North Face Endurance Challenge Wisconsin Half Marathon

Ran the North Face Endurance Challenge Half Marathon on October 24, 2009. It was a COLD morning! Luckily for the half marathon runners, we did not start until 10 a.m. The 50 mile runners had started in the dark at 6 and the marathoners at 8 a.m. The half marathon course looped through the Kettle Morraine State Park, Southern Unit starting and finishing at Ottawa Lake. The course undulated quite a bit, but there were not many really big hills, just lots of up and down. The fall colors were close to peak, though the wind and rain over the previous few days had stripped some of the trees (and made for a few muddy patches). My favorite parts of the course were the sections of pine forests...very little of that on my runs at Des Plaines River Trail or Bong Recreation Area. The race was well organized and the route well marked. My only complaint is that the finish line are was too small. I crossed the finish line and had to come to an abrupt halt because the crowd was so thick I could not move. I liked the course for the Rock Cut Rendezvous 25km much more, and think I'll try the 50km race there next year. Finish time-2:12

Rock Cut HOBO 25 km Trail Run

The Rockford Road Runners put on three days (September 18-20) of trail runs called the Rock Cut Rendezvous, which includes a 10km night run, and 25 and 50km regular trail races. Since this was my first trail run, I opted for the middle distance. The course is a giant loop through Rock Cut State Park with a mix of wide horse trails and single-track, with the majority being single-track. There were about 200 runners in the race, a small enough number that we could get nicely strung out on the course. This is a very scenic route with the single-track so narrow in places that you almost have to turn sideways to slip through. Lots of switch back up and down ravines and even a couple of very narrow stream crossings. It's a great course and well organized race. Hope to be back next year for the 50km.

CANDISC 2009

Spent a week this summer Cycling Around North Dakota in Sakakawea Country (CANDISC), a 426 mile loop ride around eastern North Dakota from August 1-8. It was my first visit to North Dakota and I was struck by the emptiness. Roads stretch off in front of you until they disappear into infinity. The route was not flat. Most days we had nice gentle rollers and occasionally a decent climb. Traffic was mostly nonexistent (as was sunshine this week). It seemed like the towns we overnighted in had a smaller population than our tour group. We got lucky with the wind, having a couple of days of stiff tailwinds and only one day of really trying headwinds. Rest stops were well organized and occasionally very tasty. Bison burgers on day one was one of my favorites. Mornings were chilly. One morning it must have been close to freezing. Definitely the coldest I've ever been in August. Overall, a very well organized tour with very little variation in the scenery from day to day. A nice change of pace, but I sure missed trees by the end of the tour.

GLR 400 km Brevet 2009

Well, the distances are getting longer, but the weather is getting better. Right? Well, mostly. It spit rain for most of the daylight hours, but that just helped keep me at the right temperature. This would be my longest ride ever. My previous record was 244 miles at the 24 Hour National Challenge.

My experience with prior brevets and night riding had convinced me to buy a GPS. I was always paranoid about riding alone at night and missing a turn. In fact, the groups ahead of me on this ride both missed turns and got lost. But I, with my new Garmin eTrex Legend with the cue sheet directions programmed in, never missed a turn.

Before the ride, I was worried about how tough the climbs would be. And they did not disappoint, especially Freedom Road heading towards Baraboo. Once across the river on the ferry at Merrimac, most of the climbing was done. The next hurdle was the mostly flat ride into a headwind from Lodi to Columbus. All that riding into stiff headwinds on the 200 and 300 km earlier this year definitely helped keep this section in perspective. Once in Columbus, I rigged/dressed for night riding and just kept the pedals turning.

GLR 300km Brevet 2009

Headwinds. That was the story of the first half of the day. The wind was 20-25 mph out of the west or northwest, making for some slow speeds and tiring riding for the first 60 or so miles. Then there was the hills from Verona to Sauk City. Very scenic, but lots of climbing. Had my first ever secret control at the top of one of the climbs. Was in a pretty good mood at that point looking forward to the tailwinds home. Otherwise, a pretty uneventful ride. Hooked up with a couple of other riders for the last 50 km from Edgerton to Delavan. Always afraid of missing a turn when traveling alone and there is perhaps a little more safety in numbers. Finished at midnight for the third year in a row. It doesn't seem to matter the conditions (or my condition!) I always finish right at 12:00 a.m. No flats this year (three last year!). Looking forward to the 400 km, but I'll add another headlight to the bike to make solo riding at night a little more comfortable.

