Lumberjack 100

I had so much fun at this race I definitely understand why it sold out in 11 minutes!

The Lumberjack 100 is three laps of a 33-mile loop through Michigan's beautiful Manistee National Forest and the Big-M Ski Area. About 90% of the loop is singletrack, hard pack trail with the occasional tire grabbing sand pit.  The rolling terrain is twisty and can give you that "rollercoaster" feeling if you handle your bike just right while feeding your cranks constant power.  Even closing your eyes for a second could land you in a fern gulley!  The hills were more like walls, with sand that got deeper as the day went on, giving us about 9,000 feet of total elevation gain. 

The first 2 miles were super fast on pavement, then a quick funnel onto sandy singletrack.  On my first lap, I was part of a massive train of riders, tearing our way through the thick forest.  My pace was set for me, all I had to do was hang onto the wheel in front of me.  I had to concentrate and ride super smart, because if I slid and wrecked, I would have been trampled!  I was screaming in my head with excitement as I rode this first lap, it was THAT much fun! The thick forest around me became a blur as I threw my bike from side to side. My first lap was 2:48

We had set  up our own aid station, so it was super fast getting in and out since I was just exchanging camelbaks and flasks.  A spectator told me that I was the 5th girl to come through, and I thought, "WOW, game on!" So, I tried to match the pace of my first lap, which was harder because my train had dispersed through "aid station alley".  Intermittently, I rode with different groups of people, but it was up to  me to continually push my pace...and that was getting harder to do mile after mile.  I felt like I was right on, but the clock showed 5:56 (3:07 lap time that included my first aid stop as well), so I had slowed down quite a bit.

My 3rd lap was desolate; I saw maybe 20 people.  It was hard to not think that I was the last person out there, especially since my past ultra race times have been in the 10-11 hour range.  After the 2nd aid stop, we all got really spread out. My stop was quick and I was off!  I had no thoughts on quitting, stopping, or resting, just plowed right through and focused on my pace and bike handling.  I kept imagining there was a girl right behind me and if I allowed that girl to pass me I would have lost my podium spot, I was racing!!  It's a big deal that I was able to be in that frame of mind because normally 66 miles into one of these races I'm in survival mode, just striving for the finish line.  The beach sand was much deeper this go round from all the riders churning it up throughout the day.  I just watched my tires sink into the ground on the steep wall climbs; there were moments you would have a full pedal stroke and not move at all!  I was thankful that I was seeing all of that for the LAST time, and I was thankful to still have my shorts on. :)  So, my third lap was 3:19. 

We were a complete MESS at the end of this race.  The black sand/dust from the dry trails just covered us from head to toe.  Two days later I was still blowing that stuff out of my nose!

Woo Hoo!!!! 5th place!!!

I was able to hold onto my 5th place victory with a total time of 9:15!!  Final mileage came to 102 miles; it was my best time by far!!  I competed against 32 other open/pro women, open men winner did it in 6:27, and open women winner did it in 7:42...ok, so I have some work to do, but improvement has definitely been seen.  It took some 15 hours to complete this course, and there were many that didn't finish.

On a semi-related note, on our way up to Manistee, MI we stopped at Muskegon, MI to visit USS Silversides, a submarine from Tim's childhood.  Yes, I said submarine.  We probably wouldn't make the detour to see family, but a submarine?  Sure thing!  When Tim was a kid, his family spent their 2-week vacation driving to Canada, and this was one of the sites they stopped to see on the way.  It was a nice trip down memory lane for Tim, and I even learned a thing or two about subs as well. 

I thought it was HUGE, but Tim informed me that this was actually much smaller than the ones that are in service today.  I can't even imagine what it must be like to live on one of these for 6 month stretches.  You know we watched "Hunt for the Red October" when we got home. I found many more interesting things regarding sub-life on this site, if you're looking to learn something today, this is a good read. 

Next race on the books is ORAMM in Asheville, NC.  Stay tuned!