Taking the Plunge
Despite the fact that my current life right now is filled up with little but dirty diapers and a general lack of sleep, today I registered for the 24 hours of Allamuchy race (link here). For those of you who heard my story from last year, you're probably wondering why I would choose to put myself through this suffering again this year. I have no clue. What's more, I've registered for the solo event this year, a move that may end up breaking me of mountain biking forever. I guess the answer to the question has some resonance with the idea that they say you don't actually remember pain, but merely retain the idea that you were in pain. I still vividly remember being miserable at 5:00 AM, rain coming down in buckets. But this doesn't deter me at all for some reason.
Given that we're all doing it solo this year, it means I can do as many (or few) laps as I like. But seeing as I just dropped $120 (plus $8 registration fee) on it, I'm going to feel inclined to get a little more for my money than a single lap. I'm putting the over/under at 4.5 right now. I'm also considering trying to post the best time possible, an endeavor that may end up seeing me ride 1 lap and then throwing in the towel. I posted a 1:24 as my best time last year, which I think I can improve upon by 14 minutes, given the same course. I'll now attempt to explain why.
First, I have a new bike which is a vast improvement over the rigid bike I had last year. But this is only part of it. Last year, I had ridden about 5 mountain bike rides before the race, and I while I was in some semblance of shape, I wasn't in shape for non-road riding. Additionally, I'll be training more for short, off-road riding than the long, road bike riding I was doing last year. Will this make 14 minutes of difference? I think it will, but you never know. If I also lay it all on the line for 1 lap with no regard for the idea that I will need to ride again later, I think that puts me closer to the magical realm of 1:10 or less. If I can also trim my weight from my current 200 pounds down to something more like 190, it can only help. But this is the least likely of my time shaving possibilities at the present moment.
But we'll see. Given that nobody will be waiting for me to get back to camp so the next guy can ride, it'll take a little of the pressure off to finish the lap. That will make it a lot easier to say that I will or won't hit the trail at any given time. That alone can only make the experience better. For the record, I did a measly 3 laps last year. So really it can only get better than that. Stay tuned as we rapidly approach the weekend of August 26th.
Given that we're all doing it solo this year, it means I can do as many (or few) laps as I like. But seeing as I just dropped $120 (plus $8 registration fee) on it, I'm going to feel inclined to get a little more for my money than a single lap. I'm putting the over/under at 4.5 right now. I'm also considering trying to post the best time possible, an endeavor that may end up seeing me ride 1 lap and then throwing in the towel. I posted a 1:24 as my best time last year, which I think I can improve upon by 14 minutes, given the same course. I'll now attempt to explain why.
First, I have a new bike which is a vast improvement over the rigid bike I had last year. But this is only part of it. Last year, I had ridden about 5 mountain bike rides before the race, and I while I was in some semblance of shape, I wasn't in shape for non-road riding. Additionally, I'll be training more for short, off-road riding than the long, road bike riding I was doing last year. Will this make 14 minutes of difference? I think it will, but you never know. If I also lay it all on the line for 1 lap with no regard for the idea that I will need to ride again later, I think that puts me closer to the magical realm of 1:10 or less. If I can also trim my weight from my current 200 pounds down to something more like 190, it can only help. But this is the least likely of my time shaving possibilities at the present moment.
But we'll see. Given that nobody will be waiting for me to get back to camp so the next guy can ride, it'll take a little of the pressure off to finish the lap. That will make it a lot easier to say that I will or won't hit the trail at any given time. That alone can only make the experience better. For the record, I did a measly 3 laps last year. So really it can only get better than that. Stay tuned as we rapidly approach the weekend of August 26th.
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