Oregon 24 Race Report

reacpped by the wifer:

When I went to Pine Mountain Sports on Friday to pick up my race packet, I was feeling pretty good.  I had my nutrition dialed and had been “tapering” (ie not doing much) for the two weeks prior to the race.   There were only two women signed up online in my category.  That is, until I went to go pick up my packet.  A team racer from California had since signed up, as well as a woman from Portland who had done about every race listed on the OBRA website last year (yikes!) .  And then a Pine Mountain employee and another woman had registered late as well, putting 5 of us in the open women category.  Uh oh.  No time to back out now.  On Friday night Tiago helped move the Airstream into position and I got the car all packed up.  Was a little nervous about the tires I had just replaced Wednesday, since the back tire was taking a while to seal up completely, but it finally seemed to be holding air.  I also threw “Kermit” in the truck as my backup bike, my green 9zero7 fat bike inherited/stolen from Tiago.  He suggested that it might do well in sandy conditions. 

On Saturday morning I got through the Lemans start jogging slowly so as not to hurt my recovering ankle and got into line on the trail. Everything was a cloud of dust for the first lap, which I knew would be the worst.  I concentrated on controlling my heart rate and riding steady, and finished my first lap (11 miles per my garmin) in about 1:10.  My race plan was to do each lap including rest time in about an hour and a half, and since the laps were so short, I did two at a time.  Also because I had two cages on my bike so I had to refuel after two anyway.  The second lap was almost the same pace, so I made myself come in for a break even though I didn’t need the rest yet.  After all, it’s all about pacing. 

Went out for the next two (laps #3 and 4)and still felt okay, and lap times were holding within 10 minutes or less, which I thought was a good sign.  When I came in for the next break, I was feeling a little more tired than I had hoped- after all, I had only ridden 40 miles- not even close to my long rides yet! – but I took my obligatory break and Tiago was there to help me swap out nutrition/water and clean the bike off.  It was also time to eat dinner (ramen noodles=salt and carbs) and drink some mountain dew for a little caffeine (but not too much or it would cause abdominal cramping).  Feeling refreshed, I thought about how my mother would be appalled at my race diet, but hey, it seemed to be working.  I also ate almost an entire bag of grapes- cold and high water content- yum! My new favorite race food.

Laps 5 and 6 were a little harder still, but it was starting to cool off so by the end I was feeling a bit refreshed.  I concentrated on drinking the Infinit (my sports drink of choice- no GI distress with this one and electrolytes included!  Big fan. . . .) and was rehydrated enough to have to pee.  (hooray!)  The light was fading though and it was time to turn the lights on.

Lap 7 was rough.  With the fading light, and more so the fading legs and worsening sand, I had a few falls -on the derailleur side of course.  Remembering that the reason I started singlespeeding in the first place was because of my tendency to be hard on derailleurs, I started to get a bit nervous.  Sure enough, after only 3 miles I shifted into granny going up hill and the chain fell into the spokes so hard it threw me off the bike.  I couldn’t get the chain out no matter how hard I pulled.  One biker asked if I needed help and when I said yes didn’t stop (!), but finally somebody else came and helped me yank the chain out, requiring removing the rear wheel to do so.  I said thanks and got on the bike again, figuring if I avoid the easiest gears I should be able to get back .  I just hoped it was the hanger and not the actual derailleur.  Luckily it took my focus off how loose everything was and I finished the first night laps (close to 88 miles at that point) just at 12 hours into the race.  I remember wishing it was a 12 hour race, because even though I was exhausted at that point, I still felt relatively okay.  Tiago took my bike to the mechanic’s tent to get the derailleur fixed (luckily it was just the hanger) but meanwhile had helped me get the fat bike ready.  I figured the loose conditions in the dark would lead to slow lap times anyway, so why not try the fattie?  Besides, I had taken an extended (1 hour) rest to reward myself for keeping on schedule.  I was feeling pretty worked, but happy with my efforts up to that point.

