But seriously, it got really, really hot for a while. My plan was to make hay early before the heat and then hope I could get with good groups. That worked out well. The first 30 minutes were neutral with a moment of silence for Mo at the low water crossing, but I still had ~225 NP trying to stay near the front. The next 30 minutes was typical gravel race start with sorting out of the groups. I had NP of about 275 for that stretch and was able to stay with the the lead group without going into the red much. Then we hit the “loco” climb and the lead group splintered into multiple groups. I ended up with a group of ~20 that was riding smooth and settled in for a long day. Lots of attrition from the heat and my power dropped like a rock as we got into the heat of the day. There were a few hours where it was just about survival. I was fortunate to only ride by myself for ~10 miles and ended up riding with 2 other guys in my age group for the last ~3 hours. Finished 7th out of 33 starters in the 50-59 age group. My finish time of 9:25 was longer than I expected, but I don’t think I could have executed much better and I was happy just to finish.
Congrats on finishing nevertheless! Powering through bad cramps for such a long distance is probably one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do on a bike.
How was your fueling early on in the race? For me, it has been a game changer that has largely eliminated cramping. It’s hard to chug sugar drink at 7am when it’s chilly outside, but forcing myself to do it has paid dividends later in the day.
A little more detail on hydration and fueling - It goes without saying, but hydration was key out there yesterday. My original plan was to start with 3 liters of skratch (2 bottles + hydration pack) and top everything off at aid stations at 55 miles and 105 miles and chug a couple bottles at each aid station also. I rolled into the aid station at 55 perfect with everything empty. I was out of fluids maybe 30 minutes before we got to 105 and I chugged a big bottles plus a coke and stuck an extra bottle in my jersey heading out for the last leg. I also chugged a full cup of pickle juice at the 105 stop. We still ended up stopping at the 120 mile aid station to top off again and then stopped one more time for some awesome guy who had water on the side of the road after that. I don’t know how much I ended up drinking, but it was at least 15 liters and probably closer to 20. 20+ salt tabs. My hydration was pretty effective though, I got some twinges of cramps around 115 miles and had a few more I had to fight through later, but I finished the race pretty well hydrated and felt surprisingly good after cooling down for a bit. I was also pretty consistent with gels (which is all I ate). I was doing 3 gels an hour for the first 5-6 hours and then it slowed down after that as I was balancing the nausea vs. need for calories. I don’t think I did any gels the last 90 minutes, but I was still drinking Skratch with some calories. I did about 5500 Kj of work and I figure I ate about 3000 calories during the race.
Yeah, the aid stations were disappointing, to say the least. Oranges, Chex mix, and pickles doesn’t cut it. As involved as Untapped is, I couldn’t believe they didn’t have anything at our 2nd stop. I also encountered the “no water” situation at my 2nd rest stop. At least they had ice. Luckily, I had refilled everything at the first rest stop and had a camelback. I had approx 4.5 liters of water and 400g carbs plus salt tabs over 5 hours. It was hard to take in calories once the heat came up and nausea set in.
I managed to finish the 110 in about 7.5 hours. I was hoping for 15 mph avg but fell just short. As others have said - it was HOT. And they needed more aid stations and better stocked aid stations. In hindsight I should have carried a hydration pack. I didn’t think I would need it with the aid stations, however…
I rolled into the 55 to find only ice - no water. I filled up with ice but ran out completely at about mile 70. Fortunately I had family waiting at the 77 rest stop who drove down and brought me more water. I spend several minutes at the 77 station contemplating my life decisions and drinking as much water as I could. Riders were laying out on the ground under whatever shade they could find. I saw several guys give up at that point and start looking for a ride back to town. My family encouraged me to keep going. I filled with water again and headed out.
Fortunately there were a couple of guys in a truck at mile 86 with ice chests full of ice and water. I was with a loose group of 6-8 guys at this point and we all pulled over and refilled and took an extra bottle with us. Those guys saved our day. Without that I would not have made it to the finish. As it was I still emptied my bottles coming down the highway into town.
I managed to finish strong despite feeling the first signs of cramps in my left leg at about mile 70 when I was out of water. After the water at 77 and 86 I felt better and actually increased my power and average speed a couple of tenths in the last 25 miles. I kept downing the salt stick tablets and SIS gels (which were hot but the only thing I could swallow). The finishing roads were fast and I was able to keep a good pace coming in and pass a few guys.
I collapsed into a chair under the misters in the SRAM tent for a while to recover and those guys were great offering a Coke, Gatorade and a cold wet towel.
That cramping is hard to beat once it settles in like that. I was in and out of the saddle as well looking for relief and had the same trading of cramps between legs. Congratulations on finishing!
but sometimes Type 3 too hahaha