12 Hours of Dauset Details

After having a couple of weeks to look back on the 12 hours of Dauset, I can put together a bit on what I did right and what I could have done a bit better. First a race summary:
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I went out pretty quick, but at a sustainable pace. I had the lead, but didn't know it until lap 4. I really concentrated on driving the bike around the course conserving as much energy as possible while maintaining speed. This meant really nailing the turns at the right speed, braking less and shifting at the right times. The course was all single track, but it was not particularly technical and while there were a few climbs they were not particularly long or steep.
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I was really strong through 6 or 7 hours and was feeling good but a little apprehensive going into the last 1/3 of the race. I had a decent lead at this point, but I knew that the guys chasing me had more solo experience....so I could not let up. I had one really rough lap...lap 10...I think this was a mental issue more than anything at a frustrating point in the race. Fatigue is setting in and there is still quite a bit of racing left. This was also probably my low point as far as fueling...I suspect I had low blood sugar and it made me cranky. I took a long pit after this lap...mounted up my lights and had some food. The next lap was much better and I was able to stay relatively consistent through lap 13. As I came through after 13 I was not sure if the guys behind would make the time cut to start another lap or not....so I headed out for #14. After riding about 15 minutes I heard Cara calling for me as the course looped back past a parking lot. She told me the other guys missed the cut and I had won...but I had to finish my lap. This made me feel good...but at the same time now that I knew I won, pedaling the bike started to get really hard! I took that last lap SLOW.....I think it was quite a bit over 60 minutes.
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I did 140 miles of single track in about 12 and a half hours....what a day! Here are my lap times:
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APPLEGATE
ANDY
46.17- includes leMans run start
45.65 - my fastest lap
47.42
50.81
49.70
51.94
53.48
51.71
52.67
60.40 - worst lap...but this time does include a 5+ minute pit stop
53.10
56.56
56.30
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So I learned a lot about solo endurance racing....here are some things I could have done better:
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Pit - My pit was a bit disorganized, I was not sure what I would need so I was a little haphazard setting it up. Once I realized this during the race it made me a bit flustered more than once.

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Nutrition- good and bad here. I need to train my body to take in more calories while riding. I know if I can do that I will be stronger late in the race....but I usually end up with a slight nausea that makes it difficult. This will be an ongoing challenge
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gloves! - I usually wear gloves with no palm padding....ouch my palms were bruised for days after the race.
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Chamois creme - I put plenty on to start, but need to make sure I reapply several times...again...ouch!
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What I did right:
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Pacing! It seemed like I nailed the pacing right from the gun for a race of this duration. Of course it would be nice to go faster...but I got it right that day.
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nutrition- I know I need to work on it, but in this case I got what I needed to keep a relatively steady pace except for one lap....so not too bad.
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equipment - the scalpel was absolutely perfect on this course
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event choice - A fantastic race for my first long solo effort.
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OK....after that weekend we did 2 weekend with cross clinic on saturday and races sunday. next up: Iron cross this weekend, then NC cross races, followed by an 8 hour endurance race then cross races every weekend until nationals in december!
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a2