It has been a few days but as I have mentioned before I like to do these race/ride reports as they may help others but to tell the truth they help me to look back and see what I can do the next time to make a race/ride better. Or, simply do again if it was a success.
This trip out to Colorado to do the
Rad 110 (well it was 112miles) had a dual purpose. Of course there was being able to ride some gravel roads in the mountains of Colorado - but to tell the truth this is a double edged sword. While I get the joy of some great roads and scenery it also comes with less air - Altitude, more on this later. Then the other purpose - and truly one that I looked forward to even more - was to see Tim Barnes, and his wife. I ran with Tim my last year (1981) at the University of Arizona - well I ran with him in workouts but he was way faster than me so not close in races:) Truth be told I did not really talk to Tim much at the time back then as he had just come in as a transfer to the UofA and I was ready to drop out of school as it was just not working out for me. So the interesting part of this was I had chatted to Tim back and forth on FB more than I probably did when we ran on the same team in 1981. For sure in my 5 days staying with him in Pueblo CO we talked much more.
The thing that got Tim and I talking a few years ago was that we have a similar view on fat adaption and using fat as fuel. Tim has a business called
M360 - started as
Therafit - and he works with a number of people trying to get them to work to burn fat by training at HR levels that are beneficial for doing so. I did not realize it but they also have a restaurant - one of 4 people in his wife’s family own - called
Pass Key Italian Restaurant. If you are in the area check it out as they have a great sausage sandwich. We had some great talks and did one of his classes as well as a nice 75 mile gravel ride the last day I was there.
Now to the ride at the RAD 110 that I did on September 30th, 2023 which, as I said was 112 miles and my GPS said about 8900ft of vert even though the maps and race info said 10,000ft+ and most had over 9K on their GPS's. While I really like the roads out here in Colorado I am not so fond of the altitude as it does not play that well with me living at 750ft or so and then add in Exercised Induced Asthma it makes for an interesting ride. When I add in that I have been pretty tired since my getting sick and going to the ER in July my plan for this ride was to just put it in an easy gear and twiddle up the climbs as easy as I could so as not to have breathing issues. With altitude once you red-line and get into oxygen debt it can be hard to get back. When I did Steamboat 2 years ago I went a little harder but still took it easy on the climbs - just part of the ride:) By the way I share this not as an excuse but to say often you need to weigh your condition and other factors and ride smart. Could I have just gone for it - probably - but then while I may have got a few places better I would not have enjoyed it and last I checked I don’t get paid for this or get a check for placing in my age group. Don’t get me wrong I am competitive and do want to win my AG when I can but I also am trying to learn to be smarter about things.
I had done a couple rides before the race, one gravel and one on the spin bike during one of Tim’s classes, in Pueblo when I got there and for sure felt the altitude some as Pueblo is at about 4700ft. We then headed down to Trinidad early Friday so as to get out to get in a little ride. We went to do the first part of the ride and while we had heard the course was “buttery smooth” there was a more technical part for about 2+ miles starting at about the 5-6 mile point - sure enough there was. It was nothing I have not seen here in KY but was pretty rocky and slippy on the short uphills so if you lost traction or got the incorrect line you would be off. As my bike’s smallest gear is a 36 X 32 I have to make sure I keep it moving, and quickly, on this type of terrain or I will lose traction and be stopped. Was glad we did this as it then did not come as a surprise as we had to do it twice - going out then in the last 10 miles coming back.
Race morning was nice as not too cold but there was a call for some good wind - well only good if at your back which it did not seem to be all too often. Also, as the sun came up you could see some ominous clouds out where we would be. The race had a neutral start but not sure it helped much as we went out on a bike trail that could only take about 3 across at best and with 250 or so riders that really strung it out and when we got to the end of the bike trail and maybe 1/4 mile from gravel they let everyone go so was already far back. Not that I would race with those up front it does make for a more lonely ride when it stretches out so quickly early on. Got through the double track pretty well and exited the rougher section for the first steep hill that was on a road and by now things were even more strung out quite a ways. After the climb which topped out at 10 miles the next 10 miles led to another climd that was on gravel and had some steep pitches then back to nice gravel roads that gradually went uphill to 30 miles where we hit the 50+ plus mile loop than would come back to the 30 mile point.
It was from this point that we would climb up to 8900+ft, the high point of the course, and in this was a 5+ mile climb that was not too steep - till the top - but was on a rougher dirt/grave road. I felt like I needed to go better on this but also knew that after this climb was a descent then another good climb. This next climb was on better roads but into a headwind and it started to rain. This climb was such that when we reached about 70 miles it was going to be largely downhill. Never rained too hard but enough to get the roads wet and got cooler out and had thunder and lightening. Thankfully as we went around the loop the rain subsided - even if the wind did not.
