Hell's Gate Hundred- Ride Report

ELEVATION PROFILE

GARMIN DOWNLOAD HERE  AND PLAYER HERE

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT CHART

Entire workout (16.2 mph):

Duration:   6:11:35 (6:55:54)

Work:.       3454 kJ from Garmin But over 3,800 kj direct from Power Tap

TSS: ..       295 (intensity factor 0.721)

Norm Power: 202

VI:         1.2

Pw:HR:       n/a

Pa:HR:       n/a

Distance:   100.543 mi

Elevation Gain:     7978 ft

Elevation Loss:   7998 ft

Grade:     -0.0 %  (-14 ft)

 

                    Min.....Max.... Avg

Power:       0........ 656..... 168 watts

Cadence:     31..... 246...... 77 rpm

Speed:       0........ 46.2.... 16.2 mph

Pace         1:18..... 0:00.... 3:42 min/mi

Altitude:     -253..... 4352.... 930 ft

Crank Torque: 0..... 836..... 192 lb-in

My finishing time 6:55 good for 5th place.  I was off course for 44 minutes leaves 6:11 total time and 6:07 ride time.  I had a good day on the bike. The 16 mile Daylight Pass climb is a good one!! Bring some low gears for Artist Drive! 

OFFICIAL RESULTS AND REPORT HERE

I arrived at the Furnace Creek Ranch shortly after 1am on Friday night.  Yes, another long day at the store.  It was Good Friday and the store was packed.  It's good for business but bad if you are racing the next morning 6 hours away-- without traffic-- at 6am.  I closed the shop,got something to eat and got on the road.  If there is a silver lining of traveling late it would be that traffic isn't as bad on the 55, 91 and 15 freeways after 8pm.

BIKE- Sasha-- Cervelo Solist SL with Zipp 808 Powertap with Continental Competition tubulars.-- then Easton Orion II with Power Tap Standard Chainrings 53/39 and 11-23 Cassette.

CLOTHING- Skins compression tights, Bike Religion Short Sleeve sleeve and AdventureCorps cool armsleeves.  

Once I arrived I had to go through the usual  routine of setting up the bike, laying out my clothes and nutrition.  Let's just say it was around 2am when I shut off the lights and closed the eye lids.  If you follow my blog you may know  from my previous posts that I wake up everyday between 4-415am.  Which means I've been up almost 24 hours by the time I hit the rack.

Why am I spending so much time talking about this?  Well because...I overslept the morning of the event.  I was so tired I slept until 6:02 am when my roomie woke me up.  Even with the prep I did the night before I still couldn't get out to the start until the 6:30 wave.  I lined up with only a couple of familiar faces.  I recognized Jennifer Scharf, and Marcus Edvalson but that was it.  I usually like to leave with the first wave when I do double centuries since most of the fast guys are in the first wave.  But this was a century and I didn't know anyone.

We take off from Furnace Creek at a really good pace.  It's Troy (I find out at the finish), Jennifer and me off the front in a very short period of time.  Then the unthinkable happens -- I flat.  I was only 7.5 miles into the event and only 29 minutes elapsed time.  I was riding tubulars and wasn't carrying a spare tire.  I know shame on me.  But honestly, I have gone thousands of event miles riding my tubulars and I haven't flatted.  The tires I was using were only one Double Century old.  I used them on the Death Valley Double Century- Southern Route. Race report here  I sat on the side of the road and tried to figure out what's wrong because there was no way I flatted.  I was eventually sag'd back to the hotel and switched out my wheels, switched out my cassette and then was dropped off at the point where I flatted.   

I had spent 44 minutes off the bike.  It was now 7:43 am and I was only 7.5 miles into the event.  Urg!! My chances of "winning" were gone.  Now I needed a new goal.  I needed something to motivate me.  I thought I want to pass 50 people from this point and before the summit of Daylight Pass.  That's it now I had a mission.

ARTIST DRIVE LOOP

Artist Drive loop (0:57:42.05):

Duration:   57:40

Work:       693 kJ

TSS:        70.1 (intensity factor 0.86)

Norm Power: 241

VI:         1.19

Pw:HR:       n/a

Pa:HR:       n/a

Distance:   15.003 mi

Elevation Gain:     1520 ft

Elevation Loss:    1446 ft

Grade:      0.1 %  (65 ft)

Min Max Avg

Power:        0 656 202  watts

Cadence:      31 239 74  rpm

Speed:        0 43.6 15.6  mph

Pace          1:23 0:00 3:51  min/mi

Altitude:     -187 930 308  ft

Crank Torque: 0 702 248  lb-in

Artist Drive was amazing.  The climb was steep but the scenery was awesome.  It was well worth the effort.  I had no idea that road existed and it's so close to the Furnace Creek Ranch that you can ride out and back and have a great ride in a couple of hours.  The descent had loose rock but the twisty parts were really fun.  It is definitely a very cool addition to the ride.

