In preparation for the Dirty Kanza 200 miler in June and because Bob Jenkins is a cool and crazy guy, I decided to race Cedar Cross on May 6th. This race was being held just North of Jefferson City, Missouri. The 112 miles was going to consist of mostly gravel roads with some single track sections. Todd and I decided to do it together so we could figure out final touches needed for DK 200. 

 I did a fair amount of prep work to get ready. I chose the Tangle Bag for my hydration/bladder (avoided anything on my back), side mounted cages for liquid fuel, and 2 Revelate bags. I chose Schwalbe Marathon 38s for this race and put my Marathon 40s (which you can't find anymore) away to save for Dirty Kanza (thanks Stephanie!) I prepared my drop bags with red tape to distinguish from over 100 other racers. Todd and I also spent some time on the maps. We planned on him carrying the large map in a map case and I had the mileage breakdown for the roads in a bike map case.

169 racers registered and about 120 crazy folks showed up at the start.  There were lots of friendly folks we knew and St. Louis represented. There were all kinds of bikes with various set ups. My favorite bike was a bamboo tandem bike. They said it's super light weight and strong as carbon. Bob gave us his final words then, he sent us off into no-where land. I knew it was going to be a really warm day. I was sweating just standing there at the start.  

The race started a 9 AM with a lead out on paved roads and then, Bob let us loose. Folks were already picking up the pace but, I chose to stay steady. I figure we would be out there for at least 8 hours but, I prepared for up to 10hrs. I had to make the legs last and for me, that is to stay steady and consistent especially, in this heat. Todd and I started out riding with Loreen, Stephanie, and sometimes with Wendy and Mia. Todd was definitely displaying his feathers with all the chicas surrounding him

We soon hit a long large grass field which had course markers with silver helium balloons adhered to the ground. Pretty cool and clever. This skinny, bumpy, and at times, muddy double track let us to our first single track section. A lot of this was rideable but, due to the thick mud and creek crossings, there were sections we were pushing or carrying our bikes. Mountain bikes were doing much better through these sections.  It felt pretty slow and like a jungle in there due to the warm temperatures and muddy conditions.

We hit more gravel and headed to the checkpoint around mile 47 where our drop bags were. We were all pretty thirsty and hot at this point. I was putting ice in my helmet and jersey to cool down. We made this a pretty quick stop and then,Todd, Loreen, Stephanie, and I took off again right into more singletrack. Again, more mud and slow moving sections.   After that, we were on gravel forever. It was getting really warm now. Many folks were struggling with the heat and standing along the roads trying to cool off. I believe one fella went to the ER.

We were warned about the mean dogs coming up on this next section of the course and to be prepared. I love dogs so, I had an air horn and Todd had mase to use as a last resort. We saw them all right and they looked worse than us. They were all laying around in the warm grass and not even moving. I guess it was too hot even for them. We did come across the property with the friendly sign Bob warned us about. We read it as we slowly rode by it, due to length of warnings listed, and then, the owner drove up to pull in his driveway. He sat there in his pick up truck waiting of us to pass. Wasn't quite sure what he thought about folks in spandex passing by. I quickly waved to him and said, "hi how are you," and quickly picked up the pace. Creepy!

The field was getting pretty spread out at this point. We kept truckin along on the gravel with less shade and more sun and heat. We were all really starting to feel the effects of this but, my legs still felt pretty strong. Our goal at this point was to make it to the gas station around mile 70 to get cold drinks. We finally reached the gas station and there were several folks eating and taking advantage of the shade. Todd and I decided we needed to be quick and push on since this was our Dirty Kanza prep race. Loreen and Stephanie decided they wanted to take a quick break so Todd and I pushed on.

This next short paved section seemed to be pretty flowy and fast. It could of been the Gatorade and banana I had just pounded too. All I could think about was only 40 more miles. Then, we quickly hit gravel again with a huge climb that seemed to be a slap in the face. We came across the nuclear reactor and noticed that storms were starting to brew. We wondered if we were going to be faced with different conditions soon. We could feel the temperatures cooling down a bit which felt great.

