Preface: This would be my 1st solo endurance mtn bike race. I have done several as a team but I have always left those races wanting more, or wanting more hurt maybe, but certainly wanting more ride time and the chance to challenge myself both mentally and physically (ok maybe a little less mentally and more just physically). It is always fun to tear around a course knowing you only have to push it hard for one lap before getting 4 hours off but that never really suited me because of a few reasons. 1. I was never able to actually fall asleep in between laps. I can lay down but its hard to turn off your mind and body in such a quick time frame while laying down in a tent knowing you need to get up in 3 hours. 2. often times it is in the middle of the night in 30-40 degree temps so you arent ever really relaxing/recovering but more just trying to stay warm by a fire, in cold bike gear. 3. It very difficult to put that cold bike gear back on and jump on your bike, muscles just arent supposed to do that. Once in recovery phase, they should stay in recovery. 4. I have also been known to over eat, i mean camping and biking means you bring a ton of food so all i found myself doing was snacking and over eating. This race, 18 hours of Fruita, i figured, would be the ideal race to challenge myself since it is relatively flat (~400ft elevation gain/lap) and only 18 hours which would mean total ride time likely wouldnt exceed 15hrs after pit stops. So here's how the experiment would turn out....
Mid-Winter registration/Goals: i had no goals at this time, i just registered and figured i would crunch the numbers later. Hoping at some point Byynys nutrition plans and Breyers mental psyche would somehow rub off onto me and i would be set. Plus, I rode the race last year and did 5 laps for the team, felt good enough to double that at least. And besides, winter was royally sucking for skiing so i would get a ton of biking in during the early spring to be ready.
Training: As i mentioned, winter sucked so I had already had 5-10 days in on the bike from December to Feb including a strong performance at a Leadville snow bike race and the Vail winter mtn games snow bike crit, minus the part where i got chicked in Vail, like 3 times. But, even got a few days in on the road up lookout. Who needs a trainer....Ha!
Race week: Did i mention winter sucked....and by this point i mean it sucked as in it has snowed in Denver about 6 feet since January. Apparently putting my ice scrapper away in Feb was a bad idea. Sorry everyone. Since all training was halted leading up to 1 week before the race i decided to drop a few big rides on the road. Put up a couple of 50-60 milers, 80+ another, and a trip to moab 2 weeks before was sure to be enough saddle time. Regardless, nothing i could do about it. But, there was still my nutrition plan i had to work on. I googled a few versions of "how to prepare for a 24hr mtn bike race" but really came up empty or with info i already knew...which was "Have a Plan". Great...all i needed was some idiot on their blog telling me i needed a nutrition plan. Where is byyny when you need him!?...oh yeah, getting his own plan together. So i decided my best bet was to just head to the grocery store...what i came home was with 2 packages of pringles, 2 packages of fig newtons, a lb of mixed nuts and a big a$$ bag of peanut M and M's. This was it!...my nutrition plan. Now all i had to do was pedal. I also had took a look at previous years results, I was hoping for a top 10 finish, even though there were usually only 15-20 people per year in the division, not separated by AG. 20 laps would get me somewhere between 5th and 10th so thats what i was shooting for. 146 miles for 20 laps in 18 hours...pppffftttt, easy.
Race Day: This a weird race, starts at Midnight and goes until 6pm. It actually suits a 1st timer because it means less night laps, once you hit daybreak it is all downhill from there. However, that makes when/where/how long to sleep difficult. I decided a 10am wake up would give me 14 hours before the race started, shouldnt need a nap before then since i dont usually only stay up for 14 hours before going back to sleep. Catecholamine surge would certainly last 18 hours right? Jumped on the road at noon and by 2pm was hungry, time to stop in Minturn for Kirby Cosmos BBQ! Not your ideal prerace meal but when your not racing for another 8 hours you have plenty of time to digest.
I arrived at the venue, Highline Lake State Park, set up camp, and just relaxed. Got my gear together, 1000 lumen lights work, oiled my drivetrain, re-oiled my drivetrain, tire pressure set at 25psi, thought about my nutrition plan...or at least what i was going to do with my pringles, fig newtons and nuts..and relaxed some more.
Game time: Since i was there with the usual crew who also did the race, Tom/Grant/Jordan/Jen/Sara/
Got to the start line 2 mins before the gun, somehow found a nice clear path to the second row by following a pro. I was sure to get out in front with leaders and drop a hot lap and use all my energy...not a smart decision. However, last year they had us partner up and do the wheelbarrow maneuver for about 15 yards around a tree and back to our bikes so i was working the crowd finding a partner. This year no such luck, they instead had us start in reverse and go out the back of the starting corral. Shoot! in the back i started, but boy was it fun watching the pros panic and start running over people.
i will break out the rest of the report by 4 lap chapters, that is how i played it out in my brain which allowed me to stay sane and only think about 4 laps at a time.
