The best thing about getting outside for training is seeing the world on two wheels moving at 20mph. Ride enough, and you'll witness alot of crazy stuff. Yesterday, while crusing back on the Diagonal Hwy after a short morning ride, seven military helicopters cruised overhead heading North towards Fort Collins. This exercise was well rehearsed as "the birds" appeared no more than 50 meters from one another and within two minutes had zoomed out into the distance. This might be a common occurance in San Diego or Colorado Springs, but we don't see much military action taking place in the liberal bubble that is Boulder. Seeing "the birds" got me thinking of some of the other cool or crazy stuff I've witnessed while training for tri. Here's a top 10 list for your viewing pleasure!
10) 2005 early morning swim at Lake Excelsior, MN with my former coach Jarod Berg. I had my head down swimming hard when PLOP, I smacked head first into a stationary fishing boat. I think the two old fisherman in the boat were more shocked than I was.
9) Cycling through the small unincorporated town of Ward up Lefthand Canyon is sensory overload but witnessing the General Store owner sword fighting in the middle of the street wins out even over his long boarding and pogo stick jumping exploits.
8) On a business trip to the Bay Area in '07, I took an early morning ride up Cardiac Hill outside of Davis, California. On the return ride back towards town I nearly ran over a white and orange snake that was stretched out across the entire four foot shoulder with the rest of it's body still in the ditch. I was so spooked I veered into the opposite traffic lane to avoid it.
7) While we're on the subject of snakes...while running with Thor on the Eagle Trail here in Boulder, Thor ran off into the bushes for a quick #2. Being the responsible owner I am, I followed to clean up after him. When I bent over to pick it up, I heard the unmistakable shake of a rattler. I reacted by jumping straight backwards, dropping the poop bag and sprinting down the trail. Thor had amazingly pooped within a foot of the snake and did not get bit!
6) On a century ride (100+ miles) out to Idaho Springs in the summer of '06, I was cycling back towards Evergreen up Floyd Hill. Halfway up the three-mile hill, I looked over the ravine to see a black bear running at full speed up the ravine towards me! Luckily, it was just trying to find flat ground after a dip in the river below because it was moving much faster than it's potential dinner was.
5) Like it or not, crashing is a fact of nature in cycling. While racing the Tour of the Gila in New Mexico last May, I was working together with another cyclist on a steep descending portion of the course, trying to stay ahead of a small group of racers who were trying to catch up to us. One rider from the group behind was descending very fast and went flying by us on a sharp turn that happened to have a sand spread across the road. He went flying off the road - think Superman - and directly into a huge bush off to the side of the road. Luckily, he escaped with only a few scrapes and bruises and finished the race.
4) While on the subject of crashing, one of the most hilarious sights I've witnessed was at the expense of my good friend Fred Dreier. When I was still single, Fred and I used to be partners-in-crime on some insane 6-8 hour rides regardless of the season or the outside temperature. On this occassion, we had been caught in a blizzard up on the Peak to Peak Hwy and sought refuge at our former boss's house outside of Nederland. After drying out our clothes at Pete's house, we were back on the road and riding back off the iced over roads back to the highway. That's when Fred, who had been riding behind me, squeezed on his brakes a bit too hard, wiped out, and went sliding down the road past me still clipped into his pedals and attached to his bike. I can laugh at Fred, because he was OK after the fall, and we were complete boners for getting stuck in those conditions and living to tell about it!
3) A bunch of riding buddies from my old work at VeloNews were out riding mountain bikes at Walker Ranch outside of Boulder. While riding behind my old boss, Nick Ramey, up one of the uphill sections, Nick's chain broke in half. Always competitive, Nick hurled his high-end Trek into the woods, retrieved it, and repassed me and Jon Stierwalt while RUNNING his mountain bike up the mountain.
