Austin Rattler 2017 - better described by “Life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you react to it.” Charles R. Swindoll

I was contemplating how to start this blog post about my Austin Rattler race that took place last Saturday, when I got the periodical email from Carrie Cheadle with her latest blog post and this quote caught my eyes:

“Life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you react to it.” Charles R. Swindoll

Yes, that was exactly it; basically sums up my race experience and now all I have to do is explain why. But first - let's start at the beginning and the why.

Reflections - Rocky Hill Ranch

Austin What?

If you are reading this and have no idea what the Austin Rattler is(well I didn’t know until a year ago so I don’t blame you), here is the short explanation. Austin Rattler is a 100k mountain bike race taking place on a mountain bike farm (yes you read correctly, more about that to come) in Smithville, Texas, or for y'all people not from Texas - it’s about 45 min drive east of Austin, Texas. Yes, I had to look it up too. It is part of the Leadville Race Series and it is a qualifier race for the mother of all races (in the series I mean), Leadville 100 MTB race. When I decided back in December, 2016 to sign up for this race this is basically what I knew. I was also told it is not really technical, and by that I mean, the course is not considered to require a high degree of mountain biking skills. Now remember this too as I’ll get back to this one.
   

You can make this a weekend by signing up for the trail run that takes place the next day on the same course as the MTB race with 3 different distances - 66k (which is a qualifier for the Leadville Run Series), 33k and a 10k (which ended up being actually close to 15k!).

We're in Texas baby - land of the Longhorns 

Why Austin Rattler?

After the above opening the question “why” come to mind. Yes, Sharon why? If you read my blog, you probably read about my not so happy ending to my Leadville 100 MTB attempt in August last year (if not and you are curious here is a link). I decided to take another shot at this beast for redemption. This time trying to be better prepared with more races under my belt. Austin Rattler fit this bill. It takes place on April 8, which will make it, most likely, one of the first rides outdoors for this Chicago gal. It will definitely be the longest ride thus far the season. It takes place near Austin Texas, a fun town with great atmosphere and restaurants (somebody said Texas BBQ?). It will likely be in the 80s and I run on solar power. Sounds good so far. Hell yeah, put on your cowboy boots and hat and come have some fun in the sun.
j

Now, I am not delusional and I knew I had no chance to get one of the qualifying slots. For that, in my age group you have to be high up there on the podium. Nevertheless, since 50% of the Leadville qualifying slots for this race go into a small lottery amongst the race participants, I was hoping maybe in a smaller group my odds for lottery luck will improve. I was also hoping to use this race as a qualifier for a better corral section.

On to the second lap

We’re Going to Texas

Fast forward to April 6, my bike is all packed and we are heading to Texas. Yeehaw. We booked a hotel in Bastrop, Texas which is about 15 min drive from the race venue and that was the perfect location. The plan was Friday morning build the bike, head to the course for a pre-ride, packet pickup and pre-race BBQ dinner of course.

The Venue

Before I go into my race recap, I have to write a few lines about the race venue as I think it’s super cool. The race takes place in Rocky Hill Ranch, which apparently is known as one of the first recreation ranches in Texas. It has 1,500-acre of trails open to mountain bikers, trail runners, hikers and campers. I was told that long time ago it used to be an operating cattle ranch but now it’s only for us to use as a playground for a modest fee. The Ranch hosts events year round both mountain biking and trail running or if racing is not your thing you should just come check it out on any other day.  

Rocky Hill Ranch

The Course

So this is what I knew about the course from reading the website - the race starts and finishes at Rocky Hill Ranch. It consists of roughly 50% dirt road and 50% fast, single track with a great flow (remember this too as I’ll get back to it). It’s 3-loop, 20.7-mile course that starts with a fast 7 miles of dirt roads heading to the north end of the ranch, then continues with some of the sweetest single track in Texas. The course profile looked like constant ups and downs.

Sounds doable right? Sure! but really even if it doesn’t - when did that ever stop me?

Friday’s Pre-Ride

With a late start to the day due to some bike mechanical issues (which is a nice way of saying I wanted someone qualified to check if I put my bike together properly - I didn’t shhh), we arrived at the venue at around noon. My original plan was to ride one lap of the course as the description above and the course map and profile were a little too vague and intimidating. I tend to get a big smile on my face when I read the combination of “fast single track with a great flow” and “some of the sweetest single track in Texas”, which also gets me a little worried too when it comes packaged as a race. In any event I couldn’t wait to discover what that meant. My coach urged me to pre-ride only part of the course and keep it to no more than 1 hour. OK, then, that’s why I have a coach - 1 hour it is.

