FM.24.09
I had won last year’s edition and thought I knew what I was in for this year. I was wrong.
Saturday morning I sent all my gear over to the start/finish at Elliot Street Pub with Rich from AVX. Then I took the dogs out for long walk since Namrita was off to ride some trails with friends. Then I kitted up and rode the 4 miles over to the pub. I had another hour to kill and went about setting my cooler, food, clothes and lights in an orderly pile where I could easily get to it. I was planning to be self supported. I missed the racers meeting while taking care of “other business,” but soon found out there would be a short Leman’s style start. A running start in bike shoes? I tested the shoes on the pavement and nearly went down with little effort. Running was going to be scary, running with 100 others was going to be silly. I then thought to leave my shoes clipped in, run over in my socks and try to roll out triathlon style. This was a step up. Then brilliance hit me and recruited my friend Colin to carry me piggy-back style with my shoes on! This was a first, I believe, at the FM.24 and maybe in all of 24 hour racing.
Colin delivered me to my bike without incident and I was off. The first lap was chaos. The event had grown from 200 people last year to 350 this year, so just the volume of riders was crazy. The check points change every year as well, so there is always a bit of learning in the first few laps as the fastest/easiest routes are figured out (there is no set route, you are free to choose your route between the check points). There were two big route questions to be sorted out 1) Gear Revival to the Nook & 2) The Nook to Outback Bikes. I tried a number of options before settling on my route. I’ll spare you the details, if you were racing you know what everyone else was doing and if you weren’t then you probably don’t know the streets anyway. I’d say by lap 4 I had all the streets decided on and was figuring out the best ways to get through traffic.
Fitness is not the only component to the FM.24 format. This is a road race, but it’s around the central business district of Atlanta. There are a lot of people in cars, on foot, & on bike to contend with. There are traffic lights, cross walks, city parks, NFL games, bar districts, alleys, potholes, & the police. Getting through the city with minimal stoppage time is one of the most important factors to maintaining a good pace. You also have to meter your efforts. There is no point in sprinting to a red light when you can roll to it or maybe you could even find a “creative way around it.” Like any 24 hour I try to limit my time in the “pits” stopping for bottle, food, lights, ect. Laps were running around 40-42 minutes, so 2 bottles and some food would last 3 laps. This meant I could just check in and out for those laps.
I found a good routine and was plugging away. I had figured out the competition which was Mark Baldwin (3rd last year) and Patrick Jones (who seemed much more motivated than last year). Mark was out front for the first 5-6 hours while Patrick and I went back and forth. I was content with the situation and was confident I’d take the lead when it got dark and then extend that lead through the night. I was hoping to be a few laps up and bow out early to enjoy some the festivities that surround this event.
At 9:50 PM I met Namrita at the Gear Revival, check point one and only 2 miles from our house. She brought a slice of pizza and some coffee. I sat down on the curb to eat. I had passed Mark a few hours back and then Patrick had stopped for 15 minutes about an hour ago, so I figured I had a little time to spare for the luxury of real food. Namrita gave me some updates on how solos and teams were doing since she could “watch” from home via the real time race tracking. I finished the pizza, took the coffee in a bottle and set off. I was thinking I’d do a relaxed lap, then fast and repeat until the sun came up and see how the race was playing out. 10 minutes later I got the text from Namrita: u have 10 min on PJ. Then at 10:35 she sends this one:Says nathan smith is 20 min up on u. WTF?
My first thought was that is an error in the results online and I’s be getting a text soon to confirm that. Still, I picked up the pace to get back to Elliot Street to ask questions. I rolled and could see the time keepers changing shifts. I asked Chris, who had been there all evening, who this Nathan Smith guy was:
“Oh he’s a badass.”
“Is he really 20 minutes up on me?”
“Probably.”
Probably? I really appreciate definitive answers from time keepers. I like to feel confident that if I’m about to chase someone down that it’s for real. I took off any way figuring if nothing else I was extending my lead.
I finished the lap and Namrita texted me: U just did the same lap time as nathan. keep it up. This motivated me and she informed on the next lap that I had taken 5 minutes back. I eased it back just a bit and aimed for 3-4 minutes per lap. It was around 1 AM I think I saw him going the opposite direction just before I hit the Nook (check point two). He was with an other guy and they way they looked at me and I’m sure I heard an “oh s*&^t” as they passed. I didn’t change my pace at all. They were scared and that was good. Scared takes a lot of energy. I spotted their lights on the next climb and slowly reeled them in. “What’s going on gentlemen?” The look was priceless. Fear. There was definitely two of them and they were trading pulls to conserve energy. I sat back, not knowing who Nathan was…nor who this guy working with him was. Namrita did not mention two of them. We rolled through the transition together much to the surprise of those paying attention at 1:30 AM. Someone yelled out to Nathan and he looked back….now I knew which he was.
