2012 Smithville 8 Hour Adventure Race Report

This weekend was the Bonk Hard Racing Smithville 8 Hour adventure race in Smithville, MO.  I've done several adventure races over the last few years, with the same core group of people;  Luke, Jamie, Dee, Jesse and Sara.  They're all good athletes, but our races have been for fun more than for winning.  We push ourselves but don't get too hung up on results or being lost and wandering around in the woods for hours - our motto is personal achievement over competitive achievement.

I'd asked Jamie about doing Smithville as a 2 person team in March.  Then, a couple weeks before the race Jason Bettis asked if I'd race with his team; Dynamic Earth/Team Fusion.  A competitive team, a team that's won, and a team where I'd have to work really hard to keep up.  Also a team I wanted to race with.  So I told Jamie the situation and he said "go for it".

The Dynamic Earth/Team Fusion team I decided to race with consists of Jason Bettis, Shawn Gates and Ashley O'Reilly with Jason as the navigator.

Jason and I traveled to Smithville together while Ashley and Shawn drove separately.  It worked out well because it gave us a chance to talk about racing and I got a pretty good handle on how Jason approaches it.  He's obviously an excellent navigator, based on his previous racing results, but as the leader of the team (the person saying which way to go is "leading"), he's not going to get in someone's face, tell them to suck it up and push harder.  He's a lead by example kind of guy.

The packet pickup was at Dynamic Earth where they had a 50% off sale on all apparel and shoes in honor of the race.  MUCH APPRECIATED!  The maps were included in the packet so it would give us plenty of time to go over them and still get a good night of sleep.  That was pretty cool.

Friday evening, the team got together and went over route choices and how we would work as a team.   I hoped to bring some strong biking ability to the team as I expected to be the weakest link on the run and in the boat.  To even things out, we decided to utilize tow straps on the biking legs, pair me with Jason in the boat, and have Ashley, the best runner, carry the passport on the trekking sections.   That setup would allow me to pull when possible on the bike, be in a boat with a skilled paddler and just have to keep up when on foot.  The order of the disciplines would be: run > bike > paddle > bike > run > ???? (probably bike).  I figured we could win.

Saturday morning we were up at 6.  We got ourselves ready, loaded the cars and headed to the bike drop.  Weather-wise the day was shaping up to be a warm one.  There were a few clouds and some fog early but the high was going to get around 90.  Hopefully we'd be finished before the heat got too bad.  I decided to carry 100oz of water/perpetuem with another 24oz on my bike.  I drank less than that at the Branson AR on a warm day so I thought it would be enough.

Official park trail map

The bike drop was at the "Smoke and Davey" trailhead on the north side of the Smithville Lake park, with all the mountain bike trails.  We positioned our bikes near where we expected to emerge from the woods and headed to the race headquarters at the SBC Trailhead on the south side of the park.  We arrived to find lots of people milling around.

Once I saw all the other teams, I finally started to get that race feeling.  It's kind of a nervous energy where you know you're going to be busting your ass for hours and you just want to get going.  I've always thought that waiting for a race to start is the worst part of racing.  Once they say go, you stop thinking about what could happen and you start doing it.

After a short pre-race meeting and the Star Spangled Banner where I swear I was the only one singing, Gary yelled go and we took off.  The first section was a run to the bikes where we needed to collect three checkpoints along the way.

Ridge Runner/Downhill Bikes Branson (Dathan Atchison, Kindall Combs, Lullel Hickman and Melisa Lemus Mckay) led out on the run followed closely by Team Kuat (John Bradley, Beau Mooneyham, Doug Assenmacher and Anna Assenmacher).  I could tell that Ashley, who is an amazing runner, wanted to be up there with them, but we stayed back a bit in order to keep the team together.  I think a tow system for the run would have been helpful since we were running on a greenway trail and could have used Ashley's strength to get us a little closer to the front.  In reality though, we got the checkpoints and arrived at our bikes in pretty good shape, with only four teams ahead of us and within a minute or so of the lead.

Heading out from TA1

After a quick transition, we were on the bikes and on the road.  We immediately joined together using our tow system of retractable dog leashes attached underneath our seats.  It was Ashley's first time being towed and she was hesitant and a little nervous on the gravel road turns, but did really well.  I think on every turn I heard "Ok guys, nothing crazy here!".

The first bike leg was probably only four or five miles, but within minutes, we started reeling the other teams in.  I just can't say enough about how beneficial the towing system is.  When I was on the front, I was digging pretty deep to catch the teams in front of us but when I started to slow down, Jason would jump to the front so I could draft and recover.  The teamwork was excellent.  There was one mishap where Ashley's tow strap got tangled in her rear hub and broke, but it wasn't a big deal and she just had to be at the end of the train from then on.  We got all the checkpoints and on the last downhill leading to the paddle transition area we were able to catch Team Kuat who had moved into the lead.  We pulled into the TA just ahead of them.

Going from bike to boat

The paddle leg had all of the checkpoints on the banks of the lake arranged in a big circle.  Since only one person would need to leave the boat to punch the passport at the checkpoints, Jason made the call for everyone to keep their bike shoes on except me, since I'd be the one doing the punches.  We had a quick transition and after carrying our boats to the water we were in just behind Kuat.

We went the same direction as Kuat so we could try to keep up with them.  Wild Hares (Scott Stopak and Justin Hankins) were right there as well and we ended up getting most of the CPs at the same time.  Kuat was a little unbalanced in their boats at first with John and Doug getting ahead, but swapped it around after a CP in order to even things out and keep within the 100 ft rule.  They are blazing fast but with Jason coaching my paddling technique we were able to hang with them.  After making the circuit around our little section of the lake, we pulled our boats out at the same time.  That had me really stoked because I expected with my weak paddling we'd be killed on the boat leg, but we were right there with the leaders and I was still feeling great, plus we were getting back on the bike!

Wild Hares, Kuat and us finishing the paddle leg

After a quick gear check where they asked to see our multi-tool and spare tube, we were out on the road a little behind Kuat with Wild Hares in the mix as well.  

The second bike leg was pretty short and after a few minutes we got to the next transition area to the orientering course, which was the make or break section of the race.  We went the opposite direction of Kuat and Wild Hares because we didn't want to be thrown off by being around other teams.  The course was a mix of really dense wooded sections and open cornfields.  By this time of the day, the heat was really coming on so even though we could move faster in the cornfields, I really preferred the woods because of the shade.

Jason was nailing the CP's and Ashley was running and jumping through ditches and creeks in order to punch the passport while I was doing my best to hang on the back of the pack.  I was feeling the effort from the bike and the heat and was struggling to keep up on foot.  About halfway through the course I ran out of the 100oz of water I was carrying.  They had water at the transition area but for some reason I didn't think to refill before starting the trek.  Luckily for me Jason had a full bottle that he gave me and it got me through until I could refill back at the transition area.

Look at all that water

The only scary part of the trekking leg was when we came to a deep ditch in the woods with a tree fallen across it.  I'd guess it was about 15 feet deep and 10 feet across with sides that were straight down.  The tree wasn't that big, about 8" diameter.  As soon as we got there Jason jumped on the tree and ran across to the other side.  Once there he yelled "Tree's solid!" and kept going.  So Shawn gave Ashley a steadying hand and she went across followed quickly by Shawn.  My heart was in my throat as I jumped out on the tree, took two steps and leaped to the other bank.  Luckily I made it but I was WAY out of my comfort zone on that move.

