2014 Colorado Trail Classic

6:08 start

On Saturday July 19th, I raced the 7th Annual Colorado Trail Classic (formerly the CT Jamboree) This race, coordinated by my friend Ian, was started in 2008 as a fundraiser for MS. Begining in 2013, the two day CTJ morphed into the one day CTC. Part of the Colorado Endurance Series, the Colorado Trail Classic was scheduled to be the second of two races I would use as "shakeouts" for this year's Colorado Trail Race. I want to thank Ian for sponsoring and leading such a great event.   Also, Lars and Laura who endured the aptly dubbed "Lord of the Flies" Hotel Draw Aid Station- their support for the racers was amazing!

All smiles. 2014 Colorado Trail Classic

I raced a heavy kit as this was another chance for me to simulate CTR conditions. I had a sour stomach for the first two hours of the day that definitely slowed me down as well. I need to not eat so much/so late for dinner the night before these races.  I will definitely enjoy coming back to tackle the Classic without the need to use it as a CTR shake down. In future years, carrying only clothes and day chow, I can move faster and maybe enjoy this race? But that's not what 2014 was about....

I logged 13 hrs. 17 minutes of moving time and 87 minutes stopped to come in at 14:44 for the day. I'm good with that but in retrospect, my FAT (fucking around time) should be down around 1 hr. I'm confident I could/can find the 20 minutes of FAT to trim....Biggest time suck mistake on the day was probably because I pushed my final water resupply coming off Indian Trail Ridge until it was too late. Skipping a sure source up high to try and pass other racers lead to an unplanned recovery stop to address dehydration and cramping. It was so stupid too! I was foolishly trying to close the distance on all the young bucks that were in front of me all day. And I did close and pass when they stopped at Taylor Lake to fill up after the push from Hotel. However, I  charged down Sliderock>Champion Ventures> intent on pushing to the upper Jct. Creek bridge before filling up. But I couldn't make it. Cottonmouth and cramps forced me to take a break only ten minutes after dropping off the Champion Ventures road. Luckily I had a Coke to sate my thirst as I hastily tried to stretch out my tired calves and hammys. Eventually, I made it to the creek for more water- only to be passed by the three gentleman as I treated my bottles. I followed these guys all the way to the finish but couldn't stay with them on the final downhills/final switch backs. All in all, I'm happy that I was able to press with a full kit but I got sucked into some "late- in- the race standings, ego driven mindset" that proved detrimental to personal needs and self care. Race my race! Keep the ego in check buddy....but I know this all, right? 

As I spent the day shadowing the young bucks, Bonecrusher shadowed me on course. Tom took a nasty fall descending the scree off of ITR and ended up finishing about an hour later with a bashed shoulder and broken bike.  Here are the Results for the 2014 Colorado Trail Classic 

Click to learn more about these races:

     

I hope more people come out to race this monster next year. I had always thought the CTC was a far easier ride than the Durango Dirty Century. Reflecting upon the Dirty vs. Classic comparison,  I'll never, ever dismiss the CTC as easier than the DDC. Both of these races are beasts with their own, unique challenges. Yes, there's less elevation gain on the CTC. But the DDC has nothing on the 75 miles of single track and an average course elevation over 10k on the Classic. Conclusion: CTC is definitely as hard as the DDC...but in different ways-(no pavement, up high longer etc!) Overall, I'm happy to report that everything  (bike and gear related) worked flawlessly and my system is all set to go for August 10th...however, we did have a small ankle problem. 

TBT (throw back trauma)-
 Looking good Sept 2012

Everything had felt good on the trail except for the afore mentioned sour stomach and a lingering ankle tweak that happened during a hike with my dogs the week prior to the race. I also had been contemplating purchasing insoles for my new 5 10 Impacts because they felt a little loose. We'll the shoes' poor fit and the previous injury, compounded by 75 miles of charging hard, really pissed my chronicly unstable ankle off. So much so that my body decided to shut me down the following evening. By Monday night, I was on crutches with the ankle back in a walking cast. The ligaments had been abused and now that the race was 24hrs. over, my body was protesting big time. I got the order to spend the next 10 days weight off, doing PT/accupuncture and slowly working the kinks out. Surgery was again recommended. FYI- The first time surgery on this ankle was recommended to me was in the summer of1990, when I suffered the first of many, debilitating soccer injuries. For 24 years, I've intentionally chosen to use PT and strentgh conditioning regimines to avoid going under the knife. I experienced a gnarly injury too the SAME ANKLE on Labor Day Weekend, 2012.

