Training for the Big Race

I have trained for a couple of races this year and I may even have referred to them as big races but today I am going to talk about training for a BIG race. In September I am planning to race the Shenandoah Mountain 100 mountain bike race. I have heard lots about the race including words like tough, brutal, long, and one guy who said it was "legit." I think that was cool young person speak for "very difficult."

I have been riding a lot for sure but not as much as I really have wanted to. I have done lots of shorter 2 hour rides, many 1 hour rides, and at least half a dozen 3 plus hour rides. Plus I have started doing interval training on my bike trainer. The interval training is key according to my sources. I work with a Category I bike racer and know a couple of other highly talented bike riders. They tell me that the interval work is key. So while I have been doing all of this, I have not gotten in very many rides in the mountains with super long sustain climbs. I did three weekends in a row at Massanutten which was definitely great training but still probably not enough.

This past Friday, I finally did get to the mountains to do an epic ride. I went to Sherando Lake and rode Big Levels. The ride started out from the Sherando Lake parking area. I was able to ride the gradually climbing trail for quite a while before it became super steep and rocky and I ran out gas and had to stop and push my bike for a little while. I would push my bike until I could breathe normally and then I would jump back on the bike and ride some more. After climbing for a short distance up the rocky trail, I would rest again. Of course "resting" meant pushing my bike up the steep and rocky hill so it was not really resting per se. But I was not pedaling, my heart was not racing, and I was able to breathe during these "rest breaks."

I was able to ride more than walk which was good and after a while, I hit some more rideable terrain. That is, until I got to the Torrey Ridge trail where I had to shoulder my bike and climb over some big rocks. After I got through the rocks and started riding again, I came to some rock scree. The guide book said I would have to walk over 2 sections of rock scree. I walked the first but actually rode the second which made me feel pretty good. After that, there was a long section along the ridge line that was fun. I ran into a few hikers on this section who looked at me like I was crazy. It was 97 degree after all.

After the ridge line, I had another climb up to Bald Mountain where I picked up a "fire road." I put these words in quotes because it was hardly a road. It was certainly wide enough for single file vehicles but it was so rocky that only 4 wheel vehicles with very careful drivers would be able to make it up or down this "road." I did some downhill and some climbing before finally leveling out and mostly descending. The descent was brutal because it was so rocky and jarring. And it was all exposed so there was no shade. I was drenched in sweat all ready. I had to take a few breaks going down because my upper body was taking a beating from the terrain.

It seemed to go on an on and on. I thought maybe I had missed a turn. I did not have a watch and really had no idea exactly where I was on the route. I was supposed to be looking for a sandy clearing that would tell me where I was in the route. After a while, I was convinced I had missed a turn but I also figured that the road would eventually have to lead to a real road so I kept going. I was carrying plenty of gear so I was not too worried. I had bananas, oranges, granola, Gatorade and water. I also had my emergency gear including emergency blanket, flash lights, first aid, matches, pocket knife and some gels for emergency food.

After sometime on this trail, I heard some vehicles and thought that I was at last getting somewhere. But no, I was still out in the middle of nowhere. There were two pickup trucks slowly making their way up the "road." I stopped and asked the one guy how far it was to....well, to anything. He said he had been driving for about an hour from Coal Road. That was a slight relief. I knew that I could make it back down to this Coal Road in less than an hour. In fact, after that encounter, I felt a little relieved and started picking up the pace. I hit some faster speeds going down and ended up making it down to Coal Rode in about 30 to 45 minutes. I am guesstimating because as I said, I did not have a watch and the heat can sometimes put a zap on your higher level functioning so I had sort of lost track of time.

Coal Road was a gravel road and in fact, I was actually right on track and not lost at all. I started a fast descent down the gravel road before it leveled out for a while. After about 15 minutes of steady riding I saw a car and asked the driver how far it was to get back to Sherando. He said to keep going straight until I got to the the main road and to take a right to get back to Sherando.

So off I went down the gravel road but I made a left turn somewhere near Albuquerque (Bugs Bunny Reference) instead of going straight. This wrong turn took me onto a paved road with route numbers I did not recognize. I flagged down a truck and asked a couple how to get back to Sherando. He gave me the directions and off I went again. I estimated that I rode another 15 to 20 miles to get back to my car after that.

My total ride time was 6 hours including a few breaks. It was hot and brutal but exactly the kind of ride I was looking for. When I got home, I ordered Thai food and ate a big plate of noodles, vegetables and shrimp. I ate at about 9PM and then got cleaned up and went to bed. When I woke up the next morning, I was still hungry. My mountain bike book says that one can burn as many as 1000 calories an hour mountain biking so you can see that I was probably in need of some serious refueling.

I am looking forward to more rides like this but hopefully I will feel more confident of the route and not miss a turn or think I missed a turn.

I did not take any pictures this time around. I was too busy riding, sweating, catching my break, and drinking water and Gatorade. Hopefully I can do several more of these epic rides before the race in September. Happy trails.