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!
No comments:
Post a Comment