The Burn - 2 Crucial Errors

The Burn lived up to it's name today. It burned!! My race was okay, but it could have been much better if not for two crucial errors.

Crucial Error Number 1: My pre-race prep was perfect up until last night. I had eaten healthy and slept good on Wednesday thru Thursday night. Last night I needed to get to bed by 10:30 to get 8 hours of sleep and was all set to go until I flipped on the TV for some reason. The movie Clear and Present Danger was on and I managed to get hooked. Why! Why would I value watching Harrison Ford avenge the government's wrong doings in drug cartel ridden Colombia over getting a good nights rest the night before a race? I don't know, but I did! I woke up this morning after a rotten night's sleep feeling well - rotten!

Crucial Error Number 2: As Jo and I headed out to meet Doug we stopped for a bagel on the way. I got a cinnamon raisin bagel with two eggs plain. For an after race treat I ordered a cinnamon sugar bagel with cream cheese. After finishing off the egg bagel I was still hungry so I had ate half of the cinnamon sugar bagel stacked with 1/2" of cream cheese. I'm lactose intolerant and never eat cream cheese. I'll just say it did me wrong... One led to the other. My lack of discipline lead to being tired and not thinking straight.

Jo, Doug and I carpooled to the race where we met Jon, another Phoenix Multisport team member. We set up in on the shores of picturesque Lake Wellington. It was beautiful. Jo took wonderful care of us by wiping down our bikes and heading out on the course to take pictures. Most pictures were taken by Jo.

Lake Wellington

As Doug, Jon and I headed out to warm up I felt terrible. I could have just laid down in the grass and gone to sleep. We didn't ride far, but I couldn't get my heart rate up. I knew as soon as I got my bike the race would be a painful one.

Jo

Doug

Jon

The Burn is done a time-trial format to minimize trail erosion and ensure protection of two endangered species, the Preble's Jumping Mouse and Pawnee Montane Skipper butterfly. This means riders start alone on the course in 30 second intervals. My start time for the 22 mile course was 10:27am. Doug started 4 minutes and Jon started about 30 minutes after me.

Preble's Jumping Mouse

Pawnee Montane Skipper Butterfly

The Start Gate

I finished my pathetic warm up about 5 minutes before my start time and after the last of many cream cheese induced "pit stops" made it to the line at 10:26. As the official counted down I tried set up a positive mindset by being grateful I had the opportunity to race no matter how bad I felt.

Left the start gate at 10:27 exactly. The course headed out of Lake Wellington on a long fire road descent. The fire road was riddled with ruts which were hard to see through the harsh shadows of the trees above. More than once I was surprised by a rut hiding in what I thought was a smooth line. It was an odd feeling starting out a race completely alone. My anxiety level was high as I waited for the guy behind me to catch me on the descent. Luckily the first descent was the only part of the course that didn't favor the Superfly. Overall the bike performed fantastically.

Singletrack Climb

At the bottom of the descent the course made a sharp left turn into a long and steady single track climb feature the only tech section of the entire course. Jo and I rode the trail last weekend so I knew exactly how to manage my output level. I passed her half way up and she snapped a couple pics. I definitely was not feeling well, but that's how it goes with some races so I just tried not to bury myself on the climb. At the top, the course opened up into a long flat followed by a fun, flowing down hill. My poor feelings were made better when I started to catch riders ahead of me.

Alex

Doug

Jon

After the descent the course started the first of two long climbs back to the finish. On the first single track climb I finally felt my form and was able to make up some time. I passed a half dozen riders. On my old bike climbing was nothing but damage control, but on the Superfly I found myself using the climbs to gain more position than anywhere else. This is normal for strong climbers, but new to me.

The Only Tech Section

After a sweet Buffalo Creek single track descent the course dropped out into the same fire road it started on, only this time it was 3 miles straight up hill and I my rotten feelings were back. I just couldn't get my body to go to threshold. Normally if I don't feel well I can at least dig deep in the well and suffer, but not today. It was all I could do to turn the cranks over in a pathetic slow slog to the up finish. It seemed like it would never end. I mentally battled a barrage of negativity by taking in the beauty of my surroundings and by listing all of the things in my life I have to be grateful for. It worked and my long, slow churn up the rutted hill was metaphoric of clawing my way out of my mental pit of despair.

The Burn (literally)

At the top I downshifted and mushed has hard as I could on the short flat to the finish. As I rolled across I was just happy it was over. I ended up in 4th place out of 13 in my age group. Even though I could have done better on more sleep and less cream cheese, I'm happy with my results and left the race with a heightened level of gratitude. After the race Jon came to the rescue buying Cokes and Mountain Dews, followed by burrittos and dips in the lake.

Jo after the Race

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