Friday, July 30, 2021

2021 Wausau 6-hour Race Report


Extreme Photography Unlimited — xtrphoto.com


On the eve of race day, I stated, "I feel like a fattened pig going to the slaughter house."  Obviously, I was being a bit hyperbolic, and gave a grime snapshot of my mental state at the time.  By race morning my mental state turned to, "LET'S GO CHAMP!!!"

There were a couple of omens that it was going to be an interesting day.  My weight was exactly 166.6.   When I received my race plate, it was 13.   I took these as signs of luck.  Perhaps signs that my inner demons would be released and exorcised in my pursuit during a hard day on the bike.   It certainly felt like I was residing where demons would live — in hell.  It rained on my drive to Nine Mile Forest and the forecast called for another hot day.  Forget feeling like a fattened pig.  In reality, I felt more like a pig in a sous vide.  Slowly cooking in the wet forest by humidity and heat.

The race started with a "Le Mans" start, aka you run to your bike.  I hate "Le Mans" starts.  It certainly wasn't a sprint to my bike, but I wasn't too far back when I reached my bike either.  Once on my bike, THEN it was a sprint to the singletrack.  I got in a good pack of strong racers and spent the first half of the lap picking them off.  During the second half of the first lap, a super strong racer passed me who was much smoother on the Midwestern trails.  He used to live in Golden, CO!  Yet another omen.  Long ago when I still lived in IL, I used to be smooth as butter on the tight & twisty Midwest singletrack.  However, even after spending some time riding the trails here these past few weeks, I am not as accustomed to the riding style.  Regardless, if I really concentrate I can still pick a pretty damn good line.  Riding behind this fast chap until the end of the first lap helped progress my skills I needed for the day.  Lap #1 took 1:03:28. Thus, in a six hour race format it meant I was looking at 6 laps.

Lap #2 I didn't back off, and kept the pace high.  It's hard to know where you stand in a race with 6-hour, 12-hour, 24-hour, teams, and duos formats all racing at the same time.  However, I felt like lap #1 went well so my spirits were high.  Also high was my heart rate.  It averaged just under zone 5 that lap.   As I crossed the line at 1:04:11, the announcer stated that I was sitting 2nd place.

I was pretty happy that I was sitting in 2nd entering lap #3, and still was feeling good.  However, I knew I couldn't keep up the same pace.  In addition, the temperature was rising and I had already ran out of water at the end of lap #2 before refilling at the end of that lap.  I was only able to fill up one bottle because I missed the official aid station.  Instead, I asked a nice fellow running aid for his team if I could get water.  I didn't want to take any more water away from his team racers, so I only asked him to fill one.  That water was the coldest water I would have the whole day, and I drank it within minutes.  Once again, I was out of water.  As a result, I could feel cramping coming on in my left leg and arm about halfway into lap #3.  Luckily, there was an aid station about 3/4 into the lap that would be my refill spot for every lap afterwards.  I chugged one bottle, then filled my two bottles back up.  From that point on I would drink two water bottles an hour.  Typically, I only drink one per hour.  This left me feeling bloated.  I started having GI issues from the excess water and heat.  I completed lap #3 in 1:08:03.

By lap #4, things were not going as smoothly.  At some point, someone had passed me as the announcer stated I was sitting 3rd.  I was feeling gassed, and pukey.   I wasn't taking in enough calories because of the nausea.  Thus, I needed to slow down the pass in hopes to feel good enough to eat.  Puking would mean instant dehydration, and not eating would mean bonking.  Both "game over" events.  Luckily, I was able to get to the point that I could sip on some Flow Formulas before feeling pukey again.  I feel very fortunate I had Flow Formulas in my bottle because it's so easy on the GI system.  Without it, there would have been zero chance of completing the race.  At the end of lap #4, I grabbed a banana from the aid station which helped as I entered Lap #5.  I completed lap #4 in 1:12:26.

Lap #5 was even more of a show.  The theme was, "just don't puke" as I snailed my way through the lap.  Plus, I knew I still had another lap to go.  That is if I could complete the lap under 6 hours.  In a 6-hour format, you can't go for another lap once you crossed the line over 6 hours.  Therefore, I couldn't slow down too much.  I crossed the line at 5:43:58 for a lap time of 1:15:48.  My slowest by far.

