Seventy-Five

Race Across Oregon
Detailed Recap

Note: "Pills" below refers to baggies that I organized before the race containing a combination of e-caps products including Premium Insurance Caps, Race Caps Supreme, Mito-R Caps, Anti-Fatigue Caps, and Tissue Rejuvenator. Before the race, I followed the recommended loading plans using Race Day Boost and Liquid Endurance. For more details, see www.e-caps.com.

Friday

~ 7:30 AM: Woke up.
8:00 AM – 1:30 PM: Packed vehicle.
2:00 PM: Left home to go to Bike/Vehicle inspection at race hotel.
6:00 PM – 6:45 PM: Meeting for solo riders.
7:00 PM – 8:00 PM: Grand PAC Masters presentation.
8:15 PM: Walked out of meeting for 2&4 person teams.
8:30 PM – 9:45 PM: Settled into hotel room and ate.
~10:00 PM: In bed. Drifted off to sleep fairly easily.

Saturday

~3:30 AM: Woke up.
3:30 AM – 4:30 AM: Got ready. Drank bottle with 3 scoops Perpetuem (~400 cal). Bag of pills.
4:30 AM – 4:50 AM: Checked bike outside near start.

5:00 AM: Race starts. Started with 1 bottle of Sustained Energy (3 scoops, ~350 cal).
6:16 AM: Bottle of Perpetuem (2 scoops, ~260 cal).
7:00 AM: Bottle of Sustained Energy (3 scoops) and sunglasses.
8:00 AM: Bottle of Perpetuem (2 scoops). Bag of pills.
8:25 AM: Bag with 4 ATP100 pills. Ate 2, carried 2.
8:36 AM: Summit, Government Camp, 10th place.
9:00 AM: Bottle of Sustained Energy (3 scoops). Peed. Gloves with fingers.
9:10 AM: Ate one strawberry.
9:30 AM: Pills.
10:00 AM: Bottle of Perpetuem (2 scoops)
11:00 AM: Pills.
11:05 AM: Bottle of Sustained Energy (3 scoops)
12:00 noon: Bottle of Perpetuem (2 scoops)
12:30 PM: ATP 100 (4 pills). Gloves without fingers.
12:40 PM: Pills.
12:44 PM: Time Station 1 - 7 hours 44 minutes. 15.61 mph avg. start-TS1.

Start-TS1 Notes: We rode together as a pack to Hwy 26. That’s when the leaders took off and I had to start pacing myself. I was trying hard not to stop for anything. We missed a few hand-offs before I got settled in with my crew (my Dad and wife at that point) and vice-a-versa. The climb up Mt. Hood was challenging, but I kept pressing. From the summit until the descent into Maupin, Dick Webber (62 years old) and I played leap frog back and forth with each other. Amazingly, he would be right on my wheel at TS5 many hours later. Alex, Joe, and Ed (my main crew for the remainder of the trip) showed up as I was making the final climb before descending to Tygh Valley.

1:20 PM: Bottle of Sustained Energy (2 ½ scoops). Bottle of water.
2:00 PM: Bottle of Perpeturm (2 scoops). Pills. 1 strawberry.
2:30 PM: 1 Hammer gel. 1 bottle water.
3:10 PM: Sustained Energy. Peed.
3:35 PM: Bottle of water.
4:20 PM: Peed.
4:25 PM: Perpetuem. Water. Chapstick.
4:45 PM: Pills.
5:15 PM: Peed.
5:20 PM: 1 strawberry.
5:40 PM: Bottle of water. Sustained Energy.
6:40 PM: 5 min. stop. Changed jacket, glasses, hood.
6:43 PM: Time Station 2 – 13 hours 43 minutes. 11.72 mph avg. TS1-TS2.

TS1-TS2 Notes: The initial climb up Bakeoven Rd. wasn’t exactly easy. At the top, the road flattened out but was still up-hill. The long monotonous road got to be quite boring after a while. It was good to have some company when Allen Larsen (’01 winner) drove up and chatted with me while his camera rolled. Lots of climbing from Antelope to Fossil. The final portion of the long climb before descending into Fossil was especially difficult. At times I was moving very, very sloooow.

6:55 PM: 2 gels. 5 minute nap.
7:00 PM: ½ bottle water.
8:55 PM: 5 minute nap. Pills. Pissed. ¾ bottle water. Perpeturm. ¾ can Red Bull.
10:50 PM: 5 minute nap. Pills. ½ bottle water. 1 can Red Bull. Peed.

