Race Day - Officially Done

Not Exactly as Planned

Without going into much detail (I'll save that for tomorrow), I did manage to hit a few key milestones, but my finish time was............nowhere near where I wanted it.

Time to Montpelier

I had targeted 4 hours to get to Montpelier - the first supported feed zone.  I missed it by maybe 10 minutes, if that.  It came at a price - details later.

Catch at least one Tandem by Salt River Pass

Considering that they started 66 minutes ahead of me, I though this might be difficult.  Turns out, I caught two of them at the top of Salt River Pass.

Stay out of all Neutral Feed Zones

It took a little creativity, but I did manage to stay out of the three neutral feed zones.  I did spend a little time at two watering stops, as well as spent too much time in the supported zones at Afton and Alpine Junction.  This isn't what ultimately contributed to my longer than planned finish time, but it certainly wasn't planned that way either.

The Bonk - Double

Bonk is what runners call "hitting the wall".  It is basically when you completely run out of gas - for whatever the reason.  I had two periods that I Bonked - and hard.  The first was leaving Montpelier and pretty much all the way to "king of the Mountain" at Salt River.  The second was with less than 20 miles to go.  In both cases I was able to pull through, but it was costly in the end.  Again, more details tomorrow.

Summary Assesment

I'm disapointed overall, but pleased with several of the keys.  I think I could make several improvements, but keeping in mind how conditions play a big part in the equation - hard to say.

Tomorrow, we go back to the awards ceremony and then head straight home.  Tonight I try to sleep in a motel room in beautiful Driggs, Idaho.  I have a hard time with Hotel/Motel rooms.

Take the rest of the weekend off................

Getting Ready

About the Ride

In years past I've spent considerable time detailing the different segments of the course.  It's a long course with a lot of diversity, however, I'll only be brief this go around.

Sure this thing is 200+ miles start to finish, but there is a lot more than meets the eye. The front end of this thing is a ton of climbing; 22 miles up Emigration/Strawberry, another 10 over Geneva summit, and then the infernal 16 miles over Salt River Pass.  By the time you get to King-of-the Mountain (KOM), a mere 3+ miles from the top of Salt River, you have given up on any sense of dignity.  By this time you've lost enough electrolyte to make a 10 pound salt block.  Looking straight up at the top from about 2 miles away, in rips your will to live right out!  Still, you get over it (literally and figuratively) and take the little recovery into Afton.  From there its a matter of road management and discipline.  Stay on groups, or get dumped.  Out of Alpine, the beauty of Snake River Canyon, but there is no time for sight seeing.  From here you really need to "Johny" up with the best groups you can find, as you need to get past Hoback and into the Valley.  Across the highway, you can taste the finish, but you can't cash in quite yet.  At Wilson, you put in the last 7 miles, pretty flat, with whatever you can find in the tank.  Then your see the signs 5K, 4K and so on, at 1K its time to look good.  At 500 meters, you hear the announcer.  By the time you hit 100 meters you want to give it all you have and thunder in.  And then............."slow down, this way"....."timing chip", its over.

There is so much to tell about, but it impossible.  Like everything else, it seems its over before you know it and you just have this emptiness that follows.  For me, I devour a huge thing of chocolate milk and try to process the entire summer that just finished.  

Tomorrow needs to be about more than a "fun ride".  Its about time I do something besides talk big.  

I have a lot to do today and I need to get some good rest.  For now, trust me, I'm as nervous as you could be.  Still, I do this because I can.  

Stay tuned......................

This is for the others that didn't make it...............

Ride Hard!

Details and Repairs

Checking in

This is where all the nerves start to boil.  Check-in day and now its for real.  

After getting the bike out of the shop again yesterday, I did a quick 32 mile spin, only to have the noise re-emerge.   So.....at about ten last night, I decided to pull the rear mech (derailleur) apart.  Not generally the best of ideas, but I need to make sure I won't have a failure during the ride.  Pretty risky, but was able to service the jockey-wheels and bearings.  Taking a quick 21 mile ride tonight, I'm not sure the noise has been solved, but I know the rear mech is good.  Tomorrow I'll do a complete clean and lube to catch any last thing.  From there, it is what it is.

Knowing what I'm, up against, I always get nervous.  The entire summer comes down to this and it weighs heavy.  Kind of stupid when you think about it, I mean, its a bike ride - right?  Thats the problem.  Its supposed to be a race, but somewhere a long the way it turns into a survival thing.  This is really a check of ones self and discipline.  Your mind can make, or break the entire day.  Believe it not, a stupid pedal noise can be the tipping point.  Still, there is something that is hard to describe, riding with a group of sixty guys, hearing the sound of hundreds of spokes cutting the wind, knowing that you all have the same task ahead.  That doesn't last too long, as before you know it, the first climb is under the wheels and it time to get busy.  It's...............

