Coolest 24 hr Race Against Cancer
May 5th & 6th, 2007
Mary Allan’s Race Report
Pre-race:
The week leading up to the race became progressively more emotional for me (poor Sean!), as the out pouring of support of friends, family and co-workers continued to pour in, in the form of emails, pledges, and care-packages. I was tearful in response to everyone’s support and a little overwhelmed! What had I gotten myself into?
I knew that I’d be getting nervous during the week leading up to the race, so I scheduled myself for an 1 ½ hour massage on Wednesday morning prior to the race weekend (which was wonderful!). I followed that up with a hair cut, which sounds like a real ‘girl’ thing to do, but I was actually donating my hair to ‘Locks of Love’, a charity that makes wigs for disadvantaged children with cancer. So, 10 inches of hair gone, I was ready for racing!
Race day:
Even as Sean and I discussed race strategy on the way to the event, it still seemed as if this was for some event in the future. The reality that this was all starting at noon still hadn’t hit me. We arrived at the race venue with our trailer and easy-up already in place, as Sean had gone over on Friday to secure us, and our fellow TMG racers, a good spot on the course/ in the pits. Our good friends Rob and Tara Stout also had their tent trailer set-up, as they had volunteered to help Sean crew for me for the entire event!
After changing into bike clothes and a few practice rides for shock adjustments on the bikes, it was time to line up for the start. I made my way up toward the front and settled into what seemed to be a good spot, only to look to my left and find myself lined up right next to the two other main competitors in the solo female class- yikes! I got a clean start, no females ahead of me and only 2 bikes back from my fellow pit mate and friend Roger Lackey, so I knew I was off the front! Good job- I won’t get stuck in ‘traffic’ when the course narrows down to single track!
Unfortunately, this lead was short lived. Exactly 4 minutes into the race I came to the first of many water crossings. In an effort to keep my feet dry, I followed Sean’s advice to lean back, lift up my front tire at speed, and clear the majority of the water crossing. I made it, but what’s that noise? Oh no! When I landed in the rocks on the far side, I flatted my back tire and blew the tire right off the rim! (I never get flat tires, and can’t recall the last time I changed one!). Sean and I had just gone over how to use the CO2 cartridge (which I have never used!), and how to put a tube in my ‘tubeless’ tire. “Think, think, think!” I demanded of myself, as a steady stream of racers passed me by! Seven minutes later, I was back on my bike and rolling, but it took almost half a lap before a started catching up with the rest of the racers. So much for not getting stuck in traffic…
By lap three my back was already tight and hurting from standing so much to mash up hills in an effort to get caught up. I rolled into the pit yelling for drugs (Tylenol, Excedrin, anything to take the edge off!). Not a good sign this early into the race… It was at this point that my mom and several co-workers left, which was good since things got a lot worse before they got better.
The rest of the daylight laps are kind of a blur. I was just trying to get as many laps in before it got dark as I could. With a goal of 18 laps, I needed to average 80-minute lap times, including pit time. I was doing fairly well with this schedule, and by mid-night I had completed 10 laps (only 8 more to go!). Unfortunately, fatigue was taking its toll and my lap times started getting longer (pushing 1hour 30 minutes). At this point, I was going back and forth with the Night Rider girl (#4) in the pit next to us. I would catch up to her out on course and pass her on the climbs, and beat her back to the pits. She would roll in while I would be sitting eating, only she wasn’t stopping because her stomach was really giving her trouble and she couldn’t eat. So, off I would go again to chase her down. “She can’t sustain this I kept thinking”, finally she hit the wall and went into her trailer to sleep for about an hour and a half.
By daybreak, I had completed 14 laps. Ok, not bad, 4 more laps in 6 hours. It could happen, 1 ½ hours each lap. I had made it to day light- Yeah!
The arrival of the sun was quite possibly the best part of the race because it brought with it a cacophony of animal noises as the forest woke up to a new day. The song birds where in rare form, a pair of wild geese circled over-head calling out to each other, and I could hear ducks on the pond as I passed by. Several large deer lumbered along in the tall grass, while a large flock of wild turkeys promenaded around with their tail feathers spread into large fans, calling out for their mates. Sunrise never seemed so sweet!
During my 15th lap, Sean actually met me out on course to let me know that I might be in first place, “Not to put any pressure on you, just thought you would want to know!” I’m not sure if that had anything to do with it, or just the fact that now my stomach was shutting down, but by the time I finished lap 15, I started hitting the wall. I hadn’t been able to eat much before going out on 15, and it was worse by the time I left for lap 16, only a little ginger ale. By this point, I was averaging at least 2 stops in the bushes out on course for each lap, which only added to my lap times and my misery. And I wanted to throw up, but couldn’t.
