Impolite Coaches...

Today after Michael's soccer practice, Bekah asked me...

"Mom why don't coaches ever say please?"

Good question, Bekah.

Thanks for noticing.

Please Bless the Teachers...

Tonight during Michael's bedtime routine, he spontaneously said... "Mom I'm really glad I have Mrs. Adams for a teacher.

me: "Oh yeah? Why's that??"

him: "Well, because she is such a fun person. And a great teacher. And I think she's perfect for me because she has sooo many books in her class." (It is true... she has books EVERYwhere in her class, and does her own take-home-reading program in addition to the take-home-reading program the PTA does. !!!)

me: "It is true. She is a great teacher for you."

him: "I'm just really grateful for a teacher like her."

Moments later, part of his prayer went like this:

"I'm grateful to have such a good teacher for me. And please bless the teachers everywhere, who give up such big parts of their days to teach kids like me, and teach them important things, and make them feel good."

Yes... we are grateful for the sacrifices of teachers everywhere who give so very much and care so deeply for our kiddos. Thanks for teaching them such important things and making them feel good.

And thanks, Mrs. Adams, for having so many books.

lotoja...

it is done. until a few hours ago it felt like the summer had not truly ended. i signed up for four cycling events this summer--perhaps out of naivete--and it has been exhilarating, taxing, humbling, fun and a summer to remember. from my intense training in the late spring (after passing my oral board exam) to the mid summer with an event every 2 weeks with training as able in between to the crowning event (as measured by miles and time in the saddle) yesterday. in retrospect, i may have overdone it this summer as i lay in bed while typing with aching knees and muscles deciding what to do next...

i have to say at this point that i had trained a lot over the summer, but not specifically for lotoja. i didn't know what to expect, and didn't really know what a good time would be. i didn't set a time goal, but basically committed to my riding mates that we would finish together. as i came to find, this type of commitment makes for a more congenial and relaxed experience, yet precludes a blistering pace... it is amazingly easy to become instantly separated from your companions and then spend time waiting or searching for them...

but enough musing. on to the race.

we arrived in logan with no reasonably priced motels with vacancy and stayed with kind cousins of my riding companion, brent. we met matt and angela (amy's brother and sister-in-law) for dinner the night before for pizza. matt kindly drove my car to brigham city for our return drive home. it was our last--possibly--dinner with matty before he heads to basic training and officer training. we will miss him greatly.

i slept very poorly the night before. there is certainly a mystique surrounding lotoja--from the length, to the race aspect, to the nutrition, to the weather and the sheer endurance. all of these aspects tumbled around in my mind the night before dis allowing me to sleep soundly. in the morning after two bowls of cereal and constant worrying about how many layers to wear we approached the start line.




and we were off... it was a stress relief just to start the race. at least we'd made it to the start line on time, we were feeling fine and the race was on. i'd chosen leg warmers, shoe covers, arm warmers, wind jacket, fleece and head warmer. this was beautiful for the first hour. however, we had our support vehicle skip the first feed zone and i wore those dastardly layers for 80 MILES!!!. no amount of unzipping could alleviate the heat build-up before arriving in montpelier...but i digress.

our group of 48 riders in our specific heat were a bit twitchy to start the race and were pushing hard. about 10 miles in a rider several in front of me hit his brakes. my front wheel hit the back of brent's foot it was all i could do to stay up. i looked behind me after recovering to carnage. there was a 7 bike pileup with what looked like minimal injuries.

it sounds very 'urban utah' of me, but i wasn't expecting much in the way of scenery. i thought it might be pretty drab through much of the ride, but that wasn't the case. in the morning the sunrise was beautiful with mist rising off water throughout the valley. one shot seen here:



we pushed on and reached the first feed zone. for myself, feed zone mechanics are where the race is won or lost. our very strong group of riders was broken up at the first stop as riders waited in line to pee, fill up water etc.

i didn't fill water to try and stay with the lead group and barely made it to the neutral zone to replenish. no photos for the first 80 miles as we were on our own while amy and lyndi rode around bear lake, ate at IHOP and readied themselves for our transition in montpelier (feed zone 3). the profile as seen below.