I don't know if it is the ride that intimidates me as much as it is the thought of finding out what I'm really made of.  In my mind I will have covered this course over and over, always with grandiose images of what I would like to happen.  What I forget is the suffering that accompanies the effort of trying to stay on a group, catch a group, or simply get over the next climb.  Its like thinking how impervious you are and then having to deal with the truth.  Truth is, I'm not a racer.  I'm not built for it.  Still, I see guys bigger than me crushing the climbs - only because they are mentally stronger.  Why do I choose to let off when it hurts?  Maybe my fight isn't what I claim it to be.  I mean, "Ride Hard" has to be more than a phrase - right?  It is all up to me, as it always is.

Weather forecasts look fairly promising.  Mid 70's most places past Geneva, with possible winds W-SW.  60% chance of showers, but duration and intensity are low.  I can only hope.

I rode down with a buddy to get checked-in today.  Funny how we compare notes on different parts of our tactics.  Nutrition, hydration, group strategy...........its unique - something you can't understand unless you've done this as many times as we have.  Kerry's a stud.  Ten years older than me, but rides like he twenty years younger.  I struggle to stay with him on flat ground and don't even try on the climbs.  I'll see a lot of guys Saturday that are good riders and pretty good friends.  Nobody really cares where you finish, but all have an unspoken respect knowing that you did.  No real bragging.............not much anyway.  Mostly just stories of everyone's experience.  You kind of have to be there to appreciated it - I guess.

The day starts early tomorrow and there is a lot to do.

Thanks to all that have carried the water for the "porpoise" this year.  You are the true heroes.

Robert Johnson wrote a little thong about selling one's soul.  No selling here............

Cross Roads - it puts me in my happy place...........

Ride Hard!

Influence and Inspiration

Things that makes us tick and tick us off.......

The summer before high school, I was playing a lot of baseball, but more ever,wanted to be a football player.  So when that season ended, I turned my baseball pants into to a couple pair of handy "cut-off" shorts.  These shorts only had one pocket - on the left hand side.  Around that time I started carrying some type of wallet, so it went into my only pocket on these shorts.  To this day, I keep my wallet in my left pocket, despite being right handed.  It wasn't until many years later I realized how this happened.  That's how it works quite often.

Helen Wheels

In my remarkably ordinary neighborhood, lived a couple remarkable people;  Merlin and Helen.

Merlin was born blind and had several brothers the same way.  Merlin taught school and would walk to and from that school, alone nearly every day.  He was an old radio guy, having taught sailors how to repair radios in the dark during WWII.  He tried to teach me Morse Code when I thought I wanted to be a HAM - when I was 12 years old and impatient.  He was really something.  And then there was Helen.  She was born in a house not far from where we would all live, sometime in the 1930's.  When she was born her little body was so deformed that doctor literally told her mother to simply "leave her alone in the back bedroom until she quite crying".  Basically leave her to die.  To her mothers remarkable credit, she did the complete opposite.  By the time I came along, Helen was in an electric wheelchair.  She had absolutely no use of her legs, arms, or hands, yet she had already lived a remarkable life - a story that is by itself remarkable.  She wouldn't let bad weather get in her way, as she would travel around the various local neighborhoods to sell greeting cards.  She would control her wheelchair via a stick in her mouth, while using the stick to "beep" a little horn, alerting people to come to their door.  I never once ever heard her, or her parents complain.  I know she had incredible trials in her life, as did Merlin, but I believe both of them to have been grateful for every breath they drew.

You never know how thing will stack up in you life.  I can tell you this, all I have to do is think about those people in my life that had it tough and I think I have it pretty good. Just remember when riding the spin bike early in the morning before work, there are a lot of people that would give their eye-teeth to be able to suffer like that.

A good morning on the spin bike.

Click here for Helen Wheels

Ride Hard!

SMOKE!

More adjustments.........

A major wildfire on the other side of the mountain has filled The Valley (notice the caps) with considerable smoke.  There is enough smoke and particulate that its burning my throat.  With all the illness going around at the moment, I'm doing my best to stay healthy as it is.  The last thing I want to do is put on some easy miles and develop a respiratory issue.  So........spin city!

My spin bike is nothing too fancy, but its a workhorse.  It's a commercial Star Track V-bike, chain drive with some modifications. Normally I use the spin bike as a nice supplement to my rides, but at times like this, it is nice to have a good setup.  Tonight I setup for some heat-training, and did a series of fixed speed, step intervals, mixed with 10/20 sprint intervals.  Not a bad workout for 90+ minutes, but it is really setup to provide maintenance.  At this point, I'm not going to add anything, but I still can cause an injury.

