Ok, since I think these are boring things to write and read (unless you won the damn thing), I'm gonna try and keep it short and sweet.
Overall I'm really disappointed in my race. I did some dumb things in the final 48 hours that completely destroyed the expectations I had. Basically, I didn't sleep well for the final two nights before the race, spent the day before the race out in the sun and heat sweating and dehydrating myself, then slept on the ground in a tent sweating all night-further diminishing any hydration I had feebly tried to replenish that afternoon. While I'm still a rookie to mountain bike racing, I'm not a rookie to endurance racing. I should have known better and have no one to blame but myself.
Race morning I woke up feeling like absolute dog crap. If I had had a training ride planned for that day instead of a race I would have cancelled it. I knew at that point it was going to be a long day. After a quick breakfast of a Cliff Bar and Banana, I warmed up and headed to the start.
The first 60 miles was good. I stuck with the second group and worked with the other riders to keep out speeds high. So much of the race was on gravel roads and double track it allowed us to really keep things moving. I was feeling good and thinking that maybe the day would be salvaged.
Everyone had said prior to the start that the race really doesn't start until the last 41 miles. Very true. There is some gnarly climbing and some rocky singletrack that makes things hard when your legs are already burning from the extended gravel road climbs. Nevertheless, I was still feeling good. UNTIL... the cramps started. The dehydration I had been managing to fend off was now coming back to bite me in the ass (actually more like the inner thighs and quads). From this point on, it was all damage control. Any power to the pedals would result in my legs locking up and me having to dismount the bike and walk to get them uncramped. Very demoralizing and VERY frustrating. The pattern was as follows: Ride, pain, dismount, walk, try to ride, curse, repeat. I seriously must have walked at least 25 percent of the final 40 miles.
Finally, to add insult to injury, I got lost with about 2 miles left in the race. I missed an arrow and climbed up another gravel road for about 15 minutes before realizing I had gone wrong. Awesome. I descended the climb, limped it in to the finish, and got off the bike. Finished around 8 hours and 30ish minutes. Disappointment. Disappointment. Disappointment.
Ok, now I know I sound all negative and whatnot, but I AM terribly upset with myself for taking such a casual attitude into this race. Maybe I was a bit overconfident, or even cocky, and it taught me a very valuable lesson. When I go on these race trips I try to treat it like a business trip. Be professional and race like you mean it. Well, I did neither, and this is what happened. There will be other races, and I'm certain this type of thing ain't happening again.
So now I'm moving onward. I'm considering not racing the Shenendoah Mountain 100 (another NUE series race), and instead doing a couple 50 milers and a 4 hour race. After that I might hunt around for some more fall season mountain bike races, or just focus on cyclocross. The only thing holding me from coming straight out and saying I WON'T do the SM 100 is that I still have a bitter taste in my mouth from Wilderness 101. I might wanna take another stab at the 100 mile game before the end of the season. I'll make up my mind soon.
The next couple days will be dedicated to getting some rest and figuring out what and where I wanna race next month. Something tells me that no matter what races I choose, I'll have a much better appreciation for pre-race preparation.
That is all. :)
This is our new blog detailing our daily adventures, mountain bike racing, endurance sports, and maybe even some cooking (that's Anne's domain!). We will share our experiences with life, training, and most importantly, being a team-both in marriage and in our sport.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Wednesday
After a great weekend (albeit with the worst migrane I've had in years), I'm super pumped to get racin' this weekend. I'm so happy I got a chance to check out Waywayanda and it's lovely rockiness, not to mention hammer on the road bike the day before. Both sessions were real confidence boosters going into Wilderness.
Yesterday was a pretty mellow mountain bike ride with a few 90 second race efforts thrown in. I got these from Joe Friel's Cyclist's Training Bible and did them before the Stoopid 50. I really think these work well for keeping me sharp while keeping the overall volume down. Felt great on the trails and had to work to keep myself from overreaching quite a few times.
Today is going to be another mellow ride, this time on the road bike, with a few more 90 sec race efforts thrown in. I'd like to keep the ride time below 90 minutes, but may even go for less if it's hot and humid. No need to burn matches now.
