Good start for TJ79 Team Moziatex at the 361 Unbridled AR Series opener "The Bluff 8hr"

The 2018 361 Unbridled AR series is on, with the first race "The Bluff" last Saturday. The Unbridled is a series of 3 adventure races organized by the "361 Adventures" 's brothers Shawn and Dallas in partnership with the Kentucky state parks.

"The Bluff" was a 8hr format happening in Jenny Wiley state park near Prestonsbourg, KY, which included the amazing Sugarcamp MTB trail system. We  will race the series with Marc as a 2 male team under the name TJ79 Team Moziatex, our sponsor. Moziatex is a company founded in 1991 but with previous experience in the field since 1975. Manufacture under Mozia Brand that design, cut and craft confection every step of the production to create unique customized elite professional sportswear like ours. Thanks Roser and Mozia for your support in this Adventure. 
The new kits are coming and we are really excited to use them in our second race from this 361 series in August.

From the time we woke up we understood that the hope of a dry race was over and the rain will be on and off during all the day,  not a bad thing for staying cool. 

After dropping the MTBs and the canoe at the 2 different transition area locations, we got the maps (all checkpoint at 1:24000 and MTB trail system CPs at 1:10000) at the check-in at the state park convention center. In one hour our strategy was set-up, with most of the time spent deciding how to deal with the CPs on the MTB trails, choosing to keep 3 CPs for the way back to the finish. The race had a first trek leg to the TA1 where were stages MTBs, and from here it was a MTB-paddle-trek leg with open choices for the team to get those CPs.

After the pre-race speech interrupted by a energy outage (Marc actually saw the sparkles on the power line when we were getting ready before the meeting), we all lined up for the mass start. 

At 10am the racers were set free starting on feet. As always we made a little push at the start to try to take the lead and hitting the first trail leading to CP1 in front.

Cutting by a bridge and small stairs heading to the main road put us in front of the pack and we started to climb the trail at a good pace, slowing down to not burn too much energy. We found CP1 after a steep climb followed by couple of other teams and then decided to go down to follow the trail to attack CP2...well that would have been perfect but the trail became quickly a messy bushwhack and we realized when back on it that we definitely went to far than the expected attack point. After a short climb, we saw other teams including Topo Adventure coming from the ridge and the CP2 where they found a nice fire road. 

CP2 found, it was time to chase the teams in front of us, bushwhack down to the main road to hit a trail, climbing to get the other 4 CPs in direction of TA1. As we realized that all the climbs are pretty steep the call was to not cut bushwhacking and to stick to the ridges and trails to attack the remaining CPs (3-4-6-5-7). That worked pretty well and we arrive first at TA1. 

After a quick transition, we headed down the trail system, choosing the technical short downhill over the long easy switchbacks to reach CP25. A great choice, even if slippery this trail was a lot of technical fun..We passed the rocky sections staying on the bike which reminded me my rides in south France. The rest of the MTB ride went as predicted, staying first on the ridge then on the north side of the trail system to collect 20-21-22-18-17 and 19, keeping the 3 last CPs on the south of the ridge as they were on the direction to the finish line.

After CP19, we jumped on the main road at the end of Lizzie's path to a fast ride to TA2 to jump in the canoe. 

We got CP11 first and then clear the 3 hike CPs, going CP10, 9 and 8. The climb to CP10 and 9 was "something" but once we were running down to CP8, we were glad we went in this order :P. Back in the canoe after collecting CP8 to clear the remaining lake CPs 12-13-14 and 15. We got bunch of head wind on the way back that gave us the feeling of not moving...we stopped quickly as another team found my compass fallen at CP14...but the compass never made it to our canoe and is laying now at the bottom of the lake hahaha!!

On the way back, we crossed Topo adventures near the TA and realized that they were closed to us, which gave us a boost to jump on the bike heading to the Arrowhead point trail-head to get back on the trails to clear CP16, 23 and 24 before going down back to the road for a last fast 3km in a pace line relay to the finish. 

