Kona 24hr Global Championships-Part II
Big Tex has given his rundown of the event, but I thought I would elaborate on my original post. If you are ever thinking about doing a 24hr event, I would highly recommend one of Patrick Adams' events. He puts on a wonderful event and it is definitely geared towards the racers. There were free massages for the racers, although we didn't get to enjoy any of those because the Duo set up doesn't give one much time between laps, but it's the thought that counts. In addition to the free massage, there were free showers for the riders as well. It is a wonderful feeling to be able to shower between laps, no point in putting on clean clothes if you are still dirty on the outside. Combine those two freebies with the option to stay in the rooms at the Snow Mountain Ranch and you have the makings of brilliant race. Brilliant! Big thanks to Nat Ross for putting together an awesome course as well. Just the right combination of climbing, descending, singletrack, and doubletrack. Nat has done a few of these races, so it wasn't a huge surprise but you never know what to expect out there.
Down to the race. Both Big Tex and I have done the LeMans start at 24hr races before, but as it turns out he had only done one to my two so he got the nod for this one. I am not sure how far the run was, but it looked to be well over 1/2 a mile and there was even one dude who wore his running shoes for it. That cat ended up coming into the transition area first, but after he stopped to change his shoes he went out on the course in about tenth position-not sure if it was really worth it afterall.
At the end of the first lap, Big Tex was sitting around third place so I knew this was going to be a chore. I went out of the blocks like I was doing a cross country race, definitely caught up in the moment. I was big ringing the climbs, really digging in. About halfway around the first lap, approximately when I hit the first substantial climb on the course, I realize the error in my ways. There was no way I was going to be able to keep up this intensity for another 22-23 hours. Fortunately there was some great rolling terrain after that climb so I was able to regain my composure and settle into a nice tempo. Must have been the right tempo for me though because I came in right around the same time as Big Tex and we were about four minutes up on our nearest competitors-we had a race on our hands.
This scenario continued through the daylight hours: busting ass on the trail, hustling back to the room to consume some more sports drink and put my feet up for a few minutes, and then it was back to the start line to take the timing chip back out for another lap. After the second lap, I was starting to get the course dialed in and my gear selection was definitely better, no more unexpectedly grinding up climbs. I was spinning up the climbs and feeling smoother each time around the course. These cross country type efforts were starting to catch up with us though so as night fell, we decided to go to 2-lap pulls and this was perfect. It gave us enough time to relax, take a shower, and eat a couple pieces of pizza. Pizza-the perfect food. After taking a shower, eating a couple pieces of pizza, and laying down in bed for a few minutes I felt like a new man, ready to head out into the night. It had been a couple of years since I had ridden at night, so I was thankful that we had such excellent lights from Exposure Lights, www.exposurelights.com I rode off the trail a couple of times on that first lap, but after the first 30 minutes I was feeling pretty good out there and before I knew it I was coming into the transition area to scan the timing chip. Off I went on my second night lap and much to my surprise I felt even better. I knew the course better and the first lap allowed me to get warmed up a bit as well. Nothing like standing around in the cold and then hoping on your bike to haul ass. The 2-laps systems was working like a charm and we were beginning to build a pretty good lead. The details are a bit fuzzy at this point, but somewhere in the night we took a lap and then another lap from our competition so we were pretty pleased with ourselves.
My last turn at night started just before 5:00 am so I knew I would be out on the course as the sun was coming up, so that gave me a bit of motivation. Those early hours are always tough, but knowing that the sun is just minutes away makes it just a bit easier. The first lap of that turn was done completely in the dark, no sign of the sun yet and my mind was beginning to wander. There were times when you were out in the woods, no moonlight, and no sign of any other riders. I began to think about what animals might be out in the woods. Could there be bears out there lurking in the shadows? Perhaps. Could I do anything about those possibilities? No. Just as I was starting to talk myself out of worrying about them, two sets of eyes shine from the side of the trail. Bears? No, just a couple of deer, but they still scared the shit out of me. On with the lap, still feeling pretty good, but starting to feel the climbs a bit more each time around. I finished that lap and started out on my second lap and about a 1/4 of the way around I started to notice a glow through the trees. Sweet Maria, it's the sun. That was enough to fire me up and get me through that second lap. Still having fun on the twisty singletrack, but starting to wish there weren't so many climbs.
