24 Hours - Hot August Nights

Training and Preparation
Last race before this was Summer Solstice in June 19 – 20. As you may have read in my journal from that event I was truly inspired by a guy that passed me on my last lap. After that event I went to Vegas for Ryan’s stag (I was the best man) and took literally two weeks off of training.

Upon my return I settled into a pretty consistent training schedule that consisted of the following:

Monday – rest
Tuesday – 1.5 - 2 hr hills (Ellis Loops)
Wednesday – 30mins or rest + yoga stretching
Thursday – 2 hr group ride – high intensity
Friday – rest
Sat – 1 to 2 hr mountain bike or road sprints
Sun – 2 to 3 hr mountain bike

I was able to work through this program for 4 weeks (maybe missing a workout here and there but generally quite consistent). I think the Tuesday and Thursday rides made a significant impact on my capacity.

As this race approach I began to taper and inject more intervals and more rest two weeks before and the weekend before went for two mountain bike rides. The week before I went for one 30mins ride and on Friday I left early from work and was able to meet up with the team, set up camp and do a pre-ride for about 45mins.

When it came to race day I felt rested and active, ready to ride.

Food
From Wed through to Friday I carbo loaded and kept as hydrated as possible. My body felt ok, not as plugged as other times. Keeping a high vegetable intake seemed to help a lot.

Start Order
On Friday I ended up breaking a spoke, which caused my bike to be in the shop Sat. am. Which meant I couldn’t lead off. I was able to get up to the event by 11:30, and ended up starting 3rd. This was different for me as I was planning to lead off and see how I would perform against the field (comparing against the last 24), in hind site I really didn’t mind the start – once I was out on the lap it was all good.

Note: I think this was the best prepared I’ve been for a 24hr event. I tapered my training, put in the heavy time 3+ weeks ahead of the event, learned the course and didn’t let my equipment rattle me. I really felt tuned in.

First Lap ~ 1:50pm
Warmed up on the trainer for about 20 mins escalated my heart to 160 with a couple of sprints. During this warm up drank a bottle of eLoad. Felt good heading to the start with about 10 mins to go.

Once I got the hand off from Greg (2nd rider) I was out. The warm up really helped me ramp up quickly and get my heart o 170+, I was able to maintain from 168 to about 175 throughout the lap and overall felt strong. Especially on the climbs and open sections. There were a couple of new sections that I was somewhat slower on (didn’t know them), by the end of the lap I had a ton of energy left and sprinted hard for the finish.

My time was 43m30s which was a pretty good time.

Note: Due to the equipment failure I wasn’t able to complete my pre-riding. I’m sure that if I had I would have been fasted on the first lap. Also, if I had led off, riding with the pack would have made me quicker as well. Overall though I was quite pleased.

Second Lap ~ 7:00pm
The second lap is always the best, I warmed up for another 15 or 20 mins and did some quick intervals. When I was at the start I felt ready to give it my all. Todd had come in and took a minute out of his time. This was great motivation for me…I knew I could improve my time. When I got the hand off, I ran to my bike, started the timer and jumped on.

One of the big differences from previous races was the fact that as soon as I would leave everytime I would attack off the start. In previous races I would always think…let it build…but now I felt like I had the power to step on it right from the start. I tried hard to keep this pace and push hard on all the climbs and ride smooth in the single track. At the first interval point I was at 13m – which I thought was slow from my first lap (which I thought was 10m but I later learned this must have been wrong). At this point I thought I was behind so I put my head down and tried to keep my momentum as much as possible.

This course had the majority of climbing at the beginning, which made for a rocket course for the 2nd half. Every open section I hammered big ring standing up, every rise I stood up, every little climb I attacked. It was an amazing feeling…to feel my body ramp up and hit the power zone, then recover almost instantly and then hit it again….and again…and again. I was completely lit.

I finished in 42m30s, taking a minute out of my time and averaging about 22km/h for the lap. This is a massive improvement over the beginning of the year where I was holding high 19s for my average speed (although this was for 1.5 hrs vs. the 42m of this lap)

Note to self: It’s all about momentum. I find it amazing know how quickly I can move up climbs by attacking at the bottom and top of the climb. Come in quick, keep the pact up and stand up over the rise. Also, on all open sections I saw this as an opportunity to sprint – not rest. The final key is to keep pushing at the top of the climb (even after standing). Treat every climb like it’s 20 meters longer. All of this seems to make up so much time.

In the past I would look at some of the very fast times at these events and think “how is that possible”…well now I know. Ride clean in the single track and attack everywhere else. Mountain biking is all about intervals on the climbs and in open sections. The key element though is fitness because if you don’t have the capacity it’s impossible to use this strategy.

