What an incredible race! This was another very well organized, well supported, first class event. Jay and Shannon and all of the volunteers made the day go perfectly. The trails were in terrific condition and the weather couldn't have been better. The finish line at The Canyons was a blast too.
I got a spot in the race just a few weeks ago and that ended up benefiting me in at least one way, I didn't have months to worry about it. I didn't think I was that nervous about it, but starting 3, yes 3 nights before I had a hard time sleeping. I expect the night before a race to be a bit spotty, but 3 nights. That was silly. So at least it wasn't 7 months of anxiety built up to try to sleep on! The only hard part about getting in so late was that I had very few long training rides under my belt. In fact, I got in a total of 2 rides (3.5 hours & 5 hours) and 1 race (3 hours) over 3 hours. If I had know I was doing this race I would have put in a few more longer days. Every other training ride this summer was 2 hours or shorter. With lots of intense workouts and shorter races I guess it was enough to at least survive the race. I believe that I could have shaved off some time specifically after hour 5.5 had I trained more specifically for this race. But that doesn't matter today, I am still pleased with my result.
The start was in Round Valley at 7:00 AM. I warmed up for a grand total of 5 minutes and 23 seconds. The 1st place woman did a 30 minute warmup, I think I'll try that next year:)
They started open men and open women together. That means I was standing at the start line near Alex Grant (1st) and somehow with Chris Holley (4th) behind me. Luckily, it rolls out somewhat slow on a wide double track so there was plenty of time to let all the men sort out in front of me. Once we hit the single track it was GO time though. I was prepared for this and tried to get into a good pace. I was out of Round Valley in just under an hour. As with each leg of the race, I was relived to have that part over with. The next few hours were really nice. I rode with KC for a while then caught Sarah right before the 1st feed zone at Silver Lake. I was then in 3rd place (for the next 3.5 hours). I tried to temper my climbing so I wouldn't blow up. The climb out of Silver Lake was silly steep, it was the one portion of the trail that I'd never ridden and honestly I was grateful I didn't know how horrible it was. It's steeper than steep, and it's loose then there are tree roots about a foot high thrown in there every once in a while, just to make you curse. The course was a bit crowded at this point so people ended up walking their bikes up the rooty sections. I didn't complain. The descent off the backside on nail driver was fun, around Bow Hunter to Flagstaff were great. I came into the second feed zone at Silver Lake still in a good place. I took 2 water bottles and a camelback with about 20 oz of water in it. I thought I was playing it safe with perhaps too much water. I ended up running completely out of water around 5.5 hours. That's right after Sarah caught me. I drank my last sip on the way up the Thaynes access road thinking I only had to descend once I got to the top of that. Not true, there is still some climbing and the descent took much longer than I remembered. I ended up being out of water for 30 minutes. I rolled into feed zone #3 dehydrated and exhausted. Yes, a few dry tears were shed, about 20 oz of water inhaled and poured over me then I was off! The initial climb up Spiro was once a gain ridiculously steep, I wanted to get off my bike and push kind of steep, but somehow I managed to keep pedaling. The new cut trail on mid-mountain was brutal as expected and I made it to Red Pine Lodge. At that point I knew I was going to survive. I knew these trails and knew it was about an hour left and I could do it. About 20 minutes later Lynda passed me. I thought she was from a duo team, she was so fresh and fast that I didn't even realize it was one of my competitors. This is because she missed the start line with us. She missed the announcement that we were lining up so she started a few minutes behind us with the age category people. That's why I didn't recognize her or her kit. It doesn't really matter, I couldn't have chased at that point anyway, I was in full survival mode. Somehow I kept pedaling and rolled into the finish line at 8:53 in 5th place. (Results & Garmin file)
The women that I raced against are all very accomplished pro racers with numerous races and years (of racing) under their belts. Kellie Boniface finished in 2nd place just won the Laramie Enduro, Lynda is a mountain bike coach and a very well known endurance racer. Sarah, KC & Heather are top caliber racers. I am honored to race with these women. They are all super nice too, that makes it fun to race with them.
MTB Race news did a nice write up about the race. They run a great website with the quickest results and information about all the mountain bike races nationwide.
I had a few goals, all of which were fulfilled.
1-Under 9 hours
2-Top 5 women
3-No crashes (I had one minor head on with a tree)
4-No bonking/cramping
I can't wait to do this race again next year!
Start line with Kelli Boniface
Cash zone with Slyfox Moonwillow
Rolling along!
Finish Line with Chris
My great friend Lucy, sporting her Las Vegas Cyclery tee, she's my favorite race volunteer, look at her enthusiasm, it was awesome to have her at the finish line with me!
Podium: Jay Burke (race director), Lucy (volunteer), Heather, Kelli, Sarah, Lynda, Erica, KC, Jen