Humbolt 12 2011

[Carl Sanders]

I had a plan.

The game would play out in manageable chunks. Twelve hours of racing is too much to think about at once. I had studied the course map, calculated my needed carlorie intake, laid out my primary fuels, pre-filled the water bottles and set up my solo pit station.

The course ran through the redwoods across sweet flowing single track descents and up mellow fire road climbs. I figured a moderate 9 mile/hour pace around the 7.4 mile course would allow me to knock off 14 to 15 laps in the 12 hours ahead.

As part of my strategy, I wanted to get out in front during the first six hours, gaping the field, providing plenty cushion should things disintegrate later on. Consistency in pace, fuel and hydration would be critical to my sustaining performance over the long haul.

Ear buds in. 8 AM at the Community Park. 75 or so anxious riders assembled for take off. Launch for go. Watch the lead riders. Incrementally nudging my way forward, attempting to track who was racing solo or on a team and who was in for six or twelve hours of punishment. The challenge was getting out ahead of each rider far enough to be able look back at their number plate and figure all this out.

Around the first lap in just under 45 minutes, it seemed reasonable to pit after two laps. Rolled through the second lap around 1:25. Re-fueled and hydrated. Jumped immediately back on the bike, minimizing downed time. Right on target.

Well into the third lap, I had dropped most of the field was aiming to knock off the rest, plus five more laps under the six hour mark. Feeling remarkably fresh, I easily cruised over the course. I felt light on my bike and confident I had gusto to keep it rolling. Push hard on the climbs, flow and recover through each descent. 

Rolling past the start/finish at 5:54, I knew things were going well when the Race Marshall rolled her eyes at me with eight laps completed and no one in sight behind.  More than half the racers were now done for the day. I had six more hours to go, but had apparently just won the shorter course as my 'warm-up'.

Now I figured it was time to back off a notch or two.  There was just no way I could sustain this 45 minute lap pace. Head starting to go foggy with fatigue, I tried calculating the necessary lap time needed to complete at least another 6 more for a total of 14 laps. Seemed doable.

The ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth laps each rolled in around 50 minutes each. Staying consistent. Still trying to do the math.  Seemed I was gunning for 15 total laps at this rate. Keep it up. Tunes jamming. Lines getting cleaner with each pass. SF -100 a joy to ride. Totally focused. The plan was working!

With the Sun setting through the tall redwoods, long shadows cast upon the forest floor, I was in rhythm with the bike and place. Quite nice.

Across the finish on the final pass at 11:43, I had rolled out 15 total laps, covering 110 miles with 17,000' of climbing. That felt good. 'Your the Man' the Marshall called out. Time to rest.

 

[Paul Montgomery]

Sometimes it just all comes together...beautifully done.