survival

So I never talked about what I did about hydration and food throughout the Brunswick Brawl.  Fortunately there were spots throughout the course where eating and drinking was pretty easy, so after the first lap I had a system down as to where I would eat and drink on each lap.

My plan was to drink 1 bottle per lap and eat one bar per lap.   Prior to the start of the race I ate a Clif Bar and drank some of my first bottle.  I previously mentioned that I felt a little dehydrated coming into Wilmington Friday night.... and I did nothing to remedy that.  I continued to do nothing to remedy that prior to the race, because that is the smart thing to do and all...

As I made it back to the dirt road at the end of lap one I had only gotten through half of a bottle, so I downed the rest of it on the dirt road to the pit.  My original plan was to start with two bottles so I would not have to stop to pick up a bottle until lap 3.  With my seat post issues I had to stop after the first lap so Annie offered me up another bottle each time I stopped - so it ended up that I always had two bottles with me.

As I got out for my second lap it was time to start eating.  I found a winding section where I was able to eat and ride, where speed or handling wouldn't be affected by my eating.  Eating was a bit of a chore to be honest.  I was able to do it each lap (except my 6th lap - I skipped it) but by the fourth lap I wasn't happy about eating.  The bars themselves were fine.  I'd had them on a ride before and enjoyed them... but lap after lap eating the same thing at the same spot became a bit monotonous.  This being my first 6 hour and I didn't know how my body would react I just pushed forward and kept downing the bars.  Looking back, I'm not sure they were providing enough calories per lap - but I never really felt hungry.  I think on lap 5 (maybe) I did have the thought of real food... but by the end of the race I "knew" I was hungry, but didn't really want to think about eating at that point.

Drinking became easier with each lap as I was able to identify better the short sections I'd be able to get my bottle out to drink and get it back safely before a turn.  There was some nice straight sections about halfway through where we jumped on a road for a quick bit and then back into the trail for a longer straight up/down/up section where drinking was easy.  By the third lap I was able to finish the lap with some left in the bottle, but down it easily before reaching the pit.

I did supplement everything with mustard as well.  I think it was after lap 2 that I downed one packet of mustard as a preemptive strike on cramps.  I started feeling the cramps in my calves start up in the third lap, and as I discussed they were killing me in the fourth.  I can't remember if I had another packet after the third lap, or just as I was laying on the ground in the pit that I had another one.  In any case I do recall that they helped, and for the majority of the lap my legs felt good, it was just every lap right before fence line the cramps started to show up.  Perhaps I should have had mustard then and there on the trail, but those little packets might have been a challenge to open while riding... then again, maybe not, I didn't try.

So, where did the cramps come from?

First, I do not think I started hydrated, so I think I was constantly trying to play catch up with hydrating - which isn't the way to go while exerting yourself out on the trail.

Secondly, I haven't ridden that long/far on the mountain bike before - so I don't think my legs would have been pleased with me had I been super hydrated anyway... I think it was bound to happen with just the level of demand I was putting into my legs.  Drinking Osmo and sneaking mustard seemed to battle my cramps - but unless I wanted to add an Osmo/mustard shake in per lap I don't know what else I could have done.

I will continue to mess around with food on the trail.  I still haven't played with some of the cool recipes that are posted on the Osmo site, but I want to try some of those options for nutrition while riding.  Having completed a 6 hour I do feel a bit better about where I need to be for the Snake Creek Gap series coming up in a few months.  Certainly the course will be a bit more demanding with 5+ thousand feet of climbing compared to the 900 something I did over 6 hours.  But at least now I have a sense of what my body is going to be doing after being in the saddle for so long.  I'm hoping that the Snake will take me a bit less than 6 hours - but this will be another endeavor that I go into more as a personal challenge and less of a race.  Plus, I just want that cool ass belt buckle!

Is it over yet?

Ok, so I'm heading out for my fourth lap.  Cramps had already started to creep in at the end of the third lap - so while I was in the pit I did a little stretching.

