Race Photos

DoubleShot head photojournalist, Paul McEntire (www.PaulMcEntire.com), did us the honor of coming to the races to take photos.  He's the Ansel Adams of DoubleShot Racing.  You can see his photographs here.  There's also a link from the homepage of the website.

These photos are just for you to look at.  If you want to buy photos, visit this webpage, where you can find our friend Duane Whitsett's race pictures.

Success

The races have come and gone, and I thought they were fairly successful.  

Thanks to everyone who participated- volunteers, racers, spectators, sponsors, etc.  We do it for you.  It's a lot of work, but it looked like everyone had fun and enjoyed all the festivities.

Congratulations to everyone who raced.  I know the course was rough in areas and it took perseverance to keep going.  I heard a lot of compliments on the bike course, which I really appreciate.  I put in a lot of time designing the course, and Kari and I did a lot of work cutting the new trail and weed-eating overgrown trails.  I really liked the way the course flowed; linking trails at Turkey can be challenging.

Special congratulations to Shelly Chronister and Ray Hall for winning the Duathlon.  And to Kristi Perryman and Jordan Haffener for winning the 5k.  You can see all the results by going to the DoubleShot Duathlon Homepage and clicking on the results link.  You'll also find a link to pictures that you can purchase.

I'll be posting some of our own pictures to the site soon.  And I'm happy to answer any questions you might have- just shoot me an email:  Brian@DoubleShotDuathlon.com

You might want to bookmark this blog and check back occasionally.  We're planning more races and will definitely have the DoubleShot Duathlon and 5k Trail Run again next year.

Packet Pickup

Tonight from 5-7p at the DoubleShot Coffee Company (18th & Boston) will be packet pickup.  You can register tonight for the Duathlon or the 5k.  You can also wait and register on race day, but that's a lot of last minute hoo-ha, so it would be better to register tonight.  And have a cup of coffee.

I am trying to keep a daily updated list of entrants on the website.  Go to the homepage of www.DoubleShotDuathlon.com and click on the link at the top of the page to see who is registered.  There are rumors of who is and who isn't going to race, but don't believe everything you hear.  And don't believe the voices in your head.

I wanted to answer a few questions.

1) Will there be post-race food and drink?  Yes.  We'll be grilling hotdogs and pouring beer for you.  Marshall Brewing has donated a keg of their not-yet-released Oktoberfest and Grand Vin has donated a keg of Leffe Blonde.  

2) Do you need to wear a helmet on the run?  I don't know.  Do you?

3) How long do you think the race will last?  I suspect we'll be wrapping up the duathlon around noon or before.  The 5k shouldn't take very long, but I encourage 5k'ers to stick around and cheer for the duathletes.

4) Will there be race day registration?  Yes.

Run Course

First, I made one little amendment to the bike course.  It's marked.  When you get to the bomb shelter trail, just to the north of 71st Street, instead of turning right, you'll turn left and ascend bomb shelter (through that creek bed drop that is so fun going the other direction).  When you're almost to the parking lot, look for a trail on your right.  I weedwhacked it and marked it with ribbon.  Turn there and follow the trail through the woods and down the hill, under a fallen tree, and out to the trail that turns you left and back up to the paved River Trail.  Up to the top of the hill, left around the outside of the parking lot all the way to the field just west of the parking lot.

That's where the transition area will be.

Ray Hall rode the course a few times on Saturday.  He said it was around 12.75 km (7.92 mi), which is a tad short, but it's a good course and adding anything on would mess up the flow.  I heard another guy say it was about 8.25 miles (13.27 km), so it's somewhere in there.

The run course.

I marked the run course on Sunday with orange ribbon.  If you're riding the bike course, don't follow the orange ribbon.  

