Tomlinson Run ABRA XC Race – June 30

Ahh man, this race was special. We drove up the day before to pre-ride and got DUMPED on around mile 5.   Holy cow was it raining. Oh well… I have to get used to riding in the rain, since races are typically rain or shine. This is a good learning experience.

Race day comes and it’s HOT. Trails are still muddy from yesterday’s downpour, and my glasses are instantly fogged up from the 120% humidity in the air. Racers line up and the sky turns gray. Here comes the rain again. Starting a ride in the rain is always tough...

We begin with a road climb and dip in to the singletrack on the right. I hear grumbles and see that everyone is already walking up the first hill. The trails are super muddy and it’s only just beginning. I know that climbing is my only strength, so I try to pass as many people as I can early on. I get ahead of some of the sport women and I think I’m in third place. My heartrate is around 195 and I know that Training Peaks says that my max heartrate is really maxed at 187. I hope I don’t have a heart attack.

We come to the first sketchy downhill and it’s a total slip and slide. I instantly go down (see me falling in the pic) and Christina Ross bombs past me, escaping the fall. Now I’m 4^th.

The mud is so caked on my tires that each one feels like it’s 5 pounds each. This must be what a fatbike feels like on climbs. My legs are burning as I’m hammering up hills and hardly moving at all. I’m pretty much doing everything in my power to prevent myself from drifting backward or falling over. Not working very well. Almost 50 minutes go by and I look at my Garmin to see I’ve only gone about 5.5 miles and my avg hr is 177. You have GOT to be kidding me... I hear Greta breathing hard behind me and I tell her that I might be having a heart attack. We both laugh, which feels good, and I start to calm down for a few minutes.  Almost done with lap one!

We cross two streams and I decide to stop and clean the bike a little bit. Michelle Beitko bombs across the water without missing a beat. She’s had enough of this race and is ready to call it a day. I totally agree, and just as we get to the end of lap one the sun comes out. I make the silly decision to avoid the DNF and shoot for a lap 2. How much worse could it be?

I’m actually feeling pretty good now, and I coast up the road and jet into the singletrack again on the right. This time I’m alone and can actually climb the trail. There’s no one around me. I get to the top and my stroke stops mid-pedal. What the heck ? My chain is totally jammed. I can’t move my crank forward or backward. Crap. It’s stuck. I throw the bike down and I’m pulling the chain so hard that my teeth are gritting. Greta catches up and confirms I have a nasty case of chain suck as she passes me. I smile and actually let out a little laugh. That girl is here to win. Time to catch her!  :)

I manage to get the chain out and hold back tears as I see the huge chunks of paint that have been ripped from my beautiful frame. I pedal 6 or 7 strokes and JAM! Chain suck again. Ok, this is going to be a problem. I try a few more times and give up. Time to try to remove the gunk from my cassette and derailleurs… but it’s just impossible. Sooo much mud and grass. I see that there is a downhill coming up, so I run to the top and coast down on my bike to where it dumps onto the road. I have to try to get out of this ring, which is unfortunate. Bye bye granny gear…

The rest of the race was just plain terrible. I didn’t have the strength to ride up the hills in my big ring in all that mud. So I ran and walked, and mostly fell. I started to get lapped by the experts and I am blown away by how they maintain control in such insane circumstances. Pretty fun to watch.

Finally I make it to the last climb, and I actually get confused for a second. I hear tons of people off to my right. I’m tempted to turn in that direction, but turn left and eventually see the finish line. Turns out people were just jumping in the creek with their clothes and shoes on. Not a bad idea! For the first time, I shower off with my full kit and shoes on. My bike is going to need some work.

All in all, 22 DNFs in this race- and I took 5^th in sport women. Even though it was more of a duathalon, I guess I will take it. J

 

 

Canaan Mountain Bike Festival – June 21-23

Ahhh… Davis, WV.  One of the most beautiful places on earth. This weekend marked the 5^th annual Mtb festival.  I was going primarily for the women’s lunch and ride with Sue Haywood on Friday. Some friends were going for the weekend, and I figured I might as well stay and ride all I could. And I did!

