2019 Lumberjack 100

If you have not read the post on the day before the race and would like to, you can find it here.

Saturday morning came around earlier than I would have liked, but that is pretty typical. Most nights I don't really sleep that well and this night I woke up a few times. Every time I woke up, it was still raining. This was not exactly what I was hoping for. I normally can ride in the mud pretty good, but I didn't really want to ride 100 miles in the mud. After sleeping as long as I could, I finally got up and moving. Made my typical breakfast and had some coffee. My stomach didn't really like my breakfast and I didn't eat all of it. I could have used a little more coffee, but it was all gone and I didn't feel like making any more. I got everything ready and loaded up. I was feeling more anxious than normal and not really sure why. I know it was going to be a hard day, but I didn't really feel a lot of pressure on my self. I just tried to relax as much as I can and go with the flow.

We headed out to the venue. Once we got there we needed to take our coolers and pit gear to the pop up tent. Since we parked in the overflow lot, it was a little bit of a walk. It probably would have been a good idea to try and drive over to drop everything off. Once we got over to where the tent was, it took us a minute to find it. The rest of the group dropped it off the night before and we were not sure exactly where it was. After I got everything set up I headed over toward the bathroom line. The line was very long and I didn't really feel like I had time to wait. I headed back to the car to get ready the rest of the way. Then I headed back to the start area. I hoped the line would be smaller, but it really was not and I just had to hope I was good enough.

Photo credit: Rob Meendering

I headed up toward the front group. I thought I might be a little too far forward, but I figured I would get dropped enough on the road and wanted to be as far forward as I can when I hit the woods. It was cold and still raining. I was wondering if I had too much on or maybe not enough. Looking around I could see all kinds of different clothing choices. It seemed like I was about in the middle of the choices and figured I would be good enough. There was a few announcements that I didn't really catch and then off we went. I tried to go as fast as I could with out completely blowing myself up. I found a few wheels to jump on and felt like I was doing as good as expected.

After the road section we jumped on a fire lane kind of section. It was still pretty fast. I was getting passed by some riders, but I felt like I had a small group I was keeping pace with. I also didn't feel like I dropped too far back, but it is really hard to tell. As we hit the trail section the group I was with was riding at a good pace for me. I had a few people I would pass and there was also a few that would pass me. I didn't really feel like anyone was holding me up or making work harder than needed. There was a couple climbs that I had to take at a slower pace that I would prefer, but nothing I was too worried about. I just kept the pace up the best I could with out over doing it.

Somewhere along here Dustin came up on me. He rode behind me for a little while and eventually I was worried I was going too hard and he went around. I tried to hold his wheel the best I could with out hurting myself. I was a little worried about going too hard. Either I was going too hard or Dustin was taking it too easy. I didn't figure I should have been riding at his pace. But, I'm still not sure if I was going too hard or not.

Photo credit: Rob Meendering

We came through the pit area together. I think he got ready and left before me. I tried to keep moving and leave as quickly as I could. The end of the first lap was a little hard on my legs. I started the second lap taking it a little easier and trying to recover. I walked a few more hills, but still felt like I was moving at a constant pace. Not too far in to this lap I was really feeling it. I must have gone too hard the first lap. Lovins caught me along this section and I jumped on his wheel and tried to keep up. I kept hurting more and more and feeling really run down. It didn't take me too long to start to feel like I really needed to make that bathroom break I wanted to do in the morning. I figured I was pretty close to the rest top just before mile 20 and could go there. The rest of this section of trail was not very pleasant. I was really needing to make it to the rest stop as quickly as possible. I was hurting very bad and not riding very well.

I was just about to the point I was going to just stop and I saw the leis hanging from a tree and knew I was right there. I had to let Lovins go and try to take care of myself. I made my stop and took in some pickle juice and coke and took off as quickly as I could. I immediately felt better and started to roll along at a better pace. The lap still felt like I went very slow, but I was getting faster near the end and was starting to feel better. I still hurt, but was improving. I rolled in to the pit area after the second lap, grabbed a new bottle, drank some Mt. Dew and took off as quickly as I could.

