it is a Curse alright
I can't seem to finish this race. Last year I was bitten by rocks slicing my tires only a mile or two into the race. This year I just didn't have anything in the legs. Was it the heat? Most likely. Racing in the mid to upper 90degF heat is not fun. Was it lack of sleep/rest in the past couple of weeks? Sure thing.
As soon as it started I didn't feel right. I noticed myself slowly falling back. I'd regain on some of the descents and rolling [rocky] singletrack but as soon as things pitched up I had no strength to turn over the pedals. I was seriously considering quitting around 10miles in but somehow had a run of energy that allowed me to climb and ride well. I felt good so I kept on going. This lasted a few more miles and by now I'm thinking "Where is that 25mile mark with food and water?". By now I had finished both my bottles and my camelbag was emptying quite rapidly. The heat was unbearable. I knew I was running into problems when I was dripping with perspiration and had goosebumps. Oh, and when you can't see too straight and make a wrong turn only to find yourself on the ground with a cut-up elbow thinking "What just happened?". Yup, the heat was not on my side.
20miles in, my legs were starting to cramp so I wound walking a lot (as if I wasn't walking a lot to begin with). In fact, I probably walked everything from mile 20 to 25. Around 100oz of fluids consumed in the first 25miles and it didn't feel like enough (but I felt better post-race than I have in other races so I was probably doing pretty good with fluids).
Got to the aid station and they were out of water. It was also 1pm (we started shortly after 9am). Yeah right am I going to ride another 25miles to finish this thing. I waited for water to show up and all the cars going back to the start/finish were full of riders calling it quits. After drinking more water I decided to ride back to the start/finish down the forest service fire roads. Probably was out for about 30miles when all was said and done.
Turns out I was not the only one that DNF'd. The vast majority of the racers, including the singlespeeders, did not finish. Made me feel a little bit better but still its never a good feeling to not finish a race.
I do have to say my bike was flawless. That new suspension fork was a godsend and allowed me to ride much faster than I ever have in Michaux. Its just a shame my body couldn't keep up on the climbs.
Here's the course map:
http://gettysburgbmx.com/michaux/wp-content/maps/2008/curse/08cd50.pdf
Congrats to those that finished! Someday I'll be able to finish 'the Curse. See you at the W101!
As soon as it started I didn't feel right. I noticed myself slowly falling back. I'd regain on some of the descents and rolling [rocky] singletrack but as soon as things pitched up I had no strength to turn over the pedals. I was seriously considering quitting around 10miles in but somehow had a run of energy that allowed me to climb and ride well. I felt good so I kept on going. This lasted a few more miles and by now I'm thinking "Where is that 25mile mark with food and water?". By now I had finished both my bottles and my camelbag was emptying quite rapidly. The heat was unbearable. I knew I was running into problems when I was dripping with perspiration and had goosebumps. Oh, and when you can't see too straight and make a wrong turn only to find yourself on the ground with a cut-up elbow thinking "What just happened?". Yup, the heat was not on my side.
20miles in, my legs were starting to cramp so I wound walking a lot (as if I wasn't walking a lot to begin with). In fact, I probably walked everything from mile 20 to 25. Around 100oz of fluids consumed in the first 25miles and it didn't feel like enough (but I felt better post-race than I have in other races so I was probably doing pretty good with fluids).
Got to the aid station and they were out of water. It was also 1pm (we started shortly after 9am). Yeah right am I going to ride another 25miles to finish this thing. I waited for water to show up and all the cars going back to the start/finish were full of riders calling it quits. After drinking more water I decided to ride back to the start/finish down the forest service fire roads. Probably was out for about 30miles when all was said and done.
Turns out I was not the only one that DNF'd. The vast majority of the racers, including the singlespeeders, did not finish. Made me feel a little bit better but still its never a good feeling to not finish a race.
I do have to say my bike was flawless. That new suspension fork was a godsend and allowed me to ride much faster than I ever have in Michaux. Its just a shame my body couldn't keep up on the climbs.
Here's the course map:
http://gettysburgbmx.com/michaux/wp-content/maps/2008/curse/08cd50.pdf
Congrats to those that finished! Someday I'll be able to finish 'the Curse. See you at the W101!
posted by dougyfresh at 8:28 PM
2 Comments:
That was brutal, god knows i feel your pain. See ya. at Shenandoah?
That lack of water was a surprise downer. I got a bottle filled and wet the bottom of my camelback before noticing how low it was getting. Kent told me Lee was on his way with water. You must've been far ahead of me, so that means they must've run out of water twice at AS-2.
hope it's cooler at the 101
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