Logan Race Report

Hi folks!! Let me bring everyone up to speed on the happenings down at Chief Logan State Park. Jeremy and I headed out on Saturday night after he finished up at Wamsley's. We spent the night at the Woodworth Inn in Culloden (Thanks, Mom and Dad Woodworth, it was great to be well rested on race day). After arriving at the Inn we quickly unloaded our bags and v-lined for the kitchen where some mixing and microwaving took place. I fixed up whole wheat noodles with onions, red peppers, portabellas, spinach, and chicken. I also had a sweet potato on the side. Jeremy fueled up in similar style with noodles, veggies, and tofu. The rest of the evening consisted of stretching and the watching of a movie. We turned in at about 11:00 to catch some much needed zzzz's.
After a restful nights sleep we were up and about around 8:00. I got some coffee going and J started in on his breakfast of a bowl of Bear Naked Granola and soy milk. After throwing back a few sips of strong coffee I started in on my breakfast of cinnamon spice oatmeal and all natural peanut butter on 12 grain toast. From Culloden, we had a short drive (~1:30 hr) to get to the race at the park. Fueling continued on the way; I had more coffee and a banana, and J threw back some jelly beans. On the way, Jeremy and I gazed out the windows and he said what I was thinking, "Dude, its steep!" Looks like we get to play billy goats today! We arrived around 10:30 with plenty of time for pre-race preps.
As we unloaded the gear, it was brought to my attention that my rear tire was flat. Hmmm...just love the quirks with the first race of the season. After consulting J for some time-honored advice, I decided to pump it up, do a warm-up, then give it a quick check before the start of the race.
During our warm-up routine, J started to feel some tightness in his hip. He decided to spend some time trying to work out the knot he picked up on the car ride down, and I continued with my warm-up. I put in a nice kick and realized my HR rocketed up quite rapidly without much effort. I was pleased and headed back to find J shifting around on the bike with a look of grimace. His hip wasn't letting up, and I could tell the guy was in a bit of hurt. After traveling and paying to enter, I encouraged him to race, "maybe it will loosen up after the start."
At the starting line I definitely felt the butterfly's flutter; I was lining up for my first expert race and was pretty pumped to have made the move. After a short countdown by JR, the expert class headed down the paved road in pace line fashion. I tucked in at about fourth place thinking that I didn't want to be in the way of the fast guys. It was a mellow start and almost enjoyable for a MTB race. The pack turned into the woods and I saw J heading for the front. "Alright!! he is going to go for it," I thought. Jeremy moved in to set the pace, and I could see some guys falling off the back of the pack and some space was generating between the leaders. I was still able to hold on at this point, much to my surprise. It all made sense after about 10 min; J had to step off the bike and out of the race, his funky hip hadn't worked out. I could tell he was in some serious pain as I went by with the new leaders. Awesome effort Jeremy, I am glad you gave it a shot!!
From this point on Jesse Stevens took the lead, Adam Stephens, myself, and Steve Hill followed closely behind Jesse. The pace continued to be lifted and I could see space forming between Adam and Jesse. I was still feeling good so decided to shake a leg and pass Adam, this put me in second. I followed Jesse for about the first 30 min of the race, and at this point I was settling into my pace which was a click slower than his. Jesse continued off the front and I pushed hard in second. At an hour into it a friendly spectator informed my that I was a little over two minutes back. Good news if you still have legs, but at this point I was starting to feel the pain. I would continue on at my pace that was beginning to dwindle.
At 1:30 hr into the race I had backed off considerably. My mantra was now keep pedaling and stay on the bike. Steve Hill rolled up behind me and I could tell he was till moving at a good click. He picked a wide spot and swooped around. I tried to stay with him, but cramps were starting to enter my legs. I continued with my mantra...just stay on the bike. The last climb lasted about a 1 mi and took us vertical just short of 300 meters, definitely hurt at this point in the race.
I ended up ~8:30 min behind Jesse and 2:00 min behind Steve. I was happy to have just finished. I sat in the gravel parking lot cleaning off the mud, throwing back my chocolate pop-tart as J loaded the bikes and laughed about my careless post-race demeanor. All and all, it was a great race, wide open single and double track, not too technical, and steep climbs, put in over 700 meters vertical according to the polar.
After some post race pasta J and I headed back for Motown...
Ryan