Gearing up for Goal Number 2: Mohican

Photo by Jen Farmer

I'm feeling pretty good this year. The last two years I went into Mohican a little over trained. So this year I really backed off and spent the last two weeks doing shorter, more intense rides. Well, not this week, I've kept it fairly chill.


So I got 3 goals this year: 1. Marathon, 2 Having a Mohican 200 miler I am proud of, 3 Race with the Big Boys in Cross.


Within the Mohican race I would love to pull off a 9-hour ride. However the conditions may be muddy now. So I just have to hope to try and beat last year's time of 10:35. And, most importantly, have fun and enjoy the ride!


Nutrition:
Using mainly Infinit. I'm going to mix up a secret weapon "syrup" bottle that I keep in my jersey pocket.


What I'm packin:
2 Bottles of Infinit (Infinit is like Gatorade but with more calories, it has electrolytes PLUS my personal custom blend of carbs and protein and caffeine, very cool stuff!)
1 Syrup bottle of Infinit with 8 more servings
1 flask containing Gel (I prefer the chocolate GUs, a tasty treat while I am suffering)
Small container of Anti-Fatigue caps


All this stuff is small and in containers I can keep within reach in my pockets.

What my current formulation of Infinit looks like. High carbs, from protein and amino acids (with the hope of diminishing muscle deterioration during event, but science proves protein probably has no effect). Check out www.infinitnutrition.us

Pre-race breakfast of Infinit Mud — a protein shake with coffee in it. Post-race recovery drink will be ready in the fridge (expecting to be a zombie after).


Put it in your f@nny!:
I like to call my saddle bag my fanny pack... I got that loaded up with some emergency gear:
1 multi-tool with chain tool
1 extra tube
1 patch kit
2 tire levers
1 SRAM quick link
2 CO2 cartridges
Some emergency duct tape to repair side wall tears
First Aid (Remember last year!)

What my pre-measured dose bottle of Infinit "syrup" looks like.

Pit Stops!
What I should do within 3-4 minutes:
1. Have bottles filled with water
2. Light stretching
3. Squirt dose of Infinit into bottles
4. Take Anti-Fatigue cap
5. Check chain lube
6. Drink extra plain water (noticed last year feeling a tad thirsty, but it was hot)


Do it on the Bike!
I'm going to try to stretch, fuel and urinate while I am riding! This way save some time.

Clothing

– I'm going to wear a regular race kit with the 3 pockets in back. keeping my bottle and gel flask in the pockets.

– I bought new gloves, need new gel pads

– Seriously thinking about wearing Balaga running socks, they have a padded footbed for extra comfort. Not "cool," but maybe necessary.

– Switched to Superfeet footbeds this year. I place these in my race shoes and they make my pedal stroke more efficient by supporting my arches and pronation issues.


Tires
We're doing Maxxis Ignitors on front and CrossMarks on back. We use this as an all-rounder set up and race it dry and wet.

Aid Station Times for Target Time of 9 Hours:

Last year I finished in a total time of 10:35:51, with a moving time of 9:20ish and average moving speed of 10.24 mph. So this year I wanted to target 9hour-ish — meaning with pit stops that I need to average 11.5 mph. For any ride I feel like this is a laughable average speed, but with all the trails and hills of Mohican this is like running a 3:15 Marathon.

First 20mi: 1:50:00 (avg 10.9 mph)
Aid Station 1 (20mi): 0:04:00
2nd 14 miles: 3:05:00 (avg 11.03 mph — target 12ish for the leg)Aid Station 2 (34mi): 0:03:00
3rd 12 miles: 4:08:00 (avg 11.13 mph — target 11.5ish for the leg)Aid Station 3 (46mi): 0:04:00 
4th 26 miles: 6:15:00 (avg 11.5 mph — target 12.3ish for the leg)Aid Station 4 (72mi): 0:03:00
5th 8 miles: 6:55:00 (avg 11.5 mph — target 12ish for the leg)Aid Station 3 again (80mi): maybe skip or 0:02:00
6th 12 miles: 7:55:00 (avg 11.6 mph — target 12ish for the leg)Aid Station 5 (92mi): hopefully skip 
Finish 8 miles: 9:00:00 (avg 11.5 mph — target 7.5ish for the leg)


But if it's muddy, I'm just going to have to slog through it!