First 2 miles of Artist Drive:

Duration:   16:16

Work:       264 kJ

TSS:       25.8 (intensity factor 0.976)

Norm Power: 273

VI:         1.01

Pw:HR:       n/a

Pa:HR:       n/a

Distance:   2.192 mi

Elevation Gain:     913 ft

Elevation Loss:   0 ft

Grade:     7.9 %  (913 ft)

                 Min Max Avg

Power:       0 362 271 watts

Cadence:     39 99 61 rpm

Speed:       5.5 12.2 8.1 mph

Pace         4:54 10:58 7:24 min/mi

Altitude:     -126 787 261 ft

Crank Torque: 0 661 386 lb-in

I was passing people on Artist Drive as they suffered on the 10-12% ramps.  I started counting 1...2...3... I pulled into the checkpoint to see Elizabeth and Steve Barnes and posed for a few pics.  But then back on the bike and back on with my mission. I  finished the loop and got back on the 127 and 7...8...9...passed more riders.  I was riding well and felt like I was going to have a good day on the bike.

I rode past Furnace Creek Ranch on the slight downhill and motored to Daylight Pass Rd.  17...18...19...I was reeling them in. Along the way, I saw Dean K on the eliptigo. I thought wow that must be tough.  I'm so lucky to be on the bike ;)  I made the right turn onto Daylight Pass Rd and see a SAG vehicle.  I refueled and saw Marcus.  Oh good, I was making good time since he left in my 6:30 wave and I caught him.  I keep the intensity pretty high on the bottom of the climb and I'm passing riders I'm well over 40 now and I stopped counting.  It's obvious to me that I will accomplish  my goal of passing 50 riders.  Ok what's my next goal?  Just keep pushing and something will come up.

DAYLIGHT PASS

Daylight Pass to Ryholite turn (2:04:22.10):

Duration:   2:04:21

Work:       1370 kJ

TSS:        109.2 (intensity factor 0.726)

Norm Power: 203

VI:         1.11

Pw:HR:       n/a

Pa:HR:       n/a

Distance:   25.27 mi

Elevation Gain:     4539 ft

Elevation Loss:    1030 ft

Grade:      2.6 %  (3518 ft)

Min Max Avg

Power:        0 501 184  watts

Cadence:      36 186 72  rpm

Speed:        0 32.7 12.2  mph

Pace          1:50 0:00 4:55  min/mi

Altitude:     -187 4352 2406  ft

Crank Torque: 0 613 224  lb-in

DAYLIGHT PASS- Detail

Detail of Daylight Pass Climb:

Duration:   1:39:09

Work:       1223 kJ

TSS:       96.5 (intensity factor 0.764)

Norm Power: 214

VI:         1.04

Pw:HR:       n/a

Pa:HR:       n/a

Distance:   16.079 mi

Elevation Gain:     4539 ft

Elevation Loss:   0 ft

Grade:     5.4 %  (4537 ft)

 

                   Min Max Avg

Power:       0 501 206 watts

Cadence:     36 177 70 rpm

Speed:       0 19.4 9.7 mph

Pace         3:05 0:00 6:10 min/mi

Altitude:     -186 4352 1748 ft

Crank Torque: 0 613 255 lb-in

I reach Hell's Gate and see Picachu and his Adobo Velo club members.  Thank you guys for volunteering.  I've done the 10 mile climb and there is still 6 more miles to go. I refuel and leave quickly.  Up the road I'm zoning out when a rider passes me and I decide to jump on his wheel.  I had been gradually slowing down and this rider helped me ride faster.  This rider was really strong.  As I was watched my power in the low 300 watts I was beginning to doubt whether I could stay with him.  It was hurting me and being 12 miles into the climb didn't help either.  I let him go.  As I reached the summit I saw him sitting at the checkpoint. I waved over to him and rolled through that checkpoint. Actually I think it was more of a water stop.

Rhyolite Checkpoint

On my descent towards Rhyolite I realized it was quite chilly at elevation.  I was expecting riders to be heading back by now but I didn't see any riders.  This was a good sign.  As I approached Rhyolite I started to see the first few riders were now heading back.  I count 1...2...3...4...ok it looks like I'm currently running between 12-14th.  I make the turn off the main road towards the ghost town and see a tandem exiting.  I'm thinking damn they are only 3 miles ahead of me.  I now have a new mission.  CATCH THE TANDEM FOR THE DESCENT INTO DEATH VALLEY!

