ATX100K Reveille Peak Ranch

This is part of the ATX 100k race series.  Originally the race was supposed to be at Reimer's Ranch but because of the rain the two previous days it was moved to Reveille Peak Ranch since it's mostly granite and/or well draining soil.  I had attempted a 100k there but in a much easier route than this (did not include the upper loop which I had never done) and even then I didn't finish because I went too hard at first and I did not take enough fluids in.

I got there around 7:30 with the first 10 or so guys.  The mood was pretty relaxed as everyone was getting ready.  In a true grassroots fashion, Thad--the eventual 2nd place finisher--had to setup the table and sign-up sheet and get everyone on the program.  

The start was split into 3 groups with the fast guys in group 1.  Most people were with group 1.  I was in group 2 with maybe a dozen or so guys.  Our group was basically going to try to ride hard and finish it but we knew better than to try to go with the fastest of Austin MTB endurance racing.  The group 1 guys got released then group 2 got released 3 minutes after.  For the first time in…well, for the first time actually, it seemed like it was a contest on who could go slower.  Unlike my sprint races of late and even some other 100k and 100 mile events I've done, there weren't people sprinting or cutting me off at the start.  I was in the lead and riding very relaxed, and I got the feeling if I slowed down more everyone would too.  But I think we all knew what was about to come so that's why everyone was smart about it.  I rode next to Albert for a while and we chatted, until we got to the climb.  I don't remember where but Albert passed me and then some other guys.  I was doing my own race trying to go as slow up the climbs as possible but as is the case with me sometimes, I can't seem to help but redline in the first lap or first 30min to 1hr.

I wasn't riding my best…I seemed a bit sloppy and not taking the best lines…it was all a bit off but I was still doing OK, until I tried to go between two very tall rocks and dabbed with my right hand to brace myself and push myself forward.  I guess paddle cactus can grow in sheer granite.  I made it through this section but stopped a bit after to pull dozens of needles off my gloves. I thought my hand was OK and most were in the glove but I had to stop another 3-4 times to pull more needles from my hand, the outside of the glove, and the inside of the glove…between my index finger and thumb, index finger, and the middle finger (I still have one buried in this finger…I'll show it to you).  I lost tons of time stopping for that.   But by then I felt a lot better, more warmed up and was riding a bit better…but my tires were not gripping like I'm used to (using a new rear tire for this race.)

Then I got lost.  Somehow I missed all the signage where the super d splits off to the right, and I followed the trail up, I climbed a significant portion of a very rocky climb and some big ledges and then some muddy trail upon which I had a realization…I only see one tire trail here…I should see more.  So I had to double back.

Maybe around mile 8 or so, I was trying to listen to a hissing sound off in the distance and wondering what kind of animal it was…then I felt a periodic stream of air blowing on the inside of my left calf.  I stopped and tilted the bike with the hole on the bottom so the stan's would start to flow.  It held so I continued riding.  As soon as I put any kind of pressure on the tire it opened up again.  I stopped another 3 times to add more air.  At some point I think I'd lost most of the Stan's.  The sidewall looked to have been eroded from going off camber on the rough granite.  The hole was pretty big.  Too much pressure and the Stan's would just leak out.  Too little pressure and the tire was rolling and coming off the bead.  I rode the last 4 miles with what was basically a flat tire.  I had to walk the steep granite climbs and any off camber trail.  I was also very thirsty and out of fluids and I wasn't sure I had enough air in the Big Air can to be able to add a tube.

From a goal of 2hrs or less per lap, I was nearing 3hrs for my fist lap.  My lap was so bad that I had to channel my coach Shaun when I asked myself "what would Shaun say?" and I answered to myself, "this lap will build character." It sure did….but I also felt like I wouldn't have been surprised if a snake bit me, or a dog came out and pissed on me.

