Hotter 'n Hell 100 - Wichita Falls TX

[li10up]

Well, I'm off to meet a friend at his house who will be driving us up to the HHH. I'm pretty excited. We'll get up there fairly early so we can enjoy all the festivities and do some shopping. Thanks for all the well wishes and advice everyone.

[Tuckervill]

Have fun! I hope this rain that's swelling through right now will cool it off a little for tomorrow.

Karen

[Aggie_Ama]

Tailwinds and cooler temps to you all!

[NMRider]

Hello everyone - here is my report (sigh):

First of all, let me start by saying my friend had an amazing race! She set a personal PR of 5 hours, 57 minutes, beating her previous best by 2 minutes. She said it was the hardest she had done, too - the wind kicking hard in the last 25 miles, and they announced that the heat index was up at 104 degrees. It was hot and muggy. After the event, however, you would have never known that she had just done what she had done - she didn't even look remotely tuckered out! Did I mention that Jean is a 54-year old grandma?

Unfortunately, I medical-ed out at the 70 mile rest stop. I made it through Hell's Gate about an hour before the cutoff, and was feeling really good - my legs were still pretty fresh, and I was feeling positive about the whole distance. But when it stopped being good, it went downhill fast and dramatically. I got off the bike at mile 70 to eat my sandwich (pb & honey!). As soon as I got off and walked about 50 steps, I felt a little woozy. I sat down, all of a suddden my vision went gray, and the next thing I know I am being sat on a cot in the med station. I have no recollection of passing out, but I do have a couple of scrapes where I hit the ground. (!)

Two different doctors had two different opinions on what might have happened (neither one really heat related) - either my blood sugar took a precipitous drop or after I got off the bike (I felt fine while still on it) or the blood stopped pumping so hard up to the head and down I went. There's a name for that, I forget what it is. In either event, the day was over for me - they were not letting me back on the bike. Frankly, I wasn't much feeling like getting back on the bike after that. You can figure that I am really disappointed, but it is what it is.

I cannot say enough good things about the medical staff there. There are not enough doctors in WF for this event, so they come in from all over - Dallas, San Antonio, OK City, Houston.

Everyone in the med tents had his/her own personal nurse and doctors rotated through the tent checking on everyone repeatedly. I have never had such good care in my life. (Note - while I was at the mile 70 med tent, a guy walked over and just said he didn't feel good to one of the nurses. He didn't look good, either. He was young, buff, in a team outfit - a strong-lookng guy. Ninety seconds after he said that to a staffer he had doctors and nurses all over him and an IV in his arm a minute or so after that. He went straight to the ER, he didn't even go to the med tent at the finish area.

Three things I would have changed about that day, although I don't know that they would have changed the outcome - 1) I was hydrating with water, saving my sports drink for "later" - mistake number one. 2) I started talking to someone and realized too late that she (and I) were going about 3-4mph faster than my planned speed. After this hit me, I let her go on and got back to my own race, but I had let it go on too long. 3) I tend to have low blood sugar to begin with, and have learned what foods to avoid and the best way for me to eat throughout the day. I had started off the day with a couple bananas for breakfast, and was using my Hammer gels and Carb Boom. However, in the 40 minutes before infamous mile 70, I had several of my Clif Shots, which I have used before, but never when my stomach was empty of real food, I think. One of the ingredients as a sweetener is rice syrup. I theorize that this might have spiked my sugar and caused a sugar crash - I can't eat regular syrup that goes on pancakes as the same thing happens (but far less dramatically). I think I need to practice with more solid foods while riding as well, with more protein/fat to prevent a sugar drop. (anyone have thoughts on this?)

Interesting notes:
There was a guy on roller blades! My friend saw him drafting off of bikes at one point, and (from the SAG wagon , wah ) I saw him again at mile 70, still looking good.
There were over 10,000 riders. The Air Force did a flyover at the start of the race, which was way impressive.
The opening cannon misfired twice, then they "hit it with a hatchet" and it went off.
A spectator was hit by a cyclist coming over the finish line, possibly breaking his (the spectator's) neck.