We were happy to learn that we were the first team to clear the course with an official time of 5hr43min. The day went pretty well with no major orienteering or strategy mistake for a first win for TJ79 Team Moziatex in an Adventure Race. 

As always, Shawn and Dallas delivered a great race set-up, challenging and fun with some pure mountain biking and steep hills. Fun dinner with the AR friends, talking about the day and for a first watch of a Kentucky derby before heading back to Cincy.

A big thanks to all the volunteers to help setting up such fun and great race!!!

Back on the trails....but not on bike!!! Another Wet Midwest Spring...Double Trail Run Race Weekend!!!

If this year winter has been mild, we are paying now for mother nature's cold month kindness. It is raining quite a lot, which mean no MTB so the only way to enjoy the trails in woods is to run.

This year, I'm not planning any big events, always using the numerous travels to Europe as an excuse...which in fact just reflect my idea of having an easy racing year.

Anyway, the training is going on and this week was perfect to get back into race. 

Two trail run races were schedule for both Saturday and Sunday, which is perfectly timed with the end of a 5 days recovery/easy training week. Also, Marc is out of town as our youngest teammates Marina is making great performances in Synchro Swim competition (A futur Star!!!!!), David is working during the weekend and the weather is anyway uncertain for riding.

The week has been easy with just one swim, one group ride with Biowheel and an easy jog on trail with the team mascot Choco (A first form him)

Early wake up as the race start at 8am, because of the temperature...well not this year, it's raining and it's 10 degrees Celsius out there.

Direction, Mitchel Memorial forest for the first "Summer" trail series race organized by Topo Adventure and my friend Brian. After a chaotic drive to the parc (ramp to highway closed and crazy rain), I'm rewarded by a break in the rain over the parc...nice, but a quick check of the race loop during the warm-up confirmed my thought...It's gonna be muddy. 

The choice of shoes is made, Salomon Fellcross despite the pavement parts of the loop, those shoes have an amazing grip in wet condition.

The race is short, 2 loops of 3 miles, with 2.2miles on gravel/grass and dirt (mudd!!) and the rest on pavement.

I know the loop as we ran the same during winter, a quick start to hit the trail first. The gap is made during the first loop and I'm managing during the second loop and won the race in 39min53sec.

The race was quick and short so decision is made to participate to the Dirt days trail series at Mount Airy on Sunday.

Race at 9am, today the sun is out and no rain but a good wind and it's even colder than yesterday. I also know this race, two 5 miles loops with a steep 1km climbs at the end of the loop. It's usually really muddy on the 90% single trails loop. This cost me the win 2 years ago, twisting my ankle in the last 2km...and the warm-up confirmed that. Same choice as yesterday, Fellcross which would be perfect.

This race is quite popular as Mount Airy is a famous place in Cincy for trail runners and as the principal sponsor "Fleet Feet" is a well established shop in Cincy which organized group training .

I spot several fast runners and I understand that it's not gonna be a resting day but a good fight....but I also notice that they made a wrong choice of shoes. Most of them are road runners and they didn't check the trails, wearing road shoes....there is a good result to play.

The start of the race is going downhill on grass and gravel and as expected the pace is quite fast and I put myself in second position to see what's gonna happen when we hit the technical and muddy part of the trail around 1.5km. As predicted, the three other runners around me are slowing down on the first muddy downhill...I decide to take my chance even if it's early in the race and because the next 2km are also really muddy so I'm thinking there is a way to make a gap and manage the rest of the race.

