Focus on the big race

I've decided to pass on the Rivers Edge MTB race this weekend. It was a last minute decision to do the race so why not a last minute one to bag it?

From what I hear it's a really great place to ride some single track but since my goal race is in Oct...AND, I'm just coming of the 18hrs on the farm race, It was really not a wise choice to do it! Better to have another week of easy training and then ramp it back up again for the 12 hr race at Unicoi then to risk an injury! It's happened before so I am being smarter this year...it's about time huh!

So now the training focuses on October 24th and the 12hr race! I'm feeling better about it already!

Aching old bones

Getting back to training is always the hardest after a few days off. The old knees are always the first to show their age and put up a fight! But they can't win all the time!

Ache or not the training must go on....so as usual I'll just down some pain killers and get to it!

I'm hoping that some day they'll have some good options for replacing old knees and discs that can hold up to the wear and tear I put on them! I know NASA has to have some space age something or other in a dark corner of their basement...right? I mean come on, what are they really doing with all the money anyway?

The older I get the more I'll grind those bones down to a nub so I'll keep on enjoying the ride while I can!

...and come on NASA, give up the goods already!

Getting back to it!

After 3 days off recovering from the 18hr race I'm ready to start back with some training! I feel really good so I'm starting off with a nice easy spin over to Tea Kwon Do class and back. That will loosen everything up...I hope!

Then I will be ready to ease into some longer riding on the weekend! Another 10days until the River's Edge 50 miler in Charlotte so I'll be taking it pretty easy overall but mentally gearing up for the race!!

18 Hours of fun on the farm

I first have to say how much I love this race venue! It's some really sweet single track with a great mix of climbs, speedy downhills, and some technical patches to keep you on your toes!

The first year Tony and I did this race it had been rescheduled because of a storm that brought down some trees on the course. They moved it to November and the temps at night went down below 30 degrees and I was way unprepared for the cold. In a word it was horrible!

The next year I had an injury that prevented me from racing, so finally getting to race this year was exciting!

Sara, (my wife), and I got there around 1:30. The race started at 4 PM giving us plenty of time to get signed in and set up the PIT. It was pretty hot and we were sweating like mad so I was trying to stay hydrated while running around getting everything set up!

The pre-race meeting at 3:15 was nothing major and afterwords I picked up a double espresso on ice at the vendor on site. That was awesome and really hit the spot 30 min before race start!

At the start of the race we did a short parade lap that sort of thinned out the group as we dumped into the single track for the first lap. I was feeling really, really good for the first 3 lap...knocking them out in around 54-56 mins stopping quickly in the pit to change out bottles and then hit the trail again. I wanted to try and get 4 laps in before I had to go out with lights on. The less time I can ride with that light on my helmet the better. After awhile it feels like a brick up there!

On the last 1/4 mile before the PIT I picked up a nail in my rear tire and had to run it into the PIT. This really sucked because I was running smoothly on adrenaline and feeling so good about how the laps were flowing and this threw me off. I was running tubeless so this was not a reparable flat. Good thing I brought my spare wheels! Although this set was not tubeless, and weighed so much more, with Tony's help in calming me down, we changed out the cassette, mounted the wheel and I was off on another lap!

I calmed down after that PIT stop and got back into the groove and focused on my main goals at this race:
1. Have fun! Really, that has been my plan for this season, just ride how you feel and have fun!!
2. Complete 12 laps. I just thought that was a nice number :-)

Some time around 12:30 or so I rolled up on Tony and we rode the rest of the lap together. Nice and easy taking it in stride. It was a good thing too because with about 2.5 miles to go on the lap Tony's light went out! Dead battery! So if I would have rolled by like he said to he would have been in the dark...but we made it through the lap without any problems! Awesome..nobody left behind bro!

When we got back to the PIT I had to throw my battery on charge to make sure I had enough juice to get through the rest of the night laps. So I hooked everything up to charge and changed out my Kit, took in some good calories and hydration and stretched for about an hour or so! that felt really great and it was right on time!

At 2 AM I rolled back out and knocked out 2 fast laps. I felt like I was flying on these laps. It must have been the dry jersey and the full tummy that made things feel right with the world.

I took a quick break of about 30 mins to put the battery on charge again to ensure I would get through the last dark lap without my lights going out and good thing I did because I think I was running very, very low on juice. But I got through and by that time dawn was coming and things started to lighten up. So I knew when I got to the PIT I could dump the light system for the remaining laps!

I only had to do 3 more laps when 6 AM rolled around so I knew I had no problem reaching the lap goal. I just followed the same plan that was working all race, have fun, and ride how you can each lap, stop at the PIT and change bottles and keep on rolling...and that worked out just fine!

