Stay the course

Been doing a bit of endurance work of late. My lackluster performance at the Cohutta 100 had woken me from my slumber. I had dreams of doing only XC this year, but with all my teammates getting ready for the Bearscat 50 it seemed stupid to just do intervals and preride race courses. The epic rides are fun. So that's what I'm back to. Was one month enough to get ready for the Mohican 100? Maybe. Maybe not. Did I work hard enough? Who knows. The one thing I do know is that the Mohican 100 is most like home, Topo wise. Fast single track and short steeps are my specialty. I won the SS (4th overall) in 2010. Seems like a dozen seasons ago now. And I plan on winning this year too. Crazy to say? What do I have to lose?
I almost got back on the single for this one, until a friend snapped me out of it. "Why would you change everything up, just when it seems to be going so well?" He said... It's true, I seem to do that. So I'll stay the course and do my best to do what I have to do to get up front on Saturday. Will I stay there? That remains to be seen. Sometimes in order to win you have to risk losing.....Miserably

VTC @ French Creek

French Creek was a team race for us. Unofficially that is. Fueled to the max on Friday night (it's a real perk to have the top chef in the country on the team) and with the whole team in attendance to add inspiration I managed to pull out a win against some stiff competition. After 4hrs and nearly 50 miles it came down to the final climb. In the end, the top 3 were separated by only seconds. My strategy was to make the lead group and stay there as long as possible. In the middle I ran into a rough patch but was able to recover  and catch back up for the final lap.  Stephan Kincaid and Harlan were pulling away on most of the downhills all day so with the final 3 miles either being flat or downhill, I knew, if I could get there, I'd need a gap on the final climb. The moon the stars and the sun were all in alignment, so with the shot of adrenaline that you always feel upon getting back into the fold, I made a move.

I often don't understand what makes one race so miserable (Cohutta) and the next one so fun but I can tell you to ride with some of the most talented guys in the country keeps you super focused and the time just flies by. Lap races can be tedious sometimes. Get up front, do your best to stay there and once in a while you get lucky....      Results 

Cohutta 100, or maybe 105?

Where "Pop Tarts" is a food group

Jocelyn, Jane and I made the trip to the famous NUE opener (Cohutta 100) this weekend. Even though I thought I may be able to be somewhat competitive (hopeful for a top 10) the course, coupled with my lack of any real endurance training handed me my ass. The start was pretty slow compared to what I'm used to. Makes total sense, considering there is a hundred miles ahead. I entered the single track in good position and felt pretty good for about three and a half hours, often working with others all the while trying to not go too deep. At aid #4 I stopped, ate some jelly beans and let a bunch of guys pass. If I was going to finish I had to chill the hell out. Probably spent 10 minutes at aid #4 before I began my limp to aid #5. Right before aid #5 Cheryl Sornson came by looking very strong. I was still in the pain cave so I just gave her a shout and watched her ride off into the sun. Aid 5 finally comes and I'm off the bike again, pondering my future involvement in this sport, when I see eventual masters winner Ron Sanborn. Ron and I rode together for a while at Lumberjack 100 last year so I figured I'd latch on and ride the mother of all 2012 Cohutta climbs with him. Ron was suffering from cramps and I was just suffering, so it seemed like a good match. We would talk, trying to keep my mind off the miles of climbing ahead. Once in a while a rider or two would pass and I was okay with that. About mile 70, NUE champ Amanda Carey caught us, with about 10 guys sucking her wheel like a shark with a bunch of remoras looking for a free ride. Not wanting to be another slimy sucker fish, I said goodbye to Ron and set out on my own. All of a sudden I'm racing again. Passing loads of riders like I was on a relay team and had just started the race. I felt great, I was gonna finish strong. The mileage on the computer was clicking off fast 95, 96, 97. Then it all fell apart again. That moment was going into the final single track. Computer said 97 miles, but the marshall said I had 7 miles to go. I had a meltdown, SHITTTT!!!! It seemed like it took forever but soon I rolled over the line, SHOT!!!. Need to do some serious training before the Mohican 100 or it's gonna be a painful day.

 Jocelyn, 14000ft on a SS...Rockstar!!!