Weekend Wrapup

MORF had a presence at several races this weekend -- Greg placed 3rd in his age group at the Loveland Lake to Lake tri, and Justin, Ryan, Debby, Erin and I raced the Winter Park mountain bike SuperLoop. It was super indeed -- for the promised 18.1 mile race, Justin had a good position in the pro race, and around mile 16.1 each MORFer dug in deep for the final two miles... except... the race didn't end. Nope! The race had unannounced bonus miles for a total 23.8 mile race with 2,680 feet of climbing! Luckily, that just meant more time to enjoy the sunny warm weather and bike hard. Justin and Ryan raced on fully rigid bikes because they are ridiculous, while Debby, Erin and I enjoyed our more-plush full suspension bikes. Justin also raced without water, but that's another story....

The top 5 things about this race:
1. PERFECT race weather!
2. Awesome mountain biking!
1. Moose tracks on the trail... and I was pretty sure they were new, given that I wasn't exactly in the top 10 (or 100) across the finish.
4. No moose sightings!
5. I was also SUPER impressed by the race etiquette I experienced -- every single person who passed me called their pass and was friendly, nobody was rude or impatient, and nobody called me pumpkin.

See part of my favorite local trails

Hey folks, hope all is well. This past Saturday I was lucky enough to be able to do a local XC race called the "Flagstaff Frenzy." Then on Sunday there was a Super D race. I didn't get to do the Super D but the XC race the day prior utilized the same trail.

Anyway, on to the point of this post. I want to show you some of the great trail we get to ride here in Flag. While perusing the web I came across a couple of videos that a guy shot with a helmet cam during his Super D run. I think the short section of trail is captured pretty well. Those helmet cams have really improved and produce some cool video that makes me want to get on my bike! The guy in this video got a flat but seems to have otherwise had a fun ride

Xterra Moab

Here is my recap of Xterra Moab (a little late!)

3 Grand County Triathletes Perform Well in Moab | SkyHiDailyNews.com

I was recently featured in an article in the local paper.

3 Grand County Triathletes Perform Well in Moab | SkyHiDailyNews.com

Original Growler IV

Damnit I love mountain bike racing. The growler took place this past memorial day weekend. It's a 64 mile mountain bike race, aptly named for 64 ounces of fluid goodness. The race basically beats the snot out of you by throwing rock, after rock, after rock, after rock at you. One alone doesn't hurt, but the 64 miles of cumulative effect adds up, resulting in just about everyone crossing the finish line with that good old fashioned full body hurt. Head, shoulders, knees and toes. And ass cheek, if you are like me, and fell into a cactus. With any good mountain bike race, there are really three main parts. Camping. Beer. And Bikes. This race combined them ease. I camped at the hartman rocks trails themselves, right beside the last hamstring/calve/glute/quad cramp inducing hill before the end of each 30 mile lap. Aside from the wind, it was an awesome area to throw down a tent. Mark Lonac, my roomie in Fort Collins ran the sage burner the previous day placing second overall, and then dawned his gorilla suit on Sunday to sweat his balls off and cheer on the racers on that aforementioned hill, occasionally hiding behind a rock and then jumping out to scare racers up the hill. The course itself had everything. Some smooth single track. Some fire road to allow for passing and connecting of more sweet single track, some technical, twisty, turning, rocky, loose, trail, and then rocks. Yeah, they must have named the place after these. What you could ride with some effort on the first lap looked quite a bit harder on the second lap. I saw some blood on others and on myself, shed while you were trying to maintain your rhythm and just get over one more big rock obstacle, and then finding out you didn't quite have it in you. The race wore you down. It was awesome. I rode my new Tomac Flint 29 set up Single Speed with all kinds of sweet parts I hand picked with the help of Dave Chase at Redstone Cyclery in Lyons. The bike feels like MY bike, cause Dave listens to what you want and helps build what suits you. I personally don't like the lightest possible bike, I like to race bikes I'd take out on the trail and beat the shit out of. So my tomac flint 29 race bike has a Reba 29 Maxle 20 mm thru axle fork attached, with a 185mm rotor up front, ergon grips, and for this race, was outfitted with Maxxis Ikon 29s. They are fast rolling and held up to the punishment of a ton of sharp, loose rocks. I was impressed. Upon getting the the finish line, you were greated by Dave Wiens himself. Hell yeah. If that wasn't enough, you were handed a custom growler, full of your favorite New Belgium beer (Ranger IPA for me), and a plate of food.

