Here’s how my weekend went at the season finale of the 12 Hours of Temecula. There were at least 14 Beginners pre-registered, but I’m not sure how many more registered the day of. I had a goal in my head of 8 laps (each lap being ~10 miles with approximately 1300 feet of elevation gain).
I was expecting it to be warm, but the winds and the low humidity made it tougher. I don’t recall any moment where I was actually dripping sweat on the climbs like I normally do. Instead, my sweat would evaporate immediately and just leave the salt behind. My throat still hurts today from the dry air and dust.
I think I went out a little too quickly again and despite my heat fueling plan, I started feeling twinges of cramps early on around lap 3. I never got full on leg-locking cramps, but just twinges in my calves, hamstrings and inner thigh. At that point, it was more about cramp management.
I finished up with 7 laps at 10:42 (7:42PM). There just wasn’t enough gas in the tank left to crank out an 8th lap in 1:15 lap to beat the 9PM deadline, so I called it a day. Plus, I don’t think I would have been able to gain a spot in the standings (and beer and food was calling).
My 7 laps were good enough for 3rd 4th place. Official Results.
Later that night, I received affirmation that I should never race in the Beginner class again in the form of this nice trophy.
And just for kicks, here’s what I consumed during the course of the race.
420oz of water w/ Elete
(3) 22oz bottles of Vanilla-Orange Perpetuem/Fresh Apple Cytomax Mix
(3) Clif Bars
(3) Gu Gels
(3) Hammer Gels
(2) Packets of Clif Bloks
(1) Coke Zero
(1) Gatorade G2
(8) Salt Stick Tablets
(1/2) Monster Energy Drink
(1) Pickle Juice Sport
Tags: 12 hour, 12 hours of temecula, endurance race, mountain biking
Another month come and gone. I’m two weeks out until the season finale for the 12 Hours of Temecula series. I don’t feel like I’ve been serious enough about my training but I guess we’ll see how it goes.
Oh, I managed to finally upgrade to a Garmin 705. The bigger screen makes it a bit easier to see compared to the 305. The joystick definitely makes it easier to navigate through menus. But best of all - no shutoff problems.
October 2008
Total Distance - 297.49 miles
Total Time - 28:27:49 hours
Total Ascent - 25,943 feet
Total Calories Burned - 19,461
2008 YTD
Total Distance - 2635.44 miles
Total Time - 276:46:02 hours
Total Ascent - 264,688 feet
Total Calories Burned - 210,697
Tags: bike log, Garmin, mountain bike, temecula, training
September 2008 is in the books. Here are the numbers. My Garmin Edge 305
Pretty frustrating. I think there’s a design flaw in it that makes it lose battery contact on bumpy trails. Maybe it’s time to upgrade to the Garmin Edge 705
September 2008
Total Distance - 228.27 miles
Total Time - 24:38:53 hours
Total Ascent - 27,177 feet
Total Calories Burned - 17,368
2008 YTD
Total Distance - 2337.95 miles
Total Time - 248:18:13 hours
Total Ascent - 238,745 feet
Total Calories Burned - 191,236
Tags: bike log, Edge, Garmin, garmin edge 305, garmin edge 705, mountain bike
This past weekend, Bommer Canyon had one of it’s Wilderness Access days. Basically, they open to the public for a few hours each month.
I wish they would be open everyday, since it allows me to ride all the way from Irvine to the ocean on pretty much all dirt. Bommer Canyon can be accessed from Quail Hill / Shady Canyon and connects to Laguna Canyon Wilderness Park by a trail that cuts under the 73. LCWP then connects to El Moro and that can take you all the way down to PCH.
My round trip ended up being 38 miles with approximately 5100 feet of elevation gain.
Tags: bommer canyon, el moro, laguna canyon, mountain biking, quail hill, shady canyon
I spent the past weekend racing at the 24 Hours of Adrenalin @ Hurkey Creek. I got invited to join a 5-man team in the middle-age category (combined ages 200+) that formed just a week or two before the event - thus the team name “Just In Time”.
So basically what you’re supposed to do is to ride as many laps as you can in a span of 24 hours. We started on Saturday at noon and ended at noon on Sunday. Each lap was about 9.5 miles long with about 1300 ft of elevation gain. Since I was part of a team, we took turns going out.
Our team decided to double up on the night laps so we could get more sleep. But it sure is hard to fall asleep under these conditions. And a few guys on our team had light mechanicals, so I couldn’t sleep with them yelling “I need a light!!” and “How come this isn’t working??”.
Lap 1 - 0:56
First lap felt good. Course was in great shape, and it was a bit warm, but not too hot. I was actually surprised at my time, as my pre-ride times were a bit slower. I guess the “adrenalin” takes over.
Lap 2 - 1:02
Lights on! I picked up a Dinotte 400L to use as a helmet light and I couldn’t be more pleased. I actually ended up running the light at 50% due to a lot of weird particles in the air.
Lap 3 - 1:05
Early early morning lap. I can’t believe how cold it was. Someone said it was 30 degrees. I won’t argue that. Just standing there waiting for my team to come in…brrrrrr. I don’t think I ever quite warmed-up for this lap. I kept asking the volunteers at the checkpoints for hot chocolate or coffee, but all they had was water and gu.
Lap 4 - 1:07
Second of a back-to-back lap. Sun was finally up and the cold was quickly going away. I thought I would finish a bit quicker, but I guess the little break I took to drop off my lights cost me a minute or two.
Lap 5 - 1:03
Based on the time I finished my last lap, I didn’t think I was going to go out again. But back at camp after my 4th lap, I saw my teammate pulling manzanita thorns out of his face with needle nose pliers. Since he was in need of stitches, we decided it’d be best that I take his place. Knowing that you’re on your last lap is always the best feeling, but I just wish I had more gas left in me.
We ended up doing 22 laps in 24:30 or something like that, good for 5th out of 13 in our class I initially didn’t think we’d be competitive since we got the team together at the last moment, but we didn’t do too badly. We probably lost about 1:15-1:30 due to light mechanicals and meetings with manzanita bushes, but I guess that’s the kind of stuff that just happens at these races. Something is always bound to go wrong.
Tags: 24 hour, endurance race, hurkey creek, mountain bike race
Summer is over and we’ll be losing an hour of afternoon daylight at the end of next month. I started training for the final 12 Hours of Temecula in November. It’ll be my last race in the beginner class, and hopefully it goes well.
In the meanwhile, I’ll be riding on a 5 man team at the 24 Hours of Adrenalin @ Hurkey Creek in two weeks.
August 2008
Total Distance - 347.78 miles
Total Time - 31:59:41 hours
Total Ascent - 20,924 feet
Total Calories Burned - 20,030
2008 YTD
Total Distance - 2123.70 miles
Total Time - 225:05:11 hours
Total Ascent - 208,215 feet
Total Calories Burned - 174,981
Tags: ascent, bike log, mountain bike