Annette and I had a great time at the Las Vegas Rock n Roll 1/2 marathon, but doing that the weekend before the Tucson FULL marathon wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had! Nor was going to a “standing room only” concert at the Realto Theatre in Tucson on Thursday night. Standing for 5+ hours waiting for then watching a great concert (Five for Fighting and Train – Annette’s favorite band) didn’t help resting my legs in preparation for a 26.2 mile run!
But I was still feeling pretty good Sunday morning when I got up at 4:15am to get ready for the shuttle to the start of the race. It was a pretty brisk morning, but not quite as bad as it had been in Las Vegas. Our bus got to the start a full hour and a half before the start of the race, so everyone just sat on the bus and waited. The guy I was sitting next to had attempted a full marathon in Florence, Italy a few months before this race, but went out too hard and had to abandon due to knee pain. He had been going for a 3 hour time and pushed too hard. He was going for a 3:30 at Tucson and planned to run with the 3:30 pace group. Don’t know how he did in the end.
Anyway, I timed getting off the bus to make one last porta-potty stop just about perfectly. With the lines for the porta-potty’s I was ready to go about 5 minutes before the start. I told Annette I wanted to finish in 5-5.5 hours, but really I was hoping for a sub 5 hour time. The start was similar to the Lost Dutchman, where there weren’t any official starting corrals like in Vegas, so people just started milling at the starting line with people who wanted a fast finish pushing to get closer to the front. I stayed about 3/4th back in the field of about 1500 people.
The start was a pretty steep down hill run. Running down a steep grade is actually pretty jarring and hard on the body. That first mile was down hill, then we hit steeply rolling hills from miles 2-9. You lose 2700 feet overall over the course of the marathon, but that first 9 miles is pretty hilly. The elevation profile on the route sheet appears to have a lot of those rolling hills smoothed out, so I was surprised by them. But I was keeping a pretty good sub-10 minute pace going. At Vegas I wound up with a small to medium sized blister on the arch of my left foot. About 6 miles into this run I started to feel that blister. I could tell it was getting bigger…a lot bigger. There was one long out and back section of the course that wen up and down a good sized hill. I made it over the hill ok, but on the way back I walked up the last part of the climb.
After that, the course was generally down hill. Split times show I hit 6.6 miles in 1:04:24, averaging a 9:46 mile pace. I was doin’ good. My split time at 10.8 was 1:47:03, averaging 9:55. Still doin’ good! I hit the half marathon 13.1 marker in 2:10:00, a personal best for a half marathon, knocking almost 1/2 hour off my Lost Dutchman time! Woohoo! I was cruising!
The wind had picked up quite a bit and we faced a head wind with some pretty good gusts. I started trying to draft off people for a bit when they went past me. Around mile 17-18 my upper thighs started to get pretty tight, so I walked for a bit. Then I started to use the strategy Annette and I used in Vegas, running for a bit then walking. But my thighs still felt tight. So I finally stopped to try to stretch them a bit by pulling my foot behind me to my butt and leaning back a bit. Wow, that felt GREAT! I was able to run again! So I’d run for a while and when I started to feel my thighs tighten, I’d stop for a quick stretch. 19.2 mile split time shows I finished it in 3:29:35 with an average pace of 10:55. That was slowing me down a lot!
Somewhere betwen mile 20 and 21 I went to do that thigh stretch and over-extended my right knee (the same knee I’ve been struggling with all year). When I finished the stretch, I felt some discomfort. Not intense, but not good. But it didn’t take too long before that discomfort became pain and I started walking. After mile 21 I think I walked more than I ran. But I was still able to run some good stretches.
At about 23.5 miles I decided to take it easy and mostly walked from there on, my knee just couldn’t take the pounding any more. Of course anytime I came near someone with a camera I toughed it out and ran! LOL! Vanity! About a mile and a half from the finish I heard the voice mail beep on my phone and checked it. Annette wanted to know where I was so I called her to let her know. She and the kids weren’t quite at the finish yet, but were on their way. With my walking pace, they were sure to get there before me!
There were probably 3 camera guys in the last mile that I forced myself to run for! I’m sure those shots are just beautiful! The finishing stretch was really sandy. I had decided I would run once I made the last turn, but as soon as I stepped on that sand, my knee screamed at me. Jake saw it and told Annette he thought I just cramped. Not a cramp, just very intense knee pain! But I moved to the side where it wasn’t so sandy and ran slowly towards the finish. The announcer called my name and home town as I approached the finish line, but said it looked like the guy behind me would pass me before the line, so of course I put on a last ditch burst of speed to get over that line first! That hurt.
Final time was 5:16:58 to go 26.2 miles, losing quite a bit of speed at the end with a final average pace of 12:06 minute miles. Walking those last few miles really cut into my time, but I finished and that was my ultimate goal. It probably wasn’t the brightest move to put in a personal best time for the first half. That probably had something to to with the tightness I felt in my thighs. The knee problem was a result of stretching it too much while it was tired. And that blister is about 2 inches on the arch of my left foot. But the pain is already fading I’m registered to be back to do it again in 2010!
On Sunday, December 6th Annette ran her first ½ marathon with “Team Challenge” in support of the Crohns and Colitis Foundation of America (it’s not too late to make a donation!) at the inaugural Las Vegas ½ marathon! I joined her to do it as my second ½ marathon. We drove up to Vegas on Saturday and rushed over to the Mandalay Bay for packet pickup. Annette had a team meeting scheduled for 5pm and we pulled into town around 3:30, so we didn’t have much time to wander through the Expo. Still we were cutting it close and left the expo at 4:30. It was a LONG walk back to the parking garage. As we walked, we overheard someone ask another person for the time. 3:30. What?? We didn’t realize Vegas is on Pacific time, so we saved an hour. It would have sucked to have walked down to the start on Sunday morning an hour late! At least we weren’t rushed after that.