The women’s day started with some skills practice at Blackwater Falls. We practiced drops, power pedal strokes, popping over rocks, and body positioning. Then we hit the trails for some seriously technical riding. The first trail we hit was crazy hard. It was more of a stream than a trail. The water was flowing pretty freely, making the already slick rocks and roots even more slick and muddy. FUN! We probably rode about 1.5 hours and then got to Sue’s house. We ate a fabulous lunch and hopped on the bikes again to hit more singletrack and wind ourselves back into town.  All in all, I rode for about 4.5 hours on Friday.

Saturday was the big day. Our group decided to do the “all day adventure ride”, led by Sue. Six and a half hours took us over trails including Lindy, Plantation, Flat Rock, and Green trail. I was pretty happy when we got back to town. I grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed to the social event at TipTop. Food and drinks were just what I needed after an epic day of riding. We finished the night by seeing a bluegrass band at the Purple Fiddle. Good Ol’ West Virginia!

Sunday was shorter, but probably the most beautiful. My small group hit trails such as Moon Rocks, Hoo Doo, Splash Down, and the race loop. I was pretty surprised that I had any steam left after the last two days, but something about Davis is just intoxicating. Or maybe that was just the beer we were drinking from the hash ride??? I had my first and only fall of the weekend- a slow motion topple onto some rocks. Mostly just hit my butt. Not bad at all! We chowed down on some Hellbender’s burritos (I was NOT being very vegetarian!) and went our separate ways. I will be back, Davis!

Big Bear 2 X 12 - June 15

Michaux pretty much destroyed my foot. I went back to another doctor for a second opinion.  This one thought I had either neuromas (pinched nerves) or a torn plantar plate and gave me a cortisone shot. Apparently 3% of the population experience “cortisone flare” after a shot, where they develop symptoms worse than the original pain. Lucky me!  My foot felt broken for almost 7 days. I hobbled around on crutches and couldn’t wear any enclosed shoes. This isn’t good.  For three weeks I did absolutely no exercise whatsoever. I could feel myself losing fitness every day. After three weeks, I started to introduce cross/road riding back into my training plan. During this time I also had an MRI that confirmed that I did not have any broken bones or tears, so neuromas were “probably” the culprit of my foot pain. I made some adjustments to my footwear (went up a full shoe size) and started using insoles. I’m hoping this is going to be manageable and I won’t need surgery.

My friend Sara Chua had asked me to do the 2 x 12 a few weeks ago. I was really nervous about this race because I hadn’t ridden much and I knew she had been kicking some major a$$ in other races. It’s one thing to suck at your own race, but I didn’t want to be a crappy partner. She assured me that we would be fine and convinced me to register as team Amish Fingertrap. My first duo. Exciting!

If you have ever been to the 2 x 12, you know that there is this bridge that you have to cross at the end. I am terrified of heights and was so scared of this bridge. It sounds ridiculous, but it took me like 30 minutes to pre-ride over the darn thing. I was actually quite pleased at this, however, because I imagined myself walking it during the race.

Race day is here. Although the strongest rider typically starts a relay race, I decided to start because I wanted to finish before the kids race started. I then learned that the starter has to climb a gravel road for about 5 minutes before dipping into the singletrack. All I thought was --great, my heart is probably going to explode before I even hit the dirt. I don’t think I have climbed anything in 5 weeks.

 

The 2 x 12 course is sooo fun. There are a few climbs which were surprisingly doable for me. But there was a long rocky downhill that really gave me some issues with handpump. I had to stop midway through the hill and clap my hands and try to loosen my fingers because they were totally numb and I lost control of my braking and gearing (not good). My first lap was like 1:44. I certainly didn’t feel fast, but I was very happy I didn’t have any major issues. After the lap, I bombed down the scarey bridge and passed the baton to my teammate Sara. She sped off and did an amazing lap of 1:25. Whew…I had some work to do to catch back up to her! My next lap went a little better as the trail dried up a bit. I clocked in at 1:40- not great, but a little better. Sara pulled out the last lap at 1:26 for an amazing race day for Team Amish Fingertrap. We took first, next to our good friends Aimee and Teresa. And we got 2 big mugs. I’m going to have to buy some more spatulas.

