How do I do it? NUE preparation 101

After two successful seasons on the NUE circuit (2008, 2012) where I finished third overall on both occasions, I still feel like I have some unfinished business to attend to. While 100ish miles on a mountain bike seems like a milestone rather than a “fun” race distance to me, it seems that the Series has gotten more traction in the racing world that I would have expected. I supposed it is the “accomplishment” factor that draws sell-out crowds to ends of roads nationwide to conquer these challenges of mind, machine, and body. I have never found a way to finish an NUE event without feeling like I was just “surviving” the last 20-30 miles. I expect nothing less when I roll to the line next month to race True Grit in St. George, Utah, but I do have a plan to be as ready as ever!

For me the number one weapon in my ultra-endurance training arsenal is volume. I have kept almost every imaginable work and home life schedule over the last ten years as a “pro” athlete and nothing counts more than time on the bike. Sure some will laugh me out of room with complex formulas of intervals and fancy acronyms for various power data analysis and as an engineer there is a part of me that loves numbers and recipes for success. However, there is also the side of me that has hired multiple coaches, logged pages of training diaries and saved countless power files. Did it make me a better rider? Yes, not because of what I did, rather what I learned. And what I learned was simple. Ride my bike with purpose and focus on the areas of weakness until I am nearly broken. Then I will recover and do it some more. For me, this means riding every other day for three to eight hours and slowly increase my weekly volume through the a week prior to the event. It also means riding my singlespeed ‘cross bike geared 42×17 on rolling terrain once a week. If the weather is too nasty outside, I will pedal on my Inside Ride rollers with my PowerCranks for two to four hours instead. Then I will “taper” using large blocks of rest and shorter easier workouts to sharpen up the week before the race.

This is my biggest challenge. I love to eat and feel full. These are not ideal traits of a skinny bike racer. So I try my best to starve myself (not really just feels like it) after the holidays in hopes of being lean and ready in time. March is relatively early and my tendency is to hold tight to my weight when the weather is cold so I fully expect to be riding 10 pounds heavy in Utah. My only hope is that everyone else is too! Now will someone please pass the salad!

I will choose to ride my Ibis Ripley. Yes, it is awesome and coming to a dealer near you. No, I do not know when but it will be worth the wait. It is big, white, and has 29″ wheels. It also has 120mm of suspension front and rear. Seem like too much? Well, let’s just say not to many folks tell me to put a brake light on it! I will use Kenda SCT tubeless tires because I haven’t had any of them go flat and flat tires don’t finish races well. My bikes all have Answer 20/20 handlebars and ESI grips on them and not just because I designed the bars. Rather because they were designed to be comfortable for 24 hour solo races and that is a whole other level of suffering!

I will wear a skinsuit. Yes it is aero and goofy but mountain bike races have always been time trials to me and I plan to do a 100 mile time trial at True Grit. Really? Skinsuits are comfortable and I want to be comfortable if I have to sit on my bike for seven hours. I will wear long finger gloves with no padding because that is what the ESI grips are for. I will wear a sleeveless base layer because it will be cold early in the morning and warmer later in the day. Base layers help me regulate my body temperature more efficiently. If it is cold, I will wear a cap because my head is where I lose most of my body heat. It will also shade my eyes when the sun is low in the wee hours of the morning. My Uvex glasses will have photochromic lenses so they darken if the sun gets more brilliant later in the day.

I will leave home and board a Southwest Airlines flight with my bike in a Trico Iron Case to Las Vegas, Nevada. This case has survived countless baggage handlers in over ten years of service. Unfortunately it will cost me $50 each way but I like having my bike on my flight. Once on the ground in Lost Wages I will rent a car and get on I-15 as quickly as possible since I hate that sinful city. Once in Dixie (Southern Utah) I will feel much more at home and get the cheapest room I can find relatively close to the venue and go to sleep.

I will assemble my bike and go for a short, one hour ride to make sure it hasn’t morphed into a mechanical failure since I last rode it. I will also scope out the beginning and ending of the race course and any readily accessible cool trails in the area. I will then stretch, shower and make bottles with 200-300 calories of carbohydrate each. More calories in six bottles if it is cool, less calories in seven bottles if it is warm. I will eat my normal high protein/fat low carb diet just like always–because carbo loading doesn’t work for me. Then I will try to go to bed as early as possible because I am not a morning person and this race will start way to early!

I will get up no less than 1:15 before the start. I will immediately consume a bottle of carbs, vitamins and electrolytes. I will get dressed and ride to the venue if possible getting at least 45 minutes of bike time to wake up my body. I will make any necessary adjustments to my equipment and clothing to meet the conditions of the day. I will roll to the line just minutes before the start and I will make sure I get to the front as quickly as possible and stay there as long as possible. If there are folks that want to ride harder than I do I will confidently let them do so and then settle into my race pace–which I know well from all those hours of “training”.

Baring any unplanned catastrophies, I will began to catch any leading rabbits sometime after three hours into the race, and will slowly pedal closer to the end and a good result. Between five and six hours I will begin to get bored and my body will protest the higher-than-normal pace. I will try to maintain focus by telling my body to “shut up” repeatedly, and rip the technical sections as fast as possible which will make me smile and love the ride. The last hour won’t be much fun no matter what the conditions are–because it just isn’t. If I am at the front, that will distract me and make it go by a little faster. If not, I will focus on the goal, knowing just like every other finisher with “True Grit”, that I have passed the test and accomplished something that isn’t ever easy, which I suppose is why it will be so much fun!

Come on down–let’s get it on!