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

[btchance]

Oh, my goodness! That is fantastic, I can't imagine doing something like that. and I never would have thought about multiple pairs of shorts. Have to keep that tucked into the back of my mind.

[han-grrl]

that is a good question...

i was looking at my lap times, and how i felt...and somehow i now feel the need to improve on my goal. simply because i wasn't far off from podium (i finished fourth) and my laps times were on par with the podium finishers (even though they had done more). the only reason i stopped was because of my ahem, rash problem...and i really felt that i had more in my legs..

BUT

(pardon the pun)

the training over the past year has been tough, a lot of long long rides, which i got tired of by the time my race came along. i might aim for the earlier race in June if i were to do it again....

funny thing is

i said when i started that i would NEVER do it again...

never say never!

Smile

Hannah

PS thanks for the nice comments...

[RoadRaven]

Hi Han... just trying to get a picture of the race... it was a 24 hour race? Does that mean you had up to 24 hours to finish it? Or that you are expected to pace yourself over 24 hours?

Or... is it that you try and do as many 17km laps as you can in 24 hours...

Sorry - just I'm not familiar with this one...

[crazycanuck]

OMG...

I bow down to you han-grrl...Wowieeee!!!

I admire any chickie or dude that does 12 or 24hr mtn bike racing SOLO...brings "you did what??" to a whole new level.

Again dear, I admire your ability to do a 24hr SOLO!!!!

Off this weekend for a 6hr..in a duo (with my dearie)
12hr as a threesome in december..(at night)



c

[han-grrl]

Hi Raven

the race starts saturday at noon and ends sunday at noon (although any lap started before noon has until 1:30 to be completed to count).

We race through a course set up by the organizers and do as many complete laps as we can in 24 hours.

these can be done as a relay with a team, or solo (what i did)

We can take breaks as needed, and ride with night lights in the dark. some solos will just sleep through the night and continue in the day only.

you can check out more details. www.chicoracing.com

cheers!
Han

Hi Han... just trying to get a picture of the race... it was a 24 hour race? Does that mean you had up to 24 hours to finish it? Or that you are expected to pace yourself over 24 hours?

Or... is it that you try and do as many 17km laps as you can in 24 hours...

Sorry - just I'm not familiar with this one...

[RoadRaven]

Thanks Han...

I'm well impressed... we have a 160 km cycling event here which people complete in about 4 hours for the elite, and about 9 for the slowest (I think thats when the sag wagon goes around picking people up).

But some people do an enduro ride - which is about 3 laps of the 160 kms... and this year they have introduced another enduro which is about 5 laps I think.

The three lap enduro start the evning before evryone else who head out at 9am in the morning.

I am guessing that although you have said - you'll never do it again about the first, you'll prolly say it about this one too? And then you'll tell us about how many more laps you did next time?

Awesome effort Han, well-impressed