2022 Gravel Revival Race/Ride Report

OK a week late but wanted to post on the last gravel event of the year.

Rode The Gravel Revival in Hickman City TN.  This is a great event on a good , and challenging, course that contains all types of gravel and some steep climbs and descents.  The even is both a race - only awards to top three men and top three women - and ride - no placings but a clock at the finish for an official time you can see - which is great as with the different distances and less of an all out focus on being a race it is a good place to have a chill ride if that is what you want.  Also, a good end of the season place to meet people one only gets to meet at these events.

For me I had thought about riding hard but since just before the Bourbon Chase Relay  I have been fighting a sinus issue that just lingers and with the ever changing weather - was down to 26 at one point then back up to 80 - it just keeps hanging around.  So as the day approached I thought I would just ride and see how it went but focus on a good paced ride that was more chill.  When I got to the race and saw the race started up a gravel hill, that while ridable with all the other riders it was going to be a challenge and one if you wanted to ride hard you would need to go out at a good pace on, so I decided to just take it as it came.  I made the mistake of not warming up as I usually do and paid for it for the fist mile of climbing but after 5 miles or settled in.  Not sure if after about 5 miles and settling in with a group if we passed anyone, other than those who flatted and there were lots of those - more on that later - or were passed by anyone but those who flatted trying to keep riding hard.  Our group which was probably about 8 or so to start dwindled as we went on for varius reasons and we finished with 4 of us.  By the way the finishes was at the bottom of the hill you climbed to start which made for some fun - well fun for those who are good at descending on dirt:)

BMTR Teammate Jeff and I

Samuel's and My Bike

As far as pace this is a hard race as while the total climbing at 5300+ feet was not excessive as compared to some rides I have done the nature of the climbs and the speed, or should I say lack of it, up them was a difference.  Most all the steep climbs were far from hard pack gravel and steep enough, up to 16% I saw on RideWithGPS, to really slow the pace.  This is always a fun time as on my Orbea I have a 2X with a 50/34  and 11 speed 11/32 the climbs can be a challenge.  I joked with those in our group that on the climbs I was not trying to get away but with my gearing - as most had at least a 1:1 ratio - I had to go at that speed to just keep moving.  The point is that the course dictates the pace even with comparable climbing on other rides - I was much faster at Gravel Worlds but while lots of climbing and 153 miles the climbs are shorter and faster - even if lots of them.

Another chill side of the ride is that usually with rides this length I can pass on aid stations and for this had planned at most to hit the last one at about 49 miles for water. However, here I stopped at both as was with a group and good to stop with the group and they would end up catching me anyway as it is much faster in a group.  Also, for me as these events are pretty much the  extent of my gravel riding, most my training is either on Zwift or the road, I am not the best at the terrain on the down hills so good to follow other wheels.  I find when I am alone descending I am much slower , and I mean very much slower, even though following others still has it dangers as I hit a few rocks did not see coming but still faster.  

Terrain wise this ride seems to have it all, pavement, dirt, nice gravel, deep gravel, a creek crossing, a short ride down a creek, steep gravel climbs and downhills, mud and lots of ricks and leaves.  One thing that was not too bad was no really rutted downhill sections to speak of which are always very slow for me.  I did find that the leaf covered roads made it hard to see the hidden obstacles and hit a few.  Have read that polarized sun glasses can create problems picking out hazards.  I think when you couple that with age - already have issues with death perception - the glasses added to that.  Wanted to take them off then right when I was about to got hit in the face with rocks, bugs and other debris so left them on.  Need to look, pun intended, into this for future rides like this.

I had mentioned lots of flats and I avoided them.  I contribute this to my set up.  I ride Enve G23 X 700c wheels with SK+ 38mm Panaracer Tyres  (for Gravel Worlds I used the SS+ in 38 with no Cush Cores as not needed) installed with Cush Core CX inserts and Stans No-Tubes Sealant.  By the way I am not sponsored by any of these companies - would not pass it up if offered:). I had pretty much the same set up last year - a different tyre - and again this year a number of times I hit some rocks very hard and was sure I was going to get a flat and did not.  Can't say if it was the Tyres, the inserts or the sealant but can say all together for this course it was the best set up.  What I gained in rotating weight I saved in not flatting.