It would appear that my ankle warrantee has expired and I'm running out of options. There's no time before the CTR to do anything but heal it up, protect it for the long haul and go on it. Lots of ice and medicating for the lingering pain.

We'll see how it goes.....I should be back on the bike for real this Saturday (8/2-8/3). I've been single speeding around town since last Sunday but nothing more than 10 miles of river trail. I plan to do a 20 miler/40 miler on Sat/Sun and we'll see how it responds.....the timing is for sure poor but I wasn't looking to add much more to my conditioning. I'm confident that I've got pretty much all the strength and endurance I'm gonna established by the CTR.  Hopefully the weekend rides can give me the confidence I need in my lower leg. Then it'll be time to rest, taper and make sure I can proceed forward while not re-aggrevating this chronic injury. I'll reflect more on this in my final entry before the race. For now, I've got about 10 days to solidify everything. Not sleeping much as you can probably imagine. It's been a big summer and my final exam is right around the corner. I hope I'm ready....

Countdown Clocks

Always Moving Forward

Inspired, Focused and Always Moving Forward!

Late Spring and Early Summer will be remembered as one of the happiest and hardest times in my life. Focusing on training and a conditioning plan in the midst of personal and professional drama tested my commitment to my dreams of adventure by bike. My AZTR300 experience and solid finish bouyed my spirits and I rode that high into the the realm of conflicting emotions and public theatre that was my end of the year/end of the road reality at AHS. In hindsight regarding the 300, it was nice to have had a goal and re-validate my self confidence when I had lost that opportunity professionally. It gave me a nice mental bump- a purpose- going into the final 60 days of a job I had given 24/7 to for 5+ years. Overall, I finished the job, added another non-profit cert to the resume, managed to keep my cool, take the high road and have the first building named after me....albeit, modular construction that will someday be disassembled and sold off for scrap....

One thing I needed to give up in light of all this change and tumult was the constant, rigid, self-scrutinizing data crunching that had come to define my prep for the AZTR. Recovering from the torn hammy in January would not have been possible if I didn't track every minute of conditioning until the 300. But once the buzz of Picket Post had abated, I needed to settle into another, longer training routine. I had two big races on the horizon which were to be stepping stones to August's big show- the 2014 CTR. With all systems go for a northbound run at this monster, I needed to maintian the focus and effort that helped me find success in Arizona...just without the spreadsheets, data guilt and public accountability aspects.

So to change it up, I went paddling.

June was filled with amazing boating, the likes of which I haven't experienced in Durango for years. It was an unexpected blessing to be part of the history that took place on the Animas the first weeks of June 2014.

 In this day an age of an over-populated and over-exploited American West, one finds few pockets of "real exploration" to test their mettle against. Although I often get lost in Utah's canyons and disconnect into Colorado's mountains, it's always with a map of the terrain, GPS in hand and the interweb tracking my every move. Trip reports, facebook beta, bikepacking, mtbr, summitpost, mountain buzz, etc., etc....There are very few blank spots left on the map and the ones that do exist probably have a geocaching blog in their honor. So, when the city of Durango spent 1.3 million dollars to completely reconfigure the Animas river's path thru the city's historic whitewater park, real exploration was at hand! When the water rose to 5,000 cfs, there was no one with the beta. No one with prior experience. No trip report to google. No guidebook or guidance as to what line should be taken here or what wave to miss there. Just real, true exploration. An opportunity to play Powell through the center of town....at least for a few runs.

