24 Hours of Hurkey Creek

Man that was cold!!

After the race my uncle Pete asked whether or not it was harder then Ironman? Now that I have had a chance to think about that question I would have to answer a draw. Ironman has more of a physical challenge...three different sports grouped together where you are racing each one at some sort of intensity. The mental side of Ironman was rough but not like this. A 24 hour race didn't quite have the physical demand of Ironman...but then again I have twice as much fitness and had much more quality training going into this event. No matter...nothing can prepare you for night laps in sub-freezing temperatures, by yourself, after racing for 12 plus hours and having covered over 100 miles already...nothing!! Every ounce of your being is telling you to stop and questioning your motivation.

Inspecting the nutrition set-up.

Contemplation.


Bike check.

The race started at Noon on Saturday at a nice ~80 degrees. The lemans start was lame...as usual, but I tried to trot along at an easy pace and ran into Dez during the process. I introduced myself real quick and shook his hand after we exchanged competitive "good-lucks". He mentioned he had come across my blog during some pre-race investigation. I must have done a decent job lining up the field....well after the fact, not so much.

The first lap I settled in and absolutely forced myself not to jump and pass. It was tough trying to force myself to sit in when I had plenty of power in the bank. It was my first 24, I had done the math, and I said screw the fast initial lap times and decided to run my own race. Dez and Todd took off apparently. Dez lapped me on lap 3!! Wtf was he doing? I knew I was running it slow but whoa! Todd made his lap on lap 4 and Mike on lap 5. Mike hopped in behind me and we chatted about the leaders for a while. I commented on how he was trying to hang with the big boys for the first few laps and he made his pass....I never ran into him again for the rest of the race....nice guy though!

Still warm and having fun!

5 star treatment...and force feeding myself!

I was curious of my split to Mike....he was third, and that was my goal. I hadn't factored him into the line up of competition. Once he mentioned that he came in second at the Coolest 24 (geared) I knew I was in for a race. I lost a little hope at that point and thought about John Posners words in 24 solo, "once you get lapped by the leader it is kind of the point of no return". Mike was my leader in my case and I knew it would take some sort of meltdown for him to fall. I didn't let the rest of the race dictate mine and I plugged along and stayed patient.

Once it got dark my lap times slowed a litte, but for the most part I was staying consistent. It all felt easy as far as the legs were concerned. Once the cold started to settle in the mind started playing tricks. I was uncomfortable with all of the night gear on and the slow pace was starting to wear on me. As I went out for lap 11 I had my entire cold gear set up on and I was still cold. I was freezing my @ss off....my feet were numb, hands were numb and my joints were start to ache brutally with the cold. My intentions were to complete 12 and take a 30 minute break. Once I started 11 with that plan that was all I could focus on. The demons had crept in and were wreaking havoc. I thought I had strong mental toughness but this was a whole new level...something I have never faced. It was 2:30 when I completed that lap and my body was in a constant shiver.

Midnight pit crew.

I asked Charressa to heat up a Cup o' Noodle and I headed to the Jeep to crank the heater on full blast. I decided I would sit in there until I stopped shaking. I figured that Dez and Todd were able to maintain a pace that came with a higher heart rate and core temp. My granny pace wasn't cutting it out there to maintain any sort of body temperature. After 30 minutes in the Jeep I decided to throw on my big ski jacket and my shorts to help keep me warm. I had no idea that the temps were moving to sub 30 degrees. Lap 12 I was warm....yes!! I climbed efficiently and descended faster then I had any other night lap. I was sweating and happy! I thought maybe I had nailed it with the set up. As I finished the lap the sweat started to cool and I made a quick pit to start lap 13 to stay warm. Lap 13 proved to be the toughest of the race! I was beginning to freeze. The sweat from lap 12 nearly froze me solid.

Cold gear plan B.


Untitled from luke wiens on Vimeo.

