I was once again off... well almost.  For some reason I was ghost shifting badly and had to readjust my rear wheel several times before it stopped.  To make things worse, I was behind most of the field and bottle necked badly.  I didn't want to hurt anyone with unwise passing so I kept my patience.  After the first lap I grabbed another tube and CO2s.  I also chugged down half a bomber of delicious Belgium beer.  Thanks Eric Coomer!  I was back to climbing the big climb to start lap two.  I hung onto the wheel of a friendly Boulder resident named Scott who was doing the race as a team so he was fresh.  We chatted up the hill and were able to pass quite a few people including some in my age group.  After cleaning French Gulch and making it through the trail of nails and shale rock I was feeling pretty good.  I was flying down rocky descents and crushing the climbs.  Then it happened.  There's a reason we run tubeless out here in Colorado.  The dreaded pitch flat.  The tube I grabbed after my first lap was a 26 inch.... I of course ride a 29er.  After fighting it into the tire I went to fill it up.... faulty tube number two.  Lucky I didn't have to wait too long before someone bailed me out once again.  Repeat the weird ghost shifting and having to stop several times to readjust the rear tire and I ended up losing well over an hour.  I rolled in to the finish feeling absolutely defeated.  For a little more salt in the wound I found out that my front rim was so out of whack it needed replacing.  Pricey day after a new tire, inner tubes, C02s, and a rim.

I was sitting top six of the expert class, and in a podium spot for my age group.  Then with one unlucky passing over a shale rock I was out of the race.  I was frustrated and angry, but mostly I was depressed.  I know flats are a part of racing, but I just couldn't shake the depression.  We racers train so hard year round for a hand full of races.  When things go wrong it's sometimes hard to let it go.  After about four days of torturing myself by labeling myself as a failure I needed to move on to mentally prepare for the Breck 100 next weekend.  I went for a short ride today with a freshly repaired bike.  I needed that ride to help me get back on track.  I've faced a lot of defeat over these four years of racing and have never quit.  I still crossed that finish line, and I have plenty more to cross in the future.  Hopefully I can get some redemption at the Breck 100.  It'll be the hardest race I've ever done.  It's go time damn it, and I have something to prove.  Here's hoping luck will be a lady on Sunday.

Huge hole from shale rock.

Race Report: PV Cycle Derby

There I was on the starting line with only a couple of minutes before takeoff.  I looked down and took a deep breath.  That's when I noticed a goat head  in my front tire.  I pulled it out a little and heard the hissing before putting it back in.  I was a nervous for a second, but remembered I had just put fresh Stan's NoTubes Sealant in both tires after last week's flat mishap.  I pulled out the thorn and spun the tire.  The sealant  made quick work of the hole and it was good to go.  There isn't a Stan's product I don't like from the sealant to the light and stiff wheelsets.  I confuse my love in you Stanley, but anyway, back to the start line.  I could still feel the bite the Growler put on my legs from the weekend prior.  After all, any endurance mountain race that makes you sign a form that essentially says "I promise, I don't suck at mountain biking and most my training isn't on the road" is going to do a number on you.  My only goal was to hang on to the lead group and try my best to conserve what strength I had left.

The course was three 22 mile laps. We were given the green light and we were off. The lead pack started with at least five, but by the end of the first lap it was down to three including myself.  I was doing a good job of not letting the two others pull away until the middle of the second lap, about halfway through the race.  I could really feel the burn in my legs and they were pulling away on double track sections.  I was just a little faster on the singletrack descents, but that wasn't enough and they still got just outside of my eyesight.  I pulled out a reserve Honey Stinger that I kept handy just in case I needed a little extra calorie intake for times like these. After a little bit I felt a little better and was determined to pull them in.  That's when lady luck decided to blow on my dice.  I came up on one of the guys, Chad Edwards, off his bike messing with his chain.  It must have been bad because he never finished. I hate to see that.  Next time Chad, next time.  After I saw that I knew the other guy no longer had a wheel to hang onto, and I upped the pace to chase him down.  I finally caught a glimpse of him and knew it was only a matter of time.  I did finally catch him... exactly at the moment he discovered he had a flat.  I was about as disappointed as he was and told him to fix it quick.  I believe that racer was Stephen Shepherd.  I feel your pain Steve.  

