SSapalooza Race Report

This was a race that was on my calendar pretty early in the season but due to some unforseen obligation the race date moved to the date after my 2nd 100 miler of the season and therefore off the calendar...but not for long. My teammate and I made plans to go to the Mohican 100 and then he brought up the idea of doing the SSapalooza the day after as a cool way to absolutely drain myself of any and all energy and hope of living. It sounded like a great idea. So the plan was on. Do the 100 miles in Ohio and then drive 8 hours home to grab a handful of hours of sleep and then drive to Newburgh NY to do the 2nd race in 2 days. Only my teammate bailed for a more entertaining option and I stuck with the original plan.

So 9 am Sunday morning I was on the starting line after 3 hours of sleep after the dirty century the previous day. The race went off fast - just as my desire to live did. I was shot but I figured I'd put in an effort to try and not finish DFL. As I got into the 1st of two 10 mile laps I just went into conservative race pace and figured I'd have fun and maybe reel in some of the people that were blown up early and spinning backwards. It started to work as I got through a few people on the first lap and just kept being consistent and having fun. 2nd lap came about and found a buddy to chat with and make it a little more fun. We kept on and passed a few more and just had a decent race. I think it was awesome since I actually got to go over the bars uphill on a 29'er. That was a sweet feat.

After all was said and done I got to get my post race celebretory brew and really enjoyed the race as I wasn't as shredded as I thought I'd be. It was good to get out and see all the familiar faces and just absorb the great local scene. Or maybe I was just a little woozy and imagining that I felt alright. The Darkhorse guys really know how to put on a great event and it lived up to all the hype. It was my 2nd attempt at racing a SS and it was alright. The 32-18 worked well and I'll be giving this another try at some point. But for now it's recovery time. Lots of recovery time. Less than 9 weeks til the Wilderness 101 where I'm aiming to attempt a new PR. Let the fun begin...again.

Oh and of course it was good to know that the promoter enjoyed my company as they gave me some schwag for making the long trip between the two races. I came home with some awesome coffee and a set of Specialized sunglasses. 18 hours in the car was definetly worth it :-)