If this doesn't sound appealing, you probably don't like endurance racing. Or gorillas. My guess is you just tried to sign up for the race next year.

Ironman Texas

Well Ironman Texas is in the books. I finished, not what I wanted, but I finished. Another day that ended with "WHAT IS GOING ON WITH MY RUN"!

Besides my sub-par effort, the event was top notch. The course was absolutely beautiful, the spectators and volunteers were more than friendly and helpful, and the finish line was one of a kind. I also was blessed enough to have the best support crew that one could possibly ask for. Big time thanks to my wife Katherine (The planner, itinerary guru, and queen of much needed emotional support), Alex (The Local, Host, Driver, and laugh instigator), and last but not least Anthony (Motivator, and Keeper of all Positive Mojo) WHO IS RACING 70.3 HAWAII this weekend, Good Luck!!!!!

The course was absolutely amazing, the WTC nailed it on this one. If the event could be moved forward 3 weeks or so to late April or early May I believe it would be one of the fastest and sought out IM's on WTC's schedule.

The Swim was the swim, but at least it was an interesting course. A point to point swim that ended with the last 1/2 mile down a canal lined with cheering spectators. The well designed course made for mentally appeasing swim that felt as if it flew by. The floating start was fairly hectic with all the usual happenings: kicking, slapping, and jockeying for position. It took a while for me to settle in the swim, as I must have put myself in the "I can’t swim a straight line to save my life corral". After about ten minutes; however, it was pretty smooth sailing.

The Bike, my highlight of the event, was spectacular minus some of the worst DRAFTING I HAVE EVER SEEN. It was a one looper which I love. On the way out, the course stayed fairly flat, we were blessed with a slight tail wind and the silky smooth, fast rolling roads weaved through some beautiful forested areas. As we hit the turn around, about 2:25 in, we were headed back into the wind. However, it was a mild wind and coming from CO where the wind has been non-stop, it did not bother me too much. The roads at the turn around deteriorated a bit, but I knew if I kept a smooth consistent pace I would be fine. At about mile 90 a gentleman I had been riding around came up with a puncture and had no tools. (Don’t ask me?) I decided it would be good for my Karma to stop and give him my saddle bag and all that was within minus my one extra tube. I'm sure it took a couple of minutes but I felt it was a must. The rest of the bike ride I tried to fuel up and get ready for what was sure to be a Hot, Humid, and Tough RUN.

On to the run, ughhhh! After transition I was feeling fine, not great but fine. So, as in planning I told myself to grow into the run if I was not feeling it right away. During training I did many longer brick runs after a hard bike effort at 7:30's. I knew they were in me. However, on this day the 3:30 marathon was not to be had. I started a little over 8 and the pace was not looking like it would speed up. After around mile 10 I knew my legs were not going to be able to pick up the pace, so I conceded the KONA dream and relaxed into a slower more mentally appealing pace to the finish line. The finish line was bitter sweet. I was excited for it to be over and to finish another Ironman, but was more than disappointed by the end result. This has been a hard race to emotionally put behind me, but the disappointment will fade in time.

Overall fun event and spectacular race course!

I also realized that I do not have time to dwell on Texas being that my first Ultra is right around the corner (San Juan Solstice 50). So in 3 weeks time me and my funky fresh NEWTON TRAIL SHOES will be headed out for our first 50 Mile stroll through the San Juan's.

I could not even get to the start line if it were not for my sponsors and some of the people who have aided in my efforts. Thank you for everything you do for me and most of all for our sport!!!!

NEWTON (www.newtonrunning.com)
Maxxis (www.maxis.com)
Zeal Optics (www.zealoptics.com)
Redstone Cyclery (www.redstonecyclery.com)
Verge (www.vergesport.com)
Tomac (www.tomac.com)
TriBella (tribellas.com)

Xterra West Champs

Here are some quick pics of Jason and Josh at Xterra West Championships -
Josh placed 8th overall in the championship race, and was 2nd in his age group.
Jason took 4th overall in the sport race and placed 1st in his age group.

Great job guys!