Lap 16 was the hardest 2 hours and 10 minutes of my life (thus far). Sean literally had to support me and my bike through the check-in and checkout to get started. I struggled both mentally and physically throughout the entire lap, using my granny gear more than any lap and walking in places that I’d never walked. I was sooo done! As I was hiking out of Knickerbockers creek crossing I heard a girl riding up behind me ask how I was doing. “I’m torched!” I said without looking, only to discover that it was solo female rider #3, the girl that had been over an hour ahead at one point. “What lap are you on?” I managed to ask. “17” was the response, and something about a mix-up in the lap counting. Either way, she was riding, and I was barely walking. Not much I could do about it…
I finally finished lap 16, and I wanted nothing more than to be done! But it was only 9 something in the morning (no matter how many times I asked what time it was!). I knew if I stopped that the Night Rider girl #4 had enough time to pass me, and I wanted to ride as much of the 24 hours as I could…. And, I didn’t want to quit! I cried, dry heaved, and finally got some cereal and green tea into my stomach. I was still dizzy as a loon, and could barely walk. I don’t even remember what all Sean said to help me pull myself together to go out for another lap. Something about training… and quitting, I don’t know but it worked and I decided to try for one more. Sean literally had to lift me out of the chair and support me all of the way through the race venue, I was so dizzy that I could barely walk. He helped me get onto my bike and off I went.
Miraculously, I started to feel a little better. My head started to clear, my stomach wasn’t hurting quit as bad, and my legs started to come back around. I could push my ‘usual’ gears again. “Ok, the faster I go, the sooner I finish!”. Once again, I found myself hiking out of Knickerbockers, only this time I looked up to the top and saw Sean standing there with his bike, like my guarding angel. “You didn’t look so good when you left, so I came to check on you!”. He walked next to me for a bit, with words of encouragement. I finally had to tell him that he couldn’t go the whole way with me… He did meet me again a few miles from the finish just to double check my status, and was there to greet me at the finish line! I ended up turning out 1:20 lap time for my last lap, and was so glad that I went out for lap 17! Good enough for second place, but more importantly, I didn’t quit!
The love and support that I received before, during and after this event has been phenomenal! I don’t have words to thank everyone for all that you did for me! My crew was so amazing (Sean, Tara, and Rob, including help from Roger’s crew, Frank and John, as well as TMG members throughout the day/night/day!). I never could have done this without each of you, and of course, the couching, mentoring, love, and support of my husband & best friend, Sean.
Thank you.
May 5th & 6th, 2007
Mary Allan’s Race Report
Pre-race:
The week leading up to the race became progressively more emotional for me (poor Sean!), as the out pouring of support of friends, family and co-workers continued to pour in, in the form of emails, pledges, and care-packages. I was tearful in response to everyone’s support and a little overwhelmed! What had I gotten myself into?
I knew that I’d be getting nervous during the week leading up to the race, so I scheduled myself for an 1 ½ hour massage on Wednesday morning prior to the race weekend (which was wonderful!). I followed that up with a hair cut, which sounds like a real ‘girl’ thing to do, but I was actually donating my hair to ‘Locks of Love’, a charity that makes wigs for disadvantaged children with cancer. So, 10 inches of hair gone, I was ready for racing!
Race day:
Even as Sean and I discussed race strategy on the way to the event, it still seemed as if this was for some event in the future. The reality that this was all starting at noon still hadn’t hit me. We arrived at the race venue with our trailer and easy-up already in place, as Sean had gone over on Friday to secure us, and our fellow TMG racers, a good spot on the course/ in the pits. Our good friends Rob and Tara Stout also had their tent trailer set-up, as they had volunteered to help Sean crew for me for the entire event!
After changing into bike clothes and a few practice rides for shock adjustments on the bikes, it was time to line up for the start. I made my way up toward the front and settled into what seemed to be a good spot, only to look to my left and find myself lined up right next to the two other main competitors in the solo female class- yikes! I got a clean start, no females ahead of me and only 2 bikes back from my fellow pit mate and friend Roger Lackey, so I knew I was off the front! Good job- I won’t get stuck in ‘traffic’ when the course narrows down to single track!
Unfortunately, this lead was short lived. Exactly 4 minutes into the race I came to the first of many water crossings. In an effort to keep my feet dry, I followed Sean’s advice to lean back, lift up my front tire at speed, and clear the majority of the water crossing. I made it, but what’s that noise? Oh no! When I landed in the rocks on the far side, I flatted my back tire and blew the tire right off the rim! (I never get flat tires, and can’t recall the last time I changed one!). Sean and I had just gone over how to use the CO2 cartridge (which I have never used!), and how to put a tube in my ‘tubeless’ tire. “Think, think, think!” I demanded of myself, as a steady stream of racers passed me by! Seven minutes later, I was back on my bike and rolling, but it took almost half a lap before a started catching up with the rest of the racers. So much for not getting stuck in traffic…
By lap three my back was already tight and hurting from standing so much to mash up hills in an effort to get caught up. I rolled into the pit yelling for drugs (Tylenol, Excedrin, anything to take the edge off!). Not a good sign this early into the race… It was at this point that my mom and several co-workers left, which was good since things got a lot worse before they got better.
