Xterra Beaver Creek 2014

Xterra Beaver Creek

4th in AG (48th Overall finisher)
swim: 29;57
T1: 1:57
Bike: 1:25:21
T2: 1:25
Run: 45:14
2:43:52 total time

Breck 100 2014

Breck 100 MTB Race Report

Prologue: The Breckenridge 100 is considered to be one of the toughest 100 mile mountain biking events in the country. With nearly 13,000 feet of elevation gain, crossing the continental divide 3 times, and all the while being at altitude, surely makes it tough to argue otherwise. The course is a clover design so you dont ride any trail twice, and features include everything from the beautiful and lush Colorado Trail terrain, aspen lined singletrack from Boreas Pass to Como, to high alpine jeep road accents up Breckenridge's Peak 9 and crossing snow fields and scree fields on Wheeler trail. The base of the operation and central aid station is from Carter Park in downtown Breck, a location which provides easy access to most trails in and around Breck. Certainly a great spot to start any ride in and around Breck if you are there for a leisurely weekend ride.

Aside from 18 and 24hr races, this will be my first true 100 mile race. Since the Pro finishers usually come in somewhere between 9 and 10 hours, i was hoping for something between 11 and 12. Although i have ridden all of the 2nd lap, not knowing what type of power i could crank out on lap 1 and 3 left me pretty uncertain about what my time would look like. Plan was to ride slow, almost 24hr race slow, but settle into the pack around riders who appear to be at my ability. Planned to use the climb up to Wheeler to figure this out.

  

Steed selection: As previously stated, this ride will encompass everything Breck and the high country has to offer from sustained 10 mile climbs over 12,000 ft to ripping descents down buttery singletrack, plus or minus lots of rocks, roots, creek crossings, etc. Therefore, the 1x10 carbon hardtail is staying home, Specialized Epic, 2x10, full suspension it is. Weight fully loaded with saddlepack, 1 water bottle, extra tube taped to top tube: 29lbs (not light!). Week before i set her up with some fresh rubber, Stans, tighten everything down, new brake pads and a fresh bleed, good to go!

 

(post race pic, but didnt look much better before)

Nutrition Plan: I will refer to my prior RR's, since, i never have a nutrition plan. However, I did bring two water bottles, a box of Probar fuels, a snickers bar, turkey jerky, and fig newtons. With 2 Aid stations stocked per lap i figured i could make something work. I would stock my pockets at the beginning of each lap and refill as needed at the aid stations. Best nutrition plan ive ever thought up. 2 beers and a jalapeno burger and fries the night before and i am ready. Buckle Up!

Race day:  wake up at 4:45. Last time i saw 4:45 was 18hrs of fruita, probably going out for another lap when it was 30 degrees. Remembered coffee, kit, bike, arrive at Carter Park at 5am. Warm morning so get dressed, arm warmers and leave the jacket for lap 2 when the thunderstorms usually roll in. Eat some yogurt, PB and tortilla. Meet up with fellow green mountain rider Mike Franco, he comments on how muddy my bike looks, i tell him i sprayed her down 2 weeks ago just for the race. I had hoped that helped ease his anxiety but i dont think it did. It was true, my bike was a mess, got caught in the rain the night before on my shake down ride. It desperately needed a shower. Go time.

Loop 1: headed up to the top of the ski resort. If you have been to the top of Imperial lift, thats where we were headed, and even a bit higher to get up and over the pass. Was a long slog up. chatted with a lot of guys, even the 14yr who was likely to beat me. I asked him for his autograph. We will likely see him in the portugal olympics in 2016. rode with a guy on a fat bike, with front and rear derailleur shifters on the wrong sides because he rushed last minute gear changes. there were some CRAZY people out there. Started climbing over snow fields at the top of Breck but had the most incredible sights of the mountain as the sun was rising. felt like i was on another planet. Then i Fell just walking my bike because, well, we were at 13,000 feet and there was no oxygen. Descend into Frisco, very cold descent. HR was 50 at one point. think i had vagaled down and almost syncoped sending myself off the mountain. Take Peaks trail back to Breck, temps warming up. can finally feel my feet again.

