Race Report: Not dead yet - 2008 Punishment - Los Alamos, NM
Race Report: Not dead yet - 2008 Punishment - Los Alamos, NM
2008 Punishment - Los Alamos, NM
It's been about a year and a half since my last real race, and race report. All I can say is that I still like racing! Not much of a contender anymore, but that's OK. The 2008 version of the infamous (around here) Pajarito (pah-ha-REE-toe) Punishment' took place (and it's toll) this past Saturday at the Pajarito Ski Area. This race has a lot of history in the New Mexico Off-Road Series, and has evolved and morphed over the years. I've been fortunate to race a number of iterations of it; from multiple laps at the ski area, to various versions of an epic loop style event. The mountain backs up against a masive area that was devasted in 2000 by the Cerro Grande fire - which is why the race retreated to a smaller lap-style format at the ski area, as a number of the epic loop trails were destroyed by fire and post-fire erosion. After many years of hard work, we reclaimed some of the trails, mainly through the hard work of the Los Alamos Tuff Riders, and the 'Multi Agency Volunteer Task Force' headed up by Craig Martin. Untold hundereds (thousands?) of man-power hours and we reclaimed a pristine, technical trail along Guaje (wah-HEE) ridge. This connected the ski area to other trails that dropped you down into town, where the race used to loop back to the base of a long, brutal climb back up to the ski area. The race ran this way for a few seasons these last few years, but the fellow that had spearheaded the effort has become a new daddy recently, and had to pass the reins along.
In comes Gary and the Pajarito Ski Area folks - in a big way!
The new promoter announced (to the dismay of some) the race format would return to a more intimate, family-friendly 'laps style' course that utilized the base area lodge as an expo / staging area. Seemed wise as a new promoter to not try and tackle all the in-town police, marshaling, and other logistical headaches that came with the monster loop route. I know a lot of the trails at the ski area made for some wicked, brutal, 'real' XC mountain bike racing that would heavily favor technically capable riders who had some lungs too! Plus, the crew at the ski area have been hard at work for years adding both XC and DH trails all over the place - so I was curious to see what evil concoction of a course Gary had in mind. He did not let down! Somehow he designed a course that felt very different, and a lot of it very new - so it kept even experienced locals guessing - and working. I perceived the climb as 3 distinct parts - lower (hard) middle (harder / technical) and upper (harder, technical, and at 10k feet!). Pre-riding was very wise, and my buddy and I did (2) laps the week before - and were impressed. The mix of familiar and new was great - and they ran the course in the opposite direction I'm used to. All in all it felt almost entirely new! And harder. The nay-sayers should be put at ease, as this race was indeed going to punish despite not having the "epic loop" format. To spread things out at the beginning, we race out of a big dirt parkig lot, onto some two-track, then out some moderate XC ski trails which were about the size of ATV two-track - so there was ample time to 'spread things out'. This initial loop took perhaps 20 - 25 minutes at race pace, and had some faster sections that were tricky due to tall grass obscuring boulders (aka pedal/tire land mines!). Then we came back out the dirt road and up into the ski area, and single-track trails 'proper'. From there, it got serious mighty quick.
Weeks prior, I talked to my wife Dana about trying to make a family outing out of the event - and so race day morning we piled my little dude, herself, my buddy Rich (also racing) and his wife, our friend Tanya into the Outback and headed north to the venue. Nice having an awesome event less than an hour from home! Seems between work and family pressures, I'm just not inclined to drive the endless hours, all alone - that I used to to go race anywhere and everywhere. Phoenix for a Marathon Nationals? Sure, why not.. it's only 8 hours away... Steamboat Springs, CO? Well OK! Also about 8 hours. Perhaps the crescendo was in 2005, right after Hurricane Katrina drove gas prices up to near $5 a gallon - I showed how addicted I was, when I drove the 16 hours to Mammoth, CA for the NORBA Nationals - where I got sick and tanked anyhow. Let's just say that over the years I've had a few races... Fast forward to NOV 2006 and life changed dramatically with the arrival of our son, Victor.
