RAAM starts two weeks from today. I have a hard to telling exactly how physically well prepared I am, but I think my coach has me where I need to be. If not, there's not a lot I can do to change that now.
I'm often asked how I'm going to do this year, and the honest answer is that I just don't know. I had some tough times last year, but then after Taos I probably had the race of my life. My goal is to knock some time off of last year's total, but who knows what this race will throw at me. I consider RAAM very much like a boxing match. It's going to hit me with some hard punches right to the gut, and we'll have to see how I respond.
For those who will follow the race over the Internet, my expectation is that I will get off to a very slow start. I am not a rabbit, but rather a tortoise, and I get into some real trouble when I try to be something that I'm not. Jure Robic, Mark Pattinson, and Gerhard Gulewicz will most likely dominate the first three race positions - these guys are the real deal. After that, there's 27 other solo racers (including myself) who are extremely well qualified for this race. You can see their profiles at http://www.ohioraam.org/. Most all of these other solo riders are physically faster than I am and would kill me on a 24 hour race. My hope is that I can be very competitive with these other 27 riders by sheer willpower and perseverance, though I acknowledge that they seem to have this same drive that I do.
Whatever happens, I hope everyone enjoys the race.