So I set off on laps 9 and 10 on the fatbike around 1am.  Unfortunately I had asked Tiago to make some coffee before I left because I was really cold at that point, and I didn’t even think about the fact that so much caffeine was not a good thing.  I had pretty bad stomach cramping on that first lap, but they eventually went away and I was able to drink water.  My right knee was starting to ache though, and pedaling around alone in the dark made me wonder what I was trying to prove here.  I did realize though that my uncertainty about not being able to finish a 100 mile race was silly, and that maybe next year I should sign up for a race with a definite finish, which mentally seemed easier to deal with, rather than having to keep pushing myself to go out on laps simply to see what I could accomplish, since I knew that I was 4^th place (second to last!) at that point and really wanted to sleep, and if I am just racing for me then wouldn’t sleep really be better for me?  I had mantras as I was riding to keep my mind off of the pain, and created songs in my head to distract/amuse myself as I went along.    

The good news is that by the end of lap 10, I had ridden 112 miles (about as much as last year) and the fat bike was actually perfect!  Though people thought I was crazy (after all, it weighs about 35+ pounds), the tires were incredibly stable on the loose washout and I was able to keep more speed on the fatbike than the blur. (Speed  being a relative term when you are going as slow as I was at that point.  I only wished I had more pep in my legs to convince others that the bike really was a good choice- I’m afraid my pathetically slow riding was not really selling the bike’s handling abilities)  I would hesitate to say it was fun, since I was exhausted at this point, but I did wonder why the heck I didn’t start out riding this bike.  An added bonus was the gripshifts, since my wrist was starting to hurt as well from shifting. 

I came in around 5 am (with a quick stop between laps to fix the limit screw-- lying flat on my back on the asphalt looking up at the stars while I talked to Mark from Pine as he worked on my bike and acted like my behavior was perfectly normal).  I  planned to take a quick nap and then take a dawn ride.  The dawn ride was my goal- I knew if I could make it to daylight it would be over soon.  The problem was there were still 7 hours left to race and I was hurting- upper back, knees, skin on my backside.  Ouch!  Luckily my husband was there at every lap to help me get the bike ready for the next lap, feed and water me, and generally help with my requests as I lay pathetically on the couch.  He made me some oatmeal for breakfast and I cuddled up with Otis for warmth for my nap.

The alarm went off at 6:00 and I hit snooze.  Then about every 5 minutes I would look at Otis and say “I have to go now”.  I just could not motivate- it was really cold out (and my puppy was so warm and soft!), I was really sore, and I was at a motivational low.  The thought of getting back on my bike made me want to vomit.  By 7am though, I couldn’t put it off anymore and set out for my first morning lap. 

Lap 11 actually made me feel better.  More alert- I was definitely slower (I think this lap was around 1:40) and I had to walk a few technical sections I just didn’t have the energy to power through, but I made it up the climbs and kept it in granny for large chunks of time.  I had been on the fatbike since lap 9, and kept it as the bike of choice for the rest of the race.  When I came in and Mike Ripley the race organizer told me there were pancakes (mmmmm), I almost called it a day.  But it was a 24 hour race after all, and I figured I should do at least one more lap.  Ugghhh it was painful.  I continued to get lapped by all the team racers, and continued to wonder what I had gotten myself into and why I thought this would be fun.  I don't think I could have gotten through it without the support of my husband, but also my teammates on Cascade Couriers/Bend Velo, who showed up to support even if I didn't know they were there (Eric and Amber) and when I did but I was so tired it was a blur (Sami and I'm pretty sure I caught a glimpse of adorable Iris) and anyone else I might have missed.  A big thanks to all who encouraged me before and after as well- definitely appreciated it more than you know!  Also met some of the Deschutes Brewery crew who were camping next door, and saw some old friends on the Boneyard team.  Overall a pretty stellar event, and thanks to Mike and Mudslinger events for putting it on!

Half comatose, we packed up and I took a nap before heading out to the Blacksmith for some post-race protein loading.  Perfectly seared tuna steaks- now this was worth it!  Too bad there is no 24 hour sleeping contest- pretty sure I would have won that!