Comfort, TX 01/24/2009 Well I have completed my first marathon of any kind, and if I had to sum it up with one word, it would be "brutal". The race took place at Flat Rock Ranch, which is one of my favorite places to ride. Flat Rock Ranch is smack dab in the middle of the Texas hill country, which includes some climbs up hills that contain beautiful views, and some wicked technical downhills. There are two sections of the ranch, a lower and an upper, each having to be ridden twice for a total of 52 miles.
One of the events leading up to the race for me was breaking the frame on my only mountain bike during a pre-ride of the course the week prior to the race. At first I thought that my race was over, but luckily one of my friends, Jim T., loaned me his back up bike, a Cannondale Prophet, for the race.
The Prophet is an all mountain bike so it has more travel in the suspension. Theoretically, this should make the bike better at downhill, and it should make me lose power climbing. I didn't notice any difference while climbing, but I sure had a lot of confidence bombing the downhills.
One downgrade on the Prophet was the mechanical disk breaks. My Mongoose Canaan has hydraulic disk breaks, which give me full skid stopping power with just a light squeeze of one finger. I needed all my fingers on the break levers to get enough power on the breaks to slow enough to make the corners on some of the downhill sections. Twice during the race I forgot I needed the extra power, and found myself squeezing the breaks with one finger which sent me off the trail, and into the woods. I will never take my hydraulic brakes for granted again.
In the spirit of Texas winter, the Friday before the race had temperatures reaching up into the 80s. Therefore, on Saturday of the race it was a balmy 36 degrees with high winds. Luckily for me, I brought all of my warm cycling cloths. I learned long ago that the weather here can swing 40 to 50 degrees in a few hours.
I didn't ride very hard since I wasn't sure how much energy to expend for a marathon. There were a lot of riders around on the first lower loop, but the upper loop is mainly climbing so the group really strung out during that part of the race. I have ridden both this lower and upper section before during training rides, but I was getting tired towards the end of the first upper loop.
With half of the race complete, I stopped and ate half of a ham sandwich that I had stashed in the pit area, and refilled my Hammer Gel flasks. I regret two things during this pit stop. I wish I had taken more time to take in more calories, and I wish I had applied more Belgium Butter.
As I climbed out of the pit area to start my second loop, I already knew I was in trouble. I was fading fast as my legs burned like the sun, and I could not muster any power. Normally, I ride using mainly my big and middle ring in the front, but I found that I needed the little ring more often as I got closer to the upper loop.
By the time I finished the second lower loop, I had decided that I was not going to finish the race. I mean, nobody would think less of me if I didn't finish a marathon, right?
As I was eating the rest of my sandwich in the pit area, one of the other racers that had been around me most of the race yelled to me something like: "Put down that sandwich and finish this thing". Then another guy that had just finished the whole race told me: "You might as well just do the upper loop. It will only take like a hour or so".
An hour or so!!! Most of all I didn't want to disappoint myself, so I reapplied some Belgium Butter, and off I went to complete the upper loop. I'm not sure how much time I spent walking my bike up some of the more steeper hills, but I finished the race with a time of 6:22:52. It was brutal, but I can still live with myself.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Hel of a Du
Helotes, TX 12/14/2008. I love endurance racing of all types. I love how they keep me active, fit, and healthy, but after this race I found what I really like about them is the race day camaraderie that is shared among friends. So even though this was my best race of 2008, none of my training partners participated, making a very lonely experience.
Hel of a Du involes a 3.5 mile run, 25 mile bike, and another 3.5 mile run. Lisa's sister was in town and they wanted to take Sunday to shop for wedding dresses. I figured that while they were trying on wedding dresses, the duathlon would be a perfect little get away for me and the guys, but none of the guys I ride bikes with were interested in a road duathlon. So I was off to the race all by my lonesome.
After what seemed like an eternity of listening in on the conversations of the people around me, the race finally started. I started out at an unusually fast pace for a duathlon, and was able to hold it until about mile 2.5. At that point was a very steep hill which sucked the life out of me. It took me a long while to recover, and I was passed by a few people. What made me happy about this run was that there were not any huge errors. I didn't run off course, or twist an ankle. I felt very strong.
Once on the bike, I did not feel as strong as I had in some of the other recent races in which I competed. The wind was very strong, and most of the bike leg involved a gradual up hill. I was chasing a smaller guy riding a time trial bike for 16 miles, but I could not quite catch him. At around 16 miles, the course turned to some steep, sustained climbing, and the guy dropped me on the climb.
During the final run, I was completly by myself. One runner that was obviously part of a relay team ran by me like I wasn't even moving. I could tell she did not just finish biking 25 miles. Other than that, I did not see one other competetor, only race volunteers at the aid stations.
After the race, I hung around for a little bit to see if they were going to post results, but with nobody to talk to, I quickly got bored and left. I ended up finishing 17th with a time of 2:15:40, which makes this one of my best races of the year. I just wish I had someone to share it with.