Photo credit: Rob Meendering

Feeling better at the end of the second lap than I did after the first, I started the 3rd lap in a little better head space. I was still tired and walking the steep sections trying to reserve as much energy as I could. On the first double track sections a pair of women came by me and I jumped on their wheel. The pace was rolling well and I was dong good enough hanging on. I think they felt like I wanted to pass in the trail sections, but I was just happy to have some wheels to help keep my pace up. There was a small group that formed and we rode together for a good section of trail. As we hit the rest stop, I wanted to make a quick stop to get more pickle juice and top my bottle off. I didn't take too long, but I was too slow to keep with the group. I was on my own again.

It didn't take too long and I found a couple more people to ride with. The pace was still moving good and the sections I was walking, I was really not going any slower that the rest of the people around me. I guess I was walking at eagle pace. Toward the end of the lap I could really tell the end was near. I picked up the pace and was riding pretty well. I was really hurting and just ready to be done. The last section took a little longer than I remembered it would, but eventually I was in the section that was all down hill to the end. Finally I came in to the last little bit before the end. It was awesome to see Lovins standing there cheering me on and giving my a high five. I rolled through the finish line and just like that I was done. I ended up finishing in 9:19 and in 19th place SS.

I hung out a minute talking with a couple friends and then made my way over to the beer tent before heading to our pit area. I tried to put a couple things away and sit down for a minute catching up with everyone. It didn't take me very long before I was really wanting to get changed. Then I headed up and got in line for my awesome pizza. A couple more beers and hanging out with everyone making sure we were all done and ready. Eventually we headed back toward the house, but not with out making a stop for some more pizza and ice cream. The rest of the night was full of aches and pains with a good amount of beer an laughs.

Sunday morning we were up pretty early so we figured we might was well start the long journey home. The trip was long, but not too miserable with rain on and off. We eventually made it home and I was back in the real world just with a lot more parts of me hurting. Looking back I am really torn at how to feel. Before the race I would have said that to finish under 10 hours would have been considered a success. With how well I rode and how bad I felt second lap, I can't help but think that I could finish in under 9 hours. That kind of feels unreal to me. 9 hours just sounds so fast for me to be able to ride 100 mile race. I don't understand why this race is so fast. Even if I would finish in 9 hours or less, I still have a ways to go to make it anywhere near the podium. SS may be ded, but the class is not lacking on talent.

Last year after the Mohican I was not sure if I would ever do another 100 mile race. After the Lumberjack this year I would easily say yes to doing this race again. I am not sure if I will next year yet, but out of all the options for a 100 mile race, this one is right up there. I will have to make that decision sometime early next year. Until then I will just have to try and figure out where I am falling down on my training plan and try to finish the year off riding strong. I am not sure exactly what is in store for the rest of the year, but I am getting closer to making some of those decisions. Hope to see you at the next one.

The pre-Lumberjack 100 fun times

This weekend must have been a good time. I have a lot more text than most races so I figured I could break it up and give you the before race and the actual race. So, here is the days leading up to the Lumberjack 100.

Over the winter I was talked in to racing another 100 mile mtb race. I had heard a lot of good things about Lumberjack and figured why not. The drive is on the longer side, but with most of the race being on trail it seemed worth it. If you read the Mohican write up you will know that I am not in the shape that I really wanted to be or even should be. I am also not sure I fully recovered from that race but I can't add days to the calendar. The week leading up to the race was pretty typical for the rest of the year and they had some rain. The weather looked like it might clear up and not be too bad a couple days before and race day looked like it had a chance to be fair.

With the long drive ahead of us, we headed out Thursday and went part of the way. Actually we went quite a bit of the way and made a stop in Holland. We got checked in to the hotel and went out for a bite to eat. When we saw Big Lake Brewing just down the road we knew right away where we were going. The beer was really good, the food was not bad and they had some live music too. Can't ask for much more than that. After some food and a couple beers, we headed out toward the lake looking for a light house. We found a nice place to park and took a little walk to get there, but the trip was worth it. The light house was pretty cool and we were able to walk out on some concrete walk way and took in a better view. The waves were pretty big at times and I ended up getting my shoes and pants pretty wet. I was just glad I didn't get washed off the side or it would have been very cold.

Being close to sun set we hung out just long enough to take in some really nice views before heading back to the hotel. Got settled in for the night and didn't stay up too late that we would sleep in all day. The next morning we got up fairly early and got moving. It didn't take us too long to eat and hit the road. We were wanting to get there early enough to ride a little before the chance of rain was increased. The morning weather was much colder than home and I found myself wearing a couple layers. I was really hoping I brought enough warm clothes to wear.