As we came in after getting all the trekking CP's Kuat were getting on their bikes and heading out; we were the 2nd team in.  Jason got the next set of checkpoints which were pre-plotted and it turned out this was the final leg of the race.  We were to bike back to the Smithville Lake park and ride trails to the finish line.  Awesome!

Hard working volunteer

The ride to the park was short and I towed the entire way.  I was feeling really good and I thought we had a chance to catch Kuat and take the win since they only had a couple minutes lead.  Unfortunately, they were far enough ahead that we couldn't see them up the road and I think that put my team out of chase mode and into survival mode.   We were all tired but I think if we could have seen Kuat we would have had the motivation to chase them down.  But we didn't.

When we got to the trail, the first section had some slick rocks and roots and Ashley took a spill early on.  That made her ride cautiously instead of attacking the trail like she should.  I rode behind her for awhile and she's a good mountain biker.  I think she needs to trust her skills more and go right at the technical stuff.  If you're hesitant, you'll have problems.

At the end we got to the finish line about 6 minutes back from Kuat but 30 minutes ahead of Wild Hares.  A 2nd place overall that close to the front is a great accomplishment and I'm really proud of my team.  Everyone was strong and we worked really well together.  I didn't mention Shawn in this report very much but he's a solid all-around racer, plus his humor keeps everything light on course which when your tired is a welcome relief.  I'm happy I got to race with them and I'd do it again anytime.

Post-race I'm all smiles!

The team that really surprised me was the 2 person male team Wild Hares.  They were good on the bike and were good on the paddle.  Their only weakness seemed to be on the run.  They took 3rd overall which is great, but if they get their running together they'll be on the top step of a lot of podiums.

Water was a little chilly

After the race we jumped in the lake for a cool-down.  It was a great way to end a great race.  Congrats to Kuat for giving us more than we could handle.  You were fast at the end of the race and that's what it takes to win.  Good job.

Gary and Ellen, owners of Bonk Hard Racing once again put on an excellent adventure race and as usual pulled in a ton of swag for the racers.  Thanks for sponsors Kuat and Dynamic Earth for supporting the sport.

Spoils of racing

Second place netted me 75% off a future Bonk Hard race and a nice Osprey pack.

Lessons learned from this race;

• Form over effort on the paddle.  I've had races where I worked much harder and gone much slower than I did at Smithville.  Thanks to Jason for the guidance.
• Carry enough water.  I should have refilled when I had the chance.  I've got to stay on top of my water.  It's critical.  Again, thanks Jason for giving me your water.
• Tow whenever possible, even when you think you're all going the same speed.  
• Take advantage of strengths and minimize weaknesses and mistakes.  Having me pull on the bike and having Ashley as the rabbit on the run were the best way to use our strengths.  We had very few mistakes and that made the difference.
• It's nice to be on time for the race start and I loved getting the maps earlier in the day Friday.  Sleep is good.

Here's a link to the results.

*UPDATE* PHOTOS ARE UP! I've grabbed several for this post, hopefully that's okay.

2012 Ouachita Challenge Race Report

Last weekend was the 12th running of the Ouachita Challenge in small Oden Arkansas.  I've done the race the last 2 years, and it's one of the hardest endurance mountain bike races in the midwest.  60 miles of gravel, road, huge rocks and some of the sweetest bench-cut single-track I've ever ridden. 

I came into the race this year unsure how it would go.  I've had some success there in the past with 9th and 6th place finishes, but so far my results this spring have been mixed.  Add in the hottest temperature for me this year and who knew what would happen.

I stayed with the family in an awesome secluded cabin about an hour from the race HQ.  I try to turn my "bigger" races into mini-vacations since I don't really go on vacation.  Luckily I have an understanding and supportive family.

I was able to pre-ride  Big Brushy (the first trail section of the race) on Saturday, and the trail was in great shape and I felt pretty good so I hoped Sunday would go well.

My strategy going in was similar to last year; try to hit the trail near the front, survive the rocky first half of the race, have someone to work with on the road between the Ouachita Trail and the Womble, and make my race on the Womble.  I've said it before; I'm not a good technical rider.  I'm sketchy in the rocks and not fast on the downhills, but I can climb relatively well and have good endurance.  I have to play to my strengths and the first half of OC just emphasizes my weaknesses.  Make it to the Womble would be my mantra.

My Kuat teammate Cale McAninch was doing the race, and lucky him, he got to sleep in the Kuat van instead of a cabin (that's me posing, not Cale).  I really hoped we could ride together until the road section in the middle of the race since he's a strong road rider, in addition to a great mountain biker.  It was his first OC and chances of us riding the same pace for 20+ miles were slim, but that's what I was shooting for.

The race starts with about 8 miles of pavement/gravel to the Big Brushy section of the Ouachita Trail.  Last year it was pretty mellow.  This year was not.  I ride a 1X10 and was spinning as fast as I could on the flats and could barely hang onto the back of the lead group.  I don't know what the deal was, but people were in a hurry to get to the trail.

There's a long climb right before the trail, and as I made my way up it looked like there were about 20 people in front of me.  I passed a few people and found Cale on the way up.  I jumped on his wheel and rode with him to the top.  Then, right before entering the trail he passed 2 people and they got between us.  So much for riding with Cale.  In a few minutes he's gone and I'm doing my best to avoid rocks and keep from wrecking.  

I got passed by a few people on Bushy, passed a few others and popped out to my support crew after about an hour feeling pretty good.  Blowout mountain, the next trail section was the hardest of the day.  I start that trail feeling pretty confident about myself and my riding ability, but by the time it's over I feel like I'm not a "real" mountain biker and I'm unclipping at the first sign of a rock garden.  The shear size and number of them just beat me into submission.  But I survived it, refueled at the aid station and started making my way up Chalybeate Mountain.  The climbing is what defines this section for me, and while I was making up some time from all my hike-a-bike on Blowout, I also had my only mechanical issue of the day.  The zip tie that holds my derailleur cable to my frame near the rear derailleur broke which let the cable flap around, snagging on my shoe as I pedaled.  I fixed it by using one of the twisty ties from my number plate, but it kept coming undone and I had to stop several times to re-do it.  Frustrating, but of all the things that could go wrong, it was pretty minor. 

 Check out the sweet new Kuat Kit's.  Coming soon to a store (or website) near you!

As I was fiddling with my bike I was jockeying back and forth with Corey Godfrey, a guy that I've ridden with at some point during my 2 previous OC's.  When we popped out on the gravel road for an 8 mile ride to the Womble I told him I'd like to work together so we could make good time on the road.  I told him I didn't think he would get much benefit drafting off me since he's at least 6'6" and I'm at most 5'7", and he said; "gravel's my thing".  So I jumped on his tail and he proceeded to pull me to Sims, where I got a bottle hand-up, waited for me to catch back on, then pulled me to the Highway 298 aid station.  Along the way we caught another rider who was happy to have a draft.