From Rhyolite to Daylight Pass Summit

Climb to Daylight Pass (0:37:27.07):

Duration:   37:26

Work:       448 kJ

TSS:       33.4 (intensity factor 0.732)

Norm Power: 205

VI:         1.03

Pw:HR:       n/a

Pa:HR:       n/a

Distance:   9.133 mi

Elevation Gain:     894 ft

Elevation Loss:   87 ft

Grade:     1.7 %  (810 ft)

                                 Min Max Avg

Power:       0 404 200 watts

Cadence:     51 144 81 rpm

Speed:       0 23.4 14.7 mph

Pace         2:34 0:00 4:06 min/mi

Altitude:     3401 4304 3649 ft

Crank Torque: 0 510 212 lb-in

I refuel very quickly in Rhyolite and boogie out of the checkpoint.  I want to catch at least 5 riders on this climb.  It's a milestone goal to help me achieve the greater goal of catching the tandem.  I'm working as hard as I can without blowing up to catch that tandem.  Of course this is all relative since I'm starting to feel realy fatigued.  And then I see it ...we are less than a mile from the summit.  I turn myself inside out and I'm almost there.  They reach the summit before me and I'm hoping they will pause just enough to put on jackets or something for the descent.  YES! They are doing just that and they are still there when I crest.  I have about a minute to catch my breath and then down we went.

The tandem I drafted on the 16 mile descent.

The descent was really fast.  We were moving at 40 plus mph.  At one point we hit a top speed of 46.2 mph.  With 5 miles left of the 16 mile descent we catch Troy who was in my 630 wave and who had set a hard pace at the start.  I'm now feeling satisfied with my effort for the day. Troy and I stay with the tandem until the finish.

My total time was 6:55.  I know from my Power Tap that I spent 44 minutes off the bike with the flat issue.  So my total time is 6:11 (6:07 rolling and 4 minutes at the various checkpoints).  The winning time was 6:31.  Yeah I would have crushed it by 20 minutes!


Overall I loved the event.  This new route showed me parts of Death Valley I was never exposed to before.  Artist Drive was a nice treat.  Also knowing that there is a 16 mile climb just 11 miles from the Furnace Creek Ranch is very good for future training.  I've been doing the spring and fall double centuries since 2003.  I like the diversity of this new century route.  Great climbs and being able to see riders continuously throughout the route are great bonuses.

I haven't done many organized centuries since 2004  because my training consists of solo centuries as I get ready for the 508.  One reason I like doing doubles is so I can work on my nutrition strategy and of course my pacing.  But this year my training time, and racing time are both limited.  I'm really enjoying doing century routes instead of doubles.   One reason would be less gear needed for a century as opposed to a double.  I don't need lights, and the staff doesn't have to work the course for 18 hours.  As far as training, riding a fast climbing century has plenty of training value and stresses my system just enough but yet I can recover possibly overnight and do another hard century the next day.

Another reason I'm diggin' centuries this year is I'm actually hanging out at the finish line and meeting riders and hearing their stories of their journey.  When I finish  doubles I am completely spent, as I should be, and don't have the energy to be social.  I'm usually off in a corner just trying to recover from the 11 odd hours of punishing my body.  You know riding a bike is supposed to be healthy but when I first finish my doubles I swear nothing about it feels healthy ;)

As always I am open to questions about my ride and welcome comments on my blog.  Thank you for visiting my blog.  I'll be riding the Mount Laguna Bicycle Classic on April 17th.

Spring Death Valley Double Century Race Report

PRE-START SAFETY BRIEF

Sponsors-- I'd like to thank my sponsors for providing me the opportunity to train and race.  Skins for my compression wear, Infinit Nutrition for their awesome customizable nutrition formulas, Uvex for my helmet and sunglasses, Woolistic for my wool armers, Hawaiian Island Creations for their incredible skin block products, and a new sponsor for 2010 that will cover my race fees and lodging expenses.  I thank all of you for your support.

AdventureCorps--  thank you for putting on a fantastic event in one of the most beautiful landscapes on earth.  Your volunteers were awesome as always.  Your support and hospitality made one of the most inhospitable places on earth the perfect place for me/us to test our personal limits once again.  Also thank you for taking so many great pictures.  Photo Credits AdventureCorps.

Bike Setup-- Sasha my Cervelo Soloist SL with Zipp 808 Wheelset and Power Tap, Continental Competition tubular tires. Chainrings 53/39 Cassette 11-23

Clothing-- Skins Compression Tights Bike Religion Jersey, Woolistic 100% Merino wool base layer, Woolistic 100% Merino wool arm warmers.

RESULTS  can be found here on the AdventureCorps website.  

Finishing time -- 2nd place time 11 hours 7 minutes

Also total number of Double Century report may be found here (21 and counting)


Click HERE for the player off of ridewithgps.com website


Short and sweet version.

