Race Report: Bailey Hundo

Here's an excerpt from my race report of the Bailey Hundo from last year:

Things started out okay up until a broken chain around mile twenty. I burned through a couple matches to make up some time and got behind on my fluids. I started getting leg cramps around mile forty and was feeling the effects of heat exhaustion slowly starting. By mile sixty I was a ball of pain. Any hard effort left me winded. I was hoping I’d catch a second wind, but it never came. It just got worse. Near the end I was getting shakes like my body was going through shock. Never hurt that bad during a race, but after my DNF at the Growler I wasn’t stopping. My result was worse this year than I did two years ago. Another huge failure.

That last sentence. Another huge failure... that pretty much summed up my entire 2014. So far this year has been what I like to call the season of great redemption! Top on my redemption list has been The Bailey Hundo.

The race course for the 2015 Hundo was unlike the courses I had done in the past. Due to flooding, a main stretch of road the course followed was under water. The race board made some quick decisions, and modified the course to a two lap course instead of one big loop. It followed the same course of the shortened Hundito version of the race. This made the Hundo about ten miles shorter, but around the same amount of climbing, and a lot more singletrack. In other words, despite the course change, it was just as tough a race if not tougher.

The day started out hotter than usual this year. Typically, the 6 a.m. start of the Hundo called for arm warmers and knee warmers. After my warm up, I quickly ditched my knee warmers at the start line. It was going to be a hot one for sure. Thanks to an episode of the LW Coaching Show (LW Coaching is also my personal coach) featured on Mountain Bike Radio titled How to Start a 100-mile Mountain Bike Race, I had a crash course on how to start the race. I needed to hurt myself badly the first thirty minutes to get me on the singletrack as quick as possible. Hurt myself I did, and I was the seventh person to hit the trail.

After a hard race start, I took it down a notch, but not too much. According to my heart rate zone, I was climbing at zone 4.7 (the zones are from one to five) when typically I would have wanted to stay in a zone of low four or high three. My body was telling me it was okay to keep pushing, so I kept the hard pace.

I had a big motivator to help me keep pushing as well. My teammate Mark Wallace caught up to me about a hour and forty minutes into the race, and we rode together up to the last hour and half of the race. Since the course had changed, I had no clue what time I needed to shoot for, but Mark had it all worked out. According to his stats, breaking seven hours became the goal for the day.

Mark and I started the second lap right on pace. After hitting it hard during the first lap, I was a bit nervous I'd crumble during the second lap. I must have done something very right during training this year, because crumble I did not. On the contrary, I felt better than ever. So good in fact that I was pushing it on the downhills. I just couldn't help but take the harder lines that had features like rock drop offs. This is the great thing about the SCOTT Spark 900. Not only is it a super fast bike, but it is also so capable that it allows you to have more fun while racing. Not to mention you feel a lot less beat up during long races on this full suspension rocket ship.

Mark is on my tail!

After the first big descent, I nailed the first of three big climbs hard, made another quick descent taking all the "fun" lines, and nailed the second climb with a bit more fierceness. I was then down to the last mega climb to finish myself off. The last big one was a steep dirt road up to Wellington Lake, and then a long gradual dirt road climb to the top. There was a lot of teeth gritting with my eyes closed as I grunted my way up and over.

The last stretch was a couple of short climbs, and then a steep dirt road descent that went into one last climb before another short descent to the finish line. I knew I had to be on the gas if I wanted to break seven hours. I gave it everything I had, took some risks, and sprinted the finish. The official time was 6:58:56.50 which landed me seventh in the pro class, and fourteenth overall! Redemption accomplished! It felt very, very good to nail it at the Hundo.

Up next, THE Firecracker 50 on July 4th followed by the Tatanka 100 the next weekend, and the Breck 68 the weekend after that. Mega July!!! Time for me to recover, and conquer!

