Without a doubt the longest and hardest day I have ever spent in the saddle. Once the sun began to come up the temps rose and so did the headwinds. There we headwinds and or swirling crosswinds for about 160 of the 206 miles.
I stayed with my race group for the first 60 miles and over the first big mountain climb. Even though I wasn't working real hard, my legs just didn't have much life. At that point I was about 5 minutes ahead of my goal pace. I kept thinking that at some point I would get some MoJo in my legs and I would get into a groove. I rolled into feed zone 3 at mile 70 looking forward to seeing my support crew and getting some real food. Everything that I ate on the bike, gels, Perpetum, waffles was not sitting well and was giving me the urge to puke. Only bananas and water tasted good. I was feeling pretty beat up mentally and physically, got some good food in me and some encouraging words from my wife and I made my way to the next climb.
I got over the second big climb pretty efficiently, but coming over the top I was riding solo and the next 15 miles were dead into the wind. It took a lot of effort to keep the pace at 19 mph. Everyone that I passed couldn't keep my wheel so I kept grinding away. The final big climb is 11 miles long, i kept a good rythm for the first 8 miles. The last 3 are a constant 7-8% grade and with
one mile to go, I was deep into the hurt locker. I hit the top at mile 108, about 8 minutes down from my goal pace.
I hit neutral support at the top got a banana and Gatorade and bombed down the descent. Got in with a good group and we kept the pace high into zone 5, but the head and crosswinds still made it a big effort to ride in the group and my MoJo was still MIA.
Hit zone 5 still slowly losing time and still not feeling good. More good grub and encouragement form my crew and I rolled out with the same group. Rolled into zone 6 grabbed some cookies, bananas and a Red Bull and began the scenic ride thru the Snake River Canyon. Enjoyed a tailwind for about 2 miles and then hit a series of rollers and headwinds and really started to slow down. I couldn't keep contact with any of the faster groups that passed me.
Got to zone 7, 26 miles to go, more banana and Red Bull. Knowing that I was going to finish gave me a slight adrenaline rush. I rode solo for most of the final stretch and was never happier to see a finish line! I hit the line in 10 hours 31 minutes.
Pretty disappointed that I did not get my goal of 10 hours. I went onto the race very prepared and feeling fit. I battled a head cold earlier in the week and that may have taken away some of my strength, but I never had difficulty breathing during the race. For the most part it just wasn't my day. I just never felt comfortable on the bike and for whatever reason, my nutrition plan while in motion did not come thru.
On the positive side this was my 4th straight finish. I am now one finish away from being inducted into the LOTOJA 1000 Mile Club. So hopefully next year I get my 5th finish and my goal of sub 10. I also managed my pee stop more efficiently this year, so that's a plus!!!
Kudos to my lovely wife! She did a fantastic job as my support crew. She was at all the right places with the right supplies, but the biggest thing she provided was some great emotional support. Without her encouragement, I would have not kept going!
I hope reading this long report provided you with the same level of pain that I experienced yesterday!!
