We are racing today! Stage 1 is all set to go. Day 1 Panguipulli to Huilo Huilo (try to say that three times as fast as you can)!

Trans Andes starts today and I’m racing with Chris Carmichael from Carmichael Training Systems. Greg and I traveled down here with about 25 athletes and coaches from CTS. It’s the royal treatment with CTS and my friends from Adventure Store in Argentina as our support crew. Being in such a big, organized group is a logistical luxury and it’s also great to have so many instant friends to hang out with. The group ranges from a neurosurgeon to tech wizard to a BLM employee. The one common thread through us all is a love for riding bikes. Everyone here is addicted to cycling and are super stoked to be in the Andes. I am the only on in the group who has raced Trans Andes, so my role has been to share my experience and help get everyone excited and prepared for the event. This race is one of my favorite stage races in one of the best places in the world.

Today’s stage is long with lots of climbing. It will probably be a rude awakening for my legs and my body. My training leading up to this race has been less than ideal and breaking a rib also put a damper on things. My rib is feeling OK, but it’s definitely not 100% and falling is pretty much not an option for me during the race. We did a shake out ride today to check out the bikes and the legs. It felt great to sweat and be outside in the warm summer weather. I know my fitness is not where it could be, but I’m excited to ride and I know it’ll be a great training week.

Chris and I have talked a little about race strategy and his thought was “to attack each other as aggressively as possible right from the start to find out who’s boss.”
I’m not sure I like that strategy, but I guess I’ll find out soon enough who really is the boss. With 6 long days in the saddle, perhaps the title off “boss” will change hands a few times.

I am using my brand new SRAM Quarq power meter and Garmin 500. I used them both today for the first time on our pre-ride. Luckily, there are a bunch of Garmin veterans here who have educated me and I’m dialed in with the system. I will be sharing all my power and GPS data on Garmin Connect and Facebook. There are no secrets this week, so you’ll all be able to see exactly how fit (or not fit) I am! Here is the file from todays warm up ride.

Stay tuned. I will check in again from the amazing Huilo Huilo wilderness spa.

Stage 1: Distance 82 kilometers. Total Climb 2287 meters. Feed Zone 1 Km 23. Feed Zone 2 Km 55.
Stage 2: Distance 50 kilometers. Total Climb 2237 meters. Feed Zone 1 Km 22. Feed Zone 2 Km 38.
Stage 3: Distance 72 kilometers. Total Climb 2496 meters. Feed Zone 1 Km 26. Feed Zone 2 Km 49.
Stage 4. Distance 77 kilometers. Total Climb 1892 meters. Feed Zone 1 Km 32. Feed Zone 2 Km 54.
Stage 5. Distance 78 kilometers. Total Climb 2162 meters. Feed Zone 1 Km 27. Feed Zone 2 Km 53.
Stage 6. Distance 53 kilometers. Total Climb 1177 meters. Feed Zone 1 Km 21. Feed Zone 2 Km 38.

Q: I generally race long distance events: 100m to 24hr to multi-day. Recently I did a shorter race–63m–and cramped badly, which is something that almost never happens in longer races. In two weeks I do another 100 mile race at high elevation. Should I be worried about cramping  and re-think my hydration strategy or do you think that was an anomaly due to racing a shorter distance?

A: Steve:  I am going to refer your question to Dr. Holden MacRae, professor of Sports Medicine at Pepperdine and part of the Red Bull Performance Testing Team.  I have worked with him and discussed cramping with him recently.  Here is his response to my query about cramping in Leadville.  It relates directly to your shorter distance, higher output cramping issue.  Read on, but bottom line is more strength training.  Here is Holden’s response:

I am assuming that the cramps did not start until the final 25% to 33% of each race when you were most fatigued, and that the cramps were localized (either gastroc/soleus – “calf muscles” or quads). I did my PhD in Cape Town, and one of the researchers there, Dr Martin Schwellnus (an MD/PhD) has done quite a bit of research in this area and has also worked in medical tents for years at endurance races. They have proposed a neural fatigue mechanism for cramping that has high validity. Basically, you have 2 important types of neural control at the muscle level via

·         Type Ia muscle spindles whose activity will cause a muscle to contract, and

·         Type Ib Golgi tendon organs (GTO’s) whose activity will cause a muscle to relax. If the GTO is inhibited, then the muscle will contract.

