12Hr race: The Dirty Dozen 2017

I got to the race at 8:50am on Saturday morning after the drive from Austin.  I couldn't find my number at home (went there Friday, checked-in, pre-rode, went home to sleep) so searching for it made me very late.  I don't like to get to races with a lot of time to spare because it makes me so nervous waiting for the start.  I'd rather be rushed to make it there, but this was ridiculous.  I don't know how it works out psychologically but I just feel so much better not hanging around for too long before the race.   I'm the opposite when it comes to airports...but I digress.

So, I get there and I went to ask for a blank plate, and Diana (I really hope I remember the name correctly, forgive me if I didn't) at registration told me they have my number (I had left it in the bathroom when I changed).  While I changed into my bib and jersey, Diana got the number from the officials at the start and put the number on my bike.  Everyone was almost done with the run by the time I got on the bike...then I went the wrong way and got stuck in a corral.  I found my way around, basically rode the full run section and started--slowing at the start line to make sure they'd got me crossing--and off I went.  My “run time” was something like 6.5 minutes.  That’s how late I was to the party.

I was relaxed and just happy to be racing and happy to have an empty trail in front of me...down around the pond I started getting tears in my eyes while I had thoughts of the long road back from my broken ankle, surgery, rehab, the hard weeks for my wife Holly where she had to do everything for me and the kids, etc.  Then I just smiled and went. 

It was cold and humid but all the rushing while wearing my wool hoodie had me at perfect temp with just arm warmers and my normal head beanie (I wear it because helmets are gross and I break out, and to keep the sun from my scalp with the SPF50 cloth).

I started passing people about halfway through the first section in the woods (Aker woods or something like that) but I was not expending energy to pass in a hurry like I did the last time in 2014.

I made it to Gas Pass and felt good, almost caught someone there in the swoopy section after the descent but they got going again thankfully and I passed them in the flat.  I did the big steep climb in super slow cadence in the easiest gear just to save the legs.  There was more passing in the flat sections, not much to remember there until the muddy slick climb.  A mix of cow poop, pine needles, deep sticky mud had me making it almost to the top, dabbing, then remounting (I would go to make this climb without dabbing only 4 times in the race).  The whole time I'm conserving legs, letting people go away from me to save my legs...catching in the flats and descents.  I was actually riding the flowing sections pretty well considering how little off-roading I've been doing lately.  Through the race, as I did more laps I got even better with lower effort per lap without a reduction in lap time.  As I neared the end of the lap I saw Tony L. going the opposite way...this is when I thought I'd gone too fast so I consciously started to slow down.  Tony mentioned he was afraid I would go too fast and I think he was a bit concerned for how my race would go after a rushed late start.  I still managed about a 48-minute lap which means it was a 41.5-minute lap without the “run time,” and that’s too fast for me at this point in my fitness.

The second and third laps there was a lot more passing.  I really didn't know where I was in the order, but then doing the math in my head I realized that I was on pace for 4 laps in 3 hours...which means 16 lap pace.  I was completely certain that I couldn't sustain that pace based on previous years’ results for winners and where I am in my training this year (at the bottom), so I kept on consciously trying to slowing down.

By this point, my hands are not numb as usual, but my feet are a little numb, and my shoulders are killing me.  All the on-bike stretching and movements aren't helping much.  I think it was after lap 2 that I stop to stretch—while thinking back to my last unfinished RHR 24...tight hips and hamstrings = sore back = end of the race at hour 8.  So, I did hip flexor stretching, hamstring stretching, back stretching...and lo-and-behold my shoulders felt good, my feet were no longer numb, and my legs felt refreshed.  I decided it was better to keep doing sub-50 minute laps and spend 2-3 minutes per lap stretching than to do 50 minute laps and not stretch.  I think it was the perfect plan, and my trend for learning at least one new thing at every race is still going strong.

At some point after the 3 hour mark it was obvious to me that I could do 7 laps in 6 hours, which meant a 14-lap pace.  I thought that would put in in the podium for sure, but I kept reminding myself that my goal was to finish, and to think of the ankle, and to not take any risks and injure myself in some way again.  After the halfway-point I figured I couldn't do 7 laps in the 2nd half, but I had more than 6 hours to get 6 laps in.  Up to this point, my nutrition was right on schedule.  6 hours, and about 6 bottles of Infinit.  I figured it would be easy an easy last 6 laps...but then lap 8 happened...

So…up to this point and since January 2016, I am still taking it easy on caffeine.  I thought about risking some caffeine in the race, but I forgot a buffer for my stomach...so I went without the caffeine, and lap 8 is where I really needed it.  I don't think I was necessarily much slower, but it took a toll mentally.  I don't really remember much of the lap...there was nothing of consequence that I can think of. 

At this point, I was wondering where Tony was.  I wasn't catching him so I guessed he was feeling well and doing some flying laps and was chasing to lap me.  After lap 8, I stopped for a longer time.  For the first time, it was a true break and not a stretch.  I got going for lap 9.  I was a bit faster and feeling better after the break.  I thought I would have time to spare to take a longer break next time around to make sure I'd finish. 