Lesson # 6 – Duos are FUN!

http://www.iplayoutside.com/iplay/Events/?eid=2013/06/14441r2.html

 

Michaux Maximus – May 5

The last month saw a huge increase in my training. I was riding 10-15 hours a week again, and racing. Not surprising that my foot issue came back to rear its nasty head. I decided to try and race anyway, because I didn’t have any other races scheduled for a few weeks. What’s the worst that could happen? And Michaux was kind of a big deal to me… well because it was Michaux, number one. And it was also my longest race to date. I was racing sport class which is around 12 miles and Michaux was 20, on insanely technical terrain. That’s a pretty big jump.

We pre-rode some of the course the night before, but I was already pretty sensitive in my foot and I didn’t want to aggrevate it. Race day is here and I got to wear my new she-bibs! So excited!!! They have a little trap door you can drop so you don’t have to take off your shirt when nature calls (this is annoying)! Unfortunately, I never wore this chamois before, and I had a new seat put on. The combination of the new seat and the new chamois wasn’t real good. I kept trying to stand to prevent chaffing. The more I stood, the worse my foot felt. I was sort of juggling between two different types of pain and just hoping to finish.

Overall, the course was pretty awesome. The weather was absolutely perfect for a race. This was the first time I physically held back because I was afraid of hurting myself (my foot), which was really hard for me to do. I was trying to be competitive with the girls in my class, but the terrain was SO hard and it took so much exertion to try to ride the rocks (especially the hills). I could feel my foot getting worse and worse. I decided that my goal for this one was just to finish and that I needed to take a break and get this foot better because racing at half-mast is no fun. I think I took 7th/8, but I can’t find the results anywhere. I’m still super happy I went, and I will be back for more.

Lesson # 4 – Don’t wear a new chamois and new seat for the first time during a race

Lesson # 5 – Don’t race when you are injured because it makes it worse and recovery is longer.

Big Bear Classic – April 21

Big Bear is pretty technical for a newer rider. I was kind of worried about this race, so I went and pre-rode some of the course on Thursday. There is a massive rock roller coaster, a giant crack that you ride through, and a series of boulders that is pretty much unrideable to anyone but the best of the best. I practiced the rollercoaster a few times (I never would have even attempted this if it weren’t for the Michaux camp) and was able to clear it without incident. Ok, let’s give this a shot!

Race day comes and I’m super pumped. This time I try to get out as early as possible so I don’t have to play catch up or pass tons of people. I’m riding along, and I notice that I’m in first position and there are no other sport women around me at all. Sweeeeet! My heart rate is maxed out, and I think that maybe I can chill out a little bit and not have a heart attack? I slow my pace and a few guys pass me. No big deal. I’m not racing them anyway. About 75% of the way through the race, I hear a girl’s voice behind me. CRAP! I was stuck behind three guys that wouldn’t let me pass and this chick is gaining on me fast. Just then, she does this crazy move where she goes completely off the course, jumps a log, and passes all three of the guys in front of me. O.M.G. Did that REALLY just happen? I pretty much knew there was no way I was going to catch her with so little time left and three guys in between us.  I instantly regretted the decision I made to cool my jets early on. I never caught her, and ended up taking 2^nd again. But… I got one of those Big Bear mugs, a free season pass, and my first podium pic. Sweet!

Lesson # 3- Don’t feel too comfortable with where you are, and always give it your ALL because you never know what can happen!

http://www.iplayoutside.com/Events/?eid=2013/04/14421r.html

Simonton Windows Challenge at Mountwood, April 14

The first race of the season is scheduled for the 14^th, 2 weeks after the Michaux camp. Of course, anxiety is setting in and I’m thinking of bailing - but I decided to give it a go anyway. I rode out with Mj and Stacey, so the drive wasn’t that bad.  We got there early and stood in line for what seemed like an hour. I signed up for the sport class, mainly because I wanted to ride more miles than what the beginner class had. That’s a long drive for less than 10 miles. I had a whole list of things that a racer is “supposed to do” for a race. Drink Perpetuem, eat Shot Bloks, roll legs, etc. I didn’t even get my number plate yet, and I am already panicking and don’t feel like eating ANYTHING. We did a warm up ride and I felt pretty good, despite not sleeping at all. For some reason I can’t sleep the night before any race or any event where I have to perform. It’s a totally annoying thing that I always deal with, no matter how hard I try to combat it.