I was part of a six man breakaway up until Ashford Mills (mile 45.5) . Phil Kelly one of the riders in our six man group surged ahead at the base of the Jubilee climb and slowly disappeared out of sight.  He maintained his advantage on me from mile 45.5 until the finish.  I was third up the first climb-- Jubilee Pass, second on the Salsbury climb.  I was in second place for 50+ miles after leaving from the Ashford Mills.   I rode alone from Ashford Mills (mile 45.5) through the climbs and back through Ashford Mills (mile 100) .  I was caught by Desert Fox about mile 120.  We rode together from just before Badwater (mile 130) until the finish.  Kelly went on to win at least 30 minutes ahead of me.  I came in about 11:08 and happy with a PR of more than an hour.
Double Century Checkpoint Locations: 17.7mi (Badwater), 45.4mi (Ashford Mill), 57.6mi (Water Only - on Salsberry Pass), 74.3 (Shoshone), 103.2 (Ashford Mill), 130.9 (Badwater), 148.6 (Furnace Creek), and 171.5 (Stove Pipe Wells).

I am the Red Eyed Vireo

If you are still reading---then this is the long version of the race report.

POWER CHART OF ENTIRE WORKOUT

CADENCE DISTRIBUTION

Entire workout (159 watts):

Duration:   10:57:15 (11:08:53)

Work:      6252 kJ

TSS:       498.5 (intensity factor 0.679)

Norm Power: 190

VI:         ........1.19

Pw:HR:       .9.8%

Pa:HR:       -14.7%

Distance:   195.978 mi

Min....Max.....Avg

Power:...    .....    0.......668.......159 watts

Heart Rate:   ..... 90.....186........150 bpm

Cadence:  .....    29.....163.........77 rpm

Speed:   ......    2.4....39.6.......18.0 mph

Pace  .....        1:31...25:25..... 3:20 min/mi

Hub Torque:   0......499..........71 lb-in

Crank Torque: 0......947..........180 lb-in

Quick Analysis of Entire Activity

Duration:   10:57:15 (11:08:53)  -- Only 11 minutes off the bike about 2 minutes per checkpoint. For the life 

of me I can't remember where I spent THAT much time off the bike.

Work:      6252 kJ -- 568 calories/hr expended -- only 240/hr consumed -- illustrates one of the biggest challenges of Ultra athletes being underfueled by 200+ calories/hr for 11 hours.

TSS:        498.5 (intensity factor 0.679) 500 TSS is huge.  IF of 68% higher at beginning then fatigue set in.  

The following scale can be used as an approximate guide:

• Less than 150 - low (recovery generally complete by following day)
• 150-300 - medium (some residual fatigue may be present the next day, but gone by 2nd day)
• 300-450 - high (some residual fatigue may be present even after 2 days)
• Greater than 450 - very high (residual fatigue lasting several days likely)

As well, the cumulative TSS per week or per month can be used help identify the maximum intensity and volume of training that still leads to improvements, rather than overtraining

Source

Norm Power: 190--  What my body felt my avg wattage to be which differs from the recorded 159 watts about 2.8 w/kg not bad for me.  Essentially there is an unrecorded physiological toll on the body to ramp up and come down from one wattage to another.  " By taking these factors into account, normalized power provides a better measure of the true physiological demands of a given training session - in essence, it is an estimate of the power that you could have maintained for the same physiological "cost" if your power output had been perfectly constant..." 

Also remember in Ultras, power output isn't that high since conservation is the key and you use just enough to get the job done and no more.  

Source

VI: .1.19--  Variability Index the higher the number the more variable the workout.

Pw:HR:..9.8%-- a little high goal is 5% but this is 200 miles and decoupling between Power and Heart Rate are expected.

Min....Max.....Avg

Power:        0.......668.......159  watts

Heart Rate:   90.....186........150  bpm

Cadence:      29.....163.........77  rpm

Speed:        2.4....39.6.......18.0  mph

Pace          1:31...25:25..... 3:20  min/mi

Rolling from the start at Furnace Creek we were in one massive paceline.  I stayed near the front five wheels since I didn't know the riding skill of many of the riders present.  Absent from the front of the pack were the tandems that usually lead us out to Ashford Mills.  I did see some riders that I have seen at previous doubles and the 508.  Graham “Python” Pollock, Ton “Desert Fox” van Daelen , Adam “Rock Rabbit” Bickett.     Also riding with us was Phil Kelly.  He and I rode together on the Butterfield Double Century in 2008.  He came in second and I came in third that year just 12 minutes behind him .  http://www.planetultra.com/butterfield/Results/2008%20results.htm   I have also seen his results for the Breathless Agony-- quite impressive.  In 2009, he finished the Breathless Agony with a time of 4:43!!!  And a newcomer on the scene Reve Ramos who finished the Fall Death Valley Double in 2009 with an impressive 11:11 time.  http://www.adventurecorps.com/deathvalley/2009/2009dvfallresults.html With this group of talented racers present I knew I had to play it smart.  Five paragraphs from now you will see the totems of the 508 veterans please visit the links you will see that all there results have been better than mine at the 508.

