True Grit 50 Race Report

I thought I was in the desert, but WTF!  The rain began Thursday night and did not let up until an hour before the race. Having ridden here in 2011 at Camp Lynda, I knew that this dirt would turn to peanut buttery mud.  I questioned my sanity as I affixed my number plate and prepped for what was going to be a mentally as well as physically challenging day. I put my trust into the race director that she knew what the trails could endure.

Fortunately I have ridden in these conditions before.  Think Dirt, Sweat, and Gears 2008 and LaRuta 2009.  So I went into the local bike shop the day before and picked up a Muc Off Claw Brush, aka mud scraper.

Best $6 investment ever!

Insider knowledge told me that Green Valley and Cove Wash area would be nasty, but once past that, conditions should improve, unless the rain started again ... 40% chance according to local reports.  Oh, well, I didn't drive 2000 miles to sit on my ass.  And what with all the COVID-19 event cancellations, this might be the last race of the season.

Coach Lynda was at the start to grab some extra clothes I decided to shed at the last minute.  At least the temperature was a comfortable 48 degrees.  I decided to enter the Pro/Open class as opposed to the Master Women's 50+.  The biggest advantage was that we were the first to go off as compared to being sent off in a later wave that would have me possibly having to pass a lot of racers.  And since I was racing the NUE Marathon series, there is no Master's division, only an Open division for the ladies.

The start was 1 1/2 miles of pavement before we hit a steep 1/2 mile climb up to the Cove Wash trails.  Believe me, it was NOT neutral.  I was quickly off the back, but I expected this.  No worries, as I knew this was gonna be a BIG day.  These days I am more the tortoise than the hare.

As soon as we hit the double track access road it was a slippery red muddy mess!  At first it was like the February Snake, with the mud watery enough that it didn't gom up on the bike.  There were a few miles of this and then ...  the mud gumbo, think QuikKrete.  Three pedal strokes was all it took before the wheels stopped turning.  I hopped off, pulled out my scraper, removed what I could, and then picked my bike up and carried it 150 yards of so until the conditions were rideable again.  As I was walking, I grew about 2 inches in height as this mud stuck to my shoes.  I instantly gained 10 pounds and was walking like Frankenstein.

An accurate representation of what my wheels looked like.

Of course, where the trail was rideable, it was uphill.  I felt like I was dragging a truck tire behind me.  On the next slickety slidy descent, I shed most of the mud that had accumulated on the tires. Focusing on staying upright on the greasy trail,I failed to notice all the racers off their bikes around the next corner, beginning another climb.  I was wheel deep in mud once again.  (FYI, anytime you see light bluish dirt out here, after a rain, avoid at all cost!) This time there were also pebbles and small rocks that gathered on the wheels and began finding all the nooks and crannies of my full suspension Trek to wedge themselves into.  It was at this point, I had a mini meltdown.  I looked back towards town and saw several bail outs.  The monkey began telling me all sorts of more favorable options:  riding the roads, riding the greenway, going for a hike. soaking in a hot tub, filling a grocery cart full of canned goods, toilet paper, and while you are at it, a carton or two of dairy free salted caramel ice cream.

David Jolin came by me as I was throwing my pity party and attempting to lift my bike to carry it up the hill of truth.  He offered some words of encouragement and HAB'd on.

I resolved myself to making it out of this mess and giving Waterfall and Zen a chance to bring me back to my happy place.  Once I was able to remount and ride again, after spending another 5 minutes of so scraping mud off my bike and shoes, I motored up the approach to Waterfall.  There were a cluster of racers just ahead.  I was bound and determined to NOT walk down this double black.  As I was readying myself to go over the edge, I heard a racer dude say (as he dismounted next to me), "It's too wet and slick to ride!"  Hehe, obviously he has never ridden Pisgah, I thought to myself.  And with that, I went over, calling out "rider back," as I weaved in and out of a walkers. In no time, I blew through the final tricky part at the bottom and was on my way over to Zen ... smiling again!   It's on like Donkey Kong! That's what I am talking about!