Anyway, the run goes along Elwood, same as the bike, and up the big hill to the upper parking lot.  Keep going straight past the parking lot, out the Powerline Trail.  Down some technical rocky stuff and out the dirt doubletrack until you're at the top of the very steep downhill section.  At this point, there is a trail that shoots off to your right.  I weedwhacked the path there and tied orange ribbons on, so you should see it.  Follow that trail until it meets up with the Millennium Trail.  Turn right on the Millennium and follow it up the the wider, sandier trail that heads back to the top of the mountain.  A little ways up that trail, look for markers going off to your left- on a crossover to the Ridge Trail.  It goes down through a creek bed, then turn right and run up the windy trails that take you to the main trail on top.  Turn left there (away from the upper parking lot) out to the open field.  Keep going straight all the way out to the point (a small bike course crossover there) and down a treacherously rocky hill.  We descended this hill last year.  When you get to Ho Chi, turn right for a minute and then back left.  Jump over a downed tree and descend more rocky trail all the way to the main trail that takes you right to the parking lot.  Finish line.

Or transition area if you're du-ing it.

I'll post much more info this week, so keep checking the blog.  The race is this Saturday at 9a.  And don't forget, packet pickup and late registration is this Thursday at the DoubleShot from 5-7p.  You can still register and/or pick up your race packet on race day, but I recommend you do it before then.  It helps us a lot to know how many people to expect.

Stay tuned.

One Week Out

The bike course is marked.

We got a little rain last night and it feels a bit damp. I haven't been to Turkey yet today, but I would guess the trails are firm.

The course is marked with red and black checkered ribbon. It's not heavily marked, like it will be in the race, but I marked all the turns and you should be able to see it if you pay attention.
I incorporated some trails that haven't been used in a few years, so I'll be weed-eating and cleaning up trails today. The trail I'm going to cut through the woods is pretty clear already, but I'll break the trail today.
The course spends most of its time on the west side, which is pretty fun. It drops down and around a pond and comes out onto the powerline trail just below the steepest hill. You'll turn left onto powerline and ride out and down the drops by the old truck (be careful). Just before the next washed-out creek crossing, turn left into the woods again. Follow those twisty, rooty trails next to another pond (the one by the old shipping containers) out almost to the Pepsi Plant, then turn right and ride up to the spider. Take the Ridge trail to the point and circle back until you almost get to Lipbuster again (where you rode up), but make a left before you get into the clearing and take a nice, meandering trail down to Ho Chi. Right on Ho Chi and left on the new trail with the bridge that takes you down to the main trail. Wander around back to the left under the powerlines and down the boulders to the paved river trail. This part can be confusing right now without all the extra markings. Take a left on the river trail. Ride down to where the trail goes into the woods for Lo Chi. Don't take that trail. But right across from it is another trail that heads off to the east, down a loose, rocky trail- stay on that trail to the creek crossing. Up the other side is a pretty tough lift, so it probably will be a get-off point for most people. The rest of that uphill is pretty easy though. Then you'll see more markers meandering through the woods, doubling back and eventually re-joining the paved river trail. This time take a left back toward the parking lot. Just before you get to the parking lot, turn left into the grassy field and ride around the outside of it, all the way to the drinking fountain and across the parking lot entrance to transition in the big field west of the parking lot.

That's it. I think it's a fun course. I went out and blew up early on yesterday, which made parts of it not that fun, but overall I think the trails link together good and there is some stuff that hasn't been used much. So I think you'll like it. Ray Hall is out on the course today, getting ready to kick your ass. He told me he thought it was one of the most creative courses ever put together at Turkey. So go have fun.

Course

I got out on the course again yesterday for about 3 hours.  We have some trail maintenance to do, but don't worry, the course will be cleaned up before race-day.  A couple of the trails we're using haven't been ridden in a couple years, but they are great trails and they really complete the course.  I think you're really going to like this year's bike.  Every trail on the course is ridable.  I will say this though:  if you aren't a great mountain biker and you don't have time to pre-ride the course, you might think about dismounting when you see "Danger" signs.  Pick the right line and keep your weight back and your hand off that left brake lever and you should be fine.  But in order to prolong your racing career, dismounting sometimes is faster and safer.  