Pre-riding the course left a smile on my face

First I needed to figure out how to cut the loop short. That was easier than I thought thanks to fellow riders who offered the perfect advice. They also helped with some helpful race course recon, explaining that the first lap is slightly different than the next 2 and starts with about 1 mile of dirt road before heading into a single track section, while the other 2 laps start with a single track immediately. Which is totally different than 7 miles of dirt road said above. hmmm. What else am I not being told about? I started with the 2nd lap course which of course goes straight into a single-track climb. OUCH! Nothing better than starting with a climb when your legs are cold. The shorter loop took me slightly less than 1 hour of easy riding (with a few picture stops - a must, sorry coach) and was about 10 miles. It left me with a big smile. But I was surprised - the flowy, fast, sweet single track (and yes it was) got me more than a little worried - it was super tights with sharp fast turns and were sometimes hard to see. I can’t imagine what it would look like on race day with 700 of my “closest” friends (aka - other racers on a quest for a Leaville spot).
j

I was happy with how I rode my new bike on those trails. Oh yeah - I forgot to mention, I got a hardtail MTB a few weeks ago, a sweet Niner Air 9 RDO with some pink bling bling and decided this will be my weapon of choice for this race. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I should also mention that due to travel and other stuff in my life the pre-ride was only my 3rd time ever on a hardtail and first time on actual non-dirt roads. So tomorrow would basically mean 100k on a new bike that you’ve never ridden before. Go big or go home Sharon! It’s my favourite saying after what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, both ended up being true for this race … hmmm maybe I should tattoo both of them on my arm.      

Race Day

I love mountain bike races. Unlike triathlons the start time is mostly civilized, 9am this time, no need to set up a transition, no pre-race stress due to needing to jump into freezing cold water for an open water swim. People also seem more calm, or maybe it’s just me.

We got to the Ranch at about 7:30am, the announcer said no need to line up until 8:30am so I took my time and headed out for a short warmup.  

Start line nerves

Start line
j
At 8:30am I head for the start line, it’s already packed with people that obviously don’t listen to instructions or probably unlike me understand the importance of starting position in a mountain bike race. I shoot for somewhere in the middle - it’s always a good place to be. OK, what now, 30 min to kill and I’m starting to get nervous with all the guys around me talking about Leadville and qualifying and how fast they are or want to be. So I do my thing and start chit-chatting with them to change the topic and get my mind off my nervousness. 2 guys that did the race last year told me that there are 2 water crossing on the course (obviously the section I didn’t ride) and explained where is the best place to be able to successfully cross them and stay dry. Thanks guys for the tip! Sharon - you get points off for bad course recon, but better late than never. The time has come, with the traditional shot gun blast - race is on.

Lap 1 - all good and dandy
j

I settle into a good pace with a group of riders, that is of course for less than a quarter of a mile when we start climbing and people started passing me. I keep going and the dirt road start does what it was aimed to do - break up the field before we hit the first single, but right before that single there is one steep hill with loose gravel and bigger babyhead rocks. Where I was in the field (somewhere in back probably) people started walking that section or falling all over. Come’on really? I push my way through the middle trying to stay riding and not get knocked over by all the guys falling down all over. Success (at least for now), I am over the hump and enter into the first single. The pace slows down because of other riders ahead. Well there is nothing to do but sit tight (and sometimes stand - it is mountain biking after all) and enjoy the ride. All of a sudden we come to a complete stop, it’s a huge traffic jam that took forever to pass, I guessed this was the second water crossing, and yes it was.
j

Other than the slower pace due to crowded trails, I settled into a good pace (for me) and even started passing people. Asking politely to pass when safe. Most guys (and gals, but I pick on guys because there are more guys in these events) were nice enough and let me pass when they could, but there is always the one dude that gets all “I don’t want to say what” when he hears a women asking to pass and decides that he  will pick up his pace so she will not pass him. Sorry dude - I was not sad to see you go down a few min later when you couldn’t make the sharp turn and flew into the bushes - karma!!! Just glad you didn’t take me down with you. Next time, however, I will put a bell on my bike to ring instead of using my voice.   
j

First lap: went well, a little slower than I hoped but I attributed that to the packed trails. If you haven’t figured it out yet, this race report is brought to you by a back of the pack rider - a slightly different point of view.

Civilized start to the race

Lap 2 - getting the beating of my life
j
I pass by the aid station area and signaled to Michelle, who was my support crew, that I’m good and don’t plan on stopping. I go straight into the second lap and into the single section that I pre-road. Thing are going well, the trails are less packed. I am even able to start passing people with a little more confidence. I nail both water crossings with dry feet. Sweet! I am still slow on the climbs. Will this ever change?
j  

The back of the course has a lot of what I can only describe as cow path singles, that unlike the smooth man made singles, felt like riding over miles and miles of washboards and babyhead cobbles. By the second lap my hands were so sore from gripping the handlebars on that terrain that I was in pain. This is when I wish I followed the advice I gave many times before to others but today chose to ignore … yes, you guessed it "Never try anything new on race day" - oops I did it a gain. Hardtail newbie took her first beating of the day (of course the fact that I had my fork set up all wrong didn’t help).  Well now I know why the call this race Austin Rattler and no it's not because of the snakes.
j