I was really looking forward to the next section which was about 10 miles of  the Katy Trail. I thought it would be nice to get a break and be able to ride the flats a bit. The only nice thing about it ended up being the shade. The Katy keeps you constantly peddling and sitting on the saddle which I did not enjoy at miles 82 to 92. There were several folks getting lost on this section too since you had to turn off of it to hit more gravel roads. I think because the Katy and roads looked the same it was easy to pass. The last 20 miles were mostly flat roads filled, with what seemed to be, big fresh gravel rocks which would kick your tires/bike around a bit. Guys were flatting along this section. We kept running into Matt Grothoff and his posy due to all the flats they were getting.

Finally, the gravel seemed to thin out and here came Matt and his man train again. He told us to jump aboard and off we went. We came across Steve Friedman, on his singlespeed, so we split off the train to hang with him a bit. At this point, I could taste the finish line. I had no idea were we stood among the 120 racers. We came into the finish and checked in at 7pm which was the 10 hour point. I was informed that we did really well and I was the 1st female finisher! Bob gave me a cool t-shirt and awesome Kuat bottle lock.

What a race! 112 miles in 10 hours. Todd and I ended up top 25. I know of a few guys  that were ahead of us, like Matt Grothoff, that must of checked in after us.We found out later that there were folks still out there till 11pm and quite a few DNFs. Good thing it was mandatory to have lights. There was lots of yummy food and drinks after the race. Bob did a fantastic job putting on this race and the race was FREE! So cool! The volunteers were fantastic. I'm glad I was able to help the local animal shelter there by donating. I really liked the idea of raising money for a charity. Check out the Cedar Cross site for Bob's race report and results:

http://cedarcross.wordpress.com/

Ouachita Challenge

I've always considered the Ouachita Challenge to be one of the two most challenging races I do each year as far as being technical and long. This race is a 60 miler held in the Ouachita National Forest, Arkansas. This year it drew folks from 17 different states and 260 racers were at the start. You can always expect to see the pros at this race as with most Arkansas endurance mountain bike races.

The past 2 years I raced this on my single speed. This year I was trying the 1 x 9. Due to there being road and gravel sections, I wanted to see if my gears could gain some time among the other geared women. My goal was top 7 this year. I knew there's no way I could be up there with the pros so had to realistically look more at the regional competitors. Anna Assenmacher has reappeared in the racing scene too. She is super strong and talented on the bike so was great to see her at the start.

The start of the race at a school in a small town called Oden, AR. We all bunch up in the parking lot like sardines. When the gun went off, we took off down a paved road which turns into gravel. This section is approximately 9.5 miles long. The goal here is to not crash when everyone takes off and keep the speed under control. It's easy to go fast on this section but, you will pay later on the single track if you have no legs. You can see Mark Gullet in this picture warning us of sharp left turn.

The 1st single track section is Big Bushy which leads you up to Blowout Mountain. This, to me, is the some of the toughest single track in any of the races I do. This section also has the highest elevation with 1730 feet being the highest peak. This section has lots of rocks and boulders which leaves most hiking their bike for some of it. For me, I really try to pace myself through this section since it is physically and mentally so taxing. Also, the temperatures were really starting to warm up. I don't normally race with a camelbak but, sure glad I did for this race this year!

You end up popping back out onto another road section after you come off of Blowout Mtn and then, head to the Womble trail system. My legs were still feeling pretty good but, the heat was really affecting my energy level. I started seeing so many folks on the side of the trail. They all said they were ok.  This section is always so misleading for me. I seem to always remember this as the last single track section and not too technical. What I forget is how long this section is and the climbs.  Normally, it would feel fun and somewhat flowing if you haven't been racing for hours already. I started seeing more women on this section though which helped me find some hidden energy that would help move me up in the ranks. 

I came off this section with little left in the gas tank and hit the final road section to the finish line. Of course...they make you ride up a hill for the finish. I ended up achieving my goal, beat my times from last 2 years, and placed 6th overall women. 19 women originally registered but, I think 14 actually raced.  I know the top 3 women race pro and Anna A placed 4th. I was very happy with my finish. There were many folks who did not finish or meet the cut offs this year. I truly think the heat really affected us all this year.