I can't say enough how awesome it was to have Corey to draft off of from the OT to the Womble.  We were flying and I was recovering the entire time.  As we approached the Womble trail Corey said to go on because he was starting to cramp, so I took off, feeling as good as I'd felt all day.  I was sitting around 16th place but soon started catching riders who were having issues with the heat.

About 5 miles into the Womble I caught up to Brandon Melott and Cale.  Brandon was on a single-speed.  Cale was cramping and having heat-stroke symptoms so after riding with Brandon and I for awhile, he pulled over and told us to go on.  Brandon was riding well and it was good to ride with him, but when he pulled over at a road crossing to re-fuel I went on.  I wound up catching a couple more people, then as I was coming off the Womble for the ride back to Oden I caught up to Andy Gibbs, a St. Louis rider I've raced against many times. It was his first OC and he'd burned a few too many matches early on and was running on fumes.  I would have been content to finish the race with him, but on the last gravel climb of the day, he said he was blown and I went on by myself.  I wanted to finish in under 5 hours so I put my head down and rode hard to the finish. 

I ended up crossing the line at 5:01:52 in 8th place.  Much better than I expected for most of the day, so I'm pretty happy with the result.

Here's a link to my garmin data for the day, and here's a link to the official results.  There are TONS of photos out there from the day, so if you're interested, look here, here and here.

The weekend was awesome, and the race, as always, delivered.  I may never crack that top 5 but I'll keep coming back and trying.

Big thanks to the friendly/helpful volunteers at the aid stations and road crossings, and of course to my support crew for keeping me moving. 

New Gear

2011 was a year of upgrading my bike.  Now that I've got it how I want it I think 2012 is going to be a year of upgrading my gear.  Yesterday I bought 2 items that I've been lusting after for awhile.  The first is a pack, the second is a pair of shoes.   

I've got several packs and several trail running shoes.  I like most of them but I haven't got any that I love.  My favorite current pack is an Osprey Talon 11.  

It's pretty light, is roomy enough and if you snug down the straps it will stay in place while you run.  I hate a bouncy pack.  What I don' t like about it is the waist belt.  The pockets are too small for much more than a couple gels and hard for me to open one handed.  Having the pack tightened enough it to keep it from bouncing gets uncomfortable after awhile.  So I end up loosening the straps and running with my hands holding the shoulder straps in place.  Not a good position when you trip and fall in the woods.  

My favorite current shoes are Salomon XR Crossmax's.  

I run on pavement more than trial (unfortunately), and these shoes work well for both.  What I don't like is the weight and tread; kinda heavy and not enough traction in the woods.  Good enough for most training but not what I want when I'm wearing them for hours and want to go as fast as possible.

My upgrades are both Salomon products; I'm a fan.  The first is a new pack that I read about when they came out with it last year.  It was a small pack (5 liter) so didn't really suit my needs, but I loved the design and hoped they'd come out with a larger version.  For 2012 they have.  Its the Advanced Skin S-Lab 12 Set (quite a mouthful).  

The idea is that there is no waist strap, and that the pack fits more like a vest than a typical backpack.  the weight is more evenly distributed and there are multiple chest straps so there shouldn't be as restrictive as what I've been using.  Plus BIG side pockets.  It was expensive, but it's gotten great reviews and I can't wait to try it out. 

The second product is a lighter pair of trail shoes, the Speedcross 3.  

While I intend to just use them for occasional trail running and adventure racing, I love the aggressive tread pattern and the weight will be an improvement over the Crossmax.  Again, I'm looking forward to trying them out.

I'll post up some reviews once I'm able to get some miles on them.

2012 Bonk Hard Chill - Küat Ünite

Last weekend I participated in my 6th adventure race; the Bonk Hard Chill.  It's an annual race that takes place in the Lake of the Ozarks region, and this year it was at Ha Ha Tonka state park near Camdenton.  It's an area I've been wanting to explore but for some reason never had, so this was a great chance to check it out.

Leading up to the race I intended to compete in the 4-person co-ed division, but my teammates were doing other things, so Jesse and I signed up for the 2 dudes class. It's not the "premier" division, but a lot of people sign up for it and the competition is always pretty good.  Jesse would be the navigator, I'd be the rabbit and I honestly just wanted a clean race where we got all the checkpoints and didn't spend hours wandering around in the woods wondering where the heck we were.

We drove to Camdenton Friday afternoon and checked out the park.  It was hilly and looked to be a great place to host the race.  We walked some trails around an island, checked out a balanced rock and climbed 300+ steps above a spring.  I wanted to do more exploring but also didn't want to wear my legs out the day before the race, so we decided to cut our scouting trip short and head to Osage Beach to have some dinner with the Hoosier Daddies at Biggies.  It was right next to the official Chill hotel, the Quails Nest where most racers were staying.  We however weren't staying at the Quails Nest because we got a good deal at a Day's Inn in Lebanon.  A little further drive but a dollar saved is a dollar earned, right?

Anyway, dinner was good, I ate too much as usual before a race, and afterward we headed to Oz Cycles in Lake Ozark for racer check-in.  Oz had quite a few items marked down and their entire rack of swift-wick products were 30% off.  So I got some arm warmers, compression socks and regular socks.  Good stuff.

Next we headed over to the gymnasium at the elementary school next door.  There we were given instructions for the race, some swag was tossed around, an Oz Cycles donated Kayak was raffled and we were given our maps and check point coordinates.  

We made it to the hotel in Lebanon around 10 and after plotting the checkpoints and preparing our packs for the race we were in bed by midnight with a 4am alarm set.  You never get much sleep the night before an adventure race.

After what felt like a few minutes sleep, we got up at 4.  I made my usual pre-race meal of oatmeal with peanut butter and brown sugar and drank some coffee.  Then we donned our spandex loaded the car and headed to the race.  The woman at the checkout desk at Days Inn gave Jesse a funny look when he turned in the room key, but I'm sure she's seen weirder sights at 5am.  

When we got to the park it was chilly outside, but not freezing.  There was a bike drop where we left our bikes near the entrance to the park and then we were able to find CP0 (the race HQ) without getting lost.  In the past that has been an issue, so in my mind it was shaping up to be a good day.  I got a little cold standing around waiting for the race to start, but they had hot coffee for us and before I knew it it was 6:30 and Gary was saying "GO!" .

Jesse and I took off with the 100+ crowd, running through a field on our way to CP1.  We stayed near the front and was able to avoid the bottleneck of punching our passport at the first CP.  Gary put two flags up to help speed thing along which was a great idea.  

I love running with the crowd at the start of the race.  There's so much energy.  I'm full of adrenalin and it feels like I'm just bouncing along on top of the world.  You've got to enjoy those moments while you have them because they don't last forever.

We quickly made our way to CP2 which was at the bottom of some fairly slippery steps at the entrance to the River Cave, then back up the steps and up a hill to CP's 3 and 4.  With the running I was heating up, and the fleece I put on while waiting for the start was too much.  I took it off after CP3 and felt much better.

