"the race"

Well I said I was going to post about my race this weekend so here it is: Thats me in the orange Maxxis jersey by the way

Friday morning I got to get a nice wet and slick pre-ride in to get accustomed to the race course. I have ridden there numerous times but have never raced there so I wanted to ride the course. It went very well, I rode with 4 of Brandons friends he works with and we all had a good ride.
Race day: I slept as long as I could. I hardly ever get nervous going to or at races. I have been racing something or the other since I was 13. Got up had some cereal, muffins, coffee and anything else that contained lots of calories because I was going to need all I could get in a few hours. I took my cooler with all my race fuel inside of it with 8 water bottles filled with water, accelerade and plenty of gels and bars. We had our riders meeting and lined up for a Lemans start where you have to run about a quarter mile to our bikes up on the trail. I WALKED along with Brandon and Rob. We came to our bikes, hopped on and it was on. My game plan was to take it easy and just ride easy all day AND NIGHT……lol. Rob started getiing wound up and I set in with his pace, we came to the first climb and low and behold I think we just caught everyone but the leaders. We looked at each other and said what do we do? Before we either could answer Rob started picking off riders with me in tow. We were clicking along pretty good I might add. We hit the single track pretty hot after leaving the fire road. We passed several more on the ST. I had to go up on the bank and rocks to get around this one rider and …..wham! I was thinking “that will leave a mark” well it did about 100 yds down the trail. I get this squishy feeling in the rear. Dang a flat already? Sure enough a flat, no problem, get it fixed and lets get to rolling again. I was in the process and got to see all the folks I passed go by me. Kim Bishop, Brandon and a few more. I got it replaced went to shoot the Co2 and only about 70% got into the tire…..Dam! Well ok, if I take it easy and don’t hit anything and watch what Im doing I can get to the pits and air up and continue on. It was a good thought anyway. About a mile later bump…………………hissssssssssssssssssss. Crap not again! I looked down and sure enough another flat. I had only brought one extra tube and it was in the tire and I was dead last. Not going to see any racers for a tube for awhile, so what do I do? I looked at my Garmin and I was 4 miles into the first lap that was 10.6 miles in length. Do I WALK 7 miles to the finish or do I walk back 4 to the start? I pondered…….. I don’t like hiking, so the less of it the better! So back to the start I go. After about 2 miles my feet start to hurt, REALLY hurt. Sidi Genius 5’s aren’t what I would call “hiking boots” and my feet were screaming that to me with every step. I almost stopped and took them off and went barefoot but better judgement said NO. About 1 mile before the campsite Andy from the cycleyouth team SCREAMS by me, man was he haulin’. That’s Wes’s coach on the team he rides for. (They won the whole enchilada by the way). I finally make it back to camp and get to working on my bike. Two new tubes, a freakin’ hand pump taped to my top tube and I was on the way. I guzzled a lot of water while I was there too to help out. I jump on my 29er and Im off. I got 4 miles a ridin’ and 4 miles a walkin’ in so far and haven’t even got a stinking lap finished yet. Its 12:33 and I begin my first lap all over again an hour and thirty three min behind. Wow, what a way to begin my first 12 hr race.
I start getting with it. Im rolling along quite well going by all the places I got to see on foot …lol. Get my first lap done at a decent time 2hrs 20min.....NOT!! Dam Im a lap and a half behind everyone now. I stop in the pits grab a bottle and a clif bar and keep going. I knock out another lap passing a bunch of folks and stop in the pits for food. My plan was to stop every other lap for real food instead of gels and bars. I made a PBJ and just sat there thinking “why do I need to push myself? I will never catch anyone." I knew I wasn’t going to podium nor did I come to my first 12 hr thinking I was. The whole first two laps I had this little dude in my head telling me I was wasting my time and I should just quit, go drink some beer, hang out. I listened to him for about three hours this day and he was getting to me. I was in the pits with my PBJ talking to Larry Bishop and Rob pulls up. Him and Larry figure if he hurrys he can get a 5th and then a 6th and final lap in.( lets see I had only got 2 laps to Robs 4…. Yeah that’s depressing) But I said come on I will ride with ya and we will get ya there, hoping it would motivate me somewhat. We took off and he was doing very good for someone that had 50+ miles in already. About half way through the lap he pulled away from me to where I couldn’t see or hear him. I come railing around a curve and pass a guy fixing a flat, It was Rob, dang! Needless to say he didn’t make the cutoff and we cruised back to the start\finish. I had some water and said what the heck my day has sucked from the start, I don’t have ANY motivation to ride. I have NEVER felt like that on a bike and it was very strange to me. I never let things get me down. I get upset like everyone else but not “down”. This disturbed me alot. I tried to keep my chin up but I just wanted to not be there. So after some thought and pondering I went to the campsite threw everything in the Explorer and drove home. I cant even remember if I said goodbye or not. Anyways that’s how it went down, Im not proud of what I did but it showed me a side of myself that I never knew was apart of me. I wont let "me" talk myself down ever again………….period! I cant wait til the next endurance race in three weeks. I know what to expect and how to react better now. I don’t think I will podium nor do I expect to. I just want to reach my goal of laps.

Later G………