It was so cold that I had a headache and was starting to feel sick. My legs were fine but the joint stiffness prevented any sort of effort. I decided that 3rd place would likely be unreachable and questioned my efforts in the cold. I barely made it in after 13 due to the cold and made another stop to the Jeep at 5:30. Once in the car I contemplated many things. Should I pull the plug? Why am I doing this? Is there any difference between 5th or 6th place? I managed to sleep for 45 minutes and woke to daylight.

After I woke up a sat there watching Dez and Todd crank by on the solo loop. I was being pulled apart as one side of me wanted so bad to stop it all while the other side absolutely needed to be back out there with the guys suffering as they were. At 7:15 I forced my gear back on stubbornly and charged out of the car without thinking. Charressa woke from the passenger seat and snapped right back into Pit Captain mode. I knew I had to do at least one more for the laps to count. I figured I would head out and see how I felt.

The difference between night and day...I think a 24 hour solo racer created that quote. I could see, descend, push. I was no longer trapped in this freezing bubble of darkness alone with only my thoughts. Life returned to the course and the sun warmed everything quickly. 50 degrees felt like 70 and I was cleaning all of the climbs out of the saddle in most sections. I powered the descents...it was starting to get fun again. I cross for 14 completed and didn't think about pulling the plug. As Eric, Charressa and I contemplated the standings I was rejuvinated and ready to go. We decided that 15 might be enough to solidify 4th place but we weren't sure. I told them I would stop on the tail end of the course to get the update on the standings before grinding through another lap. I powered out and felt like a new man. My body felt like it usually does on a Sunday after a rought Saturday epic. My legs were solid and the stomach was fine. The warmth of the sun literally allowed me to race again.

After chatting with the crew it was decided that 16 would lock it in. I already knew I would do another...I was running too strong to quit now. I posted a 1:14 with a couple minutes of chat time...only a few minutes slower then my first laps of the race. I took my time on 16 and drove off the motivation that it would be my last lap. I had figured that 16 would be a respectable number before the race started and was happy that I was going to reach that in my first 24. I crossed just after 11:15 and got an awesome cheer from the crowd as the race announcer mentioned my efforts. The solo's were the show out there everyone responded greatly.

My 24 Solo Finish from luke wiens on Vimeo.

Two weeks ago I went the furthest that I have ever gone on a mountain bike with a solid 100 miles. Yesterday I traveled farther that I ever have on any sort of bike....ever, with 160 miles and roughly 16,000 feet of elevation gain. I learned a lot out there and I am happy with my efforts.

I was amazed at how curtious the field was to the solo's. Nearly 90% of the entire field said, "good job solo," or "keep it up solo" as they passed. I ran into Dez one more time on the course and told him he was killing it....and he was. Todd passed a couple of times and always had words of encouragement. I passed Tim (Trouperacingco.com) a couple of times and tried to give the same engouragement as Todd would as he passed me. Gene came by once during one of the night laps...it was a good break up to chat with him briefly. Robert Herber came flying by on the verge of breaking the freakin sound barrier a couple of times during the race and offered encouragement as well.

And well...Dez proved me wrong. He truly is unhuman, bringing Todd's regin to an end. Those two were absolutely amazing out there to watch power forth....in a whole 'nother class. Maybe next time I will charge out like a madman with the rest of the guys....this time I had to run my race...experience my first 24...my goal was to learn as much as I could.

Full Results HERE.

Here is a killer slideshow of the pictures my cousin Gabe took of me and Team Wiens.

Big thanks to my awesome girlfriend for being there every single lap freezing just as I was. Also, thanks to the rest of the Wiens family for there killer support and bike maintenance. Thanks to Eric and Holly coming out to cheer me on...it is always great to have a fellow respected athlete and friend in your corner. Thanks to Mike (Shudder), Carl (Pho'd Up), and Kevin (Schlepp) for their light and battery loans. And...Huge thanks to everyone and their words of encouragement while trying to conquer this goal!

Me and my uncle Pete on the start line....Team Wiens and Solo Wiens.