Now it is full daylight and we are back to our single lap strategy. Everything is looking good as we are now 2.5 laps up on the next team and we are feeling pretty good about our chances at winning this thing.
An uneventful morning of smooth laps and no mechanicals or crashes and we are just a few hours from victory. Out on the course we are getting some positive feedback on our performance and I even had a solid interaction with a guy about VooDoo. I rode by this guy and upon sight of my jersey he exclaimed, "VooDoo! I haven't seen you guys for a couple of years. It is great to see you back." It was great to hear that VooDoo has such a loyal following. In fact, we even saw a guy out there racing in the new VooDoo jersey! Very cool.
We are now down to what will be our last three laps and the plan is to go: me-Big Tex-me and that will take us right up to 2:00 pm. Apparently the carrot of 2:00 pm was too strong for me and I came in about 10 minutes faster than planned. Of course Big Tex wasn't there because he wasn't supposed to be there because I wasn't supposed to be there. In my sleep deprived state, my cognitive skills weren't as sharp as they could have been and I got a bit worried about losing the race so I decided it would be better if I just went back out and did my second lap rather than wait the ten minutes for Big Tex to come to the line. Made sense to me at the time. Off I went and I was actually feeling pretty good and managed to knock out a one-hour lap. While I was out there I didn't really think about the ramifications of my actions. As scheduled, about ten minutes after I left Big Tex and Jessica (my wife) showed up at the transition area to await my arrival. Obviously I didn't come in right away, so now the worrying and speculation started. Did he break his chain? Is he laying on the side of the trail? Unaware of all this, I am out there with a huge smile on my face, content in the knowledge that this will be my last lap of the race. Minutes later I am rolling into the transition area, ready to hand Big Tex the timing chip so he can go out to do what amounted to a parade lap for us. Then I tried to explain my rationale...didn't really matter at that point because I was left for dead on the side of trail and I don't think my explanation was making much sense anyway. Off went Big Tex and I had the pleasure of cracking open an ice cold Coca-Cola, my first in several months and damn it was good! Sugar and caffeine, brilliant!
Big Tex rolled across the line a couple minutes past 2:00 pm and our journey was over, we had won the Duo male category with 2-lap lead. 12 laps/150 miles/1 hour of sleep-that was a full day's work for me. It was quite an experience but I am not sure that I will ever partake in the 2-man option again. Even as the effort has faded over the past week, I am still confident that I will not do the 2-man option again. 4-man option, perhaps.
Thanks for all the support along the way: VooDoo, Jessica Lehman, Mary Herrera, James Herrera, Exposure Lights, and Big Jonny for moral support. Couldn't have done it without you.
Down to the race. Both Big Tex and I have done the LeMans start at 24hr races before, but as it turns out he had only done one to my two so he got the nod for this one. I am not sure how far the run was, but it looked to be well over 1/2 a mile and there was even one dude who wore his running shoes for it. That cat ended up coming into the transition area first, but after he stopped to change his shoes he went out on the course in about tenth position-not sure if it was really worth it afterall.
At the end of the first lap, Big Tex was sitting around third place so I knew this was going to be a chore. I went out of the blocks like I was doing a cross country race, definitely caught up in the moment. I was big ringing the climbs, really digging in. About halfway around the first lap, approximately when I hit the first substantial climb on the course, I realize the error in my ways. There was no way I was going to be able to keep up this intensity for another 22-23 hours. Fortunately there was some great rolling terrain after that climb so I was able to regain my composure and settle into a nice tempo. Must have been the right tempo for me though because I came in right around the same time as Big Tex and we were about four minutes up on our nearest competitors-we had a race on our hands.
This scenario continued through the daylight hours: busting ass on the trail, hustling back to the room to consume some more sports drink and put my feet up for a few minutes, and then it was back to the start line to take the timing chip back out for another lap. After the second lap, I was starting to get the course dialed in and my gear selection was definitely better, no more unexpectedly grinding up climbs. I was spinning up the climbs and feeling smoother each time around the course. These cross country type efforts were starting to catch up with us though so as night fell, we decided to go to 2-lap pulls and this was perfect. It gave us enough time to relax, take a shower, and eat a couple pieces of pizza. Pizza-the perfect food. After taking a shower, eating a couple pieces of pizza, and laying down in bed for a few minutes I felt like a new man, ready to head out into the night. It had been a couple of years since I had ridden at night, so I was thankful that we had such excellent lights from Exposure Lights, www.exposurelights.com I rode off the trail a couple of times on that first lap, but after the first 30 minutes I was feeling pretty good out there and before I knew it I was coming into the transition area to scan the timing chip. Off I went on my second night lap and much to my surprise I felt even better. I knew the course better and the first lap allowed me to get warmed up a bit as well. Nothing like standing around in the cold and then hoping on your bike to haul ass. The 2-laps systems was working like a charm and we were beginning to build a pretty good lead. The details are a bit fuzzy at this point, but somewhere in the night we took a lap and then another lap from our competition so we were pretty pleased with ourselves.