In studies of muscle function and fatigue, the following has been found:

·         When muscle becomes fatigued, the firing rate of the Type Ia afferent fibers from the muscle spindle INCREASES (the muscle contracts)

·         and the firing rate from the Type Ib afferent fibers from the Golgi tendon organ DECREASES (the muscle contracts)

Therefore, my thinking on this is that you are racing at higher speeds which requires higher power outputs (and hence higher levels of muscle activation), and when the muscles are not conditioned for this, as you get far into the race, fatigue causes the following;

·         Spindle activity increases – alpha motor activity increases – muscle contraction

·         GTO activity decreases – alpha motor activity increases – muscle contraction

And so in muscles that cross two joints (gastroc/soleus and/or quads) you will cramp more often; if a muscle crosses two joints, then it means that the muscle is going to be in a shortened position when it contracts. When the muscle is in this position, then the activity of the GTO is going to be reduced even more than normal. Add to this the contraction, which stimulates the muscle spindle, and the net result is that the inhibition of the motor neuron is reduced even further, predisposing one to cramp.

So in conclusion, thank you Steve for the wonderful question, and thank you Holden for providing the best answer we could have ever asked for!

Probably the most effective countermeasure for those affected muscles will be to increase their strength/power such that they will be less prone to fatigue during high levels of activation.

I’ve been polishing off all the bikes that have been neglected while the Fate was racing.  The Safire, the Enduro, the P Bike are all getting some ride time!  It’s been a super chill week of getting the house back together after 3 weeks away.  Unpacking, doing laundry, tending the garden, baking bread and just doing some casual fun rides with friends.  I’ve also been sitting down evaluating what races I’ll do for the remainder of the year.  I told myself I wouldn’t make any decisions on Fall races until after Leadville.  It feels so amazing to have my #1 goal for the whole year in the bag, but now I’m already starting to get antsy and wonder what’s next?  I love relaxing and taking it easy after a long stint of hard work, but I guess I’m just not built to sit still for too long.

This week at home has been sort of like one big celebration. My first night home from Leadville, I went to a Michael Franti concert on the lawn at River Run and it felt like my very own party.  I saw all my friends and it seemed like everyone was following the race on Twitter and were so stoked!  It felt so good to share the win with all the locals.

My first weekend home, Greg and I headed up to Stanley for a couple of amazing backcountry rides and camping.  No heart rate monitor, no training agenda and no schedule.  It was the first weekend in months that I’ve done that and it was glorious.  Saturday we did a great ride with friends that felt like there was way more downhill than uphill.  That does not happen much in Idaho.  Greg and I camped by Stanley Lake and took a swim in the icy water with views of the Sawtooth Mountains all around.  Riding on Sunday was a huge adventure ride where we only went 25 miles in 5 hours.  Hike a bike above treeline and lightening threatening all around us made me think of my adventure racing days.  It was amazing, but way different than the previous day’s ride. I took the Safire for the weekend and it was so much fun to have that much suspension and a Reverb dropper seatpost.  That bike really makes me smile.  It’s a blast.  Next up, I’m not sure yet.  I’ll let you know when I figure it out.

Todd Meier Photography

As soon as I won the Leadville 100 race last year, I was already getting questions about racing in 2011 and coming back to defend my title and attempt the first ever women’s “threepeat” at this race. I remember saying last year, “can’t I just enjoy this win for a little while before having to focus on 2011?”  Well, the break didn’t last long and my coach and I targeted the Leadville 100 race as my “A” race for 2011 and the training and focus for that began almost a year before the actual event.

Heading into Leadville this year, I had some highs and lows in the season.  I knew my training had been better than ever, but my results weren’t necessarily showing the fitness I’d been building.  A few weeks out from Leadville, I had one of my worst races of the season and suffered some serious doubts.  I trust in my coach and the work I’ve done, but could not figure out why I was so flat so close to my key race.

I stuck to my plan to head to Colorado a couple of weeks early for one last race and then some much needed quite time without distraction. I have had a season full of amazing women’s events, sponsor appearances, movie screenings all piled on top of trying to maintain laser focus with my training.  I had some doubts that perhaps I had spread myself too thin and it was now catching up to me.

