Georgia Cross Series #2--- Dahlonega

The second race of the GeorgiaCross Series took place in Dahlonega, known for its pain-inducing hills and adrenaline-pumping descents. It was put on by my buddies Josh and Leigh Saint and Jon Dalman





I went into race #2 with some confidence, what with my decent result from Macon's race (see previous post).




My training has been going smoothly, getting in two solid weeks since the last race with a great ride on sunday over the hills of warm springs and pine mtn. I'm in the next-to-last phase of my cyclocross training, with the main emphasis on 3minute hill repeats over at the hill behind harris co. high school. that barrel of fun happens twice a week and i decided to throw in a long-ish effort at right below my lactate threshold after i finished tuesday's set. i must have been feeling good, which means i'm ready to race.



i had the privilege of pre-riding the course back in august. it runs through the vineyard at Montaluce winery, which is just outside of Dahlonega proper, and is styled completely in a Tuscan theme-- very cool.



the first part of the course is all mountain bike-- totally downhill with tough turns that require more skill than what your average roadie possesses. you can make up a whole lotta time in this section, or you can lose a good chunk of time , depending on your handling skills.



of course-- what goes up, must come down. the second part of the course puts you past your LT and into the red zone, with some uphill grinders, an uphill off-camber section (e.g., along the side of a hill, with the slope), the barriers, of course, and a monster run-up. the run-up is a misnomer; i could barely manage a trudge-up and felt more like making it a walk- or crawl-up after a few laps.


my field, the men's "C" , ran for a total of 30 minutes, which translated into 5 laps. As we lined up, the officials called the top 10 racers from Macon's race to the front, so i got a great starting spot.




the only problem was that i was caught completely off guard by the ref's nonchalant start command and couldn't get clipped in before 20 guys passed me. yet again, i spent the good portion of a lap chasing to get back to the front. i never really saw the lead guy, due to all of the twists and turns of the course.


Before i knew it, i was battling with a guy for the fourth place spot-- deja vu all over again. we traded places for at least 3 laps before my roadie mentality kicked in. i sat on his wheel for a bit and rested just enough to blow by him on a grinding uphill section. i figured i had better make it stick, so i gave it full gas for the rest of the lap and up the killer run-up. i glanced at my watch to see how my heart rate responded to that- 186... ouch.


lucky for me, that was the kiss of death for him and i held out the remaining lap to finish 4th.


unfortunately, we were lapping folks at this point. cyclocross races don't pull lapped riders; it goes against the easy-going, all-inclusive nature of the sport. the officials didn't quite figure out who those lapped riders were and marked me down as finishing 7th. i seriously doubt the wheezing overweight guys who finished 40 spots back in the previous race gained that much fitness in two weeks' time to sneak in a 4th, 5th, and 6th place spot. phooey on the guy keeping tabs on the riders.

Many, many thanks to my wonderful wife, Shelly, for accompanying me, taking care of my pit wheels (hence the wheel pit pic) , and taking all of these fantastic pics. She also took videos, but i'm not clever enough to transfer them from her blackberry to here- there are some sweet vids of my running the barriers. Also, thanks again to Glenn-- the Challenge Grifo tires were a perfect selection for the very grassy, slightly damp course-- i ran them at just under 50psi.

Keeping the season rolling-- Matt's foray into CYCLOCROSS

After having a fairly long and pretty successful season on the road, i decided to keep my fitness up by competing in a full season of cyclocross (the cult sport for roadies who don't quite like mtn. biking but want a taste of the off-road life). I had thought about it for a while, but finally came to the end of a racing season this year where i didn't feel completely torched and apathetic about racing.




The Georgia-Cross series fits well into the end of the road season, so that i could take a quick couple of weeks off in August and start preparing for the short-but-intense 'cross season. It only runs from the beginning of October to the beginning of December, but there are races every week-end; it's not something you want to come into unprepared.





