Wausau 24

This past weekend was the Wausau 24 race at nine mile forest, formally known as 24-9. A few months ago I was asked by my teammates to join their 4 man team and compete with them. Having no idea what I was getting into, I agreed. 3 days after the event is over, after sleeping non-stop since it was over (not really, but it feels like it), I am finally aware of what I put my body through.

Because I run like a penguin with its shoe laces tied together, I opted out of the first slot as they needed to run ¼ mile in a lemond style start. So I was second up. My first lap was fun, and I spent it getting acquainted with the trails that I would be riding for the next 24 hours. The trails were nothing short of amazing, something one can expect from nine mile forest. A little dry and loose, but fast and challenging. That lap ended in a time of 48:47, respectable but I knew I had more in me once I got the trail down.  After that lap I sat and rested, all the while getting ready for my next lap. My teammate Tim and I had a little rivalry that would be settled by fastest lap.

I went to the transition area and waited for my teammate Andrew to arrive, with the intension of setting a blistering fast lap. Just then one the loudspeaker, the race director announced that rain was coming, and the lap would be canceled if any thunder struck. Andrew came in and I set out. The course was fast and I was feeling the rhythm, every turn felt like I was in control; telling the turn what I wanted it to feel like. Absolutely everything was going my way and I was making up ground on the team in front. Mile 1, mile 2, mile 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, all passed as quickly as you can read them. I came to a long uphill drag and felt the soft cooling kiss of death that was a rain drop. With 4 miles to go, I knew I would be riding on borrowed time soon. The rain was slow at first, and the dry sandy earth soaked it up like a man lost in the desert. It began to pick up tempo, just as I did. The moisture made the soft pack sandy ground fast and gave me even more confidence. Mile 9, mile 10 all passed. The rain was heavy but no rain yet, then the rain was biblical, but only flashes of light in distance, no thunder. But then a rounded a corner, mud on my face and back tire sliding across the trail, a bolt of thunder struck very close it might as well have hit me. Because my heart stopped, I knew the lap was over. I continued to ride hard, knowing full well the lap wouldn’t count out of anger more than anything else. I rolled up to a checkpoint and was ordered to stop. Damn

I ended up riding in with a few guys and Alex Martin who was racing the 6 hour solo. It was wet as fuck, and thundering like an old horror movie. Despite this I still wish I could have finished. After a 2.5 hour delay, the racing was back on and the rotation continued. I was able to get one more lap in before night fall, and the track was still really fast, as the rain made everything sticky, except the roots.

The night laps were especially difficult. I had never really ridden at night; particularly when it was pitch black. I was ridding ok, but I knew that I was braking early and hitting a lot of rocks wrong. I’m sure I looked pretty funny, but at least I didn’t fall too much. The first one was under 50 minutes which was my goal, but the heavy hand of fatigue hit me on the second lap with a 51:16. Which still is not too bad. But in the morning my lack of real sleep hit me harder than I thought. I was feeling ok at the start of my first morning lap, but again there was nothing, possibly even less in my legs than before. It was a deep fatigue. Every bone and joint ached and muscle cried for relief. But I pushed on and got two more laps in before 8. When I came in the decision was made for me to do one final lap in place of another teammate in an attempt to try and catch the team in front of us. And at the very least get one more lap in. I went out and seriously thought something was wrong with my bike, I was pushing squares for a full 53 minutes. After riding that lap I got a beer. BEST BEER EVER!

I particularly like this picture because I'm not falling

That about sums up the weekend.  I helped pack up and went home, slept as best I could in the heat and went to work the next morning with that same fatigue in my legs, I felt like I had anchors in them. I feeling much more recovered now after riding on Monday and resting Tuesday, although Monday was painful. I’ll be riding at Cam Rock tonight in an effort to prepare for this weekend’s WORS race. I hope I can get back into the top ten, but my goals are realistic. Sorry there are no pictures of the mud from the race I’ll try and find some soon.