Race Report: ERock Sunrise to Sunset

I talk a lot about my own races here on my blog (as one would expect), but me racing personally is only one outlet in the cycling community that gives me joy.  For the last three years it has been my pleasure to be the team manager of an elite mountain biking team here in Golden, CO.  With the name derived from our great title sponsor and reason we exist, Pedal Pushers Cyclery, Pedal Pushers Racing (PPR) was formed.  The shop has had many race teams prior to PPR, but none took it to the level we have taken it.  We went from zero sponsors to having some of the most prestigious in the biking industry in a short time span.  With the help of many others, I have worked very hard to make this happen.  I am honored to have a team of talented, down to earth athletes who never asked for sponsorship, but I felt so strongly that they deserved it that I just had to make it happen.  I couldn't have done it without a lot help: my friend Eric Coomer being one of the biggest influences.  In short, when one of my racers does well at a race, it feels like more of a victory to me than if it was me on the podium.  This past weekend, three of my racers were on the podium as a team... that is, three of my racers AND me.

ERock Sunset to Sunrise is an eleven hour race that can be done solo or as a team.  Many of us on the PPR squad decided that it would the perfect opportunity to race together and just have fun.  We formed one four-person coed and two five-person coed teams.  My team consisted of me, Mark Wallace, Wes Felteau, and Ann Felteau.  With a new race venue for 2015, none of us knew what to expect.  The course was only six miles and around 600 feet of climbing, but very tight and twisty with a lot of punchy climbs.

We started out fast!  All of us had lap times close to 30 minutes.  With such short laps, we went full throttle all the way.  After we each did a lap, we checked the results to find out we were sitting in first place, but not by very much.

We soon learned the four-person and five-person coeds were all lumped together into one category.  Our competition had five people plus an 18 year old up and coming pro woman racer. We were definitely the under dogs.  Knowing the competition was fierce only fueled our fire.  Each of us put down faster and faster lap times.  Mark and I were breaking 30 minutes, while Wes and Ann were cutting minutes from their times.  

During my fourth lap it started to rain.  It went from light, to heavy, to hail, to becoming sunny again all in my 31 minute lap.  The rain was actually to my advantage, since I had just done the Pigsah 111k that was nothing but wet terrain.  So, I was well acclimated.  At the end of the lap, I discovered the race was delayed due to the weather.  The race was to be restarted in a mass start format with the same time gaps we had when I finished my lap.  Although we should had a 3 minute gap, the race staff made an error on the timing and refused to fix it because it was a "recreational" event.

Now we only had a five second gap with only five more laps to go for the win.  Luckily, with the rain delay we all had aqueduct rest so we were able to form the fastest racing order.  Ann made a tough choice and sacrificed for the team by letting me, Mark, and Wes finish out the race.

Mark started the mass race restart and hung onto our five seconds.  Wes threw down a great lap after that to keep us in the game.  I was able to put a little bit more time in our corner on my lap.  We were then down to our last one-two punch of Mark and then me again since we all agreed I could probably pull the fastest finishing lap.  Mark made a good jab on the competition with a one minute gain on his lap, and it was up to me to make the finishing blow.

I was enraged by the unprofessional way the race crew handle the timing mistake.  I wanted my f@$*ing three minutes back, and damnit I was going to get it!  Fueled by my rage, I pushed myself to my boundaries.  I worked the climbs, finessed the turns, and plowed the downhills.  After a blazing sprint to the finish I was met by an astounded team greeting complete with high fives.  They had to run to the finish to beat me there because they didn't expect me to come in so soon.  I got my three minutes back between the two laps I did after the rain delay, and we took the win!

Getting my three minutes back!

It was the best win I have ever had in my life!  Not because I raced so hard, but because I was able to contribute to my team winning.  Had it just been myself, it wouldn't have felt nearly as good.  To see my team mates work so hard, and to help them in the fight to win fills me with a joy I can't put into words.  Being able to help my team succeed either on the race course or by getting them sponsorship is why being a team manager fills me with so much happiness.  To make the day even better, our other five-person coed team placed sixth!  Our third team all riding Transition Klunkers did a great job racing as well and were the best cheering section ever!  Damn, I love my team!  Go PPR!

