xc62701
Well-Known Member
Hey peeps. I just got back in from the Shenandoah Mountain 100 and it was a blast as usual. These races are such a good time cause it's a festival atmosphere the whole time, even during the race.
For me my goal were as follows: to finish in under 10 hours and to be in the top 100 of my class. As there were supposedly 550 people racing I know I had a good shot and the latter goal. Well the race went off fine but it had rained HARD the night before. I knew it was going to be a sloppy race but it would be ok. And it was a little sloppy. From preriding I had a good idea of the course but I didn't remember everything and it was interesting trying to remember how to pace myself. There is a LOT of climbing on this course.
The aid stations started flying by and it was going well but after aid 3 and closer to aid 4 the power started draining. The stomach was in knots and was not doing good. I didn't know what the solution was so that was not helping. I just tried to moderate hydration, food and power and I started feeling a little better at the top of the huge climb but recovery was just not happening so I kinda limped through the rest of the course. I knew I wasn't going to break the 10 hour mark so I took a little longer at the aid stations and had more fun on the course. The sections of singletrack were really amazing. It turned from being efficient and putting down power to trying to jump as high as I could off the many water bars on the course which was a blast.
So all in all it was fun. Tried a great course. Finished 154th overall and 10:39 was my finish time. I'm not sure if I got that top 100 mark but that's ok if I didn't. My big goal this season was to be competitive in the overall for the NUE series and with this finish I did my required 4 races in a total time of 40 hours and 37 minutes. I had a blast doing it and met many great people and had a bunch of great life experiences. I'd recommend trying any of these if you have the means.
For me my goal were as follows: to finish in under 10 hours and to be in the top 100 of my class. As there were supposedly 550 people racing I know I had a good shot and the latter goal. Well the race went off fine but it had rained HARD the night before. I knew it was going to be a sloppy race but it would be ok. And it was a little sloppy. From preriding I had a good idea of the course but I didn't remember everything and it was interesting trying to remember how to pace myself. There is a LOT of climbing on this course.
The aid stations started flying by and it was going well but after aid 3 and closer to aid 4 the power started draining. The stomach was in knots and was not doing good. I didn't know what the solution was so that was not helping. I just tried to moderate hydration, food and power and I started feeling a little better at the top of the huge climb but recovery was just not happening so I kinda limped through the rest of the course. I knew I wasn't going to break the 10 hour mark so I took a little longer at the aid stations and had more fun on the course. The sections of singletrack were really amazing. It turned from being efficient and putting down power to trying to jump as high as I could off the many water bars on the course which was a blast.
So all in all it was fun. Tried a great course. Finished 154th overall and 10:39 was my finish time. I'm not sure if I got that top 100 mark but that's ok if I didn't. My big goal this season was to be competitive in the overall for the NUE series and with this finish I did my required 4 races in a total time of 40 hours and 37 minutes. I had a blast doing it and met many great people and had a bunch of great life experiences. I'd recommend trying any of these if you have the means.