Waterloo G+G Race Recap

 

Where do I even start with this race? Well....I guess I start in the beginning. 

I was in bed early because I had to be up early. Felt like getting up for work. ugh. Anyway, I was loaded up and out the door by 6:30 to ensure I was at Waterloo in plenty of time. The drive pretty uneventful and I was parked just a little after 8. With a 9am start I wanted to be there early. So I parked and wandered over to registration. The pickup was pretty easy. They sent each person a specific barcode for their info. I walked in, they scanned my phone and I wandered over to my number on the ground. I grabbed my bag, made sure my name was on the number plate and headed back to the car to gear up.

It was kind of chilly, but it was warming up fast. I geared up and started to roll around for a short warmup. With the race being split into 2 days there was not a lot of people around. I rolled down the start straight to get an idea of how it was set up and then went back to the start area. It was pretty much time to go. There was the 100K and a 50k fun ride. Everyone was mixed in together....which was fine for me because I am not a top 5 guy at these events.

3,2,1....go. We were off out of the parking lot to find what the gravel roads held in store for us. Right away I was liking the roads. Packed and solid. That changed when the roads loosened up and turned into a mixture of loose gravel and sand. The miles ticked by....4....5...6...7....then there was a nasty climb. And then another nasty climb. Then a super loose terrible climb. I wasn't able to make any of them because my gearing is just too steep. So I walked. And while walking I watched my average speed drop like an anchor. It was starting to mess with mentally.

By mile 10 my average speed was terrible. My legs hurt and my brain was checking out. I knew that I had probably done a lot of the climbing already...but it wasn't helping my brain. When I reached mile 15......I knew my day was going to end early. This race is a 2 lap race for the 100k. I was signed up for the 100k, or around 60 miles. Had it been a full loop, I might have been ok....but I mentally was fried and not looking forward to 45 more tough miles.

At mile 15 the roads did flatten out a bit. I looked into the data after the race...and at this point my heart rate never went over 140 bpm. I normally average over 140 during a race. But I had backed off enough that I was more on a ride than a race. The miles rolled past. At one point there is a hefty stretch of pavement and I started to doubt whether I was still on course. Thankfully I was. I kept going and eventually saw the signs stating 50k and 100k with arrows pointing different directions. 

I was done. I lowered my head and went straight into the park and approached the finish line. I admitted my defeat and finished with 30 miles instead of 60. The weird part is, I had a better average speed than I did at Lowell even with more feet of climbing per mile. None of it really makes sense to me, other than understanding that I was due a bad ride....and this was the day for it to happen.

I had one of those weeks where the stress is all over the map and eventually it just caught up with me. I am in the middle of house hunting, still raising my kids, and now changing jobs. I think all the stress added up and triggered some covid fog. I say this...because I had Covid and the fog is a real thing. Things simply didn't make sense. I actually left my car door wide open....at the race....with my belongings free for the taking. Thankfully nobody did, but just weird that I left my door open. Then getting gas on the way home when the pump stopped I simply put the nozzle back without rounding to the nearest dollar. Disconnected. 

I got home, took a nap and relaxed. Ate. Watched a movie. Relaxed. Went to bed on time. Today was a much better day. Looking at my average speed, I would not have been last had I attempted the 100k. I am grateful that I didn't simply for the fact that it would have been a fight for 30 miles. A fight that my brain was surely going to lose. And that is ok....I am human.

Now we wait and see how much snow we get. Yes...snow in mid April...in Southwest Michigan. Ugh. We shall see. 

Next up is Hart Hills in 2 weeks. I know I need to be focused for that race as it is 55 miles and a lot of hills. But....still not as long as C2C which is still the ultimate goal. Keep the rubber side down friends!

Lowell 50 Recap

Race number 2 for 2021 was the Lowell Classic Gravel Road Race, formerly known as The Lowell 50. I have done this even a few times, but just the 34 mile course. This year I stepped up to the 50 for training purposes.