On our way to CP5 the crowd was starting to thin and we catch up to the Stinging Nettles team of Jason Elsenraat and Paul Freeman.  Jason is the former owner of Bonk Hard Racing and I figured they were the top 2-person male team.  We chatted a little about pack technology and helmet restraint before Jesse and I started to move up. The next team we encountered was WOAH consisting of Sunny Gilbert and Emily Korsch; presumably the top 2-person female team.  As we approached them we noticed they were unintentionally shedding weight by dropping various nutrition products on the road.  We yelled at them but they ignored us.  When we caught up they said they thought we were heckling them.  I'm not sure it's a good idea to heckle someone ahead of you, but they got their stuff back and we would end up see-sawing with them for most of the race.  At one point Jesse said he felt bad because he couldn't keep up with them, but I told him they were pretty bad-ass and we were doing well to be around them. 

CP5 was the transition to canoes and after a few minutes on the water Jesse and I were regretting the decision of leaving the 4 piece kayak paddles in the car.  There was a headwind and as we struggled to keep the boat straight we watched several teams with kayak paddles pull away from us.  Boating is my weakest link in adventure racing.  It can be fun when you're on a fast moving river where you have to pay attention in order to keep the boat upright.  But when you're on a lake, or a wide river like the Meramec, it becomes something you just have to suffer through.  This could be because the only time I'm in a canoe is during races.  Anyway we traveled a few miles to CP6 where we disembarked and headed up to Bridal Cave for CP9.  From there we went into the cave with our bike helmets and headlamps for CP8.  This was one of the neatest parts of the race.  Luckily we were one of the first few groups to get there so there wasn't much traffic in the cave and we were able to move fairly quickly.  I love cave tours and I'm going to go back and use the free tour family pass I received with my race packet.  I want to be able to look around.

After the cave it was back to the boats and on our way to CP10 which was on a dock near where we originally put in.  Then we continued on a few more miles to CP11 and the end of the boat leg at the Spring parking lot at Ha Ha Tonka.  I've got to say I was glad to be finished with paddling.  I think Jesse and I got better at keeping the boat on a fairly straight tack and were going a decent speed, but it wasn't fun.

After a quick bathroom break Jesse and I headed up the steps above the spring to CP12, then on to a cool natural bridge that had CP13 underneath it.  From there it was a short run to the bike drop at CP14 where we would transition to my preferred mode of transportation.  We got to do a little token off-road riding on our way to CP16 and CP17, but from there all we'd see would be gravel and pavement.  It's a bummer we couldn't use some of the nice hiking trails around the park for the bike leg, but I guess Gary couldn't get permission for that.

CP's 18 to 29 are kind of a blur to me.  There was a lot of riding; at least 25 miles.  Most of it was on gravel roads and the CP's were hung from signs on the side of the road.  There was 1 decision that had to be made though.  All CP's from 1 to 18 had to be done in order.  But 19 to 24 could be done in any order.  They were all positioned in a big loop so we decided to make the trip around the longest portion then do a quick out and back on the short section before CP25.  It was the same route WOAH chose and we ended up riding with them most of the time.

CP25 was a manned CP and was pretty awesome because although we had to stop for a gear check, they had a HUGE tub of little debbie pastries (and water) that we could dig into.  After 6 hours of perpetuem it looked like food from the gods.  I ate a honey bun and two oatmeal cream pies and they were delicious!  I could have hung out there for awhile but soon we were back on the bikes and hitting CP's 26 to 29.  CP29 was the last known CP, and there we were supposed to receive instructions for the remainder of the race.  

It turned out to be a transition from bike to foot and we had 9 more CP's to find before the end of the race.  The transition area was at the old post office at Ha Ha Tonka and we had a covered pavilion with tables we could use to plot the remaining 9 CP's.  I took the time to change into some dry socks and eat some beef jerky but after 10 minutes or so we were off running in the woods.  We were in the top 5 overall teams at that point and I hoped we'd be able to hold on and finish strong. 

I'll get it out of the way; orienteering is hard.  It's one of the things I love about adventure racing, but I hate that it always screws us because we aren't that good at it.  But, each race we have done better and this was no exception.  We went straight to a few of the 9 CP's, made it to the vicinity of a few others where we had to wander around until we found them, and basically followed foot prints for the others.  We had a couple of mis-plotted points that cost us some time, but our real problem was not finding each CP quick enough.  I'd have liked to have finished the final portion of the race in 3 hours, which I think we are capable of, but we took 4.5 hours to do it.  That dropped us to 14th place overall and 7th in our division which isn't bad, but with our strengths in the other disciplines, is a little disappointing.   On the positive side, we DID find all of the CP's (yeah!), Jesse and I learned more about navigating, we had a great time and the post race BBQ was delicious.  

The results from the race are here, pictures are here.

This was Gary and Ellen Thompson's second race since taking over the helm of Bonk Hard Racing, and they did a wonderful job.  The course was fun and challenging and the event was very professionally run.  Their volunteers were friendly and helpful and did a great job.  We are lucky to have such a wonder regional AR promotion company in Bonk Hard Racing.  I appreciate what they put into the races and I look forward to doing more of their events. 

My next adventure race is in Branson on March 17.  I don't know who I'm going to team up with yet and it's a week after the Spa City 6 hour. I'd like to do Bonk Hard's next event at LBL on the 24th, but it's a week before Ouachita Challenge and that's packing a lot of endurance events (as well as travel) into a pretty short time frame. 

Heroes

Everyone has heroes.  People they look up to and try to emulate.  I have several people that I admire for different reasons and while none of them are perfect, they all have several qualities I aspire to.  Here are some of them in the context I think of them and in no particular order.  (all the pictures are stolen from facebook so please forgive me)

John Bradley 

I know John as an Adventure Racer.  Most of what I've learned about the sport came from him.  He's intense but approachable.  He has always been willing to share the knowledge he's gained from years of racing and I love talking to him about it.  He's the ultimate competitor that wants to win but at the same time want's you to do well.  I've been on many runs where I've not really been into it and thought about cutting it short.  Then I think, "I bet John ran 20 miles this morning".  So I keep going.  He's an inspiration and unknowingly a motivator.

Dwayne Goscinski

I've been a fan of Dwayne long before I knew him.  When I first started racing mountain bikes he always stood out as someone to watch.  To me, Dwayne is the ultimate mountain bike racer.  He's good, but that's not what makes him special.  It's his constant smile and the way he engages everyone around him.  He loves to ride his bike and you can tell he wants you to love it as well.  He's a great role model.

Team Trail Monster (Jim and Wendy Davis)

Jim and Wendy would be the first to tell you this;  they are not your prototypical athletes.  What they've got they haven't come by naturally.  But what they are in my opinion are adventurous souls.  They love the outdoors and they are great ambassadors of the active lifestyle.  They've worked hard for what they've got and it's paid off.  I look forward to each time I get to see them.  

Luke Kuschmeader

I really admire Luke for everything he's accomplished.  I think of myself as a dreamer.   But Luke is that and more.  He puts his dreams into motion and makes great things.  He's also an athlete.  I've done adventure races with Luke and I've seen him when he's hell-bound determined and when he's stopped caring.  The former made me want to follow and the latter made me want to pick up the slack.  I've seen him push himself harder than I thought he could and it somehow made my effort easier.  I'm glad I know Luke and can't wait to see what he comes up with next.

Jesse Livingston

Jesse lives a life a lot of people dream about.  He's been more places and done more things than I'll ever do.  Anytime I have a whim to go ride or to some race Jesse is always up for it.  He's a lot of fun to be around and if I were to go on a wilderness trek, I'd want Jesse to be my guide. 

