Levis Trow Race Report

This past Saturday had me standing in line for my first endurance race of the year – the 50 mile race at Levis Trow. I was really excited to get going. This was originally one of my “A” races and I had planned to do the 100 mile race. I hadn’t been feeling good and fresh leading up to this race so I downgraded the race priority and distance. Thank god for small blessings and rational thinking. I never would have finished the 100 miler.

The race was brutal. I had only ridden here once so I didn’t really know what to expect. The race website described the course as “more challenging than ever with technical singletrack and a few punishing climbs.” There is no better way to describe the course. Although it was hard, it was really fun with a lot of fast, windy trails with some great technical, rocky, rooty sections. If it hadn’t been for all the climbing, the course was perfect for my style of riding.

I had a number of goals: 1) finish; 2) work on keeping a positive mental attitude; 3) dial in race nutrition; and 4) only stop to fill up on water and food with no prolonged rests. I was very happy to accomplish all these goals. I also had reinforcements with me to hold me to this. My friend Nicole joined in the race and my friend Kim came as support for both of us.

I felt pretty good the first lap and tried to maintain a consistent and steady pace. I watched my heart rate and never felt like I was struggling. However, when I finished the first lap I felt like I was gong to throw up which meant I probably went at a harder pace than I thought. I stopped to refuel, chatted with my friend Kim (she said I was crabby), and was off for the second lap. That lap went pretty good but I realized I was getting slower. I kept reminding myself that my goal was to finish and not to worry about anything else. I had a few periods of silent whining but reminded myself that no one was making me do this and that of course an endurance race is going to be hard.

I came through the pit area again, filled up on water and food and was off for lap #3. I felt pretty crappy the entire lap and it seemed to take me forever. I had to work very hard to maintain a positive mental attitude. The race was taking me much longer than I thought it would, I was getting very tired and really just wanted to be done. But, I also did not want to quit and I was getting worried I wouldn’t be able to finish before dark. I also wasn’t sure if there was a time cut off to start my last lap. I asked the time keepers when I came through and they said I was fine. I chatted with Kim and Nicole and decided to go out again. I pushed it as hard as I could and was never happier to see the finish line knowing I accomplished my goals. I finished in 7 hours and 54 minutes and got third place with second place only about 15 minutes ahead of me.

I thought that I would try and describe why I do these crazy races but I’m not that good of a writer so I found a substitute. I read a blog written by an Alaskan endurance racer and she wrote an entry entitled “Why I like Endurance.” She describes it perfectly so enjoy and hopefully you’ll have a better understanding of what motivates me.

A big thanks to Kim and Nicole for being there. It was a long day for all of us and really appreciated having you there!