2) YIKES, I have lots of crashes and misfortune in my top 10! This one also involves Nick and another colleague, Mark Gouge. We were on our first annual Ad Pit retreat in Fruita riding mountain bikes and racing each other. Gouge had just passed us and was flying through the course with me and Nick right on his tail. Around a blind corner, he took a ledge jump too quick and flew head first into a rock slap. Nick and I braked hard and stopped before the ledge, threw down our bikes, and went to check Gouge's status (we thought he was dead). When he started moaning, we were relieved but knew he had broken something. It turned out, he had severly fractured his collarbone. It didn't break his pride though - he is still the toughest S.O.B. I know.
1) Anxiety and imagination are the reason for my #1 pick. Emmy and I were doing our daily swim from our condo out to the turnaround buoy on the Ironman Hawaii swim course in Kona, Hawaii in Oct '07. We were nearing the buoy when I saw a huge grey mass zoom directly underneath us. My heart froze and I saw my life flash in front of me. I was convinced we were about to be part of a feeding freenzy as Tiger Sharks were not an uncommon occurance around the Kona shorelines. A VERY LONG two or three seconds later, 10 - 15 dolphins dove out of the water and continued cruising out to sea. We swam directly back to shore!
Now it's your turn...what have you seen out on the training roads??
Train hard,
Lars
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Big Thompson = Big Hurtin'
My neighbor, and good friend, David Walker had a good idea yesterday. Walker, or Dubbya as we like to call him, coordinated a group ride up Big Thompson Canyon. The success of a group ride is largely dependant on the riders and their personalities and how the ride route suits each riders' strengths and weaknesses. Dubbya found a good group of guys including a crew from VeloNews magazine including; Matt Pacocha, Ben Delaney, Mat Steinmatz and me.
We got an early start, meeting up at Amante Coffee, and rolling out at 6:45am. We kept an easy cruise pace up to Carter Lake and then Pacocha, aka Paco, aboard his squeaky clean Scott Addict (complete with SRM power meter) unleashed a powerful attack on the steepest part of the Carter climb. Luckily, he's been spending some time off the bike as he's been busy writing up on all the latest tech innovations released by manufacturers in conjunction with the Tour, so he didn't prolong our time in the pain cooler! Paco backed off the gas at the top of the climb and regrouped with Delaney, aka Boonen, and myself.
We gave Boonen the next opportunity to shine with a lead out so he could unleash his powerful sprint down the long straightaway leading to the Carter Lake Marina.
A quick stop at the Carter Lake store allowed Paco the chance to fix my derailleur cable. I won't go into the intricate process involved, but I would suggest going to Paco with any and all tech problems you might encounter on your future rides!!!
Those first 40 miles of any Big Thompson ride are merely considered a warm-up to the upcoming oodles of miles of climbing. We said good-bye to Paco, who had to ride back into town to complete some house projects before he becomes a dad sometime this next month. With our resident pro rider out of the mix, we kept the pace tranquillo and chatted as we climbed up towards Estes Park.
Eventhough we started before 7am, in no time at all the temps soared into the 90's. With everyone but Steinmatz out of water (Steinmatz had three full bottles!), we stopped in Glenhaven, in the shadows of the steepest pitch of the Big Thompson climb. While we were waiting for Boonen and Dubbya to wolf down their monster-sized cinnamon roll, my beautiful wife cruised up to us and proceeded to mock us for taking such long breaks! That got us motivated to get going again and once we got to the steep 1.5 mile section of the climb, I could have sworn I heard Dubbya and Boonen scream expletives for having just scarfed down that roll!
I left the group and suffered my way to the top part of the canyon and we regrouped again for the remaining 6 miles into Estes Park. This small mountain town is always busy with tourists during the summer, and we might still be sitting at a STOP sign in town if it wasn't for a kind Japanese couple who saw our frustration and slammed on their brakes to allow us an opening in the gridlocked traffic. At that point, the group was left with two options:
1) Stay left on Hwy 36 for a 34 mile ride back to Boulder
2) Turn right on Hwy 7 for a 50 mile ride through Ward to Boulder
The smart ones including; Emily, Dubbya, Steinmatz and Boonen all proceed up Hwy 36 and I took the detour route for some additional climbing up Hwy 7.
