Well it has been over a week since the race and I think that I finally caught up on fluids. We were in Indiana for a ski expedition on Saturday and Nikki and I drove home that night leaving the team behind to perform without me on Sunday. But it seams that they did better without me anyway.
Sunday morning I woke up bright and early and decided to head down to the Farmington area for the race hoping to get a little pre-ride in before the race, since I had never seen the race course before. I met Keith, Jason, and Scott in the parking lot and decided to get warmed up. Jason took off and I waited for Keith. We rode about 2 miles of the trail and headed back to the truck to get fueled up. It was only about 100 degrees with absolutely no wind, so it wasnt to bad!
About 30 minutes until the race we decided to head back towards the start line and ride another 2 miles to keep warmed up, as if it wasnt hot enough. The race director went through the pre race meeting and it was our time to go. Keith, Jason and myself had a little strategy going into the race, us three ride together, work as a team and help push each other at a good steady pace. Well one guy in our class decided to go out of the gate like a bat out of hell. So immediately our plan was screwed up. I ended up being in second to last place heading into the woods, not were i wanted to be. But immediately caught up to the lead pack. The guy in front burnt out so fast it was amazing, i guess it was the fast pace and the heat that got to him. So us three took off. Keith ended up taking the wrong route leaving Jason and myself in front all alone. We both decided to take it easy and let keith catch up. Well for those that know Keith, it didnt take long. We started riding at a good pace and came to a little rough technical climb. For some stupid reason I was in the wrong gear spinning out like crazy. Once I made it up the hill I was breathing very hard and sweating like no other. I pushed on and tried to stay with Jason. I ended up letting Keith pass me and told him that I thought I was going to overheat, so I slowed down to let me heartrate slow and my breathing to catch up. After about 5-10 minutes I was fine. But know I was all alone and it is hard to push yourself in the woods when there is no one around. It was so damn hot and the sweat was rolling off of my body. I pulled up to the finish line and the director said great job, keep it up, which meant I had to fight through another lap. 8 miles down and 8 more to go in the heat. Thankfully Jason's fiance was in the transition area with a new cold water bottle for me to trade. Mine was empty and I needed water bad. So I headed into the trail trying to make up the gap. About 2 miles into it I came up on a short rough downhill and heard someone behind me. I turned around to look and see if it was someone in my category, and ended up locking my front wheel up and up and over the handle bars I went. No big deal, nothing hurt except a little pride. Got back on the bike and started up again. I was riding all by myself when a singlespeed guy passed me, so I tried to stay on his wheel for a while, knowing he was faster than me so I watched to see what he was doing. He ended up crashing into the woods and I never saw him again.
Feeling pretty good and refueled I cruised through the second lap all alone. I could see the finish line and started pushing very hard. I put my head down and cranked on the pedals, only to look up and see two trees directly in front of me. I swerved out of the way and slid out, just about 100 yards away, totaly feeling like a dumbass. I was drained from the heat, and completely out of it. I finished in third place and another podium finish for me.
It was a very good race, although I went into it tired as hell from skiing and driving and working in the heat all weak before. Should have prepared a little better but oh well, lesson learned. So I then grabbed a Schlafly Pale Ale out of the cooler and relaxed for a bit.
Next race is a while away, time to train!
Jay
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