I made it to the pits, signed my first lap time, and went to my pits to put a tube in.  I wish I had stuck with my beefy and strong sidewall Specialized The Captain rear tire but I was going to have to live with a tube and this lighter weight tire.  I was very thirsty since normally I would have had 1 per hour plus maybe an extra bottle or more in the pits if it got hot.  In this day I had 2 for 3+ hours, and 3/4 of a bottle in the pits while I put in a tube.   I got back out on the trail feeling actually pretty good about putting that lap behind me.

I finally got in a rhythm and my legs and HR started to feel more normal. I knew my legs would hurt by the end of the race but I didn't care about that as long as I could continue with a good rhythm. The trail was 95% single track...and all technical with very little swoopy fast trail. It beats you up, chews you up, and spits you out but that also means it keeps you busy and engaged and I'll admit it: it's fun. I was riding much better and more confident on the 2nd lap. I was feeling good...then there was the ledge up with water running to one side. I tried to go up it but was too conservative (worried about tires slipping in the slimy water) I put my left foot down and unclipped and as I stepped my right foot up, my left slipped. This is super sharp and rough granite and I shredded my left shin, re-opened up my just-now-healing scrape on my knee as I slid backwards on my skin...and the thing that stopped my backwards momentum was a sharp sideways-pyramid piece of granite jutting out from the big rock on the left. It nailed me right on the kidney/thoracic ribs area. I actually yelled from the pain. I stood and tried to figured out how badly I was hurt. Blood was gushing out of my knee and the gash was still white and not bleeding yet but I could see that was all superficial and would stop bleeding.

Granite+shin=this (after clean-up)

My back pain was bad though and it was throbbing. I decided to ride back and call it quits and I informed a few folks that passed me at this point while I was taking account of my injuries. I walked back a bit, then I rode, then the back started to loosen up a bit. So I decided to turn around keep riding the lap...and I actually got in the rhythm again. Then the sun started coming out while on the rock, I was hot but I was still feeling really good. I kind of felt nothing would hold me back, that I was managing the pain, the race, the heat well.  Matt passed me while on the top of the rock…in the spot where it's hard to see where the trail goes.  I went the wrong way and he almost followed me.  It was a bit surreal because he seemed pretty relaxed and polite but there was nobody behind him for a while.  He had passed me halfway through my first lap while he was on his second, and now he was passing me early on my 2nd lap while he was on his 3rd.  I kept on riding on my own for a while still feeling good.  All of a sudden I started to feel really thirsty, and hot, and I started getting those chills again (like what got me to quit RPR 100k) I was running very dry. Toward the end of the lap the back started seizing up again. Any time I would have to go up a ledge or step, it would want to seize up. My shoulders/neck was terrible too...if I hadn't had back problems, that would have made me stop too (like RHR24 in 2011...that bad.)  I was walking very slowly up some hills whenever I didn't feel well, and then I would ride whenever I could.  It was while walking one of those climbs toward the end of the 2nd lap that Thad passed me.  I think I was still bitching about my first lap so he thought I was pushing the bike for a mechanical but I told him I was OK.

I somehow made it back to the pit stop a bit dejected then I saw a lot of the fit riders that had passed me in the first lap already showered and driving off. Then I went to the lap sheet to post my 2nd lap time and saw a bunch of people had DNF on theird 3rd lap. I felt a little better about it but I still hate it. I didn't put my DNF in yet because I wanted to see if I could just pump fluids in and recover and to see if the back would get better. I saw Thad using the stick on his lower back, and Todd, one of the organizers, had quit because he pulled his lower back. Albert was ambivalent about quitting too since he likely had at least bruised ribs from a fall. He said a bunch of guys had fallen too. Eventually I saw John Russell come in. He said he wasn't feeling good, was taking it easy, but was in 3rd place. I saw another guy get mock-disgusted to hear John say he was taking it easy. I just laughed. You just have to admire the kind of performance Matt, Thad, and John put on for us.  