Phew!
Team Challenge had a dinner that night. Over 900 people from all over the country were there supporting the CCFA. Together they raised over $3.5M for the charity! The top fund-raiser raised over $39,000! Impressive! One of the speakers was a professional running coach. His advice was to remember to listen to what the coaches said about how to run the race. Pretty close to “start slow and taper off.” He said everyone is good about telling others how to do an endurance event, but don’t generally listen to themselves and do something stupid. I can attest to that from personal experience!
Aren't we cute?
Annette and I were up at 4:15 am to get ready for the start. We expected it was going to be cold, so we had purchased cold weather clothing in anticipation. Annette was particularly happy with her ear warming head band and gloves. It was COLD. The Phoenix team decided to walk through the hotel to try to get a bit closer to the start before walking outside. Unfortunately, we got a bit turned around in the hotel and wound up on the opposite side of the MGM Grand, extending our walk by at least ½ mile. At least we got the “everyone does something stupid” over with before the start!
Annette's looking GOOD!
Because this was Annette’s first ½ marathon, she had no idea how much time it would take to finish, so she guessed 3 hours 30 minutes, which put her in starting corral #28. There were only 29 corrals, so we were at the back of the field. The race started at 6:15am, but we were behind 17,000+ people, so it took over 40 minutes before we got to the start line. That gave us plenty of time to watch the front of the race go by in the other direction. There were some CRAZY people in that front group. Several people ran without shirts and one guy just had a speedo on! I did mention that it was freakin’ COLD didn’t I?? Nuts! As we got closer to the start line, Annette jumped out of the pack to hit a porta-potty. We were a bit too close to the start, so I had to move off to the side for a minute or two until she got back.
We started running when we crossed the start line. There were a LOT of walkers in front of us, so we spent a lot of time going back and forth across the road trying to get around people who were walking. Annette’s plan was to run/walk, but not at fixed time intervals. So we ran for around a mile at a time then walked for a couple minutes. That worked out really well for me because I never really had to push myself. I did go out front a couple miles into the run to hit a porta-potty myself (cold weather always does that to me).
Even with the run/walk, we were still passing hundreds of people. It was amazing. Just a mass of people in front of us and behind us as far as you could see. Annette grabbed a Cytomax drink at the first water station, but had to get a cup of water too because it was way too sweet. I just stuck with water.
Good times!
The sun came up and I expected it to warm up, but running down the Las Vegas strip, we were in the shadows of the casinos and it actually felt like the temperature dropped a bit after sunrise. The website said there were a number of weddings along the course, but I didn’t see any of those. I did see a LOT of Elvis impersonators and there was one woman who ran to each band, then danced in front of them for a few minutes.
The course pretty much went straight down the Las Vegas strip, had a big loop at the end and back. There were 7 or 8 bands playing along the course. Pretty cool event overall. Annette was getting a bit fatigued towards the end, but decided to run the last mile and pushed it through to the end! She really did great. And I felt pretty good at the end, so I think I’m ready for the Tucson marathon this coming Sunday. I did hurt my knee at Cochise, which caused me to miss some of my longer training runs, so my goal for Tucson is to just finish, so I’ll probably employ some of the run/walk strategy that Annette used. It works well! Interestingly, Jacob’s teacher Mike Nowotarski and his wife Melody were also doing the 1/2 marathon. After the race we decided to stop at the Starbucks in the MGM Grand to get something hot. Guess who was standing in line two people ahead of us? Mr N.! What are the odds?!? 17,000+ people doing the race, a huge number of people in Vegas and we run into the two people we know after the race! Anyway, I splurged for a “couples massage” at the MGM Grand after the run, then we went to a nice dinner and watched the Blue Man Group over at the Venetian. What a great weekend!
I was originally registered to do the Mount Lemmon 200k Brevet on Saturday, but changed my mind when I scheduled a business trip that would take me to Denver on Thursday, then Salt Lake City on Friday with a late night return flight to Phoenix the night before the event. Luckily, there was another option that didn’t require a drive down to Tucson! So I changed plans and registered for the McDowell Mountain Century. Even though this century is pretty close to home, I’ve never done it before.
My flight back from Salt Lake City was delayed, so I didn’t get home until around 11:30pm. Of course I didn’t have anything ready for the ride, so I was up at 5am to ensure I would get to the 7:30am start on time. I actually got there about 45 minutes early, so I had plenty of time to check-in and get ready, then sat and tinkered with my phone for a while. About 7:25 I got on my bike and started looking for the starting group. Hmmm… plenty of people were milling around, but there weren’t any groups getting ready to leave. Then I overheard someone ask someone else if they were doing the century or metric. The answer was that the century group had already left! What?!? Crap! I didn’t even notice a group forming!
So I headed off on my own. The beginning part of the course winds through Scottsdale, so I had to deal with a number of stop lights that impeded progress. About 10 miles into the ride I started catching other riders, but still couldn’t see the main group. I wasn’t pushing myself to my limit, but I was riding at a very steady hard pace. When I pulled into the first support stop I asked how far the lead group was in front of me. The answer was that they just pulled out and probably weren’t even to the next light yet!