John Penny

John is a motivator.  I don't know if Tony Robbins is still around, but John could take his job.  I've worked with John for a few years outside of my regular job and when I sometimes feel like there isn't enough time to get everything accomplished that I want to get done, he gets me going.  As a result I think we've created some pretty good stuff.  I'd love to have John's drive.  LETS GO!

Of course there are others and I wish I had the time to document all of them.  But I was thinking about this subject while working out today and these are the ones that came to mind.  We all touch peoples lives.  Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse.  But these people have been a good influence and make me want to be a better person.  I figure that deserves some recognition.

Berryman 36 Hour Adventure Race

This weekend was the 11th running of the Berryman Adventure Race. I entered the 36 hour co-ed "elite" division with teammates Luke Kuschmeader, Jesse Livingston and Sara Parrish as Kuat Unite.  Unite is a charity effort by Kuat Racks.  They were inspired to do something by the tragedy of the Joplin Tornado earlier this year.  The Unite mission is to help victims of catastrophes around the world.  

This was my 5th adventure race and first 36 hour.  I had gotten a lot of good advice from some exceptional and experienced people leading up to the race, but really didn't know what it was going to be like.   I've raced with Luke several times but it was the first with Sara and it was Jesse's first adventure race.

I could give a blow by blow account of the race but that would take a long time.  Instead I'll just highlight a few of the highs and lows from our 30 hour adventure.

Best Moment Mentally:  On the last trekking "O" section over 24 hours into the race, I was tired but was mentally in the game.  I was focused on getting checkpoints and even though we were climbing some insane hills I was having a great time. 

Best Moment Physically: Anytime on the bike.  It's my thing and I love riding.  Even though I lost my front brake due to worn pads in the pouring rain within the first 4 hours of the race, it didn't really effect my riding.  I felt strong on the bike and looked forward to each biking leg of he race.

Worst Moment Mentally:  The first trekking "O" course consisted of 16 checkpoints in the area around the Berryman Campground.  There was an 8 hour time limit and for every 5 minutes you went over the cutoff it would cost 1 checkpoint.  We started this section of the race in the dark at 3am and initially struggled to find many of the checkpoints.  We eventually got into a grove and as we neared the cutoff we decided to try to squeeze 1 more checkpoint in before heading back.  We were all running out of water and that last checkpoint took longer to find than we expected.  With about 20 minutes to go we took off on a run trying to get back in time.  During the run Jesse was cramping so Luke dropped back to give him a tow.  We ran as hard as we could but ended up getting back 3 minutes past the cutoff, costing us that last checkpoint we worked so hard to get.  As I sat at the transition area, getting ready for the next bike leg I was really down.  I was thirsty, tired and mentally exhausted.  I didn't know if I even wanted to continue.  I kept my mouth shut but if someone on the team had said they wanted to quit I probably would have gone along with them.  After about 3 miles of riding we came to a creek where we could restock on water.  At that point my outlook had changed and once again I was enjoying the experience and looking forward to continuing.  The lesson here is don't dwell on the bad feelings.  It will change.  Just keep moving and it will get better.

Worst Moment Physically:  Although I was tired many times during the race I can't really pin down anytime I felt bad physically.  No cramping, no chafing, no blisters.  Never got very cold and didn't bonk.  That was pretty cool.

Scariest Moment:  The 2am canoe leg was unreal.  The water was moving pretty quickly and there were lot of obstacles in the water.  Rootballs, downed trees, and other canoes.  To top it off there was a thick fog coming off the water that greatly limited visibility.  I was super nervous and Luke was nodding off in the back of the boat.  Eventually I calmed down when I realized we could paddle hard enough to avoid everything and actually enjoyed the float.

Biggest Surprise:  Jesse's and Luke's calmness under fire.  Navigating an adventure race that covers as much ground as the Berryman 36 hour is no easy task and it's easy to lose your bearing and get frustrated.  Each and every time there was any uncertainty about our location and where the next checkpoint was, they regrouped, determined the best course of action and got us where we needed to go.  I'd race with them anytime.  I also can't neglect to mention Sara's pure strength. She impressed me over and over with her prowess on the bike and positive attitude.  She's tough. 

Bottom Line:  Jason and Laura  are expert adventure race promoters.  They dot all their I's and cross all their T's.  My team had a great experience this weekend and we'll be back for another Bonk Hard race.  

Here's a link to the results. 

2011 Syllamo's Revenge race recap

I do quite a bit of racing and I usually put everything I have into each race, but for me there are 3 big races a year.  Races that I really look forward to and want to do well at.  They are the Ouachita Challenge, Syllamo's Revenge and the BT Epic.  They are all 50+ mile endurance races on some very tricky and challenging trails.  Of these races I've had my best result at Syllamo and this year I feel like I'm doing my best riding, so I entered this weekend's race with high excitement and expectations.

This year the Syllamo's Revenge was held alongside a new NUE Series event the Syllamo 125k.  They would be starting an hour ahead of us and racing the same course, but repeating a couple sections at the end in order to get the longer distance.  I had considered signing up for the longer race, but honestly, the 50 miles of SR are enough, and last year I didn't want to go any further.  I was a little uneasy how the earlier race would effect the trails for us, but everyone would be racing in the same elements so it really didn't make any difference.

The race is near Mountain View Arkansas and I planned on getting a cabin nearby but with 500+ people converging on the area the closest I could get (where dog's are allowed) was a room at a nice place in Calico Rock, the Cedar Rock Lodge.  It was about a 40 minute drive to the Blanchard Caverns Campground, the start/finish area of the race and very clean and affordable.

We made the drive to Calico Rock early Friday, and after checking in and unloading some stuff made the trip to Blanchard Springs Campground so I could pre-ride the first 5 miles of the course.  The ride was great, with mostly dry trails and I felt really good. 

Next we drove into Mountain View to pick up the race registration packet and then headed back to Calico Rock for some excellent pasta at Don Quixote's.  I had the seafood pasta and there was enough for two meals.

Saturday morning I was up at 4:30, ate a big bowl of oatmeal and drove to the race, getting there in time to watch the 125k race start at 7.  Then I rode up the long hill towards Blanchard Cavern to warm up my legs.  On the trip back down I noticed a strange wobble feeling in the lever for my rear brake.  It had a feeling like my rotor was bent and the lever was pulsating.  It had never done that before but I didn't think much of it.

I started the race on the front line and made it to the climb up blanchard road to the singletrack in pretty good shape.  I didn't go all out on the climb since my goal was just to enter the singletrack in the top 10.  In the following picture I'm the 3rd from the right:

A group of 5 broke away a little but were only 30 or so yards ahead.  Cale McAninch passed me and I reached the trail behind him around 6th place.  The pace on the trail was pretty good and on one of the rocky climbs that came after a sharp turn Cale, on a rigid singlespeed had to walk a bit so I passed and he got in behind me.  I got in a group behind 3 riders with Chris Renshaw and Noah Singer in the pack.  We got away from Cale for awhile as we cruised the fast flowing benchcut trail, but when we started some of the slick rocky descents Cale caught back up.  Overall I felt like we were riding faster than I had the previous year and I was definitely working but I was thinking I could maintain the pace for awhile.