Cyclocross courses are usually short and very spectator-friendly; about a mile or so in length with lots of obstacles- steep hills, sand, tight turns, sketchy dirt roads, all with lots of grass sections thrown in for good measure. they're normally nowhere near as technical as mtn bike courses, due to the fact that we're riding modified road bikes and just can't do the same things mtn bikers can do-- much respect... We ride these courses just as hard as we can, getting our heart rates up to criterium racing levels in the 30 minutes of racing we do.




I'm not the first Columbusite to test these waters; Mike Reardon and Ryan Crabbe have already made headway in the cross world, with Mike having phenominal success as the 2007 New Jersey cross series winner.




I came into my first race of the series in very good form-- i'd been hitting all of my workouts and working on 'cross-specific skills a whole lot. Never having done a cross race before, i really didn't know what to expect, though. Turns out, i'm half decent at it-- 5th out of 62 in the beginner field...



enjoy the pictures , courtesy of my man Glenn Kalnins-- these were all from Macon-- more to follow as the season wears on!



Here's the schedule-- get your cowbells ready!

GAX Race Schedule

10/4/2009	#1	Macon
10/18/2009	#2	Dahlonega
10/25/2009	#3	Augusta
11/1/2009	#4	Yargo
11/8/2009	#5	Savannah
11/15/2009	#6	Paulding
11/22/2009	#7	Barnsley Gardens
11/29/2009	#8	Conyers Elks Aidemore
12/6/2009	#9	Conyers GIHP

check out my results on georgia-cross.com --- i'm in the men's "c" class with my last name misspelled...

Darren Sorrells climbs the highest mtn. in N. America

Darren's short recap of his trip to Mt. Whitney

Just got back on Monday (Aug 17). We flew out on last Thursday to Vegas and rented a car for the drive through Death Valley (which was neat) and then over to Lone Pine, CA (at the base of Mt Whitney).

We drove up and camped out Friday night at base camp (8000 ft) and then did a hike up to 10,000 ft on Saturday to help our bodies acclimate to the altitude. We then slept back at base camp for the early part of Saturday night, then got up Sunday morning and began our trek to the top at 2:00am local time (so early because you must be off the mountain by noon to apparently avoid dangerous lightning). It was a 22 mile round trip, we figured it would take approximately 7 hours to summit, then 5 hours to return to camp (12 hour round trip). Well, that would have worked out fine, except I picked up a case of altitude sickness that prevented me from eating enough as I got to the higher elevations. As you know from cycling, if you can't eat, your energy is gone.

Well, by the time the actual summit came into sight (probably about 1 mile left), I could barely walk. The 2 guys I went with were able to avoid altitude sickness and had already made it to the top.....on their way down, we talked and tried to decide whether I should try to continue on or turn back. I finally decided I'd give it a try, so they went on down and I kept going up. Dude, I made it about 10 steps and stopped.....it hurt like hell. I looked back down, back up at the summit, back and forth for about 5 minutes. I finally decided I'd come too far to give up, so I continued on toward the summit. It was agonizing because I could see the entire path all the way to the top and wasn't sure I could make it. Finally, after about 45 minutes of pure torture, I made it to the top. I only spent 5 minutes on the peak, then began the trek back down. Luckily, once I got down about 2000 feet from the top, my altitude sickness went away and I was finally able to eat. After that, I got my energy back and was able to enjoy the rest of the trip back to base camp. I was out there 15 hours.

It was an awesome trip and I think I learned alot. If I ever do it again, I'll try to take advantage of the higher elevation camps to make the actual summit day shorter and to allow my body to acclimate better. I'd also make different choices about the food I carry.

It was one of the more beautiful places I've ever seen.

7/11/09

Jose’s Recap:

Tribble Mill is a fairly new trail and new to the racing crowd. I had never been there until race day but the organizer’s email said it was FAST, some climbing with some downhills – talk about stating the obvious. My China trip put a damper on my ramp up for this race but I knew that was coming. I got back last Saturday and raced this Saturday so had one week to get the legs used to pedaling again.

Race day was perfect – dry and in the low 80’s at the start.

The horn blows and off we go. As usual the team guys (who will only do a lap or 2 stint) sprint ahead and everyone else follows. Well there are also the REALLY REALLY fast solo guys who sprint but I am not one of those.

