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This picture pretty much sums up the day @ 2016 Gravel Worlds. Going into the race I had high expectations since my training has been so good this year. I knew the race was going to be tough no matter what, I just didn't expect to feel crappy the whole way. The race started out at a fairly fast pace and after the rain the night before the roads were soft. I just kept thinking my legs would come around but they never did. After the first checkpoint the lead group broke away and I just couldn't keep up. Know that we had over a 100 miles still to go I didn't panic. I have ran so many races that the leaders came back, I figured this would also happen in a cycling race. A chance of a top 5 finish was probably out of reach, I still hoped for top 10, if enough guys began to drop back. When we went through the second check point around mile 75, I that getting a Coke and some more fluid in me would help. It did a little, but by mile 90ish I was struggling again. At mile 108 I had to stop in Valparaiso and refuel. After two Cokes, Milky Way, & a Starbuck's drink, I was on my way. Even though I had to stop for over 5 minutes I am not sure I would have made it to the next checkpoint at mile 123. I caught back up with Kae Takeshita, the lead woman, and rode into the check with her. When we headed out of the check point, I told her I would try to pull her in the rest of the way since we didn't know how far back the second place woman was. We were able to catch a group of guys right past the muddy section of road at 125 miles. My calf started really cramping then, but I was able to sit in the back of the pack for a few miles before it loosened up a little. Up the hills I still felt good, it was the downhills and flats that I struggled with. The last couple mile four of us from the pack started to pull away. Aaron Wrabek, who was on a Fatbike, was with us and we told him to take the lead at the finish. Overall it was a good day on the bike. I know now that I can ride for 9 hours and I also learned a lot about racing on gravel. I am looking forward to returning next year to redeem myself and I am also looking to get a couple more gravel races in later this fall. Yes, Dirty Kanza 200 is on my radar for next year!
This picture pretty much sums up the day @ 2016 Gravel Worlds. Going into the race I had high expectations since my training has been so good this year. I knew the race was going to be tough no matter what, I just didn't expect to feel crappy the whole way. The race started out at a fairly fast pace and after the rain the night before the roads were soft. I just kept thinking my legs would come around but they never did. After the first checkpoint the lead group broke away and I just couldn't keep up. Know that we had over a 100 miles still to go I didn't panic. I have ran so many races that the leaders came back, I figured this would also happen in a cycling race. A chance of a top 5 finish was probably out of reach, I still hoped for top 10, if enough guys began to drop back. When we went through the second check point around mile 75, I that getting a Coke and some more fluid in me would help. It did a little, but by mile 90ish I was struggling again. At mile 108 I had to stop in Valparaiso and refuel. After two Cokes, Milky Way, & a Starbuck's drink, I was on my way. Even though I had to stop for over 5 minutes I am not sure I would have made it to the next checkpoint at mile 123. I caught back up with Kae Takeshita, the lead woman, and rode into the check with her. When we headed out of the check point, I told her I would try to pull her in the rest of the way since we didn't know how far back the second place woman was. We were able to catch a group of guys right past the muddy section of road at 125 miles. My calf started really cramping then, but I was able to sit in the back of the pack for a few miles before it loosened up a little. Up the hills I still felt good, it was the downhills and flats that I struggled with. The last couple mile four of us from the pack started to pull away. Aaron Wrabek, who was on a Fatbike, was with us and we told him to take the lead at the finish. Overall it was a good day on the bike. I know now that I can ride for 9 hours and I also learned a lot about racing on gravel. I am looking forward to returning next year to redeem myself and I am also looking to get a couple more gravel races in later this fall. Yes, Dirty Kanza 200 is on my radar for next year!