Hel of a Du involes a 3.5 mile run, 25 mile bike, and another 3.5 mile run. Lisa's sister was in town and they wanted to take Sunday to shop for wedding dresses. I figured that while they were trying on wedding dresses, the duathlon would be a perfect little get away for me and the guys, but none of the guys I ride bikes with were interested in a road duathlon. So I was off to the race all by my lonesome.
After what seemed like an eternity of listening in on the conversations of the people around me, the race finally started. I started out at an unusually fast pace for a duathlon, and was able to hold it until about mile 2.5. At that point was a very steep hill which sucked the life out of me. It took me a long while to recover, and I was passed by a few people. What made me happy about this run was that there were not any huge errors. I didn't run off course, or twist an ankle. I felt very strong.
Once on the bike, I did not feel as strong as I had in some of the other recent races in which I competed. The wind was very strong, and most of the bike leg involved a gradual up hill. I was chasing a smaller guy riding a time trial bike for 16 miles, but I could not quite catch him. At around 16 miles, the course turned to some steep, sustained climbing, and the guy dropped me on the climb.
During the final run, I was completly by myself. One runner that was obviously part of a relay team ran by me like I wasn't even moving. I could tell she did not just finish biking 25 miles. Other than that, I did not see one other competetor, only race volunteers at the aid stations.
After the race, I hung around for a little bit to see if they were going to post results, but with nobody to talk to, I quickly got bored and left. I ended up finishing 17th with a time of 2:15:40, which makes this one of my best races of the year. I just wish I had someone to share it with.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Du Boerne
Boerne, TX December 7, 2008. If you have read my earlier posts, you would know that a few races back I was trying to compete while in a huge over-training trough. The Du Boerne was the exact opposite of that. I felt very strong the entire way through, and my placement in the 30-34 age group shows that. The race was a 5K run, 25K bike (About 14 Miles), and another 5K run.
On Saturday, the day before the race, Lisa and I drove to Boerne, TX and checked into the hotel at Tapatio Springs Golf Resort. We did a nice little evening hike, and had dinner at the clubhouse. After that it was off to bed so we could get some rest for the big race.
Race morning proved to be very frigid as far as South Texas weather goes. It was a near freezing 39 degrees as we drove to the event. Though, once the race started I could not feel the chill, and by the time I finished racing it was hovering around 70 degrees.
The runs for this race were very poorly marked. I was running with a group of three other people near the front of the race to the point were I could see the leader when we had long strait-aways.
Somewhere around the 1.5 mile mark we must have missed a turn, because we ran into a river that was blocking our path. To the right was a narrow path, so we started running down it. At the point that we had to crawl over a fallen tree to keep following the path, we realized that we were on the wrong path and turned around. I was leading our small group back to where our original path met the river, but when we got near that spot there were maybe 15 racers standing there looking confused.
Mob theory dictated that the correct path was the one that my group of four was coming back on, so we did another about face and headed back down the little path. We could see an aid station through the woods, whose occupiers yelled that we should keep on our little path, and it would intersect back up with the main route.
I don't know if I ended up cutting the course, or running a longer distance. All I knew is I had to pee, and I was frustrated. So after making a quick side trip into the woods for relief, I finished the rest of the first run uneventfully.
Once on the bike I felt like an animal. The bike course was a short out and back with some small rolling hills. You could tear down the small hills and keep your momentum going to charge up the next small hill. Fourteen miles on the road is very short, so I was able to keep this up the entire ride. I must have pasted 30 people.
The finale 5k was better than my usual "just hold on, your almost done" duathlon run. I felt strong the entire way through. I did get passed a few hundred yards before the finish line, but it was by an obviously superior runner.
So here is the difference between racing at your peak vs racing in an over-training trough. Do to mental mistakes from being to tired from the trough, I ended up crashing in easy sections of riding at the mountain bike races. At my peak I can stop in a race to take a pee break, and still finish first in the 30-34 age group. What a difference!!!!!
Even though I finished 19Th overall for the race, my age group was slow enough for me to win. I must say that I was very excited since this is the first time I have ever seen my name at the top of an event like this. This is the kind of stuff that keeps me going.
On Saturday, the day before the race, Lisa and I drove to Boerne, TX and checked into the hotel at Tapatio Springs Golf Resort. We did a nice little evening hike, and had dinner at the clubhouse. After that it was off to bed so we could get some rest for the big race.
Race morning proved to be very frigid as far as South Texas weather goes. It was a near freezing 39 degrees as we drove to the event. Though, once the race started I could not feel the chill, and by the time I finished racing it was hovering around 70 degrees.
The runs for this race were very poorly marked. I was running with a group of three other people near the front of the race to the point were I could see the leader when we had long strait-aways.
Somewhere around the 1.5 mile mark we must have missed a turn, because we ran into a river that was blocking our path. To the right was a narrow path, so we started running down it. At the point that we had to crawl over a fallen tree to keep following the path, we realized that we were on the wrong path and turned around. I was leading our small group back to where our original path met the river, but when we got near that spot there were maybe 15 racers standing there looking confused.
Mob theory dictated that the correct path was the one that my group of four was coming back on, so we did another about face and headed back down the little path. We could see an aid station through the woods, whose occupiers yelled that we should keep on our little path, and it would intersect back up with the main route.
