Well that hurt a little. After the series finale I had some stitches below my right knee. No riding for 2 weeks. Of course I tried anyway, and broke them open. Another week and a half off the bike. Slow recovery for sure. I wasn't going to let that get in my way though... cold weather in Georgia? No problem. I went to Florida and rode for a warm weekend with my girlfriend. Back in town and it's raining? I rode the trainer. Went for a run. Unfortunately, I next got a sinus infection. No way to beat that except for rest, and meds. Oh, the Snake Creek Gap TT is tomorrow? No problem. I'll just suffer through it and be stronger for it.
Goal I set before the sinus infection: 5 hours. 5 hours for the toughest 34 mile race course in the southeast. I'm going to need every second of it!
I rolled up in the starting line that morning feeling pretty good. Advil Cold and Sinus in my system, a little caffeine, and no idea what the first 17 miles had in store. Saw a few familiar faces and had a few laughs. Mark Duffus and myself (Mark a.k.a 'the nemesis') and two others started at the same time. He had gears however, and for the first few miles of uphill I would slowly climb away from him, then on the long downhills he would catch up. This went on for the first 10-12 miles. I passed him, he passed me. Repeat. I'm okay with that. I noticed 3.5 miles into the race that my lungs did NOT have the capacity I'd hoped for, because of the sinus infection, and had to hike more than I had hoped. I felt my legs getting way to tight, and knew cramping was near.
Halfway point. Wow, I have a new found respect for Singlespeeders. This is tough. At the halfway point at 2:07. Just a couple minutes slower than I had hoped, but still do-able. After eating half a banana and a couple of fig newtons from the sag stop (A sag stop is basically a volunteer concession stand for racers) I filled my camelbak and took off. Knowing that most of the people just getting to the sag/halfway point would be trying to pass me soon, I had to get moving. The next half starts with a climb almost 2 miles long, with short steep grunts, slick roots and some rain puddles. My legs started cramping up just before the gravel road climb. This is about 3 miles long and at the top is another volunteer sag/concession/aid station. I pedaled as smoothly and as efficiently as possible up this climb and kept the legs from cramping anymore. Temporarily. They got worse, but I fought on. Biking when it was do-able. Hiking at a quick pace when it wasn't. Just before you finish this race, you come to a final steep climb, with a radio antenna tower up ahead. This is what you hope to see as soon as possible when you start this race. There it was, right before me, and I knew that it was all downhill from here. Even coasting downhill hurt at this point. My arms were tired, my lungs were exhausted. Here is my Garmin track for the event: (Will add soon, garmin's site is down temporarily)
Coasting in at 36 mph down the final downhill, so excited that I was finishing. Every year they have some home-made chili cooking at the finish line, free beers, and bunch of good friends and fellow racers to chat with. I got some chili, got some kisses from my girlfriend, and went to change clothes. Then, we went to feast with Keith K. at Cracker Barrel. Final time: 5:09. Not bad considering how bad i felt 3 miles in. Thanks, NWGASORBA! Can't wait for February 5th to knock some time off this. Later I heard 'the nemesis' mention that it took him like 7 tries to break the 5 hour mark. That being said, I did great on the Singlespeed. Results here: http://snake.nwgasorba.org/ Thanks for reading!
Goal I set before the sinus infection: 5 hours. 5 hours for the toughest 34 mile race course in the southeast. I'm going to need every second of it!
I rolled up in the starting line that morning feeling pretty good. Advil Cold and Sinus in my system, a little caffeine, and no idea what the first 17 miles had in store. Saw a few familiar faces and had a few laughs. Mark Duffus and myself (Mark a.k.a 'the nemesis') and two others started at the same time. He had gears however, and for the first few miles of uphill I would slowly climb away from him, then on the long downhills he would catch up. This went on for the first 10-12 miles. I passed him, he passed me. Repeat. I'm okay with that. I noticed 3.5 miles into the race that my lungs did NOT have the capacity I'd hoped for, because of the sinus infection, and had to hike more than I had hoped. I felt my legs getting way to tight, and knew cramping was near.
Halfway point. Wow, I have a new found respect for Singlespeeders. This is tough. At the halfway point at 2:07. Just a couple minutes slower than I had hoped, but still do-able. After eating half a banana and a couple of fig newtons from the sag stop (A sag stop is basically a volunteer concession stand for racers) I filled my camelbak and took off. Knowing that most of the people just getting to the sag/halfway point would be trying to pass me soon, I had to get moving. The next half starts with a climb almost 2 miles long, with short steep grunts, slick roots and some rain puddles. My legs started cramping up just before the gravel road climb. This is about 3 miles long and at the top is another volunteer sag/concession/aid station. I pedaled as smoothly and as efficiently as possible up this climb and kept the legs from cramping anymore. Temporarily. They got worse, but I fought on. Biking when it was do-able. Hiking at a quick pace when it wasn't. Just before you finish this race, you come to a final steep climb, with a radio antenna tower up ahead. This is what you hope to see as soon as possible when you start this race. There it was, right before me, and I knew that it was all downhill from here. Even coasting downhill hurt at this point. My arms were tired, my lungs were exhausted. Here is my Garmin track for the event: (Will add soon, garmin's site is down temporarily)
Coasting in at 36 mph down the final downhill, so excited that I was finishing. Every year they have some home-made chili cooking at the finish line, free beers, and bunch of good friends and fellow racers to chat with. I got some chili, got some kisses from my girlfriend, and went to change clothes. Then, we went to feast with Keith K. at Cracker Barrel. Final time: 5:09. Not bad considering how bad i felt 3 miles in. Thanks, NWGASORBA! Can't wait for February 5th to knock some time off this. Later I heard 'the nemesis' mention that it took him like 7 tries to break the 5 hour mark. That being said, I did great on the Singlespeed. Results here: http://snake.nwgasorba.org/ Thanks for reading!
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