28 miles, Time: 3:20(45mins behind winner); 3 Bottles of water in, handful of endurolytes tabs, 2 mini hammer bars and a honey stinger waffle; 

  

Loop 2: grab some more probars, rain jacket, water, relube chain. rolling. This loop you head out to little french flume to start, up Sallie barber mine, out to west ridge and then back through dredge boat trail. basically all classic colorado trail stuff. tough loose rocky climb up little french to start.. start to get passed by the 68 and 32miler guys.Feels good to know i am still beating most up the climbs when ive already got 30 miles under my belt. They are very encouraging when they see 100miler riders. I let them fly by me on the downhills, i catch them on the climbs. Garmin started to get cranky. it randomly went dark, started scrolling, but woke up again after i flicked it a few times. I think its sick of being abused. Make mental note to buy a new one asap. Make it around to the westridge climb, brutal. seems like it is longer than i remember. I have to pee, great sign! I must be staying hydrated. go through my two bottles just as the next aid station comes up. about 15 endurolytes and some more snacks and im off. Back is starting to hurt. Neck is starting to hurt. legs feel great. keep pedaling.  

34 miles, Time 4:02 (1 hr slower than leader, yikes), 4 bottles of water, lots of endurolytes, 4 waffles, 2 probars, package shot blocks. 

Loop 3: roll into Carter and see other fellow GM riders Matt Morgan and Jamie Henkel who rode the 32. He is already 6 beers deep and i am jealous. They passed me somewhere in loop two and all i saw was a blur, the dudes rip. Jamie helps me relube and refuel. also reminds me to take my bike before i run out of the pits towards boreas. I may be getting a bit delirious at this point. Sun is cranking, im warm, still peeing though. Head up indian creek/Boreas and start eating some jerky, its salty. down the fig newtons, drink a ton. Loose rocky climb up to the top of Boreas. Aid station girl is singing keesha or something like that. i grab a coke and some oranges. Ask her what on the table will make it feel like someone had not ripped out my spine, she hands me another coke. down the singletrack towards Como. Have to pee again, wait is that a yeti! Seriously think i saw a Yeti running through the woods. Or maybe it was Marlow pre-brazillian wax? chew a few more shot blocks. Rolling...that is until i crash hard on some loose wet roots after a stream crossing. I am covered in mud. Bike is OK, im...im back on my bike. Dump out into Como and some guy named Scott is there post ride, I ask him for a beer and he hands me a red bull. OK, so maybe not the same thing but he is clearly thinking more clearly than i am. I down it, make the turn and head back up Boreas. Some thunderstorms start to roll in and lighting is close. I pedal faster. Start to catch a few people i had been trading places with on the ups and downs. Try to chat with a few riders on the way up but most ignore me and tell me they have just vomitted, or are about to vomit. I keep pedaling. Finally make it to the top of Boreas and realize i am basically done. Just need to make it another 10 miles downhill to the finish. Hammer it down Boreas and then have to make a hard uphill turn on some singletrack. This riding was not what you would call elegant. I hesitate to even call it “biking” but i made it down the last short technical sections.  95 miles in and i am hurting. Enter carter park and hear LG congratulate the finishers. Think to myself, that was a long 12 hours on the bike. ouch.

36 miles, time 4:26 (1:15 slower than winner). 4 bottles of water, 1 red bull, shot blocks, very salty jerky, 10ish fig newtons, probar, coke, oranges.

Overall Time: 11:49, 5th in AG.  total ride time 11:18. A 11:22 or better would have gotten me a podium spot. Should certainly be able to make that time up next year but the way competition and race numbers are rising out here i will have to work hard. Winner finishes in 8:46 for his 7th B100 win. I am spent.

Post race: Head straight to the beer. grab an old chub and down it. post race spread is delicious, pulled pork, chicken, pizza, ziti, cookies, beer, beer. Change cloths and cheer on some finishers. See Phil, other GM rider cross who beat his previous B68 by over an hour. the dude is nutty.  

Things to do better next year: cut down at time spent at aid stations. Know i can push the climbs and what downhills i am comfortable with taking a few risks on now that i know loops 1 and 3. check shock pressure, my front was wayyyyy too stiff. 

Up next: Xterra beaver creek this Saturday, anyone else in? Leadville 100 Aug 9th. ?24hrs in Sage?

Big thanks to the usuals WB, Sanky, breyer, byyny, matty animal and the rest of the strava crew.. Franco - #honeybadger; Phil/Jamie/MM - ballers. 

Until next time….stay safe out there

k2

PV Derby RME 2014

K2 RME PV Derby Race Report 2014

So its been a while since my last race report, the last was probably the RME Indian Creek marathon race about a year ago. Since then ive only done about 16 other races, figured i was due.

