My Secret for Ultra Racing Success!

Power Profile – 4 laps of Pace Bend Ultra Race Course (Pre-Ride)

I’ve had several people ask me recently about the Pace Bend Ultra Race coming up next weekend: What the topography is like? What is my strategy? Have I stalked my competition? How am I feeling about my first race of the year?. . .so I figured I’d answer all of that with a blog post, and hopefully help some fellow Ultra Racers out with their strategizing and planning in the process!

Disclaimer –

I don’t technically consider myself a REAL Ultra Racer. My personal definition of Ultra Racing (for me, and for now) is somewhere in the range of 6 to 12ish hours, or ~100-250 miles. I haven’t done anything longer than 12 Hours / 250 miles . . YET. . . so this “secret” may not apply for REAL Ultra Racing (think multi-day races like RAAM, RAW, or NCOM 1,000). This little “secret” is VERY applicable for the 6-12 hour range though!

Why give away my secret for success?

Well, I really have found something that I’m passionate about in Ultra Racing, and I try every day to share this wonderful world with anyone that will listen. I’d love to see more people (especially women!) get involved/give it a try! The more people that fall in love with this sport, the more competition there will be. . and I see that as a GOOD thing!

My Ultra Racing Secret/Strategy = STEADY EDDIE

I’ll get straight to the subject of this post first . . . my personal secret for Ultra Racing Success? STEADY EFFORT LEVEL!! For me personally, this means holding a steady power output throughout the duration of the race.

Notice that I did not say that I hold a steady SPEED for the duration of the race. My speed varies greatly depending on the terrain, wind direction, pavement surface, etc, but from the time that I take my first pedal stroke, to the time that I cross the finish line, I do my best to maintain a smooth, steady, and consistent power output/effort level, whether I’m riding up or down a hill, or am on hour 1 or 10.

Speed Profile – NOT Steady! LOL

While the statement “hold a steady effort level” sounds simple enough, there is a lot of forethought and planning that goes into it:

It means starting out at an effort level that I feel I can maintain for the duration of my race. This is a lot (mentally) harder than you’d think! I ALWAYS want to start out harder than I do because I feel SO GOOD, and have to remind myself constantly over the first several hours to dial it back, because it is a loooonnnngggg race.

It also means listening to my body, and adjusting as necessary, but staying smooth and steady no matter what. For 12+ hour races, my power output inevitably declines a bit from start to finish, but it stays fairly smooth, and I don’t burn a ton of matches with spikes and dips.

It means shifting into one of my easiest gears, and riding up hills A LOT slower than I know in my mind that I’m technically capable of, but then also carrying my momentum and effort level over the crest of the hill, shifting back into my big ring, and riding back down the hill putting just as much effort into the pedals as I did on the way up so that I don’t find myself in a cycle of spiking my HR on the climb, and then coasting the descent as it recovers.

Pace Bend Ultra Course Profile – “Rollers” or “Climbs”?

This segways into answering the question about the 2018 Pace Bend Ultra Course Profile. . . I personally feel that the hills at Pace Bend roll into each other fairly well. None of them are pitchy enough that they require that I stand up, and I can carry my momentum from a descent of one to the crest of the next on all but 2-3 of them. For the 2-3 hills that are a bit too long or steep to fully carry my momentum over, I am still able to hold a cadence of about 80-90 seated in my easiest gear, and spin up them (granted I have a 32 tooth granny gear. . .hahaha).

That said, I live in Austin now, and I’ve learned how to ride hills/rollers MUCH more efficiently than I used to, and the hills at Pace Bend definitely feel a lot “flatter” now then they did the first time that I rode them, when visiting from Corpus Christi. . . . so “hilly” and “rolling” is relative – and don’t hold it against me if you don’t agree that they’re “rollers”!

Cadence Profile – Notice that it does dip a bit on the climbs, and it’s not as steady as my Power Profile, but I keep it pretty much in the 90-100 range, dropping to maybe 85 on 1 or 2 hills per lap. Avg Cadence for this ride was 95rpm.

Stalked the Competition? / How am I feeling about my 1st race of 2018?

Nope! You see, I got a really, really late start to my base this season as a result of the Zwift Academy Semi-Finals and the 12 Hour World Time Trial Championship in November . . . so I’m still buried pretty deep in base, and am treating this first race of the season more like an end cap to my base training 🙂 My coach and I will analyse where I’m currently at, decide on a Wattage Output that we think is reasonable for me to hold for 6 hours, and then I’ll go out and hold it. For 6 Hours. Period. If someone from my field rides away from me? So be it. If I end up riding away from everyone? Cool! But I’m not going into this particular race with the primary goal of “winning” it. I’ll consider it a successful race for me if I am able to settle in at the prescribed effort level, and hold it steadily and consistently for the full 6 hours.

That’s the beauty of Ultra Racing. Often, every single person racing goes into the race with a different set of goals that they hope to accomplish, and at the end of the day, even if they didn’t “beat” the rest of the field, they can still consider their race a “win” if they successfully reach their own individual goals!

That said, I do hope that I’m able to improve on my mileage and/or finishing time from last year, confirming growth and improvement over the past year. . but SO many things outside of my control can affect speed (wind, temps, pavement surface, etc), so if the conditions next Saturday end up being worse than they were last year, I may have to throw that little mini-goal out the window from the gun!

Want to join me? Set a baseline for yourself? Dip your toes in the Ultra Waters?

Pace Bend Ultra 2017 was my very first Ultra Race, and the one that hooked me. I feel that it is the ideal race for:

A USAC Road Racer who wants to wrap up their off-season with a nice long steady ride
A person that has been building their distance/time in the saddle, and wants to push themselves to the next level, but in a supported environment (A 6.2 mile loop means the opportunity for a Pit Stop every 20-40 minutes!)
Someone that just wants to go out and ride their bike for 6, 12, 18, or 24 hours straight on super smooth roads with next to no traffic
Someone that has considered Ultra Racing, but just really isn’t sure it’s for them, and doesn’t want to get half way through a race and decide they’re done and hate it, only to find themselves in the middle of nowhere with a LONG ride back to the start!
The seasoned Ultra Distance Racer – super smooth pavement, professional staff, a live announcer, and passing through the pit area every 6.2 miles for fueling or just a little pick-me-up from the cheering crowds make this one of my favorite Ultra Distance Races of the year!

As of the time of writing, it’s not to late to register! Registration is open through Wednesday, January 31st at 11:59 CST.

Here’s the Registration Link: https://www.bikereg.com/pace-bend-ultra-2018

AND, if you’re a female new to Ultra Racing, or just considering maybe giving it a try, but you’ve got some questions or just want to chat about it, send me a DM through my Instagram Account w/ your contact info, and I’d be happy to schedule a call to chat and answer any of your questions 😉

**Disclaimer** –