I was in my lonesome at the end of lap two and switched out my water bottles before the final lap.  That's when I saw a lone racer with a calf marked with the same age group as me.  It was like he appeared out of no where.  Baffled, I asked what lap he was on.  Lap three... well crap.  And then he was off with me in his dust.  I tried to catch up, but my legs weren't having it.  I spent the first half of the lap doing my best to push hard on every hill and flat hoping I'd hit a burst of strength during the last hour or so like I usually do.  The burst did come, and shortly after so did the stomach cramps.  I had planned for a 5.5 hour fueling plan, but for some reason the course was a lot faster than the previous year.  The Honey Stinger may have pushed my calories over what my body could take (it was a delicious mistake at least) after I sucked down my bottle full of Hammer Nutrition product (Hammer Gel, Perpetuem, and Heed).  Only minutes to go, I kept pushing hard through the pain.  I was in food baby labor, and the contractions were hitting hard!  The grunts and sounds I was making were surely either scaring the wildlife, or confusing them as they questioned why a human was making mating calls (elk and deer especially).  I crossed the finish and spent a little time curled over.  It must have been bad because it took me at least ten minutes before grabbing a beer.  I had pulled off a 2nd place in my age group, and 8th overall with a time of 5:01:33.8.  Not a bad day at all!  Oh, and just an fyi, I looked at the Growler results.  The guy who beat  me wasn't there and surely had much fresher legs.  Just sayin'.  

My next race isn't until June 29th.  I have a week of recovery followed by one last hard week of training for the year, then three weeks of taper.  I will then race the Forty at the Fort, five days later race the Firecracker 50, and then ten days later the Breck 100.  I may try to do a 6 hour race in Wisconsin six days after that, but it's doubtful.  July is going to be full of fireworks, and the explosions are going to be in my legs.  It's going to get interesting!  Stay tuned!

Elbows Out!

Top 10!

2nd Place!

Race Report: Gunnison Growler

This past weekend I went down to Gunnison for The Original Growler and a little relaxation before the race.  My wife, Megan, and I got into Gunnison Friday evening to spend Saturday at Curecanti National Park just West of Gunnison for some hiking, a picnic, and lake kayaking.  The views were amazing and once again reaffirmed our love for Colorado.  We love small towns like Gunnison and the friendly people that live in them.  After a long day of adventure, I slept like a baby Saturday night and arose to a chilly Sunday race morning with a 7 a.m. start.  Things warmed up fast after a long neutral start to the trails at Hartman Rocks.  The race really heats up after the neutral start ends and then hit a steep fire road dubbed "Kill Hill".  I stayed ahead of the pack up the hill to avoid pile-ups since the Growler is one of most technical endurance races out there.  I was riding among pros who I've followed through the years.  It was really exciting to be among the greats.  I did a decent job keeping up with the top twenty riders the first lap, and made sure to not completely burn myself out.  My legs and lungs were fine, but man does that course mess with your head.  Lots of technical... LOTS!!! During the first lap I didn't expect the last couple miles to be so technical, and quite frankly I was getting a little annoyed.  After refueling midway from my awesome support crew of Rae, Rachel, Theresa, and Amber, I was physically and mentally recharged.  I spent the earlier part of the second lap slowly reeling in my competition.  I was ready to hit the techy stuff on the last half of the lap when on a downhill I heard the deafening sound of a hissing tire losing air.  I cut a small hole in the side of my rear tire.  I tried putting my bike on it's side hoping the sealant in my tire would seal it, but it was a no go.  I had to swap out the tube.  This cost me twelve minutes and at least twelve spots.  I tried to push the pace to reel some guys in, but it was no use.  I was cooked.  I ended up 40th overall (22 in my age group) with a time of 6:01:57.  Getting flats is just a part of the sport.  It is what it is.  I still had a great time racing and hanging out with my teammates.  We were easily the most supportive team out there cheering loudly for our own teammates, and for anyone else coming across the finish as well.  The race does not officially end until you make the slow ride back into downtown where you are given a choice from a growler (empty, but taps not too far away), a coffee mug, or a t-shirt.  Plus, they hand you $10 to buy lunch!  The Original Growler is what all other endurance mountain bike races should aspire to be.  Fantastic event!  I am sure to return next year with more sealant in my tire!  Next up, PV Cycle Derby this coming weekend.