So I immediately left. When I made the right hand turn after that light, I could see a group of 10 or so not too far off in front of me. I kept that steady pace going and caught them about 25 miles into the ride. There were a number of other Bullshifters at the front, but I was sitting at the back. The pace was slower than I expected, which explains why I was able to catch them. Riding on the back of that group, my heart rate quickly dropped into an “active rest” state.
I rode with the group for a few miles, but that pace I had set earlier felt pretty good and I decided to ride my own pace, so I went to the front after a stop light and rode my own pace. Two guys stayed with me for a bit, but one guy dropped off pretty quickly. That left me and Brian from Colorado. I’d take the front on flats or down hill and he’d pull me up the hills. Somewhere in Carefree we started passing people doing the metric century. We worked well together through the Carefree to the second Support stop.
We only stayed at that stop for a few minutes, then headed off again. Brian pulled me up the long Dynamite road climb then I went to the front for a relatively fast descent. Just once I’d like to enjoy the 9-mile descent without facing a head wind! We took a break with the pace through Rio Verde and chatted a bit. Brian said the lead group left just afer 7am — almost a 1/2 hour early! No wonder I missed them leaving! They spent quite a bit of time at the first support stop, which is probably the only reason I was able to catch them. Anyway, we picked the pace back up again when we left Rio Verde.
There are only a couple significant hills along this route. The first one is just before reaching Fountain Hills. I had taken a pull right before that climb, then Brian kept the intensity up going up the hill. I’d like to say I wanted to protect my knee and just rode easy up the hill, but really, I was red-lined and popped. I couldn’t maintain his pace up the hill and dropped off. He was riding easy at the top, waiting for me to catch up. Nice guy!
We didn’t stay too long at the last support stop before heading toward the next set of big climbs — the 10%+ section on Sunridge Drive followed by reversing two of the three sisters along Palisades. I still couldn’t maintain Brian’s pace up the steeper climbs (I’m really not built to be a climber), but he was waiting at the top of Sunridge Drive. I was able to get some good speed down through the dips along Palisades that I was able to carry most of the way up the climbs, so I wasn’t too far behind Brian when he got to Shea.
We worked well together down Shea and through Northeast Scottsdale. About 6 or 7 miles from the finish, Brian went to the front and hammered the rest of the way to the finish. We finished fast and strong! He was using this event as a last “tune-up” ride before El Tour de Tucson where he plans to finish with a Platinum time. Given how strongly he rode, I’d say he’s got it nailed. My total time was 5 hours 11 minutes, including all stops to go 97 miles. Not too shabby.
The Heart of Arizona is a great century and 200k brevet event hosted by the Bullshifters. It forms a big loop in south-central Arizona though scenic and very remote country. Mike Sturgill has a pretty good description for finding the town of Congress (the start location):
– 37 miles Southwest of Nowhere, AZ
– 39 miles Southeast of Nothing, AZ
– 89 miles East of Somewhere, AZ and
– 67 miles Beyond Hope, AZ!
So now you know exactly where Congress, Arizona IS located! The start just says “Congress, AZ” because the town is so small, the specific location to start at is obvious when you get there!
I was up pretty early and got to the start in Congress, AZ with plenty of time to get ready. It was expected to be in the low 50’s, but with the sun shining it felt pretty nice out and I opted to just use arm warmers for the ride. With the knee problems at Cochise, I decided to just do the 104 mile century option and not the 125 mile Brevet. I know from doing this ride before, those extra 21 miles include some long climbs. Even without those, the century option has over 6,000 feet of climbing.
I did have my knee looked at by a sports medicine doctor after Cochise and he said it looked really good and the pain was probably soft tissue irritation caused by that misplaced cleat on my shoe. It hadn’t bothered me since Cochise, so I wasn’t too concerned, but I still planned to take all the long climbs at an easy pace. But the start is gradual climbs and some long descents. Those I hit pretty hard. I had a personal goal to be able to hold an average of over 300 watts for 3 hours before Cochise. I didn’t have a power meter for Cochise, so I don’t know if I achieved that goal. But with a spanking new Quarq power meter on my Trek, I was going to find out on this ride!
So I led the century group for most of the first 20-30 miles, hammering pretty good. I was watching my watts trying to stay between 250-400 watts. I only stopped long enough to fill my water bottle and eat a couple roasted red potatoes (boy, those really are my new favorite ride food! Wish all events had them!) before heading off by myself after the first SAG.
After that SAG was the first major climb. So, I backed off and started spinning. I also upgraded my cassette to an 11×28 to go with my SRAM 900 compact crank that came with my Quaq. The 34×28 combination is pretty close to the lower end of my triple on my Calfee. I’d still want the full range my Calfee provides with the triple for REALLY hard climbing events (>~10,000 feet cumulative), but the 11×28 is going to be great for the majority of my rides.
Near the top of that climb, we turn and go through several miles of rolling hills. Somewhere along there I glanced down and saw that I was 3 hours 19 minutes into the ride and my average watts showed 309! Goal met! At that point I just started to enjoy the ride. A couple guys past me and joked they wanted to wait to use me for the long descending / flat section that we’d encounter after the second SAG. But I was now enjoying the ride and let them go.
I’m not one for standing around at SAG stops, so at the second stop I just filled my bottles, had a snack and headed out again. Those two guys weren’t kidding and left right behind me. We worked together a bit before the next long climb, but that one is probably 10 miles of 4-7% grade, so as soon as we got near the base, I dropped off and started spinning again.
