My First 100 Miler
The Wilderness 101 is a backcountry mountain bike race in
Rothrock and Bald Eagle State Forests. It consist of 101-ish miles of single
track, double track and gravel roads- totaling around 10,500 feet of elevation
gain.
I woke up Saturday morning to the unexpected sound of a
steady rain . It was chilly and I didn’t have any rain gear, so I tried to stay
inside my car until the start of the race. When 7 o’clock came around, I jumped
out of my car and hopped on my bike towards the end of the starting line. The
race was on. I managed to pass a few girls in the first 10 or so miles, but the
other girls I never even saw until after the race. My objective was endurance
or completion- not speed. I had to keep telling myself that, and resist the
urge to hammer on the hills. I was preparing for the Shenandoah 100, which was
now a month away. So far I had done a 100k, but this was another 40 miles
beyond that - and the terrain here is very challenging. I really focused on
maintaining a consistent and manageable pace, and taking care of myself
nutritionally and mentally. Beyond that, I had absolutely no idea what to
expect.
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| Race started off to a slippy start with the rain |
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I have this ongoing conundrum about running a water bottle
versus a camelback. Most racers run a camelback so they can carry adequate
water and supplies. This means fewer/shorter stops at aid stations and the
ability to carry your own food preferences. However, a camelback really hurts
my back, and makes me much hotter than I want to be. By running a water bottle,
I eliminate any unnecessary stress to my lower back- which is particularly
important when I’m doing races like this where you are consistently climbing
100+ feet per mile. I decided to only run a bottle and carry a bag of
Perpetuem to refill at the aid stations, which were dispersed every 20ish
miles. My full suspension bike frame only holds one water bottle, so I had to
make 20 ounces last for 20 miles (or about two hours). This means that every 5
miles (or 30 minutes), I could drink ¼ of the bottle. This isn’t really an
ideal hydration system, but I made up for it by drinking almost an entire
bottle of water at every aid station, while I was refueling. This bumps up my
hydration to 20 ounces/hr. This all sounds like a lot of thinking/math, but
when you are riding your bike in the middle of the woods for 11 hours, you have
time to focus on these kinds of things. This strategy seemed to work for
me. I had very little back pain, and I felt strong nutritionally and physically
for the entire race. Instead of relying on a camelback to prove I had enough
water and supplies, I was forcing myself to intake a certain calculated amount
of calories and water at aid stations – because I had to. The downside is that
I spent over 30 minutes of clock-time refueling and not riding my bike. 30
minutes could equate to losing 1 or 10 positions, depending on the race. You
just never know.
Overall I did finish with a smile- which I was ecstatic about. I came in
10th at a time of 11:32.
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| Finishing with a smile! |
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| Finish Line Gonging! |
Additionally, Strava says my moving ride time was 11:03 for
98.2 miles and 10,617 feet of elevation gain. I burned over 5,500
calories. And I haven’t stopped being hungry yet.