An Evening To Remember

As soon as I walked out the door of DIA into the warm Colorado air, I knew I had to ride  I had just came back from a fun weekend in Chicago for my brother's graduation, and it was already late in the afternoon.  I zoomed home, and plugged in my bike light battery to charge while I got ready.  I grabbed a quick bit to eat, prepared the bike, ripped off my clothes like I was Magic Mike, and kitted up.  I was on my bike at 7:35pm and North Table Mountain which is under Jefferson Open Space curfew would close a half after sunset which give me exactly an hour to get a loop in.  I don't know if it was the sweet smell of the warm air, the sounds of happy birds chirping, or the fact I knew I only had a short time before darkness would close in with only a minimal charge on my bike light, but I seemed to just dance up the singletrack climb.  I effortlessly swooped through the corners.  I skipped up short steep sections without even one hard breath.  I glided down the descents like a bird of prey swooping down for the kill.  Even though I already have two races under my belt for the year, it didn't feel like the bike season had started until today.  It's going to be the best year yet.  Get out there and ride!\

Race Report: Ridgeline Rampage and Battle the Bear

I have been a little behind on race reports for this year. Believe or not, I do have a real job alongside my biking career that has gotten rather busy lately, but enough of all that boring stuff.

Ridgeline Rampage

I do not know what it is about this race, but my legs always feel heavy whenever I warm up for the Ridgeline Rampage, and then it all goes downhill from there. I started the race making a rookie mistake and shooting the gap. Maybe since my last race was a cyclocross race, I thought this was a good idea for a second, but in endurance racing it is about the worst move you can make. The first lap I pushed harder than I should have while everyone else took it easy behind me. The second lap my racing buddy Jason passed me with hopes I would hang with him. Although I tried, I just didn't have it in me to hang. If my performance was not embarrassing enough, I fell on my left side during the first lap, and right side during the second lap making holes in both sides my new bib shorts. I was able to reel some racers back in a little on the later laps, but they soon pulled away again. I just did not have the motivation to dig deep enough to catch up to anyone. I ended up with a disappointing sixth place. It was not even close to the podium spot I was shooting to achieve. My buddy Jason ended up with first though, so I could at least be happy for him.

Battle the Bear

After a week of kicking myself for sucking during the last week's race, I lined up for the Battle the Bear with a strategy; don't be the first to the single track, and just try hang with Jason who is known to be a strong racer. The race was six laps of ten miles at Bear Creek Lake. The first half of the first lap was much more mellow than my last race and I was able to save my legs for awhile, but on the only big climb in the race Jason made a quick move and I followed creating a gap from the main pack. I did not realize until the second lap that Jason was not trying to make an early break away, he was chasing a racer that was pulling away. I let Jason lead the second lap, and then took my turn pulling on the third lap. We pulled the lone racer in during the that lap. After that, we took turns pulling all the way to the last lap. On the last lap we could see the lone racer pulling us back in slowly, so on the last few miles to the finish line I pushed the pace. I pulled away from Jason, and unfortunately the lone racer along with another racer pulled him in. I pushed hard all the way to the line, and I'm glad I did because I only won by thirty seconds. It was a much better result than a sixth place! I still could not help but be disappointed my buddy Jason was not on the podium with me. I'm sure he will kill during his next race though.

I have a graduation and a wedding before my next race in Gunnison for the Growler. I'm hoping to pull off a top ten, and enjoy the awesome trail they have down there. I can hardly wait!

What I Do

Lately I've been quite busy with being a Team Manager for Pedal Pushers Racing.  I absolutely love the position, and have a great team of 20+ people mostly doing endurance racing like myself.  Since I've been spending most my time updating the Pedal Pusher Racing site (check it out here: http://pedalpushersracing.com/), my own site has been lacking in blog entries. Since it's been nearly a month since I've blogged, I figured I'd babble about something that may be of  interest.  What do I do in my attempts to being the best endurance racer I can be?  Let's go through the three hot topics; Training, Diet, and Recovery.