After four hours of riding, it's nice to have an uneventful finish to the day. My ride stayed pretty mellow with the only snafu happening after 4 miles on the Peak to Peak when I ran out of water. Before starting the gradual climb up to Ward - the most popular riding stop for rehydration - I took a pitstop at the Peaceful Valley after seeing a sign for "Free Ice Water and Coffee." At this point in the day, only the water captured my attention. I was once again a happy camper after filling up my two previously empty water bottles.
Once I hit the left hand turn, it was all downhill from Ward, and after another H20 bottle fill, it was 15 miles down. The wind was rushing up Lefthand Canyon which forced me to continue pedaling the whole way down. At one point passing through a cluster of houses in the canyon, a fellow rider dropped into my draft which is also extremely annoying at the end of a long ride. Unfortunately for him, I heard a loud POP, and realized he had blown a flat. Slowing just enough to yell back if he needed a spare tube, he gave me the thumbs-up meaning he was OK, so I continued down the rest of the way.
I capped off another great ride with a footlong Subway and am currently sitting down with Emily glued to Shark Week on TV! It's nice having Cable, especially to watch the Tour (which is now over!) and the upcoming Olympics - sorry, no boycott here - in hopes that we'll see our old housemate Fred wearing a face mask.
Ride hard,
Lars
Note: Fred, if you read this, Em wants to see you interviewing cyclists wearing a "rice hat" while you're in China.
We got an early start, meeting up at Amante Coffee, and rolling out at 6:45am. We kept an easy cruise pace up to Carter Lake and then Pacocha, aka Paco, aboard his squeaky clean Scott Addict (complete with SRM power meter) unleashed a powerful attack on the steepest part of the Carter climb. Luckily, he's been spending some time off the bike as he's been busy writing up on all the latest tech innovations released by manufacturers in conjunction with the Tour, so he didn't prolong our time in the pain cooler! Paco backed off the gas at the top of the climb and regrouped with Delaney, aka Boonen, and myself.
We gave Boonen the next opportunity to shine with a lead out so he could unleash his powerful sprint down the long straightaway leading to the Carter Lake Marina.
A quick stop at the Carter Lake store allowed Paco the chance to fix my derailleur cable. I won't go into the intricate process involved, but I would suggest going to Paco with any and all tech problems you might encounter on your future rides!!!
Those first 40 miles of any Big Thompson ride are merely considered a warm-up to the upcoming oodles of miles of climbing. We said good-bye to Paco, who had to ride back into town to complete some house projects before he becomes a dad sometime this next month. With our resident pro rider out of the mix, we kept the pace tranquillo and chatted as we climbed up towards Estes Park.
Eventhough we started before 7am, in no time at all the temps soared into the 90's. With everyone but Steinmatz out of water (Steinmatz had three full bottles!), we stopped in Glenhaven, in the shadows of the steepest pitch of the Big Thompson climb. While we were waiting for Boonen and Dubbya to wolf down their monster-sized cinnamon roll, my beautiful wife cruised up to us and proceeded to mock us for taking such long breaks! That got us motivated to get going again and once we got to the steep 1.5 mile section of the climb, I could have sworn I heard Dubbya and Boonen scream expletives for having just scarfed down that roll!
I left the group and suffered my way to the top part of the canyon and we regrouped again for the remaining 6 miles into Estes Park. This small mountain town is always busy with tourists during the summer, and we might still be sitting at a STOP sign in town if it wasn't for a kind Japanese couple who saw our frustration and slammed on their brakes to allow us an opening in the gridlocked traffic. At that point, the group was left with two options:
1) Stay left on Hwy 36 for a 34 mile ride back to Boulder
2) Turn right on Hwy 7 for a 50 mile ride through Ward to Boulder
The smart ones including; Emily, Dubbya, Steinmatz and Boonen all proceed up Hwy 36 and I took the detour route for some additional climbing up Hwy 7.
