Mile Horgan Hill climb:

for you east coasters think the prolog of GMSR times 1000. well all right not 1000, 999. it really is brutal. For you rocky mountain, mountain goats its… well, just another Sunday morning I guess. 18 miles. 4 miles at a gentile grade. 2-6% then 10+ miles straight up. I was doing all right in the first bit but the old heart rate was really high. I have been know to put out some really, really high avg. HR. I have a pumper. So I tried not to worry but it can’t be ignored. While trying to stay attentive to the race I tried to relax and find any inefficiency in my riding. I stood up once or twice to try and shake it out but it didn’t work. Some pressure breathing I tried everything.
When we turned onto the first real steep climbing on sugarloaf rd. there was an attack and I was out of position. well, what ever I have bigger problems then being on the right wheel. I pushed hard up the first steep kick. Trying to make it into the first group that was already forming. Almost there. I slowly reeled them in but as I did more people fell off the back of the elusive “pack”. And as they did, it got further away. I settled in with 6 people on my wheel and only one willing to help I was worried but it was 10% now. I figured finding “my” rhythm was more important that getting the 8 MPH draft. At one point they all came around me but most started to crack and I reeled them in again. I had a moment around ¾ of the way up the steep middle section where the legs really started to give. The RPM’s drooped and I thought “ damb it, this is it, the lights are on there way out.” I tried to stay strong and get to the next “easy section” a short bit of maybe 6%. The RPM’ s came up. The legs got some energy and I started to push hard up the last section. Catching and dropping a few more people.
Over the top, the crux now behind. Things would get tactical here. A fast short, decent then onto the dirt road. Up again. I latched onto one guys wheel and I was now in full suffer mode. The 2 times I did this climb in training this is where I would start to crack. I realized this was coming up on me fast. I pushed through. Another short fast decent, on dirt this time. The 2 fast, down hill turns proved to be to much for me to handle. I was dropped but clawed back to one other rider. We shoot out onto the peak to peak highway for 2 more nasty rollers before turning to the finish. Me and my new best friend drilled it on the rolling roads and as we started to latch onto the next group we hit a steeper incline. ”come on EK get up there1” I said to myself. I dug deep out of the saddle now. As I came to within about 3-5 meters of them the man on the front switched and I could not match the slight change of pace. I drifted back. turning onto the finishing road I dug deep still thinking with a bit of cat and mouse I may catch them. No luck but I was done. again not real happy but not real upset… it will come. I will come around to full potential.