From left to right: Me, Mark Wallace, Wes Feltau, Ann Felteau

  

Race Report: 2015 Gunnison Full Growler

The week prior to the Gunnison Growler there probably wasn't a racer that didn't check the weather at least ten times.  The daily high continued to get lower, and the chance of rain hovered around 40% all weekend.  The racers for the Half Growler on Saturday suffered rain and muddy conditions.  The racers of the Full Growler on Sunday lucked out and were treated to hero dirt without a drop of rain.  The Full Growler is always a chilly start at 7 a.m., but this year was just a little bit chillier with temps in the mid 30's on race start.  Proper layering was definitely key for the day.

The race started fast up the infamous kill hill.  I hit it fairly hard myself, but held back just a bit.  I hung on to the front pack for a little bit, but with lead still in my legs from the 10k of climbing I did the previous weekend I wasn't looking to pull for a top ten spot.  I settled into my own pace for the first big loop.  Although I wasn't feeling quite at top form, I felt pretty damn good.  That alone is worth all the hard training I've done over the winter and spring.  I worked the climbs, and enjoyed all the great descending.  The Gunnison trail system is absolutely fantastic, and rides like a roller coaster.  There is also a good share of technical to keep your wits about you.  The worst of it is in the last couple miles of the loop.  Technical climbing up boulders, steep switchbacks, and rough terrain made the last bit of the loop feel like pure hell at times.  Once I made it through the first time I made a mental note for the second lap what to expect.

The start of the second lap is just brutal: steep technical climbing that seemed to last forever.  I was so happy to finally see familiar trail from the first lap.  At that point, I was feeling even better than I had on the first lap so I upped the pace a bit.  I put my head down and grounded out all the climbing.  I felt fluid and smooth through the trail.  Around 20 miles into the loop there is a lollipop loop in the Growler that is full of a lot of tech and fun.  I concentrated on clearing the section quickly without killing myself.  With a big smile on my face, I succeeded and even passed another racer along the way.  After that section is the last stretch with a lot of great descending, and some mean climbs.  I upped the pace just a bit more, but also kept in mind that I needed to leave a little bit in the tank for the last couple of hell miles.  Once I finally hit the last section I was ready.  I dug deep and cleared every last bit of it.  I knew that there would be a few people that would crack during this sections, and I jumped up a couple of spots along the way.  I did such a good job conserving that I had a pretty good sprint left in me for the finish line.

I ended up with 23rd overall.  With a brutal race in North Carolina a mere week earlier, I was pretty stoked with the result.  The Growler solidifies all the hard work I have done this year, and it felt great!  It was great to see old friends, and meet new ones.  I had a great time, and would like to thank all of my sponsors for making it happen!  Special thanks to Barrels and Bottles Brewery for the growlers for the Growler!  So happy race season is official underway!

Race Report: Pisgah 111k

If you're a frequent reader of my blogs, you'll know that last year was a very tough year for me.  I was over trained, over stressed, over race weight, and contemplating throwing in the towel.  With the passing of my father last June, and the birth of my son Nolan in January of this year, my life has been an emotional roller coaster.  I love our little Nolan, but as any parent knows the first year with your first child takes a lot of adjustments and challenges.  Luckily, he's an amazing, well-tempered baby (I like to call him a great beginner baby).  I know that a lot of people expected me to take a step back from racing, but not my incredibly supportive wife, Megan.  She knows the kind of man I am.  When the chips are down, that's when I work the hardest.  Most wives would have asked for a divorce long ago after dealing with the high maintenance life of an endurance athlete, team manager, ball of stress man I have become.  Instead, she has stepped up to the challenge and made sure I didn't miss a day of training.  If it weren't for Megan my racing career would be over.  She pulled me out of the hole I dug and I encouraged me to keep pushing.  It's been hard on both of us, but we made it through.

I toed the line in the Pisgah National Forest with the tail end of a nasty cold, and legs that were just a couple days off from being 100%.  I knew I wasn't going to be a competitor, but that was never my goal for the day anyway.  With around 70 miles, 10k of climbing, and terrain I had never ridden all I wanted to do was finish the race while taking in the experience along the way.  Finishing was just going to be a little bit tougher.  Once again, the chips were down, my motto all year. There was no way I was backing down.

