Nanland and Fat Fursuit. I drank the Kool Aid and I loved it

Nanland and Fat Fursuit. I drank the Kool Aid and I loved it.

This is dedicated to the people who make the Pursuit a special and magical place. The environment is simply wonderful and incredibly inspiring.

Nanland: my happy place sometimes it is real other times I am not sure. The world is ideal, things are coming easy, state of smiling for an absurd amount of time.

Fat Pursuit: fat bike winter “racing” at its best. Temps can be +20 to -40. Distances 60K- 200K and 200 miles. Challenge guaranteed. Probably walking for miles. Place to become a better person. The director does not call it a race, rather it is a journey. To be successful one needs to be a strong rider and winter backcounty traveler.

Getting ready!

  

Riders in the 200 mile, photo Jamye Chrisman

It has been five weeks since the Pursuit. It feels like a dream when I think about it, I have written many versions of this blog. The seed was planted a year earlier when I volunteered at the 2017 Pursuit. My goal was simple to finish. Everything came together, the stars were aligned, I hit a home run. Honestly, I am worried that I now have unrealistic expectations about winter ultras. The conditions were as good as they get for a Pursuit. I still had miles of walking, only saw fog on Two Top, but all of these sections were expected and short lived. Conditions will change and I should accept it rather than hope for conditions to change.

Snowy riding

Smiles for miles

Boil test! 

Photo taken by Jamye Chrisman, rider coming into West Yellowston

Flat tire and party lights

I did have some curve balls, a flat and gross drink mix. A few miles before West Yellowstone I let too much air out of my tire and got a flat. I took me a bit realize it. My seal looked fine so I pumped it. Ten minutes later and two miles from town I flatted again. I tried once more and luckily it sealed! The second curve ball was gross drink mix. I was carrying just over 100 oz of water. 40oz was in a thermos. I did not try this new drink mix, rookie move. I added this “drink” to my thermos. About an hour after leaving West I tried it for the first time. I had one sip and barley got it down, it was milk based with lime flavor! It was going to tight on water to make it to the next check point with 100oz, no way on 60oz. I rode till my camelback water empty to make more water. I made water about 3:30am. It took about an hour to make 60oz. Looking back I am so lucky that those were my challenges.

One of the crossings 

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Nanland 3am

I was in totally in Nanland for the first 90 miles or about 23 hours. I was happy to pedal, push, make water, sing along, take pictures. I soaked up the ride, cried tears of joy. The first half felt like a good Barre class, I felt strong. Going up and over Two Top was fun! That was my favorite section. The trail was firm. I met up with other racers. I am not sure how long I pushed for but it does not matter. What was important was staying in Nanland. I had an impressive crash going down. I locked up my back break lost control, went off the trail, then a huge superman over the bars. My bike landed perfectly upside down.

Jill and I at Man Cave

Around mile 90 the sleep monster jumped on my back. Looking back I should have stopped and slept for a few hours. I slowly made my way to Man Cave. Jill Martindale was there! The leading woman for the 200 mile! Amy and Kathi two badass Alaskan ladies were the volunteers! Kathi gave me  huge complement that I was looking strong! I should have slept but I couldn’t relax enough. I headed out, the last 20 miles were slow. My body started to hurt. I was ready for a good rest but I kept pushing. My pace kept slowing down and trail was mashed potatoes. Then the trail opens up and there was the lodge. A large group gathered and welcomed in! I finished! 

In shock that I finished Photo Jamye Chrisman

Coming into the finish. Photo Jamye Chrisman

Two finishers Photo Jamye Chrisman

Photo Jamye Chrisman

200 mile ladies! They are the first ladies to finish the 200 mile. My heroes!
Photo Jamye Chrisman

I still can’t believe that I finished. It would turn out that I was the only lady to finish the 200k! Looking back what amazes me is how long I stayed in Nanland. I was expecting Two Top to question my sanity. It was a challenge but the stars aligned for a fun and safe passage. I have now drank the Kool Aid and in trouble. I can’t stop thinking about Alaska. 

Photo Jamye Chrisman

How to stay in Nanland while Pursuing just a few ideas.  

-Define the goal?
               Stay in Nanland for as long as I could.
               My goal was see how far I could make it.
               Have fun.
               Challenge myself.
               No injuries- no freezing body parts, no hurt body parts
               Don’t allow for external factors change your goal- finishing in X amount of hours.
-Race or finish?
               To finish- I do have the experience or speed to race. 
-Take care of the stop and fixes right away? 
               Tire pressure- if the conditions change so should your tire pressure.
               Hot or cold- NO SWEATING! 
               No water- stop and make some. Have a small bottle that is your water to use for boiling water. 
               Sleep monster, if I am in a place that I can stop.
-Anticipate issues and don’t let them become problems. I realized that I was going to have stop and make water, I was not caught off guard when my camelback was empty.  
-Be aware of your environment. Is this a place that if you stopped you will be ok? If not, how far is to a place where you can stop. Knowing where you are is a key part!
-Eat and drink more than you think. Ask your self, “When was the last time I ate and drank? Bathroom?”   not am I hungry or thirsty?
-Easy systems- if it is easy to grab more likely to use it. Jacket/ pump/ food
-If possible when you stop take care of all of the issues.
-Eat the elephant one bite at time. Focus on the task at hand, don’t think about the whole thing just what you are doing.
-EAT about five times more than you think! I listened to a lot o music. I cut bars before hand. At the top of every song I would eat a bite of food and drink water. I ended up eating a good bit more this way. It did get harder as the race went on but it helped a ton.
-Try food out before the race, Mike’s drink mix was not good.
-Stay on my roller coaster.
-Don’t fixate on a finish time.
-Go with the flow- don’t let a hiccup throw me off.