How Fast ya wanna go little pup?

Its been a few years since my tires have seen the race scene and the little bug inside has been itchin to get back out for a challenge. Last year I thought about doing a few races but something always came up and even the free race, The Crested Butte Classic was out due to having the flu the week of the race. Its actually a good thing I missed out on Crested Butte. I was dreadfully under prepared with inconsistent riding habits, poor diet, and mentally I wasn't into it.

This past Christmas though, when I saw my bathroom scale top 211 lbs, I knew I had to do something. Sure I could ride just to get into shape, change my eating habits, and go explore some more of Colorado's high country with no goals in mind. Understand I will still go explore more of Colorado's high country this year I just need a few races to shoot for to keep me motivated.

I'm not interested in winning any races, with the competition in the 1st one you may understand why. Heard of Travis Brown anyone? I just want to finish and finish strong for me. I've been disappointed in more then a few of my performances in the past, not just in the race itself but how I felt afterwards.

So it was to the drawing board. I'm not a huge guy but at 6 ft tall and slightly muscular I carry some weight. Best weight I hope for is 180 lbs and I'm already down to 203 since I've started eating better, doing core exercises every other night, and riding at least 5 days a week...usually in four days of an hour and half each and a weekend ride of 3 to 4 hours. This will ramp more once spring hits, I'm currently just trying to build a base of fitness and not burn myself out to early.

So the races I'm considering...

1. The Original Growler..May 30th, Gunnison, CO 64 miles

Registration opened last night at 9pm MST and there are already 225 people signed up for the Original Growler and the Half Growler. The field limit for the both races combined is 300 people so if you want in, you'd be sign up quick. It was here that Travis Brown set the course record of 5 and half hours...just to be clear that's 60 miles of singletrack and 4 miles of pavement at an elevation over 8,000 ft. Check out Jeff Kerkove's Report on the race.

2. Spikefest Como, CO Sometime in July...date kept secret to keep it safe
Ok...not really a race even though its supposed to be a time trial. I don't know maybe the guys will actually want to time trial it this year? We'll see. More of just a great excuse to get together and ride with friends, camp, and drink beer in the middle of the wild. There will be options from 55 miles, 85 miles, and 115 miles. Most of the riding occurs over 10,000 ft and reaches close to 12,000. It was a blast last year and I'm sure it'll be more of the same this year.

3. The Laramie Enduro Laramie,WY July 31st
Wyoming's grand pom ba. The 111k is supposed to be the premier event to hit with a 4 hour drive of Denver, CO. Everyone says you have to try it once and then you'll want to keep coming back. This is assuming I can get registered quick enough because just like the Growler...it fills up fast.

4. Crested Butte Classic 100 Crested Butte, CO Late September
I've been dreaming about doing this one for years and what all this years training will accumulate to. For some nice pictures and a little race report from last year check here.

There is a few more throughout the year I'm thinking of but I've promised Mrs. Goat that I wouldn't go to overboard. Races like the Firecracker 50, The B68, The Stone Temple, and maybe even a 24 hour race on a 4 man team with PBR and friends.

We'll see, all these races have their allure but for now I'm concentrating on getting back in shape, losing weight, getting faster while trying to maintain being a good husband and father. The last two being the most important.