Shawn, Alicia, and I camped that Saturday night and fell asleep to a bunch of girls singing and cheering as they marched through the campsite. Then, in the middle of the night a hungry little raccoon climbed up a tree to get to our trash bag. Shawn and I surprised him with our flashlights and he scurried back 15 yards turned around and stared at us. I could see his little eyes glowing from the flashlight, he was staring right at us. Eventually, he lost interest and ran away. Shawn said that he came back again, but I was passed out.We arrived early to setup transition and get a nice warm-up in. There wasn't much time on Saturday for a preride, so I wanted some extra time to loosen up. Alicia also had time to take her bike to The Bike Lane. The night before, all 3 of us tried to get her rear derailleur working without any success. The guy at the shop said that she needed to replace her cable housings, he adjusted it enough for her to get by for the race. We had our choice of transition area so we each found a nice spot at the end of a railing, for some extra space. We came across several fish in the clear, warm water during our warmup. A huge bass swam right under me in 4 ft of water.
The whole event went by very smoothly. I was never overly anxious waiting for the start, nor did I feel hurried and out of time. Getting there early is key to a stress free morning. They counted us and staged the 2 waves of races, then we walked in the lake up to our knees for the start. As always, everyone is excited and freaks out at the start - mass confusion. I was able to follow behind Shawn, as he groomed a nice lane through the bodies. I got into a nice rhythm and stayed just behind Shawn the entire swim. This course had a short run in between two laps in the lake. I still have problems switching from swim to run, then run to swim, then back again to running. We did pretty well in the swim. When we re-entered the water for the second lap, I had a nice entry and even passed a guy who was about 15 yards in front of me on the run.
My transition from the swim is still awful. Shawn was right there with me, we really should practice the transitions. The bike course was the exact same course as last year, so we had a good idea of what to expect. That helped me out since my bike computer is on the fritz again. The first lap was rough. I did catch Shawn on Evit's Revenge. I rode it for the first time ever, but I used a lot of energy and Shawn passed me about 5 minutes after that. I didn't see him until I finished about 2 1/2 hours later. After all the technical climbs following Evit's Revenge, I flew down the rocky downhills, and back into the paved roads of the campground. The rest of the lap was flat. This is a good race to grasp psychologically, especially on the second lap. There are only a few tough climbs, once they are behind you, there is time to recover during the long downhill section. The run, on the other hand, is another story.
I left transition, setup my watch, race belt, and water bottle and set my pace. The first 100 yards of the run are pretty difficult for me. It feels like I'm wearing lead boots since my legs have just been biking for an hour and a half and need time to adjust. The next few hills came and went. It's always discouraging when you turn a corner to see a massive hill in the distance. I try to remember all the other hills I have done in training and past races and I start to understand that it won't be that bad. Those kind of hills look tough and intimidating from a distance, but up close they look challenging and conquerable.
After a few downhills on the road, we entered the trail into the rocks and roots. I was moving along pretty good, much, much better than last year. Then, a small rock jumped under my foot and I rolled my ankle. Sudden pain accompanied the loud cracks and pops coming from my right ankle. It even felt like I hit the ground with my ankle bone. A few emergency hops kept me on my feet and I continued to jog it off. The endorphins kicked in and I was back on track. I knew my run training for the next week or 2 would have go on hold, but I love this race and wanted to do my best. The run and bike course overlap for a few miles. This helped since I could remember the obstacles ahead. The rock gardens and crazy roots are much easier and sometimes faster on foot than on a bike, so that section was not so bad. I think all my endorphins ran out as I approached the group campsite. It felt like all the pain from my ankle on top of the pain and discomfort from my legs and lungs could not be ignored any more... I had to walk. This was pretty discouraging for me since I only planned to walk on Evit's Revenge and the crazy technical uphill at the end. After about 1 minute of walking I starting to jog again up to the aid station where a kid with a big smile on his face asked if I wanted a splash. This was pretty cool since I always use the water at the aid stations to dump on my head anyway. I said, "Yes, please." He splashed with all his might, right in my face. Soaking wet and cooled off, I continued halfway up the campground hill when my ankle starting screaming at me again. I walked to the top, again for about 1 minute. The first big downhill back into the trail is where I realized that landing hard on your feet while running down a steep hill hurts a lot. A few more rolling hills were next - I actually ran past some bikers on the trail. They looked like they were hating life. Evit's Revenge was next, walked again. Then came the treacherous downhill on loose soil and sharp rocks.
There was one runner who had stayed about 25 yards in front of me since transition. I caught up to him at the top of that downhill. It was his first time on this course, so I gave him a little heads up that this part gets a little crazy. He said, "...this whole place is crazy." He followed behind me on the downhill and kept me entertained with his muttering expletives. At the bottom, we hit a wobbly bridge, then the climb straight up. Loose soil and wet rocks - straight up... my legs were burning and my vision was fading. I lost the other runner and approached the final section of boulders. They are a bitter-sweet sight. It is a difficult climb with spaghetti legs, but it is also the final push before the last mile on open road. Its not technical, but this last mile was rough. With no shade and rolling hills, I kept the finish line in my head and pushed on.
2:51:14 - about 25 minutes faster than the year before!!
Shawn had already finished and was waiting in transition. I caught my breath, grabbed a cold gatorade and we went out to look for Alicia. She finished soon after and we all cooled down in the lake. We finished. We had no major injuries, the hours of pain were behind us, and now, a cooler full of cold beer lay ahead of us.
Results
Shawn 2:47:49
Chris 2:51:14
Alicia 3:07:35
Detailed results are posted on EX2.com.
Critters we met this year