Finally, the final lap — lap #6.  My GI system was feeling a little better, but my legs were rubber.  Regardless, I gave it my all.  I stumbled over technical sections, gritted my way up every hill, and did my best to concentrate on good lines.  I made it to the aid station 3/4 into the lap and knew I was almost there.  Suddenly, I felt a burst of energy.  From then on I was able to push the pace to the finish line.  Sprinting hills, and flowing through the singletrack.  I ended with a sprint to the line!

The announcer didn't state what place I finished. I feared that I lost my spot on the podium, but at that point I was just happy to be done.  I felt like complete garbage, so my first priority was to not puke in front of everyone.   It took a couple minutes being keeled over my bike, heavy breathing, before I could start walking towards the bike wash area.  I cleaned off my bike the best I could, then checked the results.  I was happily surprised I finished 3rd!  Complete race time was 6:59:43.  Mark that as one of the tightest days on a bike!  Although my body does not like racing in this Midwest humidity, I am very proud I was able to endure.  The podium spot was just icing on the cake.  

Thursday, June 24, 2021

2021 Bailey Hundo Race Report


It was a solid day on the bike last Saturday at the Bailey Hundo.  Despite working non-stop on preparing our house to be gone for six weeks, I luckily still had some energy for the race.  After a neutral start, the pace of the front group of 15-20 racers got hot right at the first climb.  I pushed hard for the first 30 minutes to keep up with this group the best I could.  Alas, the front group pulled away from me as I pulled away from anyone behind me.  Only a couple more racers passed me once we hit the singletrack 13km in, and I was racing alone for the rest of the day.

The kitty litter that is the trail in this area was as loose as ever.  I'm not particularly good on kitty litter, but I progressed as the race went on.  After a hard start, I settled into my own pace to climb Baldy/Miller Gulch in the sweet spot between zone 3 and 4.  After the climb, I knew I couldn't let up on the descents since my descending has become degraded through the years of riding with a trailer on the road.  I stayed low, and was surprised how quickly I reached the dirt road at the bottom.

After a refill at the aid station, it was time for the big climb up Nice Kitty/Buffalo Burn.  I hit it hard and zoomed past the next aid station before Little Scraggy.  I didn't realize there was a longer distance than previous years to the next aid.

I continued up Little Scraggy pushing the climbs.  The trail got busy as I neared the top of the climb, and I passed a lot of riders out for a summer day ride.  Everyone was very nice about allowing me to pass, and there were lots of words of encouragement when they saw I was a racer.  By the time I reached the top of Little Scraggy, the group of riders thinned out.  I was out of water as I started the descent, and already dreaming of the next aid station.

My thirst for water kept my pace as quick as possible down the long descent to Buffalo Creek Rd.  Once at the road, I didn't let up on the gradual climb.  I kept my head down and chugged along to what I thought was the next aid.  My head was still down as I turned into the parking lot to the aid that had reliably been there several years in the past.  I was in a panic when the aid station was not there!  I turned around to see that an arrow pointed to continue up Buffalo Creek Rd.  It was another long 10 minutes climb before getting to the next aid after an hour of being out of water.  I drank a bottle of water at the aid, then refilled two bottles before heading out to the last climb.  Round 2 up Baldy/Miller Gulch.

At this point, the tail end of the 50km racers were on the same course as the front racers of 100km.  I was determined to empty my tank all the way to the finish line.  On the climb up Baldy, every couple of seconds I was shouting, "mind if I pass!?... okay, on your left..."  99% of racers were very friendly about letting me pass.  Only one racer made it difficult for me and I had to ram through a bush that cut open my left arm.  Nothing like a little 🩸 to add to the motivation!

My vision was getting fuzzy as I reached the top of Miller Gulch.  Regardless, I wasn't done yet.  I ripped the dirt road descents, and stood on the pedals on the remaining climbs.  I continued to pass A LOT of 50km racers along the way who encouraged me to keep pushing.  I hit the last small climb and really pushed the watts to the max all the way to the finish.  I saw the finish and sprinted to the line!  It wasn't until they handed me a paper printout with my results that I realized I had grabbed a 🥈 in 30-39! 

