Ready for the Shenandoah Mountain 100

A two strap race, for sure.

Every year around this time, I think back to the early part of the year when I made a goal to race Shenandoah and do it in X time. The time has been all over the map. Just finish. 10 hours. 11 hours. This year: 9 hours. And I knew it would be a big jump - Shawn and I killed the thing in 9:40 last year. That was fast. This is a lot faster, requiring the same good luck and even better legs than last year. I knew it would take some sacrifice, I'd probably have to skip a couple of other events to train on the long gravel roads. Maybe even take some "rest days" whatever those are. So what did I do? - I didn't make a single one of those sacrifices. I rode good singletrack and ate well all summer. And yet, here we are and the goal is still 9 hours.

But it's doable. I've broken it down mentally:

Go light, rely on the aid stations. Wake up on time, eat something, start near the front, and get up and over narrowback before all the chaos and yelling starts. Swap a bottle, draft off Shawn down the dirt road, get up and over Lynn's trail before all the chaos and yelling starts. Stop and pee. Down wolf ridge, kill the road section, and make it to rest station 2 in 2:30. Bottles, make out with my wife for 5 seconds, then up the road. Climb hanky, granny the steep part at the top to save some legs for later. Rampage down Dowells without Shawn flatting or me flying off the side of the mountain. Rush through the rest stop, hit 250, draft off Shawn, fight the temptation to stop for a cheeseburger at the corner store. Back onto singletrack, up the backside of Braleys, fight the urge to really step all over my middle ring through the rock gardens. Reap the rewards on the dh and make sure Shawn sees that freaking tree this time. Hit rest station 4 in 5:30. Coca-cola, full bottles, and hit the long dirt road leading up to Shenandoah mtn. Keep it light, tell some jokes, then when we bang that right hander for the top really stomp on it. a little water and some food at aid 5, then peak that thing out, hit the singletrack at the top in 7:45 or so. Avoid the rock of death, crush it down Chestnut, stay upright on the rollers, don't flat, back to the road and to aid station 6 by 8:10. Make out with my wife again, eat some fig newtons, spray Shawn with a bottle to piss him off, and then race him straight up for the finish line. A little paved climb, some dirt road, mount hank, then keep looking for that right hand turn and the glorious decent through the cabins back to Stokesville. Don't crash on the grass jump, bang the gong, 9 hours. Easy.

That's pretty much as well as it can go. There's so much that can go wrong in the plan, that you've gotta just not think about it. Ride smart, ride hard, and hopefully the thing just happens.

Looking forward to those french fries.