The idea payed right away, quickly the other 3 guys in leading group disappear from my sight, I'm running strong in the mud and save some energy in the climbs. Reaching the top of the last climb of the first loop I cannot see anyone behind me. The second guys behind me seems really fast on the dry parts of the race and I can here him coming back when hitting the gravel of the second loop. I let him pass me in a short climb and rest a bit when the pace is going down in the mud waiting for an opportunity to brake away putting a bit of pressure on him. That would happen after a fall in a downhill curve. Making sure that he is okay and not injured, I'm taking the lead again and push directly to make a gap. The strategy worked, quickly I cannot see him but keep pushing in order to go easy in the last climb which I know will be crazy slippery after all the runners went through it on the first loop. 

Reaching the top of the climbs, I'm giving a last look behind, no 10milers closed, a last push on grass catching up some 5miler finishers and it's done in 1hr17min29s.

That is 8min faster than my time two years ago, I guess the tough training of last year following Marc is paying. Clearly, the right choice of shoes made the difference today.

  

A winter hopefully under the sign of MTB...building up the legs for spring!!

Finally, more and more of us have finally understood that MTB is fun and really useful to get good legs and cardio for spring and next season.

So far fall has been really good and dry.

Four of our teammates (David, Jeff, Marc and Matt) went on this last sunny Sunday for a short MTB ride on Mitchel Memorial Trails!!!

No crash and a really good time riding in woods with friends.

Hopefully the weather won't be too snowy this winter and allow us to spend time outside

Back on MTB: Tri-State 6Hrs Series #1 – Hueston Woods…A rough but fun day!!! Dry like a raisin ...

Let’s say this season has been pretty shitty for MTB. Lot of rain and trails pretty much closed all the time didn’t give us the chance to spend as much time as we would like on MTB. After 2 6Hr Races and a XTerra already cancelled this year, we were finally able to race this last Sunday.

So Hueston woods was the place for the 1^st Race of the Tri-State 6Hrs Series. I’ve been running in this series last year in a relay team with my buddy Hunter and we took 3^rd at the end of the season. This year in parallel of starting to jump more in Triathlon for IM distance, I decided to go solo for this series as Marc had a bad crash on bike and is off for now for this kind of event.

Hueston woods is probably the toughest race of the series, with 90% old school rooty single track path. The racers were set free a 9am sharp.

I placed in a leading group but after the first push on the pedals I could feel that it’s going to be a long day, no motivation for racing, no legs and already tired after 10 min….the heart is high and the speed not that good but I will stick to my strategy. 

Basically, I set up two backpacks with 2 liters of energy drink in each, the second one with caffeine for the end of the race. The plan was to stop at 3hr or 3 laps to quickly change my backpack and spend as little time as possible in the transition area. The strategy went pretty well for the first 3 laps, getting into my pace, passing 2 or 3 6hr solo racers in the second lap to place in the top 5. The course is fun, lot of steep and short climbs with logs to pass and some fast downhills to relax a bit the legs. 

End of third laps, I changed my back pack, checked that the precious liquid is running into the camelback and in less than 1 minute, I was back in the race with no one passing me. At this point I was thinking of putting 6 laps (85k) but my camelback decided another end for this race. After 5 minutes in the 4th Lap, impossible to drink!!! Damn!!! the camel is clogged, I pushed a bit during 30min to take some distance with the guys behind me and stopped at the top of a climb to try to fix the issue….okay the drink is running in the pipe so let’s start again…I lost a bit of time but just one guy passed me. Five minutes later, same issue and I got that I will have to stop at the end of this lap again to transfer the drink into the other bag.

End of lap 4, I’m totally dry, 50 minutes without drink in a hot and humid afternoon; I felt dizzy and took way too much time to change the bag loosing half the drink during the transfer. In order to maintain a good position for this race, I decided to go for a 5^th lap…this one was tough, totally dizzy, a fall in a climb touching a three with my handlebar so I decided to finish easy just enjoying the downhill

Almost 15minutes more to finish this lap than the previous ones. A short rain made the end of the loop pretty slick and slippery. Two riders passed me in this lap and I finished the 5^th laps after 5hr12min, no time and no motivation anyway for one more lap.

