Endurance races, ski trips, musings, and adventures on the East Coast.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Schedule in Flux

The trouble with bike racing while having to work full time and on a limited budget is that, well, things don't always work out the way you'd like them too. I was hoping to race for the NUE Season Overall this year, but due to a job switch and not being able to use some plane vouchers I thought I could I've had to bail from both the Park City Point to Point and now the Breckenridge 100. Which sucks, because they're both awesome races. I guess the flip side is that I'll have a more relaxed summer, with more time in VT...and they'll be plenty of cool races to do. With that, a tentative schedule for the summer:

7/17: Horror at Harding Hill MTB
7/24: Ryan Hawks Memorial Eastern Cup
7/31: Wilderness 101 (NUE)
8/6: Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum Epic Summer Event OR
8/7: Hodges Village Dam XC Race (Root 66)
8/13-8/14: Bear Creek Challenge (US Cup Triple Crown)
8/21: Fool's Gold (NUE)

Then it's coaching time.

Pretty packed 6 weeks for sure. I hope the legs can handle it.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Thoughts Drifting West...

About this time last year I was beginning to load up the trusty Volvo for a month long road trip that included a week in Crested Butte and a week in Breckenridge - some of the most fun I've had on a mountain bike. Though I am bummed that I won't be able to repeat the adventure this year, some last minute scheduling changes have put Breck back on the race calendar this summer. Pretty exciting. Will there be some mid-July snow biking? Only time will tell...but man I do miss those big mountains.

In the meantime it's train, train, train, eat, eat, eat. And finally build that sweet new carbon wonder bike that's sitting in my room!

Sunday, June 12, 2011

"So....it's still raining."

Yup. Vermont is the prime place to be if you're a bike racer these days...provided you want to get really good at riding mud. After dry, fast riding at Mohican last weekend I set about recovering. I got a few easy spins in and a real fun mountain bike ride in on Friday. The legs were feeling okay, and I decided last minute to do a 6 hr. race in NH yesterday. Bad idea. The forecast called for a 50% chance of light showers in the afternoon. Which was exactly right if by a 50% they meant 100%, by light showers they meant downpour, and by afternoon they meant all day.

So the course, which was a classic 5 mile XC loop, was super muddy. Lap 1 was fast and fun, and I was right in with the lead group. By lap 2 I knew the lines and was sitting 3rd or 4th. Pretty good and I wasn't going too hard. Actually I was pretty psyched to have recovered well enough to be cranking out 40 minute laps and feeling good in the mud. Then the temperature dropped about 5 degrees to the low 50's and the wind picked up. By the end of lap 3 (2 hrs. in) I was shivering and crashing. I needed some wool layers and solid (fatty) foods at the feed zone, and I didn't have them.

Lap 4 started with my rear derailleur throwing my chain behind the cassette, and soon after that I pulled the plug. Well, that was a fail (yes, fail is now a noun, ask any high schooler).

Fortunately for me, I wasn't the only one in the, I'm shivering, my brakes are going, and this has bad news written all over it boat, so I had some company in the slopeside bar while my housemate Nina (who picked a heck of a day to try out 6 hr. racing) raged it in the rain and mud. Nina scored second, which was awesome, and maintained some glory for the car.

The good news is that the legs felt good....now if it would only stop rainy and warm up so I could get some proper training in.....

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

One in the Books

Oh 100 miler season. It's been a while. I missed you. Sort of.

Last weekend was the Mohican 100, my first big race of the year. Also my first big drive. Yes, a national race calender is a glorious thing...24 hrs of driving and 9 hrs of bike racing in three days. Fun in a lot of ways but I am rather shot right now. As for the race, it was pretty rad. Dry trails this year meant I got to shred a lot, probably doubled my trail riding time for the year.
Which is kind of sad. I really didn't train enough to warrant being at this one. I think I had a half-dozen rides over 2.5 hrs all spring - and only one over 3 hrs. Not ideal prep for a hard 100 miler. But....the good part is that I've finally learned how to race these things. Some of it I knew I had to do...but a lack of fitness forced me to be more conscious than normal about pacing, nutrition, and hydration.

The first 25 miles of the race was mostly fast singletrack with punchy climbs. The kind of terrain that makes you want to go fast - had to fight the instincts there. I was going really easy it seemed. I kept feeling like it was too easy - but I'm starting to learn to know better.

Here's the thing about 100 milers - you aren't halfway to the finish until you hit mile 80. The end of the race is exponentially harder, and if you don't have something left in the tank you go backwards in at a pace that is incomprehensible if you're used to cross country races. It's not uncommon for to loose a minute a mile to people who pass you in those last 20 miles. That adds up quick.

So I went easy. I got to aid station #3, the point of no return for the 100 mile loop, feeling pretty fresh. Last year I was a shell of a human at that aid station, and aid station #3 marks the start of the major climbing. So last year it was bad news bears. This year I rode every one of those climbs, and was feeling pretty proud of myself. I wasn't flying, but I did feel in control of the race, and I was riding the singletrack sections well (which tends not to happen when I get really tired).

After the big climbs comes a 8 mile stretch of bike path type riding. It's shady and flat and really the best you could hope for 60+ miles in. Last year I raged that stretch. This year I just didn't have the power. Actually, it was mostly an upper body issue. I couldn't hold the position on the bike I needed too because my back, arms, neck, and shoulders were too sore. Guess bike specific training would have come in handy there.

By mile 80 we hit some climbs again and the body was coming around. For some reason super steep granny gear climbs felt pretty good, and the descents were flowing. I rode steady till the last 6 miles stretch of singletrack. They've got an aid station at the entrance. I cup of water on the head and a shot of coke later I was headed into the woods. The legs had something left, and all of a sudden I felt like I was riding XC race style (probably an illusion). I did pass about 5 guys though, and came through the line in 42nd (about 9 hrs).

So, for no really endurance training I was pretty psyched. It won't do great things ffor my chances in the season standings, but it will do. And if I can race the way I did at Mohican later in the year when I have some actual fitness I think good things can happen.

Thanks to Carbo Rocket and Hammer Nutrition for keeping me fueled all day long.

For more on the race (like how it went for the fast guys and gals) check out mtbracenews.com