With only ~60 starters for the LC, racers sorted themselves out pretty quickly. Watched Josh B and a couple others quickly disappear into the woods ahead while I settled into a group of 3 or 4 others running what seemed like a good pace for me. Walked one steep section in the middle of the run, but otherwise ran comfortably. Still, was aware that the climbs were tough and that the hills on the 3 laps to come post-bike were going to kill me. But was way too early (or late, depending upon perspective) to worry about that now.

Nada.

Had decided to wear my rain jacket for the run, so I already had that on (it had begun raining hard during the run and was still steady now). Really only had to swap shoes, hat for helmet, add glasses (clear) and grab my gel flasks which were put into my jersey pockets. Little trouble until just after I left transition.

Just out of transition, by the parking lot, the road went 2 directions. I realized I didn't know which way the course went. Had to stop and wait for those behind me to come up and point the way. This meant re-starting at the bottom of a muddly up-hill slope. Took several attempts to clip in effectively and completely lost the riders who I had come out ahead of.

Figure out the way out of transition before the race so I don't have to stop in front of a muddy hill.

I had seen the first climb on my drive in and knew there would be little 'warm-up' on the bike. Hard to stay under threshold even with the 34/25 combo. Upon reaching the top, the descent begins quickly. I knew there was a sharp turn at the bottom, but was unfamiliar with the twists & turns. It was still raining pretty hard at this stage, so I sat up a lot and used the brakes quite a bit. Certainly gave some up here, but better that than wiped-out within the first hour of the race. Next two times down, the rain was lighter or stopped and I was more aggressive knowing the turns.

Most of the rest of the course was pretty uneventful. A little passing back & forth of a few LCers early-on, but after that I think I only passed or got passed by racers doing other distances (ITT, SC, F1). Most of the rest of the climbing was a more steady in nature and easier to pace (though still plenty of it) with the exception of a very steep pitch toward the end of the loop. Always nice to hit something like that at the end of a ride--reminds me of home.

I hear the scenery is beautiful up here, but at times you couldn't see more than 100 yards ahead in the fog.

Stopped briefly 3x on the ride. Twice for dropped chains (something must have happened to my fd on the drive up as it was allowing the chain to jump over and off the big ring), which at least were at the top of hills before descents. Once something got caught in my drivetrain and sounded 'bad'. Couldn't see it while riding given the rain, so pulled over to check and make sure it was nothing serious. Whatever caused it must have fallen out as I coasted to a stop though and a quick check showed nothing wrong with drivetrain or wheel/tire. Not too much total time lost from these stops, but still a tad frustrating to lose any momentum on this course.

Nutrition: ~900cal from Infinit, ~800 from gels (2 full flasks), and water (swapped bottles as needed with 3 aid stations along course)

Probably ride a bit easier, though not sure it would have made a big difference for the upcoming run. Very, very tough course to pace--especially not being familiar with it. I see why the 'locals' have a big advantage here.

Reverse T1 swaps plus remove rain jacket (rain was still off-and-on, but mostly lighter now and I was too wet to get any help from the jacket anyway). Grabbed 4 gel packets for my pockets.

Nada.

Began jogging out of transition and felt OK everything considered. The muddy fields before the woods were much worse than the first loop. Three times, I had my heel sucked out of my shoes the first time through here and had to stop to get them back on properly. Happened again twice on the final loop and bending down to fix my shoe then nearly resulted in both legs locking up from cramps. I feared my body would be found sunk in the mud on Monday.

First time through, began jogging up the first hill in the woods. Quickly decided I was not going to be able to do much of that so started walking. Would run a few strides anytime the trail leveled out a bit and ran all the fire road sections, but when the trails turned up from there (whch was quite a bit) I walked. Did this consistently for all 3 loops and stayed fairly steady for first 2 loops. Final loop was a bit slower as fatigue set in and my running pace slowed.

On the steep, mid-run incline (hill I walked on the first run) there was a large tree fallen across the trail. No problem, just hop over it. Except this time, as soon as I did I felt much of my body begin to cramp. A bit further up the hill, both hamstings & quads started to seize up. Was worried my day could end (or become a death march). But, fortunately, as soon as I reached the fire road and tried to run things loosened up a bit. Had some other times where legs felt as if they might start to cramp, but was able to relax and avoid it.

Thought going through the Gazeebo would be the toughest part (seeing finished racers eating & downing beers), but turned out that it was a section in the woods where you could catch a whiff of the burgers being grilled that really made me want to just stop and eat.

Came into the gazeebo for the final time, crossed the mat and begged anyone to remove my chip and 'make it stop'.

Nutrition: 3 aid stations per loop and I took 1 water & 1 Heed at each (2 Heed once, I think). Also took 1 gel per loop.

Have trained better? Really, couldn't expect much more than I was able to do today given what I 'brung wit' me.

Say hi to old BT friend who had done the ITT and was already enjoying the beer. Then eat pretty much everything I could get my hands on--chili, burger, pasta soup, cookies, brownies, etc. Drink a beer!

Hop in car for 3+ hr drive home. Unload muddy gear from car and try to fall asleep in bed around 10pm. A full day!


Training (or lack thereof).

And, oh yeah, the hills! And the rain! And the mud!


I can't recommend this race highly enough (nor caution people enough). This race is not for everyone. But if you think it sounds at all interesting, you owe it to yourself to try it. The Long Course is particularly insane, but the F1 and Short Course are both worthy challenges in their own right (the 112mi ITT on that course is just silly!). There is no "easy" at Am-Zof, but plenty of satisfaction. And, of course, free beer!