Several people passed me going up that hill. There are a couple false summits, but I was prepared for them and just kept chugging along until I got to the top for another quick stop at the third SAG. I left by myself again and had a good fast descent before hitting a very deceptive, very long 2% climb. It actually looks like you are descending or riding a flat, but it’s really a very steady climb. I just maintained a consistent pace, catching and passing a few of the people who passed me on the climb.
The wind was also starting to pick up pretty good. It was only supposed to be sustained at around 9mph, but it sure felt stronger and there were definitely some strong gusts. I took a bit more time at the last SAG stop before turning towards Peebles Valley to rehydrate and refuel. After the turn is another long climb that I had actually forgotten about. Once again, I geared down and started spinning. A couple small pace lines passed me going up the hill. Near the top another group of three went by and I jumped on the back to get some protection from the head wind we were facing. We worked pretty good together all the way to the start of the climb up to Yarnell, then I dropped off again and geared down for some more spinning.
That strategy works pretty good for me and even with the hard effort earlier in the day I felt pretty good when I pulled into the finish where the Bullshifters had hot dogs, hamburgers and homemade chili waiting! I had a cheesburger with a bowl of chili then went back for a chili dog before heading over to my car to change before heading back home. All in all a very good ride! I highly recommend this event both for the fabulous support the Bullshifters provide and for the remote, low traffic course.
Nearing the top of Mule Pass ... That's me at the front, what's up with that?!?
This year’s 157 mile Cochise County Cycling Classic was quite a bit different than prior years! We started at 6:20 am. The 92 mile group would be starting right behind us at 6:30 am. So there was a mass of 92 mile riders in the starting area when I pulled up. There also appeared to be two or three real cycling teams participating with guys on one team sporting team radios. Huh.
We got off about ½ minute late with the teams immediately going to the front and setting a tempo pace through town. The teams seemed content to maintain control with a relatively high speed (22-25mph), but that allowed me to stay in a nice draft all the way to the start of the Mule Pass climb in Bisbee. At one point one of the guys on one of the teams had to stop for a “nature” break. One of his teammates rode up to the front to let them know a guy way taking a break. The pace dropped way off. When the guy rejoined the peloton, a guy rode up to the front again and we were back at a relatively high pace. This was more like a pro race than an amateur event!
There was one fast acceleration on the turn right before Mule Pass, which is where attacks have come in the past. This time there was still a very large group of riders for the climb. And it was a hard pace going up! I stayed on for a while, but realized quickly that it was taking too much effort and dropped off. I was still making good time, just at a pace that I could sustain. I picked up one guy I passed before the tunnel and he stuck on my wheel for the descent.
I quickly got up to speed and dropped into a tight tuck, hitting a high speed of 53 mph. I dropped the guy who was on my wheel at the top. BTW, special thanks to Steph Cox for loaning me her Topolino’s for the ride! Mike found cracks in the rim and hub on my rear Topolino just days before the ride. Topolino’s are just plain fast! Anyway, I passed a group of four riders near the bottom of the hill including my Brevet friend Roger Peskett and Mike Barbour, a guy I met at this year’s Breathless Agony in California. I passed them at a pretty good clip, but Mike was able to make the jump and get on my wheel. We set a high speed going towards Tombstone working well together, but couldn’t see the lead group.
Almost over the top of Mule Pass
There’s another pretty good climb a few miles out of Tombstone where Annette normally hands me a bottle. I didn’t stop and didn’t notice that Mike did. When I looked back he wasn’t in sight, so I kept going. It would have been better to have someone with me, but I was still making great time. Until I hit St. David. Then my right knee started to hurt. It was a dull pain while seated, but more intense pain when out of the saddle. Crap. Annette was stopped just outside of Benson, so I told her to have Advil ready at the turn for the freeway.
I was about 75 miles into the ride in just over 3 hours, that’s moving (averaged 22.5mph) and I was on pace for a personal best time. I stopped at the turn to take the Advil and Mike Barbour caught me there. We headed to the freeway together. There’s a bit of a descent just as you get on the freeway and I set a high pace for a mile or so, then dropped back. That knee pain seemed to be getting worse, even sitting in Mike’s draft, so I pulled up next to him to let him know I was going to ride easy for a while to try to rest my knee.
At least the scenery was pretty nice!
There are several significant climbs along the freeway. When I hit the first one and tried to stand, my knee pretty much gave out. I almost fell back on my saddle … the pain was intense. I immediately realized my race had become a ride and my goal was now to just finish. At the top of that hill is a pretty long stretch at a 1% grade. I was going at about 11 mph. People started to pass me.
I started thinking about why my knee was giving me problems. I had knee issues earlier in the year, but thought that I was pretty much over them. But this is the first event with hills that I’ve done with more than easy effort. I even finished Son of Death Ride without knee pain for cripes sake! That had over 17,000 feet of climbing! But all at an easy spin…
So what changed? New frame, but I’m sure I dialed in my position pretty close and it didn’t give me any problems at the 150 mile MS Bay to Bay tour the prior weekend. I also changed my worn-out cleats on my shoes. So I looked down. My right shoe was sitting too far back and my ankle was pointed out. Crap! It was TOTALLY out of position! Support vehicles aren’t supposed to stop on the freeway, so Annette was waiting at the bottom of the Dragoon exit. I decided to fix that cleat as soon as I got there. Unfortunately there was another significant climb before that exit. My knee was actually starting to feel better before I hit that hill, but it was a long, steep climb and the pain returned with a vengeance. I found that if I put pressure on the bottom and left side of the knee, the pain would subside. So picture me riding up a steep grade with my right hand firmly clasped on my right knee. It wasn’t fun.