I also squeezed in a short local UFD series race the weekend prior to Ouachita at Lost Valley. Took it easy on this race for the 3hour race to save a little for Ouachita and I also knew I wouldn't be able to catch Laura Scherff anyway. It was a good race and also got pretty warm. Placed 2nd marathon women. Loved having Qdoba on site for after the race and the red Sram hats!!

Up next...Bone Bender 6 hour and Arkansas Marathon Series Race #3, Slobberknocker (75 mile very hilly/mountain gravel bike race).

Spa City 6 Hour

I always enjoy starting my season out with the Spa City 6hr which is located just outside of Hot Springs, Arkansas. The course is fast, fun, and flowy. This race always draws several pros, to include Tinker and Pua this year, along with many other fast racers. This year there were folks from 14 states!  I choose to do most of my spring races in Arkansas for this reason. I know it will be tough, if not impossible, to podium but, it gives me the chance to push myself with some faster racers and with a bigger women's field.

I chose to hang my singlespeed up for a bit and break out the 1x9 for this race. I really want to fine tune my riding with gears for some bigger races I'm doing this year such as, Syllamo 125K and Leadville.

The race started with the traditional lemans style run to our staged bikes. The race has a rule that you must keep racing for a minimum of 5 hours to avoid a DNF and no more than 6 1/2hrs. If you come across the line after 6 1/2hrs that lap won't count. Based on my results last year, I planned on 5 laps again and had my faster goal times taped to my bars.

I felt I set a good pace for my 1st lap. Had fun riding with Mia Phillips and Dwayne, from Arkansas, for the 1st couple of laps. I feel it's always hard to find your steady pace for the 1st race of the season. I tried to keep a close eye on my clock and taped times on the handlebar. So far, my pacing was working but, was also watching women getting a little faster. This is always nerve racking for me. Should I speed up? Will I have enough juice in the end to keep up the same pace? Will I be able to finish the 5 laps in 6 1/2 hours? I decided to maintain my same pace and focus on my own goals.

I started to get a little thrown off with my times since the distance seemed a little longer this year. I came in from my 4th lap with 1 hr 22 minutes to complete a 5th lap if I wanted to. Now, my previous laps were just under 1hr 18 minutes. Wow...this would be tight! I told the race directors I was going to take a shot at it. If I didn't make it I would look at it as extra training miles. I sure was hoping I wouldn't bonk or get a mechanical. I started slamming the rest of my liquids and food on my way out for the last lap and then, starting picking up the pace.

Half way through the last lap I really started getting nervous I wouldn't make it. I found a guy who was slightly faster on the downhills than me and made it my goal to hold his wheel. We quickly exchanged equal worries on completing the lap. I told him "let's pick it up a bit and bring us in!" We started flying and I made it in with 7 minutes to spare! Yeah! I managed to pull off 4th place but, missed the

podium. Bummer...so close! However, I look back at the results and I am pretty happy I met my goals which included consistent lap times.  Big congrats to Peat Henry and Steve Friedman on their 1st and 2nd place finishes respectively in the Singlespeed division. Other Missouri folks represented with some nice finishes also which include my husband, Todd, Beth Weimer, Ryan Meshke, Mia Phillips, and Mark Gullet.Next big one....Ouachita Challenge 60 miler!

Big Year and New Team

Last month I received the unfortunate news that Trek has decided to not continue the Trek 29er Crew team for 2012. Originally I started racing for the Gary Fisher 29er Crew in 2009. Last year, Trek bought Gary Fisher and the grassroots mountain bike team became the Trek 29er Crew. I feel fortunate I was able to race on the 29er Crew for a little over 2 years. I will miss being part of a national and world-wide grassroots mountain bike team.

Shortly after hearing the news, I received a call from Trek. I am excited to share that I will be racing for and sponsored by the Trek Bicycle Store on their new mountain bike racing team for 2012.  I am very appreciative of the support and sponsorship they've offered to help me achieve my racing goals for 2012. This will be a big racing year for me and happy to be able to continue to promote Trek.