Adam "Rock Rabbit" Bickett

It was nice chatting with Rock Rabbit for a good while as we headed towards Ashford Mills.  He was riding a fixed gear with a Power Tap-- I may have to get one of those ;).  I've always wanted to know what  type of wattage I put out on my fixie.  I'm also curious what happens with the constant pedaling and how that affects the average wattage.  I digress, we talked about 2009 Furnace Creek and the freak windstorm and his nutrition problems.  We also discussed gear ratios because Rock Rabbit is contemplating the 508 on a fixed gear.  I told him that it is an exclusive club (only seven of us have been crazy enough to complete it) and it's not an event to be taken lightly.  Rock Rabbit DID complete the 2009 edition of the 508 on a multi-speed bike even with his long delays due to his nutrition problems.  As a side note, in the 2009 edition of the 508 both fixed gear riders DNF'd.

Ton "Desert Fox" van Daelen

What I find interesting is Rock Rabbit is following the same pattern I did.  My rookie year 2006  http://epictrain.com/2006_Furnace_Creek_Race_Report.html at the 508 I had an abysmal attempt.  I then thought about whether I should come back in 2007 and redeem myself.  But instead I came back on my FG  http://epictrain.com/2007_Furnace_Creek_508_Race_Report_Fixed_Gear.html.  My goal was to complete the event.  The joy, if there was one, was that I rode the event without the pressures of beating my time from 2006.  Rock Rabbit is in the same situation I was in three years ago.  Good luck with that decision I know it will be a tough one.

The pace to Ashford Mills was moderate with the occasional surge because of the non-stop rollers on the desert floor.  Somehow we kept shelling people off the back.  Looking at my power data we weren't going THAT fast. Rock Rabbit and I had were having a continuous conversation and I did not feel under pressure at all.  I kept wondering why we weren't going faster.  You'll notice my intensity factor is .704 so only 70%.

It's hard to look behind you in a paceline, not to mention unsafe, so it's difficult to know how and when the field was reduced.  I looked back a few times and even pulled myself out the the line to see the number of riders.  At one point I saw 20, then 10 and finally we were down to six.  A lot of riders were just sitting on not doing any work.  I'm glad that eventually we dropped the parasites and got on to the business of riding the double. The six riders were: Python, Rock Rabbit, Desert Fox, Reve Ramos, Phil Kelly, and me-- the Red Eyed Vireo.  Do you notice a trend? I do... four out of the six lead riders were 508 veterans.

Phil Kelly

Once again it was frustrating for me to be in a paceline of riders that didn't do a quick turn at the front and roll off.  Ultra cyclists seem to just sit up front for TOO LONG.  I attempted three times to get the riders to rotate through the line quickly but to no avail.  I thought that my example of short fast pulls would carry through the paceline.  I would take a pull of less than 10 seconds and roll off hoping they would get the hint.  We could have been going so much faster.

Graham "Python" Pollack

I remember one rider was up front too long and was slowing us down so I rode up from three wheels back and tapped him and motioned for him to roll off.  Once he rolled off it was apparent he had been working too hard and waited too long to roll off and was immediately dropped from the group.  It's important ESPECIALLY if you are not a strong rider that you take your turn at the front, do your pull, and then roll off so that the the stronger riders keep the pace high and you can draft behind them.  My frustration stems from doing the morning club rides in Orange County where the vast majority of the riders are crit and road racers. When I ride with them I'm the weaker rider and I have to ride smart or get dropped and that means a lot of short pulls and lots of drafting ;)

POWER CHART START FURNACE CREEK TO ASHFORD MILLS

Furnace Creek (start) to Ashford Mills:

Duration:.......   2:07:33

Work: .......      1244 kJ

TSS: ........       104.4 (intensity factor 0.704)

Norm Power:... 197

VI:...........         1.21

Pw:HR:.....       -7.4%

Pa:HR: ......      -1.28%

Distance: .......  44.69 mi

Min.. Max.. Avg

Power:       0.. 668.. 163 watts

Heart Rate:   99.. 244... 160 bpm

Cadence:     29... 152... 80 rpm

Speed:       4.6... 34.7... 21.1 mph

Pace         1:44... 13:03...2:50 min/mi

Hub Torque:   0... 224... 56 lb-in

Crank Torque: 0... 627... 176 lb-in

 SIX MAN BREAK

ASHFORD MILLS (Mile 45)

We arrived at Ashford as a group of six riders.  Python and Desert Fox rolled out of the checkpoint before the rest of us were ready.  Rock Rabbit and I were the next two out of the checkpoint.  We chased pretty hard to catch them.  Kelly and Reve were behind us and eventually caught us.  And then all hell broke loose.  Kelly surged ahead and Rock Rabbit chased and I got dropped.  My conservative nature took over because   I knew we were on the first of two significant climbs- Jubilee (6.5 miles) and Salsbury (8.5 miles).  So I didn't go too hard.  Python, Desert Fox and Reve were behind me and that was how I paced myself--just stay ahead of the other three riders.