Training

Everybody has their own way to train whether it's the average Joe riding as much as possible and having fun doing what they love, or the stricter approach of a training plan.  I, like most racers, use a structured training plan.  Some training plans are specified for one rider by a coach's consultation, and others are more cookie-cutter plans that can be utilized in different ways between races.  I use the cookie-cutter approach and modify it for my needs.  My modifications include cutting days short or dropping days if I feel my recovery is lacking. Although there are some training plans that are better than others, it is my belief that it's not so much the training plan (unless it's a truly trouble training plan), but the quality to which you follow the plan.  This is where I excel.  I never have any issues going as hard as I need to go to hit my goals for the day.  I'm always obsessing over getting a quality workout each and every time I go out there.  Of course, there's a fine line between going hard to hit your goals and not over-training which destroys any chance of getting a quality workout.  We'll go over that in more detail in the recovery section.  Another element that helps set you apart is your environment.  In other words, where you are training.  Living in Golden, Colorado, I feel I live in one of the best training faculties I could live in for my sport.  Of course, a lot racers in Colorado can say the same.  So how do I get an edge on the competition if we all live in such an awesome location?  Simple.  When it's really nasty outside and all my competition is sitting on a trainer indoors trying to do a workout that is best suited for outdoors, I'm out there in nastiness because I know I'm going to get a better quality workout.  It's also worth mentioning that I spend some time each week doing a short, effective core workout.  Not only does this help with not having lower back pain during long races, it also allows me to push off of my strong core.  Every time I push the pedal, I'm utilizing my core muscles, so keeping them strong is important.

Diet

There are a lot of diets out there, and what works for one person doesn't allows work for another.  After finally accepting that I'm an eater, and I have to eat a lot or suffer from going crazy, I found that a pesco-vegetarian diet works best for me.  Eating mainly fruits and vegetables, I can fill my stomach without filling up on a lot of calories.  I avoid meat like the black plague because although it's packed with protein it's also packed with calories.  I get most of my protein from two servings of greek yogurt a day.  I also eat a serving of almonds as well.   I've always eaten shrimp for extra protein, but I'm starting to mix more fish into my diet as well.  I eat to fuel and recover, and whatever that day's workout looks like is how I plan what I consume for the day.  For example, on a hard training day I would eat something like this:

Breakfast: Oatmeal with a little honey and almonds, and a banana.
Snack: My snack generally consists of: greek yogurt with strawberries, almonds, and mixed in oatmeal then carrots and celery and also an apple if still hungry.
Lunch: I like to have homemade soup such as minestrone and a big spinach salad with a little feta (quarter or less of serving size) and light amount of low calorie dressing.
Snack: For a second snack, I'll have air popped popcorn with no calorie butter spray and no calorie powder flavor on it, and an apple if I'm still hungry.
Pre-Ride Snack: I'll have a second greek yogurt with frozen fruit and oatmeal and a banana or an apple if still hungry.
Dinner: I will eat a spinach salad with a little bit of strong crumbled cheese (feta, blue, etc), low calorie toppings (olives, carrots, fruit), light amount of low calorie dressing, and mix in some tilapia.

If it was a light day, I would skip putting oatmeal in the yogurt, and maybe not add fish into my dinner.  If I find myself still hungry at any time during the day I reach for an apple.  Training myself to reach for an apple rather than for crackers or another bad carbohydrate has helped immensely.  It also took some time to train myself to eat (and finally actually enjoy) fish.  I don't measure grams, and I don't count calories.  I eat when I'm hungry because my body is telling me I need fuel to recover.  So what do I weigh after all this?  Enough to have some veiny arms and legs, and a flat stomach.  I weigh myself every week or two just to make sure I'm still under 160, but that's it.  Oh, and I have a beer or two once a week and some dark chocolate from time to time.  When my wife buys something that looks amazing, I don't hesitate to take a bite.  I've learned that completely abstaining only leads to failure.  As long as it's in moderation, there's nothing wrong with splurging.  You've got to live a little sometimes.

Recovery

Recovery is the most important element to being a great endurance racer. Many of us are great at breaking down our bodies, it's building it back up is the hard part.  Other than a healthy diet, and getting plenty of sleep (I aim for 9 hours a night),  it's important to give your legs the proper love they deserve.  This involves massage, both at-home and by a professional, using a foam roller and stretching.  The part that's the hardest is knowing when you are not recovered enough to go hard.  Continuing to push hard when you are not recovered ruins any chance of a quality workout, and further digs you into the "over training" hole that you may not be able recover from before race season.  This is why people spend big bucks on a coach.  They can tell you when you need to back off, and when to keep driving.  This is my fourth year racing, and I'm getting pretty good at reading my body so I know when I need to back off.  With that said, there are still many things I have to learn.  Although I do not consult with a coach myself, I can see why a lot of people do.

 All you need to be a success is to train hard, eat right, and take time to recover.  So far I have seen large jumps in my performance so I would say I am on the road to success.

