I have to admit I was really excited for this race. I'd never tried it before but from what I'd heard it wasn't very technical and fast. I'm usually pretty good at Power courses!
I drove to Traverse City on Friday and had a few friends show me the start and end of the course. The air was very dry and temps in the 40's. I hit a few of the hills hard but mostly we were just tooling around. The dry air gave me a little bit of a cough, but I didn't think much of it.
I had a great dinner at Red Mesa with my coach and friend Brian. Always fun to talk training and racing!
When I woke up Saturday morning I was surprised to see I had some blood running out of my mouth....whaaat?? Really strange. I've never had this happen before. Again, I didn't think much of it.
I was super nervous at the start but as soon as we took off I felt good. I felt good for about a mile and then I just couldn't seem to catch my breath or clear the phlegm from my throat. I was in the lead but lost it quickly. I just couldn't pull it together. I couldn't get out of zone 3 or low zone 4. I usually race in high zone 4 and zone 5. I felt like I was trying but according to my data, I really wasn't. I do have exercise induced asthma. It has not flared up in a couple of years and I no longer carry my inhaler. The lesson learned here is that if it's 30's, clear, and dry I will probably not race well. Or maybe I'll have to get to town earlier to acclimate to the dry air. Something to keep in mind as I consider racing Iceman...
This was not my day on the bike. I will say that the venue and after party was awesome! It was great catching up with friends and having a few beers! Not sure I'll go back for this race. It's always the same weekend as Fort Custer...and as I found out the next day, I love my tight twisty single track!!
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