The trails are really dry right now, so they are starting to get sandy, especially in some of the faster sections.  Unless we get rain close to race-day, you'll tend to wash out in corners.  Some of the climbs are more washed out than usual and with the dry conditions things are getting loose.  I've heard competent mountain bikers tell me they can't ride up Lip Buster (the big hill on Elwood).  It is challenging, but completely ridable.  Here's the thing that might get you up the hill, if you have strong legs and some lungs to back them up:  lower your center of gravity.  Get down where the tip of your saddle is poking you in the butt and stay down there.  You'll be pedaling with your legs bent, which is murder on your quads, but this position is ideal for steep, loose climbs.  It keeps the front wheel down and the back wheel from losing grip.

I promise to get out and put up flagging this week.

Injuries (Don't be a sissy)

A couple people lately have mentioned to me that they've gotten injured running in the woods.  And I've been with people running in the woods who have fallen and injured themselves.  It's even more likely on a mountain bike.  

Last September I raced in a 24hour mountain bike race with a couple old dudes.  I did the first lap (probably because they didn't want to run the LeMan's start).  I was unfamiliar with the course and we were all bunched up pretty good, so there was a lot of pressure not to bobble and to keep my speed up through the really, really rocky sections.  (And I ride a hard-tail.)  Well, my handlebar caught a tree and I flew off the other side and the top of my head crashed straight into another tree.  My neck still hurts.

I'm familiar with off-road injuries.  But here's what I do to make sure things don't go too bad.

Wear a helmet when you ride.  Always. 

If you get blisters when you run, something is wrong.  Your shoes might be wrong; your socks might be wrong; or if all else fails, put duct tape on your feet where you usually get blisters as a prevention.

You are going to turn your ankles when you run in the woods.  It's ok.  Try not to SPRAIN your ankles.  Run light.  Keep your eyes on the ground.  But the more you run off-road, the stronger your ankles and other joints will get, and you'll roll your ankles less and less.

Don't fall down.  And when you do fall down, fall somewhere soft, like in the grass.  But when you fall on rocks, try to roll.  Or do what I do and put your hands out and fly like superman.  It's better not to fall.  And watch out for trees.

But again, probably the more you fall, the stronger your body will get and falling won't feel so bad.

There's poison ivy, but I'm not allergic to it.  I'd recommend figuring out what it looks like and staying away from it.

Thorns will puncture your skin and things will scrape you and some places you might get cactus needles stuck in your legs.  Don't touch cactus.  There's no cactus at Turkey Mountain (that I know of), so you won't have to worry about that during the race.

You probably won't get over-use injuries like you do when you run on the road.  Running in the woods is a lot softer (dirt), so it's easier on your joints and muscles.  And running on off-cambered trails and up and down hills strengthens your body in ways that flat road running won't.  

You could get bitten by a snake or squirrel or trampled by a deer.  Or scared by a tarantula and have a heart attack.  Keep your eyes on the trail in front of you.  Plan your foot-falls.  Don't step on snakes.  (They often lay across the trail, sometimes next to downed trees, so be aware when you jump over a log.)  The pretty snakes are the poisonous ones.  Look but don't touch.  And whatever you do, never EVER pick up a squirrel.

If you break a bone, you should probably go see a doctor.  If you just get a little scraped and bruised and dirty, don't worry about it; happens all the time.

My best recommendation is to keep going out there.  The more you ride technical terrain, the better you'll get at it and you'll either fall less or you'll keep going faster and faster and fall just the same amount.  The more you run trails, the stronger your body will get and it will feel more natural.  Turkey is a very technical (rocks and roots) place to ride, so if you're not training at Turkey, I hope you're training somewhere that gives you technical practice.

Brad Messner, EMSA Paramedic and SFC Army Medic, will be at the race to treat any and all injuries.

Turkey Trails

I went for a ride today and started mapping the duathlon course. The weather is fantastic and the trails are in excellent condition. I expected mud, since it's been rainy lately (including last night), but there was no mud to speak of. The trails at Turkey are constantly changing. For a while it seemed like they would erode and rides would slow down, then dirt would wash back in and it would speed back up. But now it seems like they are eroding in a different way and I doubt they'll ever return to the way they were a couple years ago. Especially with the tree damage out there. Ride Low Chi and and I think you'll see what I'm talking about. But mountain bikers are nothing if not creative, so riders take these natural obstacles and make them part of the trail. I love it. Riding today was a lot of fun.

