Training Log Archive: Grandpa Jameson

i did a little 5~ min jog up the first climb before the race and knew it was going to be a tough day. legs weren't sore just super tired. lack of bike miles in training came back to bite me. the 50 mile mtb race took a lot out of the sticks.

i got right at the front at the start and just decided to fake it and try to get my legs to wake up. I led up the first climb and about .5 mile in two guys came around me but both were standalone runners. the 4.5 mile climb was a grind. I yo-yo'd with a guy and we were 3/4th. I eventually got away from him but was caught by another guy at the top.

Since i had no climbing legs i decided to let it rip on the 5 mile epic single track descent. By the time i got to the aid station at the bottom i was in 2nd place. the next section was a 2 mile false flat fire road and i had nothing. i couldn't get my legs to turnover. I was caught by two guys before we hit the single track climb.

I started the climb in 4th place and still didn't have any climbing legs. I was able to run every step of 7 mile climb but didn't have any additional gears to try to bring people back. I was taking a gel every ~30 minutes trying to not get too low on sugar since i was already starting the day in hole.

I got passed by one more guy on the climb while i was in the bushes and he was moving. At the top of the climb i was still sitting in 5th. The final 8 miles were a grind and I was running on fumes. Taking in calories seemed to have no affect. at mile ~21 i got passed by the guy i was battling with on the first climb of the day. he was moving well.

I just tried to keep moving but was definitely ready to be done. I just kept the effort steady and ended up catching back up to 5th place and making the pass about a mile from the finish. I pushed as hard as i could at that point and finished in 5ht place overall in 3:36.

i can't really describe how hard it was. the first mile felt like the 25th mile of a 50k and the last 10 felt like the end of a 50 miler. the weekend kicked my ass.

ended up 4th overall in king sting. First place was 33 minutes up on me at the end of it all. If i wouldn't have gotten the flats it could have been a different story. I'll be back for sure. such a rad event.

C • Solid weekend! 3

Event: Steamboat Stinger
 

fantastic sleep. long day yesterday. 3 hour drive to get here, pre-ride, and just all the gear for Fi and for racing. need to get a uhaul!

feeling rested and ready to race. today is going to be hard day in the saddle.

easy spin from the condo down to the race

good legs and bad luck. I was riding strong on pace for a 2:20 and then got a my first flat around 17 miles. All the air burped out of my rear tire. took me a bit. First time changing a flat on my scalpel with the through axle. put a tube in and got back on it. rode a bit more cautious on the descent not trying to pinch flat.

finish the first lap right at 2:30 and knew i could ride another 2:30 if i didn't get a flat and hit 5 hours. got fresh bottle from maggie and hit it.

after the hard 4 mile climb i started the fun descent down the backside. around 32 miles miles i got another rear flat and didn't have another tube. after a few minutes i bummed a tube off a guy but the valve stem was too short. then two more guys offered tubes but both valve stems were too short. didn't realize my ENVE rims were that much deeper. rookie mistake to only have one tube.

i thought my day was done. I started hiking the mile+ back up to the aid station and ran into an old guy just out riding. He had a pump and VALVE EXTENDER!! Got my tired inflated and got back on it. New goal: just finish! Came in at 5:37 with 40 minutes of down time due to flats!

not the day i wanted but stoked to finish.

was hoping to get a bit of extra sleep but fi wanted to party. heading to steamboat today.

quick pre-ride on the lower loop of the course. so sick. 99% sick single track. racing is going to be fun and super hard.

good sleep after late night of work and going to be back at it today. can't wait to get out of town this weekend and away from work for a bit... my brain is melting.

mellow cruise through KC and back with ruby. legs ok at start and then started to feel really good the second half.

good sleep. busy on the work front. Looking forward to getting out of town for the weekend.

mellow lunch spin. ok legs. just keeping the body moving.

another 9-5 night of sleep for fi... and us! up to feed her at 5 and get to work.

easy jog out at KC & SV with rubes. cool temps and a lot of deer... ruby thinks she can take one down.

legs felt great!!

last little bit of work on the trainer with maggie. just opening up the legs. mega sweat sesh.

15 min warm up with 20 x 10 sec fast spin ups(110rpm), 20 seconds easy
MAIN SET:
9 x 2 minutes ALL OUT, Descending Rest Intervals as:
2 min ALL OUT
3 min rest
2 min ALL OUT
2 min rest
2 min ALL OUT
1 min rest
Back to repeat set : 2 more times
10 min cooldown

race week. feeling good after dropping 5+ hours last week from the previous week. looking forward to letting it rip on the weekend and seeing what happens.

mellow spin. out and back through chatfield state park. good legs.

easy hood jog with Fi. just getting outside and enjoying the post thunderstorm cool air.