I almost knew I wasn't going to finish this race at some point in my 2nd lap, but I was toying with the idea of going for a 3rd lap with my phone and taking some pictures since it was so beautiful. I love this trail because it's so different and you can ride it even in the rain. 

I opened my car door and my ribs/back really hurt so I knew my day was done after 5.5 hours or so of riding.  I signed the DNF and showered.  That shower felt great.  But the best part of the day was that I enjoyed being out there riding hard on technical stuff and doing well until I or my bike couldn't anymore.  Unlike some other big name race I didn't finish, I want to come back and finish this race next year..and I'll keep trying until I do.

Mellow Johnny's Classic Cat3 Race

My first mountain bike race, I think 4-5 years ago was a TMBRA sprint race.  I made the jump straight to a 6 hour endurance race without doing another sprint MTB race.  I needed some more races in my schedule this spring so I signed up for this race because it fit in my schedule, without knowing how big a deal the Mellow Johnny's Classic Race was.  Then I read on the forums how people were excited to see the pros, and this was a UCI race, etc.  I was excited to watch some of the pro women's race after I finished.

I was very nervous about this race.  This was only a 7.6 mile race for the Cat3.  I knew with a sprint race you have to get up front or you will be stuck behind people that may be in very good shape but may have to dismount in technical areas.  At my weight, I can't afford to loose momentum…I don't know if it's as a result of that, or just honing my skills by watching the really skilled guys in Austin and practicing on my own but I've improved a lot in the technical area the last 4-5 years.  I am at a disadvantage on the climbs but I can gain some of that back on the flats and on any technical obstacles.

Technical skills confidence notwithstanding, I was very nervous about those other guys both more skilled and in better shape than me.  I did not want to be "that guy" that sprints to the front only to hold people back 1 mile in.  I wasn't sure what to do so I asked my coach Shaun.  After his response, there was no doubt about what I had to do at the start.  The nervousness from having to worry about that went completely away.  I was now only nervous about blowing up early, but not that much because it was a known possibility.

I woke up at 3:30am very congested and with a headache. 5hrs sleep after 3 bad nights of sleep that week was not optimal but I've done it before.  Some Advil for the headache and breakfast and off we went with some English Breakfast tea.  After a shorter warm-up than planned, I felt perfect. I made a couple of tweaks to shock pressure and stem and I went to line up for the start.

At the start.  That's me in the background.  In the foreground
with his back to the camera is the guy I was racing for 9th.
To the right in the white & green is the guy that got 9th from us.

I got a bit lucky in that they had pre-staging with a roll-call and I was in the first 15 or so. I got to watch the start of the previous group and it was an easy climb on jeep road which leaves room for people to string out.  They released us in waves which was a good thing.  My age group had 45 starters.  All of Cat3 was probably more than 120.  Come the start I punched it hard and passed a few people. I was already redlining by the point we hit the singletrack so I settled in behind some guys at a good pace. I figured I was roughly top 10, maybe top 12. I also figured these guys would not get stuck on some of the technical sections.  I felt pretty confident of riding the whole course without dabbing.  Pre-riding the course was a HUGE advantage on this trail.  I knew where people would get stuck, so I would hang back and watch their lines to avoid any stoppages while keeping my momentum up (essential because of my weight) and I passed several people this way. I think maybe I only passed 3-4 people in my age group but later I figured I must have been passing people in the 30-39 group (also apparently race officials pull people off the trail if they are not within 80% of the leaders' pace). 

The climbs were rough but they felt much shorter than on the pre-ride. The biggest problem for me were the technical features that had big requirements in power. Those cost me big but I knew this was not like an endurance race where I could walk it and save my legs--I had to go hard. I had set my HR alarm at 185bpm...it went off a lot.  The first 3-4 miles (my distance reading was off all weekend for some reason) are hard but there is more flowy stuff in the middle.  I could go fast without having to peak too much which allowed my legs to recover.  The legs and heart were still at maximum though…in this case, recovery was 180-181bpm.  There is a strava climb somewhere in the middle.  It's brutal but the amazing thing is when you're already redlined and not trying to save anything, you get through it quickly.  It's a weird thing…it's not like I was going to allow my HR to get down to 170bpm after that.  It was a new experience for me.  