My personal photographer Danielle 🙂
At the bottom of the Dragoon exit, I took a couple more Advil, adjusted the cleat and let Annette know if the pain didn’t subside soon I wasn’t going to finish. I wasn’t at the “flat” section of the course yet and had to get through some rolling hills. I still couldn’t ride out of the saddle, although I tried a couple times. The pain wasn’t getting any worse, but it also wasn’t improving. I started thinking about some of the other events I want to do this year. The knee obviously has some damage or it wouldn’t hurt like it did, but if I could limit the problem, I may still be able to save some of my other events later this year. So at 94.4 miles I decided to throw in the towel and DNF. It took over an hour and a half to go that last 15-20 miles.
Argh! Knee hurts!
Jeff had recommended a few Sports Medicine guys to look at my knee after the Death Ride in July. I should have gone then, but I thought the knee was just irritated. So I now have an appointment to have the knee checked out next Tuesday. Hopefully it isn’t anything serious. In the mean time, I’m probably going to take the cycling events in November off my schedule and hope that I’ll be able to do the running events I have planned for December.
Jame Carney, a former pro cyclist, Olympian and World Cup Gold Medalist for Track Cycling, won the event with a new record time of 7 hours, 24 minutes, beating the old record by about 20 minutes. Shows what a difference having a team with you can make!
In 2008 Team NetApp had 9 members who raised just under $8,900 for the Multiple Sclerosis Society for the “Bay to Bay” Tour, a very scenic bike ride along the southern California coastline from Irvine to San Diego with an overnight stop in Carlsbad. That year we only had one person, David Rhodes, a NetApp customer, who rode the longest 150 mile option (108 on Saturday, 43 on Sunday). The rest of us rode the 100 mile option (68 on Saturday, 43 on Sunday).
NetApp’s motto is “Go Further, Faster.” What a perfect motto for a cycling team! And in 2009 we did! The team grew to 29 riders who, once all donations have been collected, will have raised well over $30,000 for the MS Society! In addition, well over half the team rode the full 150 mile distance. Most people on the team had never ridden a bike even close to the distances they rode over the weekend!
Leo at the Day 1 finish
Leo joined me again for this trip to provide some logistical support for transporting luggage and people during the weekend. So I drove down to Tucson to pick him up before heading to San Diego where we picked up a few more people on the way to Irvine. The traffic reminded me again why I will never live in California! There was an accident on the freeway that caused traffic to come to a complete stop. I was supposed to be a ride marshal, but I wasn’t able to get to Irvine in time to attend the ride marshal orientation session. Dang.
We were up before dawn on Saturday morning getting ready. The team started to gather in the lobby of the hotel before heading over to the start for a few group pictures. The MS Society sends groups of riders out in small waves instead of doing a mass start to keep road congestion down. Team NetApp was at the front of the 4th or 5th wave to hit the road. It was overcast, but warm enough to get by with just arm warmers (for us Phoenix dwellers who get cold when the temperature drops below 75).
Team NetApp heading out!
We split up some through the rolling hills in Irvine. I stopped along the way for a few action shots of teammates riding up one hill. The faster guys on the team were well up the road when I got going again, but I wasn’t in a hurry and just caught up to Leonard and Loree Zito for a bit, then rode up to ride a bit with Robert Ehlbeck.
David Rhodes with Leonard and Loree Zito in LaJolla
We rode to the first rest stop together, then waited for Robert’s wife Kim. Robert was our team captain this year and was a bit stressed making sure everything was going right. Understandable, but I just wanted to enjoy the ride, so I decided to ride alone for a bit. I did catch and ride with a few teammates a couple times and we regrouped at a couple stops.
At the lunch stop the faster guys were just pulling out when I pulled in. So I had a quick lunch and headed out again. So far I had been following the same course as last year, but after the lunch stop I started the “hilly” part of the course. David Rhodes said there were some tough climbs, but I was surprised by a very long climb that included sections in the 11-13% grade range!
I caught up to the front group at the next rest stop and left with them. I have to be honest and admit that I turned into quite the wheel sucker for the rest of the ride. I didn’t want to push myself too hard since Cochise was the following weekend and we had some pretty strong guys on the team, including one guy, Greg Moyer, who is sponsored and races with a team in the bay area. Yes, I stuck to his wheel pretty closely!
Teammates Jan Aufdenkamp and Greg Moyer
The rest of the day wasn’t too bad. It got a bit windy, but sitting in a nice draft behind Greg (or Paul Jezowski) kept me out of that for the most part! We’d stop at the rest stops and wait for most of the team to show up, cheering them on as they came into the rest stop. I think this is a record for me for the amount of time stopped at rest stops, but it was well worth the team spirit and camaraderie!
Given the difficulty of the last 45 miles, the team did fantastic! And NetApp sponsored massages at the finish to help recover from the day’s efforts! What a great company!
After getting cleaned up, we headed over to a NetApp fundraising reception where another $750 in donations were collected. We also got to chat with teammates who did the 30 mile ride earlier in the day or just catch up with old and new friends. It was a very nice evening.
Sunday morning came a bit too early though and we were up once again before sunrise getting ready. The team broke into some small groups before the start, so we didn’t all leave at the same time. I rode most of the day with David Rhodes. There was some good bantering along the way but I got to the top of Torrey Pines hill first! LOL! … inside joke. Actually I got a pretty good head start on the descent right before Torrey Pines Hill and David caught me on the climb.
