Here comes another race update. Right, so I got back from the disappointing finish at the National Championships with a lot of fight still in me. The last race of the season and last race of the Leave No Trace Endurance Series was the Knickebocker 8hr XC race on October 16th. After Moab I knew that I left that race with “plenty” of fuel in the tank. I was originally reg'd up in the Pro/Exp SS Solo division. I noticed the field of racers in that division was a bit small. Consequently, I moved to the Pro/Exp Solo division (the difference being theses guys have gears on their bikes). I scrambled to get my Cannondale 29er SS converted to a 1 X 9. That means I would have one chainring up front (34 tooth) and a full 9-speed cassette in the back. So on the Tuesday before the race my bike was ready for the dirt. I put in a three hour ride on Wednesday and another two ride on Thursday. The bike was shifting great so I took Friday off of the bike.
So I show up at the race (Saturday) at around 7:20. I felt relaxed yet was ready to throw down the gauntlet. Now the plan for this race was three fold. First, I was sitting in first place for the overall series with a 40 mile lead. All I really had to do was ride my bike for about 5 laps and that would have secured my overall victory. The second thing was that I wanted to have fun. When and if the fun meter dropped then I would chill and just finish the necessary laps for the overall. Finally, the last order of business was to win the race. The field of racers was deep with talent and it was going to be a tall order. However, I was coming into this race with a bit of fitness.
Back to the race. With my goals in place I lined up right in front ready for the “gun to go off”. I had ridden this course a number of times but never in this direction. We took off at a blistering pace but that was my plan. Start off fast and go until I couldn't go any longer. The selection was made right away and I found myself riding along side a Nationally ranked CX Champion named Cody Kaiser. He's a young lad with some series talent. Anyway, he was racing on a two-person team so he wasn't a threat to me other than forcing me to go faster than I had hoped. Anyway, this elite group of four quickly gaped the field and we were out putting time in the bank. I finished the first lap strong and didn't slow down to pit and just kept turning it over. I rode alone for the remainder of the race.
I didn't have pit support which is not a big deal in the 8hr races. The only time it becomes a potential issue is if you have a mechanical or run out of water or something and the race is close. In my case I knew the race was close as I saw the 2nd place racer behind me two times on the course. I had four Camelbaks loaded and ready in the ice chest. I had food staged on the back of my pickup, so I was set. My pit times were less than 30 seconds. I was keeping fueled with water, electrolytes, and calories. However, during the second lap I needed to pee, darn that pre-hydration. I had to go but didn't want to give up the time. I kept turning it over hoping my body would assimilate the fluid in my bladder. Midway through lap three I was still dealing with the strong urge to go. Finally, at the halfway point on lap four, I did something that I had never done before. I saw that I was alone on the course so I peed while descending a short paved section. I was successful in not peeing all over myself and felt like I had dogged a bullet. Feeling relieved, I pedaled on in earnest.
Goal number one, “win the overall series”. I had put in 5 laps which sealed the deal there. Goal number two, “have fun”. I was having a blast racing my bike in beautiful Cool CA. And lastly, “win the race”. I was in the lead with no sight of the second place racer. Mission almost accomplished. I found myself starting to do the math figuring out how many more laps I needed to go. Now Jim Northey puts together the best events. His 8 hour races are in fact 8 hours. You've got to have your last lap completed within the 8hr time frame. Some promoters allow for another hour for racers to complete their final laps. The same is true with his 24 hour events. In any case, I was sitting at two laps to go and finishing my final lap sometime after 4pm. It was going to be close for me to potentially go out on a 9th and final lap. Lap 7 was tough it felt like I had the trailer with my son attached. The affects of riding so hard for so long started to take its toll on me. The “math” showed I had one more to go. I head under the start/finish, toss Northey a hammer gel wrapper and blast through with no pit. Now at least for me, while in an endurance event (8hr or 24hr race) the last lap is awesome. I mentally checked off each section of the course bidding it a farewell. I dug deep into my suitcase of courage to fight through the physical pain. I figured Carl Sanders (the 2nd place chaser) was hot on my heels. At the halfway point I knew that race was mine to either win or lose. As I crested the final little hit I could see the finish. At that moment I knew that my three goals had been successfully accomplished and it felt GREAT. I finished at 4:08 which gave me the chance of heading out on lap 9 with 52 minutes. My last three laps were in the high 50's so I sat up and waited for Carl. He came in four minutes latter and he too had not intention of going out on another lap. The race was over, I won!
