With about a month until the Leadville 100, I raced the Breck 68 yesterday as a training race. I opted not to race the Breck 100 as the time on the bike was more similar to Leadville in the 68 than it was in the 100. I hadn’t raced any of the races in this event before and was looking forward to the great singletrack that I had heard reviews of from many friends.
The Breck 68 consists of two separate laps which are laps 2 and 3 of the 100. I was very familiar with the trails of my first loop and rode well from the start. Sonya Looney and I separated from the other women and I was able to pull away a little while passing many of the men that had started ahead of us in the 68 as well as many of the 100 riders. I concentrated on drinking fluid and eating enough calories to make sure I would not bonk during the second half of the race.
As I came through the start/finish area finishing lap 1, my legs felt great but my stomach was starting to get irritated. I figured I had not eaten or drank enough so I took in another Honey Stinger bar and Nuun hoping it would soon pass. Grinding up the Indiana climb, I kept my momentum going forward despite my stomach getting worse. Knowing Sonya Looney, Jen Tilley and Sonya Bugbee were coming for me, I pushed through the pain as each bump I hit on the descent off Boreas Pass hurt like nothing I had felt before.
My legs felt great climbing back up Boreas Pass but I was not racing anymore. At that point I was simply riding as fast as I possibly could hoping I could hold my position for the last 10 or so miles. With a short detour on the descent to verify a course marking, I limped into the finish line in 6 hours and 48 minutes only 17 seconds before Sonya Looney. Thankfully Sonya had also taken the same detour and was never able to see me as she surely would have been able to catch me at that point as she was getting stronger throughout the race. Results here (I’m not sure why I’m in the age group category and not pro but…).
I have no idea what caused my stomach issues as I ate and drank the same things I always do in a race – Honey Stinger chews and bars with water and Nuun. This was exactly what I needed as a tune-up for Leadville. Thanks to Carmichael Training and Lindsay Hyman my legs were ready and felt great. I’m looking forward to the Steamboat Stinger next weekend in hopes of getting past my stomach issues and having my legs feel as well as they did yesterday.