I wanted to go to Idaho to do a marathon xc race there, but since I had to work Friday and Saturday night I had to settle for a road race in Coalville. It was a 95 mile race, kind of an out-back-out-back course, it ended up good exercise. The roady scene sure is different than the mtn bike scene, seems like people are a little more uptight, just a little. I took a lot of crap for not having cleaned my bike in a while, I guess I rather ride my bike than clean it.
The race was funny, in a way, because as much as I enjoy road races, I always end up frying myself. Now I don't think of myself as stupid, but I have a hard time sittin in the pack and conserving energy and waiting for the right moment. I sit in the pack and my hr is 110, I might as well go for a walk. So I'm out there in the wind, chasing down breakaways etc. not really conserving much. Then I thought I'd do something halfway smart, when I saw 2 guys make a brakeaway and then one faded and came back. The 2nd guy looked pretty strong so I put in an effort to get up to him and thought maybe the 2 of us can do some damage. When I got to him the guy asked me for some water and I was happy to share since I thought he'd be the guy to work with. After I gave him some water he told me he was blown and he couldn't do anything. So I ended up working by myself for a while, but got caught. In the end I blew up pretty bad since for whatever reason they removed the neutral feed zone on the 2nd lap and all I had was about 2 bottles for a 4 hour race. All in all, I got what I wanted which was a good workout. Funny, how the dynamics work sometimes in a road race. Maybe next time I will "conserve" more energy.
Breck 100
So I let myself talk into doing the Breck 100 this past weekend. I've never really ridden a bike for more than 5 hours, either mountain or road, so I really didn't know what to expect.
The race started at 6 am, WAY too early to even ride a bike, let alone start a 3000ft climb up to almost 13000 feet. I felt like breathing through a straw and the 50 hiki a bike sections really didn't improve my mood. Then after just 1 hour into the race I hit my derailleur on a rock and it ended up in my spokes. I somehow got it out and bent it back enough to continue riding. I lost my 4 easiest gears in the back and ended up riding like that for almost 7 hours. I was ready to give up, because the hard gears really took its toll on my on the steep climbs.
When I got back to the checkpoint, though, I saw I was only seconds behind 3rd. So
Grayson and Matt were working on my bike, changed my derailleur and cables etc and off I went for lap nr. 3. BIG thanks for their help, without them, I couldn't have finished the race. I lost a lot of time and ended up in 6th position after leaving the checkpoint. I really felt good, though, especially after the 8th hour and was able to pick up one guy ahead of me. Then, with just 3 miles to go I jammed my derailleur into the spokes again, this time so hard that I couldn't even get the wheel to move. So I started walking - pissed. After 10 min or so I figured I really had it with walking and was able to rip the derailleur right off and was able to get the wheel moving again. That way I could at least coast on the down hills. I ended up walking across the finish line, happy to finish.
I took me just over 10 1/2 hours, some serious chamois time. It was a great adventure and I think I 'll do the 100 miler in Park City, too. It was a whole new way of suffering and if it drained me physically it only made me stronger mentally. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
The race started at 6 am, WAY too early to even ride a bike, let alone start a 3000ft climb up to almost 13000 feet. I felt like breathing through a straw and the 50 hiki a bike sections really didn't improve my mood. Then after just 1 hour into the race I hit my derailleur on a rock and it ended up in my spokes. I somehow got it out and bent it back enough to continue riding. I lost my 4 easiest gears in the back and ended up riding like that for almost 7 hours. I was ready to give up, because the hard gears really took its toll on my on the steep climbs.
When I got back to the checkpoint, though, I saw I was only seconds behind 3rd. So
Grayson and Matt were working on my bike, changed my derailleur and cables etc and off I went for lap nr. 3. BIG thanks for their help, without them, I couldn't have finished the race. I lost a lot of time and ended up in 6th position after leaving the checkpoint. I really felt good, though, especially after the 8th hour and was able to pick up one guy ahead of me. Then, with just 3 miles to go I jammed my derailleur into the spokes again, this time so hard that I couldn't even get the wheel to move. So I started walking - pissed. After 10 min or so I figured I really had it with walking and was able to rip the derailleur right off and was able to get the wheel moving again. That way I could at least coast on the down hills. I ended up walking across the finish line, happy to finish.