The last lap I really took my time. I had 2.5 hours to finish it and was not going to hurt myself getting the job done! I rolled into the timing shoot with 1:16 left to ride but at that point I knew I had 3rd wrapped up and even doing a 13th lap wouldn't move me up any so I called it over at that piont and headed for the showers to wash off the trail!

This was really a better result than I could have hoped for! A great time, great race, great company and some awesome memories until next year!

Maybe I can move up the podium a notch!!

The dreaded Taper

The worst training week for me is always the taper week. This is the hardest week to get right. Not only is everyone's taper different, every time I have a race and taper into it, I'm different. (physically.....not totally, .....we'll you know what I mean)

If I wasn't different then my training wouldn't be working anyway and I might as well forgo the taper and just race like an idiot and see how long I can go before blowing out a quad or something. But I guess I have faith in my coach and training and I go into the taper thinking I will come out on the other side better than I was going in! (although I do always mentally cross my fingers during the taper week )

But it never fails that I feel slow, fat, old, achy, (fill in your adjective here), it just feels bad when my body gets to slow down and fully recover from all the stress that has been placed on it for the past 3, 4 maybe even 8 weeks since the last true taper.

But I'll just slug along and hope it's working like it's supposed to...! ( Please work, please work, oh please.....)

We'll see at the race on Saturday. I don't usually start feeling comfortable during a race until at least 2 hrs into it anyway!

I'll let you know how it goes :-)

Just when everything was going so well!

It always seems to be something that wants to throw out it's leg and trip me up.

Everything with my training is going as planned and I was/am feeling great and ready to ride some awesome single track at 18hrs on the farm this coming weekend!

BUT...and this is a big but...I went to charge up my light system Friday afternoon and my battery will not hold a charge!!

This really sucks.

...And of course by the time I realize this is a problem the customer service department at NiteRider is closed until Monday...AND, they are on Pacific time! Start the mild panic about now folks. This is a pretty important piece of equipment for this race since your riding at least half of the time in the dark.

I over-nighted the system to them today and now all that I can do is wait and see what unfolds! They are really great about their customer service and even looked up the race to see if they would be anywhere in the area...unfortunetley they are not, but I'm guessing they would have figured out how to get them to me at the race site...AWESOME HUH?

If for some reason they can't get the lights back to me I'll be bringing my duct tape and a flashlight to attached to my helmet.

Look out everybody..crazy rider comin through!!

Stop and smell the trail dust!

I caught myself doing what I was trying not to....!!

I told myself when I started training again this year that I would not loose sight of what is most important with racing...HAVE FUN!!

• I started thinking about all the training up to this point.
• What nutrition plan I'm going to use.
• How many laps do I need to finish in the top 5, the top 10.
• What should my strategy be; go out fast and knock out laps early...hold a steady pace and crawl along like the turtle of my childhood stories.
• Hmmm?

Hold on a minute Georgie...I thought you wanted to just enjoy the season and race for the fun of it?

Oh yeah, that's right...."Just Shut Up and Have Fun"

That's the Mantra for this season...and don't you forget it!!

Too much sitting is bad for your health

One of the hardest things I do all day is sit at this computer. I feel better after a 6 hour mountain bike ride than I do after sitting in this chair all day. It's not that it's a crappy chair. This is a Emes chair that cost a pretty penny man!

The problem is the act of just sitting KILLS me!

All the while I'm thinking of all the other things I would rather do than sit.

Let's face it, I'm made to be in motion. Those are just the genetic cards I was dealt. So let's not fight biology here folks...throw away those damn computer chairs and get moving.

Come on...who's with me?

I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more!!! (uhhh, that's from the movie Network in case you didn't know)

Old Knees suck

Well put in a short 2 hour ride that was just easy endurance riding. Everything was as expected until a slight ache showed up in my left knee. I've had problems with my knees for just about as long as I can remember and sometimes they're fine and sometimes they're not!

Today it was NOT! So I'll be icing, stretching and taking pain meds to try and keep it in check so it wont mess up my upcoming 18 hr MTB race!

Let's keep those fingers crossed...make a sacrifice to the trail gods, and throw some salt over your shoulder, just for a little luck!

On the Road again

This season has been somewhat of a slow start but at least it's finally getting of the ground and on the road again.

Last year's season was cut way too short by and injury triggered by a grueling race at the Wilderness 101. Although I didn't finish the race it is one that someday I will have to face again just to say I completed it. It's the only race I ever had to DNF from...so I have some payback to deliver.

But I digress....this season is going GREAT!

I already have one race under my belt that went as well as can be expected with the training I had completed leading into it. If it wasn't for the crazy mechanical problems faced during the race I would have finished much higher but it was a great race non the less!

Next race is the Scouts Honor 18 hrs on the Farm MTB race in Goochland VA. Great course, tough race, and bound to be a great time once again!!