Sunday

12:15 AM: 7 minute nap (crew felt like I needed more). Added jacket and gloves with fingers.
1:25 AM: Time Station 3 – 20 hours 25 minutes. 11.85 mph avg. TS2-TS3.

TS2-TS3 Notes: Surprising, the climb to Butte Creek Summit was easier than when I rode that part of the course a few weeks earlier. Lots of spinning on during the 10 mile descent to Service Creek. From there to Long Creek I was riding the only portion of the course I had never seen before. There was some challenging climbing towards the end, but I was starting to get sleepy, it was dark, and I didn’t notice much as the miles rolled by. By the time we reached Long Creek it was raining and I was very tired. I ended up sleeping in the lobby of the hotel at the bottom of the stairs.

2:34 AM: Finished sleeping 50 minutes.
2:35 AM: Raining. Cold. Added helmet hood, booties, 3rd jacket.
2:59 AM: Bottle water. Can Red Bull. Stopped 3 minutes.
3:18 AM: Stopped 3 minutes. Replaced ½ bottle of Perpetuem with bottle of Heed (2.5 scoops). 1 can Red Bull.
4:35 AM: Stopped for 2 minutes. 2 strawberries. Peed. Want real food at next stop.
5:21 AM: Peed. 1 Red Bull.
6:00 AM: Peed. Pills. Bottle of Heed.
6:30 AM: Peed.
6:55 AM: Peed. 1 strawberry. Handful of grapes.
7:30 AM. Pills. Stopped for 3 minutes.Took off 2 jackets.
8:10 AM: 1 granola bar. 1 Luna bar in pocket. 1 bottle Perpetuem.
8:45 AM: 15 minute break. Pills. ½ bottle water. 1 granola bar. Changed tights, socks, shoes, underware, jersey, sunglasses and ear warmers. Peed.
10:26 AM: 3 minute break. Peed. Handful of grapes. Pills. Strawberry. Crew started playing music (Social Distortion CD).
10:40 AM: Chapstick. ATP 100 pills (1 in mouth, 5 in bag). 5 minute nap. Peed.
11:05 AM: Bottle of Heed (2 scoops).
11:38 AM: ½ egg and ham sandwich. ½ bottle water. Chapstick. Slept 5 minutes. Pills.
12:45 PM: 2 min. stop. Yellow wind breaker.
12:55 PM: Crapped. 1 strawberry. Handful of grapes. ½ bottle Heed.
1:35 PM: 5 minute nap. Pills. Crew reminds me to drink water.
2:30 PM: Peed.
3:05 PM: Time Station 4 – 34 hours 5 minutes. 9.97 mph avg. TS3-TS4.

TS3-TS4 Notes: I wasn’t sure at first how much energy I had for the 5 mile climb out of Long Creek to the unnamed summit at 5,075 feet. But it seemed to go by quickly enough, even though I couldn’t have been moving very fast at all. After a short descent and another climb, I enjoyed the descent to Mt. Vernon. Climbing up to the Keyes Creek summit wasn’t easy. Then after the descent into Mitchell, the climb up to Ochocho Pass seemed even tougher. From there, it was a relaxed ride to Prineville.

3:05 PM-3:20 PM: ¾ bottle water. 1 ½ crispy burritos (beef and chicken).
5:05 PM: Bottle of Heed.
5:15 PM: Peed. Bottle of water.
6:40 PM: 1 strawberry. Pills. Added clothing and booties. 1 bottle Heed (2 scoops). Handful of grapes. Turned on lights.
7:25 PM: Stopped for 20 minutes. 1 can Red Bull. 1 chili dog. Slept for 10 minutes. Pills.
9:36 PM: Horses just went by to “The Magnificent 7”.
9:50 PM: 5 minute stop. Changed to thermal tights. 1 strawberry. 1 water. 1 Sustained Energy.
10:10 PM: Peed.
10:25 PM: Took off gloves.
11:15 PM: 1 can Red Bull. Water. Peed. Thermal gloves.
11:55 PM: Slept 5 minutes. 1 strawberry.

Monday

2:10 AM: Time Station 5 – 45 hours 10 minutes. 11.05 mph avg. TS4-TS5.
2:25 AM: Got back on the bike. Rode another mile or so before quitting approximately 1 mile from turn onto Timberline Rd. Approximately 8 miles from finish.