This season has been a especially long and difficult. Last season was a banner season for me and after securing a spot on the Global Biorhythm Events Team, I had some lofty goals for 2010. I wanted to shoot for a top three in the Leave No Trace Endurance Series. The series included two 24hr solo events, one 100 mile mountain bike race, and an 8hr XC race in Cool. In addition, I wanted to race the National Championships in Moab Utah and place top three. The first two solo 24's I won, I got 2nd place at the Tahoe Sierra 100 (missed 1st by two minutes), and I won the 8hr XC series finale. Moab was a learning experience and finished 6th.
I feel completely blessed by God to have had such amazing success. The list of people to thank is long an exhaustive....
Angie, Leif, Laini, Carolyn, John Harrison, Donna Sutton, Mike Sutton, Jim Northey, Mike and Carrie Self, Keith Flood, Kurt Pickle, Robert Raubach, Brian from Draper UT, Jason and Monica from Moab UT, Jared Franzoia, Sean McDevitt, Breakaway Bikes, Auburn Bike Works, Team GBE, E1 & T1 B-shift, AY UP Lights, Light and Motion, Rudy Project, Camelbak, and many more.
I hope you enjoyed following me this season.
Mike
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Moab Nationals Recap...
MOAB
Back in May Jim Northey and I started to discuss the idea of taking the Global Biorhythm Events Team to Moab Utah for the USAC 24 Hour National Championships in October. So since May I've been thinking about the Nationals. While racing the Coolest 24hr Race Against Cancer, I thought about the Nationals. While racing at the Boggs 24 and Tahoe Sierra 100, I thought about saving something in the tank for the Nationals. I had never been to Utah. The fact is the furthest East that I have ever traveled is Reno NV. The lour of competing at the National level in 24 hour racing was on my mind constantly.
Immediately following my 2nd place finish at the Tahoe Sierra 100 on September 11th, I was able to fully prepare for Moab (pronounced Mobe). The remainder of September went by in a flash as I scrambled to get my plans in order. I spent countless hours checking and re-checking Google maps for the fastest route. I was all over the internet trying to pin down the forecast models for Mobe. In addition, I rode my bike a lot to prepare for the physical pain that I would surely face during the race.
The travel plans took a turn and I was without a travel partner and pit support in late September. I immediately went back to the internet and posted all over Facebook and mountain bike forums from here to Mobe in an effort to get pit support. I've done a number of 24 hour solo bike races and I knew that going to Mobe alone with no support was NOT an option.
I could go on and on about the events that transpired but on October 3rd I received an email from Robert Raubach, a fellow bike racer whom I had met at the Boggs 24hr Race in July. He had read my post and decided to give me a call to see if I had the support. We discussed the logistics and came up with a plan. I picked him up from his house in West Sacto on October 6th at 7:00pm and we started our 16 hour journey the Nationals.
That night we made it as far as Fernley, NV. We decided to stay at the Super 8 (don't ever stay at the Super 8 in Fernley NV, just don't). There was nothing “super” about it. While taking the bikes off the rack I noticed the brake level on my Niner (my primary first out race machine) was not functioning at all. An air bubble had made it's way to the brake lever rendering the brake useless. I needed to get the brakes bled before the race.
The next morning started early as Robert and I woke up at 5:30am. We mounted the bikes and walked across the parking lot to a Casino/Restaurant. Lucky for us the restaurant was not opening until 6:00. We high tailed it out of there after many glares from the locals. Oh, and it stunk of cigarette smoke. It's raining, we're hungry, and I've got to get the Niner fixed. We headed East on 80 and found our way into Lovelock, NV and stopped to eat at the Cow Poke Cafe. No joke, that's the name.
