I'm going to keep this one short. Yes, I raced Powerman Alabama and got my ass handed to me. There is no other way to say it. I was fit, in better shape than ever, and the heat and hills kicked my ass. I finished, and there were soome DNF's in the pro field, but the second run, I couldn't keep fluids down by mile 3, and I was stopping every 500-600 meters to throw up. It got ugly. So my second run was embarrassing.
I rode hard, but not hard enough, as my 2 minute stagger penalty left me riding solo, unable to have someone to chase. No it was not the perfect race. It was brutal and hard and it was exactly what I needed to know where I needed to spend my efforts for training. I was purposely conservative the first run, b/c it was super hilly, and maybe I should have gone a bit harder. But I'm not using the excuse of climate changes, I'm not blaming anyone for my hydration issues, I'm owning this. But its exactly the kind of kick I need to get back up and come at it even harder. And that's exaclty what I intend to do.
We all fall down, we all have bad races. I had mine. I'm not going to say I'm ok with it, b/c I'm not done with the season, I'm not done training and racing. Far from it. I'm only planning to get stronger, and faster.
Hats off to everyone who raced, especially the Chicago contingent, and Jenny Garrison, who did great, and said afterwards "I'd rather give birth again than do this race." But she did awesome.
Stay strong,
Guy