Long Over Due Update

It's been awhile since I've blogged so an update is long over due.  Three weeks ago, I took a week off from riding and went on vacation to the Philippines for a week with the wife.  We flew from Denver to Portland and stayed a short night there.   The next day was a long 11 hour flight to Narita, Japan and then 5 hour to Manila, Philippines. We stayed a day in Manila and then flew into Cebu City for a short over night.  From the city, we took a three hour shuttle to Moalboal which is on the west coast of the isle of Cebu.  We stayed a couple nights there enjoying some amazing snorkeling, great seafood, and fun nightlife.  We took the three hour shuttle back to the airport and flew into Hong Kong for short over night.  The following day, we flew a 14 hour flight into Chicago O'Hare, then to Des Moines, and finally back to Denver into a snow storm for a long scary drive home.  There's nothing like shoveling over a foot of snow after all day of flying.  Still though, I had a lot of fun.

The next two weeks after the vacation called for a hard two week block of training.  The first week I just felt 'off', most likely due to jet lag. It didn't help that I was constrained to the road since the snow storm left the trails unrideable.  I had a better week the following week after spending the weekend catching up on my sleep, but another snow storm over the weekend confined me to the basement for a long 4 hour ride, and once again left the trails a snowy/muddy mess.  Late that Sunday I suddenly felt achy over my whole body, and got a headache which is extremely rare for me.  This lasted three days straight. The only time I felt good was on the bike. Also, my legs were unusually sore after spending so long on the trainer. That was this past week and was a recovery week. I can't complain too much though because the temps this week have been quite warm, and Thursday I had a solid training day wearing only bibs and a short sleeve jersey.  I'm going for a light ride today and flying off to somewhere fun for a well deserved weekend vacation with the wife.  The following two weeks is the training block from hell!  The two hardest, most critical weeks of my year pack full of VO2 maxes, thresholds, tempos, and hard endurance workouts.  Hopefully I come back Monday well rested, and to some dry trails!  This is my March Madness!

Progress

A friend of mine, Liz Sampey (her blog site: http://www.speedy-lizard.com/blog.html), recently wrote about how hard it is to back off and recover from hard training sessions and races. Us 'A' types are great at pushing the limits, but when it comes time to restrict our limits and save ourselves for the next big training session, we suck. I'm pretty sure I've blogged about this myself a couple of times myself. It's a recurring theme for a lot of us. That's why some of us, like Liz, hire a coach to tell us to back off. Then there are bullheaded individuals like myself who wouldn't listen to a coach if they had one and MUST learn the hard way every time. I use this blog to log these mistakes in order to not make them again. Essentially, this blog is my coach. I do us a cookie cutter training plan from Lynda Wallenfels, LWCoaching.com, who is also kind enough to tell me how to stack her plans around the races I have for no additional charge, but there is no other consultations to guide me along through the season. Blogging about how training is going and doing a self analysis to correct mistakes is the best way for me personally to progress as a rider. After a four week training block with three progressively harder weeks and one recovery week, I completed another performance test. Looks like my method is working because once again I beat my performance test record. I made a 2.6% improvement during a fairly windy day so it could have been more. Thank goodness too, because coaches aren't cheap.


In other news, the old race bike has been sold and the new one is on it's way!  A review of the Scott 910 will be coming soon.  In the meantime, here are a couple of pictures from my training rides from the last four weeks. 

Apex

Road from Chimney to Apex

My Deer fan base waiting to give me high fives.

On top of chimney

You will be missed!

Nice long one on the fullie since old race bike is gone, and new one hasn't arrived

Okay, not ride related, but isn't the Capital in Madison, WI awesome at night!

What lovely decor!  Wish I could of brought that armchair home.

Looking Back

My mountain bike racing roots came way before even stepping a foot on a starting line.  In fourth grade I was introduced to skiing, and by fifth grade I was ski racing.  From fifth grade up to middle school, I was on the Snowstar Ski Team.  I competed in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois. I was a chubby kid and never did well, but I did manage to gain a strong set of legs.  I didn’t know it then, but that was the base of my biking career.  Once I reached high school, I lifted my first weights for football.  I could already squat more than most on the team, and remained the top ranked squatter through Senior year. Unfortunately, I lacked upper strong and wasn’t the fastest runner so I never played, but strong legs plus no upper body, minus fast twitch muscle equals a decent mashing mountain biker. After high school and no longer practicing football, I needed a new outlet so I decided to do a 7 mile hilly running race called the Bix 7. I found my love for long distance cardio. After a year or two of doing this race, all the while still lifting weights, I decided to compete in several short triathletes around the university I attended in Springfield, IL. I didn't have a road bike, so I used the mountain bike I had from saving up money as a lifeguard one summer in 1998. Considering I was racing a hardtail with knobbies on it, I didn't do too bad. When I came home from college I found mountain biking, and the rest is history. Now I'm on my sixth year of racing, and my fourth year of endurance racing in Colorado. All this from being a chubby ski racing kid in the Midwest. Now I hardly find time to ski because I'm mountain biking. Funny how that all worked out.