I took a long break and put the lights on.  I wasn't walking between my gear bag and my bike as much as crawling.  It was hard to stand up.  At this point Tony came in.  I thought this was him lapping me, but amazingly he was on the same lap as me.  Apparently in the first lap he'd taken a bio-break and I passed him.  We had been riding just a few minutes apart the whole race!  I was starting to get swollen hands…too much sodium for the cold climate, so I took off my wedding ring at this point.  I waited a bit longer after Tony left before I went out.  The clouds looked ominous but I didn't think too much of it...I should have...  By the time I got to the pond, it was a full drizzle with wind and it felt cold.  I figured I'd warm-up once I got to the forest...I didn't.  It took a while to warm-up eventually but still felt cold in those open sections--which Bluff Creek Ranch has lots of.  Cold=nipplage+jiggle=chafing and that is a terrible thing.  Not much else makes me want to stop riding than that pain.  It’s awful.  I walked up the steep climb and it actually felt good on my legs.  My HR stayed low and I don't think I went slower than I'd been riding it, but I think this lap I could have used caffeine too.  Mentally, it also took a toll.  This weak mentality may have cost me a position or two...by the end of the lap, I wanted to put my jacket on and warm-up.  I wanted to stop...and I didn't want to give myself the option for 3 more laps.  I figured 2 easy laps was it.  I was going to take a long break, then ride easy to take away any option to do a 13th last lap.  Pretty messed up huh?  I could have used a bit of my friends John and Thad in my pit going a bit crazy, popping some caffeine in my mouth telling me I was going to see baby Jesus and pumping me up.  (ca. RHR 24 2012, I will never forget that as long as I live).

Amazingly, it is actually hard to ride Bluff Creek Ranch slowly, probably because it would be pretty boring (not a bad thing, just that speed makes it flow and fun).  I was still doing a good lap (the official lap times include my breaks too so it's hard to tell from those) and I actually gave myself a really good chance for a 13th lap.  I finished lap 11 not having drunk much of my bottle.  It was cold, I didn't feel thirsty, I did feel hungry, but I couldn't stomach drinking the normal amount.  I think my lower sodium blend would have been better than the full-on blend. 

I started lap 12 mentally thinking I couldn't do 13 but I gave myself the option of going again if I felt the need.  I was feeling OK until the climb after the Gas Pass descent.  I got off and walked...I had nothing left in my legs.  At this point, 3 guys passed me, one of which was Tony.  I guess he took another bio-break (I took mine I think in lap 8 or 9) and I'd passed him.  Now I was wanting to catch him up...partly to race him since we were competing against each other, but partly because I wanted to ride with a friend just to keep myself going, maybe have him pulling me along to make sure I didn't stop and lay down on the trail (RHR24 ca. 2012).  I had no idea what position we were in.  [taking a look back:  At the halfway point, I actually felt I could have been in 1st or 2nd based on previous years, but in my lap 7 another soloist passed me on his 8th lap.  Later in my 10th lap a guy passed me and he told me he was on his 12th and he was riding SS.  I figured previous years were not a good indication for this year's pace.  Maybe the trail was better--with slight moisture making for a fast trail, who knows.] So, mentally--at that point--I wasn't going to race Tony, but then I saw he hammered up the steep climb, and so did I, faster than on any other lap.  He still took a big gap on me.  It took a lot out of me but I didn't coast after the climb, and I attacked the steep and slick Mule Trace descent chasing after Tony, then boring flat stuff until some curvy stuff before the bridge at which point I caught up with him and he let me by.  He hadn't realized it was me (or maybe he didn't want to pull me which would have been an awesome strategic move on his part).  I had told him it was OK but he'd slowed down and pointed me by at this point and so I was in front.  I was slow on any ascent, but OK on most other stuff.  We got through a bunch of nice trail until the longish climb into the BMX section. It's a very shallow climb but against the wind and for some reason it feels a lot harder than you'd think by looking at it, at least for me.  At this point, Tony went balls to the wall and passed me.  I tried to chase but had nothing left.  After the climb, I got fast again and was fast in the rest of the trail but didn't see him ahead.  I went through start finish with 58 minutes to go.  They told me "You have time for one more lap!" and I said, "no, I'm done" but it nagged at me...and also thinking Tony had passed me but also thinking how I'd dug deep to try to chase him and didn’t have much left.  I was already not riding well in the last lap, making small mistakes, but we'd both discussed calling it quits. 

I got to the pit, and Tony had stopped and had his finisher medal.  I had thoughts of going again if he'd go back out with me, but I didn't even pose the question to him.  I have no doubt that if I'd gotten to the pits and he wasn't there, it would have been another lap for me.  As it turned out, the guy in 2nd had a several minute lead on us, but I had no idea about placing until maybe 10 minutes later.  I was packing up and Tony said, "you're going to hate me, I bumped you out of the podium."  It was a bunch of emotions at once.  First, I was very happy to actually have done so well with what I consider my worst fitness going into an endurance event, but I was also a bit upset to think I just missed out on the podium when I had a chance to do another lap, and at the same time very happy for Tony since he was staging a comeback as well.  For about half the race I allowed myself to dream of a podium finish.  It would have been the perfect ending to my comeback from the injury.   Looking back a bit...just missing out on it may be a good thing since it awakened the hunger in me:  I don't just want to finish; I want to compete.  The words from coach Shaun after I told him of my injury were very prophetic, I am paraphrasing a bit "...before you know it, you'll be toeing the line, fighting for a podium spot."  I'd be lying if I wasn't trying to wipe those words from my head during the race so as to stay within my pace.

Incidentally, my decent result has me thinking some of the training metrics may be better at judging fatigue than fitness.   It’s also clear how invaluable 5 years (2010 to 2015) of professional coaching from Shaun Taylor at are, not just the training and workouts part--which honestly you can get from multiple sources--but also how an “unfair advantage” (with credit to Mark Donohue for the phrase) are the mental and strategy game.  That was the difference between doing well, and competing for a podium for me.  I have not forgotten any of the lessons and I would be lying if I wasn't thinking of all those post-race lessons during the race, thanks Coach!