The rest of the daylight laps are kind of a blur. I was just trying to get as many laps in before it got dark as I could. With a goal of 18 laps, I needed to average 80-minute lap times, including pit time. I was doing fairly well with this schedule, and by mid-night I had completed 10 laps (only 8 more to go!). Unfortunately, fatigue was taking its toll and my lap times started getting longer (pushing 1hour 30 minutes). At this point, I was going back and forth with the Night Rider girl (#4) in the pit next to us. I would catch up to her out on course and pass her on the climbs, and beat her back to the pits. She would roll in while I would be sitting eating, only she wasn’t stopping because her stomach was really giving her trouble and she couldn’t eat. So, off I would go again to chase her down. “She can’t sustain this I kept thinking”, finally she hit the wall and went into her trailer to sleep for about an hour and a half.
By daybreak, I had completed 14 laps. Ok, not bad, 4 more laps in 6 hours. It could happen, 1 ½ hours each lap. I had made it to day light- Yeah!
The arrival of the sun was quite possibly the best part of the race because it brought with it a cacophony of animal noises as the forest woke up to a new day. The song birds where in rare form, a pair of wild geese circled over-head calling out to each other, and I could hear ducks on the pond as I passed by. Several large deer lumbered along in the tall grass, while a large flock of wild turkeys promenaded around with their tail feathers spread into large fans, calling out for their mates. Sunrise never seemed so sweet!
During my 15th lap, Sean actually met me out on course to let me know that I might be in first place, “Not to put any pressure on you, just thought you would want to know!” I’m not sure if that had anything to do with it, or just the fact that now my stomach was shutting down, but by the time I finished lap 15, I started hitting the wall. I hadn’t been able to eat much before going out on 15, and it was worse by the time I left for lap 16, only a little ginger ale. By this point, I was averaging at least 2 stops in the bushes out on course for each lap, which only added to my lap times and my misery. And I wanted to throw up, but couldn’t.
Lap 16 was the hardest 2 hours and 10 minutes of my life (thus far). Sean literally had to support me and my bike through the check-in and checkout to get started. I struggled both mentally and physically throughout the entire lap, using my granny gear more than any lap and walking in places that I’d never walked. I was sooo done! As I was hiking out of Knickerbockers creek crossing I heard a girl riding up behind me ask how I was doing. “I’m torched!” I said without looking, only to discover that it was solo female rider #3, the girl that had been over an hour ahead at one point. “What lap are you on?” I managed to ask. “17” was the response, and something about a mix-up in the lap counting. Either way, she was riding, and I was barely walking. Not much I could do about it…
I finally finished lap 16, and I wanted nothing more than to be done! But it was only 9 something in the morning (no matter how many times I asked what time it was!). I knew if I stopped that the Night Rider girl #4 had enough time to pass me, and I wanted to ride as much of the 24 hours as I could…. And, I didn’t want to quit! I cried, dry heaved, and finally got some cereal and green tea into my stomach. I was still dizzy as a loon, and could barely walk. I don’t even remember what all Sean said to help me pull myself together to go out for another lap. Something about training… and quitting, I don’t know but it worked and I decided to try for one more. Sean literally had to lift me out of the chair and support me all of the way through the race venue, I was so dizzy that I could barely walk. He helped me get onto my bike and off I went.
Miraculously, I started to feel a little better. My head started to clear, my stomach wasn’t hurting quit as bad, and my legs started to come back around. I could push my ‘usual’ gears again. “Ok, the faster I go, the sooner I finish!”. Once again, I found myself hiking out of Knickerbockers, only this time I looked up to the top and saw Sean standing there with his bike, like my guarding angel. “You didn’t look so good when you left, so I came to check on you!”. He walked next to me for a bit, with words of encouragement. I finally had to tell him that he couldn’t go the whole way with me… He did meet me again a few miles from the finish just to double check my status, and was there to greet me at the finish line! I ended up turning out 1:20 lap time for my last lap, and was so glad that I went out for lap 17! Good enough for second place, but more importantly, I didn’t quit!
The love and support that I received before, during and after this event has been phenomenal! I don’t have words to thank everyone for all that you did for me! My crew was so amazing (Sean, Tara, and Rob, including help from Roger’s crew, Frank and John, as well as TMG members throughout the day/night/day!). I never could have done this without each of you, and of course, the couching, mentoring, love, and support of my husband & best friend, Sean.
Thank you.