Checking out the LaJolla scenery
We stopped in LaJolla for another group picture at a very scenic point. That stop will probably become a tradition. There were quite a few little rolling hills through town and one long section with a lot of stop signs, but overall not too bad. Leo was waiting at the last rest stop and took a few pictures of us milling around. We had a good size group leave together and ride to the finish.
Overall, it was a great trip! Rick Congdon, our VP of Sales for Americas West, has proclaimed that our 2010 goal is to have 100 members on our team with a $100,000 fundraising goal! Wow! But knowing this company, we’ll make it happen!
For a different perspective on the ride or to see quite a few more photos, checkout Loree Zito’s blog.
A friend of mine turned me on to an online newspaper called Examiner.com. He’s a professional chef and enjoys writing about what he loves, so he became the Scottsdale Cooking Examiner. What a great idea! I also enjoy writing, so I decided to try my hand as the Phoenix Cycling Examiner! And I got it! This isn’t a career change, just something fun to do. Examiners do get paid for their articles, but the pay is based on a complex formula involving page views, time spent on the site, and other factors that I don’t know or really care about. I’m doing it more to just share my enjoyment in cycling with others and hope people get some value from the articles I publish. It’s not a blog, so don’t expect to see any ride reports posted there (that’s what this site is for after all). I plan to post articles on routes, upcoming events, local clubs, etc. I’ve got quite a few ideas for articles, but if you have a topic you’d like more information on, let me know. Perhaps I’ll post an article on it! 🙂 Check out my articles at:
In 2006 I registered for the Son of Death Ride, but when I got to the start I found out the ride had been cancelled at the last minute due to problems getting a permit from the Forest Service. I wound up riding the route anyway with 3 other guys. One guy abandoned, but three of us finished unofficially. Back then the route started near the Kern River and went over the mountain to route 395 and back. It was incredibly hard.
In 2009, the Son of Death Ride is BACK! This is one finishing medal I had earned in 2006 and REALLY wanted, so I went back to do it again. This time the route was reversed, starting at Route 395 and headed to the Kern River and back. It’s an easier route overall. The route change meant the majority of climbing came in the first half. The temperature at the Kern River would be less than the high desert floor at route 395. And there would be a tail wind, instead of a head wind for the return.
Leo made the trip to Ridgecrest with me. That is one LONG drive! We left a bit late on Friday, but once again, my lead foot got us into town at 7pm, an hour before registration closed at 8pm. But we spent 1/2 hour driving around town looking for the brand new Marriot suites that wasn’t on any of our GPS systems yet (my car, my Sprint phone or Leo’s Verizon phone). We had some really good pizza for dinner before heading to our hotel for bed. We were up at 4:15 am to get ready, have a quick Denny’s breakfast, then head over to the start.
It was still quite dark out while I prepared to leave. Cyclists could leave as early as 5:30, but I didn’t get checked-out and start rolling until 5:55. There was a full moon out and it didn’t take long before the sun started to lighten the sky. The ride starts with an immediate climb up 9 mile canyon. A long climb with an average 7% grade. Because of the knee problems I’ve had recently, my plan was to take all the climbs slow and easy, using the 30×27 granny gear on my Calfee. It was a slow, easy spin to the top with that gear! I think I probably averaged around 5 mph!
I really need to start bringing a camera along for these rides. The view with that full moon hitting the top of the mountains was impressive. When the road turned and I could look back, there were rows of mountain ranges with low lying smoke from the CA fires that were also very picturesque.
There was a water stop at the top of 9 mile canyon followed by 4 or 5 miles of continued climbing. This is a “no middle ring” type ride. The hills are steep, so I was either crawling up in my granny gear, or flying down in my big ring. At the top of the first major climb, there’s a discouraging 5 mile descent. Discouraging because this is an out-and-back ride, so I’d have to climb that 5 miles after 120 miles of hard riding!
20 miles into the ride is a small community with a country store, but I didn’t need anything and kept plugging along, with another long 6-8% climb that went for about 5 miles. There was another water stop half way up that, so I stopped for a coke and some snacks. But I didn’t stay too long. It was nice and cool riding in the pines and even using my granny gear most of the time I felt like I was making pretty good time.
There were two long descents before we started the last climb up to Sherman pass. I tried to keep track of the descents and how long they were so I’d be mentally prepared for them on the return. The route peaks at 9,200 feet — it was pretty cold at the top! With the sweating from all that climbing, my jersey and gloves were soaked. That made for a really cold descent!
The ride down to the Kern River is one of the harshest, most technical descents I’ve done. In 2006 it was especially hairy because the sun was going down and it was hard to see the potholes and sand because of the shadows from the trees and surrounding hills. This year I felt much more confidant because I was doing the descent in daylight. I made the 15 mile descent pretty fast, passing one truck on the way down. There’s almost a thermo-layer where the temperature quickly transitions from the cool breezes of the pines to the heat of the Kern valley. In the course of less than a mile I went from cold and damp to dry and hot.
The checkpoint for the turn-around was actually a mile or so before the stop sign at the bottom. They were flagging people to keep going down to the stop sign and stopping on the way back up. The temperature along the river was in the high 90’s. Pretty hot, especially considering the grade went from 5-11% (never under 5%, most at 7-8%). I made the turn and dropped back into my granny gear to start the long climb back into the pines. They had nectarines at the stop on the way up that were quite tasty. They also had ice for our bottles that really helped! I didn’t stay too long because I wanted to get out of that heat.