no water at feed zone 1. second feed zone after 2400 feet of climbing and 60 miles. brent and i regrouped after this climb and headed down a descent and then 15 mile flat with crosswinds and many groups forming, breaking up and reforming as we tried to shield each other across the flat and push up the pace. one of my favorite aspects of a race like this is the pacelines. it takes trust to jump in with a group of guys you've never met (or perhaps it takes madness.) regardless, you jump in with this group and quickly find out what the others are made of. the guy in front is meant to pull hard at the front while those behind recover from the break in the wind and ready themselves for a pull in the front. however, if the guy in the front is pushing too hard, then some in the line-up are doing all they can to keep up without dropping off the back (despite the respite from the wind.) so you are always gauging when you drop off the front from a pull how far back to fall in the paceline as some guys are just holding on but not willing (or able) to pull. the ride into montpelier was full of that sort of jockeying. good times.

the feedzones are something else. a mass of support people and friends. all searching for their riders and a bit ancey as riders are racing and often ready to be off again. as you will see from the goofy and fun photos at the feed zones, part of this event for me was to be with my wife. i added 40-50 minutes to my time at the feedzones, but i was with my wife and it was worth it :)








after the montpelier stop we were off once again...



we would next see our wives at mile 125 in feed zone 5 with two climbs separating us from them. the first climb was shorter, but ended up pretty intense. i paired with a rider from a more advanced category who had flatted and he really pushed me. this was one of the few times during the race that i pushed into the 180 beats per minute heart rate. it felt good though. we descended and hit the rollers to arrive at the base of the next climb. i replenished with water and crackers and headed out for the king of the mountains climb.

king of the mountains went up over salt river pass. 3 miles of climbing and 900 vertical feet with grades of 6 to 8 percent. i summitted at 20 minutes with average mph of 10. the 17 miles to the next feed-zone was largely downhill. i did this descent alone and still averaged 30+ mph. on arriving at feed zone 5, i couldn't find my sweet wife. this was afton, wyoming and come to find out she was stuck in traffic. all told, i was in afton for 25 minutes, but it was well worth it as she brought my salted and buttered potatoes and a hug..:)


we met up for a final rendezvous at feed zone 6 before the final 40 miles into jackson hole...

brent and i pushed together from the final neutral feed zone with 25 miles to go. this was one of the more difficult parts of the day because we were riding at miles 180 to 206. both my knees were aching at this point and while my thighs had plenty of punch left in them, my knees kept asking me to hang it up. the beautiful tetons were a welcome sight at this point in the race. with a rockstar in my water bottle i rode at 85-90% of maximum for the final 10-15 miles. brent and i were our own paceline with occasional stragglers that would join us for a minute here or there. this was probably the most enjoyably part of the ride (aside from after crossing the finish line) as we pushed each other over and over as we took turns pacing each other.

my sweet wife took her job as support very seriously. but seriously, i could not have done this race without her. from the purchase of the bike, to the 6-10 hour weeks of training per week starting in late april she was with me every step of the way. thanks famous.

brent and i committed to get the other to the finish line and you can see our salute to each other as we arrived...

and one last sweet reunion with our significant others before heading home.





i've heard from others rough stories of how the body responds after you get off the bike. for me i felt lightheaded a few times while walking to the car, but largely i felt good.

we planned on heading directly to idaho falls where we had a hotel room, but a car pulled in front of brent while he was driving. the other driver was sited for his illegal turn and four hours after the accident, a spare tire change later we finally made it to a hot bath (at 2 in the morning.)

so, the summer is over. 4 events later i get to reflect on the summer and whether i would try it again. i enjoyed each event for different reasons.

death ride for it's relentless climbing and the experience with joseph.

saint to sinners for the camaraderie.

ultimate challenge for it's relation to the tour of utah.

and lotoja for its reputation.

which did i enjoy most? lotoja was probably not my favorite of the summer, but it's hard to say how i would have felt about it if it had been the first event of the summer.

my time? complicated. my gps said 10 hrs 8 min moving time. i was clocked at 11 hrs 28 min at the finish line. so between regrouping with my riding mates and transition points i added 1 hour and 20 min. definitely room for improvement there eh?

will i do it again? probably. it would depend on potential riding partners and their interest. all in all it was a great time and an accomplishment to appreciate for a lifetime. 206 miles on a bike. 10 hours in the saddle. 15,000 calories burned.

enjoy!