12 Hours of Old El Paso
The true reason I love going to race bikes in El Paso:
I am just kidding. I love the Franklin Mountains. They are hard, and unforgiving. And I have raced there almost every year since my inaugural trip in 2010, the rattle snake bite, and the ongoing desire to return.
The last couple of years I have been retaking Anatomy and Physiology I and II, Biomedical Ethics, and this year was taking Microbiology. Until I withdrew on account of my allergy to fossil fuels, and the use of these chemicals in cleaning agents, and antiseptics in the health care industry. I made the choice to withdraw from the Respiratory Therapy program. I am now furthering my education in Exercise Science, and Coaching, while I subsequently race bikes on the weekend. 🙂 aka Original Plan.
I was coaching 4 athletes who were all racing the 12 Hours of Old El Paso. Now with my weekends free, I asked my partner in crime if he wanted to do race a Duo. Tim is very agreeable, so I signed us up. Our decision came late in the process. I believe I had about 5 weeks, to change my focus from 2 years of RT school, to racing a 12 hour Duo. I really wanted the opportunity to connect with these 4 Zoefitness coached athletes, a couple of them I have been coaching for a few years, and the other 2 I had just taken on. My ability to have the opportunity to connect with them, meant so much to me, and it even made it more fun, that only one of them new I was coming. The other 3, it was going to be a TOTAL surprise!!
I had some good training days, and some bad training days.
https://www.strava.com/activities/6189237378
There were a few times during the process that I almost spilled the beans. At this point I realized it certainly couldn’t be worse than throwing up 5 times just before the start of Telluride 50. After all, my focus is getting a great workout in, and connecting with friends, while meeting new ones.
For tires I ran a Maxxis 2.4 Ardent up front, and a Maxxis 2.35 Ikon in the back. Excellent tire choice for the day!! And of course, currently running the Orange ESI Grips Super Chunk.
I had a very hard time deciding a meal plan for the weekend. I wanted something with low inflammatory properties, completely prepped, and ready to heat up with propane. I went with the Bison stew, excellent stew.
We had 5 star accommodations at the Ritz:
I sleep so well in the back of the truck. I had taken Thursday off of work, to get everything ready to leave on Friday after working from 5 am to 1 pm. It was going to be a close call to get to El Paso. Thank goodness, Shawn was able to pick up our packets for us! Thanks Shawn!!
My nutrition plan was spot on.
Tim and I had a strategy. He would ride the 1st two laps, I would ride the next two laps, he would ride one, and then, I would ride in the heat of the day. Man, it was HOT. It was hot enough, when I came in, I told Tim, I didn’t think I could run multiple laps during the heat, a bag of potato chips, an iKOR Recovery Shot, some coffee mixed with Tailwind Recovery Coffee, a flat coke mixed with Tailwind in my bottle, and some rest changed my mind. When I came in from the 3rd lap, I told him I was good. My lap times were dwindling, as I would expect. My 1st lap was too fast, I managed a 2nd place trophy on my 2nd lap on Strava, oops.
Lap 1: 1:06:53 Lap 2: 1:10:08 Lap 3: 1:17:32 Lap 4: 1:20:39 I came in at 4:55, and I was supposed to have gone out for a 3rd lap, I didn’t think I could finish it without lights, and my hands were so damn tired, and sore, I was mentally fatigued from the technical sections, I had to walk a couple of spots I had been riding earlier in the day. Tim went out, cranked out 3 laps, and brought us to 2nd place. Thanks, HoNeYbunZ!!XOXO
As ALWAYS Franklin Mountains did NOT disappoint. I am looking at doing the 35 Puzzler, and maybe the 15 and the 35. I am very much looking forward to the weekend. And I am hoping to make this a little more of a regular thing. Thank you so much to Zoefitness Parters: Maxxis, Salt Stick, Rudy Project, 12 Hours of El Paso, Tim Nipper, Madduck Cyclery, iKOR labs, Speegle Sport and Spine, ESI Grips, my clients, and my body, that keeps on giving.