Addison 6/12 Race Report
6/12 hour of Addison Oaks 5/17/08
The day started off with the threat of showers that really never materialized until about 5pm and it was a short lived. The temps were in the 50's most of the day only reaching 60 as a high, overcast and windy in the pit area.
The team showed up big today we had nine teammates show up to compete in 4 classes. Male 20-29, 6hr SS solo, 12hr SS solo, 2-person open sport.
After being sick all week I was just hoping that the mucus and phlegm would come up and out and not down otherwise I would have to stop. As it turned out everything was going out and I was feeling good at the 1/2 way point so I decided to go on.
My personal plan was to use this as a Lumberjack100 tune-up race and my training plan of a 6 hour ride fit right in for once. I decided to bring the Cannondale 1FG full aluminum rigid out to play thinking this would add the intensity to the day that this coarse couldn't provide.
I focused on pacing and nutrition most of the day. My nutrition was mostly liquid and it was a mix of Hammer Perpetuam, Hammer Heed and a few banana's. I made 6 pre made bottles in the cooler, the calories based on my estimated lap times x 2 or 285 cal for 1.25hrs. Pace was just of matter of keeping my eye on the GPS heart rate readout and make sure I kept under 170bpm my avg for the day turned out to be 153bpm.
After the mandatory race meeting we all gear.ed up and headed to the start line having nine teammates looked very cool in our one of a kind singlespeed jerseys as a few of us road out in a pace line we were off. First lap was just some easy riding until the trail congestion cleared up.
In the beginning of the race I used a couple gear.ed riders that seemed to be on the same pace. I had a couple laps in the middle of the race were I was alone and it was extremely boring and I had to roll my own pace which by that time I was warmed up and in a groove. Later on the race I got to ride some laps with my teammate napper and at the end j-bone pulled me around a couple.
At the end of the day 10 laps 65 miles 6.5 hours. but more importantly physically I felt very strong and that I may have only tapped 20-30% of my reserve. I did have some lower back muscles issues early on in the race and some sore wrists I chalk this up to riding a rigid bike. I also wore my old shoes thinking there may have been some rain and I must have a cleat mis-aligned cause I had some serious left foot arch issues during the race and even the next morning.
Duke
*************************************************************************************
Addison 12 hr race report:
The day started out with great weather and a good SS crew gathering at Addison Oaks. Punk and I arrived fresh and ready to throw down. After getting the tent set up and the numbers strapped on the cute matching Karate Monkeys, we sauntered over to meet the crew. Can't remember all of who was there, but Duke, Mango, Abbey, Napper, LC, myroo, wayne and a few others were gettin' buttered up and ready to pound the trail (or run support).
10:01 the solo riders were off. 6 hr Jrad was toyin' with Napper and I, pushin' the pace thru the first couple of laps. Once the initial lap or two was done, people spread out and the real riding began. I settled in for about a 10.8 mph pace, seemed about perfect for 55 GI and a nice rolling trail. The rock gardens kept ya awake, and the "Brake" signs meant it. I ran thru the first 3 laps, then stopped to get water. After that, I was out for 1 or 2 laps between pits.
Legs felt great throughout the day, only walked one climb when my calves were cramping up. Only problem I had was the usual stomach distress, which caused a few extra trips to pit row for Tums and whatnot to calm things down. Bike performed flawlessly (well, it is a singlespeed). Weather cooperated, for the most part. Late in the afternoon we had some sprinkles and wind (which almost carried our flyweight tent weight, Punk, away like a flying monkey) Lost a little motivation around 5 or 6 pm, Pantera and Devildriver provided some go-power.
Overall, a great day to race. Ended up with about 110 miles, good enough to take 4th out of the 13 brave SS souls racing. Had some pizza, cuddled up with punkisd3ad, and left the next day primed for the next adventure.
purple helmet
*************************************************************************************
I totally agree with Napper; race day is the best day.
Without getting into too many details, this race meant a lot to me personally. I haven't raced much the past two years due to some familial changes. I trained fairly hard this winter and I wasn't sure where my fitness really was. I have had Addison on the calender since January, which is a long time to ponder the potential outcome.
I arrived at Addison early and was so happy to see my friends. The Big Ass RV was there and everyone was up and getting ready. Junk, Napper, Randy, Sally, L.C., J-Bone, and Mike were doing the normal pre-race shuffle. A few minutes later the MySS crew rolled in. Duke, Punk, PH, and Mango put up the EZ-Up and things started to take shape.
My wife and son showed up just before the start. It's was great for me to mix family with racing.
I decided to go hard at the start to get ahead of the masses going into the first single-track. I kept a high pace for the first half of the first lap despite Junk throwing himself on the ground in front of me! My HR was in the mid 180's and I knew I needed to back off. It took a couple of laps, but I got settled and got into the flow of the race. I felt OK for the first three hours, then things got bad. I mean, "I'm going home" bad. It was then that I realized that eating something might be a good idea. Eight or ten fig newtons and the world was a much brighter place. I settled back down mentally and just tried to stay steady. My chain got loose around 7:00 and Duke hooked a brother up. Junk was there to set up my lights; another big help. I had no idea where I was in the race which is always hard. I hoped 20 laps would do it and as PH and I rode around, I was thinking that was going to be it. We rolled in at 9:46 and I didn't know what to do. I checked off the course, scoped out the standings and decided that sitting on the side of the course watching someone else win was not going to be a good idea, I took off for one more. I think it was actually one of my faster laps; I wanted to be done. I met L.C. on the course and the race ended as it began; riding with friends and joking around.
Wayne Cook