LumberJack 100 - Take 2

Well, here we go again. It seems like just the other day that I was typing out a post about registering for the LumberJack 100. That was over a year ago. My first experience with this race didn't go so well, but I'm determined to have a different outcome at the 2009 edition.

Physically I really believe I was up to the challenge last June. It was the mental game that took me down that day. Going into the race I was feeling really good. My training had been going really well, and about 4 weeks prior I had ridden over 100 miles at the 12 hours of Addison. The Addison race gave me a lot of confidence since I finished with over 100 miles and still felt good, like I could have kept going.

I knew that Lumberjack was going to be a whole different story, more climbing, less support, etc. The problem was I got too wrapped up in the excitement of the day once everything got underway. Before the race I made the decision to ride with water bottles only, no Camelback, thinking I would just stop at the aid station each lap and in the pits so every 12-13 miles I would have fresh bottles. On our first lap through I was moving good with a pretty big group of riders. As we hit the aid station I expected everyone to pull over, but nobody did. I though about it for a second, then pushed on. It was a stupid move, we still had 9+ hours of riding ahead of us and I was worried about stopping for a couple minutes.

By the time I finished lap one I was out of water, and hadn't eaten anything. This was 2.5 hours into the race. At this point I had a headache going, which I knew was dehydration, so I tried to take in more water, but it was too late. With about 10 miles to go on my second lap I bonked worse than I have ever experienced. I could barely pedal on flat ground, I was nauseous, dizzy, weak, you name it. By the time I made it to the pits I was so out of it. Jackie was there waiting for me and quickly realized I was in bad shape. She sat me down and tried to get me to drink. At first I didn't want to because I felt so sick, but eventually I started drinking, then eating. It took me about an hour and a half to get back to the point where I felt I could actually pilot my bike through the woods. By that point though there was no way I would make the cut-off for the 4th lap, so I called it a day.

This year will be different though. First off, Camelback for sure. I need to take in plenty of water and reaching down for a bottle occasionally just won't cut it for me. Second, I'm going to manage my calories better. When I looked back at the 5 1/2 hours I spent in the woods that day I realized I had only averaged about 100-150 calories an hour, less than half what I need.

This is the first I've written about the race. I remember being excited to write a big blog post about it before the race, but returned home embarrassed and ashamed. Not that I didn't finish, because lots of people try that race and don't finish, but because I know I was ready and could do it. I just screwed it up for myself. Not this year though. I've learned a lot and I will be much better prepared. June 20th is the race so the 21st, maybe the 22nd if I'm lazy, I'll be writing about my finish.