One of the climbs in the last 1km of the race.  This is
Rebecca Henderson from Australia in her first lap of four
on her way to winning the race.

Somewhere after the halfway point I passed one guy I had been chasing (but not catching.)  He'd broken his chain on probably the 2nd worst climb of the race.  I felt bad for him.

At some point I knew I was close to the finish. Then I saw the 3km mark. I was not close to anyone that I could see. WIth 2km I caught up with 2 guys. I was eating up ground between us any time there was a short climb or technical obstacle. They would punch it on the flat and the longer climbs and distance themselves. I figured I'll hang behind them and sprint them out at the finish. One of the cooler features 0.5km from the finish (where huge crowds gathered to cheer and take pictures) has us going along a creek bed for about 100 yards before climbing out on a rocky steep ramp. I saw several people were stuck there and I hoped I could find a gap to pass without slowing down and I did (it was cool to hear someone cheer me on by my number when I cleared it!) and passed a few folks more (likely more 30-39 groupers). Those areas are where it pays off to ride City Park or some of the Green Belt.  There are lots of areas at those two parks where I still have to try multiple times or just plain walk it but it's all part of making myself a better rider and it pays off on race day. 

The hairpin before the last little rock step where those two
guys in front got stuck.  Blue and black is the guy I'm
racing.  That's me all in blue behind him.

Back to the finish...at the last little step that follows a hairpin turn on some loose dirt, the guy in the two ahead of me got stuck, they both stopped to un-clip and push the bikes and blocked the way. I saw an opening on the right but there were lots of people there and a tree/bush stump. I almost made it up but I was in the wrong gear. I gained ground but they got going before me so I couldn't pass. If I had to do that again, I would have yelled to clear…they wouldn't have to since we're racing but maybe I'd rattle them a bit. I would also punch it harder to clear on the one clear spot instead of getting stuck on the wrong gear. 

The last step.  This is during the women's pro race.  Yes that
is a guy in a red dress ringing half of a bike frame as a bell
and the other is a guy too, with a string bikini and a handlebar
moustache Shaun would approve of.

It's easy now to say that I should have recognized I wouldn't have a sprint left in me. In any case, we're in a bunch the slower of the two guys eventually drops off and it's 9th place and me in 10th. We get to the paved road climb to the finish line, I can hear 11th closing up very fast. I could tell he was strong. I start picking up speed. By this point I couldn't stand and sprint. It was only seated. The 9th place guy also goes, he's also beat but has enough to stay in front of me, but 11th flies by both of us. So I ended up in 11th in a sprint finish. All 3 of us 1 second apart at 45:44, 45:45, 45:46. It was awesome. I collapsed at the end and sat on my butt for a while to recover. By that point I was sure I was top 10. I was a bit deflated when Holly looked up and told me the results. But I know I left it all on the trail. Pre-race was perfect. Race start was perfect. I did great during the race all things considered and I learned a bunch. I only wish I'd gotten more sleep this week, and passed the 9th place guy at some point earlier in the trail instead of saving it for the end.

I will do more of these sprint races.  Huge crowds, big fun, and the pain is over quickly. It is intense though. My right quad was very painful in descents and after the race...but we hiked quite a bit to watch the pro-women so that helped loosen it up. I got some more good pictures of the women's pro race I'll post a link to later. We didn't stay until the end since I just wanted to get home, eat, and sleep (I figured I had gotten 21-22 hours total in the previous 5 nights)....well, I got a free Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, talked to the SRAM guy who helped me with some tuning, and then we had some Hat Creek Burgers.

What fun!!