Utah State Chamipionship Fall 50 Race

Favorite race of the year so far. Such a fun course to race on! It seemed easy racing 50 miles after doing Mt Ogden 100k and Park City Point 2 Point. I didn't feel like I wanted to die afterward.

Started out with the lead group then had to let up 3 miles in. Looking back, I don't think my 5 bike rides in the last 4 weeks helped me today. I'm not out of shape but I've definitely lost my top end. I felt strong, but could NOT keep up. KC and Megan got a bit of a lead on me until the sand run that lasted about 3/4 of a mile. That doesn't seem that long but in a mt bike race it is! I actually caught up to them running and my pace was faster so I wanted to pass but it was too sketchy. Didn't matter anyway, as soon as we were back on the bike and going uphill they took off.
About 10 miles in I rolled the my back tire off it's bead and lost tons of pressure and stans. I'm so impatient and stubborn so instead of pulling over and putting air in it I thought it'd be better to wait until the lap area 25 miles in. I had to stand any time it was off camber or it'd leak more air. It ended up being off camber a lot. It was a really squishy, sketchy ride. Took it slow on the downhill to avoid going completely flat. Stupid choice. Lost lots of time. You live and learn right.
Janelle Kramer caught up to me and we chatted a bit, which was really fun.
Through the lap area I was checking out everyone that was there to support a racer to see if they had a floor pump. Finally a family had one. I pulled up to them, asked if I could use it and their baby started screaming! I mean really screaming! I asked again and they were so focused on the baby that they didn't hear. I said "I'm using your pump OK?" Got some good pressure in my tire and was off. SO much better. I could actually ride and not have to ride tentatively. 
I started to feel much stronger on my second lap. At the feed zone...mile 32 I had a bottle filled with redbull. I had only eaten a couple gels and a dutch waffle in the 3 hours so that redbull was going straight to an empty stomach...BAD IDEA! Ha! It really wrecked havok on me. I was so sketchy and shaky coming down the descent. It was crazy. I actually felt like a crazy person. And worst part was that the downhill was so fast I could get a chance to grab a snack and help my system settle down. Wow another lesson learned. No redbull on an empty stomach. :)
I came in 5th. Made the podium! I love this race series so freaking much I've decided. They payout 5 deep! And good payout too. They gave us sweet t-shirts that me and my husband LOVE and will actually wear. They just did a great job.
Poor Bobby had a very eventful race. And not the good eventful. His chain fell off and somehow managed to twist in 2 different spots. It is super hard to get a chain unlooped...especially if it's still on the bike. That took about 20 minutes to deal with. Then later he heard a kid screaming and there was blood all over him. He stopped to help him and the kid couldn't really explain what was going on all he said was he couldn't feel his legs. So Bobby thinks this kid has crashed and suffered a neck injury so he tells the kid not to move and Bobby stablizes his spine. After staying like this for a while the kid finally tells him that he just has leg cramps! Haha I love this story so much and can just picture it all in my head :)
This was the last big race of the season for Bobby and I. We're going to do some cyclocross racing but it's all about fun, fall riding from here.

Check out some awesome pictures from Cotton Sox Photography!

Point 2 Point 2012

Was this race hard? Yes. Was it epic? Yes. Will I do it again next year? Yes. Most likely. Probably. 

The day started off slightly more stressful than anticipated. I realized the night before the race that I'd forgotten to bring bike shorts. How could you forget something that important? Don't know, but I did. I quickly called my 3B Yoga teammate and asked if she had extra shorts. Thank heavens she did! We sure didn't want to drive back down to Provo and back at 10pm.

Woke up in the morning to rain. We stayed in our utility trailer which makes everything sound so much LOUDER. When I walked outside it was still pretty bad and the lightening was lighting up the entire valley. I started planning my day and it did NOT include racing P2P. We were told by the race director to stay in our cars and hold tight. Race was officially postponed until 8am and they were going to make a decision at 7am. At 6:45 it completely cleared up and was looking like it was going to be a beautiful day. We all took a vote. I voted to race that day, but KC Holley and my husband told me I'd better vote to race the following day. Long story short, director made the call to race that day.

Panic panic rush rush. Get to the starting line with no warmup what-so-ever. Realize that I didn't have my bottle of electrolytes. Oh well. Too late now. If you don't know anything about P2P just know that it's supposed to be a 78 mile mountain bike race with 14,000 feet of climbing. There are only 3 aid stations so you're riding for about 3 hours between each station. To not have those calories from my sports drink made me a little worried. I should mention that because of epic rain that morning we were going to cut 10 miles off. YAY!

Started racing and was right behind Bobby which was awesome. About 30 minutes into the race my chain started having problems and would suddenly freeze up. This would launch me over the front of my bars and I'd have to pull over to let a bunch of guys by. It became so bad that I couldn't pedal at all. Bobby was going around a switch back so he just happened to see me struggling and called out. I told him my problems and he stopped and waited for me. He's my knight in shining armor. I ran my bike up to him and he sprayed the chain off with his water and then lubed it. Good to go. Then it was trying to pass a bunch of guys back for the next 45 minutes. Finally got into a good rhythm and was about to pass a couple of girls when we came up to a T in the road and I knew the course was supposed to turn right but it was marked to turn left and the other girls turned left. We dropped down a really steep hill for a half mile when I hear someone yelling my name. Wrong way. I yelled at the other girls and struggled to get back up the steep hill. Then it was back to passing all the people I'd just worked to pass. Oh well that's mountain bike racing eh?

The trails were in a amazing condition, super tacky and fast. I was feeling great. It was overcast and there was fog that made everything a little eery, but wow was I having a great time out there. Bobby caught up to me and it was really fun to have him there.

First aid station I stuffed down a banana, grabbed some other snacks AND my electrolyte drink and switched out my camel back and was off. Gabe with 3B Yoga was there to do support and boy was I glad to have him. He was so organized and efficient. That really saved me some time.

The next section until the 2nd aid station is just long. They have you climb about 2,000 feet and then descend and then CLIMB 2,000 feet and the DESCEND and then CLIMB 2,000...you get the idea. I was forcing food down the whole way and trying not to throw it all up, which I'm proud to say I only threw up once and it was just a little.

2nd feed station was the best! Joan and Steve Mower were there along with Gabe. Joan had me sit down so she could massage my achilles on my left foot. It had been painful for the last 2 hours.

I finally left the feed zone knowing the hardest part of the race was coming up. The flat to 4% grade section. My body feels best and passes the most people on grades that are 8% and steeper. Amazingly my achilles didn't hurt. I was needing a pick-me-up tho and so I downed a 5 hour energy. Best idea ever! I think it only effected me for about an hour but it was AMAZING! The last part was just trying not to die coming down the crappy last downhill.
Made it down safely and Came in 5th place pro women!

Made $700!

So so happy for these results and for everyone who helped me along the way.

Side note: I was nauseous for about 2 days, but I still think it was worth it :)

THANK YOU 3B YOGA FOR ALL THE SUPPORT AND FOR SUCH A FUN YEAR OF RACING!!!!

Joan Mower is the best cheer leader!

Coming into the 2nd feed

Amy is happy to give a smile a two birdies

Finished! Amazingly fast time Bobby!

Finished! Can I cry now?