We never said another word to each other. They rotated pulls and I sat back and let them. Then we hit 10th street. They turned off to cut over to 14th which is a more gradual climb through Midtown and I went straight into a full aero-tuck past Tech at 30+. I powered up the steps that make up 10th. Each intersecting street is a flat spot, but followed by a pitch upward. Most days this climb is not notable, but now that I’ve done 17 or so times in a row my legs are burning. The race had just begun and I was motivated. I made it to the Nook and back out without seeing them. I was on my way up the next climb when they caught me. My route was a little faster, theirs’ a little easier. This went back and forth.
I was feeling the whole nights worth of efforts by 5 AM. I had tested them a few times, but never broke their rhythm. I fell back a little and the doubt crept in. How am I going to get around these two. They have been sharing the work load for the whole race and seemed more fresh than I. So I attacked, full on “I’m going to break this race open or die trying” attacked. We were on a short climb up Wylie Street and I launched. I had 30 seconds pretty easily. I hit the check point at No Brakes and gassed it again. I swung out on Memorial, then on MLK heading into downtown and they were back on me. We rolled through together again.
I slowed on the next lap to recover from that effort, but I was dejected as well. 6 more hours to go. Namrita texted me again about bringing coffee to Gear Revival, but it did little raise my spirits. I got to Gear Revival and had a short melt down. Namrita gave me a verbal kick in the ass and I was rolling again. Little did I know what she was doing behind the scenes. She had rallied the troops on my behalf. She was out there on her bike on the next lap giving me much needed motivation and a draft. Then Marc Hirsch showed up about half way through and took over pacing. Namrita dropped off to organize another couple of fast guys to help. Colin (my piggy-back partner) finally found us a lap later. Marc and Colin took turns pulling me on the flats and up the hills while did my best to bomb the descents and carry momentum. Namrita would come and go to pull, give encouragements, let us know the status of the other two & then disappear to get food or gather info. We were chipping away at their lead which had grown to 20 minutes again, but was back to 15 with 4 laps to go.
Each of these last 4 laps was lesson in pain tolerance and motivation. I could see the reaction on Marc & Colin’s faces when they would look back on the climbs to see if I was still there. It was pity and admiration, but I had to dismiss the pity or crumble into a mess of quivering & useless jelly. I had to keep pushing or all of this effort was for nothing. I sprinted for lights, I charged up hills, I would repeat “more, more” if I was not at my limit while drafting my friends. We could not just go at a good pace,we had to take time away from those to up ahead.
The pain was intense. Every bumping in the road tore at the blisters on my hands and the rawness on my butt. It felt as if the climbs grew taller on every lap. Stopping was the worst, actually starting again was the worst. Maybe more mentally than physically, but at this point is was all mental. The body gave up a long time ago, it was all in my head now.
Marc gave me a shot of Monster and body came back alive. I was off like a rocket. We had two laps left and still had a 14 minute gap. That was a lot, but things happen at the end of a 24 hour race. Someone can flat, crash, blow up, or they could start attacking each other for the win. I had to keep hope that something would swing in my favor. That lap was my third fastest of the race and I had taken another 4 minutes back. 10 to go, but only one lap.
I cursed at 10th street all the way up, drove Marc to go faster through Piedmont Park, pushed through the Highlands and over to Krog and then I conceded. I knew they were not going to be sitting on the side of the road with two flats apiece. I had been worked over by a team in a solo race. Officially they finished 12 minutes up.
I collapsed into a chair 4 feet from the finish. Mentally, emotionally, physically spent. I was not sure if I was going to puke or pass out or both. I could have cried and cheered at same time. Instead I just hung my head in my hands and tried to breathe. 10 minutes, just 10 freaking minutes. I had (and still do, though I will be put them away over time) so many what ifs. What if I had known earlier they were up ahead, what if I had just followed them and attacked later, what if…….. None of it mattered. It was over and I had found new depths to push myself to. Next time there will be no what ifs. I found a deep, deep well motivation on the bike this weekend and will some day soon put it to use.
There are so many people to thank for their help in this event and I hope I do not forget any, but please forgive me if I do:
Namrita
Marc
Colin
Josh
Adrien
Lee
Brandon
Adam
Rich
Sloan
Nick
Jordy
Kerry
Brint
the whole FM crew
all of the check points
and the Atlanta police for ignoring most everything we did out there.
Stay tuned for pictures and maybe even a video documentary of the event. Adam Shumaker was filming throughout.