The drive was not bad at all and it seemed like we got there easy enough. But, as we got closer we found ourselves on what we found out was a typical dirt road. I was really glad we were driving a vehicle that I was not too worried about getting hung up in. We made it to the M parking lot, got ourselves ready and headed out for a ride.

The trail was in good shape, but it was colder than I wanted it to be. I didn't need a lot of layers, but it was close to needing more. I was a little concerned at how my legs were responding to the climbs. I was hoping they were just stiff from the drive and would be better for the race. The trail was a bit of a spaghetti pile, but there were lots of signs and maps to show you where you were. We did seem to be a little lost for a little bit, but it didn't take too much to figure out where we wanted to go to head back to the car. The route took a little different path than what both of us were thinking it would.

It turned out that registration was a little later than we thought it was. We were done riding too early to sit around and wait so we headed to our house for the weekend. We got our stuff ready for the race and just killed the rest of the time waiting for either someone else to show up or time to go sign in. The house didn't have any tv and cell signal was not the greatest so there was not as much things to help pass the time as usual. Eventually it was time to go sign in. It as raining for most of the time we were waiting and that made the dirt roads a little more tricky to drive. I'm just glad we made it.

After we signed in we were still a little early for the rest of the group. We then headed in to town to get something to eat. On the way we figured out that we both bought the same sock hat at registration. I guess good minds think alike. As we were eating, I noticed that there was a brewery pretty close. We had to walk over there and check it out. It was a pretty cool place and the beer was not bad either. Just as we were getting ready to leave there was a big down pour of rain. Since we walked there, we figured it would be best to wait it out a little.

Eventually it let up enough that we headed toward the car and went looking for another light house. There was one not too far away. It was pretty cool, but we were not able to walk out as close to it as the one from the day before. There was a walkway near by, but the way was pretty flooded and we decided not to mess with it. We then headed back to the house to join the rest of the group who had shown up right before we got there. The rest of the night was hanging out having a good time and making sure things were ready for the race. With the early wake up call, we didn't stay up too late, but later than I should have.

Mohican 100k 2019

Sorry I'm a little slow to get this posted. I was waiting for more event pictures to be posted, hoping I was in at least one of them, but somehow I was not in the right place or the right time. I only have a couple pictures where part of me made the shot.

This year I didn't do the 100 mile version. I decided to take it "easy" and to the 100k. I am signed up for Lumberjack 100 and didn't feel like doing two 100 mile races 2 week apart. As it got closer to the race I was very thankful for this decision. Life has been busy and I have not been riding as much as I should be and I was taking longer than expected to snap back from my efforts at PMBAR. My last ride the week before the race had me feeling that maybe I was turning the corner, but I was sure I would still be struggling more than I could be.

After a long day of driving through construction traffic I was ready to get there. I got away a little later than I had hoped and the drive took a little longer than expected, but somehow I ended up getting there about the right time to check in and join the pre-ride group. I tried to take it easy and loosen the legs up but not do a bunch of damage. I felt like I rode well enough, but when we were done with the ride, my Garmin said my recovery time was 24 hours. That is not good!! I don't have that long before the start of the race and that is some of the higher numbers I have seen. Maybe I really did need to be worried about how bad I was going to ride. After the ride I got cleaned up and we headed out for a bite to eat. I tried to not stay out too late, but ended up heading back to the motel later then I should have, but could have been worse. 

I made sure everything was ready for the next morning and got to bed as early possible. I actually slept pretty well, but a little more time would have been nice. I headed down to the lobby to get some coffee and check out breakfast. It was not exactly what I wanted, but close enough that I decided to eat stuff there and not get out what I brought to eat. I was ready earlier then normal and soon enough I needed to put the finishing touches on my pregame setup and headed out the door to meet the rest of the group in the parking lot. The little ride in to town doesn't take very long and really is not enough to be a good warm up, but I was not going to do any more than that.

We kind of pulled up along the side of the pack. It was a little farther on the side then I normally would have gone, but it was closer to the front than if I would have went all the way to the back. Once the race starts, it will be all spread out pretty quickly anyway. After all the announcements we were finally ready to get underway. It seemed like we got there kind of late, but it still took a little while before the race was actually started. Then they said go and we were off down the road.