Race Director Chris Kostman in "THE 508" gear 

and six man break in Ashford Mills

notice only one rider coming down the otherwise empty road

 

JUBILEE AND SALSBURY CLIMBS PASSES

I had been wondering what was going to happen once we got to the climbs since our ride to Ashford Mills was relatively calm and here it was unfolding right before my eyes.  I maintained my position as third behind Kelly and Rock Rabbit for all of Jubilee Pass.  Below is my power chart of the the Jubilee Climb.

Ashford Mills to the summit of  Jubilee Pass:

Duration:   32:56

Work:       493 kJ 

TSS:       44.3 (intensity factor 0.901)

Norm Power: 252

VI:         1.01

Pw:HR:       1.45%

Pa:HR:       28.69%

Distance:   6.692 mi

                              Min.....Max...Avg

Power:       ..........0.. 406... 250 watts

Heart Rate: ........139... 182... 176 bpm

Cadence:     ........43.. 118.. 78 rpm

Speed:       ........8.4.. 26.8 ..12.2 mph

Pace         .......2:14.. 7:09.. 4:55 min/mi

Hub Torque:   ....0 ..234... 145 lb-in

Crank Torque: ...0.. 416.. 276 lb-in

The important things to take away from the numbers above are:

Work:       493 kJ-- this climb was roughly 30 minutes-- extrapolate for an hour that would be 900kj or 900 calories working that hard not only puts a huge toll on your body but puts you in a calorie deficit of close to 700 calories for that hour.
TSS (.901)-- Which means I was climbing at 90% of my threshold power.  

Normalized Power -- 252 watts  3.70 w/kg (I like to climb at 3.50 w/kg on Ultras)

Pw:HR:  1.45% Less than 5% is the goal-- it is a ratio of the difference between Power and Heart Rate from the first half to the second half of an interval or workout.  This shows my fitness is good because there was very little decoupling between my Power and Heart Rate during the Jubilee Climb.

Avg Cadence-- 78 Rpm my typical cadence is over 80 while climbing but I was using an 11-23 cassette so it was a little lower.

Salsbury Climb:

Duration:   48:33

Work:       673 kJ

TSS:       55.7 (intensity factor 0.83)

Norm Power: 232  

VI:         1

Pw:HR:       2.29%

Pa:HR:       6.77%

Distance:   8.531 mi

                   Min..... Max..... Avg

Power:..        151...... 359....... 231 watts

Heart Rate:.... ..  158......178....... 172 bpm

Cadence:........     41...... 111....... 73 rpm

Speed:.........        7.8.... 13.9...... 10.5 mph

Pace ..... .....        4:20...7:40....... 5:42 min/mi

Hub Torque:......   85..... 222....... 146 lb-in

Crank Torque:.... 158..... 414....... 268 lb-in

The important things to take away from the numbers above are:

TSS (.83)-- Which means I was climbing at 83% of my threshold power. 

Normalized Power -- 232 watts  3.40 w/kg (a little below my preferred 3.50 w/kg)

VI: 1-- means my power was very consistent throughout the whole climb which is why my NP and AP were only one watt different

Pw:HR:  2.29% Less than 5% is the goal-- it is a ratio of the difference between Power and Heart Rate from the first half to the second half of an interval or workout.  This shows my fitness is good because there was very little decoupling between my Power and Heart Rate during the Jubilee Climb and Salsbury Climb

Avg Cadence-- 73 Rpm my typical cadence is over 80 while climbing but I was using an 11-23 cassette so it was a little lower.

Work-- 673 kj on a 48 minute climb I am putting out the same kj I put out on in one hour of riding hard on the flats.

Salsbury Climb- (MILE 52.5)

After climbing the 6.6 miles of Jubilee there is a one mile descent which translates to 2:18 of recovery-- not much.  Up next was an 8.5 mile-- Salsbury climb.  I kept Kelly and Rock Rabbit in my sights on the Jubilee climb.  I pushed hard enough to keep them there but I just couldn't chase.  They crested before me and I thought I would see them on the one mile descent between Jubilee and Salsbury but no.  They were gone.  

I knew I was in third but since I couldn't see anyone chasing me I rode steady on the first part of Salsbury.  But then I saw Rock Rabbit up ahead and turned it up just a little.  I still didn't see anyone behind me so I thought it was safe to push a little harder.  One thing I hate is getting passed on a climb.  And I have always thought, pass someone ONCE, convincingly, on a climb because it messes with your mind if you get caught by that rider again.

Rock Rabbit was suffering when I passed him.  I don't know if it was fatigue or nutrition but he didn't look strong.  I then knew I was running second and it was just Kelly up ahead.  Rock Rabbit stopped at the water stop midway up the Salsbury climb and that allowed me to get a decent time gap on him.  I could just barely see Kelly up ahead but I wasn't making any ground on him.  Finally I resigned myself to maintaining my position and getting over the the summit. 

