What's For Dinner?

Hmmm, what should I eat??? Oh what's that, I should eat everything? Okay!!!

The Monday night ride was a leg burner on the way up and again for about the last third of the return trip home. I was pleased this morning when I got up and my legs were not shot, they were fatigued but it wasn't painful. Last night was my last hard effort before the 24 hr race which is less than 2 weeks away, I will still do some riding but basically to keep my legs loose and to keep the calluses on my ass intact. A few days after RIM I peeled enough dead skin off my ass to make a 2 ft snake blush. It wasn't so awkward using a mirror for this, it was more awkward that I was using the mirror outside the fitting room at Wal Mart!!!

I have been eating quite a few calories this past week but from now until the race it is time to really load up on the carbs. I just ate a bowl of egg noodles mixed in mashed potatoes....oh so good. I'll being eating dinner before too long, yes the potatoes and noodles were just a snack. Last night Molly grilled burgers so I had a couple of those with some mac n cheese and then finished it up with my peanut butter and Mr. Goodbar sandwich....man that's a good sandwich. I had a couple of these sandwiches at Lumberjack and Tim was in for a surprise when he almost ate one of my tasty treats.....I don't think he thought looked too tasty (of course it had been sitting out ALL DAY, at least it wasn't a tin of bubbling sardines!!!).

I'm In

I just registered for 24 hr of DINO, I'm excited and nervous all at the same time.....so basically how I feel a lot of days!!!

I am wiped out today, my legs are really feeling fatigued from the past couple days of riding, I opted not to ride today and actually took a 2 hour nap (that isn't normal for me). I woke up in a panic, I thought it was morning......YIKES....stupid naps!!!

Anyway, back to planning the trip and making sure I have my gear ready to go. We leave in 2 weeks and 2 days, I'll be ready to leave since I have to work 13 days straight up until we leave. I told a couple of the guys last night it was 11 straight so I was really ticked off when I figured it out this morning that I have to work 13 straight. At least only 12 of the 13 are 3 a.m. shifts!!!

Feeling Somewhat Lost

I usually have a pretty good plan leading up to a race, I don't always execute the plan the way I would like to but I do lay the groundwork. As with most of us there are always things that get in the way whether it's work, family events, mother nature, actually there is an endless list of things that can get in the way of training. I am less than three weeks away from my 24 solo and I really don't like that I don't have more long rides in right now but that isn't my focus as I near the race. I do get a bit discouraged when I read other blogs and these people are doing several 4-5 hr rides but I just can't get those in very often, I am very grateful when I can but it just isn't very often. That being said I am not very concerned about lack of long rides especially after having a really good race at RIM, I know I was in the worst pain I have ever been in on my bike but there were several factors in that race. I have watched 24 Solo (featuring Chris Eatough) dozens of times and he mentions that he will check over his equipment several times to keep his mind off the hard times to come during the race.

I think I am on the backside of my peak of the best shape I have ever been in but I think I am still very strong right now, as the race approaches I am trying to focus on the mental aspect of the race. Maybe because I have no clue what to do right now as this race is totally foreign to me. I'm still riding as often as possible, they usually only 25 miles or so but I am doing what I can when I can. I plan to sit down Wednesday and write out a pack list for the race, I am list kind of guy (drives some people crazy). I also need to plan out when I need to cut back on my riding leading up to the race, at least cut back on my effort during a ride. I have been on an eating frenzy since RIM, it has backed off a bit but I find myself eating a lot of junk.....tastes pretty good though!!! I plan to load my diet with a lot of brown rice, oatmeal, bananas, and other slow burning carbs probably toward the end of this week all the way up to the race. I still have some decisions to make in regards to my bikes, lighting equipment, and it seems and endless list of other items. I really am getting excited about the race but I have to admit it is a little scary too, I feel better that Mitch Johnson and some of the other St. Louis riders will be there. Not that they can help me it just makes me feel better that I will be suffering with other riders that I know, I just wish they weren't faster than me!!!

Back In The Saddle

After RIM I think my body was in a little bit of shock, I am still eating everything in sight even when I'm not hungry. I went out on the Monday night ride and at first it felt pretty good to be in the saddle but it didn't take long for my sensitive rear to get upset. It was a good ride with a good group to ride with, I did however ride too hard a couple times during the evening. The final 5 miles I rode a steady pace and let the group fire ahead on old 190, I told Mark afterward that it was hard to sit and watch that. I really enjoy it when the riding gets spirited and everyone starts using a little strategy along with some big efforts of pulling and pursing.

