"If you are going through hell, keep going" - winston churchill
Hey all,
Well its been a while since I posted last and that was due to my desire to lay low, and train hard to get ready for what I knew would be my toughest test as an athlete-american zofingen. I guess I didn't realize how tough that test would be.
so let's get the specifics out of the way first. I got to new york friday afternoon and felt good. I couldn't help but notice the catskill mountains we'd be racing in but I didn't let it get to me. I just dug in and got ready to race. Sunday arrived, cold and sunny, great race conditions. The race is tougher than the course map shows. The first run is on a true single track, with rocks, fallen branches, mud, and oh yeah, the climbs pitch up to 18 percent for 300 meter stretches. I remained calm though, figuring it was going to be a long day.
Got to the bike a couple minutes off the lead group of 18, and rode off. The bike started with a 2 mile climb, with stretches of 10-18 percent rises. It was cruel. Followed by nasty, twisting descents. But nothing was like the second major climb, an 8 mile monster that never seemed to end. The difference with this climb, no trees covered your right side and opened up to show you how high up you were. On the second descent, I started to feel dizzy, and had a hard time controllin my bike. I thought it was nutrition, but as I started the second loop of the same climbs, I felt like I was falling, and started to lean over my bars. As I completed the second loop, I had ridden into 10th, less than a minute off the lead group. But I was done. The vertigo was getting worse and the tension in my shoulders from the death grip on my bars,knotted my arms and back so badly that getting out of the saddle was almost impossible. When I got to the start area to hand in my chip, I realized I was not the only day's casualty as others twisted ankles and dislocated toes.
I was checked out by the medic, given some water and refused to lie down. I was despondent and completely shell shocked. Even though I was still a bit dizzy, all I wanted to do was go home, put this out of my memory. But as we drove away I realized something. I was within a minute of true elite level athletes who train in that terrain daily. I was there. And to walk away with that knowledge gives me confidence about going back next year. It wasn't my legs, or my lungs, my fitness was spot on, thanks to my coach jen. So I will be back in may to tackle that beast again.
What did I learn? As I sit here in the car on the road home just west of south bend, in. I learned that to be a truly complete elite endurance duathlete, who can take on any course, I need to know my enemy better. I knew that the course was tough, but simply "climbing lots" didn't cover it. I needed long, open descents, more specific climbing, better understanding of the course,etc. That's not on your coach, that's on the athlete. Jenny got my body ready but its more than that. And that's on me. I know better now and will continue to train smarter. I'm not sulking over this race, I'm taking what I learned and coming back stronger.
To my competition, I'll see u in december at powerman florida. I'm not done yet. It takes more than a good old fashioned ass kicking to stop me.
Stay strong
Guy