Back on the road we went and as soon as I secured cell coverage I called my awesome wife to look up bike shops in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Niner needed some love. The first shop we called, “The Contender” as it was called told us to come on by and they would take care of me. After a slight delay for lunch and bike repair we were on our way once again. No too much longer into the drive out of SLC Robert recalled that we had just lost an hour. Darn that time zone stuff. So now we have to add an hour to the digital clock on the truck. Now it's absolutely pouring down rain, thunder, and lightning kickers. It's insane. Robert was happy to drive in the atrocious conditions.
Oh, here's where it gets cool. So back when I was scrambling to figure out pit support a super cool guy name Jason from Mobe emailed me and said I could pit with his 4-person team at the race. I had contacted him about my bike issue too and when we spoke later that day he offered up his trailer for Rober and I to sleep in that night. He was planning on brining it to the race and had it all ready in front of his house. So we had a place to stay in Mobe.
So, we after grabbing a bite to eat in Mobe (which was completely bustling with mountain bikers) we made it to Jason's house at 8:30. He gave us a quick tour of his trailer and told us to come inside their house in the morning for a hot shower and coffee. Yeah, these people went above and beyond. Morning came and indeed we were treated to hot showers and fresh coffee. Monica offered to make us breakfast but I couldn't accept that gesture. We brought our food in and prepared our breakfast in her kitchen.
Okay, on to the race. We arrived at the race venue about 9:00am and quickly discussed pit location and tactics. It's always fun figuring out the best location for quick pit stops during the race. So, another Utah resident and avid outdoorsman/mountain biker emailed me in response to my “pit help” request on the bike forum. He mentioned he was going to be in Mobe that weekend and offered to help in my pits. Brian, arrived at the venue on Friday afternoon ready to help Robert in the pits. The rest of Friday was spent pre-riding the course, going over pit strategies, and resting.
Saturday October 10th......race day. I woke up early and noticed the temps had dropped to freezing as there was a thin layer of ice on the truck. Okay, note to self, it's going to get cold tonight. Standards ops breakfast was a bit different as I wasn't into making the nutty pancakes. I opted for a ham and eggs scramble, bagel and cream cheese chased down by some Peets French Roast Coffee.
Time was ticking and before I knew it, it was time for the long winded racer meeting. Blah blah blah, can we start the race or what. Yeah, the start of this race was going to be a lemans start. We had to run ½ mile in this open dusty field before mounting our bikes and hitting the trails. First off, I hate running. I hate running in cycling shoes, and I hate running hard right before jumping on my bike and pedaling for dear life trying to jockey for position. So that's how this race was going to start. I found myself deep into the field upon getting on my bike. Usually, the field spreads out a bit and once we hit the dirt you can settle into your own rhythm. This was not the case. It was mayhem and border line reckless the entire first lap. I guess that's how it goes at the National level. It was like a XC race on steriods.
After the first lap, I felt like I could settle into my own pace. I wasn't too concerned about my placement in the SS field. I saw one Sser ahead of me and let him go. I wasn't about to get into a chasing game this early on.
Let me take a minute to discuss the course. Each lap was 15 miles and climbed 1300'. The course was pepperd with lose rocks, huge boulder drop offs, thick beachy power sucking sand pits, and sections of smooth slick rock. A very challenging course and would prove to be the hardest course I had ever encountered period. After the pre-ride I was stoked for the challenge but knew it wasn't going to be easy.
On lap two I spin out a bit while negotiating one of the countless technical climbs which resulted in my left knee ever so gently touching my fork stem. No, I smashed my knee and it hurt. It continued to cause me some severe pain but I figured it would work itself out. I found myself favoring my left leg completely and was pedaling with my right leg when at all possible. This was not a good sign. Expecting to get through a 24hr event unscathed is unrealistic. The pain train picks you up whether you want to board or not. However, usually at least for me, I don't board the train until it gets dark. Now, I was on the train, in the front seat, and it hurt.
