EPIC TRAINING SYSTEMS
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2009 Furnace Creek 508 Solo Race Report - Stage 8
From the 508 website: "Stage Eight: Almost Amboy to Twenty Nine Palms, 58.2 miles. Elevation Gain: 4170'. After you pass through the funky throw-back hamlet of Amboy (where you can not count on any services), you cross the valley and at mile 472 begin the last climb: 1500 feet in 10 miles to Sheephole Summit (Mountain Section Ten). The climb begins gradually and gets steeper near the top. The shoulder is very sandy; the crew should be careful with the vehicle. A quick descent leads to the rough road and rolling slight uphill to the finish line." This last section just wears on me. I think what makes the 508 so hard for me is going without sleep for that long. I almost always have good legs towards the end of the event. In a multi-day ultra like Race Across America (RAAM) you can nap a couple of hours in a 24 hour period. But at the 508 you ride straight through. I started this stage after being on the bike 37 hours already. I was done last year in 37 hours 34 minutes. It was quite daunting to realized that I still had about 5 hours to ride before finishing. On the Sheephole Summit climb I just couldn't stay awake. My crew was worried that I would ride off into a ditch--maybe because I did -- once. They gave me several things to try and stimulate me but nothing worked-- long term anyway. I would have these bursts of energy and work hard to maintain that motivation but would falter a few minutes later. I tried sprinting up the climb and that worked for a little bit. I eventually crested the climb and began a much needed descent. The cold air woke me up. After the Sheephole climb, next up was the 25 mile slog to the finish. It is a slow grind up a gradual incline all the way to the finish along with a little headwind -- you know just for fun. All I could do was count down the miles. Both my palms were killing me. Today is 10/22/09 and my right palm is still in pain. I commuted this morning and every pothole hurt the palm of my right hand. |
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