We settle into a good pace heading into the first major climb allowing everyone to spread out and find their place. All is good, just a little crowding to start but the people doing the crowding usually realize that and start letting people by - or they blow up and have no choice.

After one lap I realize they just about designed this trail for me. The climbs were not outrageous with gradients and lengths similar to hills on Benning. The downhills were fast and sometimes twisty and tight which suits me better than straight down. Their tight singletrack was great for making up time as many people slow down in tight stuff. I was excited about this trail now.

As the laps go by I still feel good in the legs but the arms are taking a beating. This was not a trail to loosen your grip on the bars for long so it really worked my arms. This causes weakness which causes mistakes which causes wrecks which causes pain! Thankfully I managed to avoid the one big bang I saw coming, not sure how but I did. I was coming downhill fast to a right turn just in front of a large Pine tree, throw in a sandy bottom at the turn for good measure. I knew it was there as I had been by several times though this time I came in a little “hot”. My bike started skidding into the turn trying to get around but kept going straight for the tree. When I got to the point where I could just about spot the termites on the bark, my bike headed sideways for the tree, I squinted and braced for impact. This was going to HURT!

Not sure how, but something must have clipped the tires enough to stop skidding because I opened my eyes to find myself rolling past the tree. I can honestly say I have never been so certain of a crash coming on and it not happen. Someone was watching over me. In those milliseconds I had already pictured my face completely scarred up from the tree bashing I was going to take. And trust me, hitting a tree hurts a lot more that hitting the ground – you usually slide on the dirt.

Well I survived that one and thankfully the rest of the race was less exciting. I hooked up with a “expert” racer and we rode together for 2 laps uneventfully. We broke off for the last lap or so. Came in to the finish a few seconds ahead of him and he introduces me to another racer he rode with the last lap. He tells me this guy is in my category but I am not sure how many laps he did.

Results came in and I ended up in 2nd place. Yes, only 11 seconds ahead of the guy I just met a few minutes before. I’ve said before, that’s the tricky part about racing these 6hr things. You race as hard as you can and hope for the best result because you just never know who is ahead or behind you.

So another good day, raced 5hrs 11mins, 56 miles, no wrecks. In first place for the series right now with one to go. Not sure I can hang on but I will sure try…in October.

See ya out there.

Jose's View from the Dirt

by Jose Mendez


Dirty Spokes 6hr Solo #2 Recap – 5/14/09

It seems like the longer I am slated to race the more it rains! DS2 6hr took place in winder, GA. I got a call on my way there from a friend telling me to “get ready” because it rained most of the night. Oh well, Nicki and I were committed at that point.
The venue was great, many familiar faces ready to have a good time – and just another chance of rain.
We take off and all goes well. What I love about these 6hr events is that no one sprints at the start. It is fast but controlled because everyone knows you’re gonna be out there a LONG time. Unfortunately I flatted about 1hr into the race – that never helps. I nursed it slowly back to the pits and changed it out. Took off and went OK until the bottom fell out of the sky. We got rain and even lightning (though briefly) for over 2 hrs on and off. The heavy kind, the kind that flows down the trail and makes for really scary riding especially after hours of being in it and your brakes are gone. Ended up having to race with almost no brakes for the last hour or so. After all the rain I came in to the pits and had about 1hr 15mins left to get another lap in and decided to go even though the rain was still on and off and the brakes were going. I passed this one guy on my way out and heard him tell someone –as he pulled off the course – “I am done, that’s it for today” and thought to myself “oh how nice that would be”. I went, I rode, I nursed an air leak in my front tire, it rained, I slowed, and I missed the cut off to allow my last lap to count. So I spent a nasty, grueling, miserable hour and a half in the mud for the heck of it…but it was FUN! ;)
Came in 4th place so considering the mechanicals and everything else in play that day I felt good with my result. Walked down to the lake and jumped in to scrub all the mud off of me. Good times.
Aftermath picture attached. Oh and by the way, that is my brand spanking new bike!

Keep riding guys…and maybe try mountain biking!