It's one thing to doubt your ability when you don't have “it”. It's another thing to doubt when your concerned your doing further damage to your body. My fitness was there, I was managing the caloric intake (thanks for Robert and Brian) and had I not inured my knee it would have been a different race. However, I did injure my knee and the pain was not relieved with ibuprofen and massage therapy. I was faced with a very difficult decision. When I assessed the risk versus gain on finishing the race, it was clear that bagging a potential 3rd place at the National Championships was not worth the risk. I had come to the Nationals to draw blood on the field and it was me that bled.
It has been a very very long time since I purposefully abandoned a race. The humble pie tasted horrible but I knew I had made the right decision. After all, this Saturday October 16th, I've got the series final at the Leave No Trace Endurance Race Series. It will be a modest 8hr XC race in Cool CA.
So, am I upset that I made the trip out to Mobe only to not finish the race. Absolutely not. I got to broaden my horizons and experience two very different states. I got to meet a number of super nice and generous people made a number of new friendships. The adventures that Robert and I had along the way was worth the trip.
Back in May Jim Northey and I started to discuss the idea of taking the Global Biorhythm Events Team to Moab Utah for the USAC 24 Hour National Championships in October. So since May I've been thinking about the Nationals. While racing the Coolest 24hr Race Against Cancer, I thought about the Nationals. While racing at the Boggs 24 and Tahoe Sierra 100, I thought about saving something in the tank for the Nationals. I had never been to Utah. The fact is the furthest East that I have ever traveled is Reno NV. The lour of competing at the National level in 24 hour racing was on my mind constantly.
Immediately following my 2nd place finish at the Tahoe Sierra 100 on September 11th, I was able to fully prepare for Moab (pronounced Mobe). The remainder of September went by in a flash as I scrambled to get my plans in order. I spent countless hours checking and re-checking Google maps for the fastest route. I was all over the internet trying to pin down the forecast models for Mobe. In addition, I rode my bike a lot to prepare for the physical pain that I would surely face during the race.
The travel plans took a turn and I was without a travel partner and pit support in late September. I immediately went back to the internet and posted all over Facebook and mountain bike forums from here to Mobe in an effort to get pit support. I've done a number of 24 hour solo bike races and I knew that going to Mobe alone with no support was NOT an option.
I could go on and on about the events that transpired but on October 3rd I received an email from Robert Raubach, a fellow bike racer whom I had met at the Boggs 24hr Race in July. He had read my post and decided to give me a call to see if I had the support. We discussed the logistics and came up with a plan. I picked him up from his house in West Sacto on October 6th at 7:00pm and we started our 16 hour journey the Nationals.
That night we made it as far as Fernley, NV. We decided to stay at the Super 8 (don't ever stay at the Super 8 in Fernley NV, just don't). There was nothing “super” about it. While taking the bikes off the rack I noticed the brake level on my Niner (my primary first out race machine) was not functioning at all. An air bubble had made it's way to the brake lever rendering the brake useless. I needed to get the brakes bled before the race.
The next morning started early as Robert and I woke up at 5:30am. We mounted the bikes and walked across the parking lot to a Casino/Restaurant. Lucky for us the restaurant was not opening until 6:00. We high tailed it out of there after many glares from the locals. Oh, and it stunk of cigarette smoke. It's raining, we're hungry, and I've got to get the Niner fixed. We headed East on 80 and found our way into Lovelock, NV and stopped to eat at the Cow Poke Cafe. No joke, that's the name.
Back on the road we went and as soon as I secured cell coverage I called my awesome wife to look up bike shops in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Niner needed some love. The first shop we called, “The Contender” as it was called told us to come on by and they would take care of me. After a slight delay for lunch and bike repair we were on our way once again. No too much longer into the drive out of SLC Robert recalled that we had just lost an hour. Darn that time zone stuff. So now we have to add an hour to the digital clock on the truck. Now it's absolutely pouring down rain, thunder, and lightning kickers. It's insane. Robert was happy to drive in the atrocious conditions.
Oh, here's where it gets cool. So back when I was scrambling to figure out pit support a super cool guy name Jason from Mobe emailed me and said I could pit with his 4-person team at the race. I had contacted him about my bike issue too and when we spoke later that day he offered up his trailer for Rober and I to sleep in that night. He was planning on brining it to the race and had it all ready in front of his house. So we had a place to stay in Mobe.