The fourth lap was going pretty good.  The bike seemed to be holding up.  The rear tire was good after the fill - must have been the crash that dropped the pressure.  Anyway, things were going well until I got to my favorite part of the trail.  Yeah, I had a favorite part of the trail.  It's this section towards the end that turns into a pretty straight slight climb along a fence line.  It was the kind of incline that you know is there, but you don't really feel... so you can really dig into it and fly.  It laced through some trees as well so it was a nice and smooth fast section before the the last bit and back into the road.

So as I'm getting ready to turn it on my thigh starts to cramp.  My calves had been annoying me now for a little bit, but the thigh starting to protest got me a little worried.  I decided to pull up real quick to try to work things out - and that was a mistake.  As soon as I put my leg down to get off the bike my legs destroyed themselves.  I literally fell over as my muscles went all sorts of crazy.  I rolled around on the ground in the fetal position trying to get my muscles in workable positions.  It was insane.

I was finally able to stand back up and continue to stretch.  A couple riders went by asking if I was ok, and each time just one word was all that was needed "cramps."  I finally got back on the bike and finished up the trail and was back out on the road.

This time the pit wasn't for the bike, it was for me.  I needed to do something about my legs or I didn't know what would happen out on the trail.  I was informed that TheMutt had pitted (finally) but had only stuck around for a few minutes before he was off again.  Actually, I think Annie told me that he had "decided to stop" and in my tired state I took that to mean that he was throwing in the towel, which I could not comprehend.  I was eventually able to wrap my head around the fact that TheMutt was still racing, but I couldn't believe where I was in the race.  As I moaned and groaned and worked on my legs Annie was telling me I was pretty consistent with my lap times and things were looking good.  I got over to my garmins and it was telling me I had been riding for about 3 hours and 40 minutes.

What?  wait... that means I have 2+ more hours to complete just two more laps to reach 6.... That can't be right.  The idea that I would be racing to hit the cut off so that I could get 6 laps in was out the window.  Now I was facing the reality that I was going to easily (as long as nothing major happened) get in 6 laps.  If something could completely turn around to the positive side I could challenge the cut off for 7.  This was a bizarre turn of events.  Realistically I knew there was no way I was going to be able to challenge for 7 laps... but to be in a position to get 6 laps without too much worry was reinvigorating.

Soon I was (as ready as I was going to be) to get back on the bike and I was out for my fifth lap.  Steady was the name of the game.  I knew I had plenty of time to get my last two laps in, so I wanted to be as consistent as possible to avoid anything big that would prevent me from finishing 6.  Then, I dropped my chain again.

Swearing commenced, this time a bit louder.  I was done with this none sense.  What the F is wrong with me damn bottom bracket???  Seriously.  The original EBB couldn't hold still.  I get the new 2 bolt version, and now this guy is moving around on me??  I resist the urge to huck my bike into the woods and get to fixing the problem.  I take the rear wheel off, get the chain back on, replace the rear wheel.  Start working on the EBB and a singlespeeder goes by.  The first I've seen since the beginning.  I was a head of someone?  Up until this point in the "race" I hadn't cared about position.  It was all about getting in 6 laps.  Now, a different sense of urgency started bubbling up.  Maybe I can get in 6 AND finish ahead of someone??

I crank down the bolts on the EBB and take off with a mission.  I'm going to catch that rider.  He's my carrot as I work my way through the trail.  I catch glimpses of him through the trees and around corners, my pace quickens.  I catch him but am fine with staying on his wheel as we get through the tight, rooty, punchy stuff.  He's got a fork and takes the rooty downs a little faster, I'm up his ass anytime the trail goes up.  We hit a straight section and he moves to let me go but I yell to him to keep going because I notice my seat post has decided to go south for the winter once again.  Do I stop or continue on...

I stop, adjust the seat post and haul ass to catch back up.  It doesn't take long and I'm on him.  We are getting close to the fence line and I know my move.  He has been slowing anytime the trail looks up, so I know I can get by him and put in a gap on him when we get to the fence line... I wait patiently and then call out my pass.  My legs, as though they remember the battle we had on the ground last lap start to twitch and hint that they want round 2.  Not a possibility, I push it out of my mind and try to stretch out my legs while pedaling, but I keep my pace up to the top of fence line and through the last section.

