I'm A Lumberjack and I'm OK

June 17, 2017

When I woke up on race day at 4:00 am to the sound of pouring rain I was instantly filled with the dreaded thought – oh great, there will be no race today; but I did not have to be awake for another hour so I went back to sleep hoping that one hour would make a difference. When my alarm went off at just after 5:00 am it was better, but still sprinkling and very wet out. I got all my stuff around (with a little encouragement from my wife) and headed out for the race. It was only a ten-minute drive from my rented cabin to the start but in that time the rain all but stopped and my hopes began to rise.

I headed out to the starting area, which was about 1.5 miles down a paved road, to stage for the start. An interesting point about Lumberjack: you self-stage based on the time you think you will complete the race. The staging points are broken into sub-8 hours, 8-10 hours, and 10+ hours, and about 450 riders squeeze into one lane of the road.

When I first arrived at the staging area there were not too many people so I picked a nice spot a few rows back in the sub-8-hour section hoping for a good start. Unfortunately, as I chatted with the people around me, about 100 more people decided to jump in front of me and extend out the front of the staging area. At this point there was not much I could do except hope to get past many of them on the road before the single-track started. A few minutes later my hopes were dashed – how many people can you really pass in a neutral rollout on a paved road?

As we hit the single-track the pace slowed to a crawl as everyone jockeyed for a spot in the single file line. On the upside, you don’t get too worn out when your heart rate is in the 120s. The first mile or so of trail was pretty much flat and straight with no real room to pass so I waited patiently for the hills and a little room. The next four miles was full of undulating climbs with slightly wider trails so I took advantage of the room and started passing. Most people are pretty good about letting you go by and get back in line when the trail narrows back down so by about halfway through the first lap (33 miles each) the awful game of coast, brake, sprint up a hill and repeat was all but done and I was able to settle into a rhythm with a few other riders.

The second half of lap one was pretty uneventful other than a climb I had to walk (steep, sandy, and wet) and a blast down a gravel road at nearly 40 mph. I came through the pit/timing area in 21^st place and was feeling pretty good. I stopped at my tent, switched out my bottles, (Perpetuem and water) for two new ones (Sustained Energy/HEED combo and water), had a shot of gel and some Endurolytes, and was back on my way in under a minute. Lap 2 started with a slog up the same hills, but without the traffic to pass I was able to pick some good lines and go the speed I wanted and keep my rhythm. At about the 3 ½ hour mark my quads felt like they wanted to cramp up as I was climbing a nice hill and I realized I had neglected my next does of Endurolytes. I solved that problem and a few minutes later my legs were back and my lesson was learned.

As the second lap went on my legs were feeling strong enough most of the time, but on a few of the bigger climbs the lack of hills where I live and train started to show. I was able to keep going but man did some of the climbs burn. At the top of a larger climb with about 7 miles left in the lap I had a quick pit stop for a bio break but it was enough for the guys I was riding with to get by and ride out of sight. It turns out that was pretty much the last I would see of any other riders (except some lapped traffic) for the rest of the race. I came through the timing area for lap two in 16^th place but when I stopped in the pit area for another bottle exchange (back to Perpetuem and water) and some more gel I took a bit more time than I should have and two racers were able to get by.

During the third and final lap the hills somehow seemed to get a bit bigger and the burn was back. Although on the last lap it is much easier to tell yourself “this is the last time I have to climb this, just keep pushing” and I am usually pretty good at listening to myself. I did drop my pace a little compared to my first two laps but at 70 miles into a 100 mile race it becomes more about pushing through and finishing than about whatever time goal I had set for myself prior to race day. At the halfway point of the lap I made my first and only deviation from my fueling plan when I stopped at the aid station and had a piece of peanut butter and jelly sandwich – and it was delicious. I now had about 15 miles to go and suddenly my time goal of 7hrs 30min was looking like it might be possible so I pressed on and picked up the pace a little.

I came to the sign that said “10 miles to go” and was not sure if I was happy or wanted to curse, but I hammered on. “5 miles to go” was the next sign and this brought some welcome relief as the most fun part of the course was fast approaching; roughly a mile of rather fast, slightly downhill section that weaves back and forth between trees at about the three mile to go mark. I hit this section ready to fly only to immediately catch up with someone on their second lap. As luck would have it he was an extremely nice racer who let me by the first chance he had so I really did not get slowed down for more than 30 seconds, which may have added a whole 5-10 seconds on to my day. At two miles to go I hit the last climb of the day (which is also one of the three longest on the course), put it in my granny gear, and kept my legs moving. After this was a last fast descent followed by about a mile of flat in to the finish where my wife and kids were waiting to cheer me on. Race done. So close to my time goal at 7:31:49. I finished in 18^th place and managed to beat my time from last year by over 12 minutes, when I finished 37^th.

I broke out my inner nerd a few days later and compared numerous other racers’ times from 2016 vs 2017 and the general trend was most people finished 6-10 minutes slower this year. Even though it was the same course, they switch the direction each year. This year, apparently, is the slower way to ride Big M. So it’s a huge testament to my training and nutrition plan that I was actually able to shave so much time off compared to last year!

An interesting note about the course: due to the rain the course started really fast and almost held your tires in the turns but was the day went on that slight grip turned more into peanut butter and slowed a number of sections down; it did however, all but eliminate sand traps.

Nutrition for the day:

Pre-Race: Race Caps, Fully Charged, Gel

Lap 1: Perpetuem, water, Endurolytes, Gel

Lap 2: Sustained Energy and HEED (combined), Water, Endurolytes, Gel

Lap 3: Perpetuem, water Endurolytes, Gel, (and some PB & J)

Post-Race: Recoveries and some wonderful pulled pork provided with the entry fee.

Post Post-Race: Burger and ice cream