24 Hours of 9-Mile

Yep, I did it! To my surprise, I actually managed to ride my mountain bike for 24 hours. Why? Good question. (Warning: this is a long post. If you don't want to read it, don't. There's a little summary at the bottom for the short attention spans among us)

I guess it all started this year at Sea Otter. I went to see 24 Solo, all about Chris Eatough, and that was when I decided I wanted to do a 24 hour race solo. Then when I did the Coolest 24 in May on a team it was confirmed - I had a great time (and a great team!), but was a little bit jealous of the solo riders. I decided I wanted a flatter course for my first attempt, though, and Wausau, Wisconsin is pretty close to home for me, so I knew I'd have some support. So I signed up. I actually had to choose between two categories -- the National Championship Women's 24 race, or the non-championship Solo "Freak" women. So I signed up for the non-championship division, thinking that I better aim for a more reasonable level of competition for my first stab at the 24 hours.

So it was decided. My dad Terry and I drove down to Wausau on Friday - the race would go from 10AM on Saturday till 10AM Sunday. My friend Mark was extremely generous in loaning me his Trek Top Fuel for the race, and fortunately, we had some other friends from the U.P. also participating in the race - a 4-person 12-hour team of Adam, Adam, Eric, and Ben; Nel and Mel doing a 2-person 12-hour; and Chris doing a solo 12-hour. So we all set up together, with pop-up tents, coolers of energy drinks and food, folding chairs and all sorts of miscellaneous bike stuff.

3:30pm, Friday
I did a pre-ride of the course on Friday afternoon with Mel. It covered most of the same trail as last year, with a few variations for a total distance of about 14 miles. I LOVE this course as it has a ton of flowy, twisty singletrack through the woods, some really fun rocky sections, and some fast two-track. Almost all of it is shaded, and there are no monster climbs to dread on each lap (although some of the minor climbs started to feel monstrous in the wee hours of the morning). I was pretty psyched.

7:00pm, Friday
Dinner at Noodles, followed by Cold Stone Creamery, followed by a trip to the store for tylenol, ibuprofin, and Bengay.

8:00pm, Friday
We all picked up registration packets, and prepped our bikes. I wanted to make sure everything I would possibly need was ready for my dad to grab quickly during the race, so I had a box stocked with: Perpetuum, 8 waterbottles, a camelback, my Light & Motion light, tylenol, ibuprofin, Bengay, E-Caps, gels, bars, chain lube, chamois butter (2 varieties), rags, towels, tools, an extra saddle, spare shoes, a ton of extra clothes, Rockstar, Sobe, and Monster (all highly-caffeinated energy drinks) plus a bunch of food that I might want.

7:00am, Saturday
Three hours before the race found me bleary-eyed, begging my dad to see if he could find some coffee, while I put down a couple bowls of cereal. The coffee helped and I managed to get my act together in time to put my bike into the corral, and mill about with the other riders, waiting for the LeMans start (where you start off running for a quarter mile until you reach the bike corral and then grab your bike and go). Here's a photo of me with my dad before the start. Notice how clean and happy I look:


10:00am, Saturday - Lap 1, 1:19:45
I gotta say, it's a pretty funny sight watching hundreds of spandex clad cyclists running along at the start of the race and then the confusion that inevitably ensues when people can't find their bike, take the wrong one, fall over trying to hop on, etc. I've been avoiding running like the plague lately, so I wasn't exactly shining during this initial part of the race, but at least that meant there were fewer bikes to confuse me by the time I got there. I grabbed the right one and hit the trail. The first lap was a pretty solid string of people for the first half - there were some major bottlenecks getting into the singletrack sections, but I wasn't in a huge hurry, with 24 hours left to go. The first lap was pretty uneventful - a good start, and I scoped out the sweet jump that some guys had built at one of the checkpoints on the course. Basically, they hang out, play music, build jumps, and holler wildly every time someone hits the jump. These awesome volunteers also offer support in the form of food for needy racers, encouragement, first aid, etc. They make the event awesome.

11:20am, Saturday - Lap 2, 1:20:12
Not too memorable. My basic plan was to drink two bottles of perpetuum for every lap. Each bottle would have about 130 calories, giving me 250-300 calories per lap from perpetuum. Contrary to what might seem to make sense, it's not a good idea to try to consume enough calories to replace what you're burning - at my size, my body can probably only take in and convert to energy about 250 calories per hour. Much more than that and my digestive system would have to work too hard, diverting blood from my muscles and causing cramping. Interesting, eh? So I figured that I'd eat a couple bites of food each lap when my lap times started to get longer. Plus at least 3 E-caps per lap to make sure my electrolytes were replentished.

