The Road to Somewhere

xc62701

Well-Known Member
More hindsight observations:
I stopped for 15 minutes total during the 11:35 ride. That’s pretty sweet. I had to fix my loose water bottle cage and take a leak or it would have been much shorter.
I’m totally stoked how I paced this race considering I haven’t ridden an event like this in a long time. Sometimes it pays to just wing it and see what happens.

Nutrition wise, I’ve just relied on liquid nutrition for most of the long races. This one made me think I’d benefit from getting a little bit of solid food in while drinking the infinit too. I’ll have to try that next time.

I’m totally excited to take what I learned here and build some fitness off of this to carry over into Wilderness. I believe this will by my 10th W101 this year. I want to make it a good one.
 

JimN

Captain Wildcat
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I'll start with what I told Deejay at the finish. While I loved the course, I also wanted to punch him in the face. It was so brutal but so much fun.

When I popped out of the woods at the end of Lucky's Revenge, the dude there told me I had to climb up the road to the finish. I rode up to the finish and asked where you were because I wanted to kick you in the nuts. But when I found you, you gave me pizza, so I let it go.
 

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
Loved post for podium coolers.
as Alton Brown would say, "Multi-tasker"

Also Podium attire better than staying in race kit.
 

xc62701

Well-Known Member
Loved post for podium coolers.
as Alton Brown would say, "Multi-tasker"

Also Podium attire better than staying in race kit.

Yes WTF were the other two thinking?!? This was a good hour plus after the finish. I wasn’t sitting around in my dirty diaper.
 

xc62701

Well-Known Member
Thursday night I did an easy ride and was prepping dinner and was absolutely shot. I have been back to my usual diet for a few days and I was thinking my body was just extra hungry that day. I had dinner shortly after and that usually fixes that low feeling. It didn’t. I felt buzzed as if I was drinking. Then a headache, then my whole body hurt. Shit. I went to bed early hoping it was nothing. I woke up at 11:30 that night just very uncomfortable. I continued the fight of trying to sleep until I gave up at 2:30 and just watched tv for a few hours. My stomach was in knots, headache continued and I hit a brief fever. So great I’m thinking Covid finally got me. I tested the next morning and nothing. Negative. Spent all day yesterday on the couch feel crappy. Another fever after dinner last night. I took some more Tylenol, actually got a good nights sleep and I feel much better today. No headache, no fever, less body aches, and the gut seems back to normal. I find out that the flu is going around pretty actively at my work so it makes sense. Depressed immune system after the 12 hour race, left me open to anything.

On the other hand keeping my ass on the couch has given me time to research other things. I’m looking into trying new tires, tire inserts, and waxed chains. My wife is going to scold me when she sees the bills, but retail therapy works!
 

JDurk

Well-Known Member
Thursday night I did an easy ride and was prepping dinner and was absolutely shot. I have been back to my usual diet for a few days and I was thinking my body was just extra hungry that day. I had dinner shortly after and that usually fixes that low feeling. It didn’t. I felt buzzed as if I was drinking. Then a headache, then my whole body hurt. Shit. I went to bed early hoping it was nothing. I woke up at 11:30 that night just very uncomfortable. I continued the fight of trying to sleep until I gave up at 2:30 and just watched tv for a few hours. My stomach was in knots, headache continued and I hit a brief fever. So great I’m thinking Covid finally got me. I tested the next morning and nothing. Negative. Spent all day yesterday on the couch feel crappy. Another fever after dinner last night. I took some more Tylenol, actually got a good nights sleep and I feel much better today. No headache, no fever, less body aches, and the gut seems back to normal. I find out that the flu is going around pretty actively at my work so it makes sense. Depressed immune system after the 12 hour race, left me open to anything.

On the other hand keeping my ass on the couch has given me time to research other things. I’m looking into trying new tires, tire inserts, and waxed chains. My wife is going to scold me when she sees the bills, but retail therapy works!
Bummer, rest up and get healthy. Retail therapy has been in full effect for me losing weight, new bike, and drinking less beer.
 

jShort

2018 Fantasy Football Toilet Bowl Lead Technician
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Thursday night I did an easy ride and was prepping dinner and was absolutely shot. I have been back to my usual diet for a few days and I was thinking my body was just extra hungry that day. I had dinner shortly after and that usually fixes that low feeling. It didn’t. I felt buzzed as if I was drinking. Then a headache, then my whole body hurt. Shit. I went to bed early hoping it was nothing. I woke up at 11:30 that night just very uncomfortable. I continued the fight of trying to sleep until I gave up at 2:30 and just watched tv for a few hours. My stomach was in knots, headache continued and I hit a brief fever. So great I’m thinking Covid finally got me. I tested the next morning and nothing. Negative. Spent all day yesterday on the couch feel crappy. Another fever after dinner last night. I took some more Tylenol, actually got a good nights sleep and I feel much better today. No headache, no fever, less body aches, and the gut seems back to normal. I find out that the flu is going around pretty actively at my work so it makes sense. Depressed immune system after the 12 hour race, left me open to anything.