I hit the road behind another rider, and I chat him up a little as we head down the road, glancing over my shoulder to see when the singlespeeder would come out.  I'm halfway down the road when I see him round the corner.  I can't tell if he's going to gun it after me or not, but I don't wait to find out.  Annie steps out to welcome me into the pit but I tell her I'm going out for 6, there is a singlespeeder behind me.  I tuck in and pick up speed.  The rider with me jumps on my wheel and enjoys the pull.

from the Brunswick Brawl facebook page

As we head through the first part of the trail I think about telling the rider behind me that this isn't a free ride, that I'd expect a beer afterwards - but I notice my seat post is going down again and the cramps are starting to rise to levels that I can't ignore.  As soon as the trail opened up into the jump line I pull off and let my trailer go.  I get my seat post square and try to get back on the bike, but I can't ignore my legs.  I start stretching, watching and waiting for the singelspeeder to come.  He doesn't.

Did he pit?  Is he slowing down that much?  Maybe he called it?  I keep stretching and watching... a different rider comes through...  I tell myself that he's still coming, and not he's got momentum so I have to go!  I jump on my bike and take off.  I'm riding at a good pace.  Not redlining it, but I'm taking speed where I can get it.  From time to time I think I hear him behind me so it keeps me moving.  A combination of split attention (trail and ghost rider), crazy thoughts (could I finish with enough time to get another lap in?) and fatigue leads me to take a corner a bit too fast.  I feel my tires start to slip and over correct myself straight into a tree.  I saw it coming so I was able to avoid the tree myself, but my handlebars slam straight into it.  I pop back up and take a quick assessment... everything seems fine.  I take off again - now he MUST be just behind that last corner.

I'm getting through some twisty rooty stuff, with the big steep down to off camber left turn coming up and I notice I don't have rear brakes.  Not that they don't work, but my brake lever is now below my bar.  I test to see if I can use it in the position it is in, but it stretches my wrist over the bar too much and puts me in an awkwardly dangerous position.  I get through the section I am in and pull over the fix it.  He's coming, he's coming.  I get the brake lever back in a normal position and take off.

The crash put a nice scratch on my carbon bars right at the clamp...
might have to retire these bars before they brake on me.

He's coming, he's coming.  He hasn't caught me yet.  I know that if he catches a glimpse of me before we get to the fence line then he is going to have a shot at me.  If I get to fence line before he catches me I know I can turn it up and put a gap on him and hold it through the finish.  I start to take it easy through the rough stuff as I can't risk another crash or mechanical.

I'm getting closer to fence line and I can feel it.  I'll be able to hold him if he gets to me.  Once on fence line I'm gone.  Knowing that this will be the last time I hit this section was a freeing feeling.  I stayed on top of my cadence and kept on moving.  I pop out of the trees for the last time and turn onto the dirt road.  I yell to the marshall on the ATV that it was a fun time and take off down the road.

I'm approaching the pit and I don't see Annie.... I wonder where she is?  Maybe she's at the finish... what should I do for a picture??  Point?  thumbs up?  As I get towards the bottom of the road I see her at the right turn to the finish.  She's using her phone so I figure I should wait to get closer before I "pose" for the picture - I went with a thumbs up.  I hit the turn and cross the line.

Best. Feeling. Ever.  Out of nowhere I felt like a kid again and almost wanted to keep going.  ALMOST.  An official called me back to get my timing chip from me so I turned back around and asked him if he was really going to make me get off my bike and cramp up to give him my chip.  He laughed and told me he'd get it off my ankle for me.

I crossed the line at around 5 hours 45 minutes with 6 laps in.  I never saw the singlespeeder I had passed in lap 5.  Ends up that that had been his 6th lap and he called it after that.  I came in DFL, but I didn't care.  Even though I guess I was never racing him, he was enough motivation to keep me going out there and to finish strong.

Riding for that long is a strange thing.  Although my body certainly felt it, I never got bored.  It was fun.  I know that sounds sick, but it was such a fulfilling experience to go into a 6 hour race blindly to just see what I could do.  And I've got to say, I'm pretty damn happy with what I was able to do.  Makes me excited to see what I can do at the next one now that I have one under my belt.  Hopefully I can get the mechanical issues under control next time - but maybe those forced stops helped me make it physically as well.  You've got to take the good with the bad in mountain biking.  All in all, I had a good time and reached my goal - what more can you ask for?             