The race started easy paced until we hit the first climb.  My legs nor lungs were not going to keep up with the front pack, so I quickly settled into my own pace for the long day of climbing.  The first half of the race took a lot of adjusting to the unknown.  I was warned about the wet rocks/roots, creek crossings, mud, and brutal terrain.  I had no idea that I would be carrying my bike overhead while wading through several knee high creeks, and sliding down endless mud/water shoots through rocks. 

Something happened to me out there that I hadn't experienced in any other bike race.  It seemed like every time I had to get off my bike to walk through another creek crossing, crank through another deep mud hole, or had more skin ripped off my arm by overgrown thorn bushes it became less like a race and more like a quest for survival.  I kind of went crazy out there.  At aid stations I’d stop and devour bananas with peanut butter, PB&J sandwiches, and anything else I could get into my paws.  For someone that follows a strict race day nutrition plan, this was far from normal.  I just snapped and said screw it.  I was in survival mode!

The second half was nastier than the first, and the last quarter of it was the nastiest.  The last several miles were a lot of climbing, with tons of steep uphill hike-a-bike.  After each steep uphill you were greeted with down hills so rough that it hurt every bone in your body.  It took every last bit of me just to hold on.  When I finally saw the finish line, there was no sprint nor spirit left in me to give.

The race director was there at the end greeting everyone.  After catching my breath, and taking a minute to take in what I just experienced, I thanked him.  The Pisgah 111k, much like my life this past year, was an emotional roller coaster full of fear, thrill, anger, weakness, bliss, and triumph.  It's the kind of experience that wakes you up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat amazed you survived, and finding yourself filled with joy that you got to experience it.  Somehow I was able to pull out a 15th in Open class, and still have some leg left for the Gunnison Growler for following weekend.

You’re Doing It Wrong

Way back in September I completed my last race, and my 2014 season was a wrap.  Since then, I’ve had a lot of time to think about my previous season and to be quite honest, I consider it a complete failure.  Looking at the results, I wasn’t even hitting top marks in expert class, let alone pro.  All season I felt over trained, overweight and just plain out of the game.  Don’t get me wrong, I had a lot of fun, but my goals were not even close to being achieved.

It Ain’t Over

With my first child due in January and a season that was A COMPLETE FAILURE (yep, I said it again), it would be really easy to just walk away and be done with racing.  For a couple of milliseconds I considered it, but then I remembered just how hard I have worked to get to this point.  Anyway, what example would I be leading to my newborn son if I just quit when things didn’t pan out exactly how I wanted the first time around.

Change EVERYTHING!!!

Albert Einstein was often quoted saying, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.”  Therefore, after of a season of disaster, some big changes needed to happen. 

DIE it!

First thing that had to go was my diet.  My good friend and mentor, Wes Felteau, helped me discovery how badly I was doing things wrong in my diet.  Quite frankly, being a vegetarian was just stupid.  I’m not saying it’s stupid for everybody since we all react differently to diets, but it was the wrong diet for me.  I was consuming way too much sugar and carbs from all the fruit, and not enough protein to every recovery properly.  Even with all the nuts, greek yogurt, beans, and being conscious of protein intact it wasn’t enough.  The solution?  I went from vegetarian to a mass murderer!  First to go was high sugar content fruits, and to only eat one portion of fruit a day.  Next was increasing the protein by eating a diet mainly of animal protein, and getting rid of beans.  I mostly eat chicken, eggs, and fish.  I also continue to eat nuts; mostly almonds.  High sugar content veggies like carrots took a hike too.  Now I eat mostly broccoli, cauliflower, and spinach.  For all of you that just went “Uh huh! Paleo!”; not quite.  I eat dairy every day.  Carbs aren’t completely out of the picture, but are reserved for only when I truly need them for hard training/racing efforts.  Oh, and I also upped my butter content…. Mmmm, butter.  After switching to this diet cold turkey (which I now eat) a month ago, I’m at my proposed race weight of last year (which I never met last year by the way) and am still losing.  My body is also a lot happier with me.  I’ll spare you the details, but you know what I mean (hint: grumbles in the tum tum).  The best part is I’ve been off the bike and not exercising this whole time, and still losing weight.  Pretty sure this is going to work A LOT better for 2015.  Oh, and if this is the 100^th time you’ve read about my dieting habits from the beginning of this blog, I hope this will be the last time I write about it as well.