Life shifted abruptly not only with a new kiddo, bit three weeks prior, I was also laid off. Fun times! I was very fortunate to land a job at perhaps the most solid firm in Santa Fe - which pays great, is secure, and has some decent benefits. Stability comes at a price when you work for someone else - and I now had much less time (previous job was a 4-day work week) with a new, intense job, and a new, more intense kid! Training and racing took a back seat mighty quick. Through May 2007 I tried to train, and raced at Angel FIre - at a huge Mountain States Cup event, where I utterly wrecked myself. With the lack of fitness, and some serious injuries resulting from a botched Super-D race - I went into early race retirement. I did emerge in the fall with a new found Cyclocross addiction and raced a few of the NMCX series races - and had a blast! This was all because Rich started talking it up, and racing them himself too. Short, intense, fun - and my wife and kid could see me the whole race! I owe Rich an awful lot for motivating me to try a number of things. It was his fault I started the XC Racing Odyssey in 2003 that led to a whole lot of mania, and fitness. This season, I felt so out of shape and slow - I never really motivated to train/race - until these last few weeks. I raced a few road events and felt like I wasn't totally washed up just yet, and so felt like I'd at least not be DFL at Pajarito!
Or so I hoped...
So off we head, across the Rio Grande valley, down then up to the high desert mesa government hide-out and birthplace of the Atom Bomb. Los Alamos sits at about 7,000 ft. elevation - and the Pajarito base area is up at about 9,000 feet. I was surprised at the large turnout so early - as we rolled into the parking lot at about 7:45AM. This was going to be GOOD!
Security:
Rich and I headed up to registration, and as race promoters ourselves, were curious to se how these rookies would do. All I can say is they had there program together far more than a lot of very experienced promoters. We were greeted by a gal screening folks for pre-reg, category, and license info. Then we were directed to a very organized staff that pulled our waivers, packets, and bib numbers out - and presto! We were done. Wow. Gary nailed it. We'll see about course marking and results and all - but shoot, A+ effort for registration set-up! Surely they screwed something up.... Back to the car and start prepping, and discussed bottle hand up plans with Tanya - who made me practice so we had it 100% nailed. Cool! Dana and Victor started scoping out a place to hang out - which meant a place where Victor could run himself silly without getting in the way, or hurt. Things were rolling.
I did something i haven't done in two year: pulled the trainer out and started to warm up! At Angel Fire all I did was ride around to warm up, which meant getting blood flowing to massive contusions at the time. This time, I felt like an actual, structured warm-up would be prudent. Despite feeling pretty good - I was a little sluggish. I learned (the day after the race in fact) that even pretty tame over the counter sleep aids like the Tylenol PM I took - would likely lead to pronounced grogginess the next day. Doh! I did sleep well - a rarity with a high maintenance almost two year old - but was not 'peppy'. Ah well - hind sight is always 20/20.
Photo of Rich by James Rickman
Mountain Flyer Article LINK.
Anyhow - I cranked through the efforts I had done dozens of times in years past, and felt as ready as could be. I saw they started staging folks up, so off I went. Lining up with some of the sick-fastest racers I know, I felt pretty silly, I was cool and calm - but felt like a poser for some reason. To my left, Mike McCalla - recent FireCracker 50 2nd place pro mens finisher. Next to him, the incredible Damian 'D-Rock' Calvert, a guy who has beaten Travis Brown and Ned Overend at regional races! Next to him, a fellow local hammer and much fitter friend, my pre-ride buddy known affectionately as Chappy. WTF am I doing here? Well, racing - that's what!
Off we go. I hit the wide-ish single-track in 7th or 8th place - but hold no illusions as to how long I can stay here. Sure enough before we exit the XC ski trails loop, it seems like all the Pro/Expert men have gone by, and the Pro/Expert ladies are storming not too far behind - as well as a few VERY fast Sport Class racers (there were 15 second waves). I'm OK with it all, as I know how hard the course is, how hard I can go, and how to pace myself. As we head up the first climb, I come back by a few folks, but generally stay at a sustainable pace and grind away. Powering through the steeper technical terrain I do better - but don't have the punch to ride a harder tempo on the less technical sustained climbs. I did crest the top faster than I thought - but no one was in sight. Well, aside from the Hammer Nutrition / Elete neutral support guys! Awesome - cold, fresh HEED in paper cups made a perfect topping to he first lap climb. I take my time and have some gel from my flask, drink some water, slug some HEED and prepare to descend. Some dude passes me just before the descent begins in earnest but realizes his mistake as I easily end up on his wheel as he struggles with the fast, technical descents.