Let's go!

Sorry about the delay. Monday night I got a call from work, things got heavy quick. So blogging wasn't anywhere on the agenda yesterday.

Annie and I drove down to Wilmington Friday night. I was mortified to find out we'd be leaving town via Independence. It's the greatest traffic F of all time. Friday night would be no different. The scary thing was that we would be taking Independence/74 the ENTIRE way, so my fingers were tightly crossed that things would open up at some point. It was slow goings and took way too long to leave the traffic behind, but we finally did. I was super tired and we eventually got to our hotel around 11 pm. I could feel that I was dehydrated, but I was honestly too tired to do anything. I will go ahead right now and say that that was a mistake. 

Saturday morning I got up and had myself a little breakfast in the room as I prepared. 

Thin bagels. Too thin to have one, so I spread my cream cheese (with onions and chives of course) and threw an entire bagel in between. Now it was more like a "real bagel."

After I ate I got to creaming my chamois... with Chamois Butt'r. I had no idea how much to use. I didn't want to skimp, thus making it pointless, so I used the whole thing. 

Halfway through the first lap I knew I used too much. I had a nice "squishy" feeling between my butt cheeks, fun!  Too much cream or not, my but felt good through the ride. 

When we arrived at the venue I claimed a pit spot and texted TheMutt. He claimed he had just woke up, but knowing what a jokester he is I didn't believe him. I went and registered, getting my number/food ticket... or was that just a motivational thought to keep one riding for 6 hours?

I also got a free t-shirt (love me some free t-shirts!) and a sweet tattoo to let others know who they were passing. Later I was told we got free water bottles - missed out on that one!

I helped haul some of TheMutt's stuff down to the pit area and started to prepare for the race. Time was tighter than I normally like, but I managed to get everything together for the prerace meeting.  The cut off time for your last lap was 5 hours and 30 minutes.  My goal was to get in 6 laps.  I thought I'd be able to do it, but wasn't sure how tight I'd be on getting in before the cut off mark to make that 6th lap.   

As we got lined up for the start I was trying to focus on the advice I had gotten from a number of sources: don't get caught up in racing off the start.  TheMutt was lining up towards the front, so I stood next to him, but wondered if I shouldn't be further back?  At the start he took off like a bullet, I spun, but didn't try to over do it.  I was happy to let those geared riders crank it down the flat dirt road as I spun at a good clip towards the singletrack entrance.  From there on we were in a train.  I felt good and didn't feel like I was overdoing it so I was fine sticking to the wheel in front of me.  Soon enough I saw TheMutt in front of me, really?  I caught up to him.  That meant one of two things.  I was going too fast, or he was dying.  

Some geared fellows jumped around me when I could let them by, but I still had TheMutt in my sights.  I was certainly willing to let him go, but I was hanging on ok.  All of a sudden the rider in front of me pulls up to the side - I guess he was tired of having a line behind him.  The trail normally went straight OR left, but the straight (black diamond) option was taped off, so I hit the hard left blindly as the rider cleared to the side.  I have no idea what my front tire struck, but I hit something and over the handlebars I went.  The train came to a squealing halt.  I quickily pulled my bike off the trail and let 8-10 riders go.  Most were courteous and called out to make sure I was ok - or point out  my water bottle rolling across the trail.

A few choice expletives later and I was back up and off.  Now I knew I was pushing my pace, but I just wanted to get back on someones wheel for at least this first lap - it's nice to have a "guide" on an unknown trail.  Going over a few roots it felt like my back tire was a little squishy... but I had just put air in both tires before the race...

My seatpost then started slipping.  My damn seatpost.  This thing has been slipping on and off for a while now and it is a royal pain in my ass!!  As we jumped back out on the starting dirt road I decided to floor it as I knew I was going to have to stop to adjust my seat height... it was getting too low to be effective.  I stopped quick, tightened down my seatpost and was off again, after the riders I had just passed on the dirt road passed me back.  

