Apple and Cinnamon - Racing at Elk River

Sunday was a bit of a struggle for me. I wasn't quite prepared for the distance/time in regards to water and fuel. I decided to ride the Advanced race and felt pretty good at the start. It is early in the season though, and I knew that I have been training too hard leading up to the race. I made it through the first lap in good position, but I didn't drink enough along the way. I found it very difficult to drink on this course, and would have used a camelback if I had to do it over. Not to mention, I lost one of my water bottles about midway through the first lap. On the second lap I was making a concerted effort to drink. It was too late. By the end of the expert section I was out of water and needed to go through 3 more sections to finish. By the end of section 2, I wasn't feeling well. I was moving at a crawl through section 3 not only out of water, but was bonking pretty hard. At the end of section 3 I decided to pull out of the race. I was really bummed, because I don't like to quit. I thought it was the best thing to do, because I wanted to be ready for the real race next Sunday. I met Josh back at the car, and decided that if I got some water I could go back to section 4 and finish the race. With all the drama and dicking around, I was prbably one of the last guys to roll across the finish. Not what I was expecting, but definitely a good experience to build on. With the longer races, I will have to be more in tune with eating and drinking. I thought I could push through to the end, but I was very wrong.

On a good note, I tried the apple and cinnamon hammer gel. Damn they are good.