This year's bike course will start just like it did last year- up LipBuster and over to the west side, stay south on the trail along 61st Street. But this year just before you get to the open field with the ponds, double back on the hard right. Then, before you get back to the main trail that takes you to the Snake, double back again to the left. Follow that trail until it joins the Snake Trail, take a left and follow the snake around to the main entry/exit. Back up the road the way you came... then I'm going to cut a trail through the woods just before you get to 61st Street. On your left. It will join up with a trail down the hill and you'll mess around on that trail to the south (pretty technical) until you get back into the motorcycle trails. That's all I'll tell you for now. But it will be a fun course. Very fast sections alternating with the technical stuff Turkey is known for.

Pretty soon I'll get out there and make some preliminary markings.

If you're wondering about the 5k run course, it's going up the hill too. And straight out the Powerline trail this year. At some point, it will swing back to your right through the woods and back to the parking lot.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about or don't live close enough to ride Turkey, just get out and ride. You can't beat this weather.

Gear Question

Mr. Glover (Jim, not Danny) (and not the one who owns the car dealership) wants to know about gear for the off-road duathlon. I'm not really a gear freak; I'm more of a minimalist. That doesn't mean I don't have a lot of gear. I do. I just means I cheap out on gear a lot and try to only buy the minimal amount of gear I'll use (as inexpensively as I can get away with).

Hydration systems. I almost always run with a bike bottle. One of the big 24 oz bottles. My favorite are the Specialized bottles because they have a big screw-on cap that doesn't leak and is easy to fill. I also own a Camelbak. During adventure races, I usually throw a Camelbak bladder in my backpack. And during the Leadville 100, I decided to use my Camelbak. Mine is one of the very minimal designs, which I sewed a pocket onto so I can carry food. I guess the difference is how long the race is. Most people can probably run 5 kilometers without needing water. Your bike probably has bottle cages so you can drink on the ride. When I was a mountain bike racer, my rule of thumb was one ounce of water per mile, but I'd probably add some because the terrain at Turkey is so rocky. But one bottle should do it. If you're used to riding with a Camelbak, do that. Figure out beforehand if you want to run with it or put it on only for the bike. There will also be an aid station as you exit the transition area, so if you want to grab a quick drink there you can (gatorade, water, beer...)

Shoes. I've been running in Adidas Response Trail shoes for a long time now. They fit me perfectly. You need to find what brand and style fits you. I recently bought a pair of shoes from another manufacturer. They fit fine, but when I'd run downhill my toes would jam into the front. That doesn't happen to me with the response. I also bought a pair of Adidas Supernova Trail shoes and ran in a race at Turkey. By the end of the race, the bottoms of my feet were bruised because the soles weren't thick enough to absorb the rocks. So I'm sold on the Response Trail. My only complaint is that Adidas recently added some height to the shoe and I started rolling my ankles. But I've gotten used to it now, and I assume the added sole thickness is protecting me from bruises. So you need to find a pair of trail shoes that fit your feet, protect you from the rocks, and don't jam your toes on descents. And those stretchy elastic laces are good for road tri's and du's, but don't provide enough rigidity for trail running. Take the time to tie your shoes. Cycling shoes... if you're not riding clipless, you should.

Clothes. I always run in coolmax shirts (or whatever they call that polyester material these days). Cotton sucks. Same with socks. Coolmax socks stick to my feet and keep the blisters away. Shorts for a duathlon? Cycling shorts, wiithout a doubt. If you want to be a hip dirt racer, you probably should go buy some baggies. If it drives you crazy when your shorts catch on the horn of your saddle (and you move around in the cockpit a lot like I do), you probably should race in spandex. In long trail races I've started wearing spandex gaiters to keep the rocks, sand and dirt out of my shoes, but short runs- no way.

