Peaksview Park.......

Sunday was the Peaksview Park race in Lynchburg. I didn't really feel motivated going into this one. I guess I'm really tired of all the heat & dry weather. This time of year is really tough for someone w/ allergies to ragweed & grasses and with chronic asthma. Makes riding a real challenge b/c when you breathe, it feels like you're breathing through a straw. When you race, it's worse...

Anywho...warmed up a little big on the start area & finish area to get a feel for the trail conditions. Things were dry so the course would be fast. Lined up at the start. There were 3 chicky's in the expert woman's field. One younger chicky who was super fast, Kim, my fellow competitor from MW & Mountain Lake race & myself. All I needed to do was finish today. I wasn't feeling good in the warm up...had to race back to the car to do an inhaler shot before the start of the race, then race back to the staging area. When the starter released us, it was a super fast pace again. That's the big difference in racing in the expert field...these guys and girls are fast right from the git go. I'm not fast so I just about blow up trying to keep the pace w/ these guys. We went into the woods and sure enough it was a big cluster at the first switchback. Trying to dump 30 some odd folks into a 2' singletrack section is a joke. People were bobbling all over ther place. I tucked in behind Kim & let her pace the first section. She's a super strong climber & really smooth. As we started to settle into a groove I heard the single speed guys coming up behind. Skippy got right on my wheel and started taunting me. We were right in the woop section when they caught us...Skippy knew how much I love for him to ride behind me & he let me know about it..(it's a running joke with us....I hate it when he rides behind me...I get really nervous)...I was finally able to let the Single Speed dudes by..... not too much later a bunch of sport dudes caught us. Once again I had to let them by. Fortunately Kim let them by also, so there was not much of a gap between us & I was able to quickly pace back up to her. We continued to go & I knew more guys were back there. I made sure to shout back to them to let me know when they needed a line & I would gladly move. One dude was a total jerk though & decided to make his own path through the woods about 15 feet off of the trail. I shouted to him "hey..I would have let you by!" I didn't see his number..if so I would have said something to the race officials....I don't think he had a shot at placing..maybe he did but he was kind of riding like an idiot. Oh well

After the guys got past us, Kim started screaming...I looked up and a big black snake slithered under her wheels and into the brushy section next to the trail..Eee Gads....It reminded me of the snake in a West Virginia race last year. Then we encountered a turtle hanging out of the trail..He was probably wondering what in the world was going on!...As the first lap continued, I was descending and handling the technical sections quite well. Kim let me by 1/2 way through the first lap & we continued on. At some point some of the CLydesdales passed us. I can't remember if it was the first lap or second lap...I just could not get into a rhythm on this course..I start hammering on a downhill to have to gear down for some of the short uphill parts. I kept footing out on some of that stuff...very frustrating. With about 3 miles left on the first lap I came to an intersection where the course tape was torn down...I stopped & waited for Kim..we looked at each other & asked which way? We chose to go straight which was the correct choice. I came out onto the road...tried to keep a relatively high pace but couldn't breathe. Kim passed me so I tried to pace behind her. She got a little ahead going into the second lap. She started to pull away on the climbing sections...I just maintained a steady pace....as soon as we got to more of the technical down parts, she allowed me to pass..we sort of ping ponged the first 2 laps, she'd lead, they I would lead, then she would lead, etc. 2 Sport chicky's caught us..they were flying, but then again, it was their last lap..we still had another to go! About 1/2 way through the second lap, there was a section of trail which dumped out into doubletrack. It was a slight left hand turn with a tree branch sticking out. I took the turn a little wide & knew I was in for it. Sure enough I clipped my hand on the tree and down I went. OUCH! I noticed my left pinky sort of hurt but didn't think much about it. I picked the bike back up, checked to make sure everything was working & went on my way.

By the end of the second lap I was really laboring...my breathing was not good and it was really hot. I drank the contents of my camel back so all I had left was a warm bottle on the bike...Yuk..Cytomax is really horrible when it's warm..but it was wet & had electrolytes so I forced it down. As I was finishing the second lap on the road I saw one of the Single Speeders hanging out on a park bench..He was done! I still had another lap! *sigh*

Lap 3...I can't remember where Kim was at this point...I think I was ahead but not by much....just needed to race a clean 3rd lap. I wasn't moving fast which was frustrating for me...but I was moving. I came to this one trail which had 2 very small logs approx 3' apart from each other. I rode this part clean the first 2 laps...I brain farted this time...Got over the first one w/ my front wheel..then tried to stand up & pedal Nothing happened...I think I just spun the back wheel out on the log..next thing I knew I was slamming into the ground on the same side I had crashed on the 2nd lap. Yikes! I was pretty slow getting up but dragged myself back on the bike & plodded on. I was able to hammer the downhills but could feel my body temperature rising....I even contemplated quitting but figured I should finish to get points. I knew by then Kim & I were the only ones left on course. Even the marshalls left.

As I dumped out on the road, my hubby was waiting for me along w/ Jen, my fellow chicky riding buddy. He started to say something to me about my pace & timinig when out of nowhere, the Evil Pookie reared her ugly head. She blurted out "Protein shake...I need a protein shake!" I was tired & beyond frustrated. I did not know how far back Kim was..it was all I could do to keep the legs turning the pedals on the road. Jen rode out next to me encouraging me all the way..come on, you can do it! When I got to the finish area, there were 2 people there....very demoralizing..even the awards ceremony was done! I rolled back to the car, subdued the Evil Pookie with a protein shake & got cooled off. I downed a bunch of electrolytes to start the recovery process. I finally mustered the strength to see if there was any food left. Turns out I ended up getting first in my age group...so that was a nice surprise. Kim finished too....not sure how far back.

Gretta sporting the 1st place medal

As I took off my gloves, I noticed my left pinky where I hit the tree was pretty swollen & bruised. It looked like a sausage. I iced it down all night and now it's purple I thought I had broken it b/c I've broken fingers before & the feeling was the same. I'll probably just tape it ot the ring finger if it gets any worse. Hopefully it won't hurt my golf grip.

My hubby DNF'd the race..he had breathing issues too severe to allow him to continue racing. He mentioned he's done for the season. I'm gonna finish it out just to prove to myself I can race expert. I'm getting to old for this racing stuff. Hopefully it won't be stifling hot at Bedford in 2 weeks.