Stonycreek Marathon

When I first told my coach that I wanted to race the Stonycreek Marathon a week after Lumberjack, she asked me if I was sure, and said that racing tired isn't that much fun. At the time I was sitting on the couch, with a fan blowing directly on me, and assured her that I would be fine. 

Fast forward 5 days to race day. 

I stood at the start line seriously questioning my sanity. I felt WAY more tired then I was expecting to, and we weren't even moving yet. Not to mention that I was cold for some reason. That was odd for two reasons. 1. It was in the mid-70's already and 2. I always feel super hot before a race starts...even if it's only 50 degrees. 

There were a few women that I recognized on the start line and a few women that I didn't. And then Susan Stephens rolled up. She's from Canada but does so many races in Michigan that she's an honorary Michigander :-) I was faster then Susan at the Yankee Springs TT this year, but Susan has been cleaning up in most of the XC races here. 

We took off and Susan took the hole shot. I hopped on her wheel and after a few rollers there were no other women in site. The pace was fast, but it was a pace I felt like I could hold. At this point a group of guy's rode by and Susan wedged herself in between their bikes right before we hit singletrack, causing me to lose contact with her wheel. Arggghh!

And then things started going backwards quickly. Mainly my legs. I'm not sure what happened, but I felt like I was at hour 23 in a 24 hour race. I started to get this overwhelming feeling that I wouldn't be able to complete the first lap (which was 10.4 miles). 

After lap 1 I headed out again and fell back to 4th place, but only for like a minute. I was riding with my power tap and the numbers wouldn't pretty. I told myself that I was obviously tired, but that I had to keep it in  level 3 at the very least (with a fast cadence), otherwise it would take me the whole day to finish. Any numbers above L3 would just be a bonus :-)

At the end of lap 2 I caught up with the 2nd place girl. She was riding boomerang style. Every time I would catch her she would attack really hard and then slowly come back to me. By lap 3 I could tell that she was getting really tired so I passed her for good. 

I had no idea how far ahead Susan was, but eventually I saw her standing on the side of the trail. She had crashed out. Ouch! I ended up winning the race by 7 minutes, and was super happy to see the finish line. I think the race was 54-ish miles and I was out there for about 4:17:00. Naturally I was happy to finish in first place, but I'm even more happy that I got through the race without stopping. I can honestly say that it was the harder then Lumberjack for me!

Oh, and by that night I figured out why I felt so crappy during the race. I was in the process of coming down with a cold sent straight from hell. That would explain why I had the chills at the start line. I'm currently absolutely-freaking-miserable, but better for me to get it this week then this coming weekend when we leave for Colorado!!!!

 Podium shot....

On Sunday I managed to crawl out of bed with Scott to go to a neighborhood restaurant for Crepes. I'm sure they would have been much more enjoyable if I could actually taste them, but next time! Then I spent the rest of the day in bed with kleenexes stuck in both nostrils!

Man it's a hot one

Where or where did this week go? I'm not so sure. 

I've been taking it really easy and trying to recover. It's suddenly summer here, and temperatures have been stifling hot. I felt like I was riding in an oven these last couple of rides. 

Scott and I are doing this race tomorrow  and it will be interesting to say the least. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the most important), this race is a 1.  I think Lynda is kind of humoring me by letting me do this race, and there is a good chance that I might fall over the moment the race promoter says "go." 

Regardless, it will be a good  workout. I think we are doing 52-53 miles and it will be pretty hot out. I'm racing with Full-suspension bike so that I can get some good training on it before I leave for Colorado, and I'm also going to be racing with my power tap. I guarantee you that I probably won't be setting any PR's though :-)

Lumberjack 100 Race Report-the day my knee got axed!

All Photo's by Jack Kunnen 

The attacks started early this year at Lumberjack, and I'm not talking about attacks from fellow racers. I'm talking about attacks from the Michigan Mosquito Militia. 

It had rained all night, and there was standing water in the ditches next to the start line. I honestly think the mosquitos were organizing into groups as they attacked us because they seemed to be coming in from all different directions. We were all swatting at them frantically and I barely heard Rick (the race promoter) say "Go!"

The start on the road was definitely neutral this year and all 280 of us rode along nicely. It wasn't until we hit the dirt that the pace really picked up. I could tell that my legs did NOT feel as great as they did at Mohican, but I was hoping that they would "open up" quickly. 

I have a love/hate relationship with the Lumberjack course. It's fun singletrack and nice because it's in my home state. I never had so many people cheering for me before in my life. I could totally feel the Michigan love. However, the course itself is a little difficult for me because it has really short hills that you have to power over again and again. I would much rather have looong climbs. But oh well, that's kind of what makes the NUE series so appealing. Each course is different!