Georgia State Championship Series #2 at Flat Rock Park – 4/19/09

After a lot of rain it managed to let off a few days before the 2nd GSC race taking place at Flat Rock Park in Columbus. I felt good coming into it so the only question mark was how was everyone else feeling. I missed GSC1 so I didn’t get to size anyone up coming into this weekend. Thankfully the race went well. Raced solid – w/o incident – for most of the race and left the field by about 1.5 minutes with 20 minutes to go. Then trying to pass in tight single track I clipped my handlebar and “kinda” crashed. I managed to stay on the bike but noticed there was something wrong. Come to find out my front brake cable got caught in a way that kept the brake engaged. I rode that for the next 20 minutes because I did not realize it and did not want to take a chance and lose the lead.
I squeaked my way past the finish lined with about a 30 second advantage. So all in all OK. Glad I got to savor a win – especially at home – during my last season as a “Sport” racer. If all goes well I will be racing expert next year, even if it’s at the back of the pack.

Thanks to all the locals who volunteered for this event – prepping and event day. I would not have happened w/o you. Plus all the screaming as we went by was always a motivator to make sure it looked like I wasn’t in pain.


Dirty Spokes 6hr Solo Recap – 3/14/09

To kick off the mtn bike racing season we had the Dirty Spokes 6hr Solo race in Farmington, GA at Heritage Park. The weather promised to make the opener much more than just dirty spokes but I showed up anyway. I joined my mountain bike partner in crime Nicki, now racing for the Sorrella Team (just shameful LOL). Weather was to be…how do I put it?...NASTY. Some rain overnight to prime the course and more by race time.
Still a decent showing of racers lined up (26 in my category). I met up with a couple of guys I usually race against and we decided to take the first two laps easy (whatever that means) and step it up once we were nice and warm/cold/wet. This is the first time I have attempted that strategy as I usually blow out of the gate trying to stay up front the whole time. So we are off on a open field parade lap and I look at the sea of riders (mass start) in front of me and tell myself “ I’m really not sure this is the right decision” to stay back. It really felt like I was last but I guess I never looked behind to see all the others still behind me.

First two laps were uneventful and my legs felt good – well, if you call wiping out a couple times on wet roots uneventful. Later one of the guys dropped back and the other had a mechanical so I went off riding on my own after that. About 4hrs in we got a hint of rain but the heavy rain never came. At this time I also started to pick off riders who obviously went out too hard and eventually blew up or didn’t have the legs. I came thru with a 5th lap time of 1:03 and the clock had exactly 1:03 left on it til the end of the race. Knowing that my lap times were getting longer as I tired there was no reason for me to go off into the woods/mud and show up at the finish line past the cut off. You get ZERO credit for the extra lap if you come in 1 second after the 6hr mark. My toes were ice, I was wet, cold and tired so I packed it in. Still felt good about what I had done even if I did not know my position in the pack. That’s the disadvantage of the mass starts (probably 150 racers this time), you are bunched in with co-eds, teams, pros etc so you just race and hope you fall into place at the end.
All in all I got 46 miles in 4:57 or racing. I went into the day hoping for a top 10.

Results were posted and I was surprised to find out I came in 3rd place. Freezing my arse off all day was worth it after all! Yea, did I mention it was COLD! Low 40’s all day in Farmington. They messed up the results for the podium presentation and gave 3rd to someone else so no podium pix for me. I did challenge the result and they saw the “light”, giving me third place, my medal and a sweet Specialized helmet prize for my trouble. Oh, and I got a 6pack of local Athens Micro-brew. They can keep the picture!

So the season had started better than I expected. Hope it stays that way but we’ll see. Finally, we got in the car and headed home, now in pouring rain…

Jose

CBR hits Albany like a Tornado!!

This weekend was the first full weekend of racing to test the winter legs. CBR took 9 Columbus riders to test themselves against the others looking to get a good "gut check" on where our fitness measured against the racers in the Southeast. John Stowe was looking to make an impact on the category 3's, Mike Loftus, Matt Ragan, Adam Weinbaum, Jose Solis Jr, were looking to test the category 4/5 combined group. Jose Solis Sr. & Steve Murray were racing testing the older legs in the Master's 40+ group.

