Ohio Cycling Disorder (OCD)

This would be my second 50-mile trail run, the first being the Mohican 50-miler last year where I almost bailed, mentally quit 100 times over, overcame challenges after challenge and yet placed overall in 9:28. I continue to have this idea that I can complete a 100-mile trail race but Ultra Endurance running ... it's just plain brutal on the body, much more so than mountain biking in this guy's humble opinion. Just try to coast downhill while running, I dare you. Nah, I triple dog dare you!! So naturally, this year I decided I would put not only one 50-mile trail race but make this a build year for trail running with the Burning River 50-mile race and then follow that up with a 100k trail race sometime after the Marji Gesik 100 in the fall. The Burning River 100 & 50-mile race has been taking place in my backyard playground for 13 years. I chose this particular race because it is logistically simple for Angie to support me, the timing is such that I had time to ramp up...

In 2018, I was close to getting a sub-8 hour time when I rolled through the finish in 8-hours and 6-minutes. It quickly became a goal of mine to go under 8-hours at Mohican. Knowing that my body is still not quick as snappy coming off, only two weeks ago, the Everest Challenge I had no clue how I would feel for Mohican. Everything "seemed ok", but I had not done any long rides since Everesting, so who know honestly what would happen when I got into the meat of the race. This is the 9th year I have towed the line at the Mohican Endurance race. Totes cray-cray. The course has changed here and there through the years, but for the most part, the real crux of the course has remained the same. It is a local favorite of mine because not only do I have much familiarization with the course itself, but getting to line up with my friends, and teammates, is always a great experience and frankly what this stuff is all about. The temperatures were incredibly kind at a mild 60* at the...

Credit to  https://everesting.cc/ To set the stage I felt it made sense to simply use the words of the founders of the Everest Challenge. because they said it best in my opinion. This is a challenge for the mind, the body, and the soul. Do not enter it lightly and do not think it will just happen simply because I ride a lot. You will hit a mental wall that at times feels very insurmountable. You will hit a physical wall that feels like your legs cannot turn the pedals one more revolution. You will think that I simply cannot complete this challenge and is it really worth it anyway. This is hill repeats on steroids x200. I think it takes a special kind of crazy to push through all of those limits and destroy them. In fact, the mantra, Find Your Limits and Destroy   Them , ran rampant through my head most of the day! ( credit to Danny Hill and Todd Poquette for that phrase ) I had heard about this challenge a few years back when a friend of mine, Roy Chaves, completed ...