About six weeks ago I decided as long as my summer was a wash climbing wise due to my ongoing elbow injury I might as well sign up for a mountain bike race. I was initially interested in the Leadville 100, but you have to put in your application for the race lottery draw six months in advance of the race. Given my mediocre conditioning at the time it was logical that I enter the Leadville SilverRush 50. I emailed Rob Woolf and the rest of the mountain bike crew about the potential impending race and within a few weeks six of us were signed up. The night I mailed the application I was a mental wreck as it dawned on me I had never been in any sort of race and my training regime would need to be stepped way up.
The basic plan was to start doing longer rides whenever possible. Instead of easy 10+ mile jaunts on the local Front Range circuits I started adding extra laps and trails to try to get close to 20 miles on every ride. Weekend rides became a chance to do more punishing 30+ mile rides that would more closely mimic the 45.5 miles of the SilverRush (FYI, not sure why they call it the SilverRush 50). In mid July Tony Shouse and I rode 63 miles and 10,000′ of our version of the Tour de Front Range in eight hours with an hour extra spent on feed zone breaks. The following weekend Steve Ahlgren and I linked White Ranch to Golden Gate and back for a solid 30+ mile day.
Two weekends before the race I downloaded a GPS course file for my Garmin Edge 350 and rode two thirds of the race course. To my surprise it was all fire roads. However, it climbed to 12,000′ elevation on six separate occasions (FYI, even though I rode two thirds of the course I only went to 12,000′ twice – hint the later parts of this out and back course are very difficult) and offered fairly technical terrain considering it was “only” fire roads. The weekend before the race Tiago Reis and I drove to Leadville and road the entire race course in 6:40 (i.e., probably closer to 6:10 without breaks and getting lost a few times). Unfortunately, on the way down the major technical downhill to the halfway turn around point I ate it badly in a high speed superman endo. Was very lucky to finish the ride that day without a dislocated right shoulder or otherwise breaking anything.
With a badly swollen right shoulder and some pretty gnarly road rash on my right forearm and buttocks I took the entire week before the race off. On the Wednesday before the race I went out for a one hour pedal on my wife’s cruiser around North Denver just to loosen up after work. The night before the race I spent in a motel room in Dillion, CO to shorten the morning drive to Leadville.
Morning of the race was like a blur. I poured my pre race jitters energy into making last minute mechanical adjustments and meeting a few new friends. Before I knew it I was on the starting line shaking hands and high fiving with friends old and new. We counted down the last ten seconds, set our computers and launched up the first hill with bikes on shoulders (i.e., mass start up 45 degree 100′ hill).
The two previous dry runs on the course had taught me a few important lessons. One, you have to go out fast on the first climb – if you do not there are not many places to recover the time if at all. Second, some sort of nutrition consumption schedule has to be devised and stuck with no matter what. Third, do not crash – period. If you crash the resulting adrenaline rush will hit you hard and the recovery sap you so badly it will be difficult to finish the race let alone in a good time. Anything more than a minor crash will finish your aspirations. Fourth, the turnaround point of the race (AKA half way point for this out and back ride) is where the race really starts. You face the toughest climb of the race – leave enough gas in the tank to give it your all here. Lastly, be ready for anything and figure out a way to persevere (e.g., I had a broken water bottle cage near start of race, nasty left leg cramp near the end and some tough mental battles with other riders climbing hills). In every situation you have to devise a fast plan and make do with the available options to tough it out.
Mid way through the race my execution had been flawless, however a problem with my bike computer left me guessing as to what my over all time really was. On the second to last hill I was smoked by a guy on a single speed (Note: A recurring theme), but then dropped him as he pulled over at the last aid station which I opted to skip. A time check from a fellow rider told me I was within striking distance of a sub 5:30. With the last aid station behind me and the final hill in front of me I climbed out of the saddle and grinded for everything I was worth. Half way into the climb my body hit the wall. My left hamstring started to fire when I was not telling it to fire. Soon a cramp set in as a female rider over took me on my right followed by three more riders. By switching my position on the saddle variably and occasionally climbing out of the saddle I was able to loosen up my left leg and keep pedaling although at a much lower power output. Finally, I crested the hill and mentally rejoiced, but the truth was I was cooked in every way possible. I held tough through the high speed whoops and ruts that the long six mile descent threw at me just telling myself the whole way not to crash. A good downhill rider sucked my rear wheel on the Power Line and then blasted by just as we turned right off of it. I shrugged ambivalently and locked in on maintaining my cadence and breathing.
Near the finish another rider caught up to me navigating the tricky sections (i.e., I was lost for about a minute wandering around off trail) where the asphalt roads are crossed that comprise the local walking circuit. As we climbed the final short steep rise and then dismounted to walk a section I worked hard to stay in front. He tailed me closely into the finish area, but as the lead rider on a tight trail I carefully set a sprinters trap. Just before the transition to pavement I slowed and geared the drive train correctly. He read my move and had a counter strike ready. As we flashed down the pavement I could just make out his front wheel over my right shoulder. We left the paved trail and headed back onto the short grass and the finish banner each sprinting for the line. The crowd cheered as I just edged out my rival. While a race staffer handed me some swag I asked her what my time was – 5:26. I jumped for joy at the results!
Post race I lounged around the parking lot and finish area as friends came in one after another. They all finished and some in much better times then mine. It’s safe to say I am officially addicted. When is the next race?