Why Do I do This?

Left for Wilderness 101 Friday morning with some pretty high hopes. After my disaster at Breckenridge, I was looking forward to a decent performance. I got registered Friday afternoon and headed for my hotel. The race starts in the town of Coburn and I was was staying in the town of Millheim. At the lovely Millheim hotel to be specific.

It is an interesting establishment. Built a long time ago, restaurant/bar on the first floor and rooms on the second and third floors. There is one bathroom/shower on each floor for the rooms to share! I was lucky that my room had a window air conditioner unit. Apparently not all the rooms have them. The room put me at a decided disadvantage for the race, it was pink! There was also a bird cage in the corner with a stuffed bird in it - what's up with that?







I had a decent dinner in the restaurant and retired to my room. I did my usual pre-race routine of getting my stuff organized. Bottles, gel flasks, etc. were put together so I would have minimal stuff to do in the morning. I slept okay, no better or worse than usual. I woke up before my alarm and had some breakfast. I woke up early enough that I was able to eat and get my morning stuff taken care and then lay back down for a 1/2 hour nap. Kind of nice. Headed for the race venue, about 10 minutes away.

I put my drop bags in what I thought were the right piles - must not have been paying attention. Warmed up a bit, never an overly important thing before a 100 mile race - usually 2-3 mile roll out to warm up and then many hours in the saddle anyway. Got to the start line in plenty of time. Tinker was there and the local gang, Eatough decided to sleep in - smart move. We rolled out on time. This course starts with a big climb right out of the chute. I was feeling pretty decent, set a nice steady pace that wasn't too much. I thought I was doing a good job of putting calories and electrolytes in my body. About mile 50 my world closed in on me. I did not have the bag I was anticipating at that stop, so I did not have the bottles I was hoping for. I had gotten behind on my calorie intake, I BONKED. I had not had that unpleasant experience before, nor do I want to have it again. I was in a bad way. Mile 50-75 was nothing but painful recovery and try to get calories into my body. Somehow I managed to get myself back into a ridable condition and finished pretty strong.

This course was not among my favorites. Incredibly long fire road climbs with very litte singletrack. Although the singletrack was a pain - rocks and roots do not make for smooth sailing. There were a couple of descents that were pretty scary! I do not like to downhill on rocks and loose sand, but that was what I had to deal with. I rode it pretty well all things considered. a: I rode it b: I did not fall in the process. Thanks to my disastrous nutrition work, I finished in around 10 hours - I had hoped for 8.5-9. Oh well, I at least finished and actually finished fairly strong given the middle portion.

On my way home, I managed to poach a shower from the Millheim hotel and hit the road. Stopping at a Dairy Queen for my now traditional post hundie meal:



For those keeping track at home: cheeseburger, fries, large shake, large diet coke, small coke. A couple of hours later I stopped for a Mountain Dew, ice cream sandwich, scone, and coffee. I am hoping to continue the eating today. I drove all the way home after the race - 6 hours. I would love to have slept in today, but my eyes were wide open at 6:15 and I could not get back to sleep. It is raining and I am looking forward to an afternoon nap listening to the rain.

I think it is time for me to make an honest evaluation of what I am doing by taking on these races. Do I enjoy it? Is it just the sense of accomplishment? The questions are endless, the answers not so easy to come up with.