RME PV Derby: located on a boy scout camp just outside of Elbert, CO, called the Peaceful Valley Scout Ranch, this would be a  22 mile loop, done in either a single, double, or triple loop variety, based upon how stupid you are. This is obviously closed most of the year to all except the boy scouts. Somehow someone found out about this place and the miles upon miles of super flowy singletrack. What i had heard prior to the event was that the course was super fast, flowy, a few technical sections, and only a few short burst climbs scattered throughout. This seemed perfect, a nice early season long ride to really see where my fitness was after a long winter of slaying pow and drinking bloody marys.

Of note, multi lap races are not my favorite, especially if its a short loop, as i tend to get real bored after a few laps. For this race, i was hoping it would be different, a long 22mi lap that should take about 2hrs would be ok as i would likely forget half of the course by the time i had to start my 2nd and 3rd loops. But we will see...

2 Days prior to race day: I figured i would bite the bullet and sign up, race registration closes at midnight so i waited to sign up at 23:49. Just in time! After the fiasco that was the Eagle Outside Fest Firebird 40k race course i did 2 weeks prior, i figured waiting until the last minute to ensure a ridable course was worth it. The only threats were a few afternoon thunderstorms each day that would only hopefully make a course that gets ridden one day per year even better.

1 day to Race/Race day-ish: work to 23:30, race is at 8am, 1 hour drive to the venue, 30 minutes to get self and bike ready, which means i better get the hell out of work on time and fall asleep immediately once i get home….01:30a (6.5hrs till go time) and i am just polishing off my 2nd Genesee Cream ale hoping it will put me to sleep since i am still gathering bike gear and clothing.

Race day: 4 hours of sleep, not bad. Look outside to bright sunny skies….%^&#! If it was dark and gloomy or rainy i was going to fall back asleep, oh well. guess ill do this. out the door with coffee in hand. I basically felt like i had already won just accomplishing that much so far.

*Nutrition plan: ha. downed a banana and a tortilla with almond butter while getting dressed at the venue. Looked around my car for food to pack in my jersey, didnt find any. Good thing they have 3 aid stations throughout the 22 miles with plenty of oranges, bananas, and hammer nutrition products. 1 water bottle, ok. Typical nutrition plan for me though really, probably even more thought out than usual so i figured i was good.

Start of race: think of the usual things….1. why am i here, my bed was so comfortable 2. should have just called in sick to work yesterday, went to wolfs going away party, drank 20 Pabsts and slept until noon today. 3. what will break on my bike to make me not have to ride all 66 miles 4. what will i eat when im finished, a whole pizza, chick fil a, a burrito the size of breyer (pre weight loss challenge), all of the above....so many thoughts running through my head. Boom - go!

Lap 1: settle in, back of the pack, historically i usually place in the middle of the field so no sense in dropping the hammer and blowing up like sankoff did on our run at North table mtn a few weeks ago. I set in behind some squirrels with $12k bikes who dont really know how to ride them. Seems ok for now as i ride their rear wheel, HR still in the 60’s so i am right where i want to be. 1.5miles in and we are cruising, hammering up a short little doubletrack climb and wham! cow patty and cow $hit all over my face from either my front wheel or the rider in front of me. I hadnt thought of this being one of my excuses to drop out and not finish the race but i thought long and hard about it for the next 20 yards while wiping it off my face. Think to myself...ok so this is how this is going to be, i hate open range. pass a few squirrels because they are riding better bikes than i am and they suck and settle in. Find aid station 1 and eye their nutrition but dont grab anything, the banana is still holding, or at least it would if you WB. About 10 miles in i get passed by 2 former pros from the 40-49 AG, think that this is ok since they only started 2 mins back and they are former pros. Try to stay with but start to feel the legs smoking, back off. Mile 20, the most technical part of the course, see a guy walking after he taco’d his tire. awesome. 1:42mins at the Start/finish, about what i predicted.

Lap 2: grabbed  2 gels and an extra bottle at the transition point. Also down a handful of Endurolytes, about 10ish id say.I think the bottle says the normal dose is 4 caps.  that should hold me. Figured id down a gel now and then another half way through. 2 bottles should get me through lap 2 although i had figured i was a bit down on hydration so i needed to pick that up. The one bottle idea was not good, glad they have bottles to take. as soon as i finish one gel i start to get hungry, the 2nd disappears as well.This isnt good. Quickly find myself all alone too, typical of a course this long. Am glad to see a rider here and there even though they arent in my AG.