Sunglasses? Up to you. I can't do it in the woods.
Helmet? Required on the bike, up to you on the run. :)
I take the time to put full-finger, cross-country cycling gloves on before I ride. It's worth it. (I like the Fox Incline.)

Incidentally, one of our sponsors, Pricepoint.com, sells (at great prices) a lot of the gear you'll need. Check out their selection of gloves, shoes, helmets, hydration systems, shorts, jerseys, cycling shoes, and bike parts. I always buy my tires and tubes from them; their prices and customer service are hard to beat.

You know you want to watch

I've finally finished the DoubleShot Duathlon Propaganda Film.
Click on the link, stop staring at that beautiful bike, and push the play button.

You also need to check out the Sponsors page. A lot of new sponsors are up. Cruise over to their websites, and shop with people who sponsor your sport.

We're getting closer, so stay tuned to the blog. Much more info to come.

And get registered! It helps a lot to know how many people will be at the race.

Training your mind

Let me begin by writing, I'm not everyone.  I'm just me.  And my ideas about training come from my experiences and research.  Maybe I should follow that up with those:

Twice all-conference in D3 college football (4 yr starter)

Past mountain bike racer (best finish 2nd in Telluride sport class) (and some 8- 12- and 24-hour races)

Past adventure racer (raced in the USARA 30-hr Nat'l Championship race)

I've run 9 ultra-marathons, 6 marathons, and a gazillion 5 & 10k's

BA in sports management from Monmouth College

Was a full-time personal trainer for 7 years.

I've done a lot more racing than mentioned above, and I'm above average usually (some multi-sport events or cycling I'm fast).  I'm out there to finish and do my best, not to win.  If you're out to win, I'm sure you aren't looking at this blog for training advice anyway, so hopefully I'm writing to the appropriate audience.

I learned in college, playing football, the importance of mental conditioning.  The coaches drill it into you in football and I learned to use imagery and visualization to optimize my performance both on the field and in the weight room.  It's not complicated, it just takes time and persistence.  

Here are a few methods I've used in the past (and some I still use) to squeeze more effort out of my body:

1. Get pissed.  This works especially good during high intensity exercise (sprints, strength training).  I like to think of something that someone could say to me that would really piss me off.  Something that, if I was already near my breaking-point, could throw me into a rage.  Then I like to take myself there mentally.  And say those words to myself and feel the rage explode inside me just prior to that big effort.  Hey, it's controlled rage.

2. Relax.  Sometimes I'm a little too pent-up and need to calm down.  Long, sustained efforts or getting worked up too early before a high-intensity effort.  It's all about controlling your emotions in order to optimize your performance.  And sometimes when I'm running distance I can feel my heart-rate is elevated above what it should be or my muscles are tightening up when I need to stay loose.  And I say the word, "relax."  Say it calmly over and over again, as a mother might say to her baby.  And then calm your breathing and physically relax or shake out the muscles that are jumping the gun.  "Slow down" works pretty well too.

3. Lie.  A long time ago I realized that I hated to run distance.  I knew it, I'd write it in my journal, I'd tell people, and it was true.  And one day I thought, what if I start saying the opposite?  And so I started saying out loud to myself as I ran, "I love running."  And I'd tell everyone I talked to that I love running.  And I'd write how much I loved it in my journal.  And something funny happened.  I began to love running.  It's not the activity that demands you love it or hate it, solely what you think in your mind.  You can be doing the most wretched thing and convince yourself that you love it.  So here's what I figured out.  When someone speaks to you, you have a natural tendency to just believe what they say.  That's how life works.  Without that natural instinct, all of life would involve disbelief of everything and constant investigation- and you wouldn't believe what your investigations told you either.  So the next thing I figured out was that your brain tends to believe what others say to you, but that effect is ten-fold when it hears your own voice.  When you say something out loud, your ears hear it and your mind grasps it as the truth.  So that's the key to changing your mind.  I say it all the time when I'm running or biking.  "I love running."  "I love mountain biking."  "I love running up hill."  "I love running in the heat."  "I love pain."

To be most effective, I think you need to keep your statements positive.  So instead of saying, "Don't stop," I would say "Keep going."  I've added a few mantras that help me with pain:

"Pain is my adrenaline; pain makes me stronger; pain gives me energy; I love pain."

