The Pre-Ride
The Brighton Race is actually a stage race, with a time trial and a short-track race on Saturday followed by the cross-country race on Sunday. We elected only to participate in Sunday's race, but we went over on Saturday to pre-ride Murray Lake. The ride was nice and slow, but there were way more hills than I remembered! I told Mitch it was a good thing we were preregistered because I was having serious second thoughts.
The Warm-Up
On race day, I was still pretty nervous. Since this race was in a different series than the one in which we normally compete, I didn't really know against whom I'd be racing. I also wasn't accumulating any points for this, so the other racers weren't my concern: I was worried about whether I'd actually finish the race in a respectable fashion. I decided to go easy for the first lap - about eight miles, turns out - and see how my legs felt. Treating it kind of like a warm-up was a good idea...I got passed by a lot of people, but I also found some guys to ride with who were at a good pace.
The Groove
When I started the second lap, I was feeling great. My legs were warm and loose, my lungs were working and my spirits were high. I kicked it up a notch, riding some of the hills in slightly harder gears and pushing harder through the straights and downhills. I pulled a small group of guys from the beginner class and even chatted with them for awhile. I thought I'd surely have enough energy left for a decent final lap.
The Bonk
I'd heard people talk about bonking before: hitting the wall, completely running out of energy, feeling unable to finish and being miserable for a good long while once you finally stop. Yesterday, I got to experience it and let me tell you, I'll steel my stomach against the slimey texture of Hammer Gel and ride with a waterbottle full of Gatorade and choke down Clif Bars galore to keep this misery from happening again. When I started my final lap, my riding buddies veered toward their two-lap finish and I soldiered on, feeling, as I told Mitch, "Not like crap." He was also done by that time and handed my his flask of Hammer Gel, but I was only able to get half a mouthful out. Another guy latched on to my wheel and proceeded to dog me for the entire lap and his presence was, for some reason, more irritating than reassuring. When we hit the first significant hill, I realized this was not going to be a fun lap. About halfway in, I was full-out spent. All I could think about was my peanut butter and honey sandwich, waiting alongside my orange Gatorade in our cooler. I prayed fervently that Mitch would be waiting with that fantastic goodness when I crossed the finish line. My brain was fuzzy, my legs were aching, and that old guy behind me didn't even have the courtesy to pass me and let me suffer in solitude!
The Aftermath
I did finish: oh yes I did, probably one of the final five people on the course. Mitch was quick with the food and shared some awesome news: though he was racing singlespeed for the first time, he won his class by five minutes and would have placed at least third had he opted to race in his normal class instead. Wow, he's so fast! And me, well, I was miserable for the rest of the evening. But I learned some valuable lessons and am excited to take a few days to recover before our next biking adventure.
Mitch on the podium
Even I got a medal: as usual, there were only a few of us in our age group. My teammate, Nichole, should have been standing in first place, but she had to leave before awards.