As for bike choice, I'm 99% sure I'm going with the full suspension rig for the race. After riding both last weekend, I'm nearly convinced that there is no need for hardtails in endurance racing. I mean, I haven't been doing this all that long, but if you're going to be spending 5+ hours on ANY off road situation (excluding gravel and dirt roads), I can't see how modern suspension can hurt you. Just my 2 cents, but all I know is I feel less beat up and much faster on my full squish bike than I ever felt on a hardtail. So much so, I'm even considering selling my hardtail! Any takers???:)
Yesterday was a pretty mellow mountain bike ride with a few 90 second race efforts thrown in. I got these from Joe Friel's Cyclist's Training Bible and did them before the Stoopid 50. I really think these work well for keeping me sharp while keeping the overall volume down. Felt great on the trails and had to work to keep myself from overreaching quite a few times.
Today is going to be another mellow ride, this time on the road bike, with a few more 90 sec race efforts thrown in. I'd like to keep the ride time below 90 minutes, but may even go for less if it's hot and humid. No need to burn matches now.
As for bike choice, I'm 99% sure I'm going with the full suspension rig for the race. After riding both last weekend, I'm nearly convinced that there is no need for hardtails in endurance racing. I mean, I haven't been doing this all that long, but if you're going to be spending 5+ hours on ANY off road situation (excluding gravel and dirt roads), I can't see how modern suspension can hurt you. Just my 2 cents, but all I know is I feel less beat up and much faster on my full squish bike than I ever felt on a hardtail. So much so, I'm even considering selling my hardtail! Any takers???:)
Monday, July 25, 2011
Waywayanda State Park
I had the opportunity to head west a little bit to the great state of New Jersey yesterday to ride my mountain bike. Catch the sarcasm? Anyway, I have family that lives close to the park, and from what I heard about the trails being rocky, techy and gnarly, I couldn't pass up the trip.
I had originally planned on racing the Curse of Dark Hallow in Pennsylvania this weekend, but in the end it was smarter to save a bit of money and energy riding Waywayanda instead. The trails are a mix of double and singletrack, with plenty of rocks, roots, and technical descents and ascents. It was like a little slice of East Coast Heaven.
The two vids I shot (check out the links to my vimeo page at the bottom of this post) are pretty basic portions of the trail. My camera ran out before I got to the really techy stuff, but you can get a pretty good idea of the rock garddens and downhills from what I was able to shoot. Also, if you fast forward toward the end of the second vid, there's a really cool bridge I rode over a swamp. Glad I made it-didn't want to find out what was in the water!
http://vimeo.com/26888403
http://vimeo.com/26885570
I had originally planned on racing the Curse of Dark Hallow in Pennsylvania this weekend, but in the end it was smarter to save a bit of money and energy riding Waywayanda instead. The trails are a mix of double and singletrack, with plenty of rocks, roots, and technical descents and ascents. It was like a little slice of East Coast Heaven.
The two vids I shot (check out the links to my vimeo page at the bottom of this post) are pretty basic portions of the trail. My camera ran out before I got to the really techy stuff, but you can get a pretty good idea of the rock garddens and downhills from what I was able to shoot. Also, if you fast forward toward the end of the second vid, there's a really cool bridge I rode over a swamp. Glad I made it-didn't want to find out what was in the water!
http://vimeo.com/26888403
http://vimeo.com/26885570
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Saturday
Got up early this morning to discover that I didn't have to head in to work, so I hopped on the road bike to bang out a hard effort which will be my last "serious" training until Wilderness.
After all was said and done, I got in close to three hours, about 2/3rd's of which was as hard as I could go. I've been really happy working without a computer or power meter, but today is one of those days I wished I had one. It would've been nice to see some data after today, not only for distance and time, but power numbers I'm sure would have been some of the highest I've ever put out.
I'm very happy with where I'm at fitness wise right now. I'm the fastest I've ever been on the bike, but surely not as fast as I'll be at this time next year. Might have to pick up a Garmin at some point so I can actually track my progress!
After all was said and done, I got in close to three hours, about 2/3rd's of which was as hard as I could go. I've been really happy working without a computer or power meter, but today is one of those days I wished I had one. It would've been nice to see some data after today, not only for distance and time, but power numbers I'm sure would have been some of the highest I've ever put out.
