Yesterday was the El Tour De Tucson. It was my very first bike race. I had no idea what to expect. The best part about it was that my husband rode with me and I had my two tri buddies with me. Their were about 2000 people at the 66 mile start. Their was also a 100 mile distance, an 80 mile distance and a 35 mile ride. I was so impressed with the Tucson police officers. They had traffic controlled all they way around the city. I was more worried about the other riders then I was the vehicles!
We started out very strong. We weaved in and out of bikers and had a good pace. The weirdest part was that about 5 miles into the race we had to get off our bikes and walk them trough a wash. The walk about about 3/4 to half a mile! It was crazy. I don't know how that factored into our times. Oh well. My tribuddies pulled away around mile 10 or 12. They did great.
Ron and I were doing well and he even commented that he could tell how much stronger i was getting on the bike as we tackled several hills. Unfortunately, I totally HIT THE WALL at around mile 44. From 44-56 I was DONE! My lady parts hurt and I was so tired. It didn't help that we hit some rough roads during this time.
We ended up around 5:03. It was much slower then I had hoped but I'm happy to say I completed a 66 mile ride. This time includes a stop for Ron to put his chain back on, a stop to fix a break problem, a big water food stop at mile 30, and 3 Kate's got to get off this damn bike and stretch stops. I think my mind started messing with me after my usual 40 mile distance.
Lessons Learned:
- I need more time in the saddle. My one long ride a week isn't going to cut it for my HIM.
- I need a woman friendly bike seat and a new pair of bike shorts.
- I should really scope out the course and plan my nutrition stops before the race.
- I HAVE to do another bike race. Love them.
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