EPIC TRAINING SYSTEMS
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2007 Mulholland Double Century Race Report
| APRIL 14, 2007 I just got back from a weekend of EPIC climbing in the Santa Monica Mountains. I did the Mulholland Double Century on Saturday April 14th 203.7 miles with 17,000 of climbing. Then Sunday just because I was already there I did the Mulholland Century Challenge. 110 miles with 12,000 feet of climbing. Weekend Total 29,000 feet of climbing and 330 miles. . I arrived in Calabasas, the race start, late Friday night. I missed a couple of turns in the Los Angeles area. I hate driving in Los Angeles and one missed exit can cost you 1/2 hour of travel time. I had dinner with some friends and then it was time to do bike prep. It's tragic that I work in a bike shop and I don't have time to work on my bike until the night before the event . . There were two ride start times for the riders doing the Double Century. The first start time was 5am and the second 6:15 . I elected for the 6:15 start. I believed I could ride with the lead group for a little while and then get dropped. The plan worked until Mile 40 when I dropped my water bottle and had to stop to pick it up. I chased and chased but with all the constant climbing I never bridged the gap. Once again the lead pack was gone. . This wasn't a bad thing. I was feeling really worked riding with the lead pack. And actually I was quite surprised to see how long the lead pack stayed together. Once I was dropped I started riding at my own pace. The Mulholland Double course is very difficult because the climbs are steep. There aren't any really long climbs-- I think the longest climb was 6 miles. . I felt good all day. I stayed on top of the fueling and supplements. I knew that I faded last year after mile 150. So this year I was forcing myself to drink. It really worked because I felt great. I went liquid fuel all day. I skipped lunch again but no regrets. I actually felt really good going into Decker which I had been fearing throughout the day. I had a couple of lulls but nothing like the huge BONK I experienced in 2006. What did I learn from 2006? Well I learned I needed 3 scoops of Sustained Energy in my bottles-- not the customary 2 scoops that the volunteers put on the table. With 3 scoops and 4 Endurolytes at every stop then I will have enough calories and electrolytes to go completely liquid and not bonk. Many riders are faster than me. They climb faster or they hammer faster than me on the flats. Where I make time in doubles is maintaining a consistent effort and not stopping too long at aid stations. I have trained myself to be able to go only on liquid fuel and that keeps me from having a lunch stop and riding at "digestive pace" for a short while after leaving the lunch stop. Overall it was a great event for me with a good result. I had a goal of going under 14 hours and I did that with a time of 13:49 I took 1 hour 43 minutes off my time. Although, I took that much time off I dropped 8 places to 19th. . The next day, Sunday, I did the Mulholland Century Challenge. 110 miles 12,000 feet of climbing. My challenge was getting enough calories in me on Saturday night so that I could replenish my glycogen stores and be ready to go again. I felt sluggish at the start but as the day wore on I started to get in my groove. But then as the elevation gain continued to accumulate I really just wanted to finish. I wasn't having fun anymore. But I got through with a little ok a lot of help from Brandy as my SAG. . The hardest thing about these two events is the steepness of the grades. There really isn't anything that is 6% that climbs for 10 miles. Many climbs are 8-10% with some being as much as 15-20% for a couple of miles. |
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ADDITIONAL MULHOLLAND DOUBLE CENTURY REPORTS |
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