I had no idea that the capitol of Washington, was the home of 160 miles of truely epic singletrack. That was, until this past weekend when I raced for team Skagit Cycle/ThriveAR, in the first annual Capitol Forest 50/100 mile mountain bike race. I have done a lot of different endurance races in the past five years (MTB, ultra-marathon, adventure races, kayak, the list goes on), and I have to admit that this may have been the most enjoyable event I've done in a long time. A large part of my reaction to the race is accredited to Roger Michel designing a 50 mile course that had close to 90% of it on singletrack, and less than a mile of it was on repeat trails... are you kidding me?!?
The race started at the Mima Falls trailhead with a Lemond start, much to the dismay of the racers. As we toed the imaginary starting line and awaiting Roger's voice yelling "GO!" we were all in good spirits and I decided that I wouldn't push it too hard on the run to where my 2007 Specialized Epic was awaiting me. Looking back, I maybe coud've saved myself a little frustration out of the gate due to getting boxed in behind a few slower riders and yet it was nice to ride at an easy cadence early insuring a good 2-3 mile warm up. Once I started to get a little persperation going, I decided it was time that I start making a few moves on the field and so I picked up the tempo a bit and started passing a few other racers. The distance to the Aid Station #1 was approximately 12 miles which I completed in around hour and a half. I was ecstatic to see Annalisa and Teva there with fuel refills for me. My nutrition plan is as it has been for the past year has been HAMMER NUTRITION, and in endurance racing there is simply nothing that beats it! My fuel supply consisted of the following:- 1 bottle of HEED - lasted to the first Aid Station
- 2 two hour bottles of Perpetuem - used the majority of the race, and would top off with H20 when I hit the Aid Stations
- 2 shots of Montana Huckleberry Gel - used at mile 35 just for a change in flavor
- 1 bottle of straight H20
- 12 Hammer Endorulytes - used 10 of them when muscles started cramping
Annalisa quickly pointed out my new bottles, I picked them up and was off for the second leg of the course, little did I know that she had quite an adventure of her own after leaving the Aid Station.
As for me, I was riding well and making up some ground the overall field and as I neared the 20 mile mark of the race I began to realize that I was about to reach uncharted territory. My longest training ride since August 1st had been 20 miles (MTB), so I was a little apprehensive of how the final 30 miles would treat me. I rolled up to the second aid station with hoots and hollars from Glenn, Connie, Jen and Erin. And before I knew what was happening Connie handed me my topped off bottles and was sending me back to the trails. The last words I heard at the AS was Glenn's "Case, be careful on the bridges, they're really slick!".
It was about 1/2 way back to the AS that Glenn's words of wisdom struck me... literally. I was nearly across the last bridge, and I tried to cut the corner. Bad idea. Down I went in a slow motion run out and over my bike before my right shoulder and back met the dirt. A bit rattled at first, other than a couple sore spots I was fine, and my bike had nothing to show for it, I was on the saddle again riding hard to the AS.
I was on my way home and was feeling good as I rode up a fireroad, popping my endurolytes like they were going out of style. The cramping had started to hit me a bit, however I was able to control it with a consistent 30 minute endurolyte. The last 15 or so miles of the race were by far the most enjoyable for me. It seemed as though it was constant singletrack, where the forearms feel like they just did an 8 pitch ascent. I passed a few other riders and then started to feel the heat from some that had caught up with me. Not wanting to lose any positions I hunkered down and cranked at every possible moment to help create a gap. It worked! I managed to hold off the guys behind me and even add a bit of distance between us.
I rolled across the finish line in 5 hours 27 minutes, meeting all of my goals and with great memories. I can't wait for next year!
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