From 70 miles it was a good downhill where one could keep a good pace but did get sections where it was windy enough that the same effort that allowed for 23-25 mph went to 18-19mph. While riding uphill into a head wind is not pleasant there is something about having to work going downhill due to a head wind. On the way back I thought I remembered a short steep climb at 20 miles but it was not as bad as I thought so held back more than needed. The next climb I knew was hard was at just before 12 miles to go and while only 1 mile long did go into double digits for percentage climb. Once to the top of the hill mentally it was much better as had only about 12 miles to go and that included the double track in the other direction. Did OK on this but for one line I goofed up on but held it up so was glad for that. Once back onto the gravel roads I rode in with Darin Sand who I had been riding with for about the last 25+ miles - sure was nice to have company for those last miles. But, the fun was not over as instead of going back in ‘exactly” the same way we came out they had us circle back in and this included 3 climbs that at least two of them had double digits percentages and the last one showed up at 16+% for one part. With the overcast skies - sure glad finished before it rained - it was getting darker than I am used to for finishing a race. As it started at 9AM and me riding in at 8:50:24 it was close to 6PM. I ended up 190th OA out of 249 (29 DNFs included in that) and 5th in the 60-64 AG out of 8 - looks like I was the oldest rider in the 110 miler.
Overall while I had thought I would have gone faster and placed better when I look back I am happy with how things went. I had no mechanicals, did not get hurt, was able to run the next day and ride a 75 miler the day after that - so that is all good. Also, in looking at the ride I think this was one where pretty much everyone who attempted it was in good shape as with the time cuts and starting late as well as the winds it probably dissuaded a few to go down to the 70 miler. Would I do this race again - maybe, but would need to be feeling better as with the altitude there is no room for just being tired since then you start at a disadvantage. I was also happy that while I still got dropped on some descents I did much better so as not to lose as much distance as usual.
As far as fueling I think I got it right as stopped just twice to top up my water and get some coke at one stop and ginger ale at another. Also, they were pretty quick stops so that was good. Here is my fueling for the pre-ride and ride which used
Vespa as a mainstay. One of the great parts of
OFM and being fat adapted is recovery is so much quicker as less oxidative damage is done as not needing so many carbs. Of course if I had ridden harder I would have used more carbs but would still be much lower than I am guessing most others on the rides:
Pre-Race Fuel:- Modified BP Coffee
- Small Bowl Oatmeal W/Ghee and Cream
- Vespa Ultra 30 minutes before race
- UCAN Gel - 30 Minutes before
- Vespa Jr. Right before start
Totals: - 852 - Cals
- 65g - Carbs
- 55g - Fat
- 25g - Protein
Race Fuel:- 12 Bonk Breaker Chews - Approx one every 1/2 hour after first hour (missed a few)
- 5 oz Coke
- 6 oz Ginger Ale
- 2 Packs Sugar Free Liquid IV
- 2 Scoops Tailwind Naked
- 1 Scoop Tailwind Mandarine
- 139oz water
- 3 Vespa Ultra (1 every 2 hours - forgot last one at 8 hours)
Here is the 3D map of the Race:
Here is the Strava info for the ride:
Rad 110 Race
The day after the race I went for an easy run -
here - and once I got going felt OK. Then the next day I went out with Tim to do a longer gravel ride in the Foothills of Pueblo. The original plan was for 100 miler with a 12 mile climb in it. However after some thought we went for less climbing and a shorter ride. Initially the ride was going to be ab out 60 miles but once we were done it ended up being 75 miles and about 3400ft of vert. It was a windy day but really nice out and while when done was good and tired but that should be expected with all the riding in the last few days. Here is the Strava data for the
Foothill ride and here is the 3D map of the ride:
Also, as this was supposed to only be 60 miles I had not planned for much in the way of calories, relying mostly just on
Vespa, so near the end, after the expected miles, had a few gels but felt good. Here is the fueling for this ride:
Pre-Ride Fuel:- Coffee w/cream
- 1 Vespa Ultra 1/2 hr before
- 1 Vespa JR at start
Totals:- 156 Cals
- 16g - Carbs
- 11g - Fat
- 1g - Protein
Ride Fueling:- 64oz Water
- 1.5 scoops Tailwind Naked
- 1/2 Packet Sugar Free Liquid IV
- 2 Bonk Breaker Gels
- 2 Vespa Ultra (@2hrs and 4.25 Hrs)
Totals:- 233 Cals
- 59g - Carbs
- 0g - Fat
- 0g - Protein
So that ended a good week and headed home the day after the long ride and was able to even get in a nice 5 miler on the way home -
here.
Lessons Learned- On drier course like this - yes even with rain - it was dry in enough to make my drive train sound like it was grinding metal - I need to take some lube with me as on the way back the aid stations had shut down the bike mechanic part.
- Need to get out a little faster even if it burns a few matches early as being so far back I end up on my own for way too long and too early. Thus either go slow alone or work hard alone to catch up - never happens - and still burn matches.
- Work on being more positive early as in longer races I tend to just focus on how far to go and I know I will feel better later as pretty much always do. Part of this is to work on the second point, going out a little quicker.
- Still need to work on tyre pressure as ran 37-39 but maybe need a little less but if not having inserts need to not go too low but find many go far lower so am sure I can get away with 35-36 as a start
Next on the agenda is the
Gravel Revival in Tennessee south of Nashville. Initially I was signed up for the 100 miler, new this year, but as it is usually pretty tough course and I am sorta tired from the past week and for that matter the past few months I decided to go back and change to the 64 miler I usually do. The plan is to ride easy with my friend John and just enjoy the ride and the area which is a tough ride but a good one. Apart from that I will just be doing some riding on Zwift and also do at least one running 5k and a road mile. I have no idea how the running races will go but the good thing is my right foot has been doing well and so just need to keep I that way.
Click on images for more information and if you want more info on OFM check out this post:
