First race of 08

Terlingua, Tx. This one is a marathon, sport racers do one lap of 31 miles. Our usual distances are more in the 18-22 mile range. I signed up for the 100k, or two laps, with my first lap counting towards my TMBRA points.





The weather was great this year compared to the last two. It was mid 40's at the start, and quickly jumped up from there. I did run with leggings and a long cotton shirt.......was only warm and uncomfortable for the last 1/4 of lap one. I started strong at the front behind the pace guy and ran in the front group most of the way to the singletrack. Knowing I was going to do 2 laps, I did back off a little. Hit the feedzone at the airport feeling good, should have kept moving, but took a quick break. I ate a PB&J, drank a sport shake and refilled my water bottle......took like 3 minutes. I hit Tres Cuevas refreshed and strong, making everything except the 40 yard section of babyheads towards the top. As usual, I flew the downhill at top speed......this is where I pass a bunch. Many riders are very uneazy and timid on this section, and rightly so. You really have to trust your skills and pay solid attention.....or you will pay the price. I saw a couple of riders go down on some of the sketchy turns, and I managed to avoid them.

I stopped at the start of lap 2 to drink another sport shake. I wasn't looking forward to doing the second lap. To be truthful, I almost bailed 3 times. Once, mile 1, before I even crossed the highway to enter the desert. Second, mile 7, where the split for the 30k-50k takes you straight to the airport. Then again, mile 20, after arriving at the airport. But, I was still feeling OK, even though the temps had dropped and the headwinds were in the 35-45 mph range. Another sport shake and I was off to challenge Tres Cuevas again. Surprisedly I only walked a small section of the first switchback, and the 40 yards of babyheads. This really made me feel good as I rode a 1x9 with a 34 ring up front. Not the best choice but I seem to be able to mash it OK. The winds on the climb were unbarable and so cold that it was actually hard to breath. They were so bad that several riders told of being knocked over by them. Then a lite rain/drizzle started........and it was coooooold.....nasty cold. At this point, all I could think of was, I've passed the hard stuff, all that's left is the sketchy downhill back to the finish. I hit it as hard as I did the first lap, just slowing in some of the corners due to the wetness. Luckily, the mist stopped and the temps came up a tad with about 2 miles to go. I came down the last piece of single track, hit the finish line, and hammered it all the way across the line.

Results, I finish 5th in my TMBRA group for the 50k, and 15th in the 100K. And I could have done another lap.............NOT!!! LOL!!