Thanks to Terra Firma Racing for another great event--as usual!

I have to thank all my endurance racing friends for their encouragement on my comeback, sharing their training rides on social media, hanging out with them, etc.  Dave, John, Julie, Tony thanks!

Thanks to Dr. Elenz at Austin Sports Medicine (rock stars all of them) and Ross Vines, Audrey, David, and Sarah at Seton Spine & Rehabilitation.  I highly recommend all of the above...and I hope you don't need them ever.

Mostly, thanks to my wife Holly for her unwavering support and encouragement, for weeks of holding the household together while I was in crutches, and continuing to encourage my passion for mountain biking and riding in general.   I couldn't have done it without you.

Super-Six Enduro at Bluff Creek Ranch

This was going to be my first time racing at Bluff Creek Ranch in years.  The last couple of years I had meant to do the Dirty Dozen, usually with having some kind of cold related problems.  This time I wanted to do it, but I was advised to do only the 6hour race.  It was good advice considering how little I've been training or even riding.

Hook 'em Horns!

With a 7-8am race check-in, a 9am start, and only 1hr 15 minute drive, I decided to drive the same day.  I woke up at 5:15 but I was for the most part packed up and ready to go.  I just needed coffee and something to eat on the way. 

Race check-in was uneventful and here I found out Terra Firma is using an RFID tag for the solo riders.  That meant not having to wait in line to scan the wrist band and not having to get off the bike on every lap.  That was pretty cool!

I had my toolbox but wasn't going to setup too much of a pit since Brian had a nice setup already.  I just needed a small place to stash my cooler and I'd be set.  I saw Tony on check-in and then later found Brian and Melissa starting to get ready.  Soon after, I went off on my warm-up.  I decided to do a lap of the first part of the course since it goes close to the pits on the way out.  I was feeling pretty good with good speed and low HR for the RPE and was testing out the course.  We had ridden it the previous weekend and it was in good shape.  I found a couple of spots where the trail had deteriorated and noted them in my mind.  I got to a spot where it dips into a dry creek bed after a sharp left with a berm.  I tried to rail the berm like the previous weekend but it collapsed on me.  I went down hard.  My left shifter got messed up and I re-sprained my right wrist badly.  My stem was a bit askew as was my saddle.  I got up and other than the wrist pain and some blood on the left forearm and left knee, I knew I was in good shape.  I straightened out the saddle and rode the rest of the lap.  I was now worried about making it to the race start in time since I had to stop by my car to makes some fixes and pick up a couple of things to take to the pit (spare chain.)  I was able to fix my shifter and stem quickly, I rode by the pit, tossed my keys (and that's it…can you tell what I picked up at my car and didn't toss out that I should have?)

I don't know why but I knew I was going to go hard today.  Maybe it is the months without racing, or the very low amount of riding the last few months (I went a month without riding and several weeks with no riding at all!) but based on my rides the last few weeks and the leg openers I was feeling confident and a bit rambunctious.  We did the usual LeMans running start and I ran a bit faster than normal and felt good, but still not the sprint that a lot of folks/runners were doing so I was probably in the back third or quarter of group.  

These were everywhere on the trail.

Pasture section between the first section and the rest
of the trail.

The first lap was like a sprint race with all the folks that go all out for the first 15 minutes only to collapse later.  Most of the people were nice since Scott Hudson from Terra Firma had warned people about passing/lapping, and courteousness.  The slowing down of the train was so bad that at some point we thought there was a big wreck since we almost stopped.  The guy behind me was wondering what happened…then we rode over--I kid not--a 2" root in dry sand before a gentle left hand turn and we sped up again.  He made me laugh when he half-jokingly said, "wait, THAT WAS IT?!"  BIKE SKILLS PEOPLE, BIKE SKILLS!"  this is when we both turned up the wick to try to pass people.

One kid was fairly slow but steady…he was wearing khaki chinos and a white t-shirt, street shoes and flats…yes, he had a race number!  He was pretty cool though in letting people by when there was a chance.  Another kid was not so nice.  He was on flats too and was putting his foot down on very easy turns, and when I saw a chance to pass and called "on your left" he started sprinting!  "OH NO YOU DIDN'T!" was what went through my head.  I quickly passed him.  I was redlining with every pass, but I had a goal of 8 laps so I knew what I had to do to accomplish that and I did not want my first lap to be over 50 minutes because of the slower folks. I knew it was going to hurt later but...well...I knew what it was going to feel like.  We left that first tangled section of trail onto the cow chute and "bike skills" guy passed me and we wished each other luck.  There was a long stream of people heading up the pasture and I desperately wanted to sprint and pass as many as possible before Gas Pass but I held back a bit.  It turned out to be not too bad in Gas Pass other than for two dismounts in front of me, but I was able to track stand and push through.  My heart was about to come out of my mouth by this point.  My rear tire was squirrely. I know that feeling as a tire that was low on pressure.  I think I may have burped it when I went down in the warm-up.  I knew I would have to stop to put air in and that was un-scheduled and not good for my 8-lap plan.  The added incentive to go fast was to put some distance between the non-technical folks I had passed so they wouldn't pass me as I was airing up.

This is where the 4 years of training with Shaun, and the times watching and hanging out with the fast guys pays off.  My fitness is probably at a 2-year low but my experience is at an all-time high.  My coach is my Unfair Advantage.

