Rode "Enduro" race at Iron Hill on Saturday Morning... not sure what I was getting myself into since I have been giving myself a break since the Ironman 70.3 last month and had taken on a new challenge of a "detox diet" (that will be blogged about after I am done with it... 21 days of gluten free, sugar free, soda free, caffeine free, dairy free products).
I liked that the race is close to home.
The course: Iron Hill Park in Delaware (last exit off 95S before you head into MD). Nice Single tracks, bridges, logs, trees (some on an angle), some good short steep climbs, some rocky climbs, some rooty ones too, and then there is the killer Rocky decent....everytime I rode it I imagined myself going down "the plunge" of Maui (lava rock insanity)...then I heard the back ground noise of I95 and reality would kick in ("I am in Delaware the first state, not the 50th"). The course was completely covered by the shade of the trees. Each lap is 5 miles.
The bike: Yeti (ASR). It was a good choice in the end, but I sooooo wanted to ride the single speed at this race. My pedal fell off (candy cranks) on a ride last week... and I couldn't get the remaining pieces off the bike... so my decision to ride the Yeti was made for me ;)
The diet: since I can't have gatorade, accelerade, or any sport drink and/or gu, gel, blocks, bars...I packed 4 nanas and a pound of grapes in the cooler with some ICE COLD water. I wasn't sure how I was going to pull it off.
The weather: absolutely beautiful... 70 degrees at 8am, about 75 at the 9am start and then increased to about low 80's by the end of the ride.
1st lap: "Can't see"... I had the Rx sunglasses on. Thinking I need to hit the pit stop to switch out to normal specs. Fun time.... just couldn't see where I was going. (39 mins)
2nd lap: Made pit stop, but the specs on (a bit foggy and cold b.c they were in the cooler), downed a 'nana and a bottle of water while waiting for the fog to disappear. off I went... "its good to see!" Fun. felt good. cleared everything. (39 mins)
3rd lap: "no stopping, keep going, you can stop next time". set a good pace... clearing again.. having fun on the crazy rocky downhills.... but as I was climbing, a man was walking his bike up... as I am passing him he cheers me on, and then my back wheel skidded...I fell going up hill. I fell on the same side I fell the night before at wiss on a new downhill...so it REALLY hurt. I knew better. But I had to stop and walk the bike to shake the hurt out of me. (42 mins)
4th lap: made a pit stop, need to refuel. ...the ice cold grapes were just what I needed... they are soo cold, so juicy, so tasty, so refreshing! Ate half of a banana, and some water. Got on the bike, and thought.... I so needed that! and I felt really good! Better than if I had been drinking gatorade or eating a gu. So I pushed a little more but then the expert class was released on the course. These guys are awesome... they are fast, and extremely courteous! I have to admit everytime there was someone passing me, I had to slow down and a few times I stopped so they could pass. It was cool... its part of the sport, but they even say "Thank YOU". True sportmanship and professional experience through out the expert/elite racers. (41 mins)
5th lap: made a pit stop.. quick as I could.... I couldn't resist the refreshing grapes again! off I went. About half way into this lap I feel the muscles wearing out. The lower back hurts. My DTE is reading 10miles. (41 mins)
6th lap: this is it... push what I have left in the tank because there is a mother load of ice cold grapes at the end of the tunnel. The whole back is screaming, the mind says to play it smart b/c this is where "stupidity" happens, and dehydration is starting to kick in a bit. admittingly, part of me, doesn't want to push it too hard so that I would make the cut off for another lap (strictly due to my DTE). (39mins)
30 miles of mountain biking is my max. I am surprised that I had such a good time doing the same lap six times in a row.....it was that crazy rocky iron downhill.... I kept wanting more of it! (I miss Maui)
I think this is my last MASS race for the season. I am focusing on my running now.... caoching XC starting this week, Philly Distance in a month, and then the Philadelphia Marathon too, and I am also starting grad school.
I qualified for XTERRA Nationals for both the triathlon (Tahoe, NV) and the Xduro trail run (Bend, OR), but the budget does not allow me to pursue those goals this year. Regrets? of course! Tahoe is one of my favorite races. The (2500 ft) downhill is sick!