Levi, Lance and Z-man

Lance and Levi Talk to Dave Zabriskie -- powered by http://www.livestrong.com

GLR 200km Brevet 2009

Since I'm in the taper for next weekend's Wisconsin Marathon, I was watching the weather carefully for yesterday's Great Lakes Randonneurs 200k brevet-if the weather was too extreme, I was gonna skip it. The forecast looked not too bad...winds 20 mph or less and moderate temps. Well, the weather forecasters let me down and we had one cold, rainy, Belgian-style extreme weather brevet.

Before the start, it was still relatively warm and I was considering shedding the leg warmers. I would soon be very glad I did not. I also chose to put a handlebar bag on my bike with every bit of rain gear I owned. This would also prove to be a very wise decision. Barely two miles into the brevet, the first rain of the day began. It was kinda neat to see the fast group all pulled over to the side of the road, in what looked like a "natural break", digging out the rain jackets. Of course, they would be passing me again in a few minutes.

The 200km route was the same as last year, Delavan to Edgerton to Verona and back. Not flat, but no really challenging climbs. Rolling into Edgerton for the fist checkpoint, all was well except for my frozen hands and feet. The temperatures had been dropping since the start and being wet just made this worse. I was feeling bad for the guys with no jackets and wearing shorts! Hypothermia was a definite possibility. I dug into my bag of tricks to dig out my Louis Garneau Rain Helmet cover-one of the most indispensable pieces of cycling gear I own. It has a visor to help keep rain out of your eyes and a desert-style neck flap to keep rain from running down your back. Combined with my Sugoi rain jacket, I could ride in relative comfort. Except for my frozen hands and feet, of course.

The lightning was a little scary on the way out of town. Big streaks of ground lightning in the direction I was traveling. Just kept pedaling. At one point between Edgerton and Verona, I started feeling a little shaky. I pulled over and just ate. Breakfast cookies rock. Calories must have been what I needed, because I started to feel better almost immediately. When it is cold, you don't drink so much, so your calorie consumption goes down and you really need to eat more solid food. Bonking in my first 200km brevet brutally reinforced the importance of monitoring my food and liquid, and I've avoided that obstacle since. In Verona, I was cold...shivering cold. Hot drinks, a change of socks, the addition of my waterproof socks, change of glove to long-fingered gloves with latex gloves beneath, more calories, and back on the road.

The ride back from Verona to Edgerton was good, except for the two flats. It should have just been one. If I had checked my tire more carefully after the first flat, I would have found the sliver of shell embedded in my tire that would cause the second flat. The cut was pretty small and I couldn't find it again to boot, so just used my last spare tube and hoped not to have another flat. Having mostly tailwinds and crosswinds definitely helped speed us along back to Edgerton. The latex glove layer was absolutely helping my hands stay warm, though it would cause a couple of small blisters. My feet were still cold, but felt drier with the waterproof socks.

Back into Edgerton. Stocked up on junk food and cappuccino. Ready to ride. Rain continued. It never seemed to completely stop all day. The hardest part of this stage is always the 11 miles on Highway M. Nowhere to hide on M, with empty farm fields on either side and very few wind breaks. Luckily, there was a crosswind for 9 of the 11 miles, UNTIL the 90 degree turn in the highway that made for a stiff headwind, lowering my speed to 10 mph. This was so hard on my back. Barely could muster the power required to fight this headwind after 120 miles of riding. This is where the mental challenge really kicks in. Cold, tired and demoralized by the slow rate of progress, you just have to grit your teeth and keep the pedals turning. The Super 8 back in Delavan is then a wonderful sight. Back in the truck, heat on high, shoes and socks off, feet stuck up against the vents. Ahhh. Can't wait to see what the 300km brevet has in store!