12:40pm, Saturday - Lap 3, 1:26:36
Mmmmm, cold bottles were nice at the start of the lap. Terry told me that I was in the lead after the first lap by 3 minutes, in the non-championship solo 24hour women. I decided to hit the jump on this lap. Yeah, it was a good call. The hollering of the checkpoint guys gave me a huge mental boost.

2:10pm, Saturday - Lap 4, 1:24:05
Four hours into the race, I was one sixth of the way done. Ouch. I did a saddle switcheroo, and continued on my way. Then, I had the highlight of my entire race. Nat Ross (eventual 2nd place solo male) lapped me early in the lap, speeding by like I was standing still. But I just continued at my own pace, and decided I better hit the jump again when I came to it. So I did, and rode on, moving over when I heard someone coming up behind me. It happened to be CHRIS EATOUGH, and as he passed, he tossed over his shoulder, "nice jump!" At least I think that's what happened. I could have been hallucinating at that point, but I don't think so. So I was psyched.

3:30pm, Saturday - Lap 5, 1:30:48
Ate some cantalope, yum. Terry let me know that I was increasing the lead so that was good.

5:00pm, Saturday - Lap 6, 1:32:42
Seven hours down, 17 to go. DAMN! I was lagging a bit on this lap. My legs were feeling tired already. I popped open one of the Rockstar energy drinks and infused some caffeine into the equation, thinking, "Dammit. If only I had entered the 12-hour event, I'd be over halfway done." But that was last year.

6:30pm, Saturday - Lap 7, 1:30:57
We were required to have lights on starting at 6:30, just for good measure, so Terry and Adam were all over it as soon as I got into the pit, attaching lights to my handlebars. The helmet light would come on the next lap, when I really started to need it - but not before, since the extra weight puts a strain on the neck.

8:00pm, Saturday - Lap 8, 1:31:28
I was starting to feel a little achy in my back coming into this lap - which I had expected. Last year, in the 12-hour event, my lower back totally seized up after the race and I couldn't move for hours. So this year, I tried to prepare a little more by doing some core strengthening in the months coming up to the race. Of course I didn't actually get a gym membership or anything crazy like that, but I did get out the ole exercise ball. The scene at my apt in the evening was often: Dan, my roomie, sitting on the couch comfortably watching TV, laughing at me as I writhed around on the ball, trying to watch TV and do somewhat effective exercises at the same time. I usually ended up sweating, so I figured it was working. Anyway - the back was a little achy, so I tried to be extra conscious of stretching on the bike when I could, AND I had Terry rub on a little bit of the Bengay. Yikes, that stuff is TINGLY. But it seemed to help.

And we put the Light & Motion light onto my helmet this lap. Quick plug for Light & Motion - they rock! They have been totally helpful when I get in touch with questions, and made sure I had what I needed for this race. Of course, my light is super-quality and bright too. By the end of the lap, night had definitely fallen.

9:30pm, Saturday - Lap 9, 1:53:09
My first complete night lap was where I really slowed down. I don't think it was because it was night, it was just that something in me decided to SLOW down. Mentally, it was hard too, because I knew that I had done 9 laps last year, in the 12-hour race. I was basically riding on about the same pace as that, but this time I wasn't going to be anywhere near done at the end of the 9th lap. I wasn't ready to toss in the towel though, so I kept plugging. When I came into the pit, Terry was a little worried, since he'd expected me 20 minutes earlier, but I assured him that I was just "taking it easy." HA. By this point, things had quieted down a lot - the 12 hour racers were done, most of them asleep in tents. I was feeling pretty crappy, and I got off my bike and sat down in a chair for the first time. I had some PB&J, and cracked open another energy drink. Fortunately, someone told me to get my butt back on the bike and get going, so I didn't get more than a 10 minute respite.

11:25pm, Saturday - Lap 10, 1:54:16
Ouch. Ouch. Lap 10 was really hard. This time, it wasn't my back. My back was holding steady with just a little achiness, but not bad. It was my hands, of all things. Since the course was pretty technical in some sections, and some parts quite rocky and bumpy, my hands had been taking a beating. My fingers were cramping from gripping so much, and the heels and palms of my hands started to feel deeply bruised and tender. My right thumb was feeling strained from the continuous shifting I was doing, up and down the cassette to try to save my legs. I never would have imagined my THUMB would be the limiting factor in this race! This lap was the first time I REALLY let myself think that I might not be able to keep riding for the whole 24 hours. I relaxed and rested my hands as much as I could, and tried some creative gripping. When I made it back to the pit, Mel and Terry encouraged me to get back out there, so I headed out again.