I'm very happy with where I'm at fitness wise right now. I'm the fastest I've ever been on the bike, but surely not as fast as I'll be at this time next year. Might have to pick up a Garmin at some point so I can actually track my progress!
Friday, July 22, 2011
Crash!
There really was very little reason to get out and go for a ride today. First of all, it was deathly hot today. The kind of heat they tell you not to go out in because you seriously might die. Secondly, because of the heat, I decided that the intervals I was planning for today needed not to be done. And thirdly, I'm just about a week out from the Wilderness 101 and if there are any matches to be burned, they certainly don't need to be burned right now.
Anyway, being that I was excited to ride my hardtail again for the first time in a couple weeks, I got out and hit the trails anyway. Even from the beginning I found it hard to breath. It's been a rather humid week, but today was just the icing on the cake. Oppressive doesn't even begin to describe it today.
So.... about halfway through the ride, I accelerate to get up to a log crossing (of which I've ridden and cleared dozens of times now), get up, and quickly loose my wheel to one side of the log while I fly through the air in the other direction. Now, I'm not one to say that I'm some crazy ninja, but damn am I good at falling. I really believe spending years training mixed martial arts gave me the ability to land softly on almost any part of my body and "roll" out of almost anything. Just a natural reaction I guess, but I was up and on my feet before I knew it. I wish I had video of it because it must have looked awesome. I picked up the bike (which was fine) and got on with the rest of the ride.
After that, not much happened. Just smacked my hand on a tree, hit my knee on a rock, and wished I'd stayed home and taken a nap:). One important thing did occur to me though. I've gone on and on about how much I like my HIFI and how sold I am on full suspension mountain bikes, and today really justified it for me. Riding the hardtail again was nice, but after feeling the efficiency of a full sus bike, I can't see myself racing long races on anything else. Sure the HIFI is heavier, but it rolls over so much, and extrememly smoothly. It flows on singletrak, and handles beautifully. Before the ride today I was debating on which bike to ride for the W101. I'm not 100% positive I'll be on the HIFI.
Tomorrow I'll more than likely try to get out early and head for a group road ride if I don't have work. If I do have to work, I might hit the trails for a bit if the temps are too much, or ride the road if they're not. No matter what, it'll be a pretty easy day. Sunday is up to Waywayanda State Park to ride some rocks for extra practice, then all next week will be focused to rest, recovery, and getting set to slay the Wilderness 101.
Anyway, being that I was excited to ride my hardtail again for the first time in a couple weeks, I got out and hit the trails anyway. Even from the beginning I found it hard to breath. It's been a rather humid week, but today was just the icing on the cake. Oppressive doesn't even begin to describe it today.
So.... about halfway through the ride, I accelerate to get up to a log crossing (of which I've ridden and cleared dozens of times now), get up, and quickly loose my wheel to one side of the log while I fly through the air in the other direction. Now, I'm not one to say that I'm some crazy ninja, but damn am I good at falling. I really believe spending years training mixed martial arts gave me the ability to land softly on almost any part of my body and "roll" out of almost anything. Just a natural reaction I guess, but I was up and on my feet before I knew it. I wish I had video of it because it must have looked awesome. I picked up the bike (which was fine) and got on with the rest of the ride.
After that, not much happened. Just smacked my hand on a tree, hit my knee on a rock, and wished I'd stayed home and taken a nap:). One important thing did occur to me though. I've gone on and on about how much I like my HIFI and how sold I am on full suspension mountain bikes, and today really justified it for me. Riding the hardtail again was nice, but after feeling the efficiency of a full sus bike, I can't see myself racing long races on anything else. Sure the HIFI is heavier, but it rolls over so much, and extrememly smoothly. It flows on singletrak, and handles beautifully. Before the ride today I was debating on which bike to ride for the W101. I'm not 100% positive I'll be on the HIFI.
Tomorrow I'll more than likely try to get out early and head for a group road ride if I don't have work. If I do have to work, I might hit the trails for a bit if the temps are too much, or ride the road if they're not. No matter what, it'll be a pretty easy day. Sunday is up to Waywayanda State Park to ride some rocks for extra practice, then all next week will be focused to rest, recovery, and getting set to slay the Wilderness 101.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
More on the HIFI
So I know I've talked my new full suspension mtb to death, but I really do love this thing. If I could do it all over again, I would sell all the bikes I have an buy a Superfly 100. Full suspension is really where it's at in mountain biking. I know there are some courses and venues where a hardtail is appropriate, but for the east coast United States, with the rocks and roots, a 29er full suspension rig WILL make you a better rider.