Several people passed me on the climb, but shortly I started coming up to people who had taken the course too hard and were suffering from leg cramps. There was one guy who seemed to be using me as a pacer. He’d come close, then drop back for a while. A bit over half way up he asked if I had water. I was down to about a half bottle. Uh oh. A car that had been driving the course all day started to come by and he yelled “water!” I don’t think the lady driving was an official SAG vehicle, but she stopped to give him water. When she came up to me she asked if I needed water too. She said there was about 6 miles to the top. There’s no way I would have made it if she hadn’t stopped and given me water. They really needed a water stop half way up that climb!
I was pretty wasted when I got to the top of the climb, so I sat in a chair and drank a coke at the rest stop. I probably sat there for a good 20 minutes resting and snacking. Even though it’s generally descending on the way back, there was still a good 2,000 feet of climbing remaining. And that 5 mile climb near the end.
I had told Leo I expected to finish between 3:30 and 5:30. It was about 3pm when I left that rest stop. I would be at least an hour later than I expected. There were quite a few short sections where the road would tilt up. I hadn’t noticed them on the way over, but definitely felt them on the way back! But I kept my easy pace up the hills and my legs seemed to be recovering. I stopped again at the next rest stop and sat for another 10-15 minutes drinking another coke and eating salty peanuts. My stomach had started to get queasy. Probably from the altitude and not eating enough. With the amount of climbing we were doing I should have been eating a lot more than I did. But I was doing surprisingly well with my hydration given all the sweating throughout the day. I had to pull over several times during the ride to answer nature’s call.
There was another SAG stop at that convenience store on the way back. They had ice there too, so I filled another bottle with ice water before heading out. 8 miles until I reached the long 15 mile descent. 3 miles of rolling hills, then 5 miles of climbing. The guys at the SAG stop said it wasn’t bad, “nothing like what you’ve already done.” Liars! I remembered going pretty fast down that descent on the way out. Fast = steep! Sure enough, the road tipped up to 6 then 8% for a while before topping out at 11%! That was mentally tough. My legs were doing ok, but I just felt wasted at that point. I kept hoping to see the summit. Several times it looked like I might be getting close, then the road would turn and go up some more.
But I finally got to the top, ready for the long coast to the finish. The sun was starting to set and I could see I would be in shade all the way down. With how tired I was, I kept my speed relatively slow at 35-45 mph most of the way down. It’s another technical descent, but the road surface is really nice (unlike the other side). 3 or 4 miles from the finish, the road straightens out, so I was done with my brakes, getting into a nice tuck and hitting my top speed of 55.8 mph.
Man, it was nice to pull into the finish! Steve Barnes was there handing out finishers medals. I’ve traded email with Steve several times in the past, but this was the first time we’ve met face to face. It was a pleasure meeting you Steve! The lady who saved me with water on the climb back up from the Kern river was also there and handed me an ice cold cerveza! Wow, she saved me twice!
I needed food and a shower, so we didn’t stay at the finish too long before heading back to the hotel in Ridgecrest. Overall, I think this route was easier than in 2006, but I’m still not quite in the same shape I was in back then. But I accomplished my goal …. I FINISHED and without any knee pain! Not bad for a 136 mile ride with 16,995 feet of cumulative ascent! Now I have an official “IMMORTALS” finisher’s medal and have done this incredibly hard route starting from both sides.
Funny next day story. Leo and I were walking out of our hotel room and there was a lady sitting on the ground outside her room chatting with a couple guys. I was rolling my bike out in front of me and when I stepped out of my room she glanced over and said “Dude! Nice calves!” One of the guys she was talking to said “Probably from riding that bike…” 🙂
Annette has decided to run/walk the Las Vegas 1/2 Marathon this coming December in support of the Crohns and ulcerative Colitis Foundation. Her dad and cousins have fought these diseases for many years, so it is a problem that hits close to home. I’ve added a link on the left that will take you to Annette’s fund-raising page, or click on the link below. I’m very proud of her for taking on the challenge of a 1/2 Marathon, but even more for committing to raising money for needed research and support programs. I’ve asked this before for my own fund-raising efforts, but I’ll ask again on Annette’s behalf. Please donate to help Annette reach her fund-raising goal. Any amount will help. Thanks so much for the support!
I was in Denver on Thursday and Friday before the High Country 200k in ShowLow. My flight back was supposed to land at 7:35 pm, which, optimistically, would put me in ShowLow around 11pm. Unfortunately, thunderstorms were moving through the Phoenix area and we wound up circling the airport for about an hour waiting for a storm cell to pass. All planes were delayed, so there was also traffic congestion trying to get out of the airport. Dang. So I didn’t get to ShowLow until a bit after midnight. The ride was scheduled to start at 6am, so I’d have to be up just after 5am. Less than 5 hours of sleep before a 129 mile ride with over 7,000 feet of cumulative ascent! Not Good.
I arrived at the start at the Safeway parking lot with time to check-in and finish getting ready. Paul Layton was acting as our Brevet Administrator and provided last minute instructions while we waited for 6am to arrive. Just as he was finishing I realized I forgot to put sunscreen on, so I went back to my car for a quick application. Roger Peskett and Judy Jenkins had already left, but the rest of the folks were just starting to leave when I finished and was ready myself.
I could see Roger and Judy off in the distance as we made our way through town on the way to Vernon and Springerville. They were both riding at a pretty good clip. I still don’t have 100% confidence in my left knee, so I my plan was to take it easy on the climbs, dropping into my lower granny gears for any long or steep climb. So, it seemed like I’d start to catch them on a flat section or descent, but they pulled away on the climbs. Several miles out of town Roger pulled away from Judy on a long climb. A few miles later I passed Judy, but Roger was so far out front I only caught brief glimpses of him.