As I came into the Zen aid station, Coach Lynda was there cheering me on.  She bolstered my spirits even more.  I did not stop, as I thought my nutrition/fluids were good and began the long first climb.  I remembered last year being passed by quite a few racers here, but today I was the one making moves.  Despite the rains, the slickrock was mostly dry and grippy.  There were a few sections where mud being shed from tires accumulated on the rocks, but not enough to make any real difference. I was able to nail all the tricky descents and most of the ascents.  Where I had planned to dismount and walk/run up, I did with ferocity.  I was continuing to reel in one woman after another.  I had no idea where I was in the pecking order, but I was bound and determined to give it all I had and let the chips fall where they may.

Zen Pre Ride

Coming out of Zen, the sun had begun to shine!  Hallelujah!  Because the forecast had showed a 40% chance of more rain from 11am - 2pm. I was getting warm so stopped and gave some layers to Coach.  I began the climb up to 3 Fingers; seeing Heidi (who was doing the hundie), I offered some words of encouragement.  I was also very happy NOT to be doing 2 laps.  Stepping over the gate, I began the descent.  I knew I had to go left to avoid the steep drop off the middle finger, but I guess my head was up my a$$.  Before I could stop, scream, or cry for Mommy, I hit that drop!  Thank goodness my body knew what to do and I hit the landing clean.

Bearclaw Poppy Trail was el primo!  Dry, hard packed, and fast!  No signs of the rain deluge the day before.  Three miles of pump track with lots of line options (along with cleaning the Waterfall and finding Zen on Zen) made up for that first 10 miles of misery ... err, adversity.

But then, Stucki Trail. And I was out of water. Six miles of climbing up to Amen Corner.  It's an easy climb, nothing technical, and fortunately no head wind.  But ... 6 miles of just trying to put myself into TT mode after 3 hours of intensity, the body was saying no.  The bike was, too.  Blaze sounded horrible, like she was dying.  The mud had sucked out every bit of lube on the chain and the noises that were emanating from her were almost comical.  I knew I was losing precious watts just moving that chain through the derailleur pulleys.

And then I ran out of water.  Just get to the Corner.  There was a trail angel there last year who had water.  I desperately hoped he had some lube as well.  I saw two racers off in the distance.  One had a pink kit, one had a ponytail.  Could it be two women?  That gave me the motivation to press on, even though my quads were screaming.  Slowly I reeled them in over the next few miles and then passed them, making sure I did so on a little downhill. I did not want to have them latch on, especially knowing I was going to have to stop soon.

Climbing up to Amen Corner, I saw my angel.  I breathed a sigh of relief, as this is not a designated aid station, but a local who gives up his day to help us racers.  He helped to refill my CamelBak and then quell the banshee in my chain.

Both ladies had gotten ahead of me again, but not by much.  With big tailwind and a lubed chain, it felt like I was on a e-bike all the way back to Rim Rock.  I managed to pass back the two women.  I caught another woman on the climb up Rim Reaper.  I followed her along Rim Rambler and then passed her just before hopping back over the gate.  Down Rim Rock, the caffeinated gel I took 30 minutes ago breathed some life back into my legs.  I was beginning to smell the barn, what with 8 miles to go.  I flew up the tricky Cove Wash climb and entered Barrel Roll determined to leave it all out there.

2-D just doesn't capture the chunkiness of this section of Barrel Roll

Barrel Roll was in perfect shape!  The off camber climb was not as intimidating as before.  On the drop into the saddle section, I remembered to stay left, skirting along the cliff edge, and rolling the rock drop.  I made the first tricky ascent, wisely dismounted at the knuckle-breaker rock, ran up the chute, and then remounted.

Stay left for the best line down the saddle, but not too far left!

Once I rolled the cattle guard, there were about 4 miles to go, mostly downhill.  That was when my gas tank light came on.  Running low on fuel, but high on spirits, I cautiously rallied the final miles.  I did NOT want to flat now.  Even though this section was fast, it was by no means buttery smooth.  Lots of rocks to maneuver through or over and many had sharp edges.  Lo and behold, about half way through this section, I saw my competition fixing a flat.  Not how I like to gain a position, but after asking if she needed anything, I motored on.

On the final single track descent, my triceps attempted to raise the white flag.  This course was so upper body demanding and my arms finally went from al dente to overcooked.  I finished up the descent and put my head down for the final pavement push to the finish line.  I rolled across the finish line in 5:13.  What a ride and what a day!

My bike hates me!