Lap 2 had a few more people to pass but it was mostly much smoother.  I got to ride behind a lady wearing a Colin's Hope team kit  (the executive director no less!) so we got to chatting about it and said her goal with the team kits was exactly that: to have conversations and bring awareness during a race.  This is the cool thing about endurance racing, you can have a conversation with folks while you ride.

I kept the balls to the wall for a few laps and was doing pretty even splits but one lap I thought I slowed down 3-4 minutes [it turns out it was actually a faster lap than I thought.  I think I must have been in more of a rhythm not having to expend energy passing people so it felt slower/easier] I knew what I had to do to do two more laps so I turned up the wick and did a fairly fast first split.  I could go harder but I also knew I wouldn't have much left on me if I did.  I had to go just hard enough and if I finished that lap and had at least 45 minutes left I would try another lap.  (Over 6hrs it doesn't count.) I was doing ok but I hit the wall at some point in the last third of the race.  I couldn't go very fast at that point.

Throughout the race, I kept pushing and feel like I was mentally strong.  As soon as I wanted to coast I started pedaling.  That worked for me and I plan on using that in the future.  In addition, for some reason passing people gave me a boost of energy too.  My calves hurt and felt like they could cramp any minute but nothing like my quads.  On the last lap, I got to the bridge climb and the quads started seizing up.  I had to stop and stretch and that was probably enough to keep me from meeting my target time.

All in all, I had a blast and it was a good workout and a really good mental test.  It was probably my best race as far as strategy and execution.  I set a new HR threshold too.

Once again, shoulders were what caused me to slowed down one lap.  Though all the fitters said my fit is ok, I will go down to a 90mm stem like John recommended to me.

Later after the race, I was able to analyze the results…and I'm not sure I understand the timing.  When I crossed the finish in my 7th lap, my clock indicated we had been racing 5:22 minutes or so.  My Garmin 705 time was 5:15 or so but I did not start my time until after the run, and I had it shut down (a random shut down...happens every so often) and lost a minute or so.  The race clock was showing 5:76 (yep, seventy-six) and was thinking it should have said 5:26, but I was fairly sure I had my times right and it made sense if I had assumed correctly one of my laps had been over 50 minutes.  It turns out, my laps were extremely consistent until the last lap when I stopped for 3-4 minutes!  From lap 1:  42:45 (includes the run!), 43:41 (includes a pit stop to add air to rear tire), 43:39, 44:31, 45:30 (this is the lap I thought I had slowed down more), 46:30, 49:28 (includes 3-4 minutes to stretch the quads and calves.  I think by my calculations and assuming 2-3 minute run time at the start, that I would have had to do a 40 minute lap to have had it count.  That was impossible at that point for my legs.

I'm pretty sure I ate some cow poop

I believe I was a lot more dehydrated than I thought.  During the race I stuck to a bottle of my custom-blend Infinit per hour.  After the race I drank 2 24oz bottles of water, 2 16oz bottles of water, 1 16oz bottle of milk/WPI recovery drink, 2 16oz glass of water at home.  At 2:30am when I woke up hungry and thirsty, I drank another pint of water and ate a bowl of cereal, then another pint of water after.  In the morning, I was still peeing darker than usual.   Next time I will supplement with some water during the pit stops.

I can't wait for my next race, but first I'm going to do race support for my coach and a bunch of his athletes at the 24 hours of Old Pueblo.  That should be fun!

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!!

2012 Enchilada Buffet

At some point I had decided this would be an "A" "race" for me since I had two weeks to recover between the RHR 24 hours and the Enchilada Buffet (EB)...but I had a slow recovery the first week.  I just couldn't sit on the saddle for over a week so there was no recovery rides, no flushing of the legs.  Even so, the 2 rides before the EB had me believing there was a bit of hope to do a decent ride...but I went into this year's EB as a fun race.   You can read more and see the route in the above link, but basically it's a neutral start from Walnut Creek Park in North Austin down to the Barton Creek Greenbelt in downtown Austin where the fun starts.  I've started this race in 2009 but was ill prepared and I had enough by 50 miles.  I was much better prepared in 2010 and finished it in around 10 hours or so.  In 2011 I had a wedding to attend so I had to stop after City Park.

The neutral start was much faster than in years past.  It was also much warmer than the last 3 years with heavy fog.  In years past we've always had a single-speeder pacing the pack but this year we didn't.

The Greenbelt (BCGB) portion was fun.  I paced myself and was riding great handling all the technical sections perfectly (except for one easy part which I cover below).  Somewhere on the main trail De Nguyen--a co-worker--passed me and told me another guy from work was behind us.  Later I would pass De but not sure if he was having a mechanical.  Once we hit Sweet16 (S16) I had to be more careful.  It had been more than 90 minutes since we started riding and I still didn't feel settled in.  I rode very easily on the flatter and easier sections but any technical riding made my HR spike.  If I didn't go above LT it was only because I had started from a low HR...but for sure it was spiky power even though I was going the slowest I could.  To go slower would be to walk and this is mountain biking, not mountain walking, and I was having a blast riding through these sections and clearing almost everything.  I did walk anything that was extended and steep to save the legs.  I still felt like I was conserving power.  Toward the end of S16, I totally mis-timed a root and my front wheel got caught.  My fork compressed fully, my arms held me but I felt pitched forward without endoing...then a slow roll to the left onto mostly soft terrain.  This would cause me very sharp neck pain for most of the ride after Loop 360.