My racing calendar will consists of some of the traditional favorites such as, Spa City, Ouachita Challenge, Burnin a the Bluff, Berryman Epic, and the UFD series. This year, I have also decided to push my limits and race Syllamo's Revenge 125K, Dirty Kanza 200, 24 Hour Nationals-solo in Colorado Springs, CO and Leadville 100. Still waiting to hear results on the Leadville lottery selection. Since there is a slim chance on winning the lottery, I have penciled in the dates for the Leadville training camp in order to get my Leadville ticket to race. 

My coach, Chris Mileski, will continue to help me through the racing season.  Chris is the founder of Off the Front Racing and remains one of the Nation's premier endurance coaches. He always gives me the coaching and support I need to achieve my goals for the endurance events that I compete in. I couldn't do it without him.

Training over the winter has consisted of long rides (mountain and road) and weights/core/plyo workouts at the Sports Enhancement Group that started back in November of last year. We have just converted weights from power to endurance where the amount of weight goes down and number of reps and eventually, time goes up. I feel like I'm getting a little better with the core and plyo exercises but, still seem painful and hard.

I have been trying to focus a little more on nutrition for endurance training/racing too. I am trying to learn more about gluten-free products, super foods, healthy recipes, and organic products. Various sources I have been using include the Clean Diet, Simple.Smart.Nutrition by local cyclist and nurse, Cat Ebeling, and McDaniel Nutrition Therapy for endurance athletes, by Nutritionist and an endurance athlete herself, Jennifer McDaniel. I am trying to purchase the Feed Zone since it contains a lot of fast and flavorful recipes for athletes but, it has been sold out for awhile.

This year in my blog, I will try to include more reports on bikes, gear, and nutrition that works for me for endurance training and racing along with the race reports/events.  Check back on my blog and I will try to share what I learn.  Hopefully, I can help others by sharing information since so many folks have helped me through the years.

Spoke Pony Showdown 6hr

Todd and I decided to head out to Kansas City early Friday to pre-ride the Spoke Pony Showdown course at Swope Park. This park is amazing and you would never know you are in the middle of Kansas City! When we arrived, we were greeted by Doug Long, one of the directors from the Heartland group. We chatted about whether the course was rideable due to the amount of rain they got earlier in the day. We decided to give it a try hoping it wouldn't be too bad since it's been so dry.

The trail seemed to be pretty hard packed but, there was just enough water on top to cause us to slide around and collect mud on the tires to the point we barely had any traction. We bailed after 1 mile and I decided to do my leg openers on the pavement. What was the race going to be like tomorrow?

Kansas City had light rain off and on throughout the night before the race. We set up our TA next to the course and soon it was the whole St. Louis clan-Team Seagal, Momentum, Team Free Awesome (Pete), and the rest of the Off the Front racers. Of course, made room for super stud, Mark Gullet out of Springfield. The grass was still wet and folks were bailing after the 1st mile of pre-riding due to the muddy conditions.

Todd and I chose to do to the 6 Hour race to train for the bigger 12 hour races we have later in the Fall. I also chose the singlespeed to race on. There wasn't as big of a crowd as I thought there would be. I suppose the rain scared folks off but, they missed an awesome race and now one of my favorite trails in Missouri!

Race started up a paved road for about a 1/4 mile and we quickly made a sharp right onto the trail going counter-clockwise. The trail was still very slick! I got caught behind some slower folks but, as soon as I got more confident riding in the slick rock and mud I started making the passes. My 1st lap was the slowest of all of them. I think this was the case for most folks due to the conditions. But, as the race went on, each lap got better and faster! It was amazing! My lap times were getting faster and I was able to get over more technical areas.

The course was straight forward... 1st 3 miles was very technical and rocky and the last 4 miles was smooth, flowing, and fast. I was finding myself only 4 minutes in front of Cathy from Team 360 after 3 laps. I was also having some technical issues with my singlespeed causing me to stop to fix a couple times. I knew I couldn't keep dealing with the bike issues if I was going to attempt to win the race. Todd caught up to me on the course since he was feeling like superman. I asked him if he could have one of our friends who was racing on a team to get his geared Niner ready for me to switch when I come in. My geared Trek 1 x9 was still waiting for the chain guide to come in so I only had the SS.

Kerri Schewe was racing on a team with Christine so she was so kind to get Todd's Niner out of our car and get it race ready. I came in and Kerri helped me switch everything very fast to the geared bike. I owe her big time!

