July 20, 2019

Daily score: 9

Workout:

High Cascades 100 mountain bike race

102 miles, 9500 feet elevation gain, 14:35

What an epic day!  Went into it feeling as prepared as possible considering all of the other demands of my life.  Ankle wasn’t 100% but I was confident it was durable enough to make it.  The cuts at each aid station were going to be tight for me and I knew I’d have to ride faster than I’d ever ridden to make them.  The first 20 miles had quite a bit of road and fire road so my plan was to push the pace there in order to store up a cushion of time.  Normally, I wouldn’t go out so hot in a long long endurance race (waaaaaay further than the max of 40 miles I had ever ridden), but it was the only option.  And I’m so glad I did.  I needed that time later.  I focused on never red lining and not taking any technical risks and making all stops super brief.  The 56 mile cut was the most crucial and came after a 14 mile climb.  I nearly cried when I realized I was going to make it, and with 15 minutes to spare.  That was when I knew I had a chance to finish the damn thing.  I made the 70 mile cut after that with 50 minutes to spare!  That was crucial because the 70 mile cut came right before the last wicked steep sandy rocky 5 mile climb up a butte.  I knew I was going to have to walk a lot of it because we had ridden it a couple times earlier this year.  I knew the 80 mile cut would be tight.  And then...3/4 mile from the 80 mile cut with 25 minutes to make it, I got a massive side wall flat in my front tire bouncing off some lava rock (the whole section was jagged lava rocks).  Thank goodness I was only 3/4 mile from an aid station and what was even more amazing was how fast Marc managed to throw a tube in and patch the hole using dollar bills (literally) and I was able to delicately hobble to the aid station making it 6 minutes before the final cut!  Marc rode ahead a told them what happened and the bike aid guys  had a tire for me!  At this point I was jubilant!  Because my body felt great and I knew now, with this gift, full of gratitude, I was going to finish!  And we did :).  The last 20 miles were all about not doing anything stupid and staying focused.

Body wise:  I am so grateful for being a cross fitter (or whatever I am).  I could not have made this happen without a strong grip, core, ability to suffer, and ability to recover quickly.  Also, knowing how to control my effort level and keep things at a burn that I could sustain all day was huge.  And that’s just from practice being an athlete and knowing my body.  I noticed early on how much better I recovered from climbs compared to other riders.  I would pass a lot of people right after punchy climbs.  They would be gassed and I felt good.  So cool to feel.  Grip was tired by the end and I can’t imagine if I didn’t workout/do pull up and barbell work what it would have been like.  Also, you’ll get a kick out of this- the one crash I took, I nearly went over the handle bars but caught myself and balanced on the front wheel, basically in a handstand hold fighting to not go over.  I swear, it felt like the same fight as in HS walking.  And I won!  I fell gracefully to the side versus over the bars on my face.  Who knew HS holds were so vital to mountain biking!  I even got some applause from the guys behind me.  Having said that, mountain bikers are literally the best crowd of fellow sportsmen/women I have ever seen.  Everyone so kind and encouraging and helpful.

This was an amazing  epic challenge that I honestly was unsure was in the realm of possibility for me.  I can’t get over how much trail we covered in one day and how much I had to push the pace the whole time.  And that I held up!  Ankle is sore, left hip is sore, but really, I feel like a million bucks!  You should put this on your to-do list.  It was amazing.  And beautiful.  Thanks for helping to get me across that finish line!