Come upon one guy after about 15 miles of seeing no one, looks like a solid rider but he is not riding hard. I ask him how his race is going and our conversation goes something like this:

Me: Hey man, hows it going, beautiful day out here huh?

Him: not good, crashed a while back

Me: damn, that sucks, you hurt?

Him: yep, think i broke my wrist

Me: awesome, way to ride it out, be safe

Find a few others in my AG and try to pass them quickly without them seeing my marked calf, dont want them picking it up knowing they are losing a spot to me. Chat with a guy about Leadville 100 coming up, exchange training routes, discuss current strava segments and KOMs we are after, etc. I leave him as he eventually fell off.   Mile 35 clicks by and im hitting one of the very techy sections and suddenly feel like my rear tire is hitting each rock and root with no give. Look behind at my tire and its still inflated, but feels squishy. Oh well, i packed 2 tubes so if my sealant doesnt seal whatever it is ill change it quick. Love tubeless. Ride it out with no issues but definitely a little softer than i like it. Maybe ill check the psi at the transition, if i remember. Make it to aid station 2 and exchange bottles, grab some hammer chocolate protein bar thing. As i eat it its getting all over my face. Now i have a mixture of cow dung and chocolate on my face...cant wait to see the photographer on course, definitely buying that one. 1:50 lap 2, feel OK

Lap 3: If you make it to lap 3, youve basically won, or at least thats what i tell myself. I try to ride conservatively, not take too many risks, and just be around for the last lap. I often try to sabotage myself with my nutrition plans/life-work-training balance, but if you can make it to the last lap you are golden. I also know that by sitting back, just hanging around and riding MY race, i will be there in the end. No need to blow yourself up early. After All, a 20th place finish is the same as a 2nd place finish to me, all you get extra is another pair of socks, maybe a box of Hammer gels that i dont like, so really i dont care, just here to ride/race and enjoy the free beer at the end.

I take 1 bottle for the last lap, another handful of endurolytes, another hammer chocolate thing. forget to check my tire. Off we go. Down the chalky chocolate bar, still hungry, starting to catch up on fluids. The endurolytes are fake, likely just dried up weeds but figured i would take them for the hell of it. I need more veggies in my diet anyways. Catch 2 or 3 guys in my AG right away, havent seen them all race so they clearly busted out of the gate too fast or had mechanicals. From the looks on their faces they did not have mechanicals. One guy started screaming d/t cramps as soon as i past him. Try to pass them quickly and get ahead before they catch a 16th wind and want to put me on the defensive at the very end. Hang on, ride the last few miles conservatively, no risks, but then Wham again! 2 cows standing in the middle of the trail. OK this is not good. I have 2-3 AGer’s right behind me and i have to stop and deal with these damn cows. So what do i do? Scream SANKY at the top of my lungs….they run away but the earth was shaking, I almost had a marlow right there. I am clear to pass, for now.

Ride out the last few miles, back is killing me, legs are deciding whether or not to cramp up, im starving, weather starts to move it. Finish lap 3 in 1:56/5:30. Done!

Post race: limp to my car, pretty delirious at this point. need water bad. Find the beer tent, Ice cold Dales pale ale will do just fine. Stand there for a few minutes because i cant muster the effort to walk yet. Watch a few others finish and they do the same, i think to myself damn...he looks rough! But then remember i look just as beat up.

thunderstorms move in, really bad thunderstorms., I feel bad for the racers still out on course because there are A LOT of them. Having flashbacks to 24hrs of Enchanted forest, where WB ensured me it never rains in New Mexico, expect when im in town. It rained dumped for 10 straight hours. Figured i would just pack it up and head out, not worth staying to wait it out and wait for post race awards. Need to wash this chocolate/cow dung mess off my face before someone notices.

Final thoughts: solid race course, great event. Need to work on the nutrition plan a bit better for Breck 100 and Leadville 100. Still should have stayed in bed and drank 20 pabsts the night before. Turns out I placed 3rd/21, 8 minutes from 2nd and 20 mins from 1st.  would have gotten a podium shot and some hardware but oh well, i dont need any more apple/cinnamon gels that i think are gross anyways. The socks would have been cool though. *need nutrition plan: talk to byyny/breyer/sankoff, again. Next up: maybe a Vail Mtn games trail run next weekend or Xterra Curt Gowdy in a few weeks. And that entire large pizza of course.

~K2