12 hours of Tsali-race report

The 12 hours of Tsali started at 11 a.m., which gave us plenty of time in the morning to relax and prepare my water bottles and food at the venue. Zeke had scored room for two tents the day before (thanks Zeke!) so I was able to pit next to Carey, Lisa, and Julia. 

It felt a little surreal lining up to race, since it had been a good full month since the Cohutta 100. Scott had taken my bike to drop it off in the designated bike area, and I felt weird walking around wearing my helmet and cycling shoes. I had a nagging feeling that I was forgetting something, but I figured it must just be the fact that I didn't have my bike next to me.  

I was standing next to Cara when I heard her mention her camelback to her husband. That's when I realized that I had left my hydrapak back at the pit area. I had to do a mad dash to go get it. I can't imagine what Scott's face would have been like when he saw me racing without any source of hydration. Especially because temps were in the high 70's. It felt really hot to me because it was close to 30 degrees warmer then what I had been training in. 

We had a typical Lemans running start straight up a hill. I felt good for the first couple of minutes, but as the hill got steeper I started to feel like I was running with only half a lung. I was happy to reach my bike and jump on. Pedaling is SO much easier (and way more fun) then running!

My goal was to try and keep consistent laps, so I started a lot slower then I normally do for races. The first couple of laps were muddy, and I switched between my hardtail and Racer-X every two laps. I was curious to see which bike I would like racing on more, and my opinion changed with every bike switch. I was all, "I like this bike better, no, wait, I like the other one better."  In reality, both bikes were equally sweet, and my lap times were within minutes of each other regardless of what bike I was on. 

As the day progressed I started to appreciate my Racer-X on a whole new level though. By mile 70 Scott couldn't peel me off of it. Let me tell you, that bike is the perfect machine for endurance races. It absorbed all of the bumps and roots without compromising any speed. I'm hooked!!!

Towards the end, I started to feel the effects of mountain biking for 12 straight hours, and my last couple of laps had nothing consistent about them. Tsali isn't that technical of a course, but it has a lot of little steep climbs that start to really wear on you. I pulled into my pit area after lap 10, and tried a half-hearted attempt to not go back out. I think I avoided all eye contact and announced "I'm bored, so I'm not going to go back out!"

Translation for bored: I want to sit down, drink coke, and eat pringles!

Scott just shook his head, handed me a fresh bottle and I was on my way. Of course I thanked him afterwards for making me go back out. Sometimes I just need a little (or big) kick in the ass. 

I finished with 11 laps (115 miles) which was good for first place in the women's field, and fourth overall out of the men. 

The 12 hours of Tsali is a really fun race, and I recommend it to everyone. The race promoter does a really great job, and there was a fun vibe going on. Everyone was super nice and courteous on the trail too. Best of all? I got a ton of compliments on my race socks :-)