This is also the lap where I took the second, third, fourth and hmmm I lost count beating of the day. This time by other riders. The first happened when a rider ahead of me could not make it up a steep hill, I was trying to pass on the right, which turned out to be the direction she was falling to. Oops - I find myself on the ground too. No worries, a little bruised I get back on. This stuff happens riding in a tight single track. She was super nice about it apologize and all. And then it happened again, another rider, and I’’m on the ground again. More blood from a different spot on my legs but I get up for more. My legs get more and more sore every time I am knocked down, but I get up again and keep going. And yes this is still a description of a mountain bike race and not a fist fight, although it was starting to feel like it. The last straw for me was one of the faster riders who was lapping me. Most of the faster riders that were lapping us “leaders” of the “back-pack” were super nice about it and waited until the right opportunity presented itself to pass and just did, and yes that includes also Lance Armstrong (who I guess is back to racing, which personally I think is very cool). So if he can be nice about it, so can you nameless fast rider douchebag who while attempting to pass on a very tight section of the trail knocked me over, fell on top of me and then just rushed off without even checking to see if I was OK. I’m happy to report that I was and that the guy that was chasing you was nice enough to lose a few seconds to stop and make sure I was OK. I sure hope he passed you and ended up on the podium ahead of you. OK, I was pissed and now I vented.

I survived my MTB initiations and I will probably not wear a skirt to work in the next few weeks, but all good - I was still up and running (or more like riding).  

Digging deep

To top it all, I totally misheard the cutoff time for 3rd lap and thought that I was about to miss yet another cutoff. Leadville visions in my mind, no, this is not happening again - if I can’t do this how can I finish Leadville? I can’t believe how many thoughts can go through your mind in just 1 second. I managed to pull racer-Sharon from her closet (sadly, she is shy and doesn’t like to come out a lot) and gave the sprint of my life for the last mile to make it before what I though was the cut off time. Yes!!! I made it I looked quickly and the race clock. As planned I stop by Michelle to get more water and food and with a big exhausted smile I say - phew I just barely made the cut-off, just to hear Michelle say back to me - what are you talking about you still have 45 min more. Oops. oh well, I still felt good that despite all this I managed to channel racer-Sharon. BTW - I’ll take any advice you have to help me get racer-Sharon to show up for every race.
j

Second lap: a few min slower than the first, much more painful, survived to fight another day/lap.

Lap 3 - I will not quit and I will not walk
j

The 3rd lap consisted with mostly pushing through the nonstopping pain in my hands and trying to ignore the growing desire to quit the race, the doubt that if I cannot do this how can I overcome Leadville. I was getting slower and slower but still going. A lot of riders around me opted to walk some of the steeper hills. I refused to do the same, I can still ride those, slow but ride. I was probably also not eating and drinking enough and then went down again this time self inflicted. My calf started cramping while on the ground. I took my emergency Hot Shot from my pack, drank it - this thing just tastes so disgusting - yikes. But it worked. I was able to get back on the bike and ride. I event managed to get enough in me for another fast ride to the finish line. I always save enough for that.   

Across the finish line

I’m Done or more like pooped

I am done. I cross the finish line in 6:30h (about 1 hour slower than I hoped), but was happy to hear my last name being butchered again.
j

We stayed for the award and decided to stick around for the the lottery portion of the racers that finished under the cutoff time of 7 hours. It was not my lucky day, like it’s ever. I didn’t really need the lottery slot as about a week before the race I was invited to join team World Bicycle Relief to Leadville and I said yes, but it was fun to be part of the post race celebration.
j

Austin Rattler is a great event and despite the course description it was much harder and challenging than I thought it would be. I have no doubt I will be back and probably next time I will go for the double - MTB on Saturday and the 33k trail run the next day.   

Newbie lessons learned

I decided to share some tips and lessons learned by this newbie wannabe racer mountain biker so you can avoid making the same mistakes I make:

1. Use a bell to signal people you want to pass and not your girly voice (and mine is not that girly).

2. Follow your own advice and really "never try anything new on race day". To my defence I didn’t really have a choice as my other bike was at the shop and would really be an overkill for this race.

3. Do better race recon - course, aid stations, cut-off times. I used to do all that for triathlons but for some reason it never occurred to me to do this for MTB races. I am glad I got to ride the sections I did as about 1 mile before the end of each loop there was a split section for 2 alternatives one marked easier and the other included a section call “the wall” it is fun and flowie and after riding it in the pre-ride I decided that on race day the bypass is faster and smoother.

EZ line to the right, the wall to the left

4. Listen to your coach and do a proper warm up, especially when the race starts with a climb shortly off the gate.

5. Work on better nutrition plan and practice using water bottles for the race instead if the backpack.

6. It’s not over till the fat lady sings - never give up! No further explanation needed.

7. Perhaps the biggest lesson I’ve learned and how I started this blog and in the word of Carrie Cheadle: “No matter what the situation is, YOU decide how these things affect you. We often react to these situations versus respond. How you choose to respond will impact not only how you address the situation, but also how you feel about yourself.” I chose not to get too upset by other riders knocking me down, or to ignore the pain in my hands and to stick with what I started and finish this race.

Lastly, I was serious about asking advice on how to chanel Racer-Sharon - so if you have ideas of what works for you, leave them in the comments or send me a private message.

Thanks for reading