Spa City 6 Hr

So here's the race report: 6 laps, 61.5 miles, 6:10:57, 25th overall, 6th in my age class. I thought I'd get the punchline out there for those of you who may not want to read the rest of this.

Great race today. This was undoubtedly the toughest competition of any race I've been in. John "Fuzzy" Mylne, single speed legend and SoCal pro ended up winning the day. There were also a few other Men's Pro's including Ernesto from Speedgoat. But the real star on hand was none other than Endurance Racing legend, and 2-time reigning 24 Hr Solo WORLD Champion, Rebecca Rusch. There were a few other high-end pro women, but I can't remember their names. After an incredibly chaotic LeMans start of about 150-200 yds, it was time to mount our steeds and get underway. Here are the stages of my day:
Pre-Race: I felt real good. The weather was phenomenal. I didn't do much of a warm-up because the plan was to start slow and finish fast. That never happens. I don't know why I lie to myself.
Lap 1: I was rolling with a pretty fast group. I should have held back, but I wanted to hang with that group so I wouldn't get clogged up in the slower traffic. Not to mention I was so stoked to be racing again, and my adrenaline was pumping. I rolled out with my small camelback in lieu of bottles. It holds about 2 bottles worth of fluid. ~ 40 oz. This worked on this lap. The little voice inside my head kept telling me "eat, conserve, drink". I mostly ignored the voice on this lap. I finished this lap right around 53 minutes. Too frickin fast for an endurance race, this ain't XC today! I realize this, make a mental note to pace.
Lap 2: Leaving the pits, I'm rolling next to my man, Bob Ocken. He suggests we pace each other. Good idea. I agree. That worked for 3-4 miles until I slightly clipped a tree and moved my left bar-end to a really uncomfortable spot. I stopped to fix it, Bob left me. It's all good though, that is maybe the best way to find out I need to make a repair. I still feel ok on this lap. I end up hanging with this cool guy from Oklahoma. I drained the camelback on this lap and decided to drop it in the pits and go bottles, so I snagged a bottle, rolled through the timer at 1:53. 1 hr laps are what I need.
Lap 3: I lose the guy from Tulsa and end up sticking to the wheel of this dude from Competitive Cyclist. Can't remember his name, but I've seen him in the shop. He's going slower than I want uphill, which I decide is a good thing, so I don't pass him. He was riding a ballin' Turner Flux and he was butter through technical sections and downhill. He was a good leadout guy. I'm starting to feel the fatigue on this lap. I finish at 2:53, the 1 hr plan is working for me.
Lap 4: I swap bottles in the pits and roll out. I go 3-4 miles and it hit me. The dreaded bonk. I got this feeling of, Oh Shit, not this early. How could I bonk this early? I've been training! I don't want my race to be screwed up. So I ate a little something, chugged some Accelerade, and rolled easy. As I came through the section we call the "Big Ring Section" because it's smooth, fast, straight and generally you're in tall gears, I had to leave it in the middle chainring. I started feeling better on the decent. About mile 35 I hear several switchbacks behind me, "Leader through". Right then I was thinking, damn, I know I'm going to get lapped, but I don't want to get lapped this early. So I laid the hammer down thinking, Maybe I can hold them off until lap 5. Why did I do that? Wasted energy and what's it matter? It's a guy thing. At about mile 37 Fuzzy, Jesus Martinez, some pro from Florida, and Ernesto all lapped me. They were railing. I finished this lap at 4:10. 1 hr 17 minutes is not good. If that continues to digress, I won't hit my 6 lap goal.
Lap 5: After taking 3-4 minutes in the pits to stretch and eat, I roll out feeling great! As bad as I felt the previous lap, I was fresh on this one. I have no idea why. You'd think I was on the juice the way that second wind kicked in. I didn't ask questions I just rolled with it. Good lap all around. I even rode the "Big Ring Section" in my big chainring - small mental victory. I rolled around at 5:07. I actually had my second fastest lap, 5 hours into the race. I'm psyched. I have 1:23 to finish my last lap. No worries, all I have to do is not crash.
Lap 6: I'm hurtin, I'm dying. I started counting miles, then tenths of miles, then just had to turn the display on the computer off because it was driving me crazy how slow they were rolling. My legs hurt, I had no lungs, my feet hurt, back, you name it. But there was no reason to leave any in the tank. I finished up at 6:10. Rebecca Rusch was breathing down my neck trying to lap me. She finished her seventh lap several seconds after I finished my 6th. I got beat by a girl, but at least not lapped. As she crossed the finish line I heard her tell Clayton, who finished just ahead of her, "you almost got chicked." Last lap was close to an hour. Good time.

Overall I'm pleased with my effort. 10 mph average, or thereabouts. 6+ hrs in the saddle. I never used my granny gear. I can't be dissapointed. Sure, I would have liked to been faster, but this was good for me. I got beat by 3 girls, some older than me and in their 40's, but they were all pro and bad ass. I got beat by 24 men, several were pro. This was a really good Syllamo's Revenge trainer. I now know where my fitness and training are, and where I need to be. I'm not in a bad place at all. I could use some more long base rides, and as usual, could use some hill work.