Great White...

The alarm at 5:30am was a little tough this morning.... time for the morning swim... the Michaux Maximus 50 miler was yesterday. I decided to race on my new Salsa 29er hardtail which in the end was a good decision; but it was tough getting used to it! I have been racing full suspension bikes for 10 years so the first hour was very different. I kept taking what I call "suspension" lines... where you can stay in the saddle and pedal to keep power to the rear wheel. After being bucked off the saddle numerous times I began to get the hang of it. All I can say about 29ers is they are just plain better on rough terrain. It certainly wasn't like racing my 5" Stumpjumper, but it saved me numerous times and made the steeps much easier.
... Onto the race.... I am so suprised at the starts of these 50 milers... the front of the race is as fast as a normal XC race. Of course with world class riders Chris Eatough and Harlan Price on the front no wonder, but I am still suprised at the mere mortals. In the first 20-30 minutes I was passed quite aggressively by a lot of riders in some sketchy areas. It was funny because I just kept thinking of what was to come on this long day... did they know what that 4th hour would be like? I also had my iPod on low so I could hear riders, but not really communicate so maybe that was part of it.
After some muddy new terrain, and some of the best trails in the world including Grave Ridge I started to get moving. My plan for the day was get though the first 25 miles, then see what I had for the 2nd half. I call this the "Great White" strategy... When a great white shark attacks it does so quickly, and doesn't stay around for the fight. It tries to mortally wound its prey, and then it just waits.... why risk a fight with a fresh adversary where injury or death could be a result? It is much easier to finish off a rival when they are tired, right? Well, at Michaux there is no need for a preemptive strike; the course will do that for you. The key is to have enough in the last part of the race to go by your competitors.
Going up the long climb called Dead Woman's Hollow I really felt good. I was used to the bike, and had great legs. My nutrition was on track so the time was right to see what I had. Things went really well... for a while. All along the fire roads and some of the trails I felt great... groove tunes from Jack Johnson and Chili Peppers kept me happy and pushing. Then, going up a steeper climb, I went for the granny gear... and had a bad case of chain suck. The chain was up under the chainstay... maybe it was all the mud and the dry chain... I thought the day was over. I worked with it a little, turned the bike upside down, and was ready for the chain tool when somehow I managed to get it by the chainrings? I don't even know how I did it, but just then 2 of my friends came by, Jake and Cheryl. That was all I needed to get back into the race. I rode with them a while, and eventually we all went back to our own paces. Now I was resolved to no granny which at Michaux is quite an issue. The good news is the running has got me feeling great off the bike. I think I am faster just not using the low gears and dismounting anyway... its still not as fun though!
After another hour I was crossing back over the Appalachian trail and I saw a whole group of racers stretched out on the road up Big Hill. Could it be that I was actually back in this thing? Did my pacing plan work? Coming down Rattlesnake Ridge I really felt good and was suprised how much energy I had left. I just wasn't slowing down, so I decided to put in a real effort on the flats to crossing rt.233 and the climb to the finish. I will have to run a marathon in November at this point at IM Arizona so why not? With Rob Zombie and 50 cent on the iPod I was in cruise mode... I caught a group of riders right before 233, and thought that if I didn't go 100%, they would all come back on me by the finish. After 4 1/2 hours, pegging your heart rate feels a lot different! After a good 10 minutes of redlining I turned around and saw on one. After all these years racing had a strategy finally worked out? ...maybe the others didn't have anything left? As I went down the last road to the finish I thought of the Great White shark.... no wonder it has been around for centuries... sometimes your best ally is time... normally those other racers would have plenty left to fight... and I usually end up losing.

Thanks to Jes and everyone who puts on the Michaux Endurance Series! If you haven't had the pleasure to race at one of these events come out to the other 2 events n the series. I didn't get to stay for the official results, but it looked like I finished 10th overall at 4:57 and change. Looks like I will be out for some more punishment and fun in July... see you at the Curse of Dark Hollow!