Thursday, September 26, 2013

Fool's Gold 50


The Chicken

“The chicken was crossing the road.”  My friend and fellow racer Madonna explained why the neutral start slowed down at one point during the Fool’s Gold 50 mile race on Saturday, September 7.  I heard this, and nearly snorted water at the person next to me on the post-race drive back to our cabin.  We were euphoric with finishing a long day, some longer than others, and this conversation kicked off the silliness for the evening. 

The Fool’s Gold 50 mile race started out of the Montaluce Winery and Estates in Dahlonega, GA.  Racers rolled out behind a lead car onto pavement in the early morning haze.  We dipped into a small hollow and the pack slowed down.  A mother hen and 12 chicks needed to cross the road.  That friendly ethic typified the positive race atmosphere.  Fellow racers were courteous, volunteers helpful, and the course was a mix of gravel road finishing with a nice amount of smooth, speedy, fall in love with mountain biking single-track.

On alert for racers

I set out at a pace that my legs agreed to, and settled into gravel road climbing and descending.  A group of us went back on forth, single speeders and geared riders, and made for some entertainment.   People made way on the descents and the climbs, and there was plenty of room for passing and being passed. After some time and 18 miles in I refilled my pack with Infinit and my legs woke up.

After the second aid station I started coming up on some familiar riders including my friend Jana and then I closed in on my good friend Madonna.  People in Charlotte know Madonna as MC.  I met Madonna, who I’ll refer to as MC for the rest of this story, when I first began mountain biking.  MC was one of my mountain biking heroines.  She still is.  She’s fast, a great technical downhiller, wicked climber, and race savvy. And best of all, she is a kind and thoughtful person.  Except maybe when she is racing.

MC in race mode

So I pass MC and the next 10 miles become the best 10 miles of the race.  MC and I killed it on the single-track.  We passed men, women, chickens, birds, you name it, we were flying.  We saw Elsa, stalwart and steady, as she was pedaling her way in the 100 mile race.  Elsa looked happy and the day was beautiful. 

Happy Elsa

Late in those ten miles I felt my bike get a bit squirrely on the turns. It’s an odd feeling when your tire wants to jump off the rim.  I realized that my rear tire was low.  Too low.  And MC was hot on my wheel.

Smiling MC

I got a few seconds ahead and checked my mileage.  We were at about 43 to 44 miles and there was one more aid station at mile 47.  I decided to risk rolling my tire off the rim and kept going.  The berms and curves got a little interesting and my legs started to feel the pace.

At mile 47 or so the singletrack ended on gravel road, and the aid station was in sight.  I shouted for a pump, and the volunteers leapt into action.  They finished putting air in my tire just as MC came up and went by me.  I jumped on, and tore after her.  Whereby we both ended up racing into a dead end.  Classic, eh? 

Dead End?

The course markings were a bit confusing to us so we worked together to figure out where to go.  We turned around and started back to the aid station.  MC spotted 2 riders just below the road and we saw the trail entry.

We dropped into the trail and went after those two racers.  We passed them, and then MC and I traded positions back and forth.  My legs were protesting.  I blew by a hairpin turn onto singletrack and MC called out to warn me. I turned and followed her up, and further up another trail.

At mile 50 my legs had had enough.  MC passed me, and when she did, she made it count.  I fought  and suffered the last four miles on the gravel and paved roads to the finish.  I may have passed a chicken coop but saw no sign of the chickens.  They probably had the good sense to get in the shade by that time of day.  


Warm, sleepy baby chicks.

Finally, after a turn onto the vineyard property, the black finish archway appeared, and I was done. 

Later, sitting in pool near the finish line and feeling more coherent, I looked around and saw happy, tired racers enjoying the post race food, camaraderie, and sharing that blissful feeling of having spent a good day in the woods.  It was an awesome day racing with teammates and friends.  And next time I'll have that chicken for dinner.



Thanks Coach Chad for your coaching, and Infinit for your reliable nutrition. Thanks also to Eddie O’Dea for organizing the FoolsGold event. 


Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Have you had a Functional Assessment lately?

As you enter the off-season of XC racing and start thinking of training plans to prepare for 2014, consider having a functional assessment performed.  Whether you’re a mountain biker, road cyclist, triathlete, runner, or just a recreational enthusiast there is always room for improvement and an injury prevention plan is needed.  
Since joining the TotalCyclist team, I have had the honor of meeting and working with Mark Kane, MS, PT, CSCS, OMT.  Mark is the owner of Kane Training.  He has been practicing physical therapy for over 15 years.  Mark Kane is a Functional Movement Screen (FMS) Certified Specialist that develops injury prevention and performance enhancement programs.
 The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) is based on years of sound science, innovation, and current research by Gray Cook and Lee Burton.  They wanted to develop a tool that would improve communication and collaboration between physical therapy, strength and conditioning and athletic training.  The FMS is a ranking and grading system that documents movement patterns that are key to normal function.  If you can screen these patterns, then you can identify functional limitations and asymmetries.  Having these issues can reduce the effects of functional training, performance, physical conditioning and distort body awareness. 