Each lap was 25 miles long and after the first lap Scott informed me that I was in 3rd place and 4-5 minutes behind Betsy Shogren (the female race leader). I wanted to make up time in the 2nd lap and tried to pick it up a bit. I was having a little too much fun on the downhills and hit one downhill WAY too fast. The bottom of the downhill had a bunch of wet roots that you had to turn on and you can probably imagine the rest...

Left Knee I'd like you to MEET My Bike Stem

It had been over a year since I last hit my left knee and I almost forgot how badly it hurts. Holy Moly, the pain was so intense I wanted to vomit.  I looked down and saw this white substance oozing out, but that's all that I'm going to say-just in case someone is eating while reading! A few racers came by and moved me and my bike into the woods (with my luck it was poison ivy) and I basically had to double over until the pain subsided. 

I have to admit that there were a few moments where I was having a total pity party for myself. I was thinking about how in past seasons I had a lot of flawless races, but that lately something seems to go wrong in every race I do. Not fair since I'm in way better shape this year!!! But then I realized that's part of bike racing-it can't always be good. I gave myself a few mental slaps and got back on my bike. Now, don't think that I'm some crazy-psycho-martyr that rides through any sort of pain. I'm not. If it were really bad I would have been smart about it. It hurt, but it was the type of hurt that was going to be OK. 

I started feeling better during Lap 3 and 4, but that's because I was riding in my 24 hour pace. I was going at a pace I could have ridden at all day, and started to pick racers off one by one. Unfortunately I couldn't go much faster because my left knee was being all difficult and would start throbbing like a M'Fer. 

I crossed the finish line in 3rd place (31st overall) with a time of 8:46-something.  The competition keeps getting tougher and tougher at these races and I'm liking it. I think it's freaking awesome to line up with 20 plus women at the start line and it's no walk in the park to make the podium. Congrats to Betsy (Cannondale) for taking the win again, and Karen Potter for 2nd place. And congrats to all finishers and attempters for that matter. Showing up at the start line for a hundred miler takes some serious guts!!!

Crossing the finish line....

My bloody Knee...
Podium Pic
After the race Scott and I did a not so quick trip to the hospital in Manistee. My "laceration" was small but really deep. No one could get the dirt out and I'm NOT one to mess around with infections, that's for sure.  The ER was filled with bike racers :-(

A nurse started to clean my knee out, but eventually got the Doctor to make sure it was all OK. He said that it was too late for stitches, so they did a little snipping of skin before attempting to clean it again. Luckily they put a topical lotion on to numb everything before the snipping! I got the OK to ride again and all is good. I just need to get rid of a little bit of swelling!

My knee mid-scrub....it started to get a polished look!
The hospital gave me a bag full of dressings and cleaners to take home. When they handed me the bag I was in full "Interbike mode," like I was getting free samples. But then I realized that I was in a hospital and this is the U.S. I'm pretty sure that stuff wasn't for free. 

On a side note, my fellow racers, I will bring my new cleaning kit to all races. If you need a knee cleaned out, I'm practically certified to do it :-)

Thanks to my hubby Scott for taking care of us this weekend. He cooked homemade spaghetti sauce that clearly had a little bit of race "oomph" in it as everyone in our cabin had great results. Jeff (Trek)-1st, Chris (Trek)-3rd, Roger (Trek)-2nd (SS), Eddie (Topeak-Ergon)-14th. Nam had a great start as well but her pesky knee flared up...bummer! I hope it heals quickly because she and I have some serious racing plans for the remainder of the summer. 

PS. Thanks to Jack Kunnen for taking such awesome photos!!!

Lumberjack 100 Results

Ladies (clickety-click here)

Men Here

Singlespeeders Here

Masters 50-plus Here

Tandem Here

*** There weren't enough female SS'ers for a class of their own, so those toughies were battling it out in the geared class. 

*** I couldn't help but notice that the tandem couple was out for almost 13.5 hours on a bumpy-a$$ course. I think I lapped them on my 3rd or 4th lap and and they were super nice and smiling. I hope they were still smiling at the end. I'm not so sure that I would be :-)

Race Report coming soon!

Slam-Bam-Thank-You-Trainer

The weather today was less then ideal for riding. Rainy and cold...the type of weather I don't want to see in June. Luckily I didn't have to go outside. Wonder-Coach reduced my workout to a mere 45 minutes on the trainer-just enough time for a few leg openers.