Tuesday I opted to rest which was a good idea as my hamstrings were still really tight. Wednesday I went out and rode the loop again but at a pretty slow pace, I didn't realize until I looked at my computer that I was riding "that slow".....but hey, it is what it is. I went back out tonight and rode up Y and then took A over to U and then U South to 190 and back into town on 190 and then rode thru town. I felt pretty good, my left hamstring was still tight so I would stretch it out while rolling a couple times. Even a slight South wind makes the ride on Hwy U tough, I think that is why I really like that route...plus I get to hit a couple big hills on 190 on the way back to town. I ended up with 36+ miles and avg 20.1 so I was pleased with that effort since RIM was only 5 days ago.

As I had stated before, I'm in for the 24 solo which is just over 3 weeks away....YIKES!!! I have been working on plans the last couple days, Molly and I are going to leave around Noon on Thursday Sept 9th and drive to Indianapolis and spend the night. I have booked 3 trips now with Priceline and have gotten some really good deals, I got us a room at the Wyndham for only $44. We plan to sleep late and then make the rest of the trip to Versailles State Park, which will only be about another 1 1/2 hr. The race course will be set up Friday afternoon and that is when I will be able to select a pit area. I will go and ride at least some of the course, probably all 13 miles but I will have to see what kind of time I have. It will be a very easy paced ride so that I don't dip into my glycogen stores very far, and then I will spend the rest of the day setting up my pit area and getting our tent for camping ready to go. Then I plan to sit around and hydrate and add a few more calories into my system.

The race will start at Noon EST and this race has a cut off of Noon on Sunday, if you don't finish your last lap by Noon...it doesn't count. If anyone wants to check on my progress throughout the race I will be giving Molly's cell number on the forum as we get closer so anyone can call or text her. I'm sure she would enjoy the interaction as she will be sitting around waiting for me.

RIM 2010....Oh God It Hurt

I have raced my bicycle for more than 12 hours more than one time but I wasn't quite prepared for the agony that was to come at Rapture In Misery this year. I have had a great season and my fitness is at a very good level and my weight couldn't be much better. I did have a little concern because I feel that I have already peaked, but my fitness is still high and I am still riding strong. It was hard to get extra calories and get super hydrated while doing trail work leading up to the race but I wouldn't trade it for anything, I really enjoy doing the trail work....especially when I get to enjoy the rewards of the labor!!! Friday night I drank a lot of water and I felt really good about my hydration, however the heat the next day would really test me physically. Saturday morning brought cooler temps than what we had experienced earlier in the week but it was still going to be a hot day.

I knew I needed to go out a little slower than the year before so during the running start I just did a light jog and got to my bike and got in with a group of riders and took off steady but not really fast. I passed a couple riders in the field and passed one more rider in the first rocky section of single track, I had a much better line picked out than the guy in front of me and was able to swing wide and carry momentum through the turn and get ahead of him. The line I took looked like a longer way but it set me up for the turn perfectly, that was an advantage of racing on your home course!!! I did brake a little extra before going into the boneyard because I didn't want to be 6 inches from the rider in front of me if they had a mishap, there were bikes everywhere on the boneyard in that first lap. I was able to make it down the boneyard clean although it was very slippery on the rocks. The next rocky section was a bear to climb up with extra moisture from a multitude of tires going over them. By the time I hit "Rock N Roll" the field had split quite a bit and I was able to carry a lot of speed through that section all the way to the dam. The rest of the first lap was pretty greasy and seemed to slow my momentum. That being said I believe I finished the lap just under an hour.

The start of the second lap I could tell right away that the large group of riders was already drying out the trail, it was still damp in areas but the trail was getting faster. I didn't push super hard on this lap either but still came in with a pretty good lap time. Third lap I got my first taste of a cramp in my left hamstring while climbing the service road across the dam, I immediately got off my bike and started walking since I had all day to keep the cramps away. I was biting open 2 Endurolytes every hour to help keep the cramps at bay. On the way out of River Forks I stopped at the aid station to get some water, I was already going through a lot of water by this point. I was drinking so much water that I was getting water logged but I had to keep the liquid coming. The extra fluid intake was throwing off my caloric intake as nothing was tasting good, this would prove to put the hurt on me later in the day.