Mulch hill is a long climb and it starts with a wall.  I can normally ride this tricky steep section but I opted to walk it.  I did OK keeping my HR in check while walking probably not much slower than I would have ridden it.

Hill of life (HOL) is tough.  Usually I ride until I loose traction and have to unclip (lots of loose rocks).  I couldn't ride it an any speed at all so I was going super slow which makes it harder to keep moving.  I walked a long section until I found an EB volunteer filming...I HAD TO ride for a bit (for the camera!) and my HR went above where I wanted it to but I walked right after that.   The theme for me was to keep moving but keep the pace as easy as I could.  My time split here meant no faster than my best time, and how I was feeling at the time, it probably meant slower.

After this was a road ride through loop 360.  This is where my legs were really feeling it and my HR was also spiking.  On the climbs the sun was hitting full-on broad side.  I could see my HR spike then go back down when I'd hit the shade from a cliff wall even though I was climbing.  At some point I discovered that there was a reset effect.  If I'd let the HR go down to 140-150 on the downhills I'd be easier to keeping a good pace.  I would descend at 40-45mph in a tall gear then pedal hard to the start of the hill which meant a lot less low speed pedaling to go up the hill (and more airflow to cool myself.)  I did OK for the rest of Loop 360.

Courtyard is a super steep climb.  I'm very familiar with it and can climb it without stopping on the road bike.  I can climb without stopping on the MTB but it doesn't pay off since I can walk just as fast on some of the steepest sections (>20degrees).  Still my legs were not feeling up to their normal self.

City Park Road, is a shorter but super steep road climb leading to twisty two-way road with no shoulder.  I try to save energy on the climb so I can maintain pace on the road.  I don't like to go too slow since even though it's a 30mph speed limit, lots of fly through there at 50-60.

City Park (aka Emma Long).   I didn't stop and just hit the trail. I just kept momentum.  I walked all the tricky ledges ( had decided that for this race I was going to try or walk the traditional and more difficult lines instead of the easier re-routes...whose number is just getting out of hand IMO).  Normally I can make (or at least try) most of them but again, I wanted to limit power spikes.  I did another fork compression "trick"...I can't even remember where or when but it didn't help my neck pain.  The whole ride to this point I was only thinking of saving my legs for Thumper.  It was a slow lap for me since I had to stop a couple of times to stretch my neck and shoulders.  I would just hang from a branch for a couple of minutes.  Here I found a kid (oh...he could be in his 20's for all I know and I just called him a kid...I feel old...) that was asking me about the trail since he was out of water.  I told him it wasn't much farther and he offered some ibuprofen and I took 3.  They would help a lot for a while.

Jester Road.  This road is normally not hard for me...but it was painful.  I had just reloaded two bottles with water and my Infinit.  The water tasted like hose water so it wasn't too palatable.  I would drink only one of them but I still had enough in the camelback and a bottle of Jet Fuel in my pack that I was saving.  I knew there'd be good water at Thumper.  I stopped a few times on Jester to cool down under shade.  We come out down this super steep road called Beauford.  It's a nasty piece of work.  It has been rotto milled for traction so the bike just sort of skims the surface.  I normally just ride fast but here the bike actually would drift...from shoulder to dividing line so I had to scrub speed.  At the bottom is a full stop and when I tried to stop my brakes were completely faded.  I saw a roadie lying on the sidewalk asked if he was OK all while I knew I would just have to blow the stop sign since I had zero braking power.  I could smell my brake pads.  That's the first time that ever happened to me and that includes riding down some steep and long stuff in Colorado and NC.  The roadie said he was OK and I turned onto the road safely to ride on 360 some more.

Spicewood Springs road was uneventful.  This is my 'hood.  I made it to St. Ed's and the climb seemed easier than I expected.  I was at the top before I knew it.  I proceeded on the down hill portion which forms the loop in a P when rain started falling.  The bottom part of the loop in the P is slick rock over a 80-100ft cliff so I just walked.  I got to a point where there is an overlook as the rain drops started coming in heavier and knowing my PR was out of reach and since I was actually enjoying the ride (neck pain notwithstanding) I took my helmet, backpack and sat down with my face facing the rain.  It was great to cool off...but then I actually started getting cold so I got moving again.  Then the rain really started to come down.  I was careful of roots since the rock is not too slick in this park.  I blasted the downhill along with a torrent of water.  I couldn't see the rocks but I know this trail really well so I rode the descent fast.  I finished this trail pretty fast. I looked at my time and was pretty happy with my split up to this point.  I was worried about Thumper being wet but I could see it was a small cloud.  Sure enough once back on the road it got dry.

Yaupon and Thumper.  Yaupon was a bear.  I feel like I could keep climbing but would stop to take a breather mostly out of fear of using up my legs.  I started Thumper and it was damp.  Right off the bat I knew I would be walking.  I'll admit that Thumper scares me when it's dry but it petrifies me when it's wet.  I had the same rear tire as in the 24 and it's pretty slick by now.  It actually has pretty good traction in the dry even in loose stuff.  But the rock at Thumper is slick as snot.  I didn't want to risk injury so I walked a lot of it.  Normally I think I can do 90-100 minutes during the EB (my PB is something like 72 minutes but riding only Thumper).  I think I took 150 minutes to do Thumper this time including several stops to stretch my neck.  I wanted to just stop from the pain but I was determined to finish...it's not easy getting out of Thumper by shortcut anyway and after Thumper it's all better.  I ran into a couple of guys who had been lost at Thumper for hours according to them.  They just wanted out.  I couldn't help them other than to show them the correct way for the rest of the trail, since the only way I know to get out of Thumper is to do the whole thing.  They eventually went off trying to walk across the switch backs and I didn't see them again.  I wasn't the only one to ride a much slower lap than normal but I know some others were able to ride a fast lap (Thad rode it in 59 minutes!).  Still, I got out and I was feeling sleepy again..just like at RHR.  They had a station with food and water and everything you'd need including some tylenol.  I drank 3 cups of water, then tylenol with another cup, then caffeine with another cup, then some gold fish with another cup.  Then I mixed two more bottles.  I'd have 1 more bottle waiting for me in the car at Walnut Creek.