On the other hand keeping my ass on the couch has given me time to research other things. I’m looking into trying new tires, tire inserts, and waxed chains. My wife is going to scold me when she sees the bills, but retail therapy works!

After 12 hours, I can’t imagine what the recovery would be like. I would listen to my body. If I feel hungry, I’m gonna eat. Drink tons of water and electrolytes. Sounds like you’re doing that. But this is probably not out of the ordinary post 12 xc race. Feel better.
 

xc62701

Well-Known Member
After 12 hours, I can’t imagine what the recovery would be like. I would listen to my body. If I feel hungry, I’m gonna eat. Drink tons of water and electrolytes. Sounds like you’re doing that. But this is probably not out of the ordinary post 12 xc race. Feel better.

Yes Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday I had more calories because the body needed it for sure. Then I transitioned back to my normal diet. I ate any time I was hungry. My weight went up a few pounds post race which was expected with extra fueling, and has since returned to prerace weight with my regular diet and a little help from the flu. Lots of water and electrolytes. I feel 10 times better today. It’s amazing what a day can do.
 

xc62701

Well-Known Member
Retail parts are in and I'm still not 100%. I went out yesterday to do a quick burn in Wildcat and see how the legs felt. They were a little rough to start but they opened up quickly. I found this out on The Way North climb. I got into the business and my throat was on fire. I wanted to back it down but I was climbing well and I wanted a solid effort going up it. I got to the top and suffered trying to clear my throat on the way down. Ok maybe that was a sign to stop going so hard. I dialed it back and just kept on my loop. I did the usuals and headed over to Oreland and back to the car. I was aiming for a 90 minute loop and nailed it. Just in time to go home and play with the kids before bed. I thought I was going good, but maybe better than I thought. It seems the first hour I was probably pretty close to race pace. I'll take it. It's been a while since I've seen some good hardware pop up.

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I'm still hoping to do the William's Lake race this weekend - which I why I wanted to hit the gas today to see where my legs were. The legs felt ok but man the cold/flu I'm fighting seemed to settle right into the throat/chest. I'm gonna see how it does today. If not, I'm going to my doc tomorrow. I usually wait too long and I really want to feel better and get this over with. Someone at work said they got the flu and then it turned into a sinus infection and bronchitis. I don't want it turning into that, especially since I"m run down after the 12 hour race.
 

xc62701

Well-Known Member
This weekend is a nice extended one as I've got Friday/Monday off. I'd like to get some good riding and some boat work done. The plan was for the kids to go to the in-laws this weekend so my wife and I could get some down time, but then the in-laws just got covid, so there's that. Looks like we will have to go to plan B. With the rain Saturday it'll make things interesting. With the kids being home I'm thinking about taking them camping(backyard camping) as it's a little late to plan something on the holiday weekend. But with a 4 and 5 year old, that should do the trick. They do want to go somewhere to camp, but that'll have to wait for the summer. I still have my sights set on William's Lake for riding/racing Sunday. Especially with kid duty for most of the weekend it will be nice to getaway and ride a bit. I don't know if I'll feel well enough to race it but even going up to do a brisk ride in the park that's never open for riding could be worth it. I figure reg closes at midnight on Friday so I still have a couple days to see how I feel and register. The rain is totally a bummer for Saturday. I had all different ideas but it could just be a nice movie day with the kids instead. They/I would enjoy that as well!
 

xc62701

Well-Known Member
The weekend was a good one. Friday was a longish road ride. 3+ hours of hills, gravel, and quiet roads. Saturday was a nice early warmup for the William’s Lake race, followed by the Morris Plains parade, and movie day with the kids. Sunday was race day, and camping with the kids. Today was a whole lot of nothing. That means it was open so it was time to go fish with the kids, do some pool time, and then grill and chill time.