He lets me by, I drop him.
I still go down fast! At the base, I see the best thing in the whole world (not the heinous 2nd lap climb / finish line) - my little dude clapping for me! Well, to be fair, he was clapping for all the racers... must have picked it up from the Tour de France coverage I subjected him to. Then, on cue Tanya hands me an icy cold drink and life is good. But god, the climb hurts like a mofo, and I start thinking "what the hell am I doing here?". Bah. Racing! That's what. After a bit I start feeling pretty good and climb away. Now I start passing the odd straggler - bonking, fixing flats, or otherwise in worse shape than I. Cresting the top, I thank the Hammer guys, drink some more HEED and hit the descent.
About a mile and a half from the finish, the course rolls up and down in sort of false flat power section, and I goose it through here. Maybe I'll reel in one or two others - but am just stoked to be out racing and (as yet) not having flatted, crashed, or otherwise screwed up. Alas, I see no one as I hit the fast dirt road to the ski lodge - and turn up the last kick to the finish and THEN see a guy in my group - 15 seconds too late. He is utterly cracked, but only 10 meters from the finish line. I stand and hammer, "fly" under the Finish banner - then pass him. Ah well. Just reinforces the fact one should race the whole race, until the very end - as there is always the chance someone else will be in worse trouble...
I find the rest of the crew and check the preliminary results - and off we go to pack up. Rich fought hard for a great 5th place finish in an insanely fast, stacked 30-39 sport mens group. I too ended up 5th - in the 30-39 expert group, just behind my racer acquaintance - Marty. Change, pile into car, and off we go. Victor falls asleep almost immediately - and all is good. Rolling back through Los Alamos, we get through the military check points, and head 'down the hill' back to Santa Fe. All I can say is don't take sleeping pills before a race, and thanks to all the Pajarito folks for putting on a great race. They even had a pro timer guy who was cranking out results as fast they happened. Anyone interested in riding some incredible, high alpine XC or DH / AM trails - check out otherwise sleepy little Los Alamos.
It's been about a year and a half since my last real race, and race report. All I can say is that I still like racing! Not much of a contender anymore, but that's OK. The 2008 version of the infamous (around here) Pajarito (pah-ha-REE-toe) Punishment' took place (and it's toll) this past Saturday at the Pajarito Ski Area. This race has a lot of history in the New Mexico Off-Road Series, and has evolved and morphed over the years. I've been fortunate to race a number of iterations of it; from multiple laps at the ski area, to various versions of an epic loop style event. The mountain backs up against a masive area that was devasted in 2000 by the Cerro Grande fire - which is why the race retreated to a smaller lap-style format at the ski area, as a number of the epic loop trails were destroyed by fire and post-fire erosion. After many years of hard work, we reclaimed some of the trails, mainly through the hard work of the Los Alamos Tuff Riders, and the 'Multi Agency Volunteer Task Force' headed up by Craig Martin. Untold hundereds (thousands?) of man-power hours and we reclaimed a pristine, technical trail along Guaje (wah-HEE) ridge. This connected the ski area to other trails that dropped you down into town, where the race used to loop back to the base of a long, brutal climb back up to the ski area. The race ran this way for a few seasons these last few years, but the fellow that had spearheaded the effort has become a new daddy recently, and had to pass the reins along.
In comes Gary and the Pajarito Ski Area folks - in a big way!
The new promoter announced (to the dismay of some) the race format would return to a more intimate, family-friendly 'laps style' course that utilized the base area lodge as an expo / staging area. Seemed wise as a new promoter to not try and tackle all the in-town police, marshaling, and other logistical headaches that came with the monster loop route. I know a lot of the trails at the ski area made for some wicked, brutal, 'real' XC mountain bike racing that would heavily favor technically capable riders who had some lungs too! Plus, the crew at the ski area have been hard at work for years adding both XC and DH trails all over the place - so I was curious to see what evil concoction of a course Gary had in mind. He did not let down! Somehow he designed a course that felt very different, and a lot of it very new - so it kept even experienced locals guessing - and working. I perceived the climb as 3 distinct parts - lower (hard) middle (harder / technical) and upper (harder, technical, and at 10k feet!). Pre-riding was very wise, and my buddy and I did (2) laps the week before - and were impressed. The mix of familiar and new was great - and they ran the course in the opposite direction I'm used to. All in all it felt almost entirely new! And harder. The nay-sayers should be put at ease, as this race was indeed going to punish despite not having the "epic loop" format. To spread things out at the beginning, we race out of a big dirt parkig lot, onto some two-track, then out some moderate XC ski trails which were about the size of ATV two-track - so there was ample time to 'spread things out'. This initial loop took perhaps 20 - 25 minutes at race pace, and had some faster sections that were tricky due to tall grass obscuring boulders (aka pedal/tire land mines!). Then we came back out the dirt road and up into the ski area, and single-track trails 'proper'. From there, it got serious mighty quick.