Todd Meier Photography

The two weeks of isolation prior to the race proved to be just the focused recovery and rejuvenation that I needed.  I slept a ton, trained at altitude, ate really well, tinkered with my bike and just decompressed.  I was strangely calm before the race, despite the fact that the women’s field was incredibly strong and hungry to take me down.  I wasn’t really nervous and my mental energy was focused not on my competitors, but more on bettering my own time from last year.  I knew that if I went faster than I had before, I would have to feel good about that regardless of my placing.  Winning is addictive, but it’s also not the only definition of success.

People kept asking me how I felt about the stout competition.  Without hesitation, my response is a positive one.  The fact that both men’s and women’s fields were much deeper with pro riders is always a good thing for endurance racing, for the event, for everyone.  It means the sport is growing and more top athletes are lining up.  It adds credibility to the event and keeps it exciting.  If you knew who was going to win a race every time, it wouldn’t be that stimulating to watch.

Todd Meier Photography

Race day was clear and warm.  I lined up with Specialized teammate, Todd Wells on the front line.  My boyfriend, Greg, was once again there to be my one man crew.  I looked around at my friends Gretchen Reeves, Jenny Smith, Kelli Emmett and gave them all a smile.  I had a race strategy in my head and knew these girls were gunning for me, but they are all friends and I honestly wished them all a safe and good race.   As we rolled into the very first climb at St. Kevin’s I was feeling OK, but could not really respond as four women slowly rode away from me.  I wasn’t panicked and just put my head down and tried to remind myself that I had lots of time and to stick to my strategy.  I was sitting in 5th place and a few minutes off the lead as I rolled into the first aid station at mile 30.  Greg was there and asked me how I was doing.  He could see in my eyes that I wasn’t as spunky as usual.  I told him I was fine, but just a little flat.  By the time I reached the 2nd aid station, I got reports that I was just 2 minutes off the leaders and sitting in 3rd going into the Columbine Mine climb.  Apparently both Kelli and Pua had mechanicals and had dropped back, but I never saw them.  The news that I was that close to the lead got me amped and some of my confidence started to come back.

I went to work to chip away the deficit on the climb.  I was catching other guys, so I knew I was moving the bike better by now.  The male racers were telling me that Jenny and Gretchen were just ahead.  I finally caught both of them right where the climb really kicks up and gets super hard.  I passed Gretchen, but Jenny stuck to me like a terrier for the remainder of the climb.  She was right on my tail at the turn around.  I was able to shake her on the descent and then got really focused on not crashing, not flatting and taking care of my fueling.  I had the lead, but not by much.  It was mine to keep if I didn’t make any mistakes at all.

Coming down Columbine and hearing all the uphill riders scream my name gave me a huge boost of energy.  Rolling into Twin Lakes aid station with thousands of crew members all screaming gave me another second wind.  I was past the 1/2 way mark and time to finish the job.  I made it to Powerline climb and still could not see any female riders behind me.  I had gotten a split of around 3 minutes at the Pipeline aid station, but that was dangerously close.  I was cramping and at my limit.  I ended up walking the lower section of the Powerline climb for fear of pushing my cramps into full blown spasm.  I slammed a Red Bull energy shot and walked/ran hoping that it wasn’t a mistake to be conservative in this spot.  Back on the bike, I finished the huge climb and focused on the last 15 miles ahead of me.  These are mentally the most challenging miles.  Town feels so near, but is still so far.

Todd Meier Photography

I was focusing on nutrition and being very light on the descents.  A flat tire at this point would have really been a game changer.  Once off the last descent and onto the flats before town, I relaxed about flat tires and stole a look at my watch.  It read 7:10 and I knew I was only about 20 minutes out from the finish.  I couldn’t believe the time I was seeing on my Suunto.  I was blown away that I was this far ahead of my own course record.  I knew the other girls must still be nipping at my heels, but this was the first point I actually thought that I might have it in the bag.  Always a realist, I still kept my head down and snuck looks behind me when I had a stretch of visibility.  I did not relax until I turned onto 6th street and could physically see the red carpet and the famous finish line.  That view rolling into town is like looking down the Champs Elysee for mountain bikers.  Instead of seeing the Arc de Triomphe, you see the historical old brick buildings on Harrison Blvd that mark your ultimate destination.