After four hours of riding, it's nice to have an uneventful finish to the day. My ride stayed pretty mellow with the only snafu happening after 4 miles on the Peak to Peak when I ran out of water. Before starting the gradual climb up to Ward - the most popular riding stop for rehydration - I took a pitstop at the Peaceful Valley after seeing a sign for "Free Ice Water and Coffee." At this point in the day, only the water captured my attention. I was once again a happy camper after filling up my two previously empty water bottles.
Once I hit the left hand turn, it was all downhill from Ward, and after another H20 bottle fill, it was 15 miles down. The wind was rushing up Lefthand Canyon which forced me to continue pedaling the whole way down. At one point passing through a cluster of houses in the canyon, a fellow rider dropped into my draft which is also extremely annoying at the end of a long ride. Unfortunately for him, I heard a loud POP, and realized he had blown a flat. Slowing just enough to yell back if he needed a spare tube, he gave me the thumbs-up meaning he was OK, so I continued down the rest of the way.
I capped off another great ride with a footlong Subway and am currently sitting down with Emily glued to Shark Week on TV! It's nice having Cable, especially to watch the Tour (which is now over!) and the upcoming Olympics - sorry, no boycott here - in hopes that we'll see our old housemate Fred wearing a face mask.
Ride hard,
Lars
Note: Fred, if you read this, Em wants to see you interviewing cyclists wearing a "rice hat" while you're in China.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Ah Mags, we meet again
Up past one of the steepest paved roads in Boulder County is a long, hilly run on the gravel and dirt of Magnolia Rd.
Magnolia, or Mags, was made popular to local runners by the CU Varsity Runners who used this constantly rolling route as their weekly high altitude tempo run. The run starts where the pavement ends, 4.5 miles after zig zagging up paved switchbacks, and goes out 7.25 miles to the Peak to Peak Highway before doubling back for the roundtrip effort. Starting at over 8,000-feet elevation, the run maxes out at ov 8,500-ft with constant rollers.
Em won the pre-run debate not to ride the motorcycle up the canyon, so we drove the V-wagon up the 7-13% switchbacks to get to Mags.
We eased into the first few miles together before splitting off at our own paces. The out section has more uphills then the return and today I managed to complete the return leg from the Peak to Peak seven minutes faster than the out portion.
Em looked strong, and very tan (I'm losing the tan battle so far this summer), and we both voted for a quick drive back down the canyon to get some water before hitting up the Boulder Creek to cool down the legs. The purpose is to simulate an ice bath with the creek, but Boulder Creek has warmed up now this summer.
Earlier this morning, Em and I picked up Tobias Wohlfert, a friend of ours from Germany, who is spending about 20 days of his vacation in Boulder training for his upcoming Ironman Wisconsin in September. We took him up Lefthand Canyon to Ward. He did very well for his first climb in town but reported earlier tonight he had slept the better part of the afternoon as he was wiped out from the thin air in Ward.
Magnolia, or Mags, was made popular to local runners by the CU Varsity Runners who used this constantly rolling route as their weekly high altitude tempo run. The run starts where the pavement ends, 4.5 miles after zig zagging up paved switchbacks, and goes out 7.25 miles to the Peak to Peak Highway before doubling back for the roundtrip effort. Starting at over 8,000-feet elevation, the run maxes out at ov 8,500-ft with constant rollers.
Em won the pre-run debate not to ride the motorcycle up the canyon, so we drove the V-wagon up the 7-13% switchbacks to get to Mags.
We eased into the first few miles together before splitting off at our own paces. The out section has more uphills then the return and today I managed to complete the return leg from the Peak to Peak seven minutes faster than the out portion.
Em looked strong, and very tan (I'm losing the tan battle so far this summer), and we both voted for a quick drive back down the canyon to get some water before hitting up the Boulder Creek to cool down the legs. The purpose is to simulate an ice bath with the creek, but Boulder Creek has warmed up now this summer.