As I crested the hill before the checkpoint stop in Vernon, I saw Roger pulling out. So I was a couple minutes behind him at that point. Paul was there signing brevet cards, but we were only 21 miles into the ride and I didn’t need anything, so I didn’t stay and thought I’d try catching Roger. THAT wasn’t going to happen! I wouldn’t see Roger again until the out and back to Greer!
It had been pretty calm in terms of wind, but that really translates into a 15-20 mph headwind (one that you create with your own speed!). A cross wind started to develop on the way to Springerville, but it really wasn’t too bad. Just kind of tedious at times. In Springerville I stopped at a gas station to re-fill my water bottles and have a snack. I probably spent 5-10 minutes there before slowly making my way through town.
The wind was blowing at a cross/head wind as I started my approach to the mountain. In the distance I could see a cyclist (Judy had passed me while I was at that gas station). It’s a LONG 7 mile climb to the turn to Greer. I pretty much just stayed in my granny gears and spun my way up. Heart rate was hovering around 160 with a cadence in the low to mid 90s, but I was averaging less than 200 watts. High cadence = higher heart rage, but low power saved my knees and legs. 🙂
There are rolling hills to the post office in Greer and I made pretty good time through there. Roger passed me on his way back a couple miles before I got to the post office. Judy was just finishing up when I pulled in. I ate a protein bar, filled my bottles and chatted with Paul for a minute or two about the clouds that were developing around us. Looked like we were all going to get doused.
There was a pretty strong tail wind on the way back to the main road from Greer and I made great time. I was surprised at how fast I got back. Then there was another LONG climb to the top of the mountain. For this route, we also had an out and back to Sunrise Ski resort. From the main road, you can see the ski slopes for quite a while as you make your way around the peak. I could see that it was raining at the resort and hoped that would pass by the time I got there. The temperature had also been steadily dropping as I got to higher altitudes.
That rain cell just seemed to be hovering along the mountain ridge near the ski resort. As I got closer, the road turned and I rode parallel to it for a while. I could see that it was raining maybe 500 feet to my right, but it was dry where I was riding… until I made the turn towards the resort. It started with a light sprinkle that lasted long enough for me to think “This isn’t so bad.” Immediately after that it started to rain, then downpour. Roger came by on his way back. That was a COLD rain. Where was my rain jacket and arm/leg warmer? Back in my car in Show Low. Crap. I was hoping the lodge would be open so I could by a sweatshirt or light jacket when I got there.
It was still really coming down when I pulled up. There were a bunch of mountain bikers huddled under the entry way, so I walked over to the stairs leading up to the lodge and got out of the wind and rain. I sat for a minute trying to warm up a bit, then went to check the doors. Locked. Crap. I sat for a few more minutes then heard someone say they were headed over to the locker room to get out of the rain. Hmmm… I walked around the building and sure enough, the locker rooms were open, but that was all that was open. Judy walked in and mentioned they were selling food at a booth near the entrance. The rain was starting to let up, so I walked over and bought a Green Chili Burrito. I wanted a cup of coffee to go with that, but they were out. The guy in the booth also said his receipt machine wasn’t working, so I asked him to sign my brevet card.
I took my burrito back to those steps that were out of the wind and rain and sat down to eat. Wow, that was good! Nothing like a hot burrito to get your core warmed up. I saw Judy making her way out of the parking lot while I was eating my burrito. When I finished, I went back over to the burrito booth and asked if they had a trash bag I could have. They didn’t. Dang, it was going to be one COLD descent! I didn’t hang around and started back down the hill. A couple miles down, there’s a little country store, so I pulled in there and bought a small cup of coffee and they also gave me a plastic bag that I put under my jersey to keep my chest warm. It’s amazing how much difference that makes! My hands were still a bit cold, but I started to warm back up and made good time back to the main road.
Paul pulled up shortly after I got back on that road and asked if I needed a jacket. With that plastic bag, I was actually warming up nicely, so I said I was fine. The rain had stopped and I was dropping in elevation, so the temperature was coming up. About 5 miles later I had my first and only flat for the ride. A quick tube change and I was on my way again. Now I was on the generally descending part of the course and was making fantastic time. It didn’t take too long to get to McNary and past the Hon Dah Casino. Before I knew it I was in Pinetop making really good time to ShowLow, staying above 30mph much of the way.
Riding my granny gears on the climbs, my legs felt great so I was able to maintain power down the descents and along the flats towards the finish. When I got there I expected to see Roger and Judy, but Judy hadn’t pulled in yet. Apparently I was supposed to stop at the Hon Dah Casino for a receipt and I passed Judy there. Oops. Guess I should have actually looked at my brevet card to see where the stops were. I figured the Sunrise checkpoint would be the last one since there’s really no faster way back to ShowLow. Not sure how that impacts my finishing time. I’ll probably get an official DQ or a time penalty for not stopping at a mandatory checkpoint. Oh well, still a good ride overall.
This was my last “prep” ride before the Son of Death Ride on September 5th. This ride had 129 miles with just over 7,000 feet of cumulative ascent. The Son of Death Ride is also 129 miles, but with 17,000 feet of cumulative ascent. My legs felt good at the end of this ride, so I think I’m ready for it. But I still don’t fully trust my knee and will take the same approach … use my lower granny gears for the long or steep climbs and power across the top. That’ll make for a longer ride, but the goal is to finish comfortably, not get a fast time. 🙂
