Outlaw Trail 100K Bike Tour 2012

Outlaw Trail Bike – 2012

100K – 62 miles
[Race Website: http://www.OutlawTrail100.com]

Each year, the Round Rock Parks and Recreation Department hosts the Outlaw Trail 100 Bike Tour featuring 10 mile, 25 mile, 40 mile, 50 mile, 63 mile, and 100 mile loop courses on county roads through historic Williamson County.

Outlaw Trail isn’t competitive; it is an opportunity to join cyclists from across Texas for a ride across Williamson County. There are rest stops set up along the trail for cyclists to grab some snacks or a drink (and sag wagons, if needed!). People ride at their own pace and enjoy the beautiful countryside.

Details & Race Results

Sunrise over Dell Diamond

• Event Name: Outlaw Trail Bike Tour
• Date/Times: October 13th, 2012, Time: 8:00am
• Location: Dell Diamond
  3400 Palm Valley Boulevard
  Round Rock, TX 78664
• Distance = Varied
• Total Time = 4h 43m 19s  (13.7 mph + 3,399 elevation gain)
• Riding Buddy: Elle Shelley
• Course Map: Download Map
• MapMyRide: Course Map w/ Elevation Chart

My Story

Our last weekend before the LiveStrong 65 mile ride, Elle, Jenny & I planned to do a 50 mile ride to get more time in the saddle after a few weeks off from the Kerrville Triathlon.  After a swim workout on the Wednesday before, we decided to sign up for Outlaw to take advantage of a supported ride.  The low entry fee of $35 seemed worth the road closures, porta potties and PB&J sandwiches.

Rest Stop #1

Race Morning:

I arrived before dawn to secure a good parking spot, realizing that once your tires are pumped up, there isn’t much more to do before a bike event.

Gathered with some TriZones teammates and started according to our distance goals.  Elle and I headed out and agreed to take advantage of all of the rest stops.

Rest Stop #1 (Mile 11) was social, sunny and fun. Ran into TWCC gals & shared a few laughs, refueled and took advantage of the facilities…  I adopted the parental response of “at least try” when kids say they don’t have to go to the bathroom before a car trip.  At least I learn from poor choices in the past!  Since we just finished the 6 mile decent, we are now starting the 7 mile ascent stage!

Rest Stop #1 w/ TWCC Biker Chicks

Rest Stops #2 (Mile 23) & #3 were timed perfectly and became more an more of a “we can make it to the next Rest Stop” destinations.  A good chance to stretch, eat, potty and use additional Chamois Butter.

At Stop #3 (Mile 38), as groups were map-glancing and comparing distances, someone said “Oh – you haven’t done the blue loop yet?  Have fun!”  That never seems like a good comment coming from people who look fit.  I realized this stop allowed 2 routes to overlap, and was just before “the blue loop” providing the option to re-visit it afterward the loop as well.

Rest Stop #3 – Pre-Hill

I looked at the elevation map and knew there was a big hill, but how bad could that be?  We took off on the loop as the weather was starting decline.  We are so used to windy conditions that it wasn’t (yet) an issue, the clouds held back the heat, and the grey clouds rolling in provided some distraction and conversation topics.   We quickly identified “the hill” and my speed maxed out at 34mph.  I also started praying that the loop somehow bypassed going back UP the hill, maybe connecting back w/ the main route along another road?  Nope.  Emotionally prepared for the inevitable, I got as much speed as possible and started grinding back up the hill.  I am trying to use my smaller chainring and adjust when to shift down to it, with 3-4 gears left to in my back cassette to fine-tune my effort.  I normally stay on my largest chainring then entire time, unless I have to punt on a crazy hill and go “full-granny”.   Stopping at the top for a minute to allow my heart rate to return to sub-red-line levels, I felt a sense of accomplishment, knowing it was the only “really bad” hill on the course.  We opted to not return to the rest stop (now at Mile 45).

Last Rest Stop (Mile 54)

Rest Stop #4 (Mile 54) Was actually a REST stop… Many times we asked back and forth, “How far do you think the next stop is?”  and “Oooh! I think I see it, no, that’s a big bail of cotton.”   What are the farmers thinking putting large blue tarps over cotton bales that look like pop-up tents & porta potties from a distance?  There were also times that we questioned if we were circling or missed a turn, seeing similar bales of cotton.  I justified that we had not yet passed the dead snake again, so we must still be on track.  I was distracted by the HUGE (decapitated) snake and missed a directional sign, although we quickly corrected after 50 yards.  This course was VERY WELL marked and had excellent signage and directional “guns” painted on the roads.