The ride to Walnut Creek was very windy throughout and it was a head wind on Parmer Road but I was feeling really good.  The best I'd felt all day and I know the caffeine hadn't kicked in yet.  I rode a fairly fast pace then turned into the wind but was still doing 16-17mph and 19mph in spots.  I made it to Walnut Creek but I don't remember much of the road.

Walnut Creek...I decided I had enough in my bottles and a tiny bit on the camelback to just go.  I didn't have lights since I wasn't planning on finishing this late and the day was about to end.  So I did a flier of a lap at Walnut.  Dare I say, I was on fire, nailing the lines, smooth and lazy and the trail and bike were cooperating with awesome grip.   I didn't look at all my splits but I believe from Thumper to the end of my lap at Walnut Creek took me <90 minutes which is pretty fast for me.  I felt fairly fresh and a bit confused as to why I felt like I had saved too much but earlier in the day I felt like I was going too hard.

To my great surprise, my wife Holly was waiting for me at the finish with a big hug and a kiss and I posed for the EB picture with my finisher's fork and a plate with an enchilada.  (also waiting for me:  Rudy's BBQ, Fryar Tacos, and a rainbow.)  Then Greg F came over and we talked for a bit.  Next was George.  He's the hero of a lot of the riders in Austin.  He's super strong and a good rider and a great guy.  I saw people here at the finish that I hadn't seen in months so it was good to catch up.  Cody B and Eric S were already in street clothes by the time I finished.  I didn't see Thad or my co-worker De but I knew Thad should have finished a few hours before me.  De had told me he was just planning on doing as much as he could for fun.  I ended up at 11 hours and 45 minutes.  I have to do better next year...but in the end even right after finishing and even while walking most of Thumper I enjoyed the day out, the rain, the commiserating, and the talking after the race.  For sure I'm doing this race until I no longer can. 

2012 24hrs of Rocky Hill Ranch

Sorry for the long post but this is my first 24 hour race I finish so I have a lot to tell!

I tried this race last year and didn't finish it.  I stopped at 19 hours due to extreme neck and shoulder pain and hand numbness.  This year I focused on dealing with those issues:  either through fit, exercise or posture.  However, it wasn't until a few weeks ago when I ran into an online article about this problem that I realized what my problem was:  locking my elbows and hunching my shoulders.   2 weeks before the race, I did 6 hours at Rocky Hill Ranch and turned in laps within a minute of each other at a good pace and without the hand, neck, or shoulder issues....

So my coach and friends that were signed up for the 24hrs of Canmore World Championship race in July found out a few weeks before their race that it had been cancelled.  I asked if they would come down for the RHR 24 and a few weeks before the race I found out they were coming which was great!  Shaun and Dave drove for 40 hours from Canada and arrived Thursday before the race.  Julie--another one of Shaun's athletes--flew in from Canada.  I tried to meet them for a pre-race lap on Friday but I couldn't get out of work early enough...so I got there as they were doing their lap, and they setup their tent as I was doing my lap.  Then I setup my tent after they had left to get some food and much needed sleep.  The temperature for the afternoon seemed a little warm but thankfully from doing the race last year (which was about 10F hotter) I was prepared to deal with it by pacing myself and drinking extra water.  I went home (about 1hr away from RHR) to mix my bottles, make myself dinner and sleep in my own bed.

After 10 hours of sleep (usually I'm happy with 6 before a race!) and feeling pretty relaxed, I got out the rest of the tools, supplies, etc. and do one last minute check on the bike.  I did find one minor issue and felt the rear hub was a little loose but I figured it would be OK.  At this point I learned that John and Thad would be doing pit support for us which was great.  They asked me about my drinks and what I needed, etc.  I told them I was pretty low maintenance as far as support was concerned, but was really glad to have my two friends tending to me...I would need them dearly in the latter part of the race.

Based on my 6hr test, I decided to not do a warm-up instead opting for an easy pace on the first lap which usually has a lot of walking involved.  There is a Le Mans start (run for 1/4 mile or so to your bike) but this year they gave an option of skipping the run but waiting for the last runner/walker before you could go (or so they'd said).  I decided to be a traditionalist and did the 1/4 mile jog on the round pebbles and sandy soil of RHR in my bike shoes (last year I actually switched shoes.)  To my disappointment, they had waived the non-runners off before we were done walking/running (I was close to last by this point.)  OH well, it's the first lap anyway.  I was going to probably be walking all the steep climbs since it only takes one person to dismount ahead and everyone is forced to in the back. I decided to expect this and not get worked up about it and it was fine.  Someone grumbled about it and I told them it is to be expected in the first lap.  In general, 24hr races in my experience are pretty relaxed and people chat during the race all the time.  At some point going up one of the last steep climbs in the start, I was really surprised to see Dave pass me.  I guess he got a slower jog than I did but I forgot to ask him so I'm not sure.  I yelled at him "GO GET 'EM DAVE!" and I actually didn't see him much after that.