Going out on lap two was like a breath of fresh air.  It was so nice to not be in a train on the beginning sections of the trail.  I soon caught two riders from the one hour race who offered to let me by.  I told them we could wait until it was safe ( I didn't need them to pull over and stop to let me go) but they were going a little slower than I would have liked.  As soon as I was able to get by I powered up a hill and BAM!  My chain dropped.  I pulled into the trees, swearing as I went.  I got to removing my rear wheel and getting the chain back on.  Of course, then I had to loosen my slipping EBB and re-adjust and crank it down.  I started to curse my EBB but then accepted that I've been neglecting it, so maybe it was my fault.  As I was getting set to take off I reached back and squeezed my rear tire... yup - soft.  I decided I had taken too much time already so I would wait to pit to use the floor pump on it.  As I took off I tried to think of why it was soft... do I have a slow leak?  Could I have burped it when I crashed?  I just hoped it would hold till I finished this lap.  

Now I would have to pick up my pace if I was going to reach my goal.  Again towards the end of the lap my seatpost was slipping... looks like it'd be another pit to adjust.  A quick stop to adjust my seatpost and pump my rear tire back up - I was down to around 15psi.  I headed out for lap 3 in no mans land.  My seatpost quickly started slipping so I pulled off to tighten it back down.  Back on the trail I found a good pace.  I wasn't concerned with the other riders or my place - this was a personal challenge and not a race.  I was enjoying the trail and before I knew it I could see the Trail Mayor up ahead.  I turned it up and caught up to him as we hit the dirt road.  I hadn't gotten a chance to chat with him prior to the race, so I took the opportunity to chat as we rolled down the dirt road.  I thanked him for inviting me down as I was enjoying the trail and the challenge.  Unfortunately, he was going to miss the cut off for the 3 hour race.

Once again I pulled into the pit to adjust my... you guessed it... seatpost.  If you've been counting along, that would mean I was headed back out for my fourth lap.  This is where things get interesting, and where I will have to stop for today.        

"training..."

This weekend I have a race.  The Brunswick Brawl.  It's not my typical race, this is a 6 hour race.  My first.  And, depending on who you ask, it is either Saturday or Sunday.

It's Saturday!  Never trust a singlespeeder for race advice/info - even if they are your friend - I'm looking at TheMutt here!!

You might ask, "why someone would want to ride their mountain bike for 6 hours?"
I might say, "why not?"
Sure this is going to be an entirely new experience for me... one that I have done zero targeted training for.  I've never been riding for nearly that long, so who the hell knows what is going to happen out there.  But, you've got to start somewhere.  There was a 3 hour option, but I guess that wasn't a big enough stretch for me.  Doing 3/4 laps of a course (although still a challenge) seemed much more realistic to me.  So I figured let's go all out and see what I can do in 6 hours.  Maybe I will be surprised, or maybe I'll be cursing everything the whole time*... we shall see.  Hey, at least it's not a 100 miler or a 24 hour race!  

Last night there was no social ride due to rain.  So instead of riding I was going to prepare for this race in a slightly different way - planning the trip.  The race is far enough away (and long enough!) that it won't be an out and back type of thing.  Actual planning will have to go into the logistics of the whole deal.  And, the best part, Annie is coming with me.  So we are going to make a little weekend out of it. Win-win right there.  Plus, she might be able to help out in the pit... if she doesn't wonder off due to boredom...  The plan for last night was to figure out our lodging for Friday and Saturday night.  Then this happened.

I didn't "fall asleep" on our "chair and a half."  I was "training."  I need my rest if I'm going to be on the bike for 6 hours so lay off!  In all honesty, I'm thinking about the race as little as possible.  I don't want to over think anything.  Gearing is the biggest question as I've never ridden in the area and I've never ridden for 6 hours, so there is the huge question of which way to go to make sure I last...  but I'm going with what I have on right now and that is that.  Might I regret it later?  I'm not getting into that - because as of right now I can see that there could be potential regrets with any choice - so it's man up/leave it alone time and just hold strong with the old saying... "run what ya brung."

* I apologize in advance for any explicative you might here mumbled/shouted with no particular target in mind (it will likely be myself or the Glow Worm) out on the trail.