I put my lights on for the start of my 7th lap, I would end up not using them for the lap but I wasn't sure how long that lap would take. Toward the end of the 7th lap I started feeling nauseous and when I got to my pit I was starting to really hurt. The more I stood there the sicker I felt and then like a ton of bricks it hit me. I got a massive head rush, my vision went to almost nothing and I started to stagger. I quickly got myself to the ground and laid there for several minutes, I heard someone say "Hey, check that out over there". Molly told me later that several people were staring at me as I was lying in the riding path. I finally got up and headed out for another lap, Molly was a bit concerned at this point and wasn't sure I should go back out. The 8th lap was not fast at all but I felt pretty good considering my fatigued body and mental status. I really didn't want to go out on a 9th lap but I had to, it was too early to quit.

I remember thinking as I rolled out that I just had to get through this lap and then you can call it a night. The first 100 yards was great and then reality started to set in, I was in a world of hurt and still had over 9 miles of an incredibly hard course to conquer. I had never been in this position before, I have been hurting on my bike but never this bad. If I walked a certain hill I would keep walking on some of the flat section before I got back on my bike, I stopped to pee 5 times and I really didn't have to go....it was just an excuse to get off the bike. The whole time I was telling myself the more I rode the faster I would get done but it was work to get myself back on the bike. I walked both water crossings because I was getting so tired that I almost endoed the lap prior and the water was making my rotors make an awful sound. As I rode the Short Thompson I was breaking the rest of the lap down into sections. I told myself once I got to the downhill at Steep Creek I just had to get to where we started climbing out, then I would just have to get to the meadow, then I would just have to get through the finish leg of single track. The funny thing is after I would complete a section I would say it out loud "Task 1 Complete" and so on.....sound crazy? You do what you have to do. I finally popped out toward the finish and Molly and Mitch Johnson were waiting for me, they told me I had a decision to make......I just wanted to roll over and die. Mitch was done with 9 laps and if I went back out I would take 3rd place, I wanted it so bad but I just could not do it. One thing that I have learned since I started riding my bike is that I need to listen to my body. There is a difference between a person not wanting to hurt and a person hurting themselves severely, I feel that I made the right call by not going out on another lap. The only regret I have from the race is that I didn't weigh myself right after the race, I had to drop some serious water weight that day.

By this point I was 90% sure that I did not want to do the 24 Solo that I had been planning for nearly a year, I didn't know how I was going to be able to endure another 12 hours of this torture. After a day of getting my mental status closer to where it needs to be I did some serious thinking about 24 hr of DINO. I realized that those 2 things in my shorts that were banging against my saddle while going through those rock gardens were my Amish love nuggets and they aren't there to let me back down.....in other words, 24 hr of DINO here I come. Life is too short to say "Well, maybe next year", I have done that too many times with other things and guess what....I didn't do it the next year either. The race is in September and I am hoping for a little bit cooler temps, which will help with my caloric intake as well. I am working on a strategy for pace, breaks, changes of clothes, and nutrition that will hopefully give me a better physical feel. Mitch Johnson has done 24 hr of DINO before and said last year he rode nearly 200 miles during the race and didn't feel as bad as after 85 miles of RIM this year. RIM was a super hard course this year and it took it's toll on a lot of riders. I am not going to underestimate the 24 hr race though, I plan on being in a lot of pain for this race as well. I also plan on just racing against myself, I can't get worried about how close another solo rider is ahead or behind me.....I just want to survive.

A Picture Show

Here is the video that web master Mark Jenkins did from last years Rapture In Misery. We are getting closer to te race date, just hoping we have dry weather the week of the race.....oh and until the race is over too!!!

Still Rollin'

Last Saturday was the gravel grinder and I had a great ride, Monday I was concerned that I wouldn't have anything but I was very pleased with the ride. I will say that my legs were very fatigued and the lactic acid built up faster than normal but I was still able to generate power. Tuesday I worked for 8 hours at Crowder and was sweating my tail off......seriously, I can't find my tail anywhere. I drank over a gallon of water just while working and I don't know how much afterwards so I'm sure that day took it's toll on me. Wednesday I rode and felt like crap while riding, just felt weak and seemed to have no power. I went back out to Crowder Saturday after work and got in 4 more hours of trail prep, trails are starting to look good, and it wasn't as hot so that was nice. I went out this afternoon and got 47+ miles in, it started with a 20 mile ride heading South into the wind and I really wasn't enjoying that. A lot of times I like a windy ride because I know the benefit far out weighs the temporary discomfort but today I felt weak again and couldn't seem to find a rhythm. I took 65 South and jumped on Z and went to the second C blacktop and headed West and rode over to F Hwy and turned back North. Once I got to Dawn I headed back East to get back on Z and head North back home. That ride with the hills and the wind can make for a challenging ride for sure. I only avg 19.2 so I wasn't real pleased with that but I was riding and not sitting at home so there is a positive in there!!!