Shortly after crossing the finish line. Race number two of 2013. I had originally planned on running the Double when I first signed up a couple months ago, but then I decided to do the Quad Rock 50 in Ft Collins, CO which takes place just 3 weeks after this race. With a bit more competition committed to Quad Rock, I decided to save my legs and use the Desert RATS 26.2 as a solid training effort. I'm glad I made that decision, since my legs did not feel that great and doing 50+ that day would have left me in the hurt box.
Why were my legs not feeling great you ask? Well, it was probably a combination of training hard the previous two weeks and the wear & tear of traveling with little sleep the days leading up to the event. I have been traveling for about two weeks now (by bike & thumb) around Colorado & Utah. Two days before the race I had a long, cold, windy day of hitch hiking followed by a long night of finding a campsite in Moab, UT where some friends were already fast asleep. That was followed by a fairly late night of "car trouble" with Timmy Parr. It was the night before the race and we met up in Grand Junction. Long story short.. the keys got locked in his truck and after 2.5 hours, countless passers-by, and two locksmiths later, we were able to dive to the start where we camped out in the back of his truck. At this point, I had not even thought about the race. I just wanted to sleep, and be warm.
On race morning, I was still not focused on the race and lined up at the start after just a 3 second warm up.. literally. On "GO" Timmy shot off like a cannon (there was a $100 premium at mile 1.3) and without a second thought, I went after him. (Apparently we kicked up rocks according to some friends after the race). After about a half mile we settled into a still un-sustainable, but more reasonable effort. As we approached the mile mark, the pace picked up again and I knew it would come down to the kicker of a climb to the trailhead/parking lot where the premium would be. Aerobically I had recovered by that point and was ready to race, so when we started to climb I made my move and hammered up the hill, and was able to open up a gap and comfortably snatch the $100 bill being held out and flapping in the wind.
With the "first" race of the day under the belt, it was time to give in to my burning chest and relax on the rest of the climb. There was still 25 miles to cover, and a good portion of it on rocky, technical single track. I also knew that there was relatively little competition in the Marathon, since most of the top guys were racing for the Double. With that thought in my head, fire in my lungs from the first mile, and knowing that my legs & head were not fully race ready, I decided to ease up and run with whomever came up behind me.
Gavin was the first to catch up, and since I had not seen him in a while we chatted a bit and swapped the lead as if we were out for a casual long run. Eventually though, Chris Lundburg caught up and it was time for me to take control. I felt alright on the gradual climbs and flats, but the descents and technical sections left my groin in agony. So, I decided to push when I could, and relax when the trails got rough. It ended up being a yo-yo kind of day, with me opening a gap, then Chris closing it in the rough sections. I never felt pressed, but it was very annoying to have to surge every few minutes. Eventually though, I opened up a large gap on the final climb and it was enough to allow me to relax the last 5 miles to the finish and win comfortably in 3:19:33. Not a very fast time, but considering the lack of effort and un-cooperative groin/hip flexor, I can't complain.
Click "here for RESULTS" and "here for PHOTOS!
Why were my legs not feeling great you ask? Well, it was probably a combination of training hard the previous two weeks and the wear & tear of traveling with little sleep the days leading up to the event. I have been traveling for about two weeks now (by bike & thumb) around Colorado & Utah. Two days before the race I had a long, cold, windy day of hitch hiking followed by a long night of finding a campsite in Moab, UT where some friends were already fast asleep. That was followed by a fairly late night of "car trouble" with Timmy Parr. It was the night before the race and we met up in Grand Junction. Long story short.. the keys got locked in his truck and after 2.5 hours, countless passers-by, and two locksmiths later, we were able to dive to the start where we camped out in the back of his truck. At this point, I had not even thought about the race. I just wanted to sleep, and be warm.
On race morning, I was still not focused on the race and lined up at the start after just a 3 second warm up.. literally. On "GO" Timmy shot off like a cannon (there was a $100 premium at mile 1.3) and without a second thought, I went after him. (Apparently we kicked up rocks according to some friends after the race). After about a half mile we settled into a still un-sustainable, but more reasonable effort. As we approached the mile mark, the pace picked up again and I knew it would come down to the kicker of a climb to the trailhead/parking lot where the premium would be. Aerobically I had recovered by that point and was ready to race, so when we started to climb I made my move and hammered up the hill, and was able to open up a gap and comfortably snatch the $100 bill being held out and flapping in the wind.
With the "first" race of the day under the belt, it was time to give in to my burning chest and relax on the rest of the climb. There was still 25 miles to cover, and a good portion of it on rocky, technical single track. I also knew that there was relatively little competition in the Marathon, since most of the top guys were racing for the Double. With that thought in my head, fire in my lungs from the first mile, and knowing that my legs & head were not fully race ready, I decided to ease up and run with whomever came up behind me.
Gavin was the first to catch up, and since I had not seen him in a while we chatted a bit and swapped the lead as if we were out for a casual long run. Eventually though, Chris Lundburg caught up and it was time for me to take control. I felt alright on the gradual climbs and flats, but the descents and technical sections left my groin in agony. So, I decided to push when I could, and relax when the trails got rough. It ended up being a yo-yo kind of day, with me opening a gap, then Chris closing it in the rough sections. I never felt pressed, but it was very annoying to have to surge every few minutes. Eventually though, I opened up a large gap on the final climb and it was enough to allow me to relax the last 5 miles to the finish and win comfortably in 3:19:33. Not a very fast time, but considering the lack of effort and un-cooperative groin/hip flexor, I can't complain.
Click "here for RESULTS" and "here for PHOTOS!
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