12 Hours of Mesa Verde

May 8, 2010

I had never done an endurance Mt Bike race and Pamcakes (Pamela Davis) and I managed to gain entry to 12 Hours of Mesa Verde. A good friend of ours was signed up and got sick, so we picked up his spot and we rode as a DUO. Warren, Karen & Brett rode SOLO - hats off to these crazy crazy people.

Warren

Karen - hydrating & celebrating 4th Female Solo Finisher
(in her 1st 12hr solo race) Yehaar!

Brettsky - working the spandex while refueling!


We had never been to Cortez, but we had all read about the trail 'Phil's World' and heard great things. Loads of whoopty doo's and roller coaster single track, not too much climbing and heaps of fun! I thoroughly recommend this race. The riding reminded us all of Kessel & Zippity Do Dah, Fruita, CO. Each lap was a little over 16 miles. Interesting was, that each part of the trail had names like 'Rib Cage', 'Lemon Head' & 'The Pinnacle' & each of us can remember exact parts of the course because of these wooden signs like mile stones & it made it fun.

Pam - Single Speedin'

We got there on a Friday afternoon and pre-rode the course and we were all psyched, this was a fun loop. I have to admit, I was a little skeptical about some parts, as I am not exactly a technical rider, but never say never, and skin grows back!

The race started with a 'Le Mans' style start, and I was nominated the runner. It was pretty congested and adrenaline was running, I think I only fell once on the first lap. This would be a pattern I'd follow. I would master something on one lap and then falter on the next on a part I'd ridden seamlessly or I'd just go too fast & loosey goosey. Ha Ha - this is why we we called the 'Hot Mess Express'. Pam was the HOT, I was the MESS!

Pamcakes 'Hot'

Tam 'Mess'

I have to admit I did get better every lap, but by then it's hard to tell because you are so fatigued. We rode 7 laps (114 miles) in 11hrs 53mins.

We were sitting in 2nd - 3rd most of the race and Pam and I were so ridiculously close in our lap times it was scary. We hadn't ridden that much together and I have to say she was taking a gamble on teaming up with me & my limited Mt. Biking experience.

We were pretty lucky in 'mechanicals' although Pam's chain was being fussy for her 3rd lap and I flatted on the last lap and watched 4th, sail though to 3rd - bummer.

A huge thank you goes to Barry (Bazza), Ryan & Frank (sick mullet). A big thanks to First Descents for kitting us out and for the amazing work they do.

Bazza getting shit done, and BTW it was his idea to have cubed watermelon on hand - genious!

Ryan, showcasing his sunscreen application talents, 1 of many.

Frank rockin' the FD kit whilst hydrating & looking rad!


We all had a great time and will be back next year. Till then here's to Ben & Jerry's Phish Food and the creative new way Brett discovered how to hold a spoon when your forefinger/ thumbs go on strike after 12 hours of abuse!

Congrats to my phish food eating hubby on his first Mt. bike race ever, you are amazing.

Last but not least to my partner in grime, Pam, you inspire me & thanks for having faith in me.

Xterra Vegas - Race Day

I have to admit the Xterra race start times adhere to my sleeping regime much better that of traditional Triathlons. I am usually getting up at around 5am and getting into transition area for 5:45am, as the first wave usually starts around 6:30am. Xterra races start at 8:30am, love it!

Even better was the race starting at the beach of the hotel. A little room service, roll out of bed and roll straight into transition area, fabulous. I set up my transition area and then rehearsed my 'ins & outs'. I always physically travel the route I will be taking in the race. I pretend that I am coming in off the swim and count rows or a landmark to make it easier to find my bike, and then physically run out the 'bike out'. Then I pretend that I am coming in off the bike and find my transition area again and close my eyes while I imagine racking my bike, switching shoes taking my helmet off and grabbing my race belt and visor and then head out the 'run out'. Physically doing this is a important part of me setting up in the morning.

I was all set and head down to the beach failing to think of sunscreen. Thank God for Mom's with kids in prams, you can ALWAYS count on them having sunscreen!


