I said it before, I'll say it again- 100 milers
rock! Granted I've only done three (2 Mohican
100s and 1 Wilderness 101) but those are three
of the best races I've ever done. Not the best
RESULTS, but the best races.
I find the 100s a great combination of "controlled"
adventure. 100 miles of varying trails, roads,
and conditions, but a fully marked course and
aid stations to make sure I don't become bear
fodder. The following is a brief recap of my
experiences at the 2007 Mohican 100.
The 7 a.m. rolling start was a bit chaotic as
more than 1/2 the field went off hard right
from the start line leaving the pace motorcycle
honking it's horn, trying to get through the
pack of hundreds of racers so as to lead us
out to road and the "official" start.
I just rolled along on the road doing my thing,
getting the legs ready for the single track.
As we rolled down the hill from the dam I shifted
into my big ring and dropped my chain. Not sure
but this COULD be from the fact I'm missing
about 3 teeth on my big ring, ha! So I needed
to take a minute to get my chain back on. No
big deal. Not fun, but no big deal.
Once we hit the single track we had a nice group
of riders keeping a pretty good pace. Eventually
I got ahead of these folks and rode on my own
for much of the race.
A HUGE hunk of the first section was single
track. Maybe 30+ miles or so. It had a little
of everything and conditions were much better
than last year. I felt so good the first 50
or 60 miles. Many times diving through endless
single track with the sun shining though the
foggy forest it seemed too perfect to be racing.
This was just damn fun!
So far my nutritional choices were spot on.
Stomach felt good, legs felt good and the bike
was doing just fine. I was having a great time.
The heat was a tad intense and later in the
morning some of the exposed climbs were damn
hot. I could see the white salt stains starting
to form on my shorts and jersey. I cramped a
few times but overall cramping was minimal due
to my intake of Heed, Gatorade, and Hammer Endurlytes.
Then as if by design the skies clouded over
and a few minor thunderstorms dumped some rain.
Nothing too major but enough to cool it off
and make some of the remaining miles in the
dirt pretty soggy.
One such section was/is my most hated section
of the course- a 10 mile stretch of ghetto rail
trail. It's sort of an incomplete or abandoned
rail trail. The rain turned it to a slow soggy
mess by the time I hit it. And it was not unusual
for me to riding along mumbling expletives out
loud.
On this stretch I was out of calories. I had
water/heed, but no gels, or my Heed/Carbo Pro
cocktail that I had been using up to now. All
I could think about was the sugary goodness
of a Pepsi or Coke.
When I FINALLY exited this section and hit the
road to the next aid station at mile 75 I hoped
like hell they had some pop. Yes! A cooler with
Pepsi in it! I chugged a bit, got a nice sugar
rush flattened the rest by shaking it up, and
poured it in one of my bottles.
This is something that when I done in the past
whilst using Hammer Perpetuem, has back fired
and left me vomiting on my top tube. Not this
time. Other than a few echoing belches I just
enjoyed the sugary goodness, the caffeine and
the calories.
Some of the climbs were REALLY getting tough
for me at this point. The legs could move but
not very fast. I had a goal of under 10 hours
and right now it was in doubt.
I kept plugging along, trying to make up time
whenever I could (down hill) and struggling
with some of the remaining big climbs. By struggling
I mean walking. I just had no power left.
Then I hit the last aid station at about mile
90. Took in a little more pop, a bite of PBJ
and headed off for the remaining 10 miles. I
found he PB&J sandwiches this year primo!
Soft bread, not too much peanut butter and some
yummy jelly. REALLY easy to get down my pie
hole.
It was at this point I saw my goal of sub 10
hours vanish. The single track after the last
aid station was super slick and I was all over
the freaking trail! It took a few spills for
me to realize I had my Reba locked out. DOH!!!
Then it was to a root filled, rocky, mud bog
trail along the river that had me hike-a-biking
most of it. The trail had a good amount of day
hikers on it too. Seeing my mud covered spandex
clad body slipping and sliding over the rocks
like a drunken loon must have gave them a nice
chuckle. Finally I saw the "5 MILES TO
GO" sign. THAT rocked!
I finally made it to the base of the dam and
did the STEEP hike-a-bike up to the road. Then
some road, and double track led me back to the
finish. Another 100 in the books. Finished in
10:27/39th place out of 70+ Open Class Solo
Male racers in the 100 mile race. I did miss
my personal goal of sub 10 hours, but I'll be
back in 2008 for damn sure!
The shear amount of BIG name Endurance freaks
there was amazing! Eatough, Tostado, Tinker,
Harlan, Kerkove, Musto, the list was endless.
Getting to compete with these folks is an honor
and another reason why doing these races rocks.
In no other sport can you line up with some
of the best in the world like this. Yeah, I
came in 39th, but with folks like that in front
of me I'll take it!
I still have a LOT to work on to get more competitive,
but I was damn happy overall. My only regret
is not sticking to my original 2007 season plan
of doing more of the 100 mile series and less
lap races. The 100 mile format is hands down
my favorite race format. Looking forward to
the Wilderness 101 in August already!
Thanks for reading.
