I'm days out from the 2011 Firecracker 50, which is always on July 4. Last word we got was that 4ft of snow was still on the highest point on the course. I pray for a reroute. That would ixnay the shale hell climb. Dear Baby Jesus, help them find a reroute.
Anyway, for the first time in years, it's just me and the Hubs heading to Breckenridge. But we won't be all alone while we're there. The Eyebergs will be there (Todd is racing). Also, Cowbell Bob will be in town along with Aaron Bolshaw. They're both doing the shorter course, called the Sparkler but don't let the name fool ya. It IS 25 miles at 10,000 feet, mind you. Larry Kintner is out this year. Boo! We'll miss you, Larry. No, he's not injured. Just taking a break.
I looked back in archives to last year's race write up. I had mentally archived it as well, forgetting that I had almost quit do to gastro issues. It's a crap shoot with this race. I won't know until I know but the plan this year is to chill on the fiber since altitude totally F-bombs with my metabolism. It's pancakes and eggs for breakfast this year! And I need to drink more and eat more along the way. I must!
For the past month I've been racing on the weekends and doing focused LT intervals during the week. My recovery is stellar but my top, top end is still a bit behind. I was hoping to lose 5 lb but only managed 3. I'll take it. I had a great race at Ponca. And even though I did one less lap than last year, those laps were faster. And I finally felt "one" with the bike. Before that, I was really struggling with my technique. Too much road riding will do that to ya. This last weekend at the Crocodile Rock was okay. I didn't feel fast but my avg. hr over 2 hours was 165 and I didn't feel stressed so yes, I could've gone harder but at the same time, my time didn't get much slower each lap, so I'll check one for consistency.
So final prep this week is to get one last blast of high heart rate at WNW and then one last shake down on the TNR before I put my feet up for a few days. One cool thing to note: one of our good friends, Josh Wilderman, is getting married in Leadville on this Saturday. They're doing folks a solid by shuttling guests up to the venue from Breck. But the best part: he's racing the FC50, the whole thing, on Monday. Now that is what I call a honeymoon (and a forgiving bride). :)
All in all, I'm looking forward to this trip. We haven't traveled with Aaron, Bob and in a long time. It will be like old times when we all would hop in the Spin City van to race down in Missouri and Kansas, only this time I won't have to sit on the cooler.
She's back! :)
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