About 10 miles into the race on a downhill I went to grab some brake and my rear brake lever went to the bar without slowing me down.  I tried pumping the lever but that didn't work, so I pulled over to see what was wrong.  Cale said that 90% of braking is the front wheel, which is true, but on slick muddy rocks, you need some rear brakes.  I fiddled with the various adjustments on my XX brakes but couldn't get them to work.  There simply wasn't any feeling at the lever, I could pull it to the bar without any resistance.

For the next 4 miles to the first checkpoint I did the best I could but had one crash were I went over the bars and hit my leg pretty hard on some rocks, and was passed by a couple people.  Here's a picture of me about a mile from the checkpoint:

When I got to the checkpoint I was really disappointed.  I'm not a great technical rider and I was really struggling on the downhills without a rear brake.  Plus the big downhills were still to come.  So I decided to call it a day and DNF the race.  I just didn't think I could do it without getting hurt.  Then, Jim Davis (the same Jim Davis that aired up my tire at Berryman a couple years ago) who was at the race supporting his wife Wendy (and everyone else), offered to let me (no told me to) ride his bike for the rest of the race.  I was hesitant but willing to give it a shot.  Then as he was setting the seat height for me he stripped the bolt on his seatpost collar.  I took it as a sign. 

I ended up hanging out at the aid station for awhile and it was pretty neat.  I've never been at one during a race for more than a few seconds.  The racers get a ton of support from friends, family, volunteers and total strangers.  You see a lot of emotion from total joy to fatigue induced suffering.  People battle mental and physical demons during these races, and they don't always win, but most of the time they do.

I ended up giving a ride back to Blanchard to RIM promoter Doug Long.  It was good getting to talk to him.  He has done all of the SR races and this was the first time he had to withdraw.  I could tell it wasn't an easy decision, but one he had to make.  He'll be back.

I'll be back as well.  I need to work on my downhill skills to have a chance to win these races, but I think I can get better.  Maybe riding the rough motorcycle trails at Chadwick would help.

The weekend wasn't a total loss, I got to eat some good food, see some great sights and talk to lots of great people.  The race didn't go as I'd hoped, but everything else did.

The pictures in this post were taken from THIS gallery.  There are hundreds of pictures from the race there.

Now I just need to get my bike fixed because I've got the Ozark Greenways Adventure race Saturday and 6 Hour Indian Camp Creek race Sunday.

2011 Greensfelder Challenge race recap

Last weekend (5/7) was the DRJ/GORC Greensfelder Challenge at Greensfelder county park near Eureka Mo.  It's part of the UFD East series and the proceeds from the race benefit GORC, the St. Louis trail building organization.  I've done the race the last couple of years and it's always a great event that brings out a lot of the St. Louis mountain bike racing community.

I had Syllamo's Revenge the next weekend, which is one of my biggest races of the year, so I entered this race with a goal of putting out a nice solid effort without breaking anything or injuring myself in the process.  

I signed up for the endurance class which is a race where you do as many laps as you can with a 3 hour cutoff.  If you start your last lap before the 3 hours you can finish that lap.  With a lap distance of just over 7 miles I figured it would be a 4 or 5 lap race.

At the starting line I was surprised how many people had signed up.  There are usually 9 or 10 that do the endurance class at series races, but there were over 25.  That's either a lot of people preparing for Syllamo's Revenge, or endurance racing is getting more popular.

The race started with a pretty fast pace and when we hit the trail I was sitting in 4th with Aaron Fader, Dan Miller and Jeremy Bock in front of me.  When we got to the first long rocky downhill I nearly wrecked so I backed off to get my bike under control and I lost the leaders.  But on the subsequent climb I was able to catch back up to Jeremy.  That repeated many times.  

The trail on the first lap was pretty good.  A little muddy but not bad.  On the second lap it was pretty bad.  The rocks and some of the climbs were slick and where there were leaves mixed with the mud it would get packed between the tire and chainstays.  But the sun was out and on each subsequent lap the trail was getting drier and drier.  

Here's a picture of me coming through the start/finish area:

On the second lap I saw Dan Miller on the side of the trail fixing a flat.  He had cut the sidewall on his rear tire in the rocks.  That put me in third.

There was one section of the trail with an uphill rock garden that I couldn't ride, so I had to push the bike for 20 yards or so.  On the third lap I caught up with Jeremy right before this section.  We both walked up the hill and as I jumped on my bike at the top I noticed my front tire was flat.  The bead was still on the rim and I couldn't see any stans leaking out so I figured I'd just burped it.  So instead of putting in a tube I just filled it with air using the CO2 canister I was carrying.  That allowed Jeremy to get away once again.

Then about 15 minutes later as I was making a hard turn I realized that my front tire was going flat again.  Upon inspection I found a small hole in the sidewall of the tire about a half inch from the tread.  I didn't have enough CO2 to fill a tube so I just aired the tire back up hoping it would get me to the start/finish area where I had several CO2's and tubes.  The thing is, I had a plug kit in my pocket that I bought for just this situation and it would have fixed the sidewall hole, but I've never used it before and I forgot all about it.

I limped to the end of the lap and on the final climb the tire was pretty spongy, but ride-able.  When I got to my table I put a tube in my tire and was passed by Jason Zoll and Mitch Johnson.  Now I was in fifth.  

The wasted time of airing my tire twice and putting a tube in meant there wasn't enough time for a fifth lap, so I headed out on my fourth and final lap with the goal of riding hard and having fun.  It was the best lap of the day.  The trails were in great shape and I was feeling good.  About halfway through I caught up with Mitch, and he let me by on a climb.  I rolled through the finish in fourth pretty satisfied with the day.

After the race I ate some delicious BBQ provided by GORC and got to talk with several people I hadn't seen in awhile.  Good times.

Toasty Waffles Training Race #1 recap

Yesterday was the first of a series of 4 training road races put on by St. Johns Cycling Team.  I don't own a road bike, have never really ridden one and of course have never done a road race, but with the encouragement of friends (*cough* Jesse!) decided to try one.

I was hooked up with a really nice road bike by my friends at A&B Cycle. The bike was a new Specialized Tarmac SL3 Expert Double. Here's a pic:

The race course was an 11 mile loop around fellows lake north of Springfield. To get used to riding the bike I decided to ride to the race venue with Jesse and Jared. It was only about a 20 minute ride and would also serve as a good warmup. There were 2 classes at the race, A would do 3 laps and B would do 2.  I decided to do the A race.  I'm obviously not on the same level as everyone else in that class, but my fitness is pretty good and I like to race against the best so figured what the heck.  I knew most of the people there since many of them also mountain bike, and I wanted to see what the draw is for road racing.

There looked to be about 20 or 25 riders in the class.  The start of the race was pretty casual.  We headed out in a clock-wise direction on the loop and the first section of road was straight with some small rolling hills.  We were riding in a large pack about 3 wide.  I was somewhere in the middle. 