5th in Open

Unfortunately Cimarron got a lot of hate "mail" with her decision to let the race go on, from a trail destroying aspect.  First and foremost, the muddy miles were on ATV double track and the single track section was freshly cut to work around housing construction. This rutted out trail will eventually be in someone's basement soon as the development continues to expand over the next few months.  So no damage was done.

I am so glad I persevered through the mud, because the rest of the course was AMAZE-BALLS!  This year has definitely started out #doinghardthings.  I have had to push through some mentally challenging conditions.  Glad to represent Rescue Racing and Scott's Bikes with grit, gristle, and gumption.

Now on to the next adventure, as racing has been temporarily suspended due to COVID-19.

True Grit Epic Race Report

45 miles, 5500 feet gain

Race morning was 38 degrees.  Forgetting that a Utah 38 is different than a Tennessee 38, I put on arm/leg warmers.  I was in the Open Women's field, set to go off first at 8:20.  I didn't even know until I checked in the day before that there was a 50+ Master Women's field.  I approached the start line and heard a Scottish accent call out my name.  Coach Lynda!  I hadn't seen her in years.  We talked a bit, helping me to forget about all the heavy hitters in the field and how I was about to be "schooled."  This wasn't an "A" race and with all the riding leading up to today, I knew I was carrying some fatigue into it.  But I also knew I didn't have to prove anything to anyone, other than me.  I had my own personal goals:  have FUN, don't CRASH, MOTIVATE others, and CLEAN the Waterfall.  I also gave myself a time goal: 4:15.

At the top of 3 Fingers, with Zen off to the left.

The race started out with a neutral 1 mile roll out through the town of Santa Clara.  Once we turned left and hit the double track, everyone dropped the hammer!  The first couple climbs were a punch to the gut for me and soon I was dangling off the back.  I was cool about it and waited for the legs to come to life.  I also realized that I was overdressed and soon stripped down my arm warmers to my wrists.

The first few miles were fast and a bit muddy through Cove Wash.  I was in the mix of a few ladies and seeing their jerseys, figured they knew the lines, and so was content to ride behind them.  The next section was Green Valley.  This was a serpentine 8 mile section in which I would ride up a rocky wash to the top of the hill and then rip it down double track to the valley floor and hit another climb through another wash.  This seemed to go on forever and you had to make sure you followed the orange tape and signage because it was easy to blow through a turn on the descents.



Climbing up to WaterFall, the gnarliest section of the course, I soon was being passed by the later waves, which included the age group Men categories.  Most played nicely, but some obviously had no clue about the "trail" of their rear wheel.  More than once I had to brake, which made me "Yosemite Sam" it under my breath.

As I approached the feature, there was a woman just ahead who was undecided about riding or walking.  I called out, "rider back," and she quickly got off her bike and moved off the trail. There is a "danger danger" sign warning you just before the approach. Once you pass the sign, you are committed to riding it. As Scott Harper would say, "The pucker factor so high, I almost bit a chunk out of my chamois!" I had studied Thom Parson's video the night before, playing it 7 or so times, trying to visualize the line.  Enter to the left, sweep to the right, over the boulder, roll the drop, back to the left, ker-chunk, ker-chunk, ker-chunk, roll over the drop to the right, fight the urge to go back to the left, hit the last boulder drop, and shoot out the right.  Boom!  I did it!

Pumped about what I had accomplished, I felt re-energized and was rewarded with a flowy, chunky descent down to the Zen loop.  I wanted to just BRAAAAP it down to the aid station, but after seeing 5 riders off the trail with flats so early in the race, I chose to err on the side of caution.

At the aid station, I lost a minute or so fumbling with arm warmer and glove liner removal.  I decided to keep my leg warmers on as slight protection against a potential crash on the rocks of Zen. I didn't have a drop bag here, so I carefully tied everything in a knot and hoped I would see it at the end of the day.



Beginning the climb up Zen, I made mental notes of where I needed to try to conserve, where I needed to dig deep (which was most of it), and where I needed to just get off and run it up.  Zen is my absolute favorite.  Super techy, with punchy ledgey climbs, I was pretty much red-lining it the whole time.  One line I took during the race that I was afraid to during the pre-ride was a short but scary cliffside climb.  I think I kept my right eye closed as I rode this section.  Even the descents worked me over with lots of chunky drops.  But as the trail name states, I was in the moment of bliss.

