A Correction, a Sandwich, and Some Riding

First, I stand corrected. The podium from the PCP2P was Heather first, Kelly second, Sarah was third, Lynda was fourth, Erica fifth, myself in sixth and Jen in seventh. My apologies.

I used to teach school and providing criticism or correction was best done sandwiched between compliments. This method was often recommended and employed especially during parent conferences. In retrospect, I was delivered a "humility sandwich" in my racing. I felt good at the Mt. Ogden 100K, I was decimated at the P2P, and then I felt great again at the Sundance Single Speed Challenge.
I have not been on my single speed that much lately. I tried to do "One Speed Wednesdays", but I cheated frequently. So coming into the race on Saturday, I was not sure how it would go. I took some comfort in  assuming there would not be any expectations as there has never been any female competition in years past. Then I got the call...Erica.
She had a change of plans and decided to do this race. She borrowed Carl's, her brother in law, rigid single speed, took it for a spin, and was going to race it. Son of a...! I was excited to have some competition, but apprehensive at the same time.
Erica and I were joined by Kate--a mid-week race regular. The course was different and I was skeptical, but it turned out great. I really enjoyed it. Erica beat me up the road into the single, of course. She bobbled a section in Center Isle, I believe, and I got by on the first lap. I did not descend very smoothly on the first lap. I am continuously looking over my shoulder knowing she is going to be catching me as I start the climb again. I am still feeling strong. My second lap is close to the same time as my first and the final half lap goes almost as smoothly. Chris defended his title again.
During the race I had two contradicting trains of thought both were concern for Erica. One was that she would be catching me. The other I am concerned about her in general. I start to realize that really this is a technical course. Nothing crazy, but just consistent. I think I should have told her that with a rigid fork, she will need to unweight even more. I should have told her the line for the rock drop. None of this occurred to me until I was riding. She was fine though. She did not care for the rigid fork. And opted to stop "racing" and just ride it out. I have always said that it it an acquired taste.
Later that night, Chris and I went for a night ride. It was a nice night. Even though Chris thinks it is weak, I like my light set up. I felt pretty good, but Chris was cooked from the race earlier in the day.

Getting Worse

The Park City Point 2 Point hates me. Last year it just did not seem to like me, but this year it was pure hatred. I don't know why. I had a blast riding in Park City several weekends before hand. Yesterday everything changed. I have some theories though.
I started off feeling okay. I got dropped by the group off the start which is par for the course. I caught back up and passed Erica on the way to Deer Valley. She can climb much better than I do, but was content staying behind me for a bit. She got by and I never saw her again. She ended up in 5th. I knew she would do well.
I got to Silver Lake the first time grabbed bottle and continued to climb. I still felt okay. I started to see Sarah and thought things were turning around. She then pulled away and ended up in fourth. I am glad she had a good day on the bike. Lynda came flying past me. I was waiting for that. She got some bad intell via me that morning and started a wave or two back. I felt terrible on the start line, but timing was all done by chips so she did not messed up. She ended up in third behind Heather and Kelly.
I made it back to Silver Lake and expected things to improve. The tough stuff was over the remaining course was long, but lots of flowy single track and nicely graded climbs.
A bit later around 4:30 into my race things started to fall apart and then continued to get bad. I started to get pre-cramps in my hamstrings and quads. I have never cramped here before. I had been drinking calories and electrolytes like crazy. So much so my stomach actually felt full. I couldn't really eat much as there was not much saliva and food would sit in my mouth forever but I made several noble efforts. I ran out of beverage long before I reached Park City Mountain Resort. Dave caught me a little before hand. I told him I was in a pit of despair. I don't think he believed me. Once at PCMR, I told the pit crew I was in dire straits. They did all they could to help me. The encouragement was the best and I continued. (Thanks Kendra, Wendy, Dave Dean, and Gayle).
Things continued to get bad. I soft pedaled my way to the Canyons. I could not accelerate into anything so every little up hill was a climb. I got passed by so many people. I and another guy pulled off the side of the trail for a bit as we were both trying to ward off cramps. I was grateful for the company. My left calf seized up a bit later and a train of riders passed me.
On the final road climb, I was soft pedaling as much as I possibly could and everything revolted in unison--both quads, hamstrings and gastrocs. I pushed my bike as my quadriceps continued to pulsate. It was so messed up that my inner quad (vastus medialis) and a muscle on my lateral calf above my malleolus cramped. Who does that? I finished because I did not know how to quit. My time was 35 minutes slower than last year.
Chris felt good though and finished fourth behind the likes of Alex Grant, Josh Tostada and Kelly Magelky. Impressive.
This morning I cannot sleep. My chest hurts when I breath, swallow and lie down. It started a little bit after I finished yesterday. I am not sure what is up with that. Lots of things hurt though.