Earlier this morning, Em and I picked up Tobias Wohlfert, a friend of ours from Germany, who is spending about 20 days of his vacation in Boulder training for his upcoming Ironman Wisconsin in September. We took him up Lefthand Canyon to Ward. He did very well for his first climb in town but reported earlier tonight he had slept the better part of the afternoon as he was wiped out from the thin air in Ward.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Uber Commute derailed
I could hardly contain myself this morning as it would mark the first time this summer to ride the Uber Commute. The Uber Commute got it's nickname from my former bossman at Inside Tri magazine, Nick Ramey, who lived outside of Golden, Colorado in the suburb Arvada. When summertime came, he would boost his fitness for his mountain bike racing season by commuting into our Boulder office by riding up Clear Creek Canyon, on the dirt roads past the Gross Dam Res, up the backside of Flagstaff, and down into Boulder. I know what you're thinking...that doesn't sound too bad. Of course, he'd retrace his steps after work to complete the roundtrip. All in all, it was a smooth 5,492-feet of climbing over 42.2-miles maxing out at 9,347-feet above sea level.
After Nick convinced me to accompany him the first time, I was hooked. It didn't matter that I would drop him off close to his house, then have to time-trial my way back to the office to beat the setting sun or Colorado's daily summer thunder and lightning storms. We had some good times on that road. Boulder riding is defined by the dirt roads that connect all the best canyon roads, and the Uber Commute does not disappoint.
Despite the narled up washboard roads, we would usually escape free of mechanical troubles, but I have also been chewed up and spit out dealing with cassettes rattling loose, tire sidewalls blowing out and most vividly taking refuge with Nick in a CAT construction vehicle to avoid lightning strikes.
Today it was a punctured tube. So, despite having to turn back shortly after descending down the first pitch after Gross Dam Res, I still climbed up Flagstaff for the first time this summer (yes, I need to insert this one into my weekly training again!) and my heart nearly hopped out of my skin. But, I'm also convinced there is no ride in town that leaves one feeling as alive as Flagstaff and the Uber Commute.
For a link to see how badass this ride is, check out the ride link from Map My Tri's website:
http://www.mapmytri.com/ride/united-states/co/boulder/718163781
Ride hard,
Lars
After Nick convinced me to accompany him the first time, I was hooked. It didn't matter that I would drop him off close to his house, then have to time-trial my way back to the office to beat the setting sun or Colorado's daily summer thunder and lightning storms. We had some good times on that road. Boulder riding is defined by the dirt roads that connect all the best canyon roads, and the Uber Commute does not disappoint.
Despite the narled up washboard roads, we would usually escape free of mechanical troubles, but I have also been chewed up and spit out dealing with cassettes rattling loose, tire sidewalls blowing out and most vividly taking refuge with Nick in a CAT construction vehicle to avoid lightning strikes.
Today it was a punctured tube. So, despite having to turn back shortly after descending down the first pitch after Gross Dam Res, I still climbed up Flagstaff for the first time this summer (yes, I need to insert this one into my weekly training again!) and my heart nearly hopped out of my skin. But, I'm also convinced there is no ride in town that leaves one feeling as alive as Flagstaff and the Uber Commute.
For a link to see how badass this ride is, check out the ride link from Map My Tri's website:
http://www.mapmytri.com/ride/united-states/co/boulder/718163781
Ride hard,
Lars
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Sprint Finish
Sprint finishes in triathlon races aren't a daily occurence but a few weeks ago our travel partner to Lake Stevens 70.3 got himself into a bit of a showdown against Aussie powerhouse, Luke Bell.
Watch the video and then feel free to comment on why you think Joe Gambles may have lost this sprint. I'll make sure we forward all your advice on to Joe!!!