I rode back through the aid station (you hit this aid going into/coming out of Zen), and began the climb up to Bear Claw Poppy.  This was one of the longer climbs and I tried to stay on top of my nutrition here.

Three Fingers descent

Bear Claw Poppy was a 4 mile descending pump track for XC bikes.  There were alternate lines where you could get some serious air or just stay on the ground and carve the ribbons of dirt.  I chose the latter, although a couple times I got crossed up and flew a little more than I cared to.  It helped that there were two guys ahead of me and my greyhound instincts kicked in.

And THEN the hard right turn onto Stucki Springs.  Although I had not pre ridden this trail, I knew from the profile (800 feet climb in 4 miles) that I was going into the hurt locker.  Fortunately, the typical headwind was not there today.  I also managed to latch onto another woman in my category, which motivated me to push through the pain.  This trail is straight and I could see it all the way to the horizon.  We talked a little: her name was Carri from Park City.  We managed to pass a few guys, but I didn't quite have the legs to pass her.  Somewhere in the last mile, the rubber band broke and she slowly pulled away, although I would continue to see her almost all the way to the finish.

Once I crested the top of Amen Hill, the course veered 90 degrees to the right, which gave me a clear view of the snow capped mountains in the distance.  Talk about a view ... stunning! I was out of water, and there was a trail angel at the top with a water jug.  I pondered for a few seconds about stopping, but didn't want the gap between Carri and I to grow any bigger.  Even though I was way out of a podium spot, I still had that competitive spirit.  I figured I was only about 15-20 minutes from the Barrel Roll aid station.

There were some whoop-de-doos on the initial descent, one of which I unintentionally did a tail-whip and landed (tire side down) into some bushes (fortunately not cacti). How I landed that one safely I do not know ... cat-like skills I suppose! From there I rode a little lollipop which consisted of Rim Rock and Rim Ramble.  My legs either began to recover a little or my focus was on the trail for the pain in my legs seemed to subside.  I still had Carri in my sights and sought to reel her back in.

I came into the Barrel Roll aid station (mile 35 and 30 minutes after running out of water), grabbed my drop bag, swapped bottles, and took a caffeinated Gu shot.  Barrel Roll was about the same mileage as Zen, but less technical and with half the amount of climbing.  Knowing that I only had about 6 miles of tough trail left (the last 3 miles of the race being mostly downhill and with 1 mile of pavement), I attempted to make one last hard push.

I took the wrong line into the entrance of the saddle section of Barrel.  I stopped, backed up, and then cruised through the steep descent.  I knew better than to try the knuckle breaker climb and ran up that short steep pitch before hopping back on.  The last 3 miles I began to feel real good as the caffeine kicked in and I started picking off racers one by one.  The final descent back to the double track was so much fun and I just let'r rip, knowing that if I did flat, I would just ride my Industry 9 carbon hoop into the finish.  At this point, finishing quickly was worth a potential rim sacrifice.  I was so ready to be done!

Unfortunately, even sharing pulls with a fellow racer, I was unable to reel Carri back in (she finished 1 minute ahead).  I crossed the finish line in 4:31:46. The website purports a time of 4:21:15 but there were some major issues with the timing across all categories, so I am pretty sure my Garmin was the correct time. I managed to eek out a top 10, pretty proud of that I must say, and I did finish ahead of the ladies in the Master's category.  Hmmm ... maybe I will make a go out of a NUE series championship in 2020.

I absolutely loved this course.  My meat and potatoes!  The slickrock is amazingly grippy.  To be able to climb super steep pitches without any rear wheel spin is so much fun.  I wish I had more time to spend and session some of the sections that I was just too gassed to attempt.

Spending a week with my teammates on this Rescue Racing Stokecation was a pure joy.  I LOVE you guys:  Twan, Smooshie, Durango Kid, DJ, and Scott "1000 TSS" Morman.  I finally got my RR name by way of  Smooshie:  3G! And seeing how Joe Urbanowicz was so "starstruck" with Utah and crushing the hundie at only 16 years of age ... well, made me feel good that I could play a small role in his happiness.

Linda Wallenfels finished 2nd in the Open category.  Hell yeah, that's my coach.  And then she played tour guide, showing us new trail in the following days.

UTAH ... I'll be back.  357'ish days and counting ...