A couple of weeks ago, Troy Fraske called me to see if I would do a race with him, Kevin Koen, and Ric Tinney. SURE! We would race under Bike Lane, for 24 hours at Rocky Hill Ranch, in the Expert 4 man division.
Well, Kevin got sick a couple of weeks ago, and was bummed, so I called up Noel Rueter, all around good guy, and super strong bike rider to take Kevin's spot.
We started the race with the best support system in the world. Peggy(mom) and Magan(girlfriend) were brought to the table by me. They stand alone to do the best job as support. But added to that, was Laura, brought by Ric. She brought another level of support. And Kevin Koen came and helped set up, and brought Cameron.
Race time, was 12, noon. I started the lemans run, and with idiots wanting 50bucks they outkicked me by 10 yards, but was soon blown past by me in the ally. I take the whole shot with Pete Stewart rubbing my back wheel on the first climbs(literitly). I rode conservativly, trying not to overdo myself the first lap, and to ride smart and learn the course. I came in around 3 minutes ahead of 2nd place, Austin Bikes' Sol Frost. We got off to a good start.
Ric would ride second, then Noel(who showed up late after watching his kids' sporting activities) and then Troy.
Ric wound up taking the fastest lap so far, with a 50minute romp in the woods.
With around an 8 minute lead, Noel went out and stomped some power and put a good 10minute gap with Troy getting in some good times to keep a lead.
Lap 2 for me, lap 5 for the team... I take off going for a fast lap. I big ring everything, pushing hard on the climbs....not as hard as I used to push though when doing the fastest lap. I felt more in control, never breathing heavy, just letting the legs work. I soon caught some slower riders, most of whom would get out of the way, but 1 out of every 5 riders didn't know what to do....or was just stubborn. I ran into 5 riders this lap, and none of them were at a good time....at a bottom of a hill, in the mix of a single track with the tightest turns, in the creekbed and roots everywhere. I love how they hold you back, then when you pass them, they want you to hurry up and get by fast. I stay on trail most of the time, taking the wrong line a couple of times, but end up getting in under 49 minutes. Good enough for the fastest lap.
After everyone got in a single lap, twice. We switched off for 2 laps a goround. With darkness looming, it would allow for a longer rest time, and the ability to stay warm after getting warmed up. I got in the dusk lap, where light is so weird, and it is super hard to see anything. And the first real night lap. Afterwards, around 9pm, I got some food in me and took a good 5hour rest. I woke up and was ready to roll at 2am. I got my bike in order, put chammy cream on, did some stretches and finally got the pass off from Troy. I head out, feeling good. The legs weren't sore or tired, and I wasn't sleepy. This was going to be a peice of cake. Then about 10minutes in, my stomach growled. I haven't eatin for over 5 hours. Normally 3 is too much for me. I could feel the power decline, as the legs just wouldn't push the gears. I relied a lot of skills to keep momentum high, at such a slow speed. Eventually I finished the first lap....in an hour or something rediculous. But, I had to go out again, feeling the hunger, almost a bonk feeling, I slowed way down. Eric Hess came up and I tailed him for a while, before somehow passing him. I finished as strong as I could, and knew my 6 laps were done. So I just needed to let the team do it's thing now. I got some good food in me, and proceeded to sleep until morning.
The team was doing great, taking there 2 lap pulls and allowing each other to relax and hang out. I ate some more, as it looked like I was going to need to do another lap.
I set up the single speed, and got ready.
The last lap was fun, I RAILED the single speed out there, and although I lost time on the jeep roads, the single track was OWNED! The great thing about the single speed is the quiteness. I ride up on riders, super stealth like, and then let the rear hub(which is super loud) make the bzzzzzzzzzzzz. Most riders move out of the way then, feeling bad I guess as I coast while they pedal....uphill. But then again, 1 out of every 5 riders 'THINKS' he is fast enough, or that the hill we are climbing is short enough for me to wait. One guy in particular made me laugh. We're on the back section, when you are doing a little climb, and are encountered with a steep rooty climb that is one spot where you might have to walk. The guy is on the lower slopes(of a shallow rise) and knows I'm there. I'm being patient, and riding very slow and at a low RPM. This guy, after 20 seconds of riding, tells me to let him know when is a good time. Right after, he takes a line to the left of a big root, which is the exact line I take. He slows down and I am even with him. I tell him I'm on his right, although it was an accidental pass, and the guy goes towards me, messing up his line and taking mine. He kinda gets pissed that I didn't do something, but I just laughed as he killed all the momentum, that would've wasted maybe 1 second if he just pulled off and let me by, instead of wasting 5 seconds after 20 seconds of slowing me down.
I think that lap time was around 49minutes....the scoreing was messed up, but It was a good lap.
We ended up with 26 laps, we probably could've done 27, and won the race.
Sean Ansley did Solo Sport and ended up 3rd. Brutal performance. Sleep tight:)
The Cowboys lost again...to the Rams. I'm not sure what is their deal, but it needs to switch PRONTO. My fantasy team, which is pretty good on paper, SUCKS. We scored 11 points. An average total would be around 30. Some guys score 60. So yeah, I'm not even caring about that right now.