I don't know if I ended up cutting the course, or running a longer distance. All I knew is I had to pee, and I was frustrated. So after making a quick side trip into the woods for relief, I finished the rest of the first run uneventfully.
Once on the bike I felt like an animal. The bike course was a short out and back with some small rolling hills. You could tear down the small hills and keep your momentum going to charge up the next small hill. Fourteen miles on the road is very short, so I was able to keep this up the entire ride. I must have pasted 30 people.
The finale 5k was better than my usual "just hold on, your almost done" duathlon run. I felt strong the entire way through. I did get passed a few hundred yards before the finish line, but it was by an obviously superior runner.
So here is the difference between racing at your peak vs racing in an over-training trough. Do to mental mistakes from being to tired from the trough, I ended up crashing in easy sections of riding at the mountain bike races. At my peak I can stop in a race to take a pee break, and still finish first in the 30-34 age group. What a difference!!!!!
Even though I finished 19Th overall for the race, my age group was slow enough for me to win. I must say that I was very excited since this is the first time I have ever seen my name at the top of an event like this. This is the kind of stuff that keeps me going.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
The Dirty Du
Smithville, TX 11/23/2008 The Dirty Du was a special event on a special weekend, not only because it was an off-road duathlon that Lisa also attended, but it also fell on the weekend that Lisa and I got engaged.
This weekend started early on Saturday. Lisa and I left the house at 5AM and drove to Smithville, TX. Lisa competed in the 12 mile trail run, and I did the 5k trail run. Basically, the 12 mile trail run followed the bike course for the duathlon, and the 5k was the actual 5k for the duathlon.
I was not going to run the race very hard, but everyone in the race was also starting out slow, so I just decided to take off. I was actually leading the race for the first mile before I was finally passed. The trail we were running started strait up hill, then down hill, then up hill, then down hill. You get the point. Anyway, it was the hardest 5k I have ever run. The climbs were so steep that my calves burned like never before.
Eventually, when the smoke had cleared, I finished the race in third place. After the race, I hung out talking with the other racers waiting for Lisa to finish the 12 mile race. She ran a great race, and finished 15th in 1:56:37.
After the race, Lisa and I checked into the Hyatt at the Lost Pines Resort, then headed to Austin to visit her friend from medical school, then went out to diner at Roy's in downtown Austin.
Sunday morning was Dirty Du morning, so once again we were up early and off to Rocky Hill Ranch. At the ranch, our presence was graced by Rick Morris of Sage Cycles, who competed in his first duathlon.
The first run went very well for me. I was somewhere around 30th place when I finished the run, and my time was very close to what I had done the day before. The transition was very smooth, and uneventful.
Since I had just ridden most of the bike course a few weeks prior during the TMBRA race, the bike leg was great for me . I passed a lot of people, and felt strong the entire ride. There was one rider that hung with me for about 8 miles, but he could not quite hold on to the end.
The second 5k would be best described as brutal. Since it was such a hard 5k, I had to take a quick breather at the top of Fat Chuck's Revenge.
Overall, I had a great race. I finished 21st overall in the indiual, 15th in the 40 and under category, and had the 14th fasted bike split in the entire race. It sure was a great weekend.
This weekend started early on Saturday. Lisa and I left the house at 5AM and drove to Smithville, TX. Lisa competed in the 12 mile trail run, and I did the 5k trail run. Basically, the 12 mile trail run followed the bike course for the duathlon, and the 5k was the actual 5k for the duathlon.
I was not going to run the race very hard, but everyone in the race was also starting out slow, so I just decided to take off. I was actually leading the race for the first mile before I was finally passed. The trail we were running started strait up hill, then down hill, then up hill, then down hill. You get the point. Anyway, it was the hardest 5k I have ever run. The climbs were so steep that my calves burned like never before.
Eventually, when the smoke had cleared, I finished the race in third place. After the race, I hung out talking with the other racers waiting for Lisa to finish the 12 mile race. She ran a great race, and finished 15th in 1:56:37.
After the race, Lisa and I checked into the Hyatt at the Lost Pines Resort, then headed to Austin to visit her friend from medical school, then went out to diner at Roy's in downtown Austin.
Sunday morning was Dirty Du morning, so once again we were up early and off to Rocky Hill Ranch. At the ranch, our presence was graced by Rick Morris of Sage Cycles, who competed in his first duathlon.
The first run went very well for me. I was somewhere around 30th place when I finished the run, and my time was very close to what I had done the day before. The transition was very smooth, and uneventful.
Since I had just ridden most of the bike course a few weeks prior during the TMBRA race, the bike leg was great for me . I passed a lot of people, and felt strong the entire ride. There was one rider that hung with me for about 8 miles, but he could not quite hold on to the end.
The second 5k would be best described as brutal. Since it was such a hard 5k, I had to take a quick breather at the top of Fat Chuck's Revenge.
Overall, I had a great race. I finished 21st overall in the indiual, 15th in the 40 and under category, and had the 14th fasted bike split in the entire race. It sure was a great weekend.
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