"My 2010 story will obviously contain story's that reflect on the outside world. An existence of observation. This type of relationship with nature will always be a part of my life. Observing. Enjoying. Loving. Reflecting. But for 2010, I want to "up the ante" by adding a physical element. I have a few ideas in my head. Nothing new, though. Perhaps 2010 will be the year I find this missing detail." Managed Chaos, January 2010That was my new years resolution for 2010. I know, I acted like it was not a resolution, but it was. It was hidden under a new title and format and I did not see it for what it was... until now. *
*Tangent. I have never done any type of new years resolution. Honesty, without truly knowing, I found them to be a waste of time ** New years resolutions, in my opinion tend to make people sad because what they planned did not happen. They also tend to forget about all the other wonderful things they had completed that year. I find this sad and so I have never done one before. Plus, I am lazy and writing one seemed hard.
** I know its very ignorant of me to say this without ever trying it.But I wrote it and then... it hung over my head ... all year. To the point that when I was asked to ride in the 24 hours of Moab. I had to say "yes" because on January 18, 2010 I said I was going to add a "physical element" to my life.
A "physical element"? I knew what it meant. I wanted to do a mountain bike race. I think a year or two ago I realized how out of shape I was*** and I thought how sad it was that I never rode in a race. A long, long, long time ago (~a decade) I could have raced. I was in shape but I wouldn't race because I cared too much about how well I did. It was easier to do nothing than to try, and do less than I wanted.
***It was this day.
I think part of this was my friends fault. She not only inspired me to write the "new years resolution" but she ran a marathon. A fucking**** 26.2 mile marathon. That's huge. I don't want to ever do that. I accidentally "ran" a half marathon (more on that later) and I hurt for about a week. I think she is amazing for doing this.
****This is a well thought out word. I wanted to get your attention here because 26.2 miles is a lot and I felt that without that word no one would have noticed how amazingly long a marathon is.
I was really freaked out about riding in this race. I had not ridden in soooooooo long and the other girls on my team had long racing resumes and current skills. I guess I felt these things were important. Which meant, I definitely needed to do some training. And, I did train; 4-9- hours a week. Nick, Brandon, and Nate were my training partners and champions (I may have been a little whiny about my biking skills and fitness). Thanks Guys!
The race is described (on the official web page of 24 hours of Moab) as:
Set in the enchanted, red rock desert, most of the course is on an old jeep trail, but it's technical enough that you have to pick your lines*****. All-in-all, it's a very fast course****** with several big-chaining sections where you can push 40+ miles an hour*******. Pro's consistently break the one hour mark on this roughly 15-mile course********. It has some gnarly down hills, 1,360 feet of climb per lap, and some of the most spectacular scenery in the world!******** So, join us on the dusty trail Behind-the-Rocks for one of the greatest mountain bike races on the planet!
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| My first wreck! |
(&) I had other wrecks too. My favorite wreck was my last because of my mentality when it happened and how I dealt with it. My mind was a bit off. My body was fraught with exhaustion and dehydration symptoms and so I keep getting a little ... spacey. At one point, I lost concentration and got to close to a huge sand berm that was taller than my head. The next thing I knew the sand berm consumed me as I tried to destroy it with my face and bike. When everything stopped, I was coated in wet sand. Without pause, I got up, wiped the sand off one side of my face with the backside of my glove, got on my bike and started peddling.
For the next 30 min, as the sand dried, it fell off behind me. Creating a small sandstorm as I rode.****** I "felt" fast...
******* I topped out at 25-30 MPH and I was peddling my tinnier legs off to do it. Large gear and a cadence over 90.
******** I am not a "Pro"
********* Spectacular scenery! On my first lap, I rode as the sun was setting. It was incredible. At every turn the sky melted with the surrounding landscape. I was definitely into it (and distracted by it). At one point, I turned to the guy next to me and mentioned the view. He looked at me like I was crazy for even noticing such a silly thing and I looked back at him with a look that said he was crazy for not noticing at all.
While at the 24 hours of Moab, I realized something about racing. I realized, that, once you are on the trail everything gets really.... simple. There is only one thing to do. No more planning. No more worrying. All you do is ride. Nothing else.********** You just put one pedal in front of the other over and over again. You dont worry about your training, what you ate earlier, or if you slept enough. You are in the moment. Thinking only about the section of trail in front of you.
********** Nate would probably say I should have also concentrated on drinking my water.
In some way, its kind of like having a baby. You plan, and plan, Then 2/3rds of the way in you start to worry about how you will get the baby out (or how you will do your next lap). But then, ultimately, the time comes. The day (or moment arrives) and the ability to worry leaves. You realize, there is nothing to do but have the baby. And so you do just that. And, now that the race / baby having is over, I think I am ready to have another! (*)
(*) Race, Mom. Not baby.
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Nobody comment yet so I will. Love the post! You are awesome!
ReplyDeleteAfter I read the first quote from the past, the first thing I thought of was the Moab race. I think you are the poster child for "physical element" little missy. I'm so proud of you. Love the illustration of your first wreck, though my spine is still in spasms just thinking about it. Impressive idle times and lap times. What an accomplishment! (oh, and in my house the "m" word is banned...you know mara*#@*#...can't even bring myself to write the entire word. lol)
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