I pushed the pace all day, rode my own race, and never got discouraged even after seeing the lead group pull away at the beginning.  The result was a spot on the podium.  Nevertheless, with or without the podium spot I was proud of my output for the day.  However, it does feel good to be rewarded for my effort. 😁

Monday, May 17, 2021

Presumptive Positive — my personal battle with COVID-19

I remember it vividly.  On March 12th 2020, there was a buzz about a new virus called Coronavirus (later called COVID-19) in the news.  I was sitting in a seat at my doctor's office for my annual blood work.  No mask on as this was far before the warnings we needed them.  My nurse was complaining about her own mask and readjusting it couple of times.  It was early morning and I was her first patient for the day.  It was also the first day the office implemented a policy that all nurses must wear masks while working.  We joked about this new "scary" virus and how it's just another case of the flu.  Talk about eating our words.  That very next Monday is when the USA locked down to flatten the curve. Things become very real for myself along with the whole world.

Round one of Coronavirus

That same day of getting my blood drawn, around noon, I went for a mountain bike ride.  I made it halfway up the mountain and just wasn't feeling right.  I figured that getting blood drawn and riding in the same day was a bad choice. With this in mind, I didn't give it two thoughts while making my way back home.

That night, things got worse.  It all started with aches, pains, headache, and a low grade fever all night long.  Luckily, this lasted less then twelve hours.  Nevertheless, the next day I still wasn't 100%.  The fever was gone, but there was a slight pressure in my chest along with a mild dry cough.  The dry cough was so mild that I could have easily mistaken it for my occasional, typical cough from riding and living in a dry climate.  The pressure in my chest was also very mild.  Honestly, if I wasn't an athlete so in tone with my body, I might have not even noticed symptoms at all.

There was one thing that made my breathing more labored that first day.  Watching a podcast with an epidemiologist talking about Coronavirus and wondering if I had it!  Freaking out was yet another reason for my labored breathing that day from mini panic attacks listening to that podcast.  Bad idea!

What really made it obvious that something was not right was when I tried to ride my bike.  There was a clear lack of energy. I just felt like I didn't have a second gear, and trying to go any harder than an easy pace (zone 2) would cause coughing.  Obviously, not a good idea in a pandemic!  This lasted fourteen days.

In mid-March 2020, they were telling young healthy people to not brother getting tested.  Over a phone call, my doctor confirmed the same.  Thus, I knew I had something that quaked like a Coronavirus duck, looked like a Coronavirus duck, but for all I knew it could have been a Cold/Flu goose since I could not confirm with a test.  Therefore, I just went along as presumptive positive and acted accordingly.  Although I still rode, I spent that time wearing a face covering, picking times of the day that were less busy, and routes with zero other people.  Many of those times I was more at risk of being hit by a car than dying of the virus, but it was a risk I was willing to take to stay away from other people.



Round one of Coronavirus — TKO!

After fourteen days of mild Coronavirus symptoms, I finally felt better!  However, that feeling only lasted for a five whole days.  Then, just like exiting the eye of hurricane, the storm returned.  And it returned with a fiery!

Round two of  Coronavirus was a complete TKO!  Just like round one, it all started with a mild grade fever through the night that lasted less than twelve hours.  That night was a little worse then round one, but not too bad.

This time after waking up from a fever filled night, symptoms were far more pronounced.  A very prominent, very scary, severe shortness of breath.  It felt like I was standing in high elevation.  And I'm talking standing on top of Mt Everest elevation, not just a Colorado 14er!

Luckily, this severe shortness of breath only lasted a couple of days.  You know, just a couple of days of the scariest days of my life!  Afterwards, I was far from being out of the water.  My energy was completely knocked out!  Making it up the stairs was a challenge, let alone biking that first week.  During week two, I managed to get some riding in, but they were very short sessions on my rollers on my back patio.