Wetsuit (thanks Kristine) was on and I was ready to roll. The water was kind of cold, but perfect with a wettie. The Pros were off first 'Go Josiah & Brad'. I was in the last wave, which is great when you are in the water and pass other colored caps. I felt comfortable and at ease in the water. I was relaxed and only sighted every 10-12 strokes and kept my head down otherwise. I have been working on my swim and I felt like it was paying off. My swim time was 29:31

Next up was the bike. I was feeling good, but about 3 miles in, I had this heavy almost sore feeling in my quads - luckily it went away. Most of the climbing was in the first 6 miles. The bike was much easier than I had in my head. I held back just a little as I always seem to hammer the bike and then sacrifice my run. As hard as it is to hold back, I felt great starting the run.

I did fall once on the 2nd lap and as I did this my bike seat did a 45 º turn 'bugger'. This makes it a little tough to sit on... so I used my legs to twist it back to almost straight and just dealt with it for the rest of the race. I forgot about it till Brett rode it back to the car and said "what's the deal with your seat".

I rode well (1:46:07) although I hate looking at the bike splits knowing I didn't go flat out and always wonder if it was a good strategy. One interesting thing I learnt, always take water with you on the bike! I thought there was a water aid station in the first 4 miles and didn't bother taking any, I wouldn't drink it in the first 4 miles anyway so why lug it up the hills! Well, there was no water station where I thought there was and when I finally saw one it was at mile 8 and I was dying of thirst... they were handing out tiny paper cups of water!


This year although I am 34, I have to race in the 35 - 39 yr age group. You have to race the age you are on the last day of the year, I think this is BS. Along with having your race number plastered on your arms, you also have you age on your calf. When you race you can see what age group everyone is in. In my case, I could see a girl in front of me who was in my age group. I was thinking of the best time to pass her, just in case she wanted to counter the attack. I wasn't sure how much I had in me and I wanted to place as well as possible. I decided to just go as hard as I could and if she wanted to keep up I would deal with it. As it turned out the gap between us grew and I knew after 100 yards I was safe to the finish. My run time was 55:29. What surprised me was the fact that I ran 58:12 at Beaver Creek Xterra last year. But then I realized that the run leg at the Beav was 5.75 miles not 6.2, so I ran faster and it was longer! My final time was 3:11:07

I was thinking I would finish in under 3 hrs 30min, so I was thrilled with my time. I came 5th in my age and surprised myself. 3 of the top 5 were from Colorado. The region I am in is really competitive so I am keen to see if I can qualify not only for Nationals but I would love to earn a spot to Xterra Worlds in October... we'll see... There is a lot of hard work to be done but I think it could be done - or at least it's a challenge!

Xterra Vegas!

Yes this is me on my new bike! Sweet huh? You are jealous of the color, I know!

My brand spankin' new Ellsworth Truth. I am secretly obsessed with it. You would be too if you rode one. It is quite a special treat for me to have a bike that fits, WOW what a difference that can make.

So Brett, Zeke, Boston & both of our sweet bikes packed up and hit the road to drive to Vegas.

Needless to say the Shepherds were a little short of real estate but were angels to travel with.

Loews Lake Las Vegas was insane, I wish we could have stayed Sunday night and just flaked out by the pool. It was warm and great weather and while we were gone the Vail Valley got 2 feet of snow. I know where I would rather be!

We arrive around 4pm Friday April 23. We checked in, I went to packet pick-up and then we head out to pre-ride the course - interesting. I am soo glad Brett was with me as the course was loose and sketchy in parts, I would have come home crying. There would have been no way Brett would have believed that there were such monster climbs that you had to 'hike-a-bike' and steep downhills where you felt like you were riding in a landslide.

I know that I sound like a baby but I have only been riding for 1 summer and the reason for that was I put myself in hospital the first time I tried Mountain biking and didn't get back on the trails till last summer. So I had a few 'oh oh' moments where I realized that I could really hurt myself.

Anyways we were trying to be strategic and there were parts I would have to get off my bike (to be honest it really was faster). As it turned out 90% of people ran the parts I did. The picture below is 'Monster Hill' at least that's what I called it - no one rode it it was too steep and loose & was faster and less taxing to just hike it.


That night we went to be early and watch TV with Zeke lapping up the opportunity to be on the bed - he is not allowed upstairs at home!