WATCH Joe Gambles vs Luke Bell:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwpAAXJp2zM
Watch the video and then feel free to comment on why you think Joe Gambles may have lost this sprint. I'll make sure we forward all your advice on to Joe!!!
WATCH Joe Gambles vs Luke Bell:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwpAAXJp2zM
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Big Weekend
So far this season we've been traveling to most of our races. This travel is one of the best parts of life as an athlete and already this year Em and I have been to the Canary Islands, Seattle and San Diego for races. We do miss life at home though while we're on the road and especially our two dogs; Thor, our Chessy Bay Retriever, and Izzy, our Black Lab. We decided to stay home this weekend and race the Boulder Peak.
For those of you who know me, I don't cope too well wasting away a weekend resting up for an Olympic distance race. I want to be outside working out when the weather is great and there are mountains to bike up. Luckily, a popular local cycling ride, the Mt. Evans Hillclimb, was scheduled on Saturday with the Boulder Peak Tri on Sunday. I made the decision it would be a busy weekend for my legs and signed up for the hillclimb at Thursday's registration.
Saturday -- Mt. Evans Hillclimb -- 28-miles
Part of the reason for racing Mt. Evans was the sheer challenge of this race. Mt. Evans is one of Colorado's 53 mountains over 14,000-ft. At 14,264-ft, Evans is also the highest paved road in North America, a road that winds from Idaho Spring 28-miles to the summit. The only two lulls in the action was the 7-mile approach to the base of the climb and a slight 2-mile false flat downhill at the 20-mile mark.
Having spent the last few weekends away from the big mountain climbs around Boulder, I stayed with the group of top climbers in my Cat 3 race until the halfway mark at Echo Lake. At this point, a few attacks came from the group and it split riders up into three smaller groups. I paced myself with the second group until another round of attacks resumed from this group. When the smoke settled, I found myself on the wheel of a rider from Crested Butte, Ethan Passant, who I have competed against in high altitude races at the Tour of the Gila and the Ironhorse road race. I knew he was strong and if I could hang on his wheel I would finish with a good result.
Racing at high altitude is tricky though and you must be careful to conserve enough energy as a bonk at over 12,000-ft can end the race very quickly. The best example of this high elevation bonk came in 2006 when local stud Fred Dreier went cross-eyed and had to dismount his bike and regroup on the road side. Note to self: DON'T BONK!
In this case, I was diligent to stay within my limits, but found it easier to ride in Ethan's draft than to ride on my own. Sure enough, Ethan's pace picked off riders who had gone too fast, too early and the two of us began passing riders as we approached the switchbacks leading up to the summit. In the final 1k, I lost contact with Ethan's wheel but managed to finish in 14th place overall and recoup $50 in prize money - enough to pay for my annual ACA membership fee.
My teammate, David Walker, sensed my anticipation of having to race again Sunday, so we stopped by Subway before leaving Idaho Springs for a footlong sub to help kickstart the recovery process. And, the warrior that he is, David promised me he would race a local criterium in Boulder so I wouldn't be alone in my double-duty efforts.
I must have spent over three hours with my legs in our "puffy pants" from NormaTech MVP, a revolutionary recovery tool for athletes that recently rocked into the spotlight at the Tour de France for their use with the Garmin Slipstream/Chipotle cycling team. Gilad and Dr. Jacobs - the NormaTech MVP owners - are big fans of endurance sports and will be around for years to come.
Sunday -- Boulder Peak Triathlon -- 1.5k-S, 42k-B, 10k-R
Neither Em or I are used to sleeping in our own bed the night before a race. With all the traveling we do, sleeping in hotels or staying with homestays before races is common fare. But, with Boulder Peak taking place only three miles out our front door, we were able to sleep in, drink our morning ritual espressos and lattes, take the dogs to the park, and even ride our bikes down to transition. That's right, it pays to be a local!
The pro waves were scheduled to start mid-morning to allow fast finishing amateurs and spectators the chance to watch a handful of top pros including; Simon Lessing, Matty and Shane Reed, Peter Robertson, and....the list goes on. The mens field was stacked.