Pain is one of the over-riding effects of long-distance that one must learn to deal with in order to keep going.

There are a lot of other mental techniques that work, like visualizing the course and your techniques before the event.  Getting into "the zone."  There are a lot of books about sports psychology and most of them probably have good advice.  Probably best to take it from someone who knows it practically than from a scientist.  

Anyway, I know it's hot, but get out there and have fun on the trails.  At least you can be cooler under the shade of trees.  Drink plenty of water.  The DoubleShot Duathlon and 5k Trail run is about 2 months out.  

Running with Purpose

In my last post I talked about specificity of training. Just so you know I wasn't blowing smoke, I wanted to let you in on a bit of my training. And, related to that, I need to make an announcement.

First, I'm in Leadville Colorado. I have been training for the Leadville 100. My training hasn't been all that I wanted because of a few obstacles: I work too much, life gets in the way sometimes, and it's hard to train in Oklahoma for a 100 mile run in the Rocky Mountains. But I've been doing as much running, plyometric training, weight lifting, and finger-crossing as my life allows. Tomorrow morning at 6a I'm going to run a 50-mile foot race that starts in Leadville. After that I am going to climb a couple 14ers and probably pedal my mountain bike in a few places that make me giggle. I planned to do this because it's as specific a training stimulus as I could think of. The 100-mile race is 4 weeks after the 50, so I know I'll be healthy again by then. And stronger.
There is a lot of mental torment that comes with racing. Especially races this long. And I'd like to talk about the mental side of things in a future post.

I have decided this year to raise money for a charity called Coffee Kids. They help coffee farming families, which is a cause that is very close to my heart. I am taking pledges for Coffee Kids based on the number of miles I run at the Leadville 100. So if you pledge $1 per mile and I finish the race, you will donate $100 to Coffee Kids. It's a great cause. If you are interested in reading more about this effort or pledging, go to the plege page at CoffeeIlluminati.com. You can keep up with my efforts and struggles on the Coffee Illuminati blog.

We have also decided to make Coffee Kids the beneficiary of the DoubleShot Duathlon and 5k Trail Run this year. A portion of the proceeds from the race will be doated to Coffee Kids, making your race more purposeful too.

Training, part 1

Maybe I'm not a great person to ask about training.  Then again, maybe I am.  

First, I'm glad you're thinking about competing.  It's going to be a lot of fun.  Goal number one is to finish the race.  Goal number two is to have fun.  Goal number three is to finish as fast as physically possible.  

I have bad news for all but a couple of you:  you're not going to win.

Now that you know that, you can loosen up a little.  Focus on the goals above.  Think about them when you train.  Goals for training should be the same as your goals for racing (finish, have fun, do your best).  

Your body (and your mind) adapts very specifically to the training stimulus.  If you had a math test coming up, you wouldn't study biology in order to get the neurons firing up there and help you pass your math test.  Your body is the same.  

When you put demands on your body, if those demands are something your body isn't prepared for, it will break down some and then after those demands are over, your body will repair itself in a way that will allow it to deal with that same stress better the next time.  So if you jump up and down for an hour, the muscles in your legs (and other parts of your body) will have small tears in them.  The way your body repairs those tears will allow you to jump up and down for an hour next time more efficiently with less damage to your muscles.

So what I'm trying to say is, you need to train specifically for whatever task you plan to undertake.  Then rest and let your body recover.

The key to longevity is have fun.  My philosophy is to do what exercise you feel like doing today and when it's not fun any more, it's time to stop.  More on that later.

2 races in 1

I knew 2008 was going to be different.

This year at the DoubleShot Duathlon, you don't have to sign up for the full race.  For the first time ever, we're having a 5k off-road, get dirty, all-out foot race.  Both races are on the same day, at the same time.  Compete in the 5k run or register for the 5k-15k-5k DoubleShot Duathlon.  Both are at Turkey Mountain on October 11.  Race time 9a.  More details to follow.

Visit the website for more information.