Dirty Donut Race recap

The closest race ever for me! The Dirty Donut is a whole 10 miles from my house. So the early morning consisted of breakfast and a short drive to Martin, MI. I arrived, picked up my packet, and headed to where the team was set up by the awards.

I was carrying my cooler and a guy goes "you carrying that the whole way today"....lol. It wasn't a bad idea. It was about 8am and was already mid 70s. I started my slow warmup around the parking lot. I did a quick loop around a neighborhood and headed to the start line.

I lined up in the 13-15mph group. I was more towards the front so I could join the fast group. This event is known for its minus donut time. Every donut you eat you get 5 minutes off of your time. But, I was signed up for the "sprint" division which means we didn't eat any. Thank GOD. more on that later.

The last few announcements and it was time to go!

Photo courtesy of Lisa P.

I joined into the back of the lead group and tried to settle in. In the pic above I was towards the back. However, I was holding on and we were cruising at 20 plus. We rolled thru Martin and closed in on US131. I was starting to fall back a bit, but still managed to close in when we turned toward the drag strip. Still pavement I was tucked in with a few guys as the main pack started to disperse.

We hit the gravel and made the turn West. I lost contact and tried to settle into my pace. At this point, my average speed was high and I was comfortable going at the clip I had. A few people passed and I just plodded along...at a decent speed.

At 1 hour I was over 16 miles in. My goal was to average 15. I was well over that and was still feeling pretty good. I passed the first donut station and heard a few people cheer. I was settled in and wasn't minding the terrain. Pretty flat honestly. I started closing in on Hopkins and the 2nd donut station. This is where my day really changed. I rolled thru Hopkins and this was where the 61 and 41 mile races split. I pushed onward and made a left hander back onto gravel. Dead. Legs felt like they were dead. The gravel turned a bit softer and I started to sink in. Some of the people that stopped for donuts went blowing past me and out of site. I pushed as hard as I could, but this is where my suffering began.

30 miles in I had to get off the bike and walk up a hill. I was actually thankful because my feet hurt. The balls of my feet were on fire and felt like they were being hammered on. So the walk was welcome. Reached the top and rolled on again. My average speed was sinking quickly. At 1 hour is was 16 plus....at 2 hours it was 15.....and at 3 it was quickly approaching 14. 

Mentally I was done. I stopped at the last donut stop and got some more water. It was making me feel ill watching people eat more donuts. lol. No thanks. Not in that heat. I slowly got back on and made the final push toward Martin. I was getting there....but my average speed was under 14 now. My goal time slipped by. I had no choice but to keep moving. Then I saw a rider coming on a road from my right. It was a rider from the short course.....and I thought I was suffering. They started 2 hours after me....and rode 1/3 of the miles.....yet I caught them. Whew.

Photo Courtesy of Lisa P.

I finally crossed 131 and started South on the last stretch. Then I saw the gas station at the Martin exit. Knowing I was almost done gave me a bit of a spark. That, and the finish was on pavement. Lisa got a pic of me on that final stretch. I heard some team members cheering and I made my last turn back onto the high school property. I saw a guy just tooling along and that gave me some incentive to destroy him. Sure....he had no idea I was coming....but I beat him. lol. 

I finished....over 30 minutes behind my goal time. 61 miles of torture. Some was mental. Some was physical. Some was heat. Some was wind. My team did super awesome and brought home hardware in the overall 41 miler, overall 22 miler, and some other categories. I took up Dead fucking last. I wanted to average 15 and was around 13.7 overall. They did give us all finishers medals....so I got my millenial participation trophy for a job....well done? I suppose.

It was hard day on the bike for me, but my only option was to finish. Lots of water and some snacks was the end of the day in Martin. A short trip home, shower, and a nap that didn't help. lol.

Next up is Cow Pie classic.....and hopefully not another 60 miles of suffering. Gotta figure something out because I am tired of feeling like dirt on these rides. See you all soon!