Double Header
Finally. The weekend I’ve been both eagerly waiting for and silently dreading has arrived. A rare double header weekend that has morphed from primarily being a mountain bike focused exploration weekend to a jam packed race weekend. Originally, we were going to take advantaged of racing up at Casper for the Bear Bait 8 hour race to check out some of Wyoming’s state parks. We’ve ridden at Curt Gowdy - super fun, techy and rocky trails, but not at Glendo State Park on the way up to Casper. Given that there’s a small 24 hour race there in September, hitting those trails seemed like a good idea after the race. Camp there, ride a few days and head home. Then the mid may snowstorm hit and everything changed. With the new date for the Tommyknocker 12 being June 23rd, our planned camping trip was upended. I didn’t want to miss Tommyknocker, even with the mountain bike race being the day before. Luckily, Nick was willing to adjust things.
First up - Bear Bait 8. Last year, this was a whim race. Coming off two weeks in the van traveling across the Midwest, neither of us were in prim racing shape. Never mind that this was only 6 weeks post op from Nick’s surgery! But we were impressed with the course - short enough that everyone on a four person 4 hour team could do a lap, but still fun. It’s one of those courses where the faster you go, the harder it actually gets. There’s a lot to remember in the eight miles, from which tree you have to duck under to what root will eat your tires. Old school riding with no flow trail involved! Lots of short, punchy climbs with short descents. You have to ride the entire lap. The environment of the race was also a lot of fun last year - well marked course with a killer after party. The only race we’ve done that has had a better food spread was the 24 Hours in the Sage! This year we are taking it a little more seriously - we have our usual plan and the bikes are dialed. The pit area won’t be a set up as we normally roll though - the less we have set up, the less we have to tear down! And since time is a premium, we will most likely be rolling down the mountain right after the awards this year.
Why? Because at 6:00 the next day, I get to run a few hours in White Ranch in Golden! That’s going to be a bit of a drive, but luckily the traffic on a Saturday night is usually pretty light. Tommyknocker 12 is the second race in the Transcendence series which is why I really wanted to make it happen. If I didn’t start TommyKnocker, then I would have lost my one backup race for the 50ks before the series even started really. So I’ll be showing up a little tired from Bear Bait 8. I have 12 hours to run at least 50k - which should be doable. The hard part will be focusing on each race in the moment. I can’t let Tommyknocker distract me while racing Bear Bait. I have to be present on every section of trail during that race. I also have to race full out since it’s not just me. Bear Bait is a Duo race, so Nick is also relying on me to perform at my best ability. Holding back because of a running race the next day isn’t fair to him.
In some ways though, the timing of this weekend works better then the original date. Had Tommyknocker 12 been on May 11th as scheduled, I would have had to limit my miles due to the Growler in two weeks. I would have run my 50k, then headed back down for the finish. Going much further then that would have hindered my performance at Growler. Now? Sure, I’ll be tired from racing hard the day before, but I won’t have to limit my miles any more then what my legs tell me. If the 50k is all I feel like running, so be it. If I feel like going a little longer, then again - it’s my call. I’m not racing anyone but myself up there - the format of the event dictates that. It’s also now two weeks before my 50 mile race at Last Call, so the weekend makes great training. Might be quite a bit more hectic then anticipated, but still a fun weekend. Hopefully I won't forget anything packing!
First up - Bear Bait 8. Last year, this was a whim race. Coming off two weeks in the van traveling across the Midwest, neither of us were in prim racing shape. Never mind that this was only 6 weeks post op from Nick’s surgery! But we were impressed with the course - short enough that everyone on a four person 4 hour team could do a lap, but still fun. It’s one of those courses where the faster you go, the harder it actually gets. There’s a lot to remember in the eight miles, from which tree you have to duck under to what root will eat your tires. Old school riding with no flow trail involved! Lots of short, punchy climbs with short descents. You have to ride the entire lap. The environment of the race was also a lot of fun last year - well marked course with a killer after party. The only race we’ve done that has had a better food spread was the 24 Hours in the Sage! This year we are taking it a little more seriously - we have our usual plan and the bikes are dialed. The pit area won’t be a set up as we normally roll though - the less we have set up, the less we have to tear down! And since time is a premium, we will most likely be rolling down the mountain right after the awards this year.
Why? Because at 6:00 the next day, I get to run a few hours in White Ranch in Golden! That’s going to be a bit of a drive, but luckily the traffic on a Saturday night is usually pretty light. Tommyknocker 12 is the second race in the Transcendence series which is why I really wanted to make it happen. If I didn’t start TommyKnocker, then I would have lost my one backup race for the 50ks before the series even started really. So I’ll be showing up a little tired from Bear Bait 8. I have 12 hours to run at least 50k - which should be doable. The hard part will be focusing on each race in the moment. I can’t let Tommyknocker distract me while racing Bear Bait. I have to be present on every section of trail during that race. I also have to race full out since it’s not just me. Bear Bait is a Duo race, so Nick is also relying on me to perform at my best ability. Holding back because of a running race the next day isn’t fair to him.
In some ways though, the timing of this weekend works better then the original date. Had Tommyknocker 12 been on May 11th as scheduled, I would have had to limit my miles due to the Growler in two weeks. I would have run my 50k, then headed back down for the finish. Going much further then that would have hindered my performance at Growler. Now? Sure, I’ll be tired from racing hard the day before, but I won’t have to limit my miles any more then what my legs tell me. If the 50k is all I feel like running, so be it. If I feel like going a little longer, then again - it’s my call. I’m not racing anyone but myself up there - the format of the event dictates that. It’s also now two weeks before my 50 mile race at Last Call, so the weekend makes great training. Might be quite a bit more hectic then anticipated, but still a fun weekend. Hopefully I won't forget anything packing!
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