And surprisingly enough, the trainer wasn't that bad. It was nice not getting wet, and I personally think intervals are a lot easier to control on the trainer. That being said, I'm hoping I won't have to get back on it any time soon. 

My weekend officially starts tomorrow and I'm getting pretty excited. Not excited about the weather forecast (my butt does NOT like to race hundies in the rain), but excited to see friends and race my bike. Team Trek and Team Topeak-Ergon are both slated to arrive at my house tomorrow around 6 p.m. Hmmm....I wonder who will get here first? Let the racing begin :-)

Also, I'm going to be the official Race Correspondent for this website. And yes, I just made that title up to make myself sound important...ha ha! Basically I'll be calling in results and doing a race report. Yet another incentive for getting across the finish line in a hurry!!! 

Fun!

Last night was the Velo City Dirt ride and it was just what I needed. I was starting to get some "serious race brain" about the upcoming Lumberjack 100. What's race brain you ask? Just me sitting around worrying about every little thing possible. 

Anyways, back to the ride. It was pretty great. Andrea has a group picture up on her blog. The only person missing from the photo is Jason. He was off the front for the ride, but we had a very serious chase going on :-) Next time I have no doubt that we will catch him!

Next week the ride moves to Cannonsburg. I'm sure my legs are going to be a little bit on the tired side, so the group is going to have to pull me along!

For the rest of the week my rides are going to be very, very easy. 1.5 hours or less with a few leg openers!

Well, time for work. I have exactly 15 minutes to shower and walk the dog. Nothing like waiting to the absolute last minute, eh???

Slow down Summer

My husband says that my blog is letting him down. He told me that he visits it every day and...nothing! I guess I've been a bad blogger :-)

This week has been pretty busy so far. Monday was the VCC dirt ride. 3 of the females who showed up had never ridden trail before and I was really excited to take them out. Unfortunately the weather was not cooperating as it started raining on us a few miles in. Little did we know that there was an actual tornado watch, but all's well that end's well, right? The ladies didn't blink an eye when it started raining, and they were cleaning most of the wet roots like pros. There were a few times where I sounded quite militant, I think. Every time we came to a wet wooden bridge I started yelling "slow down, no, slower," until they were almost at a complete standstill. Next time I'm going to bring a whistle :-)

Yesterday I had some fun 20 minute LT intervals, and they went pretty well. I was super cocky on the first one and thought to myself that I could ride at that pace all day. Not so sure about that, as my legs felt a little heavy on the 2nd one :-) But they rebounded towards the end of my ride. I was scheduled to be out for 3 hours but ended up riding for almost 4. Mental note: pay attention to what direction the wind is coming from next time. 

Today was a 3 hour mountain bike ride and tomorrow...another 3 hour ride. It's a good thing I like riding my bike :-)

It seems like summer is starting to fly by and I want it to slooooow down. The weather has been pretty great (I've almost forgotten the hellacious winter months) and I can't believe that it's already almost time for Lumbersmack-or that this will be my 8th race of the season. How can that be? Before I know it Scott and I will be heading out to Colorado!!! 

Meet my teammate!

Click here for an interview with Amanda. 

The show must go on!

Well, it's back to training for me. I had Sunday completely off, but spent most of the day sleeping and eating. I was completely exhausted from being up for 22 hours straight on Saturday. Sleeping all day Sunday wasn't such a great idea either, since I had a really hard time falling asleep at night and had to wake up at 5 a.m. for work on Monday. Ouch!

However, I managed to get at least 10 hours of sleep for the last 2 days, so I'm feeling mucho, mucho better. Sleep does the body good! Coach has me doing easy rides this whole week, and I have to say that I'm feeling pretty good on the bike. It's off of the bike where I notice being sore. Like my quads when I'm climbing up stairs-ouch! 

I also gave myself a major attitude adjustment over the whole "getting lost" fiasco. I decided it was OK to be disappointed for a day, but I'm totally over it now. Really, if all I have to worry about is getting lost on trail (on a sweet bike during a beautiful day) then life is pretty great, right? 

Here are a few pictures from Mohican...

Danielle Musto photo shoot. I had this vision of getting a picture of myself doing a "Air Jordan" jump under the race banner but little did I know how hard it would be. For one thing, the banner was way higher then I thought. Not to mention I had to run and jump every time the street light turned red. It was hard work. Finally I decided my coach would probably not recommend running and jumping the day before a hundred miler, so I had to settle with this picture. At least I got one leg up...

Amy and Laura hanging out the day before the race. As you can see, Amy likes to wear her helmet at all times. It's all part of riding for an insurance company. Safety is important!

