Tahoe Trail 100k — EB Race Report
Tahoe Trail 100k — EB Race Report
Garmin file:
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3842070763
Lessons Learned — Goals achieved
The good:
- Met my goal to finish sub 6:45 for a purple corral placement for Leadville
- Nutrition worked great. Eating and drinking went as planned.
- Overall HR was 135 avg for the day — NP was 147 — also as planned but HR a little lower than planned
The not so good:
- Course was WAY more technical than I was ready for.
- Tire choice and psi was all wrong.
- Went down hard in gravel descents. Twice on the first lap. Twice on the second lap.
- Rode super timid on all descents on second lap because my confidence was gone.
- Hydration pack tends to get a kink in the straw.
Race Day:
Woke up at 3:30am as planned. I was so lucky to have Tom Leard, Matt & Wendy Limbert there on course with me. Matt and Wendy came and picked me up at 5:00am. Went through all last minute items, dropped off drop bags in bins by last name (A-B, C-D, etc.) and went back to the car for the final bike checks, clothing choices, etc. Around 6:30 we rode down the hill to the start line.
Temps were in the high 40’s. I chose to go with arm warmers and a vest. The start was split into 3 different self seeding corrals. Sub 5, 5-7, 7-9. They had the 50k and 100k starting all together which was a bit of a cluster. In hindsight I would have started closer to the back and let those only doing one lap go ahead of me.
The start was tame, a short downhill into a 30-40 min climb. I felt great, it wasn’t too terribly crowded although there were some times I’d have to push harder than I would have liked in order to get around some slower folks. I got the the top and was pleasantly surprised with my effort. I did notice, annnnd maybe pushed a bit more in the first 15 miles than had planned. The climbs I kept in check, the flats I made sure to consistently pedal. Then… the technical decent. I knew from Matt’s full course recon that it wasn’t long, but it was rocky and filled with sandy switch backs. I felt confident enough with my handling and was able to clean everything. The single track then dumped you out on another fire road. Around Mile 17 I was in the ready position, holding my legs heavy and letting off the breaks so my bike could do the work. Next thing I know, I’m sliding across the gravel on my left hip. A nice man behind me stopped and made sure others slowed so no one else would go down. I immediately took note of fingers, arm, elbow, collarbone, all ok. My kit was torn and I had scraps on my thigh. I caught my breath for a second and then it was time to get back on and ride. Bike was ok with the exception of my grip. It was turned to where the palm rest was now pointing down to the ground. My left break seemed to be working just fine. I planned to stop at neutral aid around mile 20 to have them twist it back. When I got there though, the line was crazy long so I kept going. The climbs felt great. I am really really happy with where I am fitness wise based on all the long climbs. Although timid and my left hand was sore, I was descending back into Northstar. The last part of the course is also on single track with the sandy switch backs, and a few intermediate sections. Coming into the final single track I slowly hit a gravel patch and IT HAPPENED AGAIN!!! Back wheel went out and BOOM, down I went on my left hip again. This time there were a few choice words and I was on the verge of tears. Jumped back in and made it to drop bag.
It wasn’t very well planned, there were no volunteers by the time I got there, I had to lay my bike down, find my bucket and go through my bag. I was easily able to follow my race plan with switch. I did take an extra few minutes to have my grip fixed since I had to ride everything again.
Off I went on the long climb back up the mountain. My rear end half way out of my kit in the left side and my left hand sore when I would put pressure on it.... But I was climbing. Tried to start drinking but nothing was coming out. My straw was pinched somehow so while climbing, I somehow managed to take pack off, put it in my front, unzip, pull straw out and put it back on my back. Should have gotten points for this! Got to the top, and just focused on being smart on the descents. I honestly think I was faster in the climbs this loop because I was descending everything like a sloth having lost all confidence in my bike handling. Made it back to the single track section on features I had cleaned the first time, I wasn’t taking a chance at going down again so I took them slow… which is just as bad sometimes with MTBing. Next thing I know, I’m down on my right side this time. More choice words and a vocal prayer to just get me to the finish line. Got back on my bike with more bruises and made it to the gnarly gravel part. Took it very conservative and wouldn’t you know it, same gravel took my ass down on my right side, bruising my right palm pretty damn good. Got back on and knew I had two more climbs and the single track to finish. My hands hurt so badly, and braking didn’t help but it was the only thing making me feel safe. I kept looking at my watch knowing I needed to get to the finish by 1:45. I was spent on the last few climbs…. Not sure if it was because I went out a bit hotter than planned on first lap or I was in a bit of shock and mentally drained from all the falls, or a little bit of both. I was done with this day. That course. And my stupid tires. It was a mental game now… climb your ass off and descend like a grandma. I then came around the corner to a wall of rocks. Didn’t see a flag, a sign, nothing. Had to get off my bike and yell WHICH WAY?!? And then remembered it was over the wall. I had cleaned this the first time but there was no way I trusted myself so I hiked up, jumped back on and hauled ass to the finish chute. Throwing it in the biggest gear, my chain got stuck in between the cassette and frame. Thank goodness it was a downhill finish on grass and I didnt have to pedal to the finish line. Matt, Wendy, and Tom were there waiting and I couldn’t have been happier to see them. My whole body hurt, not from my riding, but from all the other variables that go with this sport.