TS4-end Notes: I rode pretty hard from Prineville (mile 406.4) to Time Station 5 (mile 528.9). From Prineville to Hwy 97 (miles 406.4 to 427.1) the route was fairly flat (finally!), but a stiff headwind kept my speed between 10-12 mph. There were some cross winds and maybe even a bit of a tail wind on 97. I rode very strong from where we turned onto 97 (mile 427.1) to Madras (mile 445.9). The decent down to the Deschutes River was fast, long, and a bit tiring. After stopping for a while at what I thought was going to be an authentic “Indian Restaurant” (note the chili dog above), I got back on the bike and did some very hard and fast climbing in Warm Springs, eventually catching Dick Webber who I first spotted about a mile or so ahead of me as I was starting the first significant climb on Rt. 3. Around mile 480, Dick Webber passed me again as the road flattened out. Some of the final climbs before the big descent towards Wapinitia were tough mentally, because I was getting tired, it was getting dark, and even though I had ridden that section of the route before, I couldn’t tell where I was exactly. The last descent was good for making up some time, but that was some of the worst pavement of the whole race. When I turned onto Rt. 216 at mile 499.0, I knew I had to keep pushing to ensure I would have time to finish in 48 hours. I rode hard to Pine Grove and then even harder from Pine Grove to Hwy 26 as I caught up to, passed, and tried to put some distance between myself and Dick Webber. Due to some miscommunication with my crew and poor memory on my part, I reached Hwy 26 thinking it was only a couple of miles to TS5. I was heartbroken to learn that I still had 10 miles before the time station. I pushed on as best I could, hoping Dick wouldn’t pass me again. During those 10 miles, I started to fade mentally. At time I thought I might be dreaming. Somehow, I managed to stay on the bike without crashing, but I was really starting to lose it. Dick was right on my tail as I entered the final time station. He rolled though. George Thomas tried to keep me moving, but I told him quite firmly that I had to stop and rest for a while.

Post-race Notes: My crew drove me up to Timberline Loge where we had reservations for the night. They had to help me walk to the room. Our room had several bunk beds, and the bathroom was outside in the hall. Apparently, I was so disoriented that I peed in a sink that was in our room. I barely remember it, though. I was one of the first people to wake up around 8:00 AM Monday morning. I could tell my left Achilles tendon was sore and swollen, but it didn’t feel as bad as it did when I got out of bed the next day (Tuesday). For a few days I ate voraciously. I was very concerned about how bad my tendon hurt. So I iced it often and started reading everything I could find about Achilles tendon injuries on the web. I had injured that same tendon before, so I kind of knew what was happening. The swelling went down considerably after a few days. It’s been a week since the race, and I can walk fine, but it still hurts if I try to do a heel raise with all my weight on the injured leg. I’ve been doing heel raises on steps, lifting myself with my good leg and then letting myself down with weight on the injured leg and then stretching out the tendon as I let my heel drop below the step. I think that’s helping. Yesterday I got on the bike again for the first time since the race. I had to lead a 10K running race. The course was mostly flat, and riding at that pace wasn’t a problem.

Afterword

As you may recall, my goal for this year is to earn 12 difficulty points in the John Marino Competition. RAO would have counted for three points if I had finished. To make up for RAO, I want to attempt to establish the UMCA East to West boarder-to-boarder crossing record for Oregon. Since that route has not been attempted yet, all I have to do is cover at least 475 miles in the process of going from point-to-point and I'll earn 3 JMC points for the ride.

Seventy-Four

More RAO Recap

I was pushing about 74 gear inches (42x15), which is a pretty big gear for me over this course. But if I recall correctly that's the same as two of the three guys who did Furnace Creek fixed last year. For most of my training rides I used either 38x15 on a 30-35 lb bike or 40x15 on my race bike. I choose the bigger gear so I could either give my legs a break on the descents or take them a little faster than I could with a smaller gear. For the most part, that strategy worked. I might feel differently, though, if I had actually tried to make it up Timberline to the finish. I did that climb once on a training ride, so I know how tough it is. There were a few climbs were I felt like I was barely moving. Two that really stick out in my mind are the summit just before the descent into Fossil and Ochocho pass. At other times, I really climbed well, like when I was chasing Dick Webber in Warm Springs and again from Pine Grove to 26.

