Racing for Ultra Fitness

I know myself, and if I don't have some kind of goals for next year then much of the fitness progress I've made this summer will be squandered away over the winter.  Gotta have that carrot dangling out there.  And that is a particularly fine analogy with my eating habits lately!  Putting some goals in a public post just means I'll be more motivated to achieve them... hopefully.

I thoroughly enjoyed competing in the Ring of Fire, in spite of the heat, nausea, and early finish. So I would like to race more. And if I am going to race more, I would like to actually be competitive.  Call me crazy.

The 12-hour Time Trial format seems like it will be just about right for next year.  It was a stretch in the Ring of Fire this year, but I think I would have been okay without the heat and/or food intake issues.  I should improve considerably next year with more training and experience under my belt.  And I think Amy will enjoy this length of race as well.

If we can both do 12-hour solo rides then I think it is within reason for us to be able to complete a 500 mile ride as a relay team.  Taking turns as often as we'd like (or need) will be much easier on the system than riding the whole thing by yourself.  Not to say that 500 miles for 2 people will be easy, but it should be doable.  So I would like to do the Race Across Oregon as a 2-person team.

What follows is our preliminary list of races for 2010.  Those actually scheduled by the organizers have the complete date, the others only show the months based on when they occurred this year. As soon as I know the actual dates I will try to update them. EDIT: All dates are now confirmed.

Davis 12/24 Hour Challenge
April 3-4, 2010
This is quite a ways to the south of us in Davis, California, so it is doubtful that we will do this race.  But since it is possible I decided to list it, particularly since it is part of the Western 12/24 Triple Challenge.  The main loop is 162.5 miles and 8,000 feet of climbing.  The small loop is apparently flat.

Deschutes River Valley Time Trial Festival
April 24-25, 2010
Put on by the Race Across Oregon folks, this event consists of three separate time trials over two days.  Stage 1 is a morning race of a 25 mile loop with 2,200 feet of climbing.  Stage 2 is that same day in the afternoon, completing a one-way 8-mile ride of 1,880 feet of constant grade climbing up Hwy 197.  Stage 3 is the next day and is an "out and back" ride on Bakeoven Road of 50 miles and 3,800 feet of climbing.  This kind of relatively short distance racing isn't really up our alley, but it might be good for training purposes.  Not sure.  Will try to do some rides on comparable local routes (similar distance and elevation profile) and see what our average speed looks like compared to the actual racing results.

Lewis & Clark Ultra 12/24
May 29-30, 2010
This one is right in our proverbial back yard (Hockinson) so it is a must.  It is also part of the Western 12/24 Triple Challenge.  Plus, even though it is right here in our county we haven't ridden the race route, which looks to be a great ride!  The initial big loop consists of 140 miles and 5,700 feet of climbing that starts by heading out to Carson, then north to Swift Reservoir and Yale Lake, and back to Hockinson through Amboy and Yacolt.  Should be some incredible views on the way (Columbia Gorge, Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens off the top of my head).  The small loop is 9.6 miles and 420 feet of elevation gain.

Race Across Oregon
July 24-25, 2010
As already mentioned I think we can do this as a 2-person relay team.  It is over 500 miles and 40,000 feet of climbing.  In order to qualify as official finishers we'll have to complete the entire race within 46 hours.  We will definitely need a support crew on this one (I think it is required!).  We've never ridden at night so we'll need to set our bikes up with lights and extra reflectors, not to mention all the stuff for a support vehicle (amber lights, caution triangle, signs, music PA system, etc).  Would probably makes sense to get the rig set up and do a really long trial ride or two beforehand, both for training purposes but also to learn more about how to equip the rig and what to have on hand.

Ring of Fire 12/24 Hour Time Trial
September 11, 2010
The final component of the Western 12/24 Triple Challenge, I definitely want to do this race again, and I want to CRUSH my previous result!  The main loop is 112 miles and 9,600 feet of climbing (based on trimbleoutdoors.com since I can't read the number on the RAO website).  The small loop (same as Stage 1 of the Deschutes Time Trial Festival) is 25 miles and 2,200 feet of climbing.

So what should be our primary race(s)?  From what I've read we should organize our training so that we're peaking for our major event.  Should we focus on the Race Across Oregon or the three races of the Western 12/24 Triple Challenge?  I think the races on our list are spaced enough that we may be able to train so that we peak for each one as it comes, with the following possible exceptions.  The Deschutes Valley TT may be too close to the Davis race, assuming we elect to even do the Davis race.  And the Davis and Lewis & Clark races could end up being a bit too close to each other as well.  If we need to drop a race it looks like Davis is a good candidate, which is nice since it is quite a long drive down there!  We will have to reexamine the spacing of these events when the official dates are published.

I've already learned that a support crew would be invaluable on a 12-hour race, and of course it is a necessity for a 500-mile race.  So we will be needing some help!  On the other hand, it would be fairly simple for Amy and I to act as our own support crew on a 12-hour race if we competed as a relay team instead of solo.  As a team we could then even decide to switch to the 24-hour format instead.  The only problem with competing as a team is that the Western 12/24 Triple Challenge is for solo competitors, not teams.  That really is the only problem though.  Competing as a team has all kinds of advantages (lots of rest time, half the distance, competing together, able to provide our own support for all but 500-mile RAO), and only the one negative.  Well, I suppose "half the distance" could be considered a negative!

If we end up doing 12-hour solo races it would be pretty easy for a support vehicle to provide support for both of us as we probably wouldn't be too far away from each other on the initial big loop of each race.  Then for the repeating small loops they usually don't allow support vehicles anyway, requiring the team to make their swap at the beginning of a lap.

I guess I haven't really listed goals so much as a bunch of races.  The races will act as motivators to improve my overall fitness, particularly as it pertains to ultracycling.  My generalized bicycling/fitness goals for next year are threefold:

1. Improve both my overall strength/power as it relates to maintaining a higher average speed.  This will require some work in the weight room.
2. Continue to improve my overall cardio fitness so that I can go faster on sustained climbs. This will require either winter riding or indoor spinning, and for some reason I loathe the latter.  Perhaps one of those indoor trainers with the ride simulator on a PC would do the trick?  Could also do other sports (e.g. skiing) but whatever I do needs to be often.  Skiing is expensive (in terms of both $$ and effort to get up to the mountain).  I already have a gym membership, and the gym is very close!
3. Continue to add endurance to pedal strong on longer rides.  Ride simulator would be nice here too.  Can't let the bum get out of bike-seat-shape...

Lots of things to think about, and do, over the winter...