Shenandoah Mountain 100 (Part 2)

So it's in the books! Last weekend marked my second big objective of the year - the Shenandoah 100 Mountain Bike Race. So after my week of tapering, eating, and driving I awoke in my lonely bed at the Hampton Inn at 4:45 to head to the start. I think this is the earliest I've ever gotten up for a race EVER! The weather was perfect on the day with sunrise at 6:45, temperature of about 50 on the start and a high of 77 and sunny. No breakfast this early, just coffee, energy drink, get dressed (all in the dark), pre-race jitters (maybe from all the caffeine), lose car key (in the dark), find key, eat banana on the start line, then at 6:30AM . . . GO! The race is fantastic for a lot of reasons: the first is the course. It is about 1/3 pavement (which we started on at 30mph), 1/3 dirt/double track, and 1/3 singletrack. This is deceiving in that you will be cruising at 25+mph on the road vs. sometimes 5mph on the singletrack, making the thirds disproportionate by time.

My goal was to get to the bottom of the 20 mile climb fairly conservatively (i.e. not going into the red zone before this point). Settling into my own pace, I rode the climbs at or below threshold and my mantra on the descents was "smooth and safe". Going to work on Tuesday was a bigger priority to me than trimming 10 minutes off of my time! I found myself with a group of about 10 riders that would separate and then regroup on the road portions. Unfortunately the lack of paceline experience was exceedingly evident with about 2 of us actually taking smooth, consistent pulls. At mile 45, after a sweet descent, I scheduled my first stop and aimed to fill up my 100oz Camelbak (the plan for the day was to drink 2!) and bottle with Perpetuem. This is when I got my taste of the event's second coolest aspect: the volunteers! One asked what I needed and instantly grabbed my Camelbak and filled it with water while another waited as I filled my bottle with powder from my drop-bag. I pounded a Honey Stinger gel (YUM!) as the second volunteer filled the bottle for me. Awesome! I jumped back on the bike and settled in with my road group to the base of the big climb. Legs were OK on the day, not fantastic, but I felt comfortable and my nutrition was perfect. As we rotated I noticed a rider from Staunton, VA and as I started to ask if he knew Andy Rhodes (an old teammate and friend), I rode up beside him and . . . ANDY RHODES! This was a nice surprise as we headed towards the biggest challenge on the day.

As Andy and I rotated smoothly in the paceline the others struggled to maintain a consistent pace. In hindsight this was due to fatigue as one-by-one we shed each of the others until it was down to Andy and I. We climbed together for most of the climb until I settled into my own rhythm and a heart rate of about 160bpm for the next 90 minutes or so! My motivation lay at the next rest area at 75 miles where I hid a Starbucks Doubleshot and some treats from my wife: 2 Oatmeal Cream Pies from the box she and Ethan gave me for the weekend! She and Ethan had gone to Virginia Beach for her annual Girls Weekend and Rock N Roll Half-Marathon. I hit the top of the climb and was well on my target of sub-9 hour pace (now shooting for sub-8:45)!

As I descended for close to 10 miles, the rear of my bike started to feel unusually sloppy. I thought a bolt or something may have dislodged, but as I headed toward mile 88 and the last aid station I realized I had a slow leak in my rear tire. Unbeknownst to me, this was due to a slice in my sidewall. However I used a CO2 cartridge and went on my merry way. Unfortunately the next descent put paid to my luck and started to open the cut further. Another CO2 caused the sidewall to blow, which led to a 15 minute tire booting (thank God for duct tape), and hand pumping. This led to a pinch flat on the second to last descent, which culminated in a catch by Andy who threw me his CO2 - THANKS ANDY!! This got me to the finish on a flat rear tire, but an intact rim. Unfortunately the 25 minutes of repairs, cold legs, etc. crushed my pacing and I blew past the 9 hour mark . . .



9:14 and 96 (my number) out of 539. Not bad, considering I had a shot at top 50 until I blew out that sidewall . . . Full results are here: http://shenandoahmountaintouring.blogspot.com/2010/09/preliminary-sm100-overall-results.html

While the last hour of the event wasn't perfect, it was an experience unlike any of the other hundreds of races I've done. The experience amazing. The feeling painful and euphoric, all at once, and the final best part of the race - the after party and beer! While it wasn't Highland, it was Dogfish Head, one of my early favorites, and uniting with old friends bonded but such an experience is something that I highly recommend, although I'm hesitant to say whether I will return to this event again . . . although I can already hear those Oatmeal Cream Pies and Dogfish Heads calling my name.

Thanks to my sponsors: Highland Brewing, Trek & Bontrager (the Top Fuel was AWESOME!), Liberty Bikes, Rudy Project, PML Pathology, Mosaic Realty, Honey Stinger, Swiftwick, Carmichael Training Systems, Dr. Steve Miller DDS, Crossfit Brevard, Joe Lilly Photography, and Affordable Home Inspections.