As far as nutrition I had gone into this wanting to take in more carbs due to wanting to ride hard.  Once I change my focus to a more chill ride I worked to make sure to take in enough water and carbs as my body felt like it needed.  So from this below is what I took in before and during the ride.  I did take in more before the ride than I thought but as was eating with friend I probably ate more than planned - a good 3 hours before - but not a big deal just meant the tank were for sure topped up:

Pre-Ride:
- Modified Bullet Proof Coffee
- 1/2 cup of oatmeal
- 1/2 cup cream of wheat
- 1ea hard boiled egg
- 1ea Vespa

Pre-Ride Totals
- Calories - 932
- Carbs -  66 g
- Protein - 41 g
- Fat - 55 g

Ride Fueling:
- 3 - 24 oz Bottles of Water
- 1ea Scoop Tailwind
- 1ea Scoop KetoFuels (for salts)
- 1ea -  SIS Gel
- 1ea - Bit-O-Honey

Ride Totals
- Calories - 232
- Carbs - 57 g
- Protein - 0
- Fat - 0

So this was a great way to end the season and while the ride is not quite as easy as I might like it is a great way to end things.  Have to say that I was feeling a little tired and see that this has been a long year of training and probably natural to feel a little this way at the end.  Was nice to push it a little as we did not go slow but to also not race it and thus finish feeling tired but overall good.

Lessons learned to take into the coming year:

• Warmup , Warmup and Warmup - I need to warmup if the initial effort is to be hard.  In this case the uphill start was going to be hard no matter the desired effort as it just was hard and not warming up was nto good
• Work on fueling as I think I need more carbs for races but need to figure out how I take them in and make sure I actually do so often I just go and forget.  I think next time I am going to put the gels I want in a container and take them form that as opening them and such is just a pain on gravel
• Also, need to work on getting my overall diet more consistent as I had a number of times I went off the rails, well for me off the rails, and while I know I stay fat adapted I just do not feel as good as I want.
• Continue to work on my gravel riding - not sure my downhill skill will ever get great as I just have no desire to crash so for sure hold back.
• Training needs to be periodized more as in the past I usually did 3-4 weeks of training then 1 rest week.  This year I had some rest weeks but not as planned as they needed to be.  Usually came due to work or smoother circumstance and not when I often really needed them
• Adjust milage for next year as I want to run more for some 50k’s so need to ratchet back some on the riding and not feel like it is an issue.  Truth is I need long rides and not necessarily lots of overall miles.  So will look at more quality rides and then make sure to get in the long ones I need both for endurance and mentally to prepare for Gravel Worlds
  

So one last item as this is one of those small world stories. After the race when everyone was hanging out and having fun and recovering I saw a young man, sorry I forgot his name and should have written it down, in a jersey I was surprised to see. I saw it and had to go talk him as you see I raced for that team in the late 80’s - early 90’s and this was one of our original jerseys.  Boston Bicycles was a shop in Costa Mesa California that I rode for years ago.  Imagine seeing this jersey out in Hickman Cty TN. When I asked where he got it his dad said he found it for a dollar at a Goodwill, I think in Nashville.  Who would have guessed I would see that jersey again , let alone at a gravel ride in TN.  NOW THAT IS COOL

Now to get ready for the year to come.

2022 Bourbon Chase Relay Race Report

This past weekend (Sept 30- Oct 1, 2022) I took part in the Ragnar Bourbon Chase Relay.  This relay, which is like the Hood to Coast Relay I did a few years ago, was 214 miles long and is run by a 12 person team separated into two vans - I was runner #9 in Van #2.  Our team, Southern Express, was entered in the Men's Masters (40+) category.  While some teams may work to have a team as young as possible we for sure cover the full age range in that we have runners in their 40’s, 50's & 60's - in our van, Van #2, we had three runners - including myself - that were 63 and over.  

Here is our full team with ages:

• Adam Bourne 45
• Joe Bell 41
• George Corder 57
• Arnold Tempel 40
• Kevin Hetrick 43
• Nathan Frey 46
• DR Swanner 65
• Willie Dick 58
• Jeff Golden 53
• Tony Duncan 52
• George Gill 65
• Tony Konvalin 63

Basically, each person is to run 3 legs, of varying distance from around 3 miles up to the longest which was 12+ miles,  and they alternate non-stop over the course of quite a few hours - our time was at 27:45.  There is some time to sleep but very little as I think I may have at best gotten 2 hours sleep during the race.  Our team finished 3rd in the Men’s Masters race and 11th overall so that was great and more than that it was a great deal of fun running with a great group of guys.