My last turn at night started just before 5:00 am so I knew I would be out on the course as the sun was coming up, so that gave me a bit of motivation. Those early hours are always tough, but knowing that the sun is just minutes away makes it just a bit easier. The first lap of that turn was done completely in the dark, no sign of the sun yet and my mind was beginning to wander. There were times when you were out in the woods, no moonlight, and no sign of any other riders. I began to think about what animals might be out in the woods. Could there be bears out there lurking in the shadows? Perhaps. Could I do anything about those possibilities? No. Just as I was starting to talk myself out of worrying about them, two sets of eyes shine from the side of the trail. Bears? No, just a couple of deer, but they still scared the shit out of me. On with the lap, still feeling pretty good, but starting to feel the climbs a bit more each time around. I finished that lap and started out on my second lap and about a 1/4 of the way around I started to notice a glow through the trees. Sweet Maria, it's the sun. That was enough to fire me up and get me through that second lap. Still having fun on the twisty singletrack, but starting to wish there weren't so many climbs.
Now it is full daylight and we are back to our single lap strategy. Everything is looking good as we are now 2.5 laps up on the next team and we are feeling pretty good about our chances at winning this thing.
An uneventful morning of smooth laps and no mechanicals or crashes and we are just a few hours from victory. Out on the course we are getting some positive feedback on our performance and I even had a solid interaction with a guy about VooDoo. I rode by this guy and upon sight of my jersey he exclaimed, "VooDoo! I haven't seen you guys for a couple of years. It is great to see you back." It was great to hear that VooDoo has such a loyal following. In fact, we even saw a guy out there racing in the new VooDoo jersey! Very cool.
We are now down to what will be our last three laps and the plan is to go: me-Big Tex-me and that will take us right up to 2:00 pm. Apparently the carrot of 2:00 pm was too strong for me and I came in about 10 minutes faster than planned. Of course Big Tex wasn't there because he wasn't supposed to be there because I wasn't supposed to be there. In my sleep deprived state, my cognitive skills weren't as sharp as they could have been and I got a bit worried about losing the race so I decided it would be better if I just went back out and did my second lap rather than wait the ten minutes for Big Tex to come to the line. Made sense to me at the time. Off I went and I was actually feeling pretty good and managed to knock out a one-hour lap. While I was out there I didn't really think about the ramifications of my actions. As scheduled, about ten minutes after I left Big Tex and Jessica (my wife) showed up at the transition area to await my arrival. Obviously I didn't come in right away, so now the worrying and speculation started. Did he break his chain? Is he laying on the side of the trail? Unaware of all this, I am out there with a huge smile on my face, content in the knowledge that this will be my last lap of the race. Minutes later I am rolling into the transition area, ready to hand Big Tex the timing chip so he can go out to do what amounted to a parade lap for us. Then I tried to explain my rationale...didn't really matter at that point because I was left for dead on the side of trail and I don't think my explanation was making much sense anyway. Off went Big Tex and I had the pleasure of cracking open an ice cold Coca-Cola, my first in several months and damn it was good! Sugar and caffeine, brilliant!
Big Tex rolled across the line a couple minutes past 2:00 pm and our journey was over, we had won the Duo male category with 2-lap lead. 12 laps/150 miles/1 hour of sleep-that was a full day's work for me. It was quite an experience but I am not sure that I will ever partake in the 2-man option again. Even as the effort has faded over the past week, I am still confident that I will not do the 2-man option again. 4-man option, perhaps.
Thanks for all the support along the way: VooDoo, Jessica Lehman, Mary Herrera, James Herrera, Exposure Lights, and Big Jonny for moral support. Couldn't have done it without you.
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