Saturday's racing kicked off with a short 3.5 kilometer prologue that twists and turns through downtown Albany. The route had 12 turns which includes a round-about. It is technical and it's almost an all out sprint. The course definitely showed who was fit versus who was really fit. It is a lung burner from the start. The weather was around 65 degrees and extremely foggy to start. There was an accident on the course where two riders collided head on and both were taken away by ambulance. Those of us who went early had to swerve around. Here's how our boys did;

Master's TT

3rd - Steve Murray
8th - Jose Solis Sr.


Cat 4/5 <35 TT
Matt Ragan - 16th
Tucker Solt - 17th
Jose SolisJr. - 18th
Mike Loftus - 20th

Cat 4/5 35+ TT
Adam Weinbaum - 17th

cat 3 TT
John Stowe - 12th

The second event of the day would be the criterium. It uses the same course as the prologue with a slight configuration change. It is a modified figure 8 with - you guessed it - 8 turns. The criterium is a closed course where each group races for a specified period of time. The races were anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour for the respective fields. The racing was hard. Everyone is out in the early season to show they are strong, fit and fast. This makes each race a real test and rider after rider goes to the front and pushes the pace. Constant attacks with the addition of primes ( one lap races within the race to challenge the field to be the first rider across the line for that particular lap) made the pace consistantly high and weeded out those that just didn't have the "high end" in their riding yet. Bottom line - the criteriums hurt everyone and only the select few were able stay in and fight it out until the end. Early season races tend to see higher attrition rates in the criteriums as the high exertion levels just "blow up" those whose training has not provided the upper end efforts. Many riders use these races to "race into shape". The course had a couple of sections with head wind that made it that much harder each lap. The first group off was the Master's 40+. Steve and Jose raced in a fairly small field of around 20 starters that eventually weeded down to an 11 man main field. The field stayed together with multiple attacks that could not stay away. With 5 laps to go, a rider from Security Bank out of Macon took a strong flier off the front. He stayed away until midway through the next to last lap. On the final lap, the group slowed as no one wanted to use their energy to pull everyone to the sprint. As we approached turn 4, the group slowed and Steve moved into the lead and did a moderate pull through turn 4,5 & 6 then stood and jumped. The group did not expect such an effort so far from the finish and it caused a slight gap to the main pack and three riders on Steve's wheel. Steve felt a calf cramp and knew he would not carry this to the finish. Jose Solis was on Steve's wheel and took the inside line, took the corner and sprinted to the next corner. Steve slowed a little to keep anyone form catching Jose's wheel. This allowed Jose to maintain his gap and take it in for the win. Jose put in three huge sprints to keep the lead and was able to finish with his hands held high! Steve kept racing and was fourth across the line.

For the Master's race -
Jose Solise Sr. - 1st
Steve Murray 4th

Jose's Criterium Podium

The Cat 3 crit highlighted John Stowes fitness level. John sat in on a fast paced race with little to no real effort. He was positioned well all race and sprinted for the finish and placed 3rd. It was a good race for John and another podium for the team!
Cat 3 - John Stowe - 3rd

Albany's Region Bank Omnium


For the Cat 4/5 race - our guys held their own and showed off a good bit. They all rode well. Jose Solis Jr. had the best finish. All the guys were able to stay in the pack and stay upright. We had a really good showing across the board. This was the first race for Jose and for Tucker. Both rode so well, they look like old pros going at it.

Cat 4/5
Jose Solis Jr. - 3rd
John Litz - 5th
Mike Loftus - 11th
Tucker Solt - 14th
Matt Ragan - 17th
Adam Weinbaum - 16th

The Road Races were held on Sunday near Leesburg, Georgia. The course is flat and exposed to the wind. Our team went out and rode very well. I had the worst day of our group with and early flat that ended my race. However, there were some nice highlights. Jose Solis Sr. was in the Master's break away group and was in the final sprint and placed third. In the 4/5 35+ group - John Litz was 6th and Adam Weinbaum placed 13th. In the Cat 3's John Stowe had a good pack finish with 12th place. In the cat 4/5 <35 group, Mike Loftus placed 5th, Matt Ragan placed 6th, Tucker Solt placed 10th and Jose Solis Jr. placed 18th after expending alot of energy in a 3 man break away that rode on their own for 15 miles.

