I have ridden the course once before, about 2.5 years ago. I remember thinking it was hilly, but I handled it. I was feeling pretty confident on the drive down.
Four of us--Matt, Jim, Jim and Myself--rolled out, cold, but ready to tackle the gravel roads ahead.
The Wall
I felt pretty good the first mile. And then we hit our first little hill. How did everyone suddenly get so far ahead of me? Why wasn't I going anywhere? I felt a bit of panic rise. I tried rationalizing away my nerves--my legs will be alright . . . they are just getting warmed up. Yup.
Nope. My legs had nothing. We'd (actually, I would, as everyone was so far ahead of me) come to the base of the hill and my brain would say "Conquer this thing, Attack! Attack!" And then I'd feel a heavy resin drain down my legs. They were resigned. On-Strike. My brain and my body were in contention, leaving me in a deep place of pain and suffering.
It was a bad, bad day.
Matt, Jim, and Jim were true gentlemen and waited for me at the turns. I wish they had not been so polite as I prefer to suffer alone. One of the things I like about Matt is he is a genuine, laid-back, nice-guy. So at every turn I would roll in and Matt would offer some sort of encouragement "you're doing great!"
If I could have spared the energy, I would have taken off my shoe and punched Matt in the teeth with my cleats.
I have very violent thoughts when I am completely depleted of nutrients.
To make things worse, the course was muddy, sticky, and hillier than I remembered. And I was way, way off my anticipated pace for race day.
As ready as I am to sell my entry to some other sucker, I know that I need to see this race through. Barry-Roubaix is the first stepping-stone in my training for Lumberjack 100. No matter how humiliated I may be by my results and performance at BRX, I will keep my eyes focused on the big picture.
Happy weekend everyone!
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