Anyways, the race starts and I’m in a pretty good position with the group of sport women (14 of us). We climb a long hill and dip into the left to finally enter singletrack. Thank God! About 1/10^th of a mile in, I hear a loud prfffffffffff. Something is definitely up with my tire. Shit, it’s my saddlebag. It fell off my saddle but was still attached to my seat post and was just rubbing all over my tire. I pull off the course and try to thread the straps through the saddle with shaking hands and a heart rate of probably 180. This isn’t going so well... After what seems like 5 minutes, I just rip the entire bag off and shove it into my jersey pocket. Not exactly comfortable, but I needed that baby in case I got a flat. After watching the parade of pretty much every other person pass me, I jump back on the trail behind a dude in jean shorts.  Bummer…

I instantly go into self-pity mode and decide that I’m just going to get a good ride in. There is nowhere to pass, and I’m not exactly sure how to correctly pass in the first place. But every now and then we would come into a field and I would try to fly by as many people as I could before dipping back into the singletrack.  Eventually, I ended up passing a few women. I got a little bit hopeful for getting back in the race. Maybe I could catch up?? I mean, I have nothing else to do right now. I might as well give it all I have.

I ended up awkwardly passing a few more people on the singletrack. I was trying to keep track of how many women were left, and I was sure there were only a few left in front of me.  I finally caught sight of the finish line and was so excited to finish. I expected to take 5^th or 6^th, but ended up taking 2^nd overall.  Although there were no podium pics, I did win a bike pump and Stacey and MJ thoroughly humiliated me by making me stand by myself with my arms up so they could take pictures.  This race stuff is pretty fun! ;) 

Lesson # 2 – A race takes place over a long time. Never give up, because you never know what can happen!

http://www.iplayoutside.com/iplay/Events/?eid=2013/04/14420r.html

Michaux School of Rocks, March 29-31

So the season is super early for this camp. I hardly rode at all because I went sort of crazy while training over the winter. I signed up for the Pgh marathon and hit the road running for the first time in several years. Let me tell you, asphalt is different than road and it pretty much destroys you. Combine that with doing tons of Bikram yoga and cross country skiing and I developed some pretty serious foot issues.  After spending 6 weeks in a boot for a diagnosis of Sesamoiditis, I decided that somehow mountain biking was safer and decided to just dedicate this year to trying out mt bike racing.

I was pretty terrified of the Michaux camp. I waffled back and forth on whether or not I should sign up. Angelina Palermo kind of nudged me to go,  and it really was probably the best decision that I made all year. Michaux is known for its crazy rocky and rugged terrain, and I am NOT a technical rider. In the past, I had hiked here while friends raced. I remember hiking through Dark Hollow thinking that you’d have to be absolutely insane to try to ride a bike here.  And here I was, trying to ride the same trails. But their motto was “We believe that everyone can learn to ride technical trails at a comfortable and safe pace.” Maybe I had a shot after all?

The camp was great. I think the awesome instruction was only ½ of the experience, and the networking/friendships was the other.  I met women of all ages and all backgrounds that were ready to give mountain biking all they had. There were some established racers there that were looking to refine their skills. But some people showed up with practically no mountain biking experience at all. There was even a super sweet lady that was probably in her 70’s that wanted to improve her technical skills so she could qualify at nationals for her age group. Pretty amazing!

The female instructors, Sue Haywood and Cheryl Sornson were both great at showing us the skills to gain confidence on riding on the rocks. And we got to practice our new skills on the beautiful trails. I couldn’t believe I was riding Michaux. This was definitely a great kick off to the race season!!

Lesson # 1 – Don’t underestimate yourself. 

http://www.fastforwardracingproductions.com/p/michaux-mtb-school.html

 

photo courtesy of http://portfolio.aelandesphotography.com/