My first 24 hour solo

[han-grrl]

Well i am back from my first 24 hour solo race.

I reached my goal of ten laps!! Woohoo!
The course was roughly 16.5 km long, with the first lap being a little over 17 km. (they add a little spice in the first lap to separate everyone out a bit)

and now the gory details - my first 5 laps, i was feeling good - almost elated. I was riding well, and by not hammering i was really enjoying the course. It was nice not really needing to rush through the course. Lap 6 was a bit tougher physically. I could tell i was starting to feel tired. It didn't help when i squirrel ran in front of me and another solo rider coming down the last section before the 5th race marshall. Lap 7 came and i was really starting to hurt. but mostly...the undercarriage was really starting to hurt. i had to stand for a lot of my riding, and that was draining me physically and mentally. Then lap 8 came along, and that was my sad lap. i was told i would have some hard times mentally, and that lap was it. i was hurting A LOT. i couldn't sit for very long. and i realized i needed to eat more when i got back. it was night too, so the riding was a bit tougher as well. Guys would pass asking me how i was doing, and i would manage a sobbing kind of "i'm ok" because i didnt' want to admit that i wasn't doing so ok. i was telling myself that these feelings will pass, and as long as the bike was moving foreward i was making progress.


When i got back i rested for 3.5 hours including some sleep. it allowed my poor butt to dry off and my body to rest and digest some much needed extra fuel. at 5:30 with 2 pairs of shorts on, i started lap 9. I was feeling good again. the undercarriage still sore but the extra shorts were helping. lap 10, and ANOTHER pair of shorts. yep 3 in all. hahaha. again feeling pretty good. I wanted to do lap 11, lap 11 was in my legs but well not in the, umm, undercarriage. the three shorts were helping, but not enough, so i decided i had reached my goal, and to give in my timing chip. when i got to the timing tent the timing guy had other ideas -

"Hannah, i don't want you making a rash decision" (actually my decision was based on a RASH!)
me: What is it
Timing guy: well lets check the standings shall we? You are in fourth place right now
me: groan. how far ahead is 3rd place? is she in lap 10 right now or about to finish lap 11?
Timing guy: oh there she is now, she just finished lap 11 and is starting lap 12.
me: then i wont catch her. here's my chip.


The race course had a lot of climbing compared with the June race at the same location. It was very sandy and the single track was twisty turny with ups and downs. You really needed to be on top of the bike to handle the course well. My bike worked without a single mechanical, the chain didn't even fall off with all that sand!

thanks to my sponsor the Cyclery Bike Shop (www.thecyclery.ca)who made my bike run so smoothly.

So i am off to a fitness conference this coming weekend, which should be very interesting on my tired body.

Have a wonderful day!!

Han-solo

[Lise]

Amazing! You take endurance to a whole new level. Interesting thought about the multiple pair of bike shorts. I may have to try that. What a cool report, and it sounds like you made a good decision to stop when you reached your goal. Rest and recover! L.

[Tri Girl]

I can't imagine riding in a 24 hour race. We had one of those around here, and I was thinking "man- those people are nuts." You're not nuts, but just crazy like the rest of us- and a stud at that!!!
Impressive on completing the 10 laps!! You should be very proud of yourself, and give yourself some much needed R & R.
Wow- I'm still not believing you did that....

[SadieKate]

I just saw this thread! Congratulations. Solo efforts like this amaze me.

So, would you do it again?

[Veronica]

Wow! That's terrific! Maybe someday...

V.

[Cassandra_Cain]

Wow! Hannah this is nothing short of an amazing feat!

Plus, I find it fascinating how you shared some of your feelings through the race. So often we see people, like you, who put on amazing performances - but as an outsider, we have no idea what's going on inside the heads and hearts of these athletes. In that sense, I found what you shared very interesting.

Congratulations and good luck with your future races