Mark Kane generates your personal Functional Movement Screen Score after evaluating various stretches and exercises.  The score is used to target problems and track progress.  After review, he uses the score to create a plan that includes the most beneficial corrective exercises to restore mechanically sound movement patterns.  You know what that means?  Strength and performance!
Fall is the perfect time to have a Functional Assessment! It is easy to incorporate the corrective exercises into your off-season training plan.  I just had my Assessment a few weeks ago and I am super excited to get to work and strengthen my “weak” links.  Check out Kane training at http://www.kanetraining.com/ 
Appointments with Mark Kane for a Functional Assessment Screen can be made by emailing him at mark@kanetraining.com
Mention TotalCyclist MTB team for a special discount!

Friday, September 20, 2013

Those Who Seek Shall Find: Fools Gold 100...my first hundy

Leah Mitcham and Me before the start
Last year I decided to test the waters of endurance racing. It was my first season training with TotalCyclist coach, Luke Sagur. Anyone who knows Luke not only knows what an incredible cyclist he is himself, but they also know that he has a way of empowering people and making them believe they can conquer anything. After completing Jerdon Mountain Challenge and Fool's Gold 50 last year, I decided for 2014 I would go all out...Fool's Gold 100...my very first hundy. See, this is what happens when you're surrounded by cycling rock stars. You constantly push and challenge yourself to do more...to get stronger...to do better.

What's great about Fool's Gold is that the race venue is at Montaluce Winery and Estates in Dahlonega, GA, so the race course winds through the Blue Ridge Mountains of the Chattahoochee National Forest. There are the usual gravel road climbs, but the single track is amazing. The best part is the swimming pool at the start/finish.

Although we were unable to snag the Scorpion House we rented last year, we still managed to find a cool little cabin close to the race venue. The Scorpion House was where Leah Mitcham got stung four times the night before Fool's Gold 2013. Who knew there were scorpions in GA. They're everywhere there! This year's house was dubbed The House of Poo because of the lovely smell of poop coming from the water (which later dissipated...a little).

Met some cuties at packet pickup

I never sleep well the night before a big race...especially if I'm away from home. After rolling around, getting startled by gunshots in the middle of the night and then rolling around some more, I was glad to finally hear my alarm go off at 4:30 am. By 6 am, we rolled into Montaluce Winery. It was still dark, and I made a mental note to bring a headlamp or flashlight if I returned next year, which reminded me that I had made the same mental note the year before and had forgotten.

The 100's were scheduled to start at 7am and the 50's would go 30 minutes after. The butterflies had already started to gather in my tummy...the usual times 100! I saw my coach and got a big hug and a pep talk. Then I rolled over to the start. I parked myself somewhere in the middle and realized this was the first race where I didn't know a single sole around me. Just as real panic started to kick in, my teammate Chris rolled up and gave me a hug & wished me luck. Then we were off!

The goal was to stay steady and to make sure I kept up with my nutrition. Garmin indicated that I had been out for 1:30, and so far I was doing a stellar job with both. All the sudden I feel a pat on my back and hear hootin and hollerin going on behind me. It's my teammate Chris and my coach Luke...in a five man train of sheer speed and power...the lead group for the 50! All I saw was a blur of black and white with a bit of yellow (Chris' shoes) and hot pink (Luke's socks). I wasn't quite sure what just happened, but I was certain that was one of the coolest things I had ever seen! They had passed me like I was standing still!

I felt super strong for about 5 hours. I was relieved to know that the cold I had caught a couple of weeks earlier wasn't really dragging me down. My Infinit nutrition was doing its job, my bike was still functioning properly (thanks to the guys at Bicycle Sport) and I was listening to my jams. Hour 6 was when I noticed a drop in my energy level, and each hour after that I experienced a small decline. People told me it would happen, and I believed them. I was told that I would probably go to a dark dark place and to just keep fighting because it would pass. The problem was that this was the very first time I would experience such a feeling, and I had no idea exactly how dark this place was that I was heading towards...the dreaded unknown!

So there I was...hour 8. I had pedaled by ass to misery. Everything was hurting...most of all my hiney and my forearms (which felt like bloody nubs). While trying to stay on top of my nutrition, I may or may not have taken in too much. The once hard-core mountain biker that had sprouted wings had now morphed into a bloated billy goat. All I wanted to do was get off my bike, so I did.

I pushed my bike, for what seemed like an eternity, up some gravel. I went into deep thought about everything from chamois cream and how someone should add some kind of numbing agent into the ingredients to what kind of rat's nest my ponytail would be in when I was finished. That made me think about finishing and how I might not actually do it. I wished I could remember what the cutoff times were. Maybe I should have written those down somewhere. Maybe I should've worn a watch...hmmm bad idea...my road ID (which I wore in case I keeled over) was already rubbing a gnarly raw spot on my wrist. I was starting to accept that I might just have to quit early, which made my heart sink a little more.

