It would appear that I'm in a 7 person category. I know of some of the other riders I'm racing against I've seen them around and I lurk / post a bit on the Eastern Ontario MTBR boards where they do the same. But... odds are... I'm going to come in dead last... and I'm okay with this.
I'm in my 1st year of racing. Solo racing is a pretty large step up all things considered. I won't go into how people don't do it, or how soloists are crazy, and how hard it is. I'm pretty much sure that this is an assumed thing by all people.
I'm not doing this to toot my own horn *Hi, I'll be that SS riding Clyde in last place*. I'm doing it because I want to see how far I've come past last year.
Last year after a month of biking, I rode 50km in the heat in Heber. At 289lbs and poorly prepared, I was able to finish it, limp home, then pound a truckload of banana's and apples. All I brought with me was 2 bottles of Gatorade for that ride. It took me the greater part of 3 and a half hours to do it on flat surface with one major climb in there... that I did on foot.
I got home and went to sleep almost immediately. I never cramped though, and never quit or thought about quitting.
Later that year, I rode an 80km ride same idea, poorly prepared but better prepared then last time, I still completed this in about 4 hours. Faster then the original ride, with more hill climbing, and less hill walking. Less panic when I got home, and less frantic eating. Still major sleep that evening.
I have no illusions that this is much different given the terrain I'll be riding. Nor will I have the option of granny gearing the course till I generate enough wind to power southern Ontario... but I'm preparing a lot differently.
First of all, I've dropped down from 32/18 to 32/21. After the test ride last night I found the bike to be a bit more agile as I can put more power to the back, but a lot less speed. I'm going to go test out Hardwood this weekend to see if the gearing is right, if its too easy, then its perfect. I'm going to try to get 3 laps in just to make sure I have the flow and terrain right.
I took the Kona out with the new gearing last night for some intervals. The hill I usually use for intervals was actually taken slower then normal, but with a lot less perceived exertion once I hit the top. Once done there, recovery was extremely fast. This may be a fitness thing, but also mental. Also I noticed that my legs took FOREVER to warm up yesterday, that sucked, as they felt burnt before I even got to the first hill.
A little more air in the tires, and a small adjustment to steering and I think the bike is ready to go. Apart from the SS creaking that almost all SS's have, I have the bike tuned in to me, and I REALLY like it.
Secondly... I'm really trying to pay attention to food and fuel for this race. I drank a crapload of Eload and Endurolyte infused water at the 24H. It really worked well. After my second lap I had dinner and let that settle. I don't believe I'll have the option to do that at the 8H so I'll probably bring bananas with me and Perpetuem blocks/drink so I can down those after each lap. Cliff bars are good pre and post race. During the race they started to back up on me causing some nastyness, that and they take time to eat.
I like gatorade, but I find Eload is actually better for events. I've bought my last bit of Gatorade a while back. I'll bring Eload with me for sure.
I'm going to try to drink 1 bottle of Eload / Water per lap, and try to consume at least 200 calories of food per lap. You can't do 1:1 for calorie loss to gain during intense work so I'm going to try to keep as much as I can in me while I race to make sure bonking just never happens.
Thirdly.. I'll have support crew there this time to remind me to drink and to check my times for me. All I have to do is focus on keeping the cranks turning and the rubber side down. Also a bit of family encouragement never hurt.
Goals for me are as follows.
1. At least 8 laps. That's 80km of riding. If I manage to have time for a 9th, I'll try for it, but 8 laps is my signal that I can get off the bike and die out.
2. To prevent calf cramps as much as possible. My legs tend to crank out high volumes of torque to get myself up hills. What I didn't plan on was my calves doing so much work. This has lead to some serious calf cramping in the last 8H race I did as part of a team. The fact I ran rigid as well didn't help with body fatigue.
3. To bike as hard and as long as I can at my own pace and really feel like I left nothing out there.
4. To not come in dead last.
We'll see how these go. Preride is this saturday so I'll probably have more to squawk about when I'm done checking out what its going to be about.
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