A big congratulations goes out to Jose Solis for his weekend - he was third overall in the Master's field for the weekend. Great Job Jose!!

CBR kicks off the 2009 Season

Mike Loftus races Dacula

The early season kicked off with the Tundra Time trial on February 14. We had 7 local riders attend. John Stowe, Mike Loftus, Matt Ragan, Victor Karm, Adam Weinbaum, Steve Murray, Jose Solis Sr. & Jose Solis Jr. The day was rain and overcast. We had two podiums, each with a 3rd place finish - John Stowe (cat 3) & Steve Murray (master's 45+)

The Road season kicked off this weekend 28 Feb 2009- Mike Loftus opened the Georgia Cycling Gran Prix (GCGP) season for CBR with a 5th place finish at the Harbins Road Race in Dacula, Georgia. The fields were small due to the torrential rain and windy conditions which caused the hilly course to become a war of attrition. Mike (Cat 4) stayed up front the duration of the Cat 4/5 U-35 race trying to mark seven Florida State University team mates. Mike got away in a break on Lap 3 for about 2 miles that got caught from the hard work of the FSU team. The hard pace and multiple attacks in laps 2 and 4 caused about half the field of 21 to drop off leaving Mike racing against five FSU riders and four others.
In the end, one FSU rider got away with about 3 miles to go just before the major climbs and the remaining nine riders fought it out for 2nd place. In the bunch sprint Mike finished 5th overall after a great race garnering 16 points towards the GCGP season ominium and 1 points towards moving to Cat 3.

Winter Training - NO fun, but a part of life

Well, there isn't much news other than we have been lucky to have a few warm days here and there. We recently rode in the 10th Annual Elvis Ride - a ride started by Doug Mote to remember Elvis Presley each year around his birthday. This year it was held January 11th. John, Matt & myself decided we would ride the 26 miles from John's father's home to the ride start. The ride was just over 50 miles. Year to year the ride can be either an easy roll through the rural countryside of Greenville, Georgia or a race. In the past, the Auburn cycling team - The AU Flyer's would end their training camp week with the Elvis Ride. They would ride team tactics and send their strongest off in the last 10 to 15 miles to have the first finishers. This year the Flyer's didn't show up. So, John and Matt decided to test the field with an attack at 10 miles into the ride. They were joined by a small group. They kept the pace high and rode at full race intensity throughout. John & Matt really laid the hammer down with around 5 to go. This did the trick. John tested himself and Matt to see what was in the tank and was able to gap Matt a little before the finish. We also met a young man who had expressed interest in racing with the team - Tucker Solts. Tucker is just 16 and done one race in his life. He was able to stay with the lead group until the final attack. He will be a strong young racer and we are happy to have him join our group.

This was a good ride for us. The weather was gray, the temps were around 39 - 40 degrees and it was a good indicator that the training was going well. I rode with a former CBR racer - Darren Sorrells. Darren has been off the bike a while so we took it easy and didn't contest the ride with the hammer crowd.

Keep the rubber side down!

Jose's 40 mile off road trail race

I finally did my Pine Mountain 40 Challenge trail run this weekend. Here is a LONG recap if you are interested. Haven't done one of these recaps in a while, but it being my first and only ultra marathon or any kind of running event for that matter, I figured I would share my experience.

Where to start... one day, while talking to Keith Williams (tri-friend at work)about cycling- he invited me to join his Thursday morning recovery run (some people don't know what recovery means but whatever). I want to say this was in late July. After finishing up with mtn. bike racing season in early August I looked at my calendar and it just seemed empty, no real pain-event on tap. Again I talked to Keith about running and he mentioned several events. Some too far, some too long or some coming up too soon, but the Pine Mountain 40 Challenge stood out as a possibility. A 40 mile trail race/run close by. I latched on to the December 7th date, had Keith put a basic schedule of running to build up to the event and off I went. One of the runners once said to me when you go, you go all-in because I decided to skip the 5K, 10K, half marathon, full marathon and just go for something better but I guess that is part of the challenge, isn't it? That's another story.