Already looking forward to next year. It is what it is. I am bummed that it wasn't my first succesful century, I learned good things, was there to celebrate a PR for my friend, and am looking forward to the next plan of action.

Looking forward to reading other posts about the (hopefully successful) experiences of others!

[Righteousbabe]

I am so sorry to hear you passed out and ended up at a medical tent! That is so scary! But I am glad to hear you got the care you needed, and I am not surprised that it was fantastic. It is a really well supported ride. Kudos to you for making it as far as you did!

Looking at your list of things you may have done differently...I have to agree about the pace issue. On a ride like that it is very important to go at your own pace, even if it means riding alone. I started riding the HHH Saturday with a friend, but she was concerned she could not keep my pace. I told her that I would slow down so that we could ride together, but she said that made her feel badly...like she was holding me back. So she told me just to go on without her...and so I did. Even though I did not mind slowing up a bit, it was very wise of her to recognize her limits. She ended up taking the short cut back after Hell's Gate after her quads started cramping when she made that turn onto the access road at Burkburnett. I am so glad she listened to her body and did not try to finish the 100 out of competitiveness or pride.

On the sports drink issue...I have to also agree. I keep a camelback filled with water that I can regularly sip. But I also keep sports drink in my water bottles and I drink that periodically, too. I constantly alternate between the two and it seems to work for me. It keeps my blood sugar steady.

On the Cliff Shots...the brown rice syrup actually does not spike your blood sugar as severely as processed sugars such as corn syrup, glucose and fructose. It is different from the syrup you put on your pancakes in that way, and it is actually better for you. Last summer I was on a very restricted diet for medical reasons, and that was the only thing that I could use as a sweetener...and the only thing I could use on my bike rides. It is lower on the glycemic index than other sugars. Usually, if I do a Cliff Shot on an empty stomach on a bike ride, the only thing I will end up with is reflux.

I have a difficult time eating solid foods on rides as well, and I have to force myself to eat. But I try to stick with things that work for me. Bananas, some cookies, pretzels, and nature valley peanut butter granola bars are what sound appealing to me while on a ride and I can also hold them down. You will have to experiment with what solid foods sound good to you, and that you can hold down on a ride.

And lastly, about the heat...yes it was warm, but it was pretty mild for this time of year in North Texas (the high on Saturday was 94, winds out of the west). We really lucked out because it is usually much hotter, and much windier. So maybe it was not the heat so much, but the humidity. It probably is not as humid in New Mexico as it is here, and that is not something you are used to. For those of us you have to ride in it all the time, our bodies are used to high heat indices.

Good luck to you...and I am happy to see you want to give it another go next year! It is really a lot of fun...and believe it or not it gets a little easier each year.

[NMRider]

Hi Righteousbabe -

Thanks for your thoughts -

I am going to do some more research on the brown rice syrup issue... so far I have come up w/ several sites that indicate the refining process makes brs give the same/similar sort of sugar spike, and is therefore not appropriate for diabetics or hypoglycemics.... the verdict isn't in yet, I think. I just started researching it, though.

Humidity may have been a factor. I train regularly in the upper 90s, and wasn't really feeling the heat so much, but it was pretty humid (for me at least) - in the 40%+ range, I think...

Onward and upward, right? Have a good one.

[sundial]

B I G C O N G R A T S to you guys!! I am always so impressed with those who complete a century, much less the HHH one!

I would like to try it hopefully next year.

You guys offer some great tips and I have really gleaned alot from your personal experiences. I have a few questions to ask, and forgive me for being so naive.

If you stay in a hotel or Y, is there transportation to the event or do you have to make arrangments to transport yourself? What area is the ideal location for lodging in terms of distance to the starting line?
What hotel would you recommend?

For those who stayed with a host family, did you have a good experience?

As for the starting line, what's the earliest one can be there?

Did anyone buy a HHH jersey?

I think I'd like to say I actually did the HHH--even if I don't finish.