Nationals Race Report

24hr racing lesson 1001: Never race when you have a cold and your significant other is recovering from the flu. The odds are against you ...

The numbers:
Laps completed: 6
Elevation climbed: ~9000ft
Miles ridden: 90

The Lead Up:
I had a great week in Moab leading up to the race but my immune system was low due to fighting the flu (that I brought home from work to Fraser) and I got a cold 4 days prior to race day. I was diligently eating zinc lozenges and vit C and come race day I didn't feel too bad - but I didn't feel great either. I decided to race anyway and see what happened.

You'd think it would be a no-brainer to say 'oh, i shouldn't race, i have a nasty cold that could turn into the flu'. But it isn't - we travelled all the way to Moab and this was US Nationals. It was my last race for the year, the course was super fun, etc, etc. I can list dozens of excuses for starting the race :)

The Race:
Off the start I wasn't feeling 'great'. My legs were fine but my lungs and body were achy and non-energetic. The run was slow and my first lap was slower than any of my pre-rides. I was really hot so I figured it was the heat ... I got an ice scarf and this seemed to help on my 2nd lap. I should have clued in at this point (needing an ice scarf at 75F or ~20C is not normal for me - this is my perfect racing temperature) .. but I didn't.

I described the race course in a previous post but i'll summarize here: mix in some sand, climbing, technical descents, slick rock, technical climbs, and fun fast 'hammer sections' and you have the course. It was 15 miles long and about 1500ft of climbing per lap. It was the most technical course I've ever ridden for a 24hr race - the technical climbs and descents were tough. Think Quebec Cup or Mt Ste Anne for the technical descents. It was a perfect course for the Norco Faze. The technical bits were my favorite part of the course by far ... likely because I was passing a lot of people here.

My 2nd and 3rd laps were marginally better and then it cooled down for the night. My laps were 15 -25 minutes longer than they should have been but I kept on pushing through. At 9pm I was in the top 5 and making ground. This gave me motivation to keep pushing even though I wasn't feeling great.

It's a good time now to talk about the pit. Fraser and Alan shared my pit and were racing as a tag-team. They were amazing in helping me while they weren't racing. I'd come in and ask for a few things and they would help as much as they could! We had a few mix-ups with lights but nothing major and we got it sorted out before I hit the course.

Around 10pm the coughing started. The course was dusty so this was somewhat normal. I'd been taking my puffer each lap but this lap I just couldn't stop coughing. My abs were more sore from coughing on this lap than from the technical sections (and that is saying something)! I had to stop.

I pulled into the pit, sat down, caught my breath enough to take the puffer about 5 times and after about 15 minutes stopped coughing. I knew the race was over. I was totally congested at this point with a major sinus headache, had a fever, and was moving very slowly around the course. My legs were the only part of me that felt good ...unfortunately you need all of you to continue racing!

Fraser's flu had turned into acute bronchitis so he was also done racing for the night. Alan was planning to do another 2 laps but was happy to pack it in. We packed the valuables in the truck and headed to the trailer. This is the first race that I had to stop due to something other than my stomach. And it's the first time that I knew, when I stopped, I wouldn't be going back. Racing with a cold is a very bad idea :)

And now I'm on the way home - I fly out today and Fraser will stay another week to enjoy the Moab riding. Back to work and the 'real world'. I definitely want to come to Moab and I really want to race there again - the course and I have something to settle. :)

Scoping out the course

Wow, I love Moab! The weather is a cooler than i expected but the riding is everything and more!

Our first ride here was to scope out the course. It's a tough course worthy of Nationals. It is a mix of sand and rocks (big surprise for anyone who has been riding in Moab) and has a few fairly technical sections (marked with XXX on the signs). Mix in some sand, a fair bit of climbing, some slickrock, fun fast descents, and lots of rocky bits, some technical descents, and you have the course.

Here is a photo of one of the 'rocky' sections. Rocky has a whole new meaning in Moab - the rocks are awesome as they offer a lot of good traction .. and they are HUGE. Actually Moab is just a series of big rodks with sand here and there. Not sure how the trees manage to survive but they do :)

2nd ride of the day was a loop they call 'baby steps' which was super fun technical singletrack. We had a great time playing on the slickrock and got some good photos! We had so much fun that we made it back just before dusk! Here is Fraser coming under a rock over-hang.

After the riding we were starving and found an awesome pasta joint in town. They serve huge servings which was just what we wanted!

Getting to Moab

Getting to Moab was an adventure in itself. The original plan had Fraser leaving on the 28th of September to come early and scope out the course. Unfortunately the truck was in the shop and took a bit longer than expected and then Fraser got the Flu! He was out sick for several days so I cancelled my flight and drove with him last weekend.

Our drive included:
- Running out of gas (never leave Seattle and go thru the mountain pass on 1/2 a tank of gas)
- Pouring rain
- Crazy snowstorms
- Hail the size of marbels
- More rain
and finally, blissfully, DUST :)

It was a crazy trip and we were glad to arrive in sunny, dusty Moab!

The countdown is on

Yup, it's that time again ... counting the days until US Nationals and getting excited!!! It will be an interesting race. A different (but still very competitive field) from Worlds with some of the same girls ... and a very different lead-up.

For Worlds i had oodles of races leading up to race day. This time around I've been only racing myself and it'll be interesting to see where that lands me - both mentally and physically. But aside from the racing ... I am going to Moab!!!

I've never been and am super excited. Exactly one week from today I'll be bound for Moab. One week and one day ... I'll be riding 'some of the best trails' in the world. Woot! I feel like a kid before christmas ... counting sheep ... oh wait, that's counting emails ... until i fall asleep :)