On the final miles of the the Salsbury Climb I noticed that my left pedal stroke felt strange.  I felt I had too much float and it was impacting my efficiency.  I then realized that the cleat was loose.  It reminded me of when I test rode Speedplay pedals-- not a fan  ;)  

Shoshone (MILE 75)

As I was arriving at Shoshone, Kelly was leaving.  I estimated I was less than 5 minutes behind him.  Once I got into Shoshone I asked the volunteers for a screwdriver.  The volunteers were awesome.  While I filled my water bottles one of the gentlemen there tightened my cleat.  I was in such a rush that I neglected to tell him WHERE to place the cleat.  It wasn't until I rolled out and started pedaling that I noticed the cleat was not where it should be. I wasn't going to turn around and fix it.  I rode the next 125 miles with my left cleat in the wrong place.  It felt strange but as I write this I don't have any knee pains to speak of.  

Shoshone to Salsbury Pass 

Shoshone to Salsbury Summit:

Duration:   56:32

Work:       701 kJ

TSS:        52.3 (intensity factor 0.746)

Norm Power: 209

VI:         1.01

Pw:HR:       -4.05%

Pa:HR:       32.47%

Distance:   12.33 mi

Min..... Max..... Avg

Power:....        0...... 331...... 207  watts

Heart Rate:.......   136.. 171...... 164  bpm

Cadence:........      43.... 136...... 75  rpm

Speed: .........       6.7.... 28.8..... 13.1  mph

Pace.........          2:05.... 8:56..... 4:35  min/mi

Hub Torque:.....   0........ 229...... 117  lb-in

Crank Torque:. ...0........ 452...... 239  lb-in

Fatigue starting to set in on the Salsbury climb.  We do over 5,000 feet in a short 40 mile section.  

41 miles and 5300 feet of climbing

I rode alone on all the climbing sections (about 90 miles total solo).  I made a very quick stop at Ashford Mills on the return.  Some of the century riders and volunteer staff thought I was the first doubles rider coming through.  But I corrected them that Kelly was ahead of me. I wonder if he didn't stop at Ashford Mills.  On my way to Badwater I was caught by Desert Fox.  I was falling asleep.  Yes, it was around noon and I was falling asleep.  I had driven up the night before from Huntington Beach and arrived at Furnace Creek at 1am.  Being the store manager of the Newport Beach Bike Religion I was there late taking care of last minute customers and THEN closing the store. Believe it or not there was still traffic at 7:30 at night on the 91 freeway.  Crazy huh?!

Once I arrived I had to unpack the car, set the bike up, lay out my clothing, attach lights, set up nutrition for first 50 miles and lay down and try to fall asleep.  It was well after 2am when I finally put my head on a pillow. When the alarm went off at 430am I was delirious and groggy.  I was still very exhausted.  I almost bagged the ride right then and there.  But I got up, got dressed and made the early check-in.  I barely got two hours of "sleep".  Of course if you don't know sleep deprivation is cumulative.  On the days leading up to Death Valley I didn't get more than 5 hours of sleep.  I'm up every morning by 4am.  Now here I am midday falling asleep.  I think Desert Fox was having the same sleep deprivation issues because he wasn't going that hard himself.  The good thing was the constant stream of century riders on the road ahead of us.  They provided fresh targets on which to focus on, pass and feel some sort of progress on the course.    

When we got into Badwater I had to go to the bathroom REALLY bad and drink a Coke to wake up.  I had to go to the bathroom at Ashford Mills but I didn't want to cross the road from the checkpoint to relieve myself.  There were too many century riders on the course to pull over and relieve myself alongside the road.  So here I am at Badwater and Desert Fox doesn't want to allow enough time for a nature break.  I filled my bottles and as soon as I popped open the Coke Desert Fox was getting on his bike.  I took two good pulls and threw the rest away.  The Desert Fox didn't want to make a full pit stop and I didn't want to loose his wheel. 

Furnace Creek to Stovepipe Wells

Duration: .......  1:21:41

Work:........        688 kJ

TSS:...........        46.2 (intensity factor 0.584)

Norm Power:..... 163

VI: .............        1.16

Pw:HR: .......      10.03%

Pa:HR:........       4.39%

Distance: ........  24.501 mi

Min.....Max......Avg

Power:       0 ..........511..... 141 watts

Heart Rate:   106....... 160..... 140 bpm

Cadence:     40....... 149....... 80 rpm

Speed:       5.5....... 27.1..... 18.1 mph

Pace         2:13.... 10:58.....3:19 min/mi

Hub Torque:   0.......... 170....... 55 lb-in

Crank Torque: 0......... 640...... 152 lb-in

FURNACE CREEK - Mile 150 arrived 2:20pm

As we were getting close to the Furnace Creek Inn, I told the Desert Fox that I just HAD to go to the bathroom NOW before we hit "civilization".  I usually take nature breaks BEFORE designated stops because I don't want to waste time waiting on a Porta Potty.  It happened to me once and I learned from it.  We pulled over and did our business.  It was my ONE AND ONLY nature break in 11 hours.  Yet I had emptied two bottles between every checkpoint. I felt great all day as far as fueling and hydration.

