Week #25 Solstice Gravel Grinder - 2nd Overall / !st Masters

The Solstice Gravel Grinder was a great race, probably one of my favorites. After a short rain delay, we headed out on fairly dry roads. My goal was to try to stay as close to Ashton Lambie as possible. I was able to hang with him for 25 miles before he put some serious power down and opened up a gap. I help a 5 minute gap for most of the race. Towards the end, he opened it up a bit more and ended up beating me by 11 minutes. Throughout the race I was hoping to keep the gap to 10 minutes, so I was pretty happy with my effort. I was also glad I didn't have any cramping issues like at Dirty Kanza. Now it wasn't as hot, but I was putting in some hard efforts to stay close to Ashton. I made sure I was eating and drinking my Science in Sport products all day. The last four weeks have been some solid miles for me. I plan on a couple more big weeks before I start to taper for The Rift in Iceland at the end of July.

Week #24 Getting ready to get after it again

Next race is the Solstice 100 miler this coming Saturday. The weather looks good and the roads should be in nice (fast) shape. Waiting to see the course, but should be similar to last year. This year Ashton Lambie will be there, so we will have to see how hard he wants to go. Hopefully he doesn't drop us in the first few miles.

Training has been good since DK. Trying to keep my mileage up through the next few weeks. I am still thinking I will have a big week the first part of July to get ready for The Rift. One of the hardest part of that race is going to be the weather! As things start to heat up over here, it's going to be cool or possibly cold. Might have to do a long Zwift ride with the AC cranked.

Week #23 Hit the reset button

After Dirty Kanza last weeks, my legs feel fine and had a good week on the bike. I ended up riding a little more than I had planned.
On Saturday, I decided to ride to Beatrice for donuts. It was fun to hit a few new roads and some MMRs. Sunshine Bakery did not disappoint! The donuts and coffee hit the spot around mile 43ish. I was also lucky and the wind was out of the south, so I had a tailwind coming home.
Sunday Josh and I rode around 90+ miles. The wind was hard at times and Jen's french toast was amazing half way through the ride.
I am not racing until June 22nd at the Solstice 100. That should be a fun (hard) day since Ashton Lambie is going to be there.

Week #22 DK = DNF

This year's Dirty Kanza The World's Premier Gravel Race didn't turn out like I had hoped for. The day started out really good. I usually don't feel great until an hour or so into a race, but my legs felt really good once we rolled out of town.
The first 20 some miles were flat and the pace wasn't out of control like I thought it might be. Once we got around 30 miles, we came upon our first minimum maintenance road and it had lots of loose, sharp rocks. This was my first flat of the day. I stopped and quickly put a tube in and was on my way. About two miles down the road another flat happened. Thankfully Greg Vaught loaned me an extra tube incase I didn't make it to the checkpoint at mile 67ish. After I got to the checkpoint and got a new wheel from Roger Williams, since I had cut the sidewall of the tire, I was back on the road. 
The next checkpoint wasn't until mile 150, but there were two water stops along the way. I made sure that I stopped to fill my bottles since the temperature was rising quickly. After the water stop at mile 120, I got my third flat of the day. Somewhere around mile 140 my hamstrings started to cramp a little. I kept drinking and eating until I rolled into the last checkpoint at mile 150. I took my time to drink some but I was having a little trouble eating much. By now the heat was starting to affect me a bit more. My hamstring was cramping more and around mile 172 it decided to totally lock up. I tried to pedal with one leg a little bit, but once I clipped back in, the hamstring would spasm. I finally stopped and got off the bike. After a few minutes I walked to the top of the hill and coasted down to a tree along side the road. I made the dreaded call to Roger that I was going to have to stop the race.
Not quite sure what I could have done different in the race. I felt that I was drinking and eating a bunch. I was using Science in Sport Beta Fuel and GO Isotonic Energy Gels, which I train and race with all the time. Many races I know that I don't drink enough, but I the conditions got the best of me at DK.
I want to give a big shout out to my Lauf True Grit. The bike handled the course like a pro. Even though I had a few flats, I felt super comfortable on how the bike handled the rough course.
Another big congrats to Move Up Off Road teammates Joe Kleidosty for finishing 3rd in the single speed division and Don Daly / Carrie Bax for coming in second in the tandem division. Also to Mike Morgan for a strong 23rd place overall.
Yes, I am disappointed not to finish, but it is only a race. There will be many more. It was an amazing weekend to catch up with lots of friends and gravel family. Next year I will be back and hopefully be competing in the DK XL. It will be a whole different challenge but I am looking forward to it.
#moveupoffroad #fueledbyscience #isotonicsquad #laufcycling #panaracer#ucantu #flyvie13 #possumdoping #unlearnpavement#justanotherdayonthebike #joypower