I finished 7^th of the male Solo category and 14^th overall finally not too bad after a week continuing the IM training. I can definitely feel the lack of MTB time this year but the race was fun and the day was more than enjoyable. Next one in England Idelwild, let’s hope that the weather will allow it!!

Back to and a first to Mohican100

This time of the year is back, time to spend a bunch of hours riding a MTB on fabulous trails from Northern Ohio during the Mohican100 NUE Race. A second participation for me and a first for Marc who has less than 1 year practice on MTB. We both signed up for the 100miles route which means 9 to 11hours with the bike and “not only on ” to complete the loop. This year is more organized as more friends decided to spend the weekend in the racing area with us. 

We booked a nice country side house, suitable for 12 guests. We grabbed with us Hunter, a friend and MTB shredder, who signed up for the 100k loop, a first also for him. A late departure from Cincy and a car issue from a friend made us arrived pretty late but Hunter already got our race package.

Once all in the house, we arranged and prepared everything for the next morning as the race starts at 7pm only 3k from the house. A bit of selfish time for the racers who spent the evening having a carbs rich dinner and discussing about the race, the strategy and the mistakes to avoid before an early sleep.

5:30am, time to wake up, to get a breakfast and to grab the bikes direction the starting line in Loudonville. Marc and I rode to Loudonville main street and Hunter got his car which was a nice idea as he pulled us during a short climb…We arrived early and so were able to get good positioning in the crowed.

7pm : the riders are set free and it’s time to get a good position during the first miles of road and gravel path to enter the trail far from the main pack of riders. 

The strategy work for me, I’m in a group of 10 riders with a good pace….wait a bit too good actually!!! My heart rate is a bit too high for this type of race but as I’m in a group I just decided to stick with them….A sharp downhill curve with rocks and a guy in front of me stopping in the middle of the path and it’s a first fall who will be the only one of the day. After a bit of time to be able to get back in the course as lot of riders are passing me in line and I got into my desired pace. Hunter passed me during this time and I passed him again during a climb in which he lost some grip and had to walk.

As expected I passed Aid1 without even looking at it in direction of the end of the first long single track. Marc and Hunter made a stop here as I will learn later Marc was not feeling well and was not able to eat or drink during more than 2hours.

The race is going pretty well but I have stomachache since the beginning of the single track and was thinking of switching for 100k. Arriving at Aid3, I looked at the signs 100k and 100miles and after 2 minutes decided to go on 100miles anyway even if I had to pace myself even more…and miracle, after 70k everything went in green, no more pain.

As last year, I passed a bunch of riders between Aid3 and 4 on the long gravel roads but this year I was not alone. I found Dave, a rider from Toronto, just before this long fast stretch and we rode together drafting to keep a nice pace.

120k - Aid4 stop to refill a last time the camelback and to get some gels to avoid Aid5 and finished the race without stopping. Unfortunately, Marc was still feeling bad at Aid4 and had to give up here…but congrats to him for getting so far feeling bad for so long and not being able to drink or eat…he is already on the list for next year.

I passed Aid5 quickly in direction of the last piece of trails that finished just before the finish line. This trail was a nightmare for me last year and I completed him at a really slow pace. This year fuelling strategy was better and I just swallowed this last single tracks sprinting to the finish……9hr42min on the clock and the famous finisher growler announce the end of this nice and lucky day without rain or bike issue.

A quick meal and short talks with Diego and Jim from Cincy before finding Hunter with a beer enjoying his first finish in a 100k MTB race.

The day ended up in the best way with friends, grilling and drinking the head full of nice pictures from the day.

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR MOHICAN100

Shawnee State Forest Park...A first long ride on MTB for Marc

Spring is finally here, along with rainy days and MTB trails closed. As the Mohican 100miles MTB Race is getting closed, Marc and I really need to spent time on the mountain-bike and to climb more hills.To get some miles and a long ride on MTB, we decided to try the gravel and forest roads at the Shawnee State Forest Park. 