Race day started out COLD! Right around the 30° mark. Several Columbus fellas including most of those I have gotten to know and run with were there. We gooped up, filled bottles, delivered drop bags and lined up at dawn. And off we head down the road and into the woods. Our Columbus hero John Teeples and an outsider leading the way. I knew I had to warm up my legs real good “ run slow off the start" as running has ruined my joints, tendons etc, at least temporarily. Shin splints on my left leg was the primary worry. Do that in and my race was over. Thankfully, with enough people funneling into the woods the pace was doable for a warm up. Not to mention, who's in a hurry when you will be running all day anyway. I latched on to Mike Chancey to have a familiar face, conversation and good runner to follow. That turned out great for me. Chancey had a great pace going and I was able to keep myself in check with someone who had done these before. I am sure I would have probably burned myself up early on if I was on my own.

For those who don't know the PM trail it is usually rocky, with some technical down hills (if you are running) and some nice spots to make you forget the rocks are coming again surprising you by snatching an ankle here and there. That was another good reason to be behind someone on the trail. Not many flats though, always up or down.

So Mike and I hung together through a couple of aid stations. Well, at the first station I was filling stuff when I looked up he was gone so I had to take off and catch up to him “tricky fella" LOL. At the 14 mile mark or so aid Station (Dowdell Knob) we came up on the drop bags where I “thankfully" made the right choice and shed my long pants and head cover. I also re-stuffed my pockets with gels, Aleve and ate some aid station PB&J's.

At that point we also caught up with Keith. He took off ahead of us, but we came up on him again on a slow technical area. Quick hello and I kept going but Chancey stayed back chatting with Keith. Next thing I know I look back and they are a ways back and saying you don't have to wait for us. I felt like a little fledgling having to jump out of the nest for the first time. But I don't want to be alone I thought. Oh well, I turned around and just ran easy for a bit to give Chancey time to rejoin. Conversation must have been really good because he never came. I got to a long downhill and I just let it go down the hill since that is where I knew I would make up some time, downhill and technical stuff “reminds me of mtn. biking. I did not see Chancey anywhere on the side of the mountain so I just moved on, all alone. Again, no different than on the bike, you just do your race and keep to the plan.

All was good. I felt like I was running well, consistent, to my ability. The only uncertainty was - could I make it to the 40 mile mark?After I left Keith and Mike my competitive spirit kicked in. Let me see if I can keep them from catching me I said. I was uncertain because I really did not know what my body would do at mile 30 and beyond “I had never run anything above 28.5 miles. So I kept running and hit it a little extra hard at every spot I thought they were likely to slow down. At the aid stations I had my bottle open for refilling before I even got to it. I filled up, grabbed a sandwich, banana or whatever and take off running - new meaning to eating on the run for me.

Then came the slowest part of the run, the TV Tower Loop. Beautiful area, just not one made for running. Wet rocks, jump down onto rocks, climb up with all fours out some areas, really fun stuff. Man I was glad it was only 1 mile or so of the bad stuff, but again that's where I could make up time and I did pass a few people there.
Once I climbed out of that mess I started to feel woozy coming up on the aid station and didn't know why. I took a large Graham cracker loaded with Peanut butter, a banana and kept going. That cracker did the trick loaded with protein and a heavy feeling in my stomach. It got me going again now past the halfway mark.

Came up to the aid station at about mile 27 and asked how many people had gone through already? The girl says "oh not many, you are at least top 15". Holy #$%#$! I couldn''t believe it and that definitely lifted my spirits. I figured I was around 30 but don't ask me why. So I got on my way and started doing times in my head. I again pushed the technical stuff and kept a reasonable solid pace in the open areas.