After a few minutes the pace picked up a bit but and we went 2 wide.  After the first turn it became more of a pace-line with people pulling for a few seconds then dropping back into the line.  There was a lot of conversation going on and I was getting a lot of good advice from several people.  I took a few turns at the front and it was amazing the difference in the effort between being behind someone and being on the front.  It seemed like the whole idea was to conserve as much energy as possible.  Nobody would pull long enough to wear themselves out.  On the first big climb Peter broke away from the group and for some reason I started chasing him.  I got about halfway between him and the pack and once we crested the hill I was soon caught by the pack and Peter also fell back in. It was just wasted effort.  

I spent the rest of the first lap with the pack cycling through the pace-line.  It was funny because when I peeled off the front I would have to float alongside the whole line and get on the back because there where no gaps to rejoin.  At one point as I was near the back trying to get back to speed to rejoin the group I got a little push from Ryan McCormick (Skip) which got me going again.  The second lap was more of the same.  I felt pretty good and couldn't help wondering when things were going to break apart.  We were 1 big group of riders and I knew there were several people there that could ride away from us and not look back.

About halfway through the second lap there was a crash at the front of the line.  I didn't see it happen but heard a couple guys bumped wheels and went down.  Nobody was hurt and we all slowed down to let them catch back up.  Not long after I was at the front of the group riding next to Brad Huff when I jokingly said I could have ridden my mountain bike.  Big mistake.  He pulled away and soon everyone was passing me.  I was working pretty hard to pick up the pace and when Bud Hogan rode by he told me to keep it smooth.  But keeping it smooth didn't help.  I drifted off the back and despite my effort couldn't rejoin the group so I could rest a little in the draft.  I struggled as everyone slowly pulled away. 

At the end of the first lap a few people dropped out, and I saw that Skip had dropped off the main pack as well.  I worked to catch up to him and when I did we started taking turns pulling and were able to speed up a bit.  Then I noticed that Ryan Meschke had also fallen off and we soon caught up with him.  The 3 of us worked together for awhile but on the next big climb with Ryan leading the way we noticed that Skip was drifting back.  We kept going, rotating every 10 or 20 seconds.  

As we neared the end of the lap Ryan asked how we were going to finish.  I said I didn't care and he suggested we ride up the last big hill together which ends within sight of the finish and then sprint it out.  That sounded good so I agreed.  The last climb was pretty slow and I just tried to save energy.  At the top I said "Let's Go!" and took off.  Ryan fell in behind me.  Then about 30 yards from the finish he swung around but I had used up my energy and couldn't hold him off.  He passed me before the finish.  Rookie mistake.

After the race my legs were cooked.  Mainly my abductors and upper hamstrings.  I must not use those as much mountain biking.  I decided to catch a ride back to town with Lori instead of ride back with Jesse and Jared.  I'm glad I did the race.  It was a pretty big eye opener and I had a good time.  If I can secure another bike I'll be back.  

Here's my garmin data from the race.

I'm not sure who won the A race but Jared won the B race and will be sporting the yellow jersey next week. 

On a side note, the Tarmac is an amazing bike.  I rode it into work today and I'm going for a ride at lunch.  It's so much more efficient on the road than my epic.  Makes road riding seem fun.....

2011 Ouachita Challenge recap

This weekend was the 10th annual Ouachita Challenge.  It was my second time doing the race and coming off a solid effort at the spa city 6 hour 3 weeks ago I hoped I'd do well.

The race was Sunday, so Saturday morning I got in a nice hour and a half ride on the womble trail.  I felt really good, like I was floating over the trail.  When I crossed one of the gravel roads I came upon a couple of women that gave me a confused look.  When I said I was pre-riding the trail they said the race wasn't using the trail I'd just left.  It was going to come from the road and enter the trail on the opposite side I was riding.  I was a bit confused since I'd ridden that trail the previous year, but I continued on, eventually turning around and heading back to the cabin.  For the afternoon I was planning on riding brushy mountain, which is used at the start of the race, but I decided against it so I'd be fresher on race day.  Instead I did some sight-seeing.  That is such a beautiful area.

Saturday evening I went to the pre-race dinner/raffle and looking at the race course I found out the reason the volunteers I'd talked to that morning said I wouldn't be riding the eastern part of the womble.  They changed the course and weren't doing the section from the previous year that went on the other side of Ouachia lake.  They were sending us through sims and doing more of western part of the womble.  Looking at the map it seemed significantly shorter than the previous years course, but you can never really tell since the scale of the maps have the trail looking like a straight line when they are never straight.

Sunday morning I woke up at 4:45, unable to sleep due to the nervousness and excitement for what lay ahead.  The start time for the race was 8am so I spent my time eating a huge bowl of oatmeal with peanut butter, banana, raisins and maple syrup.  Then prepping my bike for the race.  

Eventually we drove to the elementary school that is the staging area and start/finish of the race.  I knew the race would have a several mile rollout before hitting any singletrack so I didn't worry about warming up.  I just rode around talking to people I've met a various races and then positioned myself on the front row for the start.  Actually I positioned myself where the start line would eventually be.  I was the first one there but once I planted myself next to the tree people starting riding over to claim their spot.  I ended up between 2 very good riders, one of which recognized me from spa city.  On my right was Aaron Elwell from KS and on my left was Chris Renshaw from OK.  Chris finished 3rd at spa city (I was 6th) and Aaron has beaten me several times, most recently at the KC Cup race at Swope Park last September.  Behind me was Chris Ellis from KC who beat me at the Tour de Tick last year.  Other notables I've raced against were Cornbread from NE, Noah Singer and Hap Seliga from AR to name a few.  I love racing against talented people and I was surrounded by talent.  It was going to be a good day.

The race started with a different route to Brushy than last year.  We still had to ride behind a gentleman on a recumbent bike for a half mile or so, but we weren't on HWY 88 which meant we could take up the entire width of the road.  When we were given the go ahead to race I was hugging the center line sitting about 3 rows back in a huge mass of riders, with 2 or 3 on either side.  It was like I was in a vacuum being pulled forward.  We were going about 20mph on asphalt and I was coasting as much as pedaling.  It was a pretty cool feeling.  

When we made the turn to gravel the pace didn't really pick up any and I was worried the crowd would be too big once we reached the trail, so I rode to the front of the pack and started to ride away.  Of course they weren't going to let that happen so everyone caught up to me and I jumped back in the draft.  We were now racing.

There were 2 lines of riders, one in each lane of the narrow gravel road.  There were a few short hills and people were jockeying for position on the rough gavel in the center of the road.  As the lead of each line changed you would see that side surge ahead but overall we were staying pretty equal.  I was feeling pretty good sitting about 10 spots back when we came to a pretty big hill and the paceline fell apart.  2 riders broke away charging up the hill.  The first one was Wiley Mosley from TX and Elwell was on his heels.  I made a small break with 3 or 4 other riders chasing them.   I figured the start of the singletrack must be near and didn't want to be behind too many riders when we got there.  After cresting the top of the hill Wiley continued to ride away and Elwell dropped back to join our small group.  On the next big climb you could see the volunteers at the top signaling the start of Big Brushy trail.  Elwell took off and when we got to the trail I was in 4th.  

Charging up that climb left me pretty winded, but Brushy didn't let me off the hook because it also starts with a climb.  To make it better there's a nice little rock garden at the top of the initial climb that you get to negotiate while drooling on your top tube.  Overall Brushy isn't that technical, but there is lots of climbing, some steep descents and lots of rocks lining the trail.  I was passed by a few riders and passed a couple others so when I rolled into the first aid station to swap bottles I was sitting in 5th.  Several people didn't stop and flew past me.  I would see them often on the next section of the course; blowout mountain.

