Hi all!
So I was allowed to join this ultra running event called “Masochist’s dream” which is a 100km race. I was the only (and the first!) unicyclist there with 36 runners and later about 20 ordinary (42,2km) marathon runners joined us.
The race was planned to start at 8 am, and I were there with my dad at 7.30 to set up our supply table and get the starting numbers etc. The weather was great! It was nice and cool in the morning, about 14°C when we arrived but it turned out to be quite warm day and sun was shining right from the beginning. I had three unis with me. My main wheel, the 36"/150s, my dad’s KH 29" and just in case something happened and I couldn’t race it and had to wait, I had my KH 19" trials to kill the time. Luckily that wasn’t needed at all!
So, the race started at 8.10 am and everything was just as planned. It was a 1,8km gravel road loop which we had to ride/run 55 times. I started last and let the runners split up a bit before I properly begun to ride to avoid crashes and unnecessary UPDs. First 10kms were fine, I pedaled steadily and was feeling fine. After that the riding really started to feel great! Next 10 laps after the first 10kms I mostly just enjoyed riding and didn’t bother to stop for food or water other than once.
I reached 40 kilometers in 2 and half hours and that’s where I started to feel the first signs of saddle soreness. I kept breaks more often and quite regularly which helped a lot and also made sure to eat and drink enough. Next 20kms were fine and since this point the runners started to ask me questions about my elapsed distance. Pretty much after 60 kilometers I probably started to feel a bit tired and saddle soreness got worse and I had to stop more. Between 60 and 80 kilometers I felt quite bad and couldn’t eat much which wasn’t actually a bad thing at all and I very soon got better just by resting and drinking water! I had no idea for how long I was supposed to carry on at this point since I messed up my lap count but I asked the organizers and when they told me there’s only 10 laps left I got some new energy and riding was more comfortable for the rest of the race. Last 5 laps were really a pain. My legs didn’t want to work with me anymore and I had to stop twice during last 8 kilometers just to rest. In the middle of second last lap I felt very weird. At the same time I felt like I would vomit and faint very soon but at the same time I was excited to know that it would be over very soon. Last lap wasn’t very special, I just rode it as fast as my legs allowed to and finished the race in about 6 hours and 55 minutes, being the first one to finish!
My saddle time was a bit over 6 hours which actually was my goal! The race course was mostly very smooth gravel road but had naturally several bumbs along the way so it didn’t allow quite as fast speeds as a paved road would’ve allowed but I didn’t mind that. There were couple of moderate hills and I tracked a total of 2500 meters ascending and descending. First runner came to finish line pretty accurately an hour after me. After all, it was a great race and my first one, too! I learned a lot about my riding skills and stamina in longer rides as my longest distance in a day before this one was only 60 kilometers. Now I really feel like I’m ready for a proper century next year!
PS
Sorry, no pics yet 
I didn’t have my camera with me but I’ll probably get some photos from the photographer guy and post them here as soon as possible!