Weeks prior, I talked to my wife Dana about trying to make a family outing out of the event - and so race day morning we piled my little dude, herself, my buddy Rich (also racing) and his wife, our friend Tanya into the Outback and headed north to the venue. Nice having an awesome event less than an hour from home! Seems between work and family pressures, I'm just not inclined to drive the endless hours, all alone - that I used to to go race anywhere and everywhere. Phoenix for a Marathon Nationals? Sure, why not.. it's only 8 hours away... Steamboat Springs, CO? Well OK! Also about 8 hours. Perhaps the crescendo was in 2005, right after Hurricane Katrina drove gas prices up to near $5 a gallon - I showed how addicted I was, when I drove the 16 hours to Mammoth, CA for the NORBA Nationals - where I got sick and tanked anyhow. Let's just say that over the years I've had a few races... Fast forward to NOV 2006 and life changed dramatically with the arrival of our son, Victor.
Life shifted abruptly not only with a new kiddo, bit three weeks prior, I was also laid off. Fun times! I was very fortunate to land a job at perhaps the most solid firm in Santa Fe - which pays great, is secure, and has some decent benefits. Stability comes at a price when you work for someone else - and I now had much less time (previous job was a 4-day work week) with a new, intense job, and a new, more intense kid! Training and racing took a back seat mighty quick. Through May 2007 I tried to train, and raced at Angel FIre - at a huge Mountain States Cup event, where I utterly wrecked myself. With the lack of fitness, and some serious injuries resulting from a botched Super-D race - I went into early race retirement. I did emerge in the fall with a new found Cyclocross addiction and raced a few of the NMCX series races - and had a blast! This was all because Rich started talking it up, and racing them himself too. Short, intense, fun - and my wife and kid could see me the whole race! I owe Rich an awful lot for motivating me to try a number of things. It was his fault I started the XC Racing Odyssey in 2003 that led to a whole lot of mania, and fitness. This season, I felt so out of shape and slow - I never really motivated to train/race - until these last few weeks. I raced a few road events and felt like I wasn't totally washed up just yet, and so felt like I'd at least not be DFL at Pajarito!
Or so I hoped...
So off we head, across the Rio Grande valley, down then up to the high desert mesa government hide-out and birthplace of the Atom Bomb. Los Alamos sits at about 7,000 ft. elevation - and the Pajarito base area is up at about 9,000 feet. I was surprised at the large turnout so early - as we rolled into the parking lot at about 7:45AM. This was going to be GOOD!
Security:
Rich and I headed up to registration, and as race promoters ourselves, were curious to se how these rookies would do. All I can say is they had there program together far more than a lot of very experienced promoters. We were greeted by a gal screening folks for pre-reg, category, and license info. Then we were directed to a very organized staff that pulled our waivers, packets, and bib numbers out - and presto! We were done. Wow. Gary nailed it. We'll see about course marking and results and all - but shoot, A+ effort for registration set-up! Surely they screwed something up.... Back to the car and start prepping, and discussed bottle hand up plans with Tanya - who made me practice so we had it 100% nailed. Cool! Dana and Victor started scoping out a place to hang out - which meant a place where Victor could run himself silly without getting in the way, or hurt. Things were rolling.
I did something i haven't done in two year: pulled the trainer out and started to warm up! At Angel Fire all I did was ride around to warm up, which meant getting blood flowing to massive contusions at the time. This time, I felt like an actual, structured warm-up would be prudent. Despite feeling pretty good - I was a little sluggish. I learned (the day after the race in fact) that even pretty tame over the counter sleep aids like the Tylenol PM I took - would likely lead to pronounced grogginess the next day. Doh! I did sleep well - a rarity with a high maintenance almost two year old - but was not 'peppy'. Ah well - hind sight is always 20/20.