Blowout mountain is what the Ouachita Challenge is all about.  Big climbs, screaming descents and crazy rock gardens.  My racing style is about 1 thing; consistency.  Don't go too fast at the start, don't go too fast on the descents, keep a steady tempo on the flats, try not to slow down as the race progresses and climb as fast as I can.  I felt like I was riding well on blowout mountain.  I'd pass a few people going up hill, get passed going downhill and ran across a lot of the rock gardens.  On one of the downhills I pass Elwell as he's fixing a flat on the side of the trail.  I knew I'd be seeing him again soon.  Then near the end of Blowout, as I was going down a hill my left pedal struck a rock and it threw me into a tree on the right side of the trail.  My shoulder slammed into a tree and it felt like I broke something.  But I didn't and the pain went away.  I refilled one of my bottles at the aid station between Blowout and Chalybeate Mountain then started on the longest sustained climb of the day.  

Since the race last year I switched my bike to 1x10 gearing with a 38t front chainring, so while the biggest gear in the back is a 36t, I don't have a true "granny" gear where I can slowly spin up a hill.  While I won't say I flew up Chalybeate I rode pretty well having to stand several times to keep my momentum up and relieve some of the burning in my legs.  After that big first climb Chalybeate is a pretty fun trail.  There are more hills but they aren't bad and the trail flows really well. 

Next was about an 8 mile road ride with a strong headwind that lead us through Sims and on to the womble (where I'd seen the 2 ladies the day before).  That road section was pretty tough.  It would have been nice to be in a group to have someone to draft off of, but there was no-one in sight so I tucked down to get as areo as I could and rode hard.  At Sims I swapped bottles and continued on.  

When I finally got to the womble I said hello to the volunteers, put the offered zip tie on my handlebars and took off.  Womble is a great trail.  It wasn't as effortless as it had felt the previous day, but it was still pretty fun.  Pretty soon I was caught and passed by Elwell, then not long after saw him on the side of the trail again fixing another flat.  He looked pretty frustrated.  As I rode on I was having fun, but I had this nagging feeling.  I was feeling good and I know I was riding faster than I had the previous year, but I was sitting in 9th place, the same as last year.  I felt like I should be in a better position.  Then while I was contemplating life, I was caught by Cornbread.  I didn't try to run from him.  

Endurance racing is weird.  Most of the time you aren't racing anyone but yourself.  You are alone in the woods and you just go as fast as your skill and fitness will allow.  All kinds of thoughts go through your head.  When you're feeling good it's all fun, when you're fatigued or injured it's all bad.  Climbing starts to suck and descents start to be blurry.  But on the rare occasion you see another rider, all that goes away; you're racing someone!

I hate running from someone during a race, I'd much rather chase.  When you're running you feel your own fatigue and in your mind the other person is feeling awesome.  When you're chasing you can see if they are struggling or not and you can attack appropriately.  Maybe you need to let them go and hope to see them again, maybe you need to hang onto them and push them out of their comfort zone until they tire enough to want you to pass them and go away.  Maybe you should try to blow by them and get out of their sight so they think you're feeling good.  That's what makes the racing fun.  I like to push myself and see what I'm capable of, but I like the competition just as much.

When cornbread passed me I hung on.  I rode behind him for awhile and at the top of the biggest climb on the womble he pulled to the side of the trail.  I'm not sure if he was cramping or having a mechanical issue, but I took the advantage and rode away as fast as I could.  

Pretty soon I started catching other riders who were all having cramping issues.  I was tired but physically fine so I was pretty happy to be moving up.  Then right before leaving the womble I caught up to Noah Singer.  As we popped out onto a gravel road I wasn't sure if there was more trail or if we would have road the rest of the way.  I told Noah that I'd just passed 3 people and he said "well lets put some distance on them".  So I jumped to the front and he drafted behind me.  Then after a couple minutes we traded places.  He was riding pretty hard so I told him to not dig too big of a hole and let me pull every couple of minutes.  Then before we could switch we rode up on another volunteer directing us to singletrack.  

I rode behind Noah for awhile and then he pulled over and told me to go on.  I think he was cramping.  It was a pretty hot day, over 80 degrees and lots of people were cramping.  When I passed him I rode hard to get out of his sight and soon popped out on a gravel road where the volunteer said it was 10 miles to the finish.  I didn't believe him since I was over 50 miles in at that point, but I was sitting in 5th and wanted to be done with the race.  So I rode on the last big climb of the race, a big switchback road, on one of the turns I saw someone behind me.  I attacked that hill, rode past the water station and soon couldn't see the rider behind me anymore.  

When I got to the pavement I knew there were only a few miles to go so I tucked down low and tried to ride fast.  I looked over my shoulder and someone was about a hundred yards behind me.  Crap, just like last year.  I  pushed harder, looked again and he was closer.  Pushed harder looked again and he was right behind me.  It was Elwell again.  As he passed me I told him I wasn't going to fight him for it (as if it would have made a difference).  I said he earned it.  So I cruised to the finish in 6th covering 60 miles in 4:57.  7 minutes behind the winner Wiley Mosley.  I'm happy with that.

After the race I ate some pizza, hung around, and had a good time.  Thanks to all the volunteers that support this race and the racers.  They are amazing.

Here's a link to the results, and here's a link to my garmin data from the day.  I saw several people taking photo's during the race so if I find any galleries I'll update this post with a link.

I had a great time and will hopefully be back next year.

Commuting

I live only 2 miles from work and I've always driven to work.  I tried commuting by bike a couple years ago but it didn't seem worth the hassle for only 10 minutes on the bike.  Then, last week while running around the neighborhood I wondered why I don't just run to work.  It would be a good way to start the day and I'd be able to easily add 20 miles a week to my training load.  Plus it wouldn't add much time since there is a lot of stop and go when I drive.  I decided to give it a shot.  

There were a few things to consider.  First was my boat anchor of a laptop that I need to take home each day.  It's a 17 incher and is pretty heavy.  Luckily when I remove the water reservoir it fits perfectly in the CamelBak H.A.W.G NV that I bought last year for the Hut to Hut ride from Durango CO to Moab UT.  It's a good pack with a waist strap that I can tighten enough to keep it from bouncing around while I run.  The other thing to worry about was clothing.  The dress code at work is pretty casual, but I don't think I can get away with wearing running shorts and dri-fit tee's all day.  But I don't want to change clothes when I come and go.  The idea for the commute is to be hassle-free so I'll stick with it.  

This weekend I bought a few pairs of Kuhl pants that are light and comfy enough to run in and look good enough to work in.  I also got a Mountain Hardware jacket for rainy days.  I think I need to get a few lightweight shirts for this summer, but equipment wise I am good to go.

This morning was my first run to work day and it was really nice.  Took about 15 minutes and with the cool temperature it felt really good.  My only problem was that I ran to the door and as soon as I walked in I started sweating.  I think I'll have to walk in the last block or so to allow a proper cool-down to prevent that.  I'm pretty happy with the idea but we'll see how this works out.