Lap 1-4: Started out fast, too fast. I should have known better but i felt great! Except for my HR being in the 150's! Yikes...definitely too hard to start, ill tone it down on lap 2 i thought. the 1st lap is always tough too, lot of people to sift through, hadn't prerode the course since i figured 20 laps would be enough plus i rode it 5 laps last year. The course was in similar shape though, riding very fast. Its dusty, like im completely covered in dust and ive only rode 1 lap. I cant see my shoes, my legs, or my bike...its all white dust. Temps were in the low 50's to start which was great but i knew it would surely get colder as it was predicted to drop into the 30's. The sloppy joe sandwich I ate 2 hours before was sitting fine but the beer really gave me the burps. oh well....avg lap times of 35-40 mins, on par with my goals. Into the pits i went after ~3 hours of riding, in 3rd place....with numb feet
Intake both on course and in pits: 1L of Gu electrolyte mix, 2 Hammer Petrolatum tabs, 2 handfuls of peanut mix, half a can of pringles, 8 fig newtons
Lap 5-8: Ok now its just plain cold. Temps in the 30's, i cant feel my toes and i havent been able to for about the last 2 hours. I did put on warmer gloves but that apparently doesnt help your feet. I also added arm warmers underneath my jacket, also doesnt help your feet. Toes are still cold. HR is under control at 120 on the climbs and low 100's on the flats. I am getting chicked like crazy but i know these are girls doing it as part of a 4 or 6 person team...ok so im not totally fine with this but i came close to rationalizing it that way. I am also on the verge of committing suicide by putting a tire lever through my eye due to boredom on the trail. on lap 6 my bike sounded like it was falling apart. Dust! My bike was white, i was white, my chain and drivetrain was bone dry. I had to stop and relube on the course. I would end up doing this every 2-3 laps Lesson 1 realized...bring music, an ipod, guitar, piano, 1980's cassette player...ANYTHING! role into the pits just as the sun is about to peek out after another 3 hours...with painfully numb feet. they seriously felt like i had 2 gigantic blocks of ice on my feet, i was afraid to look at them. .
Intake: 1L of Gu electrolyte mix, 2 pretro tabs, 2 handfuls of peanut mix, handful of pringles, 6 fig newtons
Lap 9-12: Half way!!!! temps slowly rising, still in full cold weather gear until about 930am. Winds picked up a bit to 10-15mph but i can now feel my feet. phew! i was honestly getting nervous that i was going to get one thrashing by whitney for getting frostbite. Still getting chicked, still looking for my tire levers...but half way! Roll into the pits, HR under control, legs feel fantastic, but my back and neck are getting sore. I bathe myself in sunscreen and change clothes...new everything!
Intake: 1L of Gu mix, 2 petro tabs, 4 Hammer endurolyte tabs, 1 small egg/cheese/bacon breakfast burrito.
Lap 13-16: I shouldnt have had the burrito, too heavy. HR still under control and im starting to see the end of the tunnel. back is killing me, neck feels like im getting stabbed by a homeless guy on Colfax for stealing his Colt 45. Well hydrated, start to slow down on the fluids. Into the pits. Change bibs, jersey, gloves, glasses.
Intake: 1.5L Gu mix, 2 petro tabs, 6 endurolyte tabs, 1 handful of peanut mix, 15 pringles, 5 fig newtons
Lap 17-20: All downhill from here. HR under control, legs feel great, temp in the high 70's. I find myself riding with the races eventual winner, Drew Geer from Boulder, Pro. We turn a few laps together, chatting about our nutrition plans...turns out he had one. I take a pull and he never asks for it back. He is hurting, granted he is already up 3 laps on me at this point and he plans on riding until the 18th hour, i plan on riding to lap 20. We get chicked together, several times. Im convinced my spine has been torn apart and is somewhere on the course, my neck feels the same way. I can barely hold on to the handle bars my hands hurt so bad. I somehow manage to suck down 3 honey stinger gels, 4 endurolytes, 2 petro tabs and 1L H2O. I am done. I look at the timer and there is still 2.5 hours left...i am done. I limp back to camp and get weird looks like i am a ghost, the dust destroyed me, the dust destroyed my bike.
Post race: I get to camp, take off all of my gear, head straight to the bathroom to wash my face. Walk directly back to the camp and crush 2 muscle milks. go to my tent to take off all my clothes and i take a good long hard look at my sleeping bag, I wanted nothing more than to fall asleep until monday right then and there. Head to the showers, sit down at camp and light a cigar, am handed a margarita and sombrero to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Let the party begin!!!
Overall: A solid 1st effort. I would have liked to make it an even 18 hours but i did meet my goal,...20 laps, 146 miles, 13 hours, 7900 ft of elevation gain 15.5 hours of total racing, good enough for 7th place out of 14 racers, something i had doubted after my 3rd lap with no music and my tire levers calling my name. I should have asked for more help from my crew but they were also there to race, granted in the 6-8 person field. I was clearly unprepared for the saddle time based on the fact my back and neck hurt so bad and and so early on. I contribute this to winter, and lack of a trainer. I am still not buying a trainer. Next time, and yes there will be a next time, I will have music, and be prepared for cold feet. I also underestimated the significance of the number of turns on the course and the effort it takes to manage all of them, 20 times. This was a short course, that had to be ridden slowly. There was no long straightaways that you could drop the hammer on and get into a grove. this was a total body work out kind of course. I ultimately think my nutrition plan worked, granted it was very on the fly and clearly doesnt fall under the category of "Having a plan'. I did not bonk physically and my legs felt great the entire time. I drank plenty of fluids but not enough to become bloated. I have this cough now thanks to the dust but i have started advair for the copd so i should be fine in a few weeks. My bike needed a few washes and a new chain. I am afraid to see what my bottom bracket and shock seals look like....
Next race is June 1st, 24 hours of Erock in castle rock. Doing it as a 4-5 person team but hope to spin a few more laps than required to keep up my endurance going into the next 24hrs of Enchanted Forest mid June and the start of xterra season in July.
thanks for all of you who have ridden with me in the last couple of weeks and pushed me (Whitney, Breyer, Byyny, Sankoff, Grant, Jordan, Tom, Nick). I look forward to keeping it up...unless winter comes back of course ( i think i see snowflakes as we speak :()
Until next time....keep her in the big ring
K2
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