The descents weren't too bad with such a large gear. I rarely had to brake to keep my cadence under control. Towards the end of the race, your legs start to feel like spaghetti, which make those high rpms even easier. Or maybe your body just becomes numb and you don't notice the pain so much. I know that's what happened with the way I sat on the saddle. At first, I'd move around often so no one area was absorbing all the pressure or suffering all the chaffing. But late in the race my mind was in some other place and I just didn't care about that anymore. After the race, my left achilles tendon was very sore and inflamed, my right knee hurt a little, and I had some numbness in my right hand and my left foot.

Before RAO, my longest ride ever was 400K. Also, everyone on my crew was a rookie. None of us really knew what to expect. Before the race, I talked with several people about sleep deprivation and whether I would need to sleep or not. Going into the race I wanted to keep my time off the bike to a minimum, but I was willing to let myself rest for a while if I felt I really needed to. Looking back at my log book, I might have spent too much time off the bike - over 2 hours! I stopped several times for about five minutes at a time to let my legs rest, usually just before a big climb. My one big break came at Long Creek from 2:25 - 3:35 AM. I hadn't planned to actually sleep that soon in the race, but it was just so hard for me to stay awake. Also, that's about when the rain hit and it seemed like a good idea to take shelter in the Long Creek Lodge for a while. My parents were staying there for the night, but I wasn't sure which room they were in. When no one showed up at the front desk, I just laid down in the lobby and fell asleep. I think I said I wanted to sleep for 30 minutes, but there was some debate among my crew about how long they should let me sleep. In the end, a compromise was reached, but the ones who wanted to let me sleep longer where made aware that it would be on them if I missed the cut-off time by a few minutes.

Besides trying to stop a little less often, the main thing I would do differently next time is to simply train harder before the race. When I decided to RAO solo - on a fixed gear no less - I didn't have much time to prepare. It was only last August that I decided to do Furnance Creek on a fixed gear, and RAO just kind of snuck in there at some point. Also, 2-3 o'clock in the morning is not a good time of the day for me. After riding so hard from Prineville to TS5, I had everything working against me to get to the top of Timberline. I was fatigued, I was sleepy, and I didn't have much time left before the cut-off. And I had such a crazy gear to be pushing up that climb. I think the key to finishing RAO on a fixed gear is to be at the bottom of Timberline relatively well rested, alert, and with enough time to walk your bike to the top if you have to. But next time, if I am losing my mind and can't seem to stay on the bike, I hope someone will have the sense to slap me hard across the face. Seriously.

Seventy-Three

Roadkill

What a weekend! I made it approximately 530 miles to the corner of 26 and Timberline Rd. before being smashed by the course. My split at time station 5 (528.9 miles) was 45 hours and 10 minutes. Even after resting for 10 minutes, I still had over 2.5 hours to make it 10 more miles to the finish. But my body was shutting down and my crew had to make the tough decision to put me in the van and call it quits.

I started to put the hammer down at Prineville to make up some time. Then in Warm Springs I saw Dick Weber a mile or two in front of me on the first climb. I pushed it up a notch and eventually passed Dick only to let him go again shortly afterwards on the flats. Then I saw the lights from his support vehicle shortly after Pine Grove and once again the competitive juices starting flowing. I was really flying on the way back to 26. However, I forgot exactly how far it was from 26 to time station 5. I thought it was only a couple of miles, and when I learned that I still had over 10 miles to go my heart sank. All I could do was suck it up and try to stay ahead of Webber.

That's when my body went on autopilot and I started loosing my mind. I couldn't tell for sure whether I was awake or dreaming. I'm amazed that I was able to stay on the bike without crashing, especially on the descents on 26. Once, I crossed over a large crack in the road running parallel to the white line. That jolted me a bit, but still not enough to snap me back to a normal state of mind.

One thing I remember very distinctly is paying close attention to every road sign. I was trying to make out the letters and words on the signs to see if they made any sense. I kept hoping that they would look like gibberish and that would be the proof I was looking for that I was actually dreaming. I think I was grasping for anything that would let me drift off to sleep without having to worry about not finishing.

Sure, I feel very disappointed about quitting so close to the finish. But at the same time I'm satisfied and proud of what my crew and I were able to accomplish. I'll always appreciate the journey I took with my crew more than I'll regret missing the final destination. I've got many more races ahead of me, but this year's Race Across Oregon was a once in a lifetime experience. With a little better training and smarter pacing I'm sure I'll get my finisher's medal next time - on a fixie, of course.

Watch out Furnace Creek...