As we were leaving Rest Stop #4, the drizzle started turning into “big drop” rain.  Elle & I decided to “rest less & ride more” to try and beat the inevitable thunderstorm & downpour.  We took off at a faster clip and we buoyed by the fact we only had ~10 miles left.  (How hard could that be?)

I didn’t love the snacks at the rest stops, but brought enough of my own nutrition and hydration to remained fueled the entire route.  Because it wasn’t hot, I still had Infinite in my 3L CamelBack and a 20oz bottle in a cage.  Part of my training this season has allowed me to tweak each of these variables, combined with testing different gear & clothing, to provide confidence in what I actually needed to have a strong ride.  One think that I (apparently) had not prepared for was a “mental bonk.”    The last 10 miles of the course were rolling hills, none challenging, although we were riding into ~18mph winds and now had a decent amount of rain.  This required a bit more concentration and used a extra  mental energy to keep the “fear factor” at bay.

After a few miles Elle passed me going up a hill, which is a common occurrence   I couldn’t keep up with here enough to draft up the hill, and she pulled ahead.  Normally I catch up to her after a hill pretty quickly, but she must have switched to her “rocket fuel” and turned on an extra burner. I could see her 1/4 mile ahead of me through my rain-spotted sunglasses, but could not close the gap, even pushing as hard as I could.  After a few miles of this, and a lot of bad self-talk & some tears, I decided I just had to get out of the saddle and grind me way up to her, because she clearly wasn’t slowing down.  My quads burned, the rain pelted, and I just wanted to catch up.  SAG wagons were passing us as many (smarter?) riders opted to bail due to the weather.  After physically catching her, I settled into her pace, yet did not mentally recover from the sprint.

Finish Line Photo!

As we were nearing the park and the final few miles, Elle said: “You seem quiet, is everything ok?”  Oops – wrong question.  I  started bawling and told her I was using all I had to keep up with her and couldn’t.  I’ll save the emotion-filled details, but communicated that she & Jenny had fooled me into thinking I was as fast & strong as they were, and I had believed them.  But the reality was that I’m NOT and I just proved it.  Elle agreed, under duress or the desire to stop my crying, that we would no longer joke back and forth comparing biking abilities.  I also would not say “If I can keep up with you” which triggers the “You always finish before me” comments (usually due to a missed traffic light) or Jenny’s “You beat me at the Couples Tri (which was by a few seconds and she wasn’t on her normal bike.)

With the “new deal” in place, we happily road through Old Settler’s Park together and crossed the finish line.  Our longest ride!  GPS said 64.5 miles and my bike computer said 65 miles (from rolling through rest stops, etc.)

My Garmin Rocks!

Post-Race: Within 2 minutes of racking my bike on the car and removing my bike shoes, the skys opened up and it literally started POURING down rain w/ gusting winds.  I guess that extra effort was providential as we were safely on firm ground.  We ran to the spectator tent and listened to the 100 milers talk about how windy & hill it was.  Tom & Carolyn came to check on us, and had already had lunch by this time because they did a shorter route (and are both IronMan finishers!)

Finishline – 64.5 miles!

Exhausted but happy, we headed home for a few hours before Coach Jen’s Oktoberfest party.  I went to Old Town Market Days in Round Rock to see Terri’s Violet Crown Creations booth, and got home at 4pm.  My legs were very tired and I showered, put compression socks on, and played on Facebook in bed for an hour.  It was tough to get going for a party, but Elle’s mystery husband was going, so I had to push through to meet the man that I have heard so much about.   Although it was very warm, I wore long pants so that I could keep my compression socks on, and not look like a dorky soccer player at a party that would include “real people” and not just triathletes.

I had never been so tired after an event and I was SURE that my quads were going to be brutally sore for days, based on how they felt.  I decided that I wasn’t ready to do the LiveStrong ride the following week, since it’s supposed to be even hillier and harder!  For the first time, I took Sports Legs lactic acid capsules before/during/after the ride.  Apparently they worked, because I had no soreness at all, except my neck.

What I learned: At Jen’s party I was chatting w/ some of the teammates and I commented to Jeff Tobias that I didn’t think I could do LiveStrong b/c I was so TIRED!  Not sleepy, just my leg muscles were tired.  He asked why would I change my plans, and I repeated my statement, emphasizing the TIRED LEGS part, and not sure about the distance, etc.  He said: “You just did the distance today (in the wind & rain), why can’t you do it next week?”  (….TIRED….)  The pragmatic words of the husband of IronPam: “So…you’ll be tired.”  Humm…

[LiveStrong was a harder course, but was an “easier” race for me… so lesson learned is that every day & course is different and you can’t really predict performance or experience w/o all of the “in the moment” variables that make or break an event.]