Back Into Action!

Training week number one complete!  Thirteen weeks to go until the first race.  Every year, I do a performance test the first week of training in January and then another in February.  It's a 20 minute sprint uphill as hard as you can go.  My last test was last February with a solid result.  This year I beat that record with a 2.7% increase in distance!  To make things better, I was 9 lbs lighter last year during the test, so there's lots of room for improvement as more weight comes off.  Also I had my first long day on Thursday.  I had a four hour ride close to work on a Broomfield/Boulder trail system. I typically only ride Jefferson County trails, but because I'm going to be out of town this weekend and really didn't want to ride in the dark this was one of my only options because it's close to work.  It is quite an awesome option to have!  I had never ridden most of the trail, and although it wasn't my beloved JeffCo trails, I had a blast! I even convinced a friend who works in the same building as me to join in for a part of the ride, so even better.  It's a great start to the season.  Oh, and I've officially decided to upgrade the ride!  My bike shop picked up Scott Bikes this year, and the Scale was just too tempting to pass up.  I am saving up, and hopefully will pull the trigger in February.  2013 is being to be awesome!

My Future Bike

Another Trail User on the Trail in Boulder

Looking Forward To 2013

The stats are in!  For 2012 I rode:

Distance:  3,690.11 mi (481.98 more than 2011)

Time:  351:18:48 h:m:s (only 7:18:28 hours more than 2011)

Elevation Gain:  343,260 ft  (83,766 more than 2011)

I did spend quite a bit more time on the road in 2012, but still some good signs of improvement!

Currently I'm on my third day out of a three week rest period, and all I want to do is ride!  Seriously, how do people go every day not doing anything active?  I'm going crazy already and I'm not even half way through!  In the meantime, this is a good time to go over my goals for 2013.

Goal #1:  Weight!

Once again, the elephant in the room is power-to-weight ratio, because I was the elephant last year.  After losing a sufficient amount of weight for my first race (which I won), I gained back much of  the weight I had lost, started losing races, and wasn't able to get back on track.  After counting every calorie and refusing to eat anything remotely bad for weeks, I would have mental break downs where I was binging and then had worse mental break downs after gaining a lot of weight (I gained 10 lbs in two days... I'm aware it was mostly water weight, but still, that's crazy).  And that's what we call an eating disorder.  I told myself winning wasn't worth not eating... which is true, but I think I can do both for 2013.  Next year I'm approaching weight loss differently.  No more counting calories.  I know what I need to eat and more importantly what not to eat to lose weight.  I would get upset every time my wife made something because I had to add all of into the calorie counter, and I HAD to know every calorie.  This stressed both of us out... definitely not healthy.  Also, I'm going to indulge once a week, but within moderation.  Having a little bit of bad is much better than not having anything bad for weeks and then eating everything in sight. Limiting my beer intake!  This by far was the biggest factor for me not keeping the weight off last year.  And lastly, starting the weight loss early so I lose it in a slow, healthy way; which I am currently doing successfully.  The hard part is when summer hits and there is less training to keep the weight off between races, and you seem to find reasons to drink and eat.  I can only 'weight' and see how it goes.

Goal #2: Go Pro!

All I have to do to compete in the Pro class is cut off 30 minutes from my best race, and do it constantly!  Simple, right!?  Okay, maybe first step should be to spend 2013 getting on the podium in the class I'm in, and then maybe go Pro 2014, but you gotta dream big to go big.

Goal #3:  More races... without killing myself.

So far I have 14 endurance races planned for 2013.  I only did 7 in 2012, so quite a jump.  That should help keep the weight off too!

Pretty lofty goals for 2013, but I'm not getting any younger.  Training starts in January, and I'm ready to hit it hard!  Can't wait for the first race in April!