My training begins!!

Mt Rainier from Cap Forest

August 25th is coming soon! June is here and before you know it the heat of August will be pressing in. 76 days until the starting line (Capital Forest 50 miler) crosses beneath my stubby tires. I need a plan, not to mention enough endurance to meet my plans.
June equals 30 days of training. I will be focused on finishing the 50 mile designated route by riding and walking my bike, hopefully less walking. I am no fool and realize that the first couple trail runs(hopefully not every try) I will most likely have to jump off my bike and walk as the elevation gained on this track is a killer. I'm reminding myself as I write this that my first goal is to finish!! An accomplishment in of its self!!

Woodward Bay

I would love to finish the 50 miles by mid July with never walking my bike. As of now I will take one month at a time and one ride at a time.
My training will include hitting the trail once a week at minimum and twice if time permits. With work and other events on my calendar I have decided to ride the Western Chehalis trail daily with the notion of getting miles in. I can ride the trail 16 miles round trip to Woodward Bay.
The W. Chehalis trail is convenient being next door to my apartment and runs from Woodward Bay all the way to Yelm and Tenino. The trail north from the Sand Lake trailhead is flat and all paved. Three bridges confront you crossing 14 ave, Martin way and Interstate 5. These bridges bring the most uphill the rider will see with all other elevation change being very gradual. Heading north to Woodward bay the trail is slightly downhill overall. There is no bridge for crossing busy Pacific Ave. The trail ends at a T on the south side of Pacific. Picking up the trail is easy as it restarts between Music 6000 and Sizzlers.

No need for sunscreen!!

Once past the three bridges comes several wetlands where ponds present themselves right off the grade of the trail. From here the next 3 miles are shady with beautiful trees and brush that line the trail. Ponds occur in several parts along the trail. Ive seen people bird watching along these wetland areas. The trail is very popular with the residents who live close by. The trail also has many off road trails which parallel the main paved trail. They are designed for Horses. I haven't come across a horse yet, as it's fun to jump onto the dirt trails and cruise through the shady trees and brush. When the rains come the pavement becomes littered with slugs and I can imagine walking isn't pleasant. Call me "slug killer" as every wheel rotation another slug was terminated. It became the norm as i raced to Woodward Bay but one slug will be remembered above them all. It was a giant Oregon Slug about 18 inches long. In no time that slug was cut in two, probably making two slugs. If they can regenerate. If they can, then last week the slug population doubled. I have to throw out props to thee "Slug Killer" of all slug killers.... Jeanie Earls. You wont find any slugs in her garden, they know to migrate around her property!!!

singletrack

A daily ride will be important but I'm more concerned with how I handle Capital Forests trails. The race will bring alot of firsts for me: first 50 miler, gaining 2200 feet on a bike and my first bike race. Gaining 2200 feet on foot I do every summer backpacking, but on wheels, never. My first time out on the race route I rode 25 miles, or so i thought. Tracking the miles by trail signs I tallied 17 miles but my cateye odometer read 25. I realized I had to recalculate my cateye to my exact tire size. The trail route was muddy. I would guess about one third of the trail was muddy with some deep puddles here and there. Come August that wont be a problem, thank goodness. My tires became coated with mud to the point were gaining traction was impossible on steeps slopes. My tires came with the bike and are average grade mountain bike tires but I am assuming that special mud tires would be needed in winter and spring in the Capital Forest. The 17 miles I rode was nice singletrack with a occasional root and rock on the trail. These trails have been maintained superbly! Along the trail "stop" signs greet you, letting you know of forest road crossings where logging trucks and vehicle traffic can slow your passe. Horses along with hikers are aloud on the trail with horses being the main concern for coming around a tight corner. I have come across horses every trip in Cap forest. The horses can be skittish so be careful. My second time in the forest I nearly collided with a fellow mountain biker. There is no signs telling a rider which direction to ride. Therefore one always needs to be alert and looking forward and listening to what lays ahead.
Every ride i come home sore but knowing that crossing the finish line will be worth it all!! Times running out, this blogpost is over and I'm hitting the trail!! Talk later, hopefully sooner than the gap between my last posts.... I promise.

Capital Forest 50 miler

Backpacking has been a passion of mine for the past 6 years and still continues to be. Until i added a new passion to my list more than a year back, mountain biking. I have trained for many things through out my lifespan including hoopfest, bloomsday, a half marathon (which i never ran) and many other running events but never a bike race.
        My passion with mountain biking started at Capital Forest. Before hitting the CF i only had mountain biked around my parents house as a teenager. I romed Riverside State Park which has some sweet trails along with some singletrack but unfortunately I romed around on a huffy with no shocks. Not enjoyable!!
        My first ride at CF was the Waddell loop, which is all singletrack. I had recently bought a Motobecane hardtail MB and was eager to ride! Soon i found myself exploring all the trials in CF from Mima Porter trail to the Green Line trail. I'm not a MB junkie yet as backpacking has dominated but that might change a bit this summer. I have determined to tackle the CF 50 miler in august.
       I have never rode 50 miles at once in my life and i have to combine three back to back rides to even reach 50 miles. I enjoyed running races in the past but disliked the training. So i am combining my interest in racing with my MB. As of august 25th i will find out if combining these two interests produces a new passion. 

      The Capitol Forest 50/100 mile Endurance Mountain Bike Race is set for august 25 2012. The 100 mile starts at 6 am and 8 am for the 50 miler. 10% of the proceeds go to benefit the Friends of the Capitol Forest. The FOCF build and maintain the awesome trail network up at CF. Last year alone the race raised 3,500 dollars. 80% to 90% of the race will be singletrack. These trails are well maintained and during the race aid stations will be plentiful. Among the stations will be fresh fruit, sandwiches, clif bars and gels, electrolytes and cookies among others. Categories include men's open, 40-49 and 50 plus. Women's categories include open and 40 plus. Both men and women can also enter the singlespeed category. Once registered, free camping, a post-race fest, raffle items, finisher prizes, after finish massage, bike mechanics at each aid station and EMT's are all apart of the package!
          There's no question this race will beat me up and shove me to the ground...multiple times, hopefully not literally. At this point my goal is to finish but i have started training and hope to up my goal of finishing in the 6 hour range as my training goes well. Keep tuned in on my unprofessional training program (more blogposts) as i try to accomplish my first mountain bike race ever! One thing is for sure, it will be EPIC!!! Hopefully not an epic failure!