After a 2hr drive, we started from the conference center’s parking lot to ride the 70k loop of the 2014 Ridgetop Ramble (Swallow Bicycle Works).

A  first fast downhill on road, we rode on the forest roads, climbing  some short but steep hills, enjoying some fast flat or downhill sections and bunch of rollers. 

The trails are mostly dry and we could finally feel the warm spring sun and see the nature blooming.

Legs are a bit sore from a tough week of training, but we are just happy riding in a nice area, exploring new paths and discovering some unknown landscapes.

Almost a clean ride, but the last downhill on a  forest road was waiting for us all muddy and dirty…just 2k and we are covered by a fresh mud. 

We finished the ride at a good pace and we got dry in no time under the hot sunshine of the day. Last climb on road to find the car and it's time to drive back to Cincy just realizing that it was the first long MTB ride for super Marc.

68k – 1200m D+ - 3h30, a good and fun ride

Biowheels Group Ride….Don’t miss the train!!!

Finally, spring is showing up, the birds tweet, the temperatures are getting warmer and it’s raining a lot….so the trails are muddy, which means no MTB, which mean I’m sometimes grumpy but that another story!!!

We took advantage of a beautiful sunny day to fit the 1h40min ride schedule in our training plan with the group ride from Mitch’s Bike Shop “Biowheels”. The shop is located on Madeira (check the link on the right) and it’s a great place with lot of good gears, bikes and team and a great bike fitting system “Retul” (I will use it soon after changing stuffs on the TT and MTB!!!). 

Every Monday evening, Wednesday evening and Saturday morning, Mitch has a group ride starting from his shop with a well thought A and B group system. Basically, we start all together and the riders who get dropped during the ride create a B group.  

David, Marc and I were fully motivated by the sunshine of the day for a nice week day ride...but I was finally the only one to make it, as David got stuck at work and Marc in the traffic because of a car crash on the Highway…Don’t take the highway at 5pm in Cincy…just don’t do it!!! Trust me, it’s a perfect picture of “the Murphy’s law”… :P

6:15pm the ride begun, and we got pretty quickly in line taking relay to get a fast pace. It’s early in the season as the main race is in October (aka IM Barcelona…Back to Europe!!!). It’s been a while I have ridden in an organized big group and I wondered during the first 10 minutes if I was in shape for that…

As I got warmed up, and it takes more and more time “Diesel style”, everything got back naturally, drafting, taking the relay and everything was so enjoyable with a great weather and a nice group of riders. 

The climbs went not too bad, but I could feel that long winter and lot of work has to be done to get my climbing speed back…hopefully we will soon go for long MTB rides, that always helps!!!

We re-grouped after the last climb and rode back to the shop just before night..which made me realized that I still haven’t got a new rear light. 

Too late for a transition run, and a bit lazy too (the shoes were in the trunk and the stayed there). I also forgot to drop my rear wheel with a loose spoke to the shop…next time. That's the perfect kind of short ride of the training plan.

Thanks Mitch and the group for this nice ride, see you next week!!!

55.4km - 1h39min - Avg:33.6km/h - A good dose of fun.

Winter is not over....indoor training for a bit longer!!

After getting flavors of spring the time of a trail run and long ride, we are now back to the real winter. It is cold and we got quite a lot of snow during the last week...we all try to enjoy as much as possible that making snowmen.

 Aside, the winter "fun", we are adapting the best we can the training to get the best of our indoor time. We are keeping the swim session alternating between pyramid - sprint set - technique session.

Our main issue so far is the run....It's really hard to keep a good volume of running and motivation with this long winter. To get back on the run, we are adapting now our training to stay indoor while running...using the elliptical and treadmill.

 I used to feel really dizzy at the end of this training, but it seems to get better...2 or 3 more weeks and we should be good to get back outdoor