Recover, Recover, and Recover some more

The second step was to take a nice long break from riding so I could completely recharge my battery.  I hadn’t done this in two years.  I took a month off the bike and focused my energy on remodeling a bathroom.  Okay, maybe remodeling a bathroom isn't the best way to recover, but even pro mountain bikers have to deal with real life sometimes.  With a baby on the way, and no bathtub in our upstairs bathroom, I did what needed to be done.  I am taking an additional couple of days off after the project is done to “truly” recover.

Keep Your Eye On The Prize

I competed in several enduro races last year.  As fun as they were, I feel they are just too much of a distraction to my primary goal of being the fastest endurance racer I can be.  For 2015, no more enduro races.  Okay, maybe one, but that’s it!

Anything Else?

I considered competing in all 100 milers for next year to change things up, but with a newborn coming and most of the races out of state, reality finally kicked in.  I will continue with the same training plan that has shown yearly improvements for me with the exception of last year.  With the help of my mentor, Wes, I will now have an extra voice of reason to help me make decisions about training and recovery that's a little more unbias.  Between changing my diet and taking time to recover, I’m confident I got this nipped in the bud.  Only time will tell though.  One thing I can guarantee is if it doesn’t work, I’ll keep on working to find what will be a success.  There is no such thing as quitting to me.  I will have one more huge advantage on my side for 2015.  My new 2015 Scott Spark 900 Premium.  My carbon baby is due about a month later then my human baby which is January 9th.  Can't wait for both!  Happy trails!

Race Report: Steamboat Stinger

Let me start by saying I loved this race.  The Steamboat Stinger course had everything that makes a great endurance race.  Long climbs, super steep challenging climbs, short punchy climbs, technical single track, flowing single track, long descents... just 52 miles of awesomeness!  This one goes down as one of my top favorite races for sure.  If you haven't done it, I strongly suggest you do.  At about 7,000 feet of climbing, it's a tough one but has plenty of rewarding descents.  When you're done with the race, there's live music, food, beer, fun and friends waiting.  Steamboat Springs is also a fun place to hang out so might as well make it a weekend trip with friends and family.  Had a great time!

Going into this race I didn't set very high standards for myself.  After a month off from endurance, this race was meant to get me back into the swing of things before my last two races.  Everything went smoothly.  I conserved early, and had some energy left in the tank for later.  This is how it should work.  My previous races this season I would attempt to conserve, but my tank would end up completely drained long before the finish line since it was never full to begin with.  Although I still wasn't at top form, I felt better than I have all season.  There's a good kind of pain and suffering you get when endurance racing, and there's a bad kind that just digs you deeper into a hole making the next race even more miserable.  I've had too many races like that lately, and it feels good to be on the other side of that now.  Park City Point to Point is next, then Winter Park 50.  The game plan is to finish the season strong, and for once things are trending up.  Game on!

July Update: Race Reports and R&R

After you've been training since the winter and racing throughout the spring into early summer, July is about the time when you start becoming completely burnt out.  Combine that with less than par race results (shooting way over bogie here) along with other stresses in life piling on top, and you have one unmotivated racer.  So, instead of burying myself deeper into over training, I decided to take July off... well kind of.  I dropped the Telluride 100 for the Endruo-X: Steamboat Springs, and still raced the Keystone Enduro.  I also didn't miss any Tuesday night team rides with my racers.  In other words, I'd ride Tuesday, pre-ride the race course on Friday, and race Saturday and Sunday.  Far from being “off the bike”, but hey, I really do love what I do so it's hard to just not ride.  Anyway, here's some race reports from the enduros.

