We've been busy on the racing front these last three weekends. There was the Mohican 100K on June 4th, the Shreve Road Race by RideOn on June 11th, and Sunday's Reagan Park TT to open the NEO power series by 331Racing. This post is about the Mohican 100K with write-ups for the others to follow.
In all our years of bike racing, neither Lorena nor I had ever competed in a mountain bike race as long as the Mohican 100K. Most have been in the 20-30 mile range and there is definitely a difference in how you prepare. We began the week before Christmas 2010 on a 24-week training plan by LW Coaching specifically for a 100K race. Looking back, we probably could have prepared a little more intensely, but not knowing what to expect I'd say we did it right. There is certainly nothing bad that came from how we trained. We definitely had a better base than in years past. Having learned a ton in this year's event, we'll train with more intensity next year for sure and already have plans to do it again.
I think we both can agree this was the hardest race we've ever done. I finished in 77th place in the Men's Open category of 153 finishers (185 starters) with a time of 7h 24m 35s. Lorena finished in 9th place in the Women's Open category of 17 finishers (22 starters) with a time of 8h 00m 2s. That 2 seconds is already fuel in Lorena's fire to go faster next year. Naturally, we both want to do it faster. Not that we're competitive or anything...
The full results can be found here: Mohican 100 Results
Fortunately, I was pretty smooth on the day and only crashed once... but, it was spectacular. At about mile-41 in the Mohican Wilderness trail, I busted the GU packet taped to my stem with my crotch as I went over the handlebars. Nothing like your shorts sticking to your saddle for 21 miles to get on your nerves. Lorena's only real bad luck was a flat in the latter half of the race that cost her some time.
Hats off to Ryan O'Dell and all of the volunteers that make it a great race. The course was extremely well marked and you can never go wrong with lining up Great Lakes Brewing for free beer to all finishers at the end. That first beer never tasted so good. Of course, so did the next couple...
There are more photos of us from the race here: Mohican 100K Gallery
Here's to doing it all again next year. Until then, back to our regularly scheduled racing program. Up next, the Shreve Road Race.
