Ok, So since Nov 3rd of 2018, I’ve not had MTB wheels on dirt. It’s all been on my Tacx Neo with my new buddies at TRAINERROAD. I followed their plans starting Nov 13th of 18. My first race of the year was the 24 HOP.
The first practice lap was the first time riding outdoors since Nov.
I’m coming up on 52 years of age and I feel the training plans from Chad really helped me start the year off right. My 4 person team in the 4 Men Open division finished the race, but I can tell you it was cold out there.
I was the starting rider who had to run- my 5 lap average was 1:12:28- fastest was 1:09:52 on lap 1.
My lap times
I want to thank TR for doing a great job with their podcasts and the effort to help make me faster.
I did see Pete a few times and hollerd at him , but never Nate or Jonathan. I regret not being able to ride with you guys for a bit.
I think their training plans are awesome! Thank you guys and I could care less if you guys decided to sleep. Your call. You will continue to have me as a subscriber. And I count on your program to get me through USAC Marathon Nationals.
Best,
Patrick Hover
USMES Team Chronos.
Missoula, Montana.
I do love the TR guys and the platform is awesome, though was surprised around a few things in this ride which seemed to be a little school boy errors considering the build up, their knowledge and recon work …(getting cold, lights running flat, loose wheels and no tools, riding hard when 80% was just as effective) do they have more MTB endurance races to do… I cant recall… so was it really a C race… more of a great experience and fun with ya mates… could not see a link back to TR training … hope those that plan to do these type of events during the year got something from it… I was disappointed tbh…
Ok. There are opinions all around on the quit/stay in it topic. I see no point is rehashing this any more. I’d like to avoid another round of deleted posts.
Can we move on to other aspects of the race and learnings, please?
I feel like all of the disagreement and arguments above about “quitting” can be solved by one learning: figure out what a C race means to you.
It means different things to different people and no interpretation is wrong.
@Hoverp Way to go on your ride! Sounds like you killed it out there. What did you do for nutrition? Did you feel like you nailed it or was there something you feel like you should have done differently looking back?
So I did learn some things on nutrition. I was on my own for cooking in a Rpod trailer. So I bought boil in a bag rice, avocados and turkey meat. Organic Almond butter and Jelly with organic bread.
Plus all the race typical stuff like bananas, grapes, cliff bars , and GU products for racing.
On the bike I had one large bottle full of Roctane. It has Caffeine, and I used that for the first 2 day laps. For the night laps I went to Carbo Rocket- (found it was too sweet for me at the recommended 3 scoops per big bottle.) And Gu energy non caffeinated for the 2 night laps.
Last day lap back to Roctane. After each lap I would do a GU recovery shake immediately upon getting back to the trailer. change into street clothes and start making food. Boil rice add meat and avocado. Pound that. Then go work on the bike and get ready for next lap so I could try and relax a bit.
Challenge is drinking enough that you stay hydrated without making yourself ha e to stop on the course and pee. That’s a full minute lost.
Only weird thing I noticed was that on my night laps it was hard to get the heart rate up. It was a solid 25 beats below my threshold normal. I’m still working on that. I added plenty of sodium to the rice mix.
Overall 5 laps were 1 hour and 9:57, 11:25, N15:25, N21:37, 14:00. The 21:37 was because I thought I might have to ride 6 laps(ride an extra for a buddy) so I backed it off.
This was my first time at the 24HOP and my team had a fantastic time! We loved the course, organization, and atmosphere. There were certainly ups and downs but we will be back for next year as well.
What is really missing from this discussion is a lighter note into the analysis two theories heard on the trail: “whiskey adds watts” and “whiskey makes your light burn brighter.” I heard this a few times and decided to test the truth of these claims.
My lap times were 1:13, 1:13, 1:22, and 1:11. The second to last lap I had a dying light. I took one swig at the whiskey tree, got a push start from two enthusiastic butt grabbing females, and lost time. This proves that whiskey does NOT make your light burn brighter. The last lap was completed with one gulp before the lap and 3 swigs at the whiskey tree resulting in a faster time. This proves that whiskey does in fact add watts. Summary: whiskey adds watts but not lumens.
The moral: don’t get too serious about someone else’s race and how they choose to ride it. Get out there, race hard, and enjoy what you get out of it!