Why do I do this?

Because it's fun...at least that's what I kept trying to convince myself at this year's 10th running of the Middle Mountain Momma at Douthat State Park. We had terrific weather for this year's race. Clear, sunny skies, light breeze, no humidity and temps in the high 50's low 60's.
We had some rain earlier in the week so parts of the course were going to be sloppy and downright slimy in one particular spot.(I'll get to that later)

We arrived in plenty of time to hang out, then warm up. I felt really good in the warm-up..legs felt like they had plenty of power, etc. Last Saturday when we pre-rode, I struggled up every climb..and could not figure out why I am slower this year (ever since I got the new bike, it doesn't feel like I get the power on my climbs as I did with the hardtail.) On the pre-ride, we figured out why I'm slower...because the rear cassette is configured as a 32, not a 34..which basically means I was running harder gears!!! So we ordered a new cassette before the race & had it on in time for today.

Warmed up for 40 minutes, then lined up for the start. We had some confusion w/ the Master Women's classes. These are not specified by ability (sport, expert) so we did not know where to line up at the start. Finally one of the other Master ladies & myself moved up to where the expert women were and asked the officials. They said..sure, you can race w/the experts. One of the other Master women did not hear him announce that, so she was 2 classes back with the other Vet and Sport women. Which meant she started 4 minutes back....(more on that result later)

Off we went...grinding all the way up salt stump. This is a fairly technical trail w/ rocks, roots and some stream crossings as you go. It's right at the start so everyone was on the gas. I don't do well with fast starts...might have something to do w/ my asthma and going immediately anaerobic in my efforts which in turn causes my heart rate to go above my lactate threshold of 184 beats per minute. Basically my heart rate was around 187 beats/minute the whole first climb..that cannot be good! I kept the other master woman in my sights and we both ended up walking quite a bit of the first 1/2 mile...getting passed by quite a number of the sport guys as we went. We turned left up the next trail where it smoothed out. I was able to put it into middle ring and spin much quicker. We continued to climb, and climb, and climb, and climb. We got to one stream crossing along the waywere I was able to pass the other master woman. More climbing..

I reached the top of the ridge in 1 hr 14 minutes..not very fast at all. had a great descent down Middle Mountain trail...I did have to bail to let 4 sport guys past..but that's ok because they were breathing down my neck. Hit the road to the campground and tried to get some extra fuel. I struggled to get my shot blocks out of my jersey pocket. so I gave up & tried some Hammer Gel instead. My race jersey fits very tight and the position of the pockets makes it very difficult to get stuff out of them...especially in a race. I lost some time messing w/ the stupid pocket

As I spun through the campground, I heard another female voice. It was the other master who started 2 classes back from us! She was riding incredibly strong w/minimal effort. When we made the left hand turn to do the harder side, I let her go. As I followed her, she was smooth through the streams and rocks and climb. I was in awe of her technical skills and a bit jealous. There was no way I could hold her wheel so I did not even try. She continued up the climb picking off many sport guys as she went! It was completely awesome!

As I climbed I could feel my legs losing power. As I got midway up the climb, I noticed my hubby sitting on the side of the trail. He said his race was over but he could not quit...so he thought he'd wait for me & ride w/ me the rest of the way. He also mentioned he lost his contact lens, but found it again...He was not having a good day. As we continued to climb...I had to finally get off and walk the bike. I was soooo frustrated. I felt like I had no juice left and I knew we had a ton of climbing left. In my mind I had quit...just given up completely. didn't even want to be there but knew the only way back was to finish this climb. Off and on the bike I went...I'd pedal 100 ft, then get off and walk, then get back on & ride, then walk....then curse, then pedal...vicious cycle......Finally we made it to the top & on to the descent filled w/ tight switchbacks.

I descended quite well with more speed than usually and was doing very well on the switchbacks...I could do the right handed ones but had difficulty on the left handed ones. I even toppled over on one of the lefties. On one section near the bottom, it was quity swampy...I thought I had a good line so went for it. As I pedaled, my bike just stopped...then I toppled over into shallow water filled with leaves and slime and God only knows what else. somehow I ended up sitting on my frame w/ my right leg stuck underneath!...Ewwwww..it was really gross & really cold. I got back on the bike and kept pedaling. Towards the bottom we ran into our good buddy Dale Heath (aka the "mayor" of Douthat) He had a device strapped on his helmet...I did not get a good look at the time but then realized later on it was a video camera...he was getting race footage all day. My hubby stopped to chat...I said I was still racing (ha ha) and continued on. Normally this section is rolling & you can get good speed towards then end. I was done...physically I was spent and mentally I had already checked out. I just decided to keep spinning at a comfortable pace. A couple of minutes later my hubby caught back up...we came to the last section of trail we had to climb at the start. I did very well descending this section as well. It was hard to get a lot of speed because my eyes kept watering...allergies.

As we rolled into the final 100 yards, my husband and I held hands as we pedaled to the finish....yea..we're pretty geeky but we had to make it fun since we both had crap days.
turns out I placed 2nd in Masters 40 and over class. The other master woman rolled up about a minute behind me......



I checked my time from 2005 and I believe I beat it by 5 minutes....so I guess it was not all that bad....well actually it was.... This week will be a light week for me.


Don't we look happy?