I took off and holy cow...I was climbing over many technical obstacles that I didn't have the strength to do on the singlespeed. My lap times just kept getting faster too! Going out on the last lap I was still ahead of Cathy but, not by much. I know Cathy and she is usually like me...steady and doesn't stop. Then, all sudden I hear Kerri's voice! She was going out on her last team lap and was riding behind me. I always enjoy riding with her so it was mentally a relief. My last lap was the fastest of all 6 and I ended up with the win. Humm...geared vs SS. Could there be a switch for the big races? Cathy was super strong as usual and will be competition for me at the bigger 12hr races this Fall. Congrats to her on her strong finish.

There were many podium finishes by the St. Louis crowd. Todd won 2nd in his age and 5th overall. He really had a good race despite a bad crash and had EMT butterfly his arm during the race. He was standing on the podium with some big names. Dave got 3rd and Peat 2nd both in 6hr race. Keith Weinkein placed 3rd in 3hr despite showing up 10 minutes before race start. For team divisions-Steve/Val 5th, Kerri/Christine (Team 3 Braids) 6th, and Seagal boys 8th.

Race was over and the whole St. Louis crowd and Mark Gullet headed to Gates BBQ. Obviously, this decision was not made by me. This place was true KC BBQ. Big plates overflowing with various types of meat smothered with BBQ sauce. Matt quickly hit it off with the waitress. Not sure what he remembers though.

Next, off to singlespeed championships tomorrow. Not sure I have any legs left though.

Castlewood 3hr Race

UFD put on another great MTN bike race at Castlewood today. I was a little nervous going into this race even though I would only be racing 3hrs. #1-this is my backyard, #2-this was a "C" race for me and not peaking for it, and #3-HEAT! However, I was excited to see 7 women racing Marathon this year! I remember 2 years ago being the only woman racing Marathon at Castlewood. I also decided to break out the 1x9 geared bike and hang the singlespeed up for this one. I figured I needed to conserve the legs if I was going to climb Lone Wolf 5 times and be able to crank out the flat sections. Stephanie had nervous butterflies like me so I knew she was looking for a win. I also knew Kerri, Gabrielle, and Jamie would be out there pushing it too.

Gun went off and I pushed right from the start so I could be the first one up the Lone Wolf monster hill. As you can see from the picture, there is not a lot of room for riders up it due to the huge crack up the middle and loose gravel. Since I am a better climber than descender, Stephanie and Kerri caught me on the 1st descent after the climb. That's ok. It's a long race in the heat and I had a stragety. I could see the 2 ladies in front of me on the 1st lap until a couple of guys crashed in front of me on Roller Coaster. I rode up into the woods around them and sped it up a bit to catch up. Awesome, I could see Stephanie and Kerri coming off the 1st lap in the grassy field section.

On the 2nd climb up Lone Wolf, I saw Stephanie walking it. Ok...either she is tired or conserving. I kept on trucking with the plan to settle in with a steady pace for 2nd and 3rd lap. I wanted to squeeze 5 laps in for the 3hr race so I knew what lap times I had to pull in order to achieve this based on my practice lap times. I was able to catch up to Kerri on the climb up Love trail and made the pass. I kept seeing Stephanie on the grassy field section so it was time to close the gap. 4th lap plan was to bump up the pace and go all out for the 5th lap. Race volunteers were telling me she was 30 sec to 1.5 min in front of me. Dang it...where is she? I knew she was probably putting the hammer down. And down I went! I completely lost traction going around the turn too fast at top of Love onto Grotpeter on the loose gravel. Dang it! Not 20 sec later, team mate, Carl Hoffman did the exact same thing! We both shook our heads and took off. Last lap, I went all out but, just couldn't catch her. Ended up placing 2nd out of 7 and very happy with my results. It was fun to really push myself and I had a great time. I think we had a record number of women racing this year in different categories. So awesome!

This summer, I am continuing to build my base miles to peak in the fall for my big 6 and 12hr races. I am doing the dirt crits and local races for fun this month. I started weights back up 3 weeks ago too so feeling it in the legs a little but, will hopefully pay off in the Fall.