Photo of Rich by James Rickman
Mountain Flyer Article LINK.
Anyhow - I cranked through the efforts I had done dozens of times in years past, and felt as ready as could be. I saw they started staging folks up, so off I went. Lining up with some of the sick-fastest racers I know, I felt pretty silly, I was cool and calm - but felt like a poser for some reason. To my left, Mike McCalla - recent FireCracker 50 2nd place pro mens finisher. Next to him, the incredible Damian 'D-Rock' Calvert, a guy who has beaten Travis Brown and Ned Overend at regional races! Next to him, a fellow local hammer and much fitter friend, my pre-ride buddy known affectionately as Chappy. WTF am I doing here? Well, racing - that's what!
Off we go. I hit the wide-ish single-track in 7th or 8th place - but hold no illusions as to how long I can stay here. Sure enough before we exit the XC ski trails loop, it seems like all the Pro/Expert men have gone by, and the Pro/Expert ladies are storming not too far behind - as well as a few VERY fast Sport Class racers (there were 15 second waves). I'm OK with it all, as I know how hard the course is, how hard I can go, and how to pace myself. As we head up the first climb, I come back by a few folks, but generally stay at a sustainable pace and grind away. Powering through the steeper technical terrain I do better - but don't have the punch to ride a harder tempo on the less technical sustained climbs. I did crest the top faster than I thought - but no one was in sight. Well, aside from the Hammer Nutrition / Elete neutral support guys! Awesome - cold, fresh HEED in paper cups made a perfect topping to he first lap climb. I take my time and have some gel from my flask, drink some water, slug some HEED and prepare to descend. Some dude passes me just before the descent begins in earnest but realizes his mistake as I easily end up on his wheel as he struggles with the fast, technical descents.
He lets me by, I drop him.
I still go down fast! At the base, I see the best thing in the whole world (not the heinous 2nd lap climb / finish line) - my little dude clapping for me! Well, to be fair, he was clapping for all the racers... must have picked it up from the Tour de France coverage I subjected him to. Then, on cue Tanya hands me an icy cold drink and life is good. But god, the climb hurts like a mofo, and I start thinking "what the hell am I doing here?". Bah. Racing! That's what. After a bit I start feeling pretty good and climb away. Now I start passing the odd straggler - bonking, fixing flats, or otherwise in worse shape than I. Cresting the top, I thank the Hammer guys, drink some more HEED and hit the descent.
About a mile and a half from the finish, the course rolls up and down in sort of false flat power section, and I goose it through here. Maybe I'll reel in one or two others - but am just stoked to be out racing and (as yet) not having flatted, crashed, or otherwise screwed up. Alas, I see no one as I hit the fast dirt road to the ski lodge - and turn up the last kick to the finish and THEN see a guy in my group - 15 seconds too late. He is utterly cracked, but only 10 meters from the finish line. I stand and hammer, "fly" under the Finish banner - then pass him. Ah well. Just reinforces the fact one should race the whole race, until the very end - as there is always the chance someone else will be in worse trouble...
I find the rest of the crew and check the preliminary results - and off we go to pack up. Rich fought hard for a great 5th place finish in an insanely fast, stacked 30-39 sport mens group. I too ended up 5th - in the 30-39 expert group, just behind my racer acquaintance - Marty. Change, pile into car, and off we go. Victor falls asleep almost immediately - and all is good. Rolling back through Los Alamos, we get through the military check points, and head 'down the hill' back to Santa Fe. All I can say is don't take sleeping pills before a race, and thanks to all the Pajarito folks for putting on a great race. They even had a pro timer guy who was cranking out results as fast they happened. Anyone interested in riding some incredible, high alpine XC or DH / AM trails - check out otherwise sleepy little Los Alamos.
Comments
If it is at all possible, I may try and do the Fall Classic. I am finally getting into reasonable shape - and ought to peak around then! We'll see... as usual, I'd consider it if we had a few guys headed up. I know local hammer Mike McCalla is going - so we have (2) there.