There is no sign of the smoke clearing out anytime soon, so I may be done in the-out-of-doors until the race Saturday morning.  I'd really like to get the bike out for an easy 32 mile loop to make sure we've got the bugs worked out, but even if still sounds funny - it's too late to worry about it.

You'll like this one - The Platters '58

Ride Hard!

The Push

Only a few days left

Like it or not, this is it.  With only a few days to go, you are where you are going to be Saturday morning.  At this point, you can do more damage than good, if not careful.  Maintenance is key, but now the final pieces have to come together.

This morning was a quick (very quick) 41 miles, with a hard deliberate pace.  Maybe a little too hard at times, but I had to get the bench mark.  The bike is still making a funny noise, so it will be back in the shop tomorrow afternoon.  With the forecast calling for warm weather, I'm doing morning and evening spins without any fan assistance.  The heat is my Achilles Heal.  I struggle in the climbs, but throw in the heat and I really struggle.  I still need a couple short rides, with some easy tempo type stuff.  Hopefully tomorrow night I can do an easy 32 mile loop out to the lake and follow it up with another easy one Wednesday.

The indoor spin bike has really been helpful this year.  This is sometimes hard when you're doing it by yourself, but I set a pretty solid routine to follow.  Hard enough that it get things moving, but not so hard that I lose form.  In fact, the one thing I most focus on when spinning is pedal stroke form.  Knees direct in line.  Trying to maintain a near circular motion, with the shoes flat at all times.  Doing an interval pace also helps me maintain a good position when having to make a seated sprint - all of a sudden.  If you practice with poor form, you ride with poor form.  No bueno.

Group assignments are final, with start times and bib numbers.  Rolling at 07:06, Mens 45+ Cat V, B - 1100 series.  That late of a start means I'll have to really be disciplined to hook on to groups and work my way up into the race.  More than half of the riders, in fact nearly 2/3 of them will be in front of me.  My goal is to catch at least on tandem before the top of Salt River.  They start at 06:00, so they'll have an hour and change on me.  Still, they can't climb, I mean even slower than me.  But boy can they descend. 

I'll break thing down in the next day or two.  You need to have a strategy and hopefully mine works.

Nothing too serious - Dr. Hook, Cover of the Rolling Stone

Ride Hard! & please donate.................................

One more for the Road

Last ride to Woodruff for the year

Nothing says LOTOJA prep like long rides with lots of climbing.  There are few, if any rides as suitable for LOTOJA training as Woodruff.  Doing this four times in the last four weeks is quite an adventure.  At roughly 120 miles each time, the miles stack up fast - and these are generally quality miles.  This late in the year it is easy to over do it.  A balancing act from here on in.

My times to key points yesterday weren't bad, just not the best.  Overall, I felt pretty good all the way over and back.  Feeding in the right places and the right times, with correct hydration paid off.  Most importantly, the conditions were pretty good.  A little rain, but generally cloud cover all the way.  I really couldn't ask for more.

Coming back over, just off Little Monte (between MPs 42 & 43), I ran across a motorcycle and rider piled up on the side of the road.  This was in a spot where I was doing more than 40 in the straightaway.  He was pretty banged up, but not nearly as bad as you'd expect for such an event.  By the time I got back on the road, it had been about 90 minutes.  Getting back on the bike, I was completely cooled-off, but not stiff at all.  Within the first couple hundred feet, I was easily back to 40+.  With the little rest, I was able to push it hard all the way into Huntsville.  As good as I was feeling I decided to stretch the ride to 130+ miles.  Somewhere along the way I picked up something and flatted - AGAIN!  In the end, I had to call for a bailout, when I had a ton of energy to burn.  All good.

Donations are coming along and I think we'll make it - I hope.  The next few days are also critical for maintenance.  From this point, a 50 - 60 mile sprint ride, maybe Saturday morning.  A 32 mile tempo ride early next week.  A 15 mile sprint pace and then packet pick-up.  A delicate balance at this point.

Start time is 7:03, Men's Cat 5, 45+ B.  A pretty late start, which means I'll have to swim upstream to catch good groups.  The big issue will be getting over the first two climbs in good shape.  If I can get on a good group going to Salt River Pass, I just have to keep it together up KoM (King of the Mountain) and I should be in a position to do............better.

Need a little confidence and no more flats.

Click here and hang on! Wamma Jamma

Stay tuned.............

Ride hard!