I had so much stuff in my drop bags it was borderline ridiculous. And of course I barely used any of it. But you never know....

I trained on this bike for the 2 weeks leading up to Mohican, but this was my first time racing on it (pushing it at DS&G doesn't count). Holy Moly, cornering took some getting used to. This bike flies! I'm always getting asked about what tires I used, and I rode with my favorite tire set-up (Kenda Karmas) They were perfect for the course. I honestly think I race with Karmas for about 90% of my season. 

Done! This is me deciding that downtown Loudonville was as good of a place as any to take a nap...

Next up...Lumberjack! The nice thing about being friends with the race promoter is that I can request things. Like, I'm going to ask him to put course ribbons every couple of feet-just for peace of mind.  Since it's 25 mile course I don't think that's too much to ask :-) 

Mohican part 2...being lost sucks!

Ok, where did I leave off? Oh yeah, I was standing around in a campground with a bunch of guy's staring at a cue sheet and trying to figure out where the heck we were. 

Finally by group consensus it was decided that we needed to hike/ride back up the single-track where we lost contact with the arrows.  By this time we were totally out of race mode and rode together as a group. I kind of felt like I was out for a really long ride with friends...except that I didn't know anyone's name. One guy had a computer on his bike and it said that we had already ridden 34 miles. We rode up the single-track and finally found the torn ribbon at mile 23. It was easy to see our mistake. We should have taken a sharp left to do a nasty hike-a-bike and instead we had continued on single-track. I guess the year before there was a race volunteer at the section directing people, but no one was there this year. Hmmmm....I'm thinking next year they should put the volunteer back in. 

There was absolutely nothing that we could do but continue on. I was out of water, out of food and really wanted to get to Aid Station 2, which was ??? miles away. I didn't have a clue when I would get there.  My fabulous feeling legs no longer felt fabulous because we had stopped so many times, and I was just waiting to get to the 100k course cut-off. 

I ended up riding with some guy named Clayton for a long time. It was a weird coincidence because he introduced himself to Amy, Laura and I in the morning and ended up eating breakfast with us. I never could have imagined that a few hours later we would be lost in the woods. Anyways, he had a good attitude about the whole thing and I definitely did not :-) Basically I was riding with a bike-riding-cheerleader. Seriously, I've never heard anyone so positive in my life. He cheered for every single person that we passed. It was nice.

We talked the whole time that we were riding, and it didn't really feel like a race anymore. At one point Clayton was like, "dude, we are catching a lot of people," and I was like, "uh, whatever, we are still in the bottom third. See? He had a better attitude then me. 

Ok, I'm exaggerating a bit about my bad attitude :-) It didn't take that long for me to start having fun again.  Yes I was very, very, VERY disappointed but the weather was absolutely beautiful and I was in love with the bike that I was riding. Seriously, it climbs like a dream. The only time I missed my full-suspension bike was on the roots. I noticed that the HT lost contact with the ground a lot more. But still, it was the perfect bike for the Mohican course. 

Finally we came to Aid station 3, which is where the 100k course split from the 100 milers. And of course I didn't really take the short cut. The weird thing is that I kept telling myself that I was going to the whole time, even when I went in the 100 mile direction. It just sounded nice!

By the time I was at mile 70 I started really feeling it. I think that I was riding pretty hard when I was chasing after the entire field, I just didn't know it at the time. Plus, I probably was bonking a bit since I ran out of food when I was lost. I definitely owe Wicki-wicki-wicki-wicki some food the next time that I see her. She gave me a gel that saved my life!

I ended up crossing the finish line in 6th place after 10 hours and 6 minutes of riding. It was a looooooong day in the saddle, that's for sure. A long, long, long day. 

Congrats to my friend Amy for placing 9th in her first hundie. She did a great job, especially since she initially was planning on racing the 100k. Amy also drove the whole way home after the race and I owe her big time. We didn't get home until 2 a.m. and I was so tired that I couldn't keep my eyes open. I kept telling myself that I would be the worst friend on earth if I fell asleep, but I'm pretty sure that I was sleeping with my eyes open. I kept finding myself talking to her and would realize that I had no clue what we were talking about. 

Laura also did a kick-butt job in the 100k and has an awesome race report up complete with pictures. She even has a pic with me when I finally got to Aid Station 2! Hopefully the next time I find myself in a position where I can have my picture taken during a race it's because I'm so far ahead of everyone!!! Oh wait, I keep forgetting that I'm retired from the long stuff :-) Kidding, of course!!!