The one and ONLY complaint I have about the bike, and this is probably an issue with ALL fully suspended mountain bikes, is that it makes a hell of a lot of "clicky" noise. Not a "bad" clicky noise, just the noise of parts moving. When you think about it, there are more a whole lot of moving parts on the frame that allow your back wheel to move up and down, so naturally, there might start to be some creaking when you apply pressure to your pedals. It's not a downfall of the bike, it's just something I'll have to get used to.
So other than the little "clicks" the bike makes to let me know it's there, the thing is an absolute rocket. I plan on riding my hardtail tomorrow. It should be interesting to see the difference between the bikes.
Oh, and one thing I forgot, but is important: There is a pretty big difference in the way you catch air on a full sus bike as opposed to a hardtail. I've noticed that the back of the bike comes up way more and way faster off a small jump than a hardtail does. I'm assuming this is a result of loading the rear suspension with pressure and releasing it upon takeoff. Certainly something to be aware of as I've had some near endo's more than a few times now. :)
The one and ONLY complaint I have about the bike, and this is probably an issue with ALL fully suspended mountain bikes, is that it makes a hell of a lot of "clicky" noise. Not a "bad" clicky noise, just the noise of parts moving. When you think about it, there are more a whole lot of moving parts on the frame that allow your back wheel to move up and down, so naturally, there might start to be some creaking when you apply pressure to your pedals. It's not a downfall of the bike, it's just something I'll have to get used to.
So other than the little "clicks" the bike makes to let me know it's there, the thing is an absolute rocket. I plan on riding my hardtail tomorrow. It should be interesting to see the difference between the bikes.
Oh, and one thing I forgot, but is important: There is a pretty big difference in the way you catch air on a full sus bike as opposed to a hardtail. I've noticed that the back of the bike comes up way more and way faster off a small jump than a hardtail does. I'm assuming this is a result of loading the rear suspension with pressure and releasing it upon takeoff. Certainly something to be aware of as I've had some near endo's more than a few times now. :)
Hot
Seems like just yesterday I was complaining to everyone that would listen about how I was so bummed out about the snow covering the trails. Now it's the heat that's crushing me! In reality it's not that bad. I really like being in the heat, and I believe I'm actually stronger when it gets soupy and humid. The biggest obstacle I face is forgetting to hydrate properly. More than not, I find myself with that "hangover" headache after a hot day on the bike. Need to work on that.
Yesterday I was out on the road bike. Even though I had planned on taking it relatively easy, things got going and I upped it to some tempo work. I have a habit of going with where my body takes me, and yesterday it was asking for some hard riding so I obliged. In the end I probably spent about 90 mins of my 2:30 ride at tempo pace. It was nice to put some power into the pedals and get some solid work done despite the heat and humidity of a midday session. I remembered to drink, and took care to make sure I got in some proper recovery afterwards, both in the way of nutrition and hydration.
The legs are a little sluggish this morning, so today will ABSOLUTELY be an easy day. It's supposed to get hotter and more humid today, so I'll be careful not to over extend myself. More than likely I'll have a mellow ride on the trails and chill out afterward. I've been having some issues with my IT band lately, so I'll be sure to take care of that as well.
Yesterday I was out on the road bike. Even though I had planned on taking it relatively easy, things got going and I upped it to some tempo work. I have a habit of going with where my body takes me, and yesterday it was asking for some hard riding so I obliged. In the end I probably spent about 90 mins of my 2:30 ride at tempo pace. It was nice to put some power into the pedals and get some solid work done despite the heat and humidity of a midday session. I remembered to drink, and took care to make sure I got in some proper recovery afterwards, both in the way of nutrition and hydration.
The legs are a little sluggish this morning, so today will ABSOLUTELY be an easy day. It's supposed to get hotter and more humid today, so I'll be careful not to over extend myself. More than likely I'll have a mellow ride on the trails and chill out afterward. I've been having some issues with my IT band lately, so I'll be sure to take care of that as well.
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