12 Hours of Addison Oaks

Jelly, water, ipod.  My reminder list for the race today.  Everything else was accounted for, including a fabulous 700 lumen light on loan from the great Cullen Watkins (Thank you Cullen).  I woke, I drank a pot of coffee, I got nervous.


As previously noted I haven't had a ton of mileage in the past few weeks, but I REALLY wanted to get this race in.  According to the series points, there have been quite a few ladies battling it out this summer and I was expecting a good turnout.  On the drive there, I couldn't decide how I felt about that...


My fabulous pit manager, Josh and I arrived, set up our tent and found our friend Chris (Patterson) from D2 Labs Racing.  Chris and I warmed up, Josh fiddled with our bikes.  At 9:50 we lined up at the start.  During the racers meeting they announced three ladies in my category, but I couldn't find them on the line.  And then, we were racing...

Josh Getting Big Mama Miss Berlin Ready!



Warming Up...And I Only Thought About Doing Pull-Ups On The Jungle Gym Once...I Swear...


Sunshine.  Chipmunks.  Bunnies.  Deer.  This race was practically a Disney movie, but I was far from feeling like a princess as I heaved in air during the first lap.  It was a little faster then I should have been moving, but I wanted to get distance between myself and the other ladies.


On lap three, my friend Joe (Fulscher) stopped by to lend me a little moral support.  This in itself helped get myself back together after lap one.  Then my parents showed up to cheer me on and I was flying!

When the six hour race came to a close.  Chris finished his last lap with me.  It almost didn't feel like we were in a race at that point, the conversation helped break up the constant need to worry about how far behind me second was (I really felt like at any moment she was going to pop up on the trail and overtake me).


Night came, lights went on and strangely I still felt good.  Really good.  I was still practicing the new technique Joe (Fulscher) taught me, called "attack" on the hills (why have I never thought of doing this!).  My night vision was the best it's ever been and the temperature was perfect! 


My original goal was to get fifteen laps in.  I ended up with sixteen and wrapped things up a half hour early since I was a lap up on second.  Bringing my total mileage to 116.  Happy.  So happy!


Without my great pit manager, my friends and my family, my mood could easily have gone south during the day.  I appreciate greatly the time they took to help me out and for all of their well wishes!

O-M-G, It's April From The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!