I had been ready for this race but after getting back from So Cal where it was at a 100F+ it was 80F here in KY and a day or so later it was in the 40’s for a low and I got a pretty good head cold.  This is a pretty usual occurrence when the wether changes due to my sinuses but how bad or quick it comes on depends on the degree of the weather change.  Mostly dealing with post nasal drip and a slight cough I figured I would do my best as the alternative was being a man short and that was not acceptable.  Thankfully while tired from the head cold it was not too bad except for some coughing after the leg but other than that better than expected.

Here is a run down of the legs I ran, and on map, with the first two in the dark - with Strava links:

• Leg 9 - started around 7:30PM  ( https://www.strava.com/activities/7891943800/overview ) and was 7.64 miles with about 390Ft of climbing and averaged 7:00/mile
• Leg 21 - started at 3:05AM ( https://www.strava.com/activities/7892789316/overview ) and was 5.75 miles with 259ft of climbing at 7:06/mile
• Leg 33 - started at 11:55AM ( https://www.strava.com/activities/7895697870/overview ) and was 7.84 miles with 525ft of climbing and averaged 7:26/mile
• Leg 36 - this was an extra leg as we had called up someone last minute to fill in and he was not ready to run three legs so as it worked out I took the last one.  So after about 2 hours rest this leg started at 2:10pm (  https://www.strava.com/activities/7896290944/overview ) and was 4.74 miles with 180ft of climbing and averaged 7:28/mile.

Looking back over the splits I was very happy with the first two legs and the 3rd one, when looking at the climbing and that there was a strong headwind for much of it, was not too bad.  As far as the last leg while I wanted it to be faster in truth as I had been feeling some cramping in my hamstring on the 3rd leg I just ran so as to not cramp and have to walk - so finished strong.  I ran a Toal of 25.8 of racing miles and about 1.2 of some warmup miles.

The last time I ran a relay like this I ended up with Plantar Fasciitis for two years due to the issues created by hoping in a van after running hard.  But this time round I had no such issues and am sure it is a combination of my change in diet as well as riding more which helped to balance some muscle issues and also changing shoes I have been using since - Topos.  So while I ended still with my head cold and a cough and some soreness - to be expected with the miles and effort - I came out in great shape.  Even got in a couple good paced rides on Zwift the Monday and Tuesday after the race and a couple 4 mile runs.

As far as fueling I would say this was sort of a take in what I could as a little hard to control everything.  Where OFM comes in is that I did not really need all that much and never felt all that hungry.  I did take a Vespa a couple times during the race - before Leg 2 and Leg 3.  As for the rest here is what I can remember that I took in and you will see that it was more carb heavy than normal but did not create any issues:

• Lunch on the way to first leg (3:00PM Friday) - Hamburger, yes ate the bun, and a backed potato with butter.
• Just took the Vespa before my first leg which was leg 9 and had a little bit of Tailwind
• After, we fished leg 12 our van went back to a hotel and had the following - 6: meat subway sandwich, again ate the bun, some chips and a couple cups of coffee.  Also had a Vespa before second leg. - leg 21.
• After my second leg - leg 21 - and getting done with leg 24 we went back to the hotel for breakfast at about 7AM and had some eggs, sausage, ham and a few mini chocolate donuts and some coffee.  Did have a few potatoes but they were sort of spicy so decided to not finish them.
• Before my third leg, legs 33, I had an SIS Isotonic Gel and a swig of coke.  Afterwards I had a 16oz Gatorade as we were out of water and needed something
• Then before my last leg I again had an SIS Isotonic Gel and a swig of coke.
• During all this I was taking in water and some tailwind but in this I am pretty sure I did not take in enough electrolytes as while to me not hot was sweating quite a bit but just lost track of keeping up with the electrolytes.

Once again I am seeing that my OFM diet and fueling is working great and my use of riding to help my running is also working great.

Lessons Learned:

• I still need to dial in my hydration and electrolytes - especially when not too hot as tend to drink less
• Make sure I bring enough water as like to avoid the sugary drinks but take them if all I can get.
• Loosen up a little more at each stop - tend to just veg to rest but then tighten up

Looking forward to doing this again as the whole thing is a great time with some great people.

Thanks to our sponsors:

• Southern Belle Dairy  
• Alton Blakely

Also, thanks to Nathan Frey who arranged the whole thing and it takes a lot of organizing