My First 8 hour Race

[shiloh]

This race marked two first for me, It was my first time riding in Boggs and my first time doing an 8 hour race.  The trails in boggs loved up to their reputation, fast, flowing, and fun.  I never got tired of riding any section of that course. After preriding on Friday, the only thing I was uncertain of was weather I was going to be able to eat properly throughout the race.  This was my first experiment with Perpetuem and it left my stomach feeling like I swallowed a 2 pound led weight. 

        Right off the start line the front group was going much harder than I thought would be sustainable for an 8 hour race.  I kicked back into a pace I was comfortable with and busted out a few good laps wile trading places with Adam. I felt I was dong a good job eating but, going into the third lap I could tell something was going wrong with my stomach.  Thinking  I needed to eat more food I stopped at my feed zone and ate some GUs and a pickle. Why the pickle? I heard they are good for preventing cramping.  My legs still felt great but now I was belching every few minutes.  I slowed my pace considerably to help ease my stomach troubles.  and soon all I craved was water.  It took another 3 laps of drinking only water before i felt good enough to pick up the pace again.  By this point I felt that I was out of the running for a top five but I caught another rider who I have seen around and know is a strong rider.  He kept his lead on me but that boosted my moral a bit.  I finished my 8th lap at bout 7 hours 10 minutes.  I was temped to go for another lap but knew that a sub 50 minute lap would be tough with lapped riders in the way and my legs beginning to feel like jello. My results were much better than I thought.  I came in 5th place with the top 3 riders doing 9 laps.  I'm now excited for the next 8 hour race when I've figured out what I can eat that doesn't make me feel like crap.

[Carl Sanders]

Nice work Shiloh!

 

That Perpetuem stuff has got to be taken in moderation and takes some getting used to. 

 

Lesson learned for to the Tahoe Sierra 100!

[Paul Montgomery]

Congratulations...