Em's pro female wave started out 15 minutes before the men in a sort-of equalizer format that seems to be chosen randomly out of the 5,430-thin air. The first person, man or woman, to cross the finish line after this handicap, wins an extra $1,000.
Em had trouble breathing during the swim but still managed to exit the water in 4th place. She maintained a strong tempo on the bike and caught one competitor but was passed by the eventual winner, Angela Naethe, who had a bike split comparable to the pro men. Out onto the run, Em looked steady and strong, and probably could have maintained her pace for another 10k but didn't have the speed training in her legs to outpace some of the quicker women. In the last .5-mile she was caught by two very speedy women who both ran 37-minute 10k times in the blistering 95-degree heat.
My race was nothing to write home about (even though, I will do just that) as I could feel the hillclimb in my legs throughout the race. After sprinting out of the gates to the first turn buoy to latch onto some fast feet for the swim, I couldn't hang with the white jersey of Greg Remaley. I turned over and did backstroke until I spotted the next group of swimmers 5 to 10 meters back. I waited...and spent the rest of the swim with Jimmy Archer and Michael Simpson, trying not to spend an ounce of energy as I knew I was in for a long day.
My pre-race strategy of going bottleless until the first aid station at the peak of Olde Stage Road - a 2/3-mile hill averaging 14% grade - backfired as I had cottonmouth and was cross-eyed before even reaching the climb. I found out after the race that Em had dropped her water bottle out of transition and found out the hard way how poor this strategy worked!
The rest of the ride was unfortunately uneventful as I normally use the bike leg as my weapon. Today, it was not to be and while I passed three or four riders, I was also passed by two riders before reaching transition. Jimmy was one of the riders I passed on 63rd St. on the backside of the course and I later found out he received a stand down penalty for drafting off me after the pass. I never looked back, so I don't know if officials made the right call or not.
I wasn't passed nor did anyone pass me on the run -- that is, except for Matty and Simon, who were finishing their last lap during my second-to-last lap.
Well, it was a good training weekend and Em and I have spent the last few days recovering and planning the rest of our season. It looks like we're going to nix our IM Canada plans and focus on training for halfs the rest of the summer and fall. And, prepare for more traveling.
For those of you who know me, I don't cope too well wasting away a weekend resting up for an Olympic distance race. I want to be outside working out when the weather is great and there are mountains to bike up. Luckily, a popular local cycling ride, the Mt. Evans Hillclimb, was scheduled on Saturday with the Boulder Peak Tri on Sunday. I made the decision it would be a busy weekend for my legs and signed up for the hillclimb at Thursday's registration.
Saturday -- Mt. Evans Hillclimb -- 28-miles
Part of the reason for racing Mt. Evans was the sheer challenge of this race. Mt. Evans is one of Colorado's 53 mountains over 14,000-ft. At 14,264-ft, Evans is also the highest paved road in North America, a road that winds from Idaho Spring 28-miles to the summit. The only two lulls in the action was the 7-mile approach to the base of the climb and a slight 2-mile false flat downhill at the 20-mile mark.
Having spent the last few weekends away from the big mountain climbs around Boulder, I stayed with the group of top climbers in my Cat 3 race until the halfway mark at Echo Lake. At this point, a few attacks came from the group and it split riders up into three smaller groups. I paced myself with the second group until another round of attacks resumed from this group. When the smoke settled, I found myself on the wheel of a rider from Crested Butte, Ethan Passant, who I have competed against in high altitude races at the Tour of the Gila and the Ironhorse road race. I knew he was strong and if I could hang on his wheel I would finish with a good result.
Racing at high altitude is tricky though and you must be careful to conserve enough energy as a bonk at over 12,000-ft can end the race very quickly. The best example of this high elevation bonk came in 2006 when local stud Fred Dreier went cross-eyed and had to dismount his bike and regroup on the road side. Note to self: DON'T BONK!