And holy shit did the experience deliver. The mental puzzles and anxious emotions were akin to my younger days of establishing new climbing routes...a whole body stimulation that is an addictive high you chase! Easily 3/4's of Durango's river tribe tucked tail that first weekend of June as high water turned the park's new Ponderosa hole into a scary, river wide monster, reminiscent of keepers in the big ditch. The quarter of us who did decide to test the angry waters paid for our exploration with cold, raucous swims as the Animas flipped every other boat that first Saturday. After taking one of the nastiest swims I've had since my guide days, I parked my butt next to the hole, sitting on those beautiful, expensive new rocks, and together with other battered paddle captains, studied the new feature for hours. Sitting, studying, absorbing. Ponderosa gave up her secrets with every minute I spent watching that wave. At high water, there's really only left of center for me. Take on the middle meat and you're going to be trundled like a bitch. Except for that one moment every 27 seconds when a bubble from below burts upwards and parts the hole's re-circulating curtain of water, granting microseconds of safe passage through the scariest wall of the wave. There's also the right sneak, right below the garbage can pour over, but I'd only run it if I ended up off my line on that side of the river. 

Here it was, right in town. Real exploration. Curiosity, fear and little victories brought me back to the river day after day. The bike could wait, this was history in the making and I wanted to be part of the collective brain trust that opened up the new rapid's secrets. 4,800, 4,200, 3,800, 3,500 cfs...we worked the park and figured out the lines. Such a stimulating period of time. No longer would we gear up for a booze cruise from 32nd- we'd mobilize for another adventure with outcome unknown. But each subsequent run increased our collective competence and by the time the annual river parade happened, we not only knew how to successfully row our new river- we could now do it in costumes and with less fear and slighty more intoxicated. Life was good on the river in June.

Paying for our ignorance....

                                                             

                Redemption on the first upright run...

The Durango Dirty Century loomed on the horizon and I managed enough off-river, training time to keep my conditioning and focus strong.Although I scratched,  the race was a success. TR HERE.  Immediatly following the DDC, I flew to Florida to see mom. A little R & R on the beach to recharge my dirty bones- yes please! 

It was neat to fly up to Denver roughly following the CTR. I can add aerial recon to my list of pre-race prep efforts.

Durango from above-great view of the test tracks complex

Animas Mountain

So in lieu of recording pints of juice, hours in the saddle, miles peddled or elevation gained, I'm back to a very simple training plan. Ride my bike and get outside as much as possible! What's the best way to prep for riding the Colorado Trail? Go ride the Colorado trail! I'm a pretty lucky dude to live 4 miles from the Jx Creek TH and with 100s of miles of Durango single track out my front door. So every second I get on the bike is spent on single track that most people plan vacations around.... Every ride is magical and when my feet are on the CT, I feel a current that runs from DRO to Denver. I know that sounds weird but I really can feel an electric pulse that connects the entire distance.  I'm so excited for this adventure. Plugging into the trail current makes it easy to train and work hard.....even when I don't want to!

So what exactly are we doing and not doing? First, as mentioned above, I'm riding in all weather at all hours...I've logged early am rides, night rides and now that the monsoons are here, rain and hail filled rides. I'm trying to eat right and continue to juice 4 to 5 days a week. Moving to our new digs has also expanded my in-town trail running options-I'm getting about 60-90 mins of hiking a day with the dogs, 7 days a week. Finally, living "on the grid," we never drive during the work week and some days find us commuting 20+ miles around town for work, errands, etc...All of this seems to be keeping my fitness base strong. I've managed to take some overnights and participate in two days of trail work to keep training varied and interesting and to continue to shake out my kit. Rachel is completely focused on riding "up high" which bodes well for weekend objectives.

I no longer have my employer-sponsored rec center membership so I'm not lifting like I was all winter/ spring. No spin class or BMI machines...good!  I am about to take apart my bike and rebuild it with Tom's help....a learning exercise I've wanted to complete for sometime that will hopefully make me a better field mechanic....Also, I'm still no where close where I want to be with nutrition planning and logistics so there's work to be done there as well. More gear to procure and test as well.

But all in all, although this approach is different from this winter's spreadsheets and data driven work-outs, I feel on target physically for the big show. We'll keep the effort going. CTR classic is up next weekend and we'll post up after that race. Until then, I'm inspired, focused and always moving forward!

Daily trail adventures with the poodles- so blessed to be able to train on the CT!

internet research, studying maps, memorizing trail waypoints and flipping the milage for a northbound push...

I'll post up about gear as we get closer to launch day- BUT, the new 5 10 Impacts are off the hook!

Training rides up high with Rachel are easy....

....Training rides in the cold rain and hail are not easy.

Countdown Widgets

countingdownto.com