We rolled out right on time, and the teams up front started drilling from the get-go. Mark took off to get closer to the front, but I decided to stay back further as I was not too sure I wanted to stay with the group for long at the effort I was putting out - I glanced down to see what my heart rate was a realized that I had not synced my computer with my older "hard strap" heart rate strap I had decided to wear. Knowing there was no chance of getting it to sync while in the group, I just decided to ignore it until I eventually got split out of the group. The past two years I have started further back and wound up in the 'B' group immediately, but this was actually much nicer even though it was fast. The group was smooth and steady for the most part, and formed up into into a single pace line with the teams rotating on the front. It was cool to watch the teams work, as well as to be in sight of the lead car and motorcycle for mile after mile.

after the first hour or so of quick but otherwise uneventful riding there began to be little gaps opening up here and there that I had to get across as guys started falling off. At first I was kinda jumpy, but the group was still riding so steady that I quickly figured out that so long as I rode steady I would catch back on in short order. At the 40 mile mark we hit three sharp uphills in a row and knowing how tough they were from years past this is where I had already decided to make my exit out from the back of the group. Surprisingly I was the only one that did. On a whim I clicked my computer over to a screen where I could see our average speed thus far. 24.1mph - way, way, way harder than I needed to be riding, even nestled back in a group. once I was in space by myself I remembered to finally sync my heart rate monitor, and it showed I was right at the top of my base effort, which is right where I thought it would be. Ok, but about 5 beats higher than I had planned.

3 miles later the decision paid off when I passed a bunch of the guys from the group that stopped at the 2nd Rest Stop. I was carrying 3 bottles and tons of nutrition, so I rolled on by, and as I did I heard Mark call out my name. He caught on quickly, and we bombed the tight, survey downhill together about a mile later. On the long stretches we could see the group in the distance up ahead, and I jokingly said "Come on, Mark - let's go get 'em!" and he promptly put the hammer down like a puppy after a ball. I shouted at him that he was insane, but he just kept drilling it for another four minutes or so. Eventually he tried to flick me around and just told him, "No way!" as he already had me riding a lot harder than I wanted to just in his massive wake. He slowed down, and asked why I didn't want to chase, and told him that A) we were about to hit a long, steep uphill called "Bill's Hill," and we would just lose them there anyway, and B) even if we didn't the teams were taking hand-ups in musette bags from the roadside and I was going to have to stop around the 60 mile mark for fluids anyway.

Sure enough we began to catch riders going up Bill's Hill, and then passed a bunch more at the rest area at the top. Nearing the top I suddenly remembered there was always a photographer, so zipped up really quickly, you know, because I am pro like that - ha-ha! I thought about stopping at the top to fuel up, but checked my last bottle and figured I could make it one more stop. We continued to roll on at a steady effort, swapping pulls every minute or so, and still catching riders every now and again. Around mile 53 though we rolled into a construction zone where the road was closed (huh?!?) and as we were about to go around the closure a couple of workers stopped us. When we asked if we could ride through they said we would have to wait, but that the "big group ahead of you" had to stop as well. Ugh, so we waited for what seemed like forever (Garmin says it was only a minute forty-five seconds) and several guys that we had caught rode back up to us. I ate and drank, and did my best to be patient. When they finally opened up the lane we took off a little too hard and dropped the guys that had come up to us while stopped. I was starting to feel a little dead-legged from stopping and then hitting such an effort, and we talked about whether we should sit up and wait for the 'B' group. We decided not to and instead rolled on.

That turned out to maybe be a little bit of a mistake, as soon after my adductors started to get a little crampy. "Uh-oh," I thought as I quickly guzzled the rest of my fluids and jammed some electrolytes down my throat. It wasn't terribly hot, but not as cool as in years past, and it was very steamy. I shook off the cramps and rode on, but now Mark was doing the lions share of the work. About that time we were riding through some longish up-and-down bits, and all the sudden every time I would make a quick shift to the small chainring my chain would drop to the inside. If I babied it and soft-shifted it was ok, but that was kind of hard in the terrain we were riding in. After it happened three times in rapid succession, I told Mark that I was going to have to stop at the next rest stop anyway for fluids, and I would just do a quick limit screw adjustment there.

We rolled in to rest stop #4 at the 65 mile mark, and I grabbed a quick banana and downed a full bottle of water and some electrolytes while the volunteers quickly topped off my bottles. Just as I was about to pull out multi-tool I saw the B group coming up quickly. I immediately forgot what I was doing and shouted at Mark, "Come on let's go, let's go!" and off we went with the group. Apparently the 'B' group had not been stopped by the construction. Not more than a mile down the road we hit an incline, and when went to down shift I was suddenly reminded that I had not made the planned derailleur adjustment when I dropped my chain. Again. But only this time it was to the outside. "WTF is going on??!?" I thought as I tried to get it to ramp back up, but this time it jammed between my crank and chainring, and I was dead in the water. I swung off the road into the grass to get clear of the remaining folks in the group. I cleared the chain quickly and was rolling in 26 seconds (thanks garmin) but the group was down the road by then and I was on my own. I picked up the pace and could see the group ahead every now and again, but I just could make any headway. After chasing right at threshold effort for 10 minutes, I reluctantly backed it down and rode like the triathlete I am - solo. I figured that since they skipped the last rest stop I would probably catch the bulk of them at the #5 rest stop at mile 75, and from there the road turned up and it would be every man for himself anyway.

Ten miles later sure enough there were most of the 'B' group filling up. This is also where the ride ends for the folks not riding up the mountain, and also the drop-out spot for team riders that sacrificed themselves for whatever team mate they were trying to launch up the mountain. So there is a big crowd of spectators lined up on both sides of the road, and that always gives you a boost when you ride through. I flew through like I had wings.