Keystone Enduro

When I signed up for the Keystone Enduro way back in January, I was already nervous.  This is about the most techy enduro you're going to get (at least in the USA) so I knew I was in for a “treat” so to speak.  I found some time in late June to pre-ride Keystone, and then pre-rode some more on the Friday before the races started Saturday.  I didn't mess around with this race.  I was padded from head to toe with armor under my jersey, 7iDP knee and elbow pads, an Urge Endur-O-Matic full face helmet, and Ride 100% goggles.  I looked so enduro, it hurt to look at me.  The course did not disappoint with some gnarly rock gardens, drops, jumps, roots, crazy steep grades, and many other features to induce fear.  After spending the last five years training myself to climb, it was time to see how well I could descend.  To my surprise, I didn't completely suck at it!  Sure, I could have been faster and rode cleaner, but I did pretty okay.  There were some crashes, but that's going to happen when you push your skill set.  I also got to spend time with my team guys and gals all weekend.  It was a great weekend full of bikes, beer and friends.

Enduro-X: Steamboat Springs

I was a loner on this one, but the weekend turned out to be full of meeting new friends and hanging out with some old ones.  As far as the race goes, I could have done a little better.  Frustrating mishaps like crashes and going off trail is all it takes to drop you to the bottom of pack in enduro, unlike endurance where a couple of seconds isn't going to hurt you too much.  Still, I had a great time and rode a lot of fun trail that was new to me.  Another successful weekend.

Some R&R And What's Next

After a July full of failing at taking time off the bike, it was time to REALLY take some time off.  The wife's birthday is July 28^th, which means I am not allow to bike that weekend and we aren't sticking around CO.  This is the life you lead when you're married to a flight attendant.  We decided on the east coast somewhere, and we ended up in Charleston, SC.  The trip (Friday through Tuesday) was full of beaches, great southern seafood, and tasty beer.  Even though I sweated about a gallon a minute in humid 90+ degree weather, I ate enough fried deliciousness to send my calorie intake way above a healthy limit.  Although I can't say I regret it, it's going to be fun getting back down to race weight by mid August for the Steamboat Stinger.  No worries though.  I have a long ride planned in Breck this Saturday, and two weeks until the race to get back into the swing of things.  Will I pull my season back around?  Who knows, and at this point, who cares?  I have three fun races to look forward to one way or another.  If I do well, awesome.  If not, I have 2015 and beyond.  Right now my focus is enjoying myself; which recently I've been doing pretty awesome at accomplishing.  Hope you're doing the same.  Happy trails!

Race Report: Firecracker 50

In my last blog I noted that I was over trained.  Well, that’s still the case, but I’m trending up.  I knew going into the race that I wasn’t going to be throwing down.  I may not be able to be competitive in races, but I’m more than capable of completing races.  I went into the race with a mindset that I was going to have fun and not bury myself deeper into the realm of over trained land, a dark hole of misery!!!  I started the race with my head down and let the pack pull away.  No point in burning matches that early, and if I did my day would have been pretty painful.  Instead I held back on the first big climb, and stayed conservative on all the climbs during the day.  There was one place I could be competitive though, and that was on the descents.  As far as an enduro racing goes, I’m not great at the descents like all the crazy downhillers, but in the endurance arena I’m getting pretty fast.  I give credit to racing enduro races this year, and riding with my uber-fast teammates who excel when the trail turns down and are pretty damn solid at climbing as well.  Seriously, I have an awesome set of guys and gals who are seriously fast riders, seriously humble about it, and are seriously great people to be around… no, seriously!  Go PPR!  Anyhow, back to my race.  I found myself passing people on the descents left and right.  I’d of course get out of their way on the up hills where I tortoised my way up to another descent.  At the end of the day, I may have been passed a lot, but I had a smile on my face.  I came in around 4:40.  Not a great time, but still solid considering.  Oh, and this was the first time doing the Firecracker 50 without getting a flat tire, and I’ve done it five times!  Double bonus!