As for the race, being sick the week prior, doing a long ride Friday, two weeks of recovery from the PJ race had me wondering how much I’d actually be racing. But it was an old school east coast grimy race. I needed to be there. 100ish of us toed the line and took off. It was supposed to be an endurance race, it never felt like that. It was xc pace from the gun and don’t let off the gas. First lap was traffic and fun greasy rocks. Second lap was trying to make time and getting through racers while they struggled in the slick conditions. Lap 3 was more of lap 2 but it was even more slick and the legs were feeling the effort. I finished strong in 7th place in a solid field. I thought I was somewhere in the upper teens or twenties. I’ll take it!
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xc62701

Well-Known Member
If you haven't seen in the chain wax thread, I took the plunge, and I like what I see - or rather don't see so far. The chain was nice and clean after the muddy race I did. Now the big test will be to see if I can get my gravel bike drivetrain cleaned up and then wax that chain. It'll be a battle just to get it clean, but I'm curious to see how that holds up as it's usually the dirtiest drivetrain I have. Then I'll continue to do the remainder of the other bikes and see how that goes.
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xc62701

Well-Known Member
5 hours of sweet, sweet Mooch yesterday. I needed a mental health day so I spent it on the bike. It ended up being about 2 hours in Mooch 1 in Deer Park, and 2 in Stephens, and it couldn't have been a better day out. Bugs were minimal and the stoke was high! The trails were in great condition overall but a few weird muddy patches where it's never muddy. Top it off with a beer and some brats at the end and it was perfect. I'm looking forward to more of these rides as school is winding down and I'll have all day to go play.

In my downtime before my next race I need to get my pivot tuned up and some chain work done. I'll be doing the rest of my drivetrains with the wax treatment, but my boat project is getting in the way as it should be. I want to get that thing back on the water as summer is rapidly approaching. The kids should be at my in-laws this weekend so I'm hoping to get some more riding and boat progress taken care of. Pics of progress to come I hope. Here's where I'm at:

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xc62701

Well-Known Member
Last week was a challenging one as the wife was away on business, but I managed it pretty well. I kept the kids alive and I found time to ride and work on my projects, so I'll call it a win. Diet was pretty good although I did have some cheats and a bunch of beer but I'm still managing the diet well. I've been hovering in the 159-161 range and I'll take it. I know I can push it lower if I be super strict, but I'm liking how I feel without being super OCD. It also helps that my hours on the bike have been coming up. I've been aiming for 8 hours a week over the winter/early spring, and now I'm pushing like 10-12 pretty consistently. That helps mentally. I'll be getting hopefully closer to the 12-14 range soon as summer arrives. Then I get into my pattern of morning rides. Although this year will be more challenging as I have to get the kids to camp early in the morning. So I'll have to find a good time that works.

It's now 6 weeks til Wilderness, but in two weeks I'll be in Denmark! I'm hoping to have a solid training week this week, a recovery week before Denmark, and then LOTS of miles in Denmark. I already have a rental bike put aside, and I'll be there for 4 days before the Tour de France starts. I plan on getting some big miles exploring, and then probably getting some big miles riding to and from the stages, as well as maybe riding some of the stages. I'll be there for all 3 stages. I have all kinds of plans of riding around and just taking in as much as time allows. I already know where the best brew pubs are and the street food spots. I hope the temps get a touch warmer, but I'm super stoked for this trip coming up.

Oh and I'm back in for Iron Cross this fall!

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MadisonDan

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Last week was a challenging one as the wife was away on business, but I managed it pretty well. I kept the kids alive and I found time to ride and work on my projects, so I'll call it a win. Diet was pretty good although I did have some cheats and a bunch of beer but I'm still managing the diet well. I've been hovering in the 159-161 range and I'll take it. I know I can push it lower if I be super strict, but I'm liking how I feel without being super OCD. It also helps that my hours on the bike have been coming up. I've been aiming for 8 hours a week over the winter/early spring, and now I'm pushing like 10-12 pretty consistently. That helps mentally. I'll be getting hopefully closer to the 12-14 range soon as summer arrives. Then I get into my pattern of morning rides. Although this year will be more challenging as I have to get the kids to camp early in the morning. So I'll have to find a good time that works.

It's now 6 weeks til Wilderness, but in two weeks I'll be in Denmark! I'm hoping to have a solid training week this week, a recovery week before Denmark, and then LOTS of miles in Denmark. I already have a rental bike put aside, and I'll be there for 4 days before the Tour de France starts. I plan on getting some big miles exploring, and then probably getting some big miles riding to and from the stages, as well as maybe riding some of the stages. I'll be there for all 3 stages. I have all kinds of plans of riding around and just taking in as much as time allows. I already know where the best brew pubs are and the street food spots. I hope the temps get a touch warmer, but I'm super stoked for this trip coming up.

Oh and I'm back in for Iron Cross this fall!

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Stopped reading after "kept the kids alive" I felt that was probably the highlight. :p
 
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