The Dirty Donut truck

I planned to arrive earlier to this event to avoid the backup that I saw at Dirty 30. After a short hour drive to Lowell, I arrived at Fallasburg Park just before 8:30. With a race start time of 10am that was a good time to get there. Some people were there already because the Rogue 100 had started at 7am. I found a place to park and walked up to registration. There was no line so I walked right up to the table and got my number plate and swag bag. Then I wandered back to my car and started getting ready.

 

I was trying to figure out how to dress because temps were still in the 40s but it was warming up quick. I opted for a light long sleeve base layer and shorts. I then headed out to warm up. I rolled out and rode around for a few miles to get my legs loosened up. I was listening to the announcer talk about making sure riders are warmed up because your legs will be tested right away. Great, just what I need to start a race. Anyway, it was about time to line up. 

Then it was time to go. There was no rolling start, it was GO right from the gate. The pace was way too much for me. We made the turn out of the park and it was a fury of changing gears and colors. Right away there was a nice downhill; however, the price for that downhill had to be paid right away. Less than a mile away and I was getting dumped from the group already. I just kept going as much as I could as the group was breaking up. I finally crested the hill and saw that the entire group was stretched out. Next up was the nastiest climb on the course. It is by the river and is pretty steep with soft edges. I made it....part of the way up before I had to get off the bike and start walking. I had already planned for this, because this hill is a jerk...and I am not a climber.

Once I got to the top I got back on and started riding again. I was feeling ok, but my speed was slow. At 5 miles in I was barely at a 12mph average. By mile 10 I was up to 12.5 mph. I was right on pace for a 4 hour race. The course felt like it was all hills in the first 10 miles. At 12 miles I made the split onto the 50 mile course and was riding completely alone. At the next crossing there was a police officer. He asked if I was the last person....and honestly I didn't know. I told him I didn't know but it was likely. The hills started to flatten out and my average speed started to climb. At 20 miles I pulled my average speed up over 13mph. I just kept chugging along.

At mile 30....disaster. I was feeling pretty good knowing I only had 20ish miles to go. I saw a county officer marking the next intersection. I waved and went thru, settling back into my pace. A moment later I hear the police horn "wah wah". I moved over and slowed down.....thinking he was just going around. He rolled up next to me and says "I think you missed a turn back there". SHITBALLS! 

Thankfullly he didn't let me get far. I turned around and went back to look at the sign. Sure enough, I missed a turn. I was looking for traffic on the road where the officer was and didn't see the arrows. Dangit, it was marked fine.....I just missed it. So, nerves rattled a bit....I started to settle back into my pace. The miles were peeling away, then the hills started again. Ugh. I had my average pace up over 14 now and I was shooting for a 3:45 pace. 

About 4 miles from the finish I spy a rider ahead of me. It gave me a spark to ride a bit harder because I didn't want to be last. So I dug in and started chasing. I closed the gap and caught her on a climb. I said "we are almost done" and she responded "thats what I keep hearing". I felt like I was pulling away on the descent and then there was another climb. She caught me on the climb and started to pull away. I reached the to of the climb and put my head down to chase. She apparently didn't want to be beat, because she hammered me the last mile. I tried to close her down but just didn't have enough left in the tank. I rolled across the finish line in just over 3 and a half hours.

Overall, my goal was 3:45 and line time was actually 3:33. I once again averaged 14mph in a gravel race. In my preivous races I have never eclipsed 13, let alone covering 14 two races in a row. This race was a lot of fun. Always awesome to see so many people riding hard. Awesome to actually be racing again to be honest.

Some might think that my average speed is slow....well...you are not wrong. I was over an hour behind 1st place. But, I am not racing to be top 10. I am racing for training and for fun. Racing against the clock and pushing myself to be the best I can be. The Coast 2 Coast ride is quickly approaching and I need to keep piling the miles on. And, at 280 pounds....I will take my progress. I still need to lose some weight, but I am getting stronger all the time and will keep on trucking.  See you out there.....