I have visualized that finish in my head for more than a year.  I admit, I was not certain that I would be the first woman to roll across it and never dreamed I’d break my own record by over 15 minutes.  Even during the race, I felt a little flat and off the back for a while.  Perseverance, race experience and staying calm paid off.  This third win was all the more sweet because I really had to work for it.  Not only did I break my own course record, but so did the top four women in the race!  Now that is the true definition of success for women’s cycling!

A big shout out to Todd Wells for his win as well.  Specialized and SRAM had an awesome day on the top of the podium.  Thanks to both for the incredible support and tech work for the race.  My brand new Fate remains undefeated and was the perfect bike for this course.

Most of all, thanks to Greg Martin for being my training partner, my motivator, my crew, my voice of reason and the best musette bag handler ever!

For more photos of the whole Leadville race experience, click here and dont forget to “Like”

For a great video of the women’s race finish, click here.

Specialized and West End Bikes brought me out for the grand opening party of their shop in Portland. The store is huge and really nice. It’s in a historic corner building that used to house Django Records. Glass on two sides of the building and some really amazing old architecture mixed with the clean, swanky design of the new shop. I knew one of the new owners Mark Ontiveros from one of my Specialized Susan G Komen CA to Vegas rides. You get to know someone pretty well when you ride 600 miles together. Mark is a ball of energy and his passion shows in the shop.

Since I was here anyway, I reached out to a few friends to find a bike race on the weekend. There had to be one since Portland lives and breathes bikes. I found this cool race about 3 hrs drive from Portland. OK, not as close as I’d wanted, but word on the street was that the course was a giant 30 mile single track loop. Sounded good to me! I shipped my bike to West End, and hitched a ride with a friend of a friend from a local cycling team, Filth and Fury. David is the self proclaimed “tech nerd and Masters C pack fodder” on the team. He was super entertaining on the long ride and the only bad part was he blew up his derailleur during the race and had to get rescued on a Gator. Apparently, he’s blown up about 5 derailleurs in his short cycling career. He runs Shimano derailleurs. Maybe that was his first mistake.

So, it was 6.5 hrs of driving for 2.5 hrs of racing and 100% worth it. Despite the massive bottle neck and 30 minutes of waiting to pass a congo line of riders on 8 inch wide single track, the course was awesome. Its out in the middle of a winery and private land and the trail builders here have been super creative. It shows that you don’t need much terrain to make great single track if you are good trail builders. Despite a bad start and a bit of waiting, I had a decent race for early season and really enjoyed being on my bike outside. I finished just behind local ‘cross phenom, Sue Butler.

The whole weekend was a blast and the rain didn’t hit Portland style until Sunday morning for my flight out. I forgot about Daylight Savings Time and luckily Ken from Specialized called my room to make sure I didn’t miss my flight. I’m back home now for a 10 day really hard training stint before heading back down to Argentina to race again. The travel is going to get ramped up here really fast, so I will have to make the most of these days at home.

Sergio Herrera

How much do you rely on what your equipment like HR Monitor and Computer tell you versus how you feel, do you do exactly what the equipment says you should be doing for HR? You are the Queen of Pain after all…

The tools I use for training and recovery are my Suunto T6c and Restwise recovery system. I just got a brand new PowerTap that I have yet to learn how to use yet. Suunto and Restwise are basically my daily training partners and are essential to keeping me on track. They both give me numbers that help shape my training. My coach and I look at the numbers every single day, however, how I’m feeling must play a big role. People are not machines and the measuring tools we use are just guidelines.

Many times, if my heart rate is not responding how I’d like or my Restwise numbers are low, it tells me to back off on training and take a rest day. Tools like these are excellent guides as long as you supplement their use with your brain as well. I see many athletes just relying on a number on a digital readout instead of making intelligent training decisions. As a side note, when I’m racing, I have my HR monitor on, but don’t look at it until after the race is over. I rely on my own brain to pace during a race.

If watching this doesn’t motivate you to get on your bike and ride, I don’t know what will. Citizen Pictures did an amazing job of capturing the spirit of the race in this film. You’ll see crashes, tears, courage, failure and success all in one breath-taking package. Watching this film is the only time I’ve truly felt like I’ve been able to re-live and accurately experience a mountain bike race after it’s over. So ask your question for your chance to win.