Me riding during Coronavirus round two

Round two lasted fifteen more days.  After thirty-five days from start to finish, my battle with Coronavirus symptoms ended April 15th 2020.  But my battler with the aftermath of the virus was just beginning.

Cancellations and disappointments 

Even after having the virus, I was hopeful to still race in the summer of 2020.  The first couple of weeks after the virus were filled with failure.  I couldn't even perform a tempo ride let alone anything harder.  Nonetheless, that didn't stop me from trying.  Even with the failures, each week was getting better.

Race cancellations in late Spring were a blessing to me as it gave me more time to train.  But even after weeks of attempts to get my performance back up, I still didn't have it in my to do the Salida Big Friggin Loop in mid-June.  Unbeknownst to me at the time, that was the only race that would go down for awhile that summer.  I then spent weeks resetting my training as each race was cancelled, and I hoped the next would happen.  Once again though, races being cancelled was a blessing in disguise to me as you will soon find out.

Running on a low battery 

Finally, in August 2020 I got the opportunity to race that year.  I always knew the Monarch Mind Bender is an absolute beast and one I had been avoiding.  A race that beastly in August never appealed to me years prior.  Although this may be true, it was the only circus in town, and this clown wanted in!  Besides, at that point I had more riding hours in me than any other year I've been racing.

My Instagram post from that race day best describes the carnage:

Absolutely the toughest day I've ever had on the bike! The Monarch Mind Bender was a challenge beyond challenges. This wasn't a race, it was a spiritual awakening for me! There had to have been a higher power on my shoulder that day, because I'm still not sure how I made it through. Right off the bat, I knew I didn't have the lungs to be entering such a tall order. Without going into details, I'll just say it's been a long and challenging year for this athlete — which hell, it's been so for all of us! 

Regardless, with this being the first and only race I would enter for 2020, I was determined to make it through. Although I have to admit I considered bailing multiple times during the ride. The first major time I considered quitting is about 5 hours into the ride. I had already ridden 75km (46 mi), and I could have easily hopped on hwy 285 to my vehicle. Instead, I started my journey up Marshall Pass Road into the wind that was pushing in a rain cloud my direction. I did so knowing I was only halfway done with the ride. I prayed the rain would pass over and miss me. It did not. It started raining when I had about 2km left on the climb, and the temp dropped to 39°F (3.8°C). Even with arm warmers, knee warmers, and a wind jacket I was freezing cold. I then prayed it was pass over — that prayer was heard! Not before waiting out the rain for about 25 mins at the aid station at the top of Marshall pass with my teammate Scott who was in the same freezing position.

At that point I was kicking myself for not quitting on hwy 285, and convinced that I was going to find the quickest way to my warm SUV. To do so, we needed to head down the mountain one way or another. The quickest option was down a dirt road to Marshall Pass Road back to hwy 285. The other option was to climb a little more, then down singletrack which followed the race course, and then down Marshall Pass Road. Scott convinced me to do the singletrack and kindly stuck by my side as I was in worse freezing condition then him. He endured my slow legs, and me fixing a flat (tire plugs FTW!) on the descent. I'm extremely thankful to have such an awesome teammate!

Once we reached the bottom of the singletrack, the sun had been out for awhile during the descent. Consequently, we were both dry and warm. We had the choice to continue with our plan of bailing, or make our why back up to the aid station along the race course. We both decided to keep going, and I released Scott from his anchor that was my slow 🍑.

It was another hour climb back to the same aid station. The sun felt so warm and inviting though that I didn't care about my stinging lungs and legs. Once at the aid station, I thanked them once again for letting me not die of hypothermia — after all, they let me sit in there van with the heater on! I was then on the last leg of the climb out. It was another hour going at a 🐢 pace up past tree line. In addition, I broke my chain and needed to fix it with only a couple meters of climbing to go. At that point I was laughing and smiling since a broken chain was just another challenge to over come. Anyway, the sky was blue and the sun was shining down so I was feeling grateful. After the fix, it was a short climb to the last descent. What a descent it was! My legs were shot, and it was now time for the rest of my body to follow suite. Rocks, roots, tech section after tech section. Every big rock hit my back ached. Every drop my abs muscles cramped. My hands seized over and over again. Every chance I got I stretched out my hands before entering another rough section to navigate. By the end it was a series of me grunting out loud and gritting my teeth waiting for it to be over. I have never been happier to see a dirt road in my life! Of course, the very last section of dirt road was wash boarded badly to give one last jab to a tough day. But dammit, I made it!

