Fatbike Frozen Forty Race Report

I’m not usually big on writing race reports, but here goes. 

Finish Photo

It was cold.  I mean really cold!!!  Temperature at race start was -2 F with -25 F wind chill.  I have never raced in anything like this.  I was a little worried because of the temps and the fact that this would be my longest offroad/fatbike ride ever, 45 miles!!!

The Start

First ever fat bike mass start race.  It went pretty well, I just tried to stay out of trouble and ride clean lines through the first sections of road and into the single track.  There were a few multi bike pile ups with pass attempts and crashes in corners but I manage to stay clear of most of it.  

The Laps

Lap one had me pretty worried.  I could not get my Heart Rate down no matter how much I slowed down.  I knew it was not sustainable for 5 hours.  My legs really just didn’t have anything in the first few hills, I just felt dead.  Near the end of the first lap I started to get into a rhythm and feel more confident.  

Lap Two. In between laps I stopped quickly at my cooler to grab a new bottle and head back out.  By now the riders were pretty strung out so there weren’t any traffic issues. Towards the end to lap two my HR monitor stopped working so I just tried to ride steady and keep taking in my Infinit Nutrition mix to keep me going.  Lap two was pretty calm and felt good. 

Lap Three started with a near crash on a fast corner which kind of woke me up and got me to focus on my riding.  My legs were starting to feel the effort on all of the hills and flats where I was pushing a little.  I began to realize that I would be able to finish as long as I didn’t have a major crash or mechanical issue.  The cold started to settle into my feet a little by the end of lap three.

Lap four was not pleasant!  My lower back decided it didn’t want to be on the bike anymore.  Every pedal stroke began to hurt.  The cold was starting to get to me.  I still felt warm but I could tell my body was starting to struggle.  I tried to focus on each little stretch knowing that it was taking me closer to the finish line.  

The Finish

Crossed the line and wanted off the bike!!!  Went to the truck to get warm and put some dry clothes on.  There was a thick layer of ice on the inside of my soft shell and the inside of my outer tights.  As I started to warm up I started to shiver uncontrollably.  Got all the warm gear on and headed out to see how others were doing.  A friend greeted me with a beer that was so tasty!!! Hung around for awards and drawing with hopes of winning something, but nothing for me.  

Recovery

The rest of the day was spent on the couch hydrating and eating.  The following day I was really sore, pretty much everything hurt so not much was going on.  Monday I had a really painful massage at Body Rhythms.  It definitely loosened me up, but hurt at the same time.  Epsom salt bath that evening to try and further help the recovery process.  Tuesday morning greets me with a bit of soreness but a step in the right direction.  

Conclusion

This was a super hard race!  I think I will do it again, but I will train more appropriately for such a long cold event!!! 

Thanks to everyone who helped me out!  Thanks to Body Rhythms for taking care of my body!  

Angels...

The Sufferfest Angels is a harsh climbing experience! Brutal attacks standing, sitting just trying to hang on!!

Let's do this...

Super excited to have a new sponsor. Thank you Body Rhythms for helping me chase my Kona dream by providing massage therapy or as I call it, my body mechanic!!!  Check out the website at www.bodyrhythyms.web.com.

Better to have tried...

The Sufferfest Nine Hammers really is not pleasant.  I tried to ride true to my power numbers and it hammered me.  Hammer number seven cracked me.  Hammer number eight broke me.  Sure I could have backed off so I could say I finished the workout.  But that's not in me.  I rode my power until I couldn't do it anymore.

The Journey is the Reward!!!

So I am starting out this new Ironman journey by bringing back my old blog.  I'm a total dork, but it lets me share what I experience and learn along this journey.  Please join me and share in the adventure!

I love MN winters!!!

Here is a quick little chart to help you calculate windchills in your area. Just to give you an idea of what I am dealing with here, it was -15F with 20 MPH winds when I left for work this morning. That puts the windchill right around 42 degrees below freakin' zero. I can handle cold. I have spent many days at a time on winter camping is these conditions, but it's not as much fun when I only get to drive to work in it. My car just starts to feel a little bit warm when I get to work, and I have a forty minute drive!

All Outdoor Activities Cancelled!!!

Stay Warm, Drink Whiskey!!!

Large Base vs. Small Base + Speed

I am looking for some feed back on training. I am admittedly very stubborn and not really good at taking advice if I don't agree with it. But, there comes a time when even I have to admit that I don't know it all. So here is my question. I have been reading a lot about short and olympic course training and it seems there is a good debate about large base and build vs small base and increasing speed for the shorter events. What I need to know is if anyone out there has experience with the smaller base and more speed approach to training for short races.

Right now I am going with the faster approach and mainly focusing on my run, but the season is still a long way off, so there is time for a change if needed.

Here is an example of current training:

Saturday Jan 19th long run: 7 miles @ 8:08 pace
Sunday Jan 20th Off
Monday Jan 21st bike: wu 5min main 2x5min tempo 5min recovery, 5x30sec big gear drills, 30sec rest.
cd 5min easy spin
Tuesday Jan 22nd short run: 3 miles @ 7:28 pace
Wednesday Jan 23rd run/swim brick: Run 3 miles 6:40 pace Swim 1000 yards of Drills.
Thursday Jan 24th easy run: 4-6 miles at 8:00 pace.
Friday Jan 25th Off:

The general plan is to do a long run over the weekend followed by shorter runs of increasing intensity throughout the week, and ending with an easier mid distance run. I will be including 2 bikes and 2 swims starting next week. These will mostly focus on form in the pool and base on the bike.

Can this plan work?

Base Training Sucks!!!

Base training sucks!!! I'm just starting to do some real training now and this base stuff is really boring this year. Why can't I just go fast. Last year I had much more patience for this because I was training for an IM. Now, this year, all I am racing are short course events so long and slow is not fitting in with my mentality right now. I know I need to do it, but it's hard to go slow. I know, I know, have patience, fast workouts are just around the corner. Before I know it I will begging for mercy on the track, on the roads and in the pool. It just seems so far away right.