I took me just over 10 1/2 hours, some serious chamois time. It was a great adventure and I think I 'll do the 100 miler in Park City, too. It was a whole new way of suffering and if it drained me physically it only made me stronger mentally. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
The monthly update
I guess I haven't been posting a lot lately, I've been kind of busy, plus running to the library to get onto a public computer to get online really sucks. That's also the reason why you haven't seen a single picture on my blog yet.
Did a few races since the Deer Valley NORBA, Solitude State Champs went ok, finished 3rd behind Alex G and Bart. Did the marathon race in Breckenridge, which was a ton of fun. I found out that I can do a 4 hour race and actually feel good doing it. I think I'll start doing more of those long races, they seem to fit my riding style. We also got our new Mona-Vie outfits, one green, one purple, I like them except I found out purple makes me look fat(or maybe I am). Check out Fox's website to see a picture of some of the Mona-Vie riders.
This past Saturday I went to Snowbird for the annual Mountain Bout. After a small technical mishap I was able to come from behind to finish 2nd behind Alex Grant, he really is on fire right now. Everybody seemed to be bitchy about the Snowbird course, but I have to say I kind of like it. I like the shorter loops and the DH was actually fun, I thought. Fast corners with some drifting action, what's wrong with that?
I was asking some guys after the race for some nutritional advice for the Breckenridge 100 which I'll be doing this weekend. I've never ridden a bike for more than 5 hours and am curious what I can eat during a 9-10 hour race. Maybe not so much what I can eat, but more what I can digest. I got some interesting info from Bart and Alex, see how it's going to work.
Bart, Jason and a bunch of other guys will be going to the Nationals this coming weekend, I am jelous that I can't go. I love the Mt. Snow course, certainly one of my favorites, too bad they won't let foreigners race at Nationals. Mt. Snow was the 1st mtb race I ever did, I remember lighting up a cigarette in the parking lot, I was still smoking back then.
The mountain bike season is almost done, I don't feel burned out at all. I guess my training has been kind of whacky this year, I still feel superfresh at least mentally. I am playing around with the thought of doing the X Terra in Ogden in August. I think the riding and running part wouldn't be a problem, the swim section might be a different story. I have no clue about the freestyle technique, maybe I'll just do the chest stroke, might be a little embarrassing, though. We'll see.
Did a few races since the Deer Valley NORBA, Solitude State Champs went ok, finished 3rd behind Alex G and Bart. Did the marathon race in Breckenridge, which was a ton of fun. I found out that I can do a 4 hour race and actually feel good doing it. I think I'll start doing more of those long races, they seem to fit my riding style. We also got our new Mona-Vie outfits, one green, one purple, I like them except I found out purple makes me look fat(or maybe I am). Check out Fox's website to see a picture of some of the Mona-Vie riders.
This past Saturday I went to Snowbird for the annual Mountain Bout. After a small technical mishap I was able to come from behind to finish 2nd behind Alex Grant, he really is on fire right now. Everybody seemed to be bitchy about the Snowbird course, but I have to say I kind of like it. I like the shorter loops and the DH was actually fun, I thought. Fast corners with some drifting action, what's wrong with that?
I was asking some guys after the race for some nutritional advice for the Breckenridge 100 which I'll be doing this weekend. I've never ridden a bike for more than 5 hours and am curious what I can eat during a 9-10 hour race. Maybe not so much what I can eat, but more what I can digest. I got some interesting info from Bart and Alex, see how it's going to work.
Bart, Jason and a bunch of other guys will be going to the Nationals this coming weekend, I am jelous that I can't go. I love the Mt. Snow course, certainly one of my favorites, too bad they won't let foreigners race at Nationals. Mt. Snow was the 1st mtb race I ever did, I remember lighting up a cigarette in the parking lot, I was still smoking back then.
The mountain bike season is almost done, I don't feel burned out at all. I guess my training has been kind of whacky this year, I still feel superfresh at least mentally. I am playing around with the thought of doing the X Terra in Ogden in August. I think the riding and running part wouldn't be a problem, the swim section might be a different story. I have no clue about the freestyle technique, maybe I'll just do the chest stroke, might be a little embarrassing, though. We'll see.
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