Rambling Thoughts, RAAM, Team Racing, Etc

Monday June 9, 2008 by Terri Gooch

Received my dream job last week. I’ve been named the Employee Wellness Coordinator for Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital. I’ve never been so happy with my family life, work and where we live. Funny that it’s tempered just a bit with some melancholy about RAAM. I always get a little sad this time of year when I’m not taking part in the Race Across America. I’ll digress a little here and talk briefly about a situation concerning the race and then never bring it up again. We received notice from a few riders that they’re boycotting our race since we remain a RAAM Qualifier. We respect and support all the ultra and OBRA races. While I’ve had some serious disagreements with the UMCA during the past few years I just don’t have the passion for the organization others do. To me it exists to be a sanctioning body. My reasons for joining were similar to joining the USCF, USA Cycling or Tri-Fed. You had to so that you could race. Not so for others – read solo racer Ross Muecke’s blog and the importance the UMCA has played in his riding. Good friend Vinnie Tortorich is here expressly to qualify for RAAM. Good friend David Holt is fulfilling a long time dream of racing RAAM as I type. RAAM provided me with the greatest athletic experiences of my life and left a lasting impression on me. Join me for a ride and you’ll sooner or later hear me talk about how the scenery reminds of some place I rode through during a RAAM. In the end I decided that if someone’s dream was to partake in RAAM I would not take away their opportunity to qualify for the race at RAO. I technically qualified for RAAM by completing the race on a 4 Man team in 1993. My thoughts were, if I couldn’t meet a qualifying time as a solo racer I had no business being out there alone. So I qualified with a 3rd place overall at the 1994 Furnace Creek 508 – another race that holds a special place in my cycling memories. One of the enjoyable things about ultra racing for me was traveling all over the country to participate in events. I’ve raced across the country six times on three different routes. Raced from Anchorage, AK – Fairbanks twice (the only times I’ve been to Alaska), back and forth across Missouri, from Boston to DC, around Death Valley, across Oregon, around Iowa multiple times, mountain bikes in Alberta and plenty of other places. I encourage you to experience as many different ultra events as possible. It’s a great sport.

Humbling Experiences – Last year I wanted to try the 508 relay format as a few people had suggested RAO change to the assigned leg style. The first ultra I competed in – the 1984 Spenco 500 – had a similar format. Using five person relay teams each racer was allowed to ride only ONCE! Sounds easy enough – five person team over 500 miles – each person rides a century. Kind of a drag for the person who rode first as he/she had to sit in the van for another 400 miles with no opportunity to ride. I loved the RAAM format in ’93 which used the open/exchange wherever there was room to safely pull the vehicle over to make a switch. However, there are some aspects to the fixed exchange format that I like – need for fewer crew, less vehicles and therefore less expense for the participants. So, I decided to try it out at last October’s 508. David Holt and I teamed up two months shy of racing 50+. Since we both had solo times faster than 32 hours we thought we’d be in good shape for a 28 hour finish. Problem was I experienced some real health problems prior to the event. As I trained I found myself getting weaker – to the point I couldn’t pedal one single legged revolution on the indoor trainer set at 0 resistance. Needless to say, going uphill slowed me to a crawl. Compounding the problem I got sick two weeks prior to the race. The respiratory infection turned into pneumonia. No legs and no lungs at the 508 are not a good combination. I had a miserable race and the most frustrating experience ever on a bike. Riders were sailing past me during each pull. David would ride us back into contention and I’d drop us like a rock. The open exchange format would have allowed us to utilize me in more effective situations and, while I still would have slowed us down, I would have had a somewhat less frustrating experience – it SUCKS being the person who blows it for the team. We found out later that I have a hypothyroid. I’m still working on medication but am feeling stronger all the time. It was really humbling to get passed by so many people. Head and heart were there but my body wouldn’t respond. I swallowed my ego and focused on getting to the finish. It’s tough to deal with your own personal frustration and even worse seeing the looks of disappointment on your crew and teammates faces. I felt much better when, after the race, David told me he’d be happy to race two person with me anytime. I recovered from the pneumonia by December and began a running program. Still dealing with the leg weakness made this difficult. My mile times were in the mid 8 minute range – hard to swallow when previously I’d raced at a mid 5 minute pace. I’d learned a good lesson at the 508 – do what you can and just deal with it. With some training and thyroid meds I dropped my times to a low 7 minute pace. I was feeling pretty good about myself at a local 10 k last March…until a guy pushing a baby jogger blew by me with a mile to go. Ugh. Will I ever find the fitness I used to have? Who knows. I’ve decided to change my mental outlook – enjoy being out on a bike more than look at it as ‘training’. It’s been a lot of fun to share rides with Terri while towing Amelia in the trailer and appreciate companionship as well as the incredible scenery around Mt. Hood.

We dislike in others those things we dislike about ourselves – I always tried to be as humble as possible prior to a race. I remember starting last at the Alaska Midnight Sun 600k. I’d passed all the solo racers within 80 miles. My crew informed me they wanted to post a sign on the back of the van which read “You have just been passed by George Thomas”. I said ‘absolutely NOT’. Couldn’t think of a thing that would be more motivating for others to get me. But I’ve found I like racers with egos. Reading the RAAM bios this year I was disappointed to see almost everyone saying they just hoped to make it to the finish line by the time cut-off. Made it sound like touring across the country on short sleep. I miss RAAM’s 48 hour cut-off rule. I like that a time limit set by fellow rookies still exists for RAAM qualification. I think I’d get a real kick out of someone posting a “You have just been passed by – “ sign on the back of their van at RAO this year :)

Well enough from me. I’m so excited about our field this year – I wish everyone an amazing race, memorable experiences and achieving your goals whatever they may be. Back to ‘Meet the Racers’!



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