Third Lap ~ 2:00am
Preparing for this lap, I had the crash in my mind from the last 24hr race. I knew that I had to focus and ride the way I know I can at night. The key (and I’ve said this before) to riding fast at night is to anticipate the corners…to do it before you can see it. The light, although bright simply doesn’t spread wide enough to be able to see it. You have to trust your instinct and ride with flow.

As I went out for my lap I handle the first open sections and climbs the same as the day laps. As I came through the interval I could see that I was pretty much on time at 13m. As I moved through the rest of the lap I had to slow down somewhat in the single track as I just couldn’t move through at the same pace.

Coming through one section of sandy single track, I was moving pretty good and then all of a sudden I lost my front wheel into a huge pothole…down I went, tumbling down the hill. Luckily my bike went with me and by the time I stopped moving my bike was right there. I jumped back on and flew down the rest of the hill unclipped and completely OC, but somehow I managed to stay on top of it. ;)

When I came into the transition I was at 45m, I was quite pleased with this time. Although in hind site I think I could have went harder on the climbs and open sections. Turns our I missed fasted night lap by roughly 30 secs. Good result, but I wish I could have known that time going out.

Note to self: I really love riding at night, it’s so peaceful, yet exhilarating and the feeling of just the light, the sound of my breath and flying through the forest…it really is like nothing else. It’s also about the ZEN aspect of riding fast at night…feeling before seeing…not thinking, just letting it happen… I really like that.

Fourth Lap ~ 7:30am
Getting ready for this lap I knew that we had been trading 1st with another team through the night. We had made up huge time but couldn’t quite pull out ahead. I warmed up for just a little bit to get my legs back up to speed. I was able to sleep about 1hr prior to the lap so I was a little groggy.

In preparing for the lap I took two wake-ups, along with 3 eload caps and my standard warm-up bottle of eLoad (and a lap bottle too).

Going out for this lap my legs hurt at the beginning, but I kept telling myself this was my last lap and I needed to give it everything I had. By the time I was at the top of the first climb I had forgotten about the pain and was focused on my technique.

Pushing back on my saddle on the climbs and riding like a road bike, getting a full stroke, high cadence but pushing a slightly bigger gear than comfortable. Keeping a low profile, elbows in, head down. Standing on the rises, think about the pull – not the push – the push happens on it’s own – stand tall when standing to keep your rear tire connected and not bouncing and spinning.

This lap was very similar to my second lap and it felt incredible…to come back out in the morning on my fourth lap and feel like everything was firing…it felt like nothing I’ve ever felt before…

My interval time was 13m exactly, close to the end of the lap I could see I was close to a 42m time, and I pushed with everything I had. In the transition tent I came in with a 42m40s lap. I was so pleased with this…I rolled out in the crowed and let out a huge “whoa!” I couldn’t contain myself.

Fifth Lap ~ 11:30am
Because we were still somewhat close to 2nd place the team decided to send me out on the final lap. Finish with the strongest and fastest possible. This was unexpected at the beginning because I thought my fourth lap was the end. When I found out I was going to do another lap I was walking back to the camp site. I began to focus and tingles ran up my body…”I can do this” I said…and I knew I could…I knew I had another lap in me.

Preparing for this lap was intense. Although everyone was saying (including me) that I only needed to put in a sub 50m lap. I prepared to give it my all and get the fastest time possible.

I warmed up for 20 mins, drank a super concentrated eload bottle, took another wake-up, more eload caps, potassium, and advil – I was hopped up on goof balls and was incredibly focused.

As I headed out for the lap I knew this was it so I gave it everything on every climb and every open section. Came through the interval on time and kept pushing. Todd followed me around the lap taking pics at a bunch of different spots, it was great to see him and hear him yelling “you got it, push it!!!”

As I came through the last section of single track last 1km was essentially double track – I stood up and gave it everything I had, all the way to the finish. Again an amazing feeling…a sweet mix of pain and adrenaline…a high like nothing else.

As I came through I checked my final time…42m50s – I had only dropped 20 secs from my fastest lap of the day. I was on cloud nine.


From team perspective we won…which was great…always nice to win.

Times:
Lap 1 – 43m30
Lap 2 – 42m30
Lap 3 – 45m00
Lap 4 – 42m40
Lap 5 – 42m50

What did I learn in this race?

1. Tapering is key to performance
2. Training smart and with lots of rest has really made an impact on my performance
3. I’ve seen the light about how to ride fast
4. I absolutely…hands down…love to ride
5. No matter what happens the rest of the year, this has been an amazing season so far.