In this case, I was diligent to stay within my limits, but found it easier to ride in Ethan's draft than to ride on my own. Sure enough, Ethan's pace picked off riders who had gone too fast, too early and the two of us began passing riders as we approached the switchbacks leading up to the summit. In the final 1k, I lost contact with Ethan's wheel but managed to finish in 14th place overall and recoup $50 in prize money - enough to pay for my annual ACA membership fee.
My teammate, David Walker, sensed my anticipation of having to race again Sunday, so we stopped by Subway before leaving Idaho Springs for a footlong sub to help kickstart the recovery process. And, the warrior that he is, David promised me he would race a local criterium in Boulder so I wouldn't be alone in my double-duty efforts.
I must have spent over three hours with my legs in our "puffy pants" from NormaTech MVP, a revolutionary recovery tool for athletes that recently rocked into the spotlight at the Tour de France for their use with the Garmin Slipstream/Chipotle cycling team. Gilad and Dr. Jacobs - the NormaTech MVP owners - are big fans of endurance sports and will be around for years to come.
Sunday -- Boulder Peak Triathlon -- 1.5k-S, 42k-B, 10k-R
Neither Em or I are used to sleeping in our own bed the night before a race. With all the traveling we do, sleeping in hotels or staying with homestays before races is common fare. But, with Boulder Peak taking place only three miles out our front door, we were able to sleep in, drink our morning ritual espressos and lattes, take the dogs to the park, and even ride our bikes down to transition. That's right, it pays to be a local!
The pro waves were scheduled to start mid-morning to allow fast finishing amateurs and spectators the chance to watch a handful of top pros including; Simon Lessing, Matty and Shane Reed, Peter Robertson, and....the list goes on. The mens field was stacked.
Em's pro female wave started out 15 minutes before the men in a sort-of equalizer format that seems to be chosen randomly out of the 5,430-thin air. The first person, man or woman, to cross the finish line after this handicap, wins an extra $1,000.
Em had trouble breathing during the swim but still managed to exit the water in 4th place. She maintained a strong tempo on the bike and caught one competitor but was passed by the eventual winner, Angela Naethe, who had a bike split comparable to the pro men. Out onto the run, Em looked steady and strong, and probably could have maintained her pace for another 10k but didn't have the speed training in her legs to outpace some of the quicker women. In the last .5-mile she was caught by two very speedy women who both ran 37-minute 10k times in the blistering 95-degree heat.
My race was nothing to write home about (even though, I will do just that) as I could feel the hillclimb in my legs throughout the race. After sprinting out of the gates to the first turn buoy to latch onto some fast feet for the swim, I couldn't hang with the white jersey of Greg Remaley. I turned over and did backstroke until I spotted the next group of swimmers 5 to 10 meters back. I waited...and spent the rest of the swim with Jimmy Archer and Michael Simpson, trying not to spend an ounce of energy as I knew I was in for a long day.
My pre-race strategy of going bottleless until the first aid station at the peak of Olde Stage Road - a 2/3-mile hill averaging 14% grade - backfired as I had cottonmouth and was cross-eyed before even reaching the climb. I found out after the race that Em had dropped her water bottle out of transition and found out the hard way how poor this strategy worked!
The rest of the ride was unfortunately uneventful as I normally use the bike leg as my weapon. Today, it was not to be and while I passed three or four riders, I was also passed by two riders before reaching transition. Jimmy was one of the riders I passed on 63rd St. on the backside of the course and I later found out he received a stand down penalty for drafting off me after the pass. I never looked back, so I don't know if officials made the right call or not.
I wasn't passed nor did anyone pass me on the run -- that is, except for Matty and Simon, who were finishing their last lap during my second-to-last lap.
Well, it was a good training weekend and Em and I have spent the last few days recovering and planning the rest of our season. It looks like we're going to nix our IM Canada plans and focus on training for halfs the rest of the summer and fall. And, prepare for more traveling.
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