Dirty Thirty Recap

 After racing only 1 race in 2020, I was pretty excited to start my season in 2021. Here is my recap of the Dirty Thirty in Saranac, MI

The alarm clock started to go off around 6:30am. I worked myself awake and to a position of sitting on the side of the bed. Too early for a Saturday, regardless of a race or not. Especially with temps in the low 30's. I eventually got up and slogged into the kitchen where I made some eggs. Thankfully I was packed and ready Friday night, so eating and loading up were my only tasks on this chilly morning.

While eating I checked the weather to ensure that warmer clothes would be the better option. I got dressed and headed out the door. I met Sheryl in Martin and we started north. She was coming for moral support! We headed up 131 to M6 before joining 96 toward Lansing. After a pretty quick trip we found ourselves in a traffic jam on the outskirts of Saranac. By traffic jam I mean that the traffic for packet pick up was backed up nearly half a mile away from the church! No worries, it was about 8:30 and my race didn't start until 9:30.

After about 10 minutes of not moving I started to get nervous. Time was slipping by very quickly and we had not gotten any closer to town. Eventually the line started to move and found a flow. We got my packet and searched out a place to park. Now, it was 9:10 and I was starting to panic a bit. I didn't want to miss my start. I quickly filled bottles and got everything ready while Sheryl put my number plate on. Then I launched over to the start area to find a bathroom. I hit the start line area around 9:20 with zero warmup. Minus the warmup, I was as ready as I could be.

The clock struck 9:30 and it was time to go. My start group was only about 12 people and we started very slow. The first mile just wasn't much fun. A small pavement climb out of town. With no warmup, my legs were just not cooperating. Knowing that I had 50 miles to go, I just kept going with the knowledge that I would settle in eventually. Before too long I was in my familiar position of riding alone. Slowly the group peeled away and I just found my own pace. 

The miles started to tick by and I was good and settled in. I had an average speed in mind, a goal time. And at 10 miles I was ahead of that average pace. Feeling confident I kept plugging away. At 20 miles I was starting to wonder where the hills were. I know there is some climbing, but hadn't seen much. This meant my average speed was much higher than I had anticipated. Around mile 25 I got caught by a guy. We had a terrific tailwind and were cruising along with low power. We chatted a bit and then he slowly drifted out of sight.

Around mile 30 I started to feel some hills. As the miles were adding up, my average speed started to drop. Not as much as I anticipated, but it was falling. But, the miles were going by. I was getting closer to 50 knowing that there was a "terrible" hill coming. A segment called Ivan the terrible. I figured out right where it was as I reached a hill where my gearing finally betrayed me. I had to get off and walk. Making my way up the hill I saw a nice gentleman standing at an aid station cheering me on. He was like, well done....I couldn't do what you are doing. He reassured me that the worst was over and that the rest of the race shouldn't be too bad.

He was right. The last part of the race was very fast and flowy. I figured I was getting close as I saw a Saranac sign. I rolled back into town and made the last right hander into the finish line. Not a lot of people around. Just a finish banner and some scattered humans. I crossed the line and was DONE. My longest race ever, and my fastest gravel race pace ever. I crushed my goal time by just under 30 minutes. My goal time was a reasonable 4 hours. I finished in 3:30:13. A goal of 12.5 and a final pace of 14. Like I said, my fastest and longest race ever.

 

So, the 2021 season started off very well. I learned some important information about my nutrition. This is why I am doing these longer races. In preparation for the Coast to Coast. I am using these rides to determine how my body responds to my nutrition and how my training is actually going. The training gauge is pointing in the right direction. The nutrition gauge gave me some good feedback and I will make adjustments in the next race. Lowell 50 is next. Another 50 miles, but with some additional climbing. We shall see how it goes.