Dirty Thirty Recap

 After racing only 1 race in 2020, I was pretty excited to start my season in 2021. Here is my recap of the Dirty Thirty in Saranac, MI

The alarm clock started to go off around 6:30am. I worked myself awake and to a position of sitting on the side of the bed. Too early for a Saturday, regardless of a race or not. Especially with temps in the low 30's. I eventually got up and slogged into the kitchen where I made some eggs. Thankfully I was packed and ready Friday night, so eating and loading up were my only tasks on this chilly morning.

While eating I checked the weather to ensure that warmer clothes would be the better option. I got dressed and headed out the door. I met Sheryl in Martin and we started north. She was coming for moral support! We headed up 131 to M6 before joining 96 toward Lansing. After a pretty quick trip we found ourselves in a traffic jam on the outskirts of Saranac. By traffic jam I mean that the traffic for packet pick up was backed up nearly half a mile away from the church! No worries, it was about 8:30 and my race didn't start until 9:30.

After about 10 minutes of not moving I started to get nervous. Time was slipping by very quickly and we had not gotten any closer to town. Eventually the line started to move and found a flow. We got my packet and searched out a place to park. Now, it was 9:10 and I was starting to panic a bit. I didn't want to miss my start. I quickly filled bottles and got everything ready while Sheryl put my number plate on. Then I launched over to the start area to find a bathroom. I hit the start line area around 9:20 with zero warmup. Minus the warmup, I was as ready as I could be.

The clock struck 9:30 and it was time to go. My start group was only about 12 people and we started very slow. The first mile just wasn't much fun. A small pavement climb out of town. With no warmup, my legs were just not cooperating. Knowing that I had 50 miles to go, I just kept going with the knowledge that I would settle in eventually. Before too long I was in my familiar position of riding alone. Slowly the group peeled away and I just found my own pace. 

The miles started to tick by and I was good and settled in. I had an average speed in mind, a goal time. And at 10 miles I was ahead of that average pace. Feeling confident I kept plugging away. At 20 miles I was starting to wonder where the hills were. I know there is some climbing, but hadn't seen much. This meant my average speed was much higher than I had anticipated. Around mile 25 I got caught by a guy. We had a terrific tailwind and were cruising along with low power. We chatted a bit and then he slowly drifted out of sight.

Around mile 30 I started to feel some hills. As the miles were adding up, my average speed started to drop. Not as much as I anticipated, but it was falling. But, the miles were going by. I was getting closer to 50 knowing that there was a "terrible" hill coming. A segment called Ivan the terrible. I figured out right where it was as I reached a hill where my gearing finally betrayed me. I had to get off and walk. Making my way up the hill I saw a nice gentleman standing at an aid station cheering me on. He was like, well done....I couldn't do what you are doing. He reassured me that the worst was over and that the rest of the race shouldn't be too bad.

He was right. The last part of the race was very fast and flowy. I figured I was getting close as I saw a Saranac sign. I rolled back into town and made the last right hander into the finish line. Not a lot of people around. Just a finish banner and some scattered humans. I crossed the line and was DONE. My longest race ever, and my fastest gravel race pace ever. I crushed my goal time by just under 30 minutes. My goal time was a reasonable 4 hours. I finished in 3:30:13. A goal of 12.5 and a final pace of 14. Like I said, my fastest and longest race ever.

 

So, the 2021 season started off very well. I learned some important information about my nutrition. This is why I am doing these longer races. In preparation for the Coast to Coast. I am using these rides to determine how my body responds to my nutrition and how my training is actually going. The training gauge is pointing in the right direction. The nutrition gauge gave me some good feedback and I will make adjustments in the next race. Lowell 50 is next. Another 50 miles, but with some additional climbing. We shall see how it goes.