Slovick Racing: 2nd Place Wausau 24! (Formerly 24hrs of Nine Mile)

Here we go! Long story coming up - some background on my 24hr race mindset - better grab your coffee or Red Bull!

February of 2007 - I was sitting at JFK International airport with Dr. Flores, one of my college economics professors, after presenting my senior thesis at the Eastern Economics Association Conference in New York City

the day before. I was reading an inspiring article in this issue of Mountain Bike Magazine about a ridiculously ambitious 24 hour mountain bike racer - Pua Mata. I told my professor "I want to do this someday...race a 24 hour mountain bike race." After sharing parts of the story with him he confirmed that I should make reservations at a mental institution BUT agreed it would be a huge accomplishment if completed- physically and mentally. At the time it was just a great article about a pro rider overcoming a potentially career ending crash...AND to come back and attempt a 24 hour race only a couple months after?!?! pretty awesome! It inspired me to kick up the training...I really wanted to do this ultra-endurance racing!

I had only begun mountain bike racing the previous season (at 28 years old) and had quickly moved to the CAT 2 category racing the entire Mountain States Cup XC series. On and off again training put me behind for the start of the 2007 season...and on June 28th I crashed and broke my right fibula. I stayed motivated doing several things, one of them was re-reading this article. And two months later...I entered a race which sparked an active recovery and I was feeling great!

Well...two years later almost to the day, I broke my left fibula. I had just started working with TJ again making huge gains in performance and accomplishing what I originally set out to achieve with my cycling - and I nearly quit this time. But the mountain biking bug bite is an amazingly strong one. This time though it took seven months to get back on the saddle (for more reasons than just recovery - a big move out of state contributed). Again, one of my many ways to get motivated was to include a re-read of this article...AND then to see online current results that show her drive has made her faster than ever. I still wanted to race a 24 hour event someday.

2012 has been full of change for me all around, including the mountain bike racing category- new style of bike and more "training" and than racing - which has been awesome. The views you get while out on a mountain bike are amazing and on some training rides I've been getting some photos and stopping to take more of it in...riding intense!!...but relaxed. I LOVE the competition but hadn't realized how much it was consuming me. If it weren't for TJ's comments and understanding when schedules were tough fitting in with full time career schedules I would have exploded and hung it up completely; 'cause honestly missed workouts were pissing me off really bad...and it was affecting the workouts I WAS getting in- yeah counter-productive on all fronts!

So again this past June...I reread this article (yup still have it nearly six years later)...knew two friends racing the Lutsen 99er in a couple weeks...sure! Why not? Wait I have a singlespeed...meh...sure, why not!? :) I signed up, didn't think about the training or lack-thereof, started the race with a clear head and did pretty well! With that success, going in not worrying about the competitive part, and just doing it - riding MY race, I felt good again and impulse purchased the solo singlespeed registration to the Wausau24 later that week. Yeah...not something usually done on a whim, but it felt right and I had about four weeks to prepare. I'm finally gonna do this.

So...here's the chapter of my first attempt at a solo 24 hour race:

It's amazing what the human body can do...the Wausau 24 was a pretty awesome experience! At 10AM Saturday morning we started the race with a nice 1/4 mile Le Mans start to the bikes

and we were off. Thanks to John Reinan and his girlfriend Melissa, I had quick stops for fueling and bottle hand-ups. I do rememeber telling John at about 8 hours in that I was "starting to realize what I was trying to attempt here" :) Darkness set in and the lights were on (handlebar mounted lights are KEY) and I was going strong and relatively steady riding third in SS and around 10-11th overall...until about 3:30am.

My plan was a kit change every six hours...I hadn't changed shorts but changed tops a couple times. I was just putting more chamois cream on and I felt good to go- however, after it got dark my brain simply forgot to get me to reapply in my normal interval and I started to get saddle sores...BAD. I started standing more and moving around more when in the saddle...which then of course took out the rest of what my lower back had left.

After I completed that lap I pulled off and had serious doubts about finishing, but figured I'd make the best of it

and John got me some coffee AND a Red Bull and made a turkey burger while I went and changed my kit and of course finally reapplied cream. After about 30 mins of stretching, fueling, and changing I went out for another lap. My saddle sores were even worse feeling...the new kit I put on was a different brand and I think some of the seams were rubbing right on top of the sores that had developed. Apparently by that time I should have just stayed with those shorts and used twice as much cream.

Whatever...anyway, the next lap was REALLY fast...by design. During my long stop John told me I HAD moved into second place in SS and 7th or 8th overall but now fell to 3rd and 10th, but others lap were beginning to suffer as well...I knew they were watching my lap times too so to send a message I went a ripped off a lap only 10 minutes slower than my fastest 22 hours earlier to hopefully get the point across to them that I'm still in it! ...and hopefully they'll back off even more haha >)

With two hours to go I stopped right before the check in area (and finish line) to check the

results to see if it would be worth it yet to do one more lap based on others positions...turns out it would but the saddle sores and back problems were coming back strong and I HAD to take another break. Without knowing it the guy that was in 3rd SS passed me in the pit area about 5 mins before I went out again and about 1hr 30mins before the finish (10am). John told me this, and I was a little annoyed that I missed him. I went out and caught him 4 miles into the lap on the one longer and steeper singletrack climb which at this point most solo riders were walking. I ran up next to him, we kinda smirked, nodded back and forth- we knew who each other was- and I jumped on my bike and muscled up the rest of the climb. I looked back when I reached the top and he was slumped over the bars still pushing about 50 yards back...but then started running. I rode the rest of the lap super smooth and pretty fast and got to the finish area with about 13 minutes until 10am. About 30 other riders sitting there waiting for the clock to strike 10- we had to finish a lap after 10am in order to not be a DNF. Where I was at in the standings one more lap woud not have gained me any more spots in SS or the overall so I stayed there.

I kept looking back up the trail to see if he was going to come- he never did. One group of

riders came up to the line just as the clock turned over 10am...one was the guy right behind me in the overall and ignoring the etiquette page that everyone else was on, just rode by the line of riders and took 8th from me so I was scored with 9th overall. Not a big deal really but whatever. The other SS I passed to take second finished his lap about 2 minutes after 10am...so basically in the last 6 miles of the race I gained about 15 minutes on him - that felt pretty sweet to finish that strong! Full results HERE

It was pretty awsome to be 2nd on the podium in my first 24 hr race even though it was only the SS and not the GC podium. I had passed the rider that got 5th overall about 5 miles before I had the saddle sore/back issues. That problem cost me at least two laps overall which wuld have gotten me that 5th place. So! lessons...if I'm going to change shorts...stick to the plan or else kep the same and reapply using more than normal amounts. Fueling...I had some gut rot in the late afternoon by eating too many different things and caused me to have some slower lap times- next time (yeah...I'm thinking I need to do this again ;) I'm going straight up

water, GU Roctane energy drink mix and GU Roctane gels only (with occasional 8oz can of coke and red bull). I'll keep other stuff on the side just in case but when I was on that part of the routine I felt the best. At no time did I get any leg cramps or that feeling of just generally "tired". Pacing was perfect- I kind of used the strategy that TJ helped me put together for Leadville last year- ease into it.

Anyway...in the end it was awesome and I recovered much quicker than I thought in the days after...back on the bike after the Monday off to catch up on sleep...and eating...could not stop eating every couple hours!