Maria from Missouri & Me about to cross the finish
Just as I crested the top of a hill and turned the corner, I saw someone else (Maria from Missouri) pushing her bike. I'm sure we both had the same miserable look on our faces...hers from having not eaten enough and mine from having eaten too much! What a pair! We decided to stick together for the remaining 30ish miles. It was so nice to have a buddy with me. Maria and I just barely made the time cutoffs and were so relieved to know that we would definitely finish all 100 miles. As we pedaled closer to the finish, we were greeted by my awesome friends who cheered us all the way up the hill. How sweet of them to have waited for me! I was so happy to see their smiling faces, and crossing the finish was such an incredible feeling of accomplishment. With a final pedal stroke, all the pain and fatigue was gone in an instant.

They say while practicing yoga you'll find yourself...that you learn things about yourself because it's just you and your mat. As one of my instructors once said, "it's you sitting in your own shit (figuratively of course) with no one else to blame". When you have to hold a posture for 90 seconds, you figure out really fast that the only way to get through it is to be present...to open your heart and your mind and find the calm and the stillness that will power you through. The same is true for racing 100 miles. It's just you and the bike. You find the power within yourself to get through each mile. I definitely found a lot more of myself out there. I found out that my body can do a whole lot more than my mind thinks it can. I found my chi on the mountain bike, and I certainly want to do it again...a few more times!

Terry Gleason and Me at the finish
Terry Gleason and Me after the finish
Thank you to our awesome sponsors: TotalCyclist, Mark Kane (Kane Training), Bicycle Sport, Giordana, Infinit Nutrition, Meg Art, Carolina Realty Advisors and OTR. Also, a very special thank you to Luke Sagur (such a fantastic coach). I could not have done any of this without your help.





Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Terry Slifer



Terry Slifer holds a USAC Cat3 road race and a Cat 1 Mtn Bike race license.  

Race Bike:  Trek Superfly 100SL

Terry grew up traveling the world.  His father was a CIA Officer and Mother was a photojournalist. “I grew up mostly in third world countries in S.E. Asia, bikes were omnipresent and usually the main mode of transportation.  Bicycles where the one common thread that held the chaos of my childhood together.  Bikes where like a universal passport that could gain you entry and acceptance, regardless of the country I was dropped in, I could get on my bike and fit in”.  

An experienced and well-rounded athlete: Terry is an accomplished runner, skier and surfer; he has through hiked the Appalachian Trail (North Bound), and was a three-year letterman in lacrosse at Hobart College.  Terry ran competitively for many years and transitioned into triathlon until shoulder injuries and surgery turned his focus to the bike.  Terry began road racing in 2011 and mountain bike racing in 2012.   

Christa Thomas

Christa Thomas holds a USAC Cat 2 license and has been mountain biking for three years. 

Christa began mountain biking in 2008. It started off slow – lots of blood, bruises and scars, but for some reason that didn’t stop her.  She is a professional photographer covering the NASCAR series.  Christa is also pursuing a second bachelor’s degree in Health Promotion and plans to continue on and become a registered dietician.

2014 Race Bike:  Specialized StumpJumper

Best Mountain Bike Ride: “All of them! Last year, Jamie and I had a chance to ride in Sedona, AZ. We met amazing locals who took us on a tour of the trails. The riding is so different from North Carolina! It was beautiful and fun and I can’t wait to go back!”


Best Road Ride: “My favorite road ride to date has been in San Francisco. Being able to ride across the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, then climb Mt. Tam and see all of San Fran from high above was amazing.”

Jay Forgione

Jay holds a USAC Cat 2 racing license and has been racing off-road for three years.

2014 Race Bike:  Niner EMD

Favorite Race:   All of them. I always find something I like about every race.

Why Race? "I like the challenge, physically and mentally."

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Rob Corbett

Rob Corbett holds a USAC Cat 1 license and has been racing for two years.

2014 Race Bike:  Cannondale Flash 1

Favorite race:  Snake Creek Gap time trials in GA

Why I ride:  "I ride to challenge myself physically and mentally. Riding mountain bikes gives me clarity and clears my mind from the everyday challenges of life and brings me back to a simpler time.  Regardless of race results at the end of the day I am an adult riding a bicycle with a smile on my face."

Christy Blakely

Christy Blakely holds a USAC Cat 2 license and this is her first year racing as a mountain biker.

2014 Race Bike:  Eriksen 650B hardtail

Why race?   " I have traditionally been a road rider and raced aggressively on the road during the 2008, 2009, and 2010 seasons, primarily focusing on criterium racing.  I took a few years off racing to take advantage of career opportunities and to let a severe pinched nerve in my neck heal.  I have been married for 4 years to my long-time friend and riding companion, John Koury.  My husband has encouraged my discovery of mountain biking and we have increasingly enjoyed trail riding together.  In 2014, I look forward to advancing my mtb technical skills and challenging myself in cross country races and team relay/duo endurance events."