 I don't usually stop at Furnace Creek (it's a downhill section) but Desert Fox wanted to stop and refuel.  I also think he thought we needed to get marked on our numbers proving we had been there.  It was a quick top-off of fuel.  I had consumed one of my bottles between Badwater and Furnace Creek (~ 18 miles).  I thought it was funny when a century rider commented on how fast we were in and out of the checkpoint.  We were in and out in less than two minutes.  My reply "We've been here too long already!"  She laughed, I laughed, but I was serious.  

On the way to Stovepipe Wells I was doing calculations on how long it would take for us to get back.  There was a slight chance we might finish in under 11 hours.  In my head I did simple math  that went like this:  

We have 50 miles to go and need to be back in 2 hours and 40 minutes.  So 3 hours at 16 mph would be over 3 hours. Well that won't work.  

So my next calculation was "At 20mph it takes 3 minutes to do a mile and we have 50 miles remaining.  So 3 x 50 = 150 minutes divided by 60 ( 1 hour chunks ) so that comes out to 2 hours and 30 minutes. 

Hmm that means we have 10 minutes to spare.  Great all we have to do is average a little under 20 mph and we can finish in under 11 hours.

What's great about this graph is you can tell when I'm taking my pull.  You see the power increase along with heart rate.  You can also see when I finish my pull and begin my draft. Desert Fox and I were working well together at this point.  It seemed to me that I had fully recovered, relatively speaking, and now it was his turn to drag the chain a little.  But together we kept the pace high enough to average 18.1 mph from Furnace Creek to Stovepipe Wells.  Even though we were working well together, I was surprised to see Kelly heading in the other direction when we were still seven miles from Stovepipe Wells.  In other words, he was 14 miles ahead of  us!! From mile 75 to mile 175 he had put 14 miles on me in a 100 miles.  There was no way we were going to catch him now.  

Stovepipe to Furnace Creek:

Duration:   1:21:11 (1:23:09)

Work:       669 kJ

TSS:       43.6 (intensity factor 0.572)

Norm Power: 160

VI:         1.15

Pw:HR:       -9.81%

Pa:HR:       11.64%

Distance:   24.57 mi

Min... Max... Avg

Power:       0... 431... 139 watts

Heart Rate:   108. 153... 136 bpm

Cadence:     34... 143... 80 rpm

Speed:       2.7... 33.4.. 18.4 mph

Pace         1:48...22:27... 3:16 min/mi

Hub Torque:   0... 252.... 53 lb-in

Crank Torque: 0 ...947.... 151 lb-in

TSS:        43.6 (intensity factor 0.572)--

As you can see my intensity is really down it is only 57% of my threshold.   Fatigue from the many hours in the saddle --- I'm starting to unwind.                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Heart Rate:   108 153 136  bpm -- my heart rate is really down.

Stovepipe Wells

Stovepipe Wells

Desert Fox and I got in and we BOTH had Cokes.  We refueled and off we were again.  We were down to a 25 mile recovery ride -- that's all we had left.  Weather was starting to turn for the worse.  It was getting windier and we could see rain clouds.  The return to Furnace Creek is a road I know well.  I have been on this stretch four times on my 508's.  It's always dark so it was a nice treat to see my way in the daylight for a change.  The return leg was uneventful and I believe we were both finally feeling better. Heck the ride was almost over right? 

It felt great to see riders going to Stovepipe Wells and know that I was miles ahead of them and would get in with a good cushion.  We averaged 18.4 mph on the return leg.  

THE FINISH

LAST 6 MILES 

LAST .8 MILE

We were so close to getting under 11 hours but we didn't make it.  I was disappointed at first.  I thought back to my lull between Ashford Mills (mile 100) and Badwater (mile 130).  But then I got a reality check.  I had PR'd the course by ONE HOUR!  So now I have something else to shoot for ... sub 11 hour Death Valley Double Century.  After my double century I had a good recovery meal and put on my Skins Travel and Recovery tights for the remainder of the day and I also slept in them.  And there you have it my Spring Death Valley Double Century race report.  

BEFORE THE DOUBLE CENTURY

AFTER THE DOUBLE CENTURY

One of the reasons I had a good day is that I had stressed my body over the last few weeks but I was fairly rested by race day.  On the above charts you will notice that the Pink line and the Yellow line are working towards meeting each other.  The Pink line is the stress of training in 7 day chunks and the the Yellow line is how much rest or recovery you are allowing your body.  The Blue line is the cumulative stress on your  body over the last 42 days.  As you build your base they diverge as you taper they meet.  Pretty simple explanation for something very complex as periodization and peaking for races.  

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