1:20am, Sunday - Lap 11, 1:41:23
Somehow, my race seemed to turn around on this lap. My hands actually started to feel BETTER, as did my back. At this point, I started to marvel at the wonders of the human body and brain. I wondered if my hands had actually stopped hurting, or if I had just stopped feeling the pain, or if my brain just refused to acknowledge it. Either way, I was happy - I actually enjoyed the night riding, and the full moon above us. It was a beautiful night. I decided, at this point, that I would be happy if I managed to complete a total of 14 laps.

3:00am, Sunday - Lap 12, 2:00:27
Things are definitely hazy. Can't say I really remember this lap. But I got 'er done, nice and steady. I do remember that I started to feel a bit nauseous, not sure why. I was drinking less, since it was cooler, and eating more solid food. So I don't know - maybe I was eating too much and having trouble processing it? Or maybe I wasn't getting enough fluids? Or maybe I was just getting sick of the taste of Perpetuum? And then thinking, f*** this, how am I ever going to do two more laps?? My hands were still hurting a little more than was comfortable.

5:00am, Sunday - Lap 13, 1:58:29
Again, I don't remember much of this one, except that it got lighter and lighter, and then I realized it was morning. I made it through the night! That was pretty rewarding, mentally. When I came into the pit, the whole place was starting to wake up a little more, and people were out to offer encouragement. I told myself, "just do one more, and that will be the end, you'll have reached your goal." At the time, I knew I still had a pretty good time lead on the 2nd place woman, but I hadn't lapped her yet, so the race definitely wasn't won. What I didn't realize was that she had started gaining back a couple minutes on laps 12 and 13.

Here's a gem of a photo of me at this point. Notice the unstable stance, closed eyes, abundant dirt, SWEET headband, and apparent lack of direction. This was normal.


6:55am, Sunday - Lap 14, 1:46:48
I set out telling myself that this could be the last one, even though I knew that I would probably have time for two more laps. It was better to just lie to myself. In the second half of the lap, Rebecca Rusch came up from behind, lapping me for the second time. I picked up my pace just a tad to stay with her for a while, and managed to follow her for about 20 minutes without pushing too hard. She won the Championship in 2006, and came in 2nd this year. What an amazing athlete she is - it was inspiring to be racing at the same time. It also picked up my pace a little, and I started to feel...actually...GOOD again. How in the hell I felt GOOD after everything I do not know. I came into the pits smiling after that lap, until Terry and Chris gave me the DL on the race situation. The second place woman had passed by about 15 minutes earlier, heading out on her 14th lap. So if I decided not to go out for another lap, there was no guarantee I would win. Said Terry, "Well, it looks like you'll have to do another lap!" with a grin.

8:45am, Sunday - Lap 15, 1:26:02
I was pretty motivated starting this lap, since I knew it was FOR SURE going to be the last one. It was downright crazy how good I felt all of a sudden. It was like I had fresh legs, my hands didn't hurt, my back was fine, stomach felt settled, and my thinking was even sharp (at least relatively). I had some extra encouragement from Ben and Adam on this lap, keeping my pace up. But seriously, looking back at it now, I am truly awed by what my own human body was doing. How is it possible to feel SO MUCH BETTER in just the space of a few hours, without resting, and while continuing the activity that made me feel crappy in the first place (mountain biking for a ridiculous amount of time)?? I don't get it! I guess it goes to show how much was probably mental barriers, and the physical feelings were just manifestations of that? Or am I just totally full of crap? Probably both.

10:17:07am, Sunday - Done, after 214.2 miles. I crossed the finish line for the 15th time, and that was it. I couldn't believe I was finally done. I sat in a chair and stared blankly ahead for a while. Terry ran up exclaiming that I would have come in 5th in the women's National Championship category. No shit, eh? I should've entered that category. I guess there's next year.

10:25am, Sunday - I staggered into the shower, where I proceeded to get dizzy and nauseous all over again. Great. But at least this time I was clean. I made my way back towards our campsite, where I ate two bowls of cereal and nearly fell asleep with my face in the milk. That would have been ugly. Instead, I ended up on my back in the tall grass like a piece of roadkill while Terry singlehandedly packed up all of my stuff. Amazing. He was the awesomest support possible for my debut 24-hour race.

The aftermath - I went straight to Minneapolis to catch a Monday flight back to Cali. I'm back at work, and feeling somewhat recovered already. I'm going to bet that this wasn't my last 24-hour race. And I think that's enough for now.

The promised SUMMARY:

Race Category entered: Non-National Championship Solo "Freak" 24-Hour Women
Place in Category: 1

Race Category I Should Have Entered, in retrospect: 24-Hour Female National Championships
Hypothetical Place in Category I Should Have Entered: 5

Hours on the bike: 24, give or take a few minutes.

Miles of trails covered: 214.2

Longest time off the bike during the 24 hours: About 13 minutes.

Bottles of Perpetuum ingested: About 22

Approximate number of chamois butter applications: 9

That is all.