There was a small group of us that rode up the toe of the mountain together, but most of those guys fell off (two rode away from me so I suppose I fell off as well - heh). There were a lot fewer guys on the road than usual, so I decided to take that as a good sign that I was positioned a little further up in the rank than in years past. At mile 82 I rode past the Sunnyvale Baptist Church (Rest Stop #6) and once again heard Mark call my name. "Come on, Brother, let's get up the road!" I shouted back over my shoulder and kept pushing up the mountain.

From there the road really kicks up in what I think is the toughest 5 miles of the ride: the twisty, windy pitch up to the Blue Ridge parkway. Slowly I got realed in by first one guy, then another, and another. I had a nasty little conversation with myself and just kept tuning over the pedals. After the next photographer (zip up again!) I actually managed to get my shit together somewhat and overtook a couple of guys before finally making it to Rest Stop #7 where we joined up with the Blue Ridge Parkway. I went through as quickly as I could, but still should have been quicker - A couple of bottles of water over my head, a banana, and filled up two of my bottles (I ditched my empty third there) and I was off again in 2 minutes and thirty-one seconds. I took my time for the next bit (it really is quite lovely as you wind through a few tunnels) and forced myself to eat a PB&J sandwich, even though I really didn't want it. But it helped to get a little something solid down (I had been eating a gel every 30 minutes up till then) and I knew that I was only about 5.5 miles (45 minutes) from a nice 1.5 mile descent on which I could gather myself for the final punch of the day. I knew if I could get there I would be OK. My legs were actually feeling Ok, but strangely my feet were starting to be kind of sore and achy. I really needed to stand up and stretch out, but it really clobbered my feet to do so and I would have to soft pedal a bit just so it was somewhat tolerable. The only time I ever remember me feet feeling like that was during my second ironman. I am thinking it was probably the 3.5 hour walk I went on with JT before leaving the house the day before - smart. By this time I was starting to catch folks again, so it that buoyed my spirits and helped to take my mind off my achy-breaky feet. Bombing down the descent I started to do some quick math in my head and I knew I was going to be close on hitting my target of sub 6:30 rolling-time, and I also kew my rest stops were fairly quick so a good chance of PRs all-around if I could just keep it going.

I got to the turn on to Mt. Mitchell Parkway quicker than I expected and from there I just rode right on the edge of cramping, jumping from person to person. I would get up, sit on for a few seconds, and then jump around. I did seem to be a little more in my element when I have riders up the road. At mile 101 I rode past the last rest stop at the park entrance (how weird is it that there is a rest stop 2.5 miles from the finish? but there are always folks stopped there) and got a time check: it was going to be really, really close.

I turned in to the park entrance and I knew from years past that there would be guys cruising this section a little, and because it flattened out a percent or two they were prone to try and jump on for the final pull to the finish line. I caught several guys through this section, and sure enough each one jumped on my wheel for a bit, but I was able to shake each one, thankfully - I really didn't want a sprint for the finish as I was pretty well all-in already. I swept around the final turn (like always, lined up outside to chute so I had to swing quickly back on track so as to not over shoot the timing matts) zipped up, and grimaced my way through the finish in 6:36:12 race time, and 6:28:06 rolling time.

I wish I was lighter (I am 9 pounds heavier than I was this time last year) but with a 5 minute PR over last year (in slightly less advantageous conditions) at least my fitness seems to be further along than I thought. I also intended to take my bike in after a winter of riding and get a legit tune up before this ride, but I didn't have time to do that and get out and do a settle in ride so I elected not to risk it. Probably still a good choice, but would have saved me about 15 miles of solo riding after I dropped my chain. I think I was very smart to drop off when I did, but after staying with the 'A' group through the first 40 miles I will go in with a much better plan for fueling and strategic rest stops. If I could make it to Marion with the group I would be set for a huge PR, I think. But figuring out how to get there without having someone hand up fluids and food from the road side is a tough nut to crack. Lastly, I really suffered to make up those 5 minutes - last year the climb was hard, but I felt strong. This year I was absolutely shelled when I got to the top and there were times along the way that I wondered if I would even make it.

I handed my bike off, thanked the volunteers, and immediately took my shoes off. AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH. glorious. I took my helmet off and staggered up to the lodge to get my dry clothes bag and some hot tomato soup, which for some reason is always delicious. I had a little bit of a difficult time getting it down, but eventually I made it. I changed clothes as quick as I could, and then staggered back off in my stocking feet to find my bus back to Spartanburg. They gave us box barbecue lunches for the ride back, and I nibbled on it slowly as my appetite came back (guzzling down 2 cans of coke helped quite a bit, har). The bus was full of "real" cyclists and it was crazy to talk with them and hear how their training routines went. I was so thrilled with my time but I was sitting with Erin Burton, 10th overall and first female finisher in 5:37:04 - almost exactly 59 minutes faster than me - sheesh! Stacy Brickson (second female finisher) came in 2 minutes behind me, and she said she chased me for the last hour and forty-five minutes of the climb: all the way from the 87 mile mark at the turn on to the Parkway. Well, at least I got to sort of be a teammate with Stacy, even though I didn't know it - ha.

When I got home I took my bike in to the mechanic for a tune up and to sort out my sudden-onset shifting issues, Turns out I was probably better off not trying to do a roadside adjustment, as it wasn't my derailleur limit settings, but instead I have sheared off several teeth from my front chainring. Must be all those massive watts I was laying down - ha-ha!