This past week, I've done a lot of good training. I hope that makes for an easier 24hr race!
Wednesday, I did YettiCross, felt superb, but a rear wheel that doesn't spin for some reason lays culprit to me missing out of the real race....at the front. Afterwards was a blast, as Magan and I, met with Shaun Almighty, Bonnie, P, and Cheryl(with the girls), and Ric and Laura at Double Daves pizza, for some Kareokee. I signed Shaun up to sing Johnnie Cashs' Folsom Prison. He even did the "Hello, I'm Johnnie Cash" before the song. All the girls ended up singing "I like big butts" by Sir Mix A Lot.
Friday I had two spin classes, and felt good about doing two, as I missed my long run on Thursday that I had planned. I opted for some BBQ at a Repulican party, with Lois Kolkhorst. BBQ sauce on everything.....NICE, REAL NICE! Then instead of going home to do the run, I was lured into watching a new Office and then followed by a SNL on Thursday(about the presidential elections). Tina Fey looks just like soon to be Vice President Palin.
On the early morning hours of the weekend, I was able to get a good training race in the half marathon. I felt good and was pacing myself in the begining. At mile 2, for some reason, my PQ knee hurt again. So, I pulled off to the side, did my stretches for a minute then proceeded running. It still hurt. So I pull off again, do some more stretches and wait for Magan. I jog with her for the next few miles and around mile 4 is when I decide to just finish what I started. I was way back in the pack now, but I wanted to get a good run in. I ran my pace, never breathing hard, not hurting in the legs, and the knee felt fine. I kept going, picking off runner by runner. Then the second lap, I just kept going. People would comment on how fresh I looked, and I felt that way too. I figured I was running about an 8 minute pace, with the effort I was putting forth. When I got to the finish line, my legs had a little fatigue in them. My knee didn't hurt. So I gave my finish medal to Peggy, and went out to find Magan. I ran another 4 miles with her and got a solid run in 2.5hours worth of time.
My 13.1 mile time was 1:43. My 17mile time was 2:17. Although my legs felt the last 4 miles more, even though I was running a slower tempo. Magan did great by gutting it out to finish with not much training, but ended up getting dehydrated in doing so and was bed ridden the next day.
Sunday's training was the Lake Bryan MTB race. The hip flexors and calves were a little tight, but I felt I should do two races...the PSE and SS. I ended up just riding the PSE class. I didn't have much fun trying to 'race' out there with so many turns, no flow, and just a few spots to really pour it on. That is a course that would be fun to ride, but I just don't find it fun to race on. I ended up 8th, after 2:15 of riding.
Luckily Shaun was there, and we got the canoe of his truck and got in a solid single blade paddle. We worked on technique, and even had some fun poking at Jason's horrible paddle skills.
I try to end my weekend by cheering on the Dallas Cowboys to a victory. But wouldn't you know it, the Cardinals somehow run back the first kick, and the offense can't get it together. Folk misses a FG attempt. And we still end up coming back to tie the game to go into OT. Dallas gets the ball first, and does nothing with it. Try to punt, and get blocked and the Cardinals take it in for a score. The Boys need to get there game back....better to lose now than later, when it counts.

State RR

Well, I got back to the race scene this past Sunday. I'm not saying I was a racer, I was just at the scene.
The past few weeks have been hecktic. It started with me 'supposed' to do the state RR a month ago, then the following week do Huntsville. I was on target for both after spending some time at altitude the previous weeks. Then the hurricane hit, which canceled the races. I was resting the week before and took the week of the hurricane and most of the next week off. I lost all motivation, except for doing some cross races midweek.
I just found out that I am supposed to do a 24hr adventure race nationals with iMOAT's, Leslie and Shaun. So I hit some longer bike rides, 2.5hrs and 3.5 hrs the past two weeks. And started running again. When I found out that the state RR was rescheduled I wasn't sure if I 'could' do it. But planned on doing it just for grins.
Well, on Saturday night I was supposed to get together with 5 friends and play some dice games, and relax and eat lots of candy and cheese dips. A 7 o'clock start time was agreed on. I show up at 6:45 hoping to be home at midnight. NObody else is there. One guy is called out to find a kid who ran away from home, a kid whose father screwed our karate school a couple of years ago. The other two were at home dealing with a drunk driver who crashed in their yard. The wife of the guy who got called to find the kid, was home hanging a wild pig who was shot by a friend earlier that day. They needed to skin it and get the meat for the winter.
Two show up at 7:30 with the wild drunk story, and keeps us occupied telling how Mr. Hyvl, a heavyset, shorter, funny man had to tackle this guy.
The guy tracking the kid shows up with his story, and some words on how stupid the dad(guy who screwed the karate school) is. This was at 8:30. I go out and help hold the light so he can skin the pig.
At 10:30 we start playing. I get home at 3, wake up at 5, do the drive at 6:30 and get signed up at 8. I start the race at 8:20, and we finish at 11:45ish. Now you can see why I am late to things that start at a certain time....like YettiCross. Showing up 20 seconds before a race is just what I do.
86 miles of racing is way different than a 3.5hr ride around huntsville. I somehow had plenty of power, which is normally my limiter. But at mile 83 I had some issues with my hamstrings getting tighter than a poor guy on a budget in a recession. I lost contact with the main group(with 2 guys up the road), and was now stretching and hoping that the 20 guys who just left me(the group was whittled down significantly) would somehow slow up for a moment to allow me to catch on.
Well, I ended up getting gapped too much, and with minimal power to put out due to cramps if I did put some power out, I got on with a 5 person chase group. I knew the race was over then, so I wanted to at least win out of this group. We come to the finish hill, and Tyler Jewel is leading strongly. Eric Benz takes off and starts putting a gap. I react, and catch him as a suburban is blocking the finish, to beat him to the line. I had the power, but lost because I couldn't keep from cramping. I had a fun race, and got 86miles in my legs, which I wouldn't've gotten otherwise!
My fantasy football team is sucking. I need to just wait for next year. Maybe this guy playing tonight will score me lots of points!
And to supliment my training, I'm going to do something Jason would do. Probably go do a run later after work, like 8 miles. Then some karate if I have time. Do some yetticross on wednesday. Some other long run on Thursday. Two spin classes on friday. A half marathon on Saturday, then the MTB at Lake Bryan on Sunday. A couple of weeks of schedules like this and I'll be ready to race on Nov.8th(24hr AR).