I’m not going to lie, it was a tough day for my self confidence. You can plan and train and rehearse and do all the things… but you have to be ready to put some big girl pants on to get to the finish when things go wrong. Especially when they go wrong, and go wrong, and go wrong again. This race scared me for what’s to come in August. I hope to take today to rest up and ease back into one more week of big volume. But I have to listen to my body.
With that being said, here are my lessons learned.
- I’m installing a dropper post. As a green MTBer, I need all the confidence I can get with descents at the point.
- I’m going to find a tire that has a bit more grab on the outside. I was running Fast Tracks 2.1 on both front and rear. Thinking of messing around with something else in the rear since that seemed where I would always slip out in sand and gravel.
- I will run lower pressure. I went with some advice to run a bit higher so not to pinch flat. I went a bit higher than planned which I think also play a small part in my issues. At the top of the first hill on the second loop, I took a minute to let some air out of both my tires before the descent (even though a snail could have beat me)
- I’ll ride Leadville around .65 — .71 cooked me for the 100k distance and I couldn’t have imagined doing an additional 40+ miles.
I couldn’t have lucked out more with Team Limbert being at this race. I flew in by myself, and raced way outside of my comfort zone. Having Matt and Wendy to hang out with, shove our face with tacos, and then share the fact that Matt and I both got tokens for Leadville 2020 was just the icing on the cake. My EN family made this race for me when I was pretty dang low. And it made it all worth it.
Onward to the next adventure.
Comments
@Emily Brinkley You left out that your flight was delayed, barely made your connector, arrived to an AirBnB with no code to get in and had to drive back to the airport the next morning to retrieve bike and clothes. You must have raced on adrenaline. Your bravery to take on this massive goal is to be commended. Your tenacity to get off the ground four times ... holy jeebers! You will be fine for Leadville.
@Emily Brinkley you did not sell me on MTB races :-) Congratulations on getting it done , the corral bumps, and next years Leadville coin. Love the way you "put on the big girl pants" and dealt with all the adversity from travel to 4x crashes. You are smarter and stronger because of it. I just bought that best selling book on Amazon "Can't Hurt Me" by Emily Brinkley. Confidence may have been shaken but not deterred , after a few days to reflect , I suspect it will be at an all time earned high. Now is the time to work on that mental game.
Thanks for sharing, cant wait to watch you crush Leadville.
Well done!
@Emily Brinkley EB, Mountain Bike "racing" is sure a different beast from the road, pure running, or three-sport endeavors. Seems like the main goal sometimes is to (a) keep pedaling uphill and (b) stay upright downhill. Or maybe, just enjoy the scenery and being outdoors, sweating and trying to save your skin. I guess the real measure of success is the inner glow afterwards - if it's there, you;ve won the day.
great race, fantastic finish and clearly some bumps across the way... now the good news, with powerline smoothed out, nothing that bad on Leadville.
The ONE place i slid out a bit is that the turns on the switchbacks on the LOWER wooded portion of columbine were sandy and I probably over braked on those. Look at the Schwalbe "racing ralph" or something like it.. at the end of the day you can cut down the slippage, but you are still going to have something.. handling, and learning to slide the bike around are skills.
Al said, you proved what we all knew already, you are one tough competitor and put can put it all out there no matter the adversity.
Wow! Great report. Super work to keep going and staying tough. It paid off. It’s no fun to fall and I think falling takes more out of you physically than you think at the time. You will do great at Leadville! Congratulations!
Way to keep fighting EB. I think you will have a lot more confidence having dealt with all that adversity. You will have seen and handled some tough stuff making all else seem easy. I am intrigued by MTB racing, but the scare and fall factors certainly make it tough. Congratulations again on a big accomplishment!
Really nice race report! Sounds like valuable lessons learned and resilience and perseverance were tested but you crushed that! Thanks for sharing!
Great report EB, thanks for sharing. You're such a bad-ass, I can't wait to watch you crush it in Leadville!
Well done @Emily Brinkley ! looks like you learned a lot. Any black toes?
I look forward to seeing you apply what you have learned at Leadville! You will win!
Congrats!
Awesome Job Bada$$ @Emily Brinkley . Seriously those are some big girl pants you must have been wearing. You definitely have the fitness and your MTB skills will be better having survived that race. As Scott said, Leadville will actually be less technical than that. The adrenaline rush that comes along with every single crash is not recorded in any way in your TSS or NP, but that takes a LOT out of you. I'm predicting your fitness will be just fine in Leadville and I cannot wait to hear about that adventure!
Serious street cred for not having just "finishing" this race, but also crushing your goals and competition along the way! Such a bada$$!!!
Congratulations on persevering, meeting your goal and Leadville 2020!
Isn't there a saying that goes like, the harder the battle the sweeter the victory. This was a very sweet victory!
I enjoyed your race report and looking forward to hearing about your next victory.
I am late to this thread @Emily Brinkley. Great to read especially having the benefit of knowing the outcome you had in Leadville. Congratulations on all of the above. I had a similar experience this summer in a MTB event that I am happy to have survived without a trip to the ER. I left that event thinking I wasn't sure I needed to test my skills again. So Kudos to you for dusting yourself off and going again. So much epic going on with this team!
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