My plan now is to recover in July, and come back strong in August to finish my season.  I have the Telluride 100 scheduled for mid-July.  I’m fairly certain I’m going to be dropping that race for this year.  Just don’t think I can do that race and still come back strong after it.  I still plan on doing the Keystone Enduro, and may pick up the Winter Park Enduro for the weekend I was going to do the Telluride 100.  Endurance racing is about overcoming adversity.  This is just another bump along the way I need to overcome, and I will be stronger when I come out on the other side.  Anyway, not like my team is going to drop me.  Another reason it’s good to be team manager ;).  Happy trails!

Video: Snowmass Enduro Stage 4

Raw footage from the Snowmass Enduro, Stage 4

Updated Race Reports

Let me start by apologizing.  I’m usually good about writing race reports, but when your season starts with poor race results, depression, and frustration it’s hard to find the motivation to write about your races.  On top of that, life has just been crazy.  Let’s start with some short summaries of my races.

Firebird 40 25

My first race was the Firebird 40, which due to snow in the high country of Eagle, CO turned into a 25 mile XC race.  I don’t train for these short distances, so I knew I wasn’t going to do well, but I didn’t think I would do nearly as bad as I did.  A week before the race I ran into some turbulence in my emotions.  I was depressed, and no matter how much I slept (I was clocking 9-10 a night) I was still tired.  This went on for five days straight.  I went into the race feeling drained, and within the first ten minutes I felt gassed.  Game over before I even started.

Gunnision Growler

I was really hoping that I could turn things around at the Growler, a 64 miler in Gunnision, CO.  The day started cold and rainy which really didn’t bother me too much.  I started out strong, but my energy level just wasn’t what it should have been.  I was getting passed by racers that wouldn’t hold a match to me even if I was running at 90%.  My race ended short with a broken pedal during the last part of the first 32 mile lap.  I frantically asked everyone at the race pit if they had an extra pedal, but none could be found.  Even if I had completed a second lap it would have been way under where I should be at this point.

Captain Enduro

This was just some good old fun.  I raced Pro class since it offered two more stages and it’s not like I was going to compete whether I was in the class below or not.  Hanging out with team mates and working on my technical skills was a good way to restore my love for mountain biking.

Bailey Hundo

Things started out okay up until a broken chain around mile twenty.  I burned through a couple matches to make up some time and got behind on my fluids.  I started getting leg cramps around mile forty and was feeling the effects of heat exhaustion slowly starting.  By mile sixty I was a ball of pain.  Any hard effort left me winded.  I was hoping I’d catch a second wind, but it never came.  It just got worse.  Near the end I was getting shakes like my body was going through shock.  Never hurt that bad during a race, but after my DNF at the Growler I wasn’t stopping.  My result was worse this year than I did two years ago.  Another huge failure.

Snowmass Enduro

Another epic weekend of bikes, beer, friends, and awesome downhill stages.  Really glad I could go race this one.  Although I’m no good an enduro races, they are incredible amount of fun that I can’t resist.

Analyzing Disaster

So what the hell is going on!?  I started my season strong with some long rides in November, and started my training in December.  I have never started that early.  I’ve worked harder this season then I ever have.  My first thought was that the overtraining I felt at the last few races of 2013 have carried over into 2014.  Also, after the race I did in March, the True Grit 50, I felt like I was hovering over the line of overtraining.  I did dump training sessions to attempt to counter this though.  I hate to admit it, but I think the culprit has been stress.  Stress is the biggest enemy to an athlete.  It messes with recovery, and makes your focus fuzzy.  There are a couple life events that cause the highest amount of stress in a person's life.  These life events are death, having a child, and new job.  My father was diagnosed with cancer in November and just passed away this Sunday, my wife and I are expecting a new child in mid-January, and I started a new job last Monday.  Oh, and if you’re an athlete having a crappy season weighs in as a huge stress as well.  Train your ass off for five years straight only to fail epically and you’ll know what I’m talking about.  I like to think I can handle the stresses in life, but perhaps all these stresses were just too much for myself or anyone to handle well.

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.