Race Across The Sky 2010 from Citizen Pictures on Vimeo.

Keep in mind, our Ask Reba Archives is full of great information from previous questions. To increase your chances of winning, check the archives first for similar questions that I may have already answered, and please limit it to one question per person per month. Who knows, you may even learn something new from the archives!

Thanks and best of luck!

It was an awesome training week and felt great to be spinning the pedals in the sun. We are both fresh off skiing and a little bit of indoor riding, but that’s about it. Early season is always so demoralizing because you are building fitness again and trying not to be impatient with results or performances. The only way for me to get hard race intensity is to race. I cannot generate the same kind of psyche on my own. I need a start line and a bunch of other people to motivate me to push extra hard.

Looks Like Idaho

The Tour de la Patagonia is a race full of mostly Argentine and Chilean riders, but there were also a few teams from Ecuador, Brazil and Uruguay. I think we were the only Gringos in the race. I did this race last year, so I knew what to expect and have some friends in San Martin de los Andes who take me under their wing. It’s so much easier to travel to a foreign country where you have a local contact for good places to eat, the best shops, the best rides and other logistics. I am hoping one day my Argentine family here will come to Idaho and I can return the favor and show them my home.

"Hugito" Our mechaninc

The terrain here is really similar to Idaho, so Greg and I felt right at home. The big differences are eating dinner at 10 PM, having tons of beef every day and drinking mate (pronounced: mahtay) like a drug. The race officials also seemed to struggle with Greg’s name since his first name “Greg” is not common, but his last name “Martin” is like Bob in the US. So when they announced our names for the podium, it was RRRRRRRRRebecca and Marteeeeeen, complete with a thick Latin American accent!

Full Service Race Massage

The race unfolded nicely. I was sick going into the event and was nervous about my performance. I definitely wasn’t 100%, but started feeling better each day. The flats and descents were OK for me, but as soon as we hit the climbs, I felt super weak and powerless. Greg was an awesome teammate letting me sit in behind him in the wind and helping me up some of the hills when possible. Team racing is so rewarding when you work well together and can give each other strength and motivation.

The top 4 teams from day 2. Greg and I were stoked to finish 4th overall this day right behind the 3rd place men's team.

Since we knew I was going to be weaker than usual on the climbs, we worked hard on the single tracks and any technical riding in an attempt to get a gap on the other teams. It’s awesome to follow Greg descending because he’s so good that I can just follow his lead and not have to think. The course on day 1 had a 20 minute super high speed single track descent. We got some great video on the GoPro that day and the trees are blurred because we were going so fast. Our top speed that day was 60 km / hr! The video footage will be coming soon.

Finishing Day 2 in Puerto Fuy, Chile

We finished first in the mixed team category on all three stages and won the category, but not by a huge gap. A very young, impressive Argentine Team Pedal Life kept the pressure on us the whole way. They are both just 21 and it was Jacquelina’s first mountain bike race! They finished a total of 15 minutes behind us over three days of racing. We got about 5 minutes on them each day, but that small of a gap did not leave any room for mistakes such as crashes or flats. The best part was that they finished each day with huge smiles. I think they both have a long future in bike racing and I’m trying to convince them to compete in the 24 Hours of Argentina this year.

1 1/2 hour ferry ride to camp

Greg and I had a clean race with no mechanicals or crashes. Thanks to Hugo and Flavio at Adventure Store for keeping my new Specialized Era and Greg’s Specialized 29er HT running smoothly. Greg and I were really happy with result. In addition to winning the mixed category, we were also 5th in the overall rankings. Not bad for a chica and a Gringo

Finish Day 3 in San Martin de los Andes

After three great days of intense racing, we are spending the rest of our time here going to the beach, shopping, working on the 24 Hour race course and just taking in the relaxing vibe of this area. It feels like the first time we have taken a true vacation in a very long time! We leave tomorrow and just heard that we are returning to two feet of new snow at home.

A very rare moment of vacationing on Lago Lacar!

I guess the bikes will go back into storage and the skis will stay waxed and in use for a bit longer. For full results click here.

"Mixtos" Podium