So, we after grabbing a bite to eat in Mobe (which was completely bustling with mountain bikers) we made it to Jason's house at 8:30. He gave us a quick tour of his trailer and told us to come inside their house in the morning for a hot shower and coffee. Yeah, these people went above and beyond. Morning came and indeed we were treated to hot showers and fresh coffee. Monica offered to make us breakfast but I couldn't accept that gesture. We brought our food in and prepared our breakfast in her kitchen.
Okay, on to the race. We arrived at the race venue about 9:00am and quickly discussed pit location and tactics. It's always fun figuring out the best location for quick pit stops during the race. So, another Utah resident and avid outdoorsman/mountain biker emailed me in response to my “pit help” request on the bike forum. He mentioned he was going to be in Mobe that weekend and offered to help in my pits. Brian, arrived at the venue on Friday afternoon ready to help Robert in the pits. The rest of Friday was spent pre-riding the course, going over pit strategies, and resting.
Saturday October 10th......race day. I woke up early and noticed the temps had dropped to freezing as there was a thin layer of ice on the truck. Okay, note to self, it's going to get cold tonight. Standards ops breakfast was a bit different as I wasn't into making the nutty pancakes. I opted for a ham and eggs scramble, bagel and cream cheese chased down by some Peets French Roast Coffee.
Time was ticking and before I knew it, it was time for the long winded racer meeting. Blah blah blah, can we start the race or what. Yeah, the start of this race was going to be a lemans start. We had to run ½ mile in this open dusty field before mounting our bikes and hitting the trails. First off, I hate running. I hate running in cycling shoes, and I hate running hard right before jumping on my bike and pedaling for dear life trying to jockey for position. So that's how this race was going to start. I found myself deep into the field upon getting on my bike. Usually, the field spreads out a bit and once we hit the dirt you can settle into your own rhythm. This was not the case. It was mayhem and border line reckless the entire first lap. I guess that's how it goes at the National level. It was like a XC race on steriods.
After the first lap, I felt like I could settle into my own pace. I wasn't too concerned about my placement in the SS field. I saw one Sser ahead of me and let him go. I wasn't about to get into a chasing game this early on.
Let me take a minute to discuss the course. Each lap was 15 miles and climbed 1300'. The course was pepperd with lose rocks, huge boulder drop offs, thick beachy power sucking sand pits, and sections of smooth slick rock. A very challenging course and would prove to be the hardest course I had ever encountered period. After the pre-ride I was stoked for the challenge but knew it wasn't going to be easy.
On lap two I spin out a bit while negotiating one of the countless technical climbs which resulted in my left knee ever so gently touching my fork stem. No, I smashed my knee and it hurt. It continued to cause me some severe pain but I figured it would work itself out. I found myself favoring my left leg completely and was pedaling with my right leg when at all possible. This was not a good sign. Expecting to get through a 24hr event unscathed is unrealistic. The pain train picks you up whether you want to board or not. However, usually at least for me, I don't board the train until it gets dark. Now, I was on the train, in the front seat, and it hurt.
It's one thing to doubt your ability when you don't have “it”. It's another thing to doubt when your concerned your doing further damage to your body. My fitness was there, I was managing the caloric intake (thanks for Robert and Brian) and had I not inured my knee it would have been a different race. However, I did injure my knee and the pain was not relieved with ibuprofen and massage therapy. I was faced with a very difficult decision. When I assessed the risk versus gain on finishing the race, it was clear that bagging a potential 3rd place at the National Championships was not worth the risk. I had come to the Nationals to draw blood on the field and it was me that bled.
It has been a very very long time since I purposefully abandoned a race. The humble pie tasted horrible but I knew I had made the right decision. After all, this Saturday October 16th, I've got the series final at the Leave No Trace Endurance Race Series. It will be a modest 8hr XC race in Cool CA.
So, am I upset that I made the trip out to Mobe only to not finish the race. Absolutely not. I got to broaden my horizons and experience two very different states. I got to meet a number of super nice and generous people made a number of new friendships. The adventures that Robert and I had along the way was worth the trip.
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