Tree Shaker 8 hour

One for the w column!

Completing an ultra endurance is a mixed bag.  First is the relief that it's finally over.  Followed by an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment.  But then your body shifts into recovery mode.  It starts to remind you how dehydrated it is, how under nourished it is, how that little rub is now a bothersome blister and the reason you can't move your finger is that you broke it on lap 6.  More on that later...

Tree shaker was an 8 hour race this year. I've never raced an 8 hour race before. I've raced for 8 hours in 100 mile NUE races.  There is a difference.  In a "Hundy", the faster you go, the sooner you are finished.  It's very motivational over the waning miles.  In a timed race, the faster you go, the further you have to go.  Which is exactly what happened to me yesterday.  Here's how it went down:

Lap 1
I'm racing truly solo. No pit support today, so I took the time to lay out, tag and bag everything I would need for each lap. I even wrote out the lap times on my top tube required to do 8 laps before the 7 1/2 hour cutoff.
The mass start up a gravel road goes well.  I'm placed near the folks I'll be racing for the win.
The first sharp single track corner claims the first casualty.  One of the guys I am usually racing for a win has an incident and is checking out his bike alongside the trail. He didn't need anything so I continue on.
It's mostly hard to pass at Anne Springs and riders are a bit reluctant to move out of the way on lap 1.  It would get easier lap by lap though.
I've got new tires on the bike from last weeks pre-ride and I am hooked up!
There is a swinging bridge near the end of the lap.  The support cables and beams are barely handlebar width apart.  I clear them and call out "one" to signify the accomplishment on lap 1

Lap 2
I blow thru the aid station as planned.  This puts me in a little better position on the trails with less riders around.  I check my lap time - about 12 minutes ahead of schedule.  Good. I clear the bridge. "Two."

Lap 3
I'm catching lap traffic now, but they are pretty willing to yield.  I'm feeling good.  Heart rate is good.  The bike is rolling fast.  A rider lets me pass just before the swinging bridge.  I manage to get lined up in time and clear it. "Three."

Lap 4
The laps are clicking by a lot faster than anticipated.  I'm over a half an hour ahead of schedule.  Good.  I'm starting to know the trail pretty good by now.  I know all the fastest, smoothest lines by now.  I know where I can best put the power down to make time and where it's better to just chill, stay off the brakes and roll and recover a bit.  I clear the bridge. "Four."

Lap 5
At the end of lap 5 I hear the announcer say "5 minutes until the four hour cutoff".  I'm not even halfway.  And then it dawns on me that their is a very real chance I will have to do ten laps.  All of my pacing and nutrition is setup for 9 laps...

Lap 6
In a nice, wide, flat, smooth, fast pine needle covered part of the trail at the beginning of the lap I manage to veer off course, slide the front wheel and slam the ground. I gather everything up again.  The bike seems fine and I hop on and get back on pace as soon as I can to try and avoid my body from telling me I really need to stop and recover a while.  I'm a little scraped and bruised but all seems fine until I hit the front brake.  A sharp pain shoots thru my finger.  So from then on I have to brake with my middle finger.
Later that lap I clipped my left pedal so hard that it unclipped my foot and sent it into my rear wheel.  The one I just had trued.  I clear the bridge and resolve to ride smoother and more focused. "Six."

Lap 7
No denying it now.  Looks like its gonna be a 10 lap race.  "Seven."

Lap 8
People are so willing to move out of the way by now that they often pull over before I even catch them. "Eight."

Lap 9
This was my planned final lap.  Now it's the one to go lap.  Every section of trail I complete I think to myself "just one more time over this part". My legs have that end-of-the-race feel.  I can still maintain a good endurance pace, but they aren't very interested in putting out much more power than that.  As I complete lap 9 several people yell "go get him".  I was pretty sure I was leading my class.  Did I miss someone?  Am I 2nd?

Lap 10
Then I see my Trans-sylvania buddy, Luke. I blew thru the aid station so we are now riding together.  Apparently he is leading the solo open class.  So it's not a position for me, but a chance to be the first in solo overall.  Which doesn't really effect anything for either of us.  Still, someone has to be first... I go around Luke and hammer the first flat, smooth section.  I've been faster than most people wanna go thru this section all day.  Luke's having nothing to do with it and hangs on my wheel.  We continue on at a bit faster pace than my 2 previous laps.  Partly to see if I could drop Luke, but mostly just to be done. The extra unplanned lap is taking its toll.  I'm starting to bonk.  I back off the pace. Luke doesn't seem interested in going by so I just resolve to maintain a reasonable pace to the end.
Near the end of the lap we (thankfully) pass the cutoff time for the last lap.  11 laps would have been ugly.
We clear the bridge for the last time.  "ten!"
When we get to the final end of the lap gravel road climb the inevitable happens.  Luke takes off. I really can't seem to go any faster. I roll in at 7:36.

I finally won one of these things!

See you on the trails!