During the lap I was very careful not to go above lactate threshold but as usual first laps for me are very hard to control.  It felt like I was going pretty easy but my HR was still a bit high.  I just concentrated on keeping under that LT number for the whole lap...having learned my lesson about a month back with a race in which I was redlined for almost the full first 15.5mile lap and not finishing the race.  So I was mostly effective in staying below LT but I was higher than I wanted to be.  I attributed this to the higher temperatures in the afternoon.  I also noticed some shoulder and hand discomfort.  Then I remembered I had set my shock to full travel (120mm) when I was cleaning the bike, vs 95mm when I did my 6 hour test.  I stopped on the trail and changed the travel back down and hoped for the best.  I came in at about a 1:06 lap...which including the run (and the early walking) was a little faster than I planned or expected.  I dropped my empty bottle and was sent off with a fresh bottle and a partial bottle.  Since I was doing >1hr laps I needed to carry two bottles with me.  Even 5-10 minutes without Infinit can put me behind in a hurry in my experience.  As I was starting my 2nd lap I wished I had stopped to drink some extra water.  I forgot to do that but I figured the day wasn't at its hottest yet so it'd be OK.  This lap it was more clear so I was able to ride everything (unlike last year which for most of the 19hours I walked most of some of the loose and steep climbs).  I felt myself getting into a rhythm but also felt the heat and wished for the extra water at this point.  I came back to the pits with a decent lap time and stopped to drink I think a half a bottle.  During the 3rd lap I wish I had drunk the whole bottle though.  Nothing exciting happened in this lap...except for my coach Shaun lapping me.  That's right...I was getting lapped by half-way on lap 3 which shocked me.  I think I told him to "GO SHAUN!"  That would be the last time I would see him for a while.  I was doing a very slow lap and this was the hottest lap for me.  It was around 4pm.

By my 5th lap the heat had peaked but it was still very warm.  I was drinking lots of water during the pit stops though and I was looking forward to the night.  At this point Thad asked me if my bike needed anything, I told him I thought maybe my rear caliper was rubbing and when he grabbed the rear wheel he noticed a half inch of play in the hub.  Luckily I brought my PowerTap hub training wheel as a spare.  It had a worn out WTB Nano Raptor tire which I actually preferred to the Aspen I had been running with the other wheel.  I felt the bike was better balanced this way (I prefer it a bit loose instead of pushy and my front Specialized Control The Captain tire had lots of grip.)  Thad swapped the wheels and I was off.

At some point here before 5pm the timing officials made me add the lights which I didn't want to do yet (rules say if you come in >=5pm) but I decided to put them on anyway while I drank more water.  I did a full lap with the lights mounted but not on.  I try to limit how long I have the lights on my helmet since I do feel the difference in weight even though they are very light.  At some point late in the afternoon Julie caught up to me for the 2nd time on the big climbing section of the lap (toward the start).  I just try to go as slow as possible up the climbs and make it up on the flat sections and any descents (0.5mv^2=mgh). I knew if she didn't pass me there she'd pass me eventually but it took a couple of laps of her catching up to me before she passed me.  Then I passed her as she was stopped on the trail in Off the Lip with another cyclist.  I asked if they were OK and they said yes so I kept going.

The first partial night lap was just amazing.  At this point the trail was very familiar to me.  I run without lights until I absolutely don't feel comfortable so as to save batteries, then I turn on my Ay-Ups at half power so I only need two sets of batteries for a whole night.  Each set lasts me at least 7 hours and they give amazing brightness on the trail even at half power.  I love my lights.  It's one of my best bike related purchases.  I'm pretty sure I hooted as I was flying on the super fast chute almost all the way back to the pits.  I love that section.

Most of my night laps I don't remember...I do remember that my first full night lap was not as fun and my zombie lap happened very early for me.  I didn't experience this yesterday but by 10pm I was doing the super slo-mo eye blink.  I was looking at the piles of soft and cushy pine needles and wanting to stop.  I wanted to lay down and take a short nap.  I think if I'd had an way to setup an alarm I would have done it.  I also remember how the temperatures seemed to stay up and it was very humid so I was soaked in sweat for 24hrs.  I got back to the pits and took a caffeine tablet to wake myself up.  It really didn't seem to do very much.  My lap after this was also very bad.  However, it must be very slow absorbing caffeine because after that I felt slightly better.  I think it was during one of these laps that Julie passed me for the final time during when I'd stopped to rest.  She was kicking some serious butt in the race.

After watching a Jess Douglass interview a couple of years ago in which she mentions how she breaks up the race into quarters, I've been doing the same thing.  So before 2 am I somehow tricked my mind into believing this was the 2/3 point and around 2am I had a clear enough head to realize I had been wrong.  I still had 10 hours to go.  For me getting to the halfway point and 2/3 point were big psychological boosters so to trick myself into believing wrongly I was 2hrs closer to the end only to discover I had been wrong was a bit demoralizing.

It was also around this time of the night that I started experiencing clicking noise when applying the rear brake.  I got to a point where I could stop only to discover I was missing a caliper bracket bolt.  I had also, earlier in the day, given my only zip tie away (and wouldn't remember when I was in the pits to grab another one.)  At least it was the rear caliper and not the front.  So I just aligned it and tightened the rear bolt and hoped for the best.  It held for the rest of the lap. I told Thad about it and John heard me.  Shaun was also in the pits at the time.  They didn't think they'd be able to get a caliper bolt.  I don't have a spare bike...but I'm also the grandson of Antonio Garza Muñoz who was compulsive about saving every bolt, nut, washer, wire and piece of string.  I just have a few ziplocks in my toolbox with all this detritus.  I remember being rather cocky with Thad about betting about me having a caliper bolt...but maybe I was just hallucinating.  I emptied the bag on the table and picked up a bolt.  Thad couldn't believe it.  We made sure it wasn't too long and he lined it up and tightened everything up and I was off again.

