Lumberjack 100

Wow! What an amazing experience! It started months ago with "Hmmm, can I actually do 100 miles on the mountain bike?" I learned Saturday that the answer to that is "yes". I thought it would be a fabulous challenge and well suited to my endurance abilities. I kept a low profile about it after I registered. Didn't want the pressure. Wasn't reeeally sure I could do it. It was a bit like the first time I thought about running a half marathon. "Can I actually run 13.1 miles?" I learned that the answer to that was "yes" as well. It's only a true challenge if you're not really sure you can do it. And I wasn't. I trained moderately. I did a few 50 mile MTB days, but got sick and was off the bike for 3 weeks at a critical time. I was nervous. How much would it hurt? Could I work thorough the suffering? Would my body shut down? Would I start hallucinating? Would I embarrass myself? I really had no idea if it would take me 10 or 13 hours.

I looked at the previous year’s women's results and thought that maybe a time between 10 and 10:30 would be a worthy goal. With 22 women registered I just didn't want to be last. In my secret heart of hearts I thought placing in the top 10 would make me a rock star but I didn't really think that was feasible. I was really happy with a 6th place finish. Too long of a pit stop cost me a place but I wasn't racing against anyone but myself. I had passed the 5th place woman on the trail, not having any idea nor concern about what place I was in. I just knew it wasn't last. While I was laying on the ground between Laps 2 and 3 eating a PB&J, Jay said to me "You're in 5th place". At that very moment, she passed by the pits without stopping. I pointed to her and said to Jay "Nope. I'm not. I'm in 6th place now". I could have hopped up and chased her and passed her again, but I was having more fun laying on the ground eating a sandwich.

We started out at my least favorite time of day: early morning. I was half asleep and a bit nervous. Would there be a mad crazy testosterone rush to get into the woods? Would I get caught up in it? Would there be a big crash in front of me? Would I go too fast early and blow up later? The first hill about a quarter mile into the woods (after about 2 mile start on pavement) was a killer. It was steep with loose sand and a teaser turn at the top that just got worse. Everyone walked it the first lap. That’s the photo that Fabrice snapped.

The photographer stationed at the top of that first killer hill was documenting the misery and said nobody was riding it except "Eatough and the boys". The whole course was rolling single track that was full of ups and downs and little grinders that turned at the top with a piece that was just a little bit steeper and just when you thought the climbing was over, there was more. I was sure happy with my 34 tooth gear on my cassette. I was spinning up hills that most others (men) were walking up. Very good for my ego. Very bad for theirs. You've seen that t-shirt that says 53-12 on it. I want one that says 22-34.

My plan of attack was to keep it steady the whole time and keep an eye on my average speed. I consumed about 1800 calories (Accelerade, Hammer gel, PB&J and oatmeal cookies) which in retrospect may not have been enough. Jay did a great job being my pit crew! He even broke out his bike for a couple loops to have some fun.

Speaking of food, the meal that was provided by the organizers after the race was pretty darn phenomenal. It was served in the Big M lodge with free beer that I wish I'd been able to drink. Two sips and I would have fallen over. In retrospect, maybe beer would have been good. When I finally laid down and closed my eyes, my brain kept playing a moving trail in front of me and my body would tense up with the way the moving trail turned.

The first lap was excruciating mentally. Why were people going so slowly in front of me and how do I pass on single track? I mean do you REALLY have to brake on a small rolling down hill?!? Who IS that slow-poke on the front of this line and how come none of the 20 people in line are trying to pass him? I learned patience and how to pass properly. Here's what happens when you DON'T pass properly. Lap 1. Yes, those are my own front tire tracks on my arm.


I had passed a few guys and was going for another when my rear wheel ran parallel to a log on its right. Launched me off the bike to the left and on my way down to the ground the bike came at me and the front tires gouged the inside of my left arm. Yeah. Imagine that.

There were some awesome sections where you could just scream downhill and shred through the trees on the sandy trail hoping not to ping off one of them. And ping I did, on Lap 3. Hit my hand on a tree and launched over the handle bars. Pinky finger badly bruised but no real damage. Not like this guy.

My body held up pretty well until about mile 96 and then it started to not do what I wanted it to do. I was never concerned about "how many miles to go" until then. I had to force myself to not look at the odometer. There was this one super steep hill with a few miles to go that I was pedalling up in my granny gear and got to the point where my legs just wouldn't move any more so I got off and started to walk. Slower and slower and slower. There was an instant where my leg was in the air just about to set down on the sandy slope and my brain said "I could just stand here for a while and rest." and even before that thought was formed, another part of my brain screamed "NO!! Keep moving!!!"

While my legs and back and arms and hands and neck were really sore, the thing that actually hurt the most on me was my big toes. Yeah, whenever I stood on the last half of Lap 4 my toes were in EXCRUCIATING pain. I thought for sure that when I took my shoes off I'd find nothing but bloody stumps, but they looked fine. Was the pain from the constant impact of my toes hitting the inside of my shoes with every washboard vibration? Was it from being launched off the bike with my toes jamming into the shoes before clipping out? Was my femoral artery a bit pinched and blocking blood flow? Was it all in my mind like the acorns that looked like mice and the Indian that I swear was running along side of me in the woods? Dan K said the exact same thing happened to him (the toes not the Indian) so it wasn't in my mind. They hurt so much to stand, but I just had to put pressure on them on that bumpy screaming downhill section. There were yellow signs that said "Danger, Slow". They should have said "Put it in the big ring and hammer!" Never thought I'd get going this fast in the woods... What a blast!!!


I was so happy after the race I just had to find Robert. Could hardly walk, but happy. He took a picture of me and I look as happy as I felt.

The trusty steeds on the way home.
I think the best thing to put in a Lumberjack 100 glass is Fat Tire ale.
The next best thing might be a strawberry shake with fresh picked strawberries. Yum.
I'm really happy that I exceeded my expectations and performed better than I thought I would.
Now, what's next?