I apologize for all the triathlon and race blogs I have been posting. There really are other things in our life that are going on but racing is what is most prevalent in my life right now. For instance, Heather just put on a wonderful bike rally for Pack Night. But, am I going to blog about that? No. Jessica just completed a 10 mile "hike" to get ready for her Trek experience in a couple of weeks. Am I going to blog about that? No. Connor just got back from a week long scout camp. Am I going to blog about that? No. Ben and Nathan just had an argument. Am I going to blog about that? Well, maybe...
ANYWAY, back to my favorite subject: me and racing. The past Saturday was a 21 mile bike race called the Tour de Donut. I have not done a real bike race before so this was my first. And, I can't really say it was a *real* bike race. It was a fun bike race where you had to eat donuts while racing. The basic idea is that the race was done in 3 loops - the loop is 7 miles long. In between each loop, you had to pull in and eat as many donuts as you could. For each donut you ate, they would take 3 minutes off your overall time. Puking was not allowed. So, there were basically 2 groups of people that showed up for this race: those who really wanted to win and those who were just there for a good time. There were some families that were riding with little kids pedalling away on their bikes. There were people on recumbent bikes. There was even a couple that were riding a tandem bike where the man was dressed up like a cowboy and the woman was dressed like an Indian with a fake papoose (sp?) strapped on her back. Everytime someone would pass them (which was often), they would shout like a whoop it up like a cowboy and Indian. It was pretty funny. As they came into the finish line he was twirling his 6 shooter and she was brandishing her bow.
When the race started, I was about middle of the pack but within the first mile, I was up in the top 10 of the riders. I was worried that maybe I was going too fast but riding in a bike race is much different than racing in a triathlon. In a triathlon, drafting is not allowed whereas in a bike race, that is part of the strategy. So, I was able to keep a pretty stiff pace without expending a lot of energy because of the draft. The first 5 riders took a wrong turn after about 2 miles so all the sudden I was in the top 5 myself and after another mile, I went all the way out to the lead. From that point until the end of the first lap, I was trading spots with about 3 other guys and we all rolled into the donut stop together. One guy didn't bother with the donuts - he just went right on through. I had determined I was going to eat 6 donuts altogether. The only thing I didn't know was if I was going to eat those donuts all on the first lap or maybe 3 on the first lap and 3 on the next lap. But, it all became crystal clear after I took my first bite of donut. I couldn't swallow it! So, I figured that was going to be my first and only donut. They marked me down for that donut and I spent the next 1/2 mile trying to choke it down. I went through probably half a bottle of water trying to get it down.
I went through the next lap almost by myself (and suffered for it by taking a wrong turn that cost me close to 1/2 mile before I figured it out and had to backtrack) until a train of about 5 riders caught me and I fell in with them. We finished out the lap together and this time I didn't eat any donuts. The other riders did, though, so once again I was on my own. I was about half way through the final lap when a train of 4 riders caught me and I fell in with them. I was trying to figure out when I would make my move and bust out from the pack and sprint the final distance. It was actually pretty unnerving - the other riders were obviously all trying to figure out the same thing. We were all jockeying around (and yet still taking our turns in front of the train) when I couldn't stand it anymore and I broke away. I put some good distance between me and the those riders and figured I was going to beat them when all the sudden with 100 feet to go, 2 of them caught me and it was a neck and neck race. They beat me in but I did take 6th place overall. And, I took 1st place for the 40+ years old racers. But, was it fun! I have not had that much fun in a race in I don't know how long. I love the triathlons - good for cross training and keeping the workouts fresh. But, bike racing I think is what I love the most. It is my favorite event during a triathlon and next year I'm going to sign up for several more bike races. In a couple of weekend there is a 111 mile race around Utah Lake that I would do but it is on the same day as the Provo half-marathon which I have already signed up for. So, next year I'll be ready for that race.
Anyway, there you have it. The first place that I took was for unadjusted time (no donuts taken into account). The overall winner (adjusted) of the race completed the course in -3 minutes. That's right - negative 3 minutes; he ate 25 donuts. I seriously do not know how he did that - it isn't natural or right. Yuck!
I have a triathlon this coming up weekend. Heather and I are going up on Friday to Scofield Reservoir and camping out. It will just be the two of us - we are leaving the kids home. This will actually be Jessica's first time babysitting overnight. So, I am anxious to see how that goes. Maybe Grandma can call in and see how they are doing on Friday night?? :)
I promise that we will blog some more about our other life - the life besides racing. It is probably much more interesting anyway. At least to everyone else.