Ride time was about 10 hrs 20 mins (I accidentally hit pause on my bike computer while fixing my flat and didn't realize until the bottom of the descent so not 100% sure). Elapsed time was 11 hrs 49 mins. Compared to prior years, that time was garbage. Compared to my challenges in 2020, just completing the event was a blessing! Feeling very grateful and blessed (not to mention sore) today after that one!


Lung scarring

What I didn't mention in that post from the Monarch Mind Bender was my lungs weren't 100% because of lung scarring from the coronavirus from months prior.  I literally, quote, "didn't have the lungs to be entering such a tall order."  It got really scary that day on the last climb when my lungs felt like they did during the worse day of the virus.  I was fortunate to get to the end of that race, and hopeful I didn't cause more damage.

After that race is when I shut it all down.  All I could do was stay off the bike as long as possible and prayer my lungs came back.  Mostly, the only riding I did in September 2020 was riding Nolan to school.  Then I slowly started ramping it up in October 2020 to start off the 2021 training year.

Origins

It's hard to pinpoint exactly when I caught the virus, but I'm fairly confident it was on Friday, March 6th.  My family and I went to a jazz festival in downtown Denver.  Denver got hit pretty hard by the virus, so it makes sense I would have caught it there.  I was surrounded by a lot of people indoors.  Thus, the viral load I received could have been pretty high if several people had it, which is fairly likely at the time.  

The next day, I rode a big six hour ride to finish out a three week training block before a recovery week.  Therefore, my immune system was trashed.  The combination of the possibly high viral load and lower immune system from training would explain the severity of my symptoms.

Why now?

It has taken me a very long time to decide to go public with my experience with coronavirus.  Early on, when I first had the virus, there were so many unknowns.  As a result, I felt there was a strong stigma surrounding the virus and people who had it.  Still, as I write this, I don't feel fully comfortable telling my story.  If you had read between the lines in some of my Instagram posts during that time, you may have been able to tell what was going on.  I just couldn't come out and say it bluntly.  There were times I wanted to scream it from a building top.  Keeping it from the world has felt like keeping a dirty secret.  Telling my story feels like a weight lifted off my chest.  And I know a thing or two about pressure on my chest after that nasty virus!

Long term effects

If you're an athlete, here's the question you're dying to know.  What about the long term effects!?  Is getting COVID-19 an athlete's career ender?  Here's my personal experience.

After my time off in September, I came back at it in October slowly easing my way into it.  In November, I ramped things up and had a solid month of training.  By late November, I had one of my best performance field tests.  Since then, my training has be super solid, and my numbers are looking strong.  Although much of 2020 I was riding on limited lung capacity, I still put in a lot of riding hours.  Thus, my legs were getting stronger even though my lungs still were lagging.  The result seems to be that once my lungs came back into form, my power is better than ever.  If there are long term effects from COVID-19 past my original several months of lung scarring, I have not noticed them thus far.

With that being said, it all comes down to race day.  No training can test nor stress the system the way a races does.  We'll find out this coming weekend at the 2021 Gunnison Growler.

Gratefulness

Although my battle with Covid-19 has been long fought, I feel incredibly grateful it was not worse.  I often wonder what would have happened if I was not an athlete.  How much worse would it have effected me?  I would not wish upon anyone to have the same experience as I endured, and realize my experience is far better than the loved ones we have all lost.  RIP Uncle Mike.

Regardless, in a strange way I do not regret having the virus.  It gave me a different perspective during the pandemic knowing that I had already survived it.  I wasn't afraid of it for myself any longer.  I'm grateful that at the time of this writing that the vaccines are available for anyone that chooses to receive them.  Hopefully this means a return to normal, and return to racing shoulder to shoulder with friends.