Lo-to-Ja!

Christina and I at the finish!

I seriously had a bit of doubt that I could ride my bike from sun up to sun down.  I did it...well I should say WE did it.  You cannot go this race alone.  You have to work the draft or you will burn out fast.  Where shall I start?  We got to Logan in just enough time to pick up our packets and get our legs stamped. 

LotoJa stamp

They stamp it with the LotoJa cyclist.  This year it was blue (I heard last year it was black).  We grabbed some dinner at Cafe Rio and headed to the hotel to get our stuff in order.  When I say "stuff" what I should say is food.  Food in the form of granola bars, shot blocks, sports beans, power bars, perpetuum, chicken stock (more on that later) EFS, advil, bananas and agave nectar.  Seriously, I had about 20 pounds of food that I was supposed to ingest over 12 hours?  How was this possible?  I had it meticulously planned.  I would consume 75 grams of carbs per hour and 500 mg of sodium (bawk, bawk).  I had made a list of what I would need at each stage of the race.  Justin was kind enough to be my support for this all day affair.  He had my "nutrition plan" in a little notebook I had prepared for him.  It's crazy how much prep time you have to put into a race of this length.  Earlier in the week while at the store I was shopping for some power bars and I would check for carb content.  You see, most people who count carbs don't like to have too many in their diet and restrict their intake.  Not a weirdo like me!  If it didn't have at least 25 grams of carbs it was NOT coming home with me.

Back to the race... We woke up at 5:20, got ready, tried to eat until we were stuffed and then headed to the starting line.  My wave of CAT 1,2,3 and 4 women went off at 6:58.  It was a chilly start.  We rode 30 miles into Preston Idaho.  It was mostly flat and these girls were setting the pace around 22-23.  I hung on the back and turned on a podcast.  I just love drafting.  Into Preston I took my jacket off, got a refuel (150 carbs and two new bottle of sports drink) and I was off for the first of 3 climbs.  The first climb was very scenic but I was just not ready for it.  I missed my friend who was supposed to ride with me.  I was feeling lonely and discouraged.  When I got to the neutral feed zone at the top I decided to wait for Christina. Even though i lost 15 minutes by waiting it was so worth it.  We were together!  We could now continue on with our plan and life was good again.  We rode into Montpelier Idaho and saw our guys at the third feed zone.  I was feeling great and ready and fueled.  Onto Afton Wyoming baby!  Ohhh wait... another climb!  The second one of the day.  It reminded me of the backside of suncrest and wasn't extremely steep but we were working.  What goes up....must come down.  We cruised down the other side and enjoyed a bit of relief before heading towards our final climb.  Queen of the Mountain!  This climb was like the front side of Suncrest and only 3 miles. Christina and I met up with several groups and continued to work our drafting skills.  While we were not crowned Queen of the mountain I settled for princess.  It was steep and without Eminem singing sweet melodies in my ear I wouldn't have made it.

Afton "picnic" stop.

We flew into Afton and I was feeling great...and hungry!  We pulled into the feed zone #2 and our men were not there.  What the?  Where are they?  Who are those guys under that shaded tree enjoying a picnic?....JUSTIN!  They ran over so fast.  They "claimed" that they had just arrived themselves.  He said they got a hamburger and I said "what?  a burger?"  So my sweetie let me eat half of it.  i was starving!  Usually I rarely eat during races so this was way out of character for me.  I so want to do a long distance race and not bonk, puke, pass out, forget my name,  etc. that my goal was to get it right this time.  I did.  I ate, drank, ate, gel, pretzels, and banana.  I put in my order for a "Cafe latte" (perpetuum flavor) at the next stop in Alpine.  We were off again.  125 miles down and 34 to the next stop.

Check out our drafting skills leaving Afton.....

Once into Alpine I was still feeling surprisingly good.  I was excited that the finish was coming and the next time I saw Justin it would be at the finish.  For this stop I grabbed my latte, 2 advils and chugged down some chicken stock.  I think I made a few spectators gag as they watched me drink straight out of the box.  Kind of gross, I know but a girls gotta have her sodium!

This next part of the race was through a canyon with the beautiful snake river at our side. Stunning!  i saw a few boats full of people who were rafting down the river and having a blast.  it reminded me of our second year anniversary when we stayed in Jackson Hole at a bed and breakfast.  We did the river raft (2 months prego at the time)  and a few hikes (saw a moose of course).  I was lost in my thoughts of gorgeous mother nature and how happy I was with my life.  Its been a fun year.  Busier than ever but so enjoyable.  I could not stop thinking about my kids and how I wanted to bring them up here and do the river raft.  They are still a little small fro it but one day they'll be ready.  i also thought about the three things that I wish for them as they grow.  They are; 1-Be happy. 2- Be kind and 3- Be adventurous!  I want them to get everything they can out of life.  Not material things but experiences, new people and adventures.  This is my wish.

Coming into the finshers shoot

Kiddos at Oktoberfest!  Happy, kind and adventurous.

We had 36 miles to go and I told Christina "remember our ride last Saturday?  That's all we have left.  Lets just pretend we are out for a 36 mile ride with fresh legs."  We came out of the canyon and along the main drag and then we took a side road through the country.  10 miles to go!  We could see the Tetons in the distance and soon the sun would be behind them.  My body was feeling good but my mind was ready to be done.  I got a little weak these final miles but Christina and Karen pulled me in.  We finished 12.10!  It was still light out and I have never been so delighted to finish such a long event.  It was a great day.  So much more enjoyable than I had expected.  We celebrated with a burger the size of my head!  So happy to have done this, happy to be done and ready for a slight break before my next adventure.....

The next day.  Me and my man in downtown Jackson Hole