Around mile 30 I spotted a group of 4 about 100 yards ahead. A group of 4 I said!!! If I am top 15 and I pass those guys I am top 10. Man I wanted to sprint up to them, but no, I held back looked down and ran my race. Eventually I caught them, rested, then passed. Two of the four kicked it up and latched onto me. They came and went several times behind me but I basically paced them for the last 6 miles. That was a rough time for me. My body was done but I could not stop, not now. I had to talk myself into running after cresting a hill since we walked most of the climbs at that point. Running becomes a fast shuffle, not much foot lifting, running as efficient as possible.

I never got passed then but never pulled away either. With about 2 miles to go it becomes downhill and then flat 1 mile or so to the finish. I am thinking I can be 10th or 12th and starting devising my strategy down the mountain to be 10th. The plan IS “control the downhill and when we hit the flats up the pace enough to keep anyone from wanting to jump, then one mile left run 100% effort
and hopefully not collapse. Basically bike racing gone bad!

I picked it up and I still had them both, I waited, I sped up a little, I waited. Finally one dropped. I sped up, I waited, I sped up, I waited, I heard a stumble (like when you lose your footing for a second) and I picked it up to 100% (whatever that was at that point!). Finally I looked back and saw the red shirt but through the trees, not right behind me. I will tell you, that was the longest half mile I have ever run. Exhausted, scared, hungry, thirsty, in pain, within sight of the finish line through the woods BUT I got there! And I got there ahead of them whoever they were. Come to find out one was a local runner and one was from Charleston, SC “both nice guys off the course LOL. I came up on the family cheering me on plus some others doing the usual make noise for everyone. Gawd, I can't move anymore! I couldn't even squat down. Standing hurt, sitting hurt, being hurt.

As far as I know all of the Columbus guys I know made the cut-off and got their prize PM40 Fleece. Well john also got a 2nd place award for blazing up the 40 mile trail in 6.5 hours! Yes, that is a 9:45 minute pace. Good job to all.
So that's how it goes. A very long story for a very long race.

Here are my stats:
-7:33 total run time
-7th place overall - - I guess the girl who told me top 15 was off a couple spots but all's forgiven. ;)
-10 Roctane Gu's or so
-5 Aleve
-3 pcs of Beef Jerky
-Uncounted half sandwiches of PB&J and ham/cheese
-Other assorted Aid Station food including Oreos, chips, bananas, boiled potatoes
-100+ oz of water plus assorted Coke, Gatorade etc.
-No falls {Plenty of tripping}
-1 slight black toe – for now
-No blisters
-1 badly aching body

I had a great time, even leading up to the race. Met some new people, gained some new friends, tried something new, put my body through more unnecessary pain. If you would like to try an event like this go ahead, be my guest. Just don't say I got you into it or talked you into it. I will not be to blame as are all the guys that did that to me!

Happy trails (cycling and running)

Thanks to Trina for putting up with my latest obsession over the last three months.

JOSE

CBR takes Georgia State TT title

Saturday October 18, 2008
The state TT was taking place just outside of Ringgold Georgia. This is a small town on the Georgia-Tennessee border. The terrain is rolling hills. It is 10 miles from Chattanooga and that means lots of hills. The temperature was around 48 degrees at 8:30 and the sun was bright and it was windy. 4 riders from the CBR team attended. There was Adam Weinbaum (cat 5), Caroline Morris (beginner), Victor Karm (cat 4) and Steve Murray (cat 4). The race had about 70 participants which is not high, but not bad this late in the season.

The distance was originally 40 Kilometers (24.8 miles), but due to a severe car accident, they had to shorten the course to 21.8 miles. Caroline was first and the beginner course was just over 6 miles. She did a great job for her first race. Next up were the guys. Adam went off first followed by Steve and then Victor. We all dealt with the wind and cool temps. The course had 8 turns, 3 of which were 180 turn-arounds. We all had good times for the day. All our boys scored top 10's on the day.

Steve Murray - 1st 50:16 (State Champion)
Victor Karm - 7th 53:23
Adam Weinbaum - 10th place 59:10