Fools 25K Trail Run

With the winter that does not seem to end in Northern Ohio this year I knew the trails would be questionable. The day before the race there almost an inch of rain followed by 6 inches of snow. There was no question the trails would be a sloppy muddy mess.


The morning of the race the temperature was 27 degrees with an afternoon high in mid 30's. My pre-race warm-up consisted of spending 90 minutes helping direct cars. When 15 minutes to start was announced I quickly changed had a Hammer Gel and walked over to the starting line.

The 50K runners had started an hour before the 25K which help packed some of the snow on the trails. There was range of conditions on the trails from snow, ice covered rocks, ankle deep shoe sucking mud, and lots of muddy standing water.

My fueling plan was to stick with what works for me. I carried a bottle with 2 scoops of Perpetuem and plan to have a Hammer Gel around the 1 hour and 2 hour mark. There was HEED available at the aid stations so I topped of my bottle twice.

I had survived the sloppy trails until about a half mile from the finish when I tripped on a down hill section and slid about 50 feet snow and mud. My goal for the race with the conditions was 3:15. I was pleased with my finish time of 2:56:05.  



There were 207 starters 183 finishers I was 30tht. The winning time was 2:21 my time 2:56:06 was good for 4th place in the men's 40-44.

7 Springs

Suck It Polar Vortex

Here is my obligatory polar vortex post.

2013

January 372 Miles

 

 

February 250 Miles

 

 

March 609 Miles

 

 

April  682 Miles

 

 

May 631 Miles

 

Cleveland Marathon 4:07

 

June 843 Miles

 

Mohican 100 11:26

Funk 200 8:56

 

July 677 Miles

 

 

 

 

August 757 Miles

 

 

 

Gravel Worlds 11:29

 

September 350 Miles

 

Akron Marathon 3:49

 

October 420 Miles

 

 

Rock N Roll Half Marathon 1:43

Wild Cat Hollow Gravel Grinder 2:43

 

November 401 Miles

 

Bills Bad Ass 50K 6:18

Turkey Trot 34:29

 

December 275 Miles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bills Bad Ass 50K

Bills Bad Ass 50K trail run November 9, 2013.  The race was 6 loops of the Perkins trail plus one time up Oak hill to grab some candy.  Finish time 6:16 was good for 23 overall.

 

 

 

Wildcat Hollow Gravel Grinder

The Black Diamond Challenge Wildcat Hollow was October 13, 2013 in Crooksville Ohio. The race was a short 45 mile gravel grinder with over 4000 feet of climbing. Potenza and I made the drive Sunday morning and arrived 15 minutes before the start, which did not leave much time for a warm-up.

The Crooksville Police gave the 73 racers an escort out of town.  With the race being a short 45 miles I knew the pace would be fast from the beginning. The first big climb just under 3 miles in separated the pack.  Unfortunately I dropped one water bottles filled with a mix of Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem and HEED.  I went back for my bottle but was dropped in the process.

I ended up finishing 12th overall and 4th in the men's 40-49.



 

 

2013 Gravel Worlds

I made my fourth trip to Lincoln Nebraska for the Gravel Worlds again hosted by the Pirate Cycling League. The course normally is a giant loop around Lincoln with a few minor changes each year to keep it interesting.  This year the race started and finished west of Lincoln at the Reinkordt farm.

Racers need to stop at the towns of Hickman, Malcom, and near Milford to purchase Powerball tickets to prove they made the stops in order.  There also was 2 oasis along the route and a secret checkpoint that riders were to get a pipe cleaner.  Racers need to be self supported and must purchase water or whatever else they need in the small towns.  The day before I prepared several plastic bags mixed with Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem and HEED for each bottle I would need.

The weather was warm and humid 78 degrees at the start.  The weather forecast was mid 90's and a strong south winds in the afternoon.  My Garmin had a high temperature of 107 in the afternoon.  Weather Underground recorded the winds at a steady 20 with gust to 34. There were 203 racers lined up in the dark for the 6:00am start.  By the end of the day the heat and the wind would take its toll on all of the riders and only 112 finished.

Riders at 5 miles on the Denton wall photo courtesy Craig Schmidt

 

Heading north after checkpoint #2 photo courtesy Swanson

 

Branched Oak Rd around mile 95

 

MMR mile 99

 

168th looking north around mile  138

 

Potenza during pre-ride around mile 144

 

Despite having to ride the last 40+ miles by myself and battling the headwinds I ended up with a time of 11:29. My finish was good for 25th overall and 16th in Open Men's. Thanks Cornbread and the entire PCL crew for putting another great event.

 

FUNK 200

The Funk 200 was on June 29th over a mix of paved, chip & seal, gravel and dirt roads.  The course was 128 miles with over 10,000 feet of climbing on the 2 laps.



I was the winner of the Men's race with a time of 8:56.

 

 

12 week Marathon plan

Mr. BigRing 12 week marathon training plan:

1) 5 miles

2) 5 miles

3) 0 miles

4) 5 miles

5) 5 miles

6) 0 miles

7) 5 miles

8) 3 miles

9) 5 miles

10) 0 miles

11) 3 miles

12) 0 miles

 

Race Day 26.2

 

My plan emphasis rest and recovery.

Funk 100/200 June 29, 2013

a>For the 2013 edition of the Funk Bottoms Gravel the distance will be 100K/200K. Riders will have the option if riding one lap or two laps. The Funk 100/200 will be on Saturday June 29th at 7:00 at the Funk Bottoms Wildlife observation platform parking lot in Funk, OH. The course will be some roads that were used on the last Funk 50 along with some new roads. Rider can expect paved, chip & seal, gravel, and dirt roads. http://funkbottomsgravel.blogspot.com/

CAMBA New Year's Day Ride

 

Fall Funk 50

We are going to have a fall Funk 50 60 on October 6, 2012

Gravel Worlds 2012

The Pirate Cycling Leage hosted this years Gravel Worlds again.

This years route was 150 miles with over 11,000 feet of climbing on never ending rollong hills.