I honestly don't remember a lot of the night laps.  I do know that probably the last complete lap before the sun rose once the sun rose I was in sad shape and begging for them to let me sleep for 15 minutes.  John and Thad were adamant that I keep going since I had been moving up through the night and was both in a threatening position and in a threatened position.  Another caffeine tab later (this time the kind that is unbuffered...so it was like a shot of espresso giving me almost instant energy) and I was doing a fast and fun lap.

The next lap my energy crashed again and it was much slower.  I don't remember much of the morning except for John Thad and Shaun kicking my butt out of the pits to get another lap in.  I believe it was around 9:30 I came in and heard there was a chance I was 2 laps in front of 7th and 2 laps behind 5th so it would have been hard to gain or loose a position which would mean my race was over with...however, when we checked with timing and scoring we found out 7th was in hot pursuit of me and doing fast laps.  I did a really slow lap--I think 2hrs long--being paced by another race with the perfect pace for me at the time and we chatted for about a half a lap which was great.  I was thinking this was my last lap so I took it very easy.  I got in at 11:27am only to find out 7th had turned in a smoker of a 15th lap and was out getting his 16th.  Which meant I had to go out for #17.

Now here is where there was some controversy.  As I understood the rules, we could have come in at 11:59:59am and gone out for a last lap which had to be 90 minutes or less.  However, Scott from Terra Firma Racing happened to be there and said that we had until 1pm to finish...so 90 minutes or less if you start at 11:30am which was true for me.  I had just been turning 1:45's or so and even a 2hr lap and I just didn't feel like I had a 90 minute lap in me.  So I got going again but I was feeling dehydrated since it was much warmer than the previous day and even though I drank almost a full extra bottle of water at the pits, I was not feeling too good.  I knew that if 7th place guy was riding a 17th lap at a good pace I was toast.  My plan at first was to ride very hard to try to get the 90 minute lap but by the 30 minute mark (now a full 24 hours of riding in) I was toast.  Then I walked for a bit thinking if he came up on me, I'd just ride behind him and hope to out-sprint him at the end (wouldn't that be a glorious finish?!)  I was also doing math in my head trying to figure out how long ago he could have started his lap and still hoped to finish.  I had also ventured a guess that this lap would be slower because of the heat and because he'd gone so fast on the last lap.  At some point I was sure he hadn't started but still, there were about 5 people that passed me who I asked if they were racing for 6th in Solo Open and they all said no (I did see the guy that took 5th place too).  Some of them also asked if I was OK since at some point I just wanted to sleep, I found some soft pine needles and leant against a tree.  I was thirsty by this point.  I felt I got some energy and kept walking.

By this point I decided the race was over.  I ripped my number plate off and my wristband off and put the in my back pocket so that if I found a shortcut I could take it and not be accused of trying to cheat.  At some point someone else racing solo came by and we talked about the rules while he ate some fig newtons.  He'd also thought he had until 1:30pm.  I told him what Scott had said, but I told him to go ride just in case I was wrong.    I tried to ride for a bit more on the downhills but by this point...my nether regions were having no part of it (apparently it is known that once you're off the bike for 30minutes or so after riding 24 hours, it's really painful to get back on the saddle!)  I kept on walking through the trail called "Off the Lip".  Normally I like the swoopy rhythm trail but right now I hated it with all my heart and I couldn't find my way out of it so I just kept on walking.  I was out of water and wanted to get to the water station hoping it still had water (I knew the station after that was dry.)  I made it out only to find out the tanks were dry.  I laid down on the bench to cool off a bit and without knowing it, I fell asleep for 1hr.  It was now about 1:30pm and above 90degF and only someone riding their bike by woke me up.  At this point I knew I'd have to ride some tough loose rocky hills on a jeep road (Fat Chuck's Revenge it's called and it's not part of the race loop) backwards to make it back to the pit.  I got to the first water station and it had water!  I drank 3 full 24oz bottles of water before I wallowed back to the pits...which were deserted since everyone was getting their awards.  I went to my car to text Holly that I had finished and I was OK and now going to take a shower.  I grabbed a Bombshell Blonde (shower beer!) and proceeded to find my mates and let them know I was OK and grab the shower.  I was lucky that I didn't have to wait.  I used only cold water and it felt great.

After that it was nothing but packing up (painful, dry, and dusty) and deciding on where to eat.  Shaun was set on BBQ so we opted for Rudy's in town.  It was good to get some real food in me.  I went home, sat down, and fell asleep promptly for another 2 hours or so.

Estimated totals:  14,400 calories burned in 24 hours.  11,200ft of elevation gain. ~150 miles (Garmin reads it at 9mi/lap or so but it may shorten some of the tight sections.)

It's now 7 days after the race, my bottom is still recovering and I haven't dared get on the bike even though I am actually eager and looking forward to the Enchilada Buffet next weekend. I don't want to take a chance on setting back the healing process.

I couldn't have done this without the coaching from Shaun ((Forward Momenum Coaching) or the support of my friends and teammates who have a lot more experience in these races.  Thanks guys!