Wednesday, May 29, 2013

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.

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