Silver Rush Weekend

Now that was a fun weekend!  This past weekend I took another step towards Leadman and I did the Silver Rush 50 MTB on Saturday and the Silver Rush 50 Run on Sunday.   Now I only needed to complete one of them for Leadman but signed up for both of them back in January "just in case" I had an issue on the bike since that is my weak sport.  As you will read below I went ahead and did both.  Hopefully that will pay off and was not a mistake.

Saturday: I totally surprised myself on Saturday, I am NOT a biker but play one on the weekends.  I have not had that much fun at a race in years.  I don't think the smile left my face all day, even on the bomber rocky downhills we had to ride when I was yelling "oh shit" over and over in my head.   My whole plan this day was just to survive and try to finish under 6 hours for a good corral placement in the 100 bike next month.  Not only did I finish under 6 hours but almost broke 5!  I really did not think I had that in me and really needed that confidence boost going into the 100 bike next month.  Below are some photos from along the course along with the finishing time and Strava link if that is your thing.

About mile 15- photo Lifetime

At the halfway point in a great mood.  Photo by Don Sims

Worked over a little trying to break 5 hours at the end.  Did push hard the last 5-6 miles when I realized I could have a shot at sub-5. - photo Lifetime

Crossing the finish worked but very happy. Photo by Don Sims

Strava data can be found by clicking here.

Sunday:  After many discussions with a few friends who thought I should not do the run on Sunday since I did not need it for Leadman I decided that since I already paid for it and needed at least a 20 mile training run for the day that I would start the run and then drop at the turn around at the halfway point catching a ride with whom ever I knew there.  So my approach on the way to the halfway point was just to treat it as an easy long run to test out some new shoes (LaSportiva Mutants) that have only gone 15 miles in a single shot and the new Orange Mud pack that I got a couple of days earlier to see if they would work OK for the 100 run next month.  Spent most of the 1st half of the race running with friends catching up and meeting other Leadman runners.  Never once did I push hard up or down a hill, I just walked the ups and jogged the downs.  When reaching the halfway point with the intention to drop I could not justify dropping when feeling so good.  Just did not feel right and the only people I knew that were there that I could get a ride with were working the aid station or a co-worker who I think would give me all kinds of crap so I figured I would just jog it back like it was a 100 miler.  Funny thing is that it worked.  Not once did I overheat, get sick, or feel like I was going to hit the wall.  Energy levels were good all day.  Yes the legs were heavy from the bike ride the day before but I was not pushing hard enough that it mattered.  I just kept walking the ups and slow jogging the downs rolling people up that went out to fast.  Could I have ran this course faster?  Yes, especially if I would not have done the bike the day before but that was not the goal of the day.  Today was about testing out gear for the 100 and getting in an easy longer run on tired legs.  I was not planning on running the time I did but it is what happened.  I was thinking it was going to be more like a 10 hour day.

Spending some miles with my buddy Neeraj. Source unknown

About mile 15- photo Lifetime

Very pleased that I finished feeling as good as I did- photo Lifetime

Silver King! - photo Lifetime

Everyone was smiles at the end, Andy (in yellow) rocked his age group and won a 100 entry for next year- photo Lifetime

Strava data can be found by clicking here.

This was a surprised when Neal sent me a text on Monday night to check out the results website.  I was not shooting for a result like this.

The hardware from a fun weekend in the mountains

So what did I take away from this weekend.  Well number one: don't even bother starting a race that you are planning to drop, the guilt factor is to high.  I would have been better off not starting instead of trying to drop at the halfway point.  Number two:  the overall fitness is in a really good spot right now, better than I expected.  Lastly: just trust the process and not how you feel day to day.  I have been feeling out of shape and slow for the past few weeks since the Leadville Marathon.  I was really worried that I peaked to soon with the race times I was posting the last 2 months.  I no longer think that is the case.  This week will be a small recovery week then it is 2 more solid weeks of training until the taper begins.  Damn those 100s are getting close!  I am so happy that my buds J.P. and Ray both made it through the weekend in one piece also so we all can move on to the next event together.  I think there is always a risk on the bike for a crash or issue with the bike that could cause a DNF.  It has been a lot of fun training and racing with these guys all year and I am looking forward to some more fun the next 5-6 weeks with these gentlemen.