Driving home from Napa Valley Dirt Classic, Isaias looked at me and asked “What part of the race really broke your spirits”. Looking at me, he saw the anguish in my face, rather fatigue mixed with sadness. “The cold.” I replied. Boggs may have technically been colder, but the rain made me feel awful. There was no time during my race where I felt warm. Mentally, NVDC was the hardest race I’ve been through. I rarely doubt my ability to finish a race.
I’m happy with all the small steps I made before and during the race. I checked the forecast, brought all of my rain gear, and mentally prepared to race in the rain. Before the start, I pre-rode the start and the finish twice (knowing the terrain would be drastically different from last year due to the rain). My warm-up had nothing to do with physical temperature--I just wanted to test my legs and my sprint for the start. NVDC starts on a hill at least a football field long. There is a single gate leading to the single track, maybe five feet wide. Hole shot.
The whistle blew and I jumped. Reaching the top of the hill, my body seized up like an engine short of oil. My muscles were fighting me, begging to go and sit in the car. I punched the thought away, and didn’t see my competitors again. At one point in the race I heard a female voice. It was a sign of closeness, and I began a series of accelerations. Technically my race went very well. I downhill ran parts that were landslides, and climbed a few tricky sections. As for the hike-a-bike, well I had to walk it. There was no traction, as the ground was trickling away in many areas.
Luckily, on the hike-a-bike, I came across a racer who had a prosthetic left foot. He was like a godsend, a magnificent inspiration. Moments like that are few in life. His perseverance shook me out of my frost coma. I had to remember myself to focus. When freezing, wet, fatigue sets into the mind it’s easy to forget about racing your bike. Mentally I forced the “winning” logic. I didn’t want to just finish, I wanted to win. It took all my will power to push to the end. Sure I could have just spun an easy gear to make it back, but that’s not good enough.
Records say they sky dropped 1.37 in of rain on Sunday at the race. That doesn’t seem like much, but it’s almost twice the amount dropped on the peninsula the same day. I believe it was in the mid-40’s for most of the race. The race course was a lake in any flat section, and a stream on any up or downhill portion. Post-race, there were hot showers in the gymnasium, but I had to take my muddy shoes off. Leaning over to unbuckle them, my hands were shaking too hard to function. A kind soul offered to help me remove the shoes.
One car-seat warmer, steak, mashed potatoes, mocha latte, and two cups of tea later I finally felt human again. Finally I was excited about my results, and ever so thankful to make it to the finish line. I did finish the race, and I did win. *NOTE* If you look at the Garmin Geekery, at the start my HR wouldn't really go over 170- I think that's because of the cold. Kinda neat, if your a geek ;p
Garmin Geekery:
*Oh yeah* Here's a picture from last year:
