Not alot of Solitude

It has not been uncommon for me to race by myself. My field tends to be small and we commonly get spaced out. I was anticipating this for the Solitude ICUP race.
First, I thought there was a chance I would be alone on the start line. There was  Pro XC race in MT and I knew that some had plans to race it. I had not seen anyone before my warm up and started figuring out my game plan. Maybe I would do more distance (Ed let's us make changes on the start line if the group unanimously agrees and if I was by myself who would protest) but take it down a notch. Needless to say I was surprised to see ET pedaling around in the parking lot upon my return from pre-riding.
ET said the Katherine O'Shea was there too. Son of a...! So much for being just me and taking it easy. KO is the National Champion from Australia. She raced Deer Valley with Kathy while the rest of us chased for third. She is in PC for a bit to do some training and get some altitude. That is what I had heard anyway.
I obviously needed a new game plan. ET said she was going to go out with KO and see how long she could hold her wheel. I wished her luck and said I was going to do my own thing and hopefully rev up and find a nice race pace. I think I am done pegging it at the start. In fact, HC, Expert W, took off in front of me, but then sat up a bit to let me get in the single track before her. She should not have done that. I planned on coming around her by then.
While KO and ET put some distance on me at the start, I started seeing ET on the first double track climb. (Note: She was having a very off day). I was able to enter the next single track before her. She cheered me as I gapped her--she races like I do. I started to see KO as we continued to climb and climb.

Coming out of the descent

There were to steep pitches before the single track descent at the top of the course. KO did not carry momentum and had to really push through them. I was able to squeak by her and enter first. Yep, I passed a National Champion. This is one of my crowning achievements...and it was short lived.
I could hear and feel her as we descended. About half way down, I had wished I did not pass her. Why had I done that? Oh, yeah. Because I did not think she was descending so fast due to the fast as I caught her. When we got to the short road section before the start/finish, I let her by. I hate that last little descent and can never find my rhythm. At that point I was embarrassed for one of two reasons:
1. Because I passed her and she saw the way I descended.
2. Because I gave her a free pass in a MTB race.
(which is worse?)
I saw her most of the second lap but could never really close the gap. She put more time on me on the third lap, but I did see her once or twice.
None the less, it was still a really good day for me.

And Chris finished 1st because he is a stud.

Stealth Mode

If you have been riding with me much this summer, no doubt you have heard me as I approached. As Chris said, I have one of the most expensive "wal-mart" bikes. It creaks like crazy. This is something I have just accepted. We were pretty sure it was coming from my rear hub, but have not been able to silence it or even really quiet it.
That was until last week.
Chris tore it apart (again) and lubed it up. This time he did a little bit more than before--o.k. he told me exactly what he did but I did not really follow it. None the less for our ride on Saturday, something was "wrong". I was pedaling and there was no noise. No creaking. No squeaking. Nothing...but I was moving. It was delightful!

A quite ride

And speaking of delightful, look at Chris' new ride. He is just plain giddy--you can't tell by the picture, but trust me. Although, he has had to retract his previous opinion of FS 29ers. He is hooked. 

Chris' Superfly 100

Practically Perfect PC 50

I was scared. More scared of a race than I have been for quite a while. Why? A multitude of reasons logical and not. Primarily though because I have not had a successful race in this type of format for quite a while (i.e. P2P and True Grit). Granted True Grit was a bit out of my control, but it still got to me.
Then I felt ill prepared. It dawned on me that I really have not done much endurance preparation. Usually, I will have put some distance in during the spring. That was not the case this year. Maybe it was the weather, but I could not recall doing a four hour ride let alone anything longer.
We did a little recon the Monday before putting in a four hour plus ride but at a pretty easy pace. We were not only coming into this race but also trying to recover from Dutch Hollow. Given the amount of climbing early, I devised a plan. I don't usually put a whole lot of planning into these events. I follow the advice once given that always seemed to work--ride as hard as you can for as long as you can. It was my mantra going into my first endurance race (Brian Head Epic) and worked until the P2P.
My plan was to start off conservative. Don't worry about who was going when. Just race my race. I set heart rate limits?! I figured 170 would be a good upper limit for the first half and then let it go after the second feed zone.
Calories. I usually eat a lot of solid food provided by the aid stations.This had me nervous as I have made some restrictive dietary changes lately in hopes of pleasing my body. I could break them but then risk having issues again. I opted to keep to the diet and rely heavily on calories my bottle. Well, really Camelbak.
I stuck to the plan...mostly. My legs felt really good climbing at 175 so I went with it. The whole point of keeping the heart rate down was to ward of cramps and keep the legs happy. If I could that at 175, why not? I picked my Camelbak from Lance at aid station one. And then refilled it at two. This took time. I think in the future, I will start with a Camelback and pick up another one along the route. This should be quicker. But what I did definitely worked.
This course followed some of the P2P course. Feeling good I just grinned as I flew by sections that I was suffering through last September. I recalled being in pain hardly able to pedal. But not this time.
After spending most of my day in fourth position, I ended up in third in the last ten miles or so. I still had "some in the tank" at the end but I ultimately accomplished my goals--and no cramps!

Snowbird at Dutch Hollow

Dutch Hollow was a good time. Snowbird is still under snow. I did not take 4th but again there were only three of us. The course was great and my little bike held up well with the mix of stream crossings and dust. 

Chris having GU issues and getting sticky on the start line.

It worked out well in the end though.

Trying to get some time on Heather while going through a water crossing.

A view from the event.

Still no flow

So I seem to have misplaced my "flow". The last week or so, I just have struggled going down hill. It is not fluid, but almost choppy. It is driving me nuts.

Debris Field

Last night, Chris and I climbed up past the "snow slide" which has since melted. But dumped a ton of debris. They (I am not sure who they are but I am grateful to them) built a trail/track through the debris field so the trail can continue up. We were able to reach the snow slide again. I am not sure if this one is going to melt by the first snow this coming season.

Snow field from above

New end of the trail

As we were coming back down, just past the track through the debris field I went down twice...probably within the same minute. Seriously. The first one was nothing the special, I hit a rock and went down to the side. Whatever.The second one was a bit more spectacular. Based on the visible and felt contact points I must have again hit my front wheel this time on a somewhat hidden rock which caused my handlebars to twist. They, length wise, hit my chest/abdomen leaving an interesting abrasion. I then continued forward, hit the fat pad on my left hand (leaving a bruise). My head hit next and I forward rolled and hit my back/shoulder before coming to a stop.
 
Nothing too bad...but I miss my flow. If you by chance find it I would like it back.