LOTOJA 2007

Warning: the following blog is long and winded for anyone who is not familiar with the LOTOJA cycling race. It is probably even a bit too much for someone who is familiar with the race. Once again, this is my journal and I'm writing so that I can look back on this year's race and remember everything that made it awesome.
Our cycling team is so great. It's not common that such a large group of people can get together and have so much in common. The LOTOJA race happens to be one of the more memorable things we do together. We start the weekend by meeting in Logan and setting up camp in our favorite Best Western. A large part of us go to dinner at the Olive Garden where we carb load and try to not be too freaked out about what we are going to actually do the next day. Darren and I spent some time at David and Tami's house getting my musette bags ready and getting my bike all geared up. It was much easier this year without a baby to attend to. We actually got in bed on time and I slept well. I woke up the next morning in a giddy mood. I just couldn't wait until the race started- my nerves always settle the second I start to pedal. All women categories were grouped together this year and we started at the end of the licensed riders at 7:24 am. I was happy to start with my girls- Tiff, Cori, Heather, and Erica.
The race started out pretty chilly and the pace was mellow. We had the USCF officials breathing down our necks all the way to Preston. In fact, one power-hungry official actually stopped our group in the middle of the road! She caused one girl to break her finger and several others to have mechanical issues. I made it to Preston feeling good and even better when I made all exchanges (disposed of vest and got fresh water bottles) with ease. I was worried about how I'd do in the feed zones so it was a confidence boost to have the first one go so smoothly.
We started towards Montpelier with quite a large group still in tact. I was looking forward to finishing this leg because this is where I literally froze in 2005. The pace was nice as we started up Strawberry. I remember wondering what the strengths were of my fellow women riders. Who was going to be a strong climber? Descender? Endurance? About 60 miles into the race and about 4 miles from the top of Strawberry I realized that it was just me and the Hammer girl (she was sponsored by Hammer) climbing together. The rest of the group had fallen off and were not in sight behind us. I asked Hammer if she thought it was a good idea for us to leave the group so early. After all, could we really stay away from them with only two of us and so many of them with 140 miles to go? She gave me some good motivational advice: yes. We were far enough ahead already and it would require them to go 5+ mph faster in order to catch us. That's harder than it sounds and it would tire them out in the process. So I went with it. She turned out to be a bit stronger that me in the final mile of the climb and I ended up decending Strawberry and going to Montpelier alone. I wondered what the best strategy would be- but I figured that waiting for another girl was out of the question. They'd have to catch me. I arrived into Montpelier as the second girl to go through and Darren told me that Hammer was only about 3 minutes ahead. I could tell that he was surprised and excited to see me riding so close to the front of the women. To tell the truth, so was I! But I think that this is when I started to realize that I was really enjoying this race.
I left Montpelier and started towards Geneva. The road construction was crazy and I am still amazed that I didn't have any tire problems through some of the rough patches. I was starting up the mountain when I heard a familiar voice "baaa, baaa" (inside joke that I will not expose here!). It was my side-kick, Tiff. I had told her before the race that I'd just like to ride with her for some of the race. Even just part of it would be nice because I didn't get to enjoy that in previous years. Plus, I knew that she had that race dialed in and if I could stick with her than I was doing something right. She's amazing. We yo-yoed up the next two mountain passes but stayed together on the flats in between. That girl has some serious determination. Just when I thought I was climbing hard up Salt River she rides by me and says "let's go". One of my favorite memories of the race is getting to the top of Salt River together and feeling strong as we started to pick up the pace on the down side. To me that was what it was about- riding with my good friend and going hard. We saw some friends at the top and tossed our arm warmers to them. It's so great to do that course and see so many friendly, familiar people along the way. We have such a sweetness group.
Star Valley was tough for me. It is flat- not one of my strengths- and there was a head wind. The further we got without having anymore women catch us the more exciting it became. Of course, we still had Hammer out ahead of us. But it was encouraging as we went along to pass bunches of men! As we approached Afton, Darren met me in a spot closer than we had designated but the musette pass-off was smooth. Once Tiff and I regrouped I realized why the pass-off felt so good- Darren had forgotten to include new water bottles. I didn't get to nervous, though, because I figured that I'd tell him when he passed us in the car. Luckily, I didn't have to wait that long, though, because a good friend and fellow rider happened upon us and had a nice cold bottle for me! Good thing I didn't have to wait for Darren, too, because he ended up locking the keys in the car in Afton and having to wait for a lock smith to open the rental. He had been timing our pace and he said that he had planned to break the window if the lock smith didn't show up by a certain time because he didn't want to miss me in Alpine. He got teased for commiting so many "rookie" support crew mistakes.
Tiff and I knew we were getting closer to Hammer after we left Afton because her support car kept passing us. Sure enough, we merged about 10 miles out of Afton. She was a little surprised and hesitant to work with us. But there is power in numbers and she eventually mellowed out (a bit). We arrived into Alpine, exchanged fuel, and regrouped just as we turned up Snake Canyon. It was beautiful and difficult at the same time. This is when I started to feel myself getting tired. Not enough to discourage me at the time, but looking back I realize that this is where my riding felt less smooth and more difficult. With about 25 miles to go I didn't have the strength to contribute to the group that now consisted of me, Tiff, and Hammer. So, I watched Tiff and Hammer ride of and I finished the race solo. Not that this is a bad thing- just harder.
I remember turning at the light in Jackson to head toward Teton Village. I have done this intersection many times before in a car and I've wondered what it would be like to get that far and be so close to conquering the LOTOJA beast. It had especially been on my mind since the 2005 race that I didn't get to finish. I felt empowered because nothing was going to stop me from this accomplishment. I zig-zagged along until the final turn toward the finish line. With almost 200 miles behind me and about 7 miles still to go (an eternity at this point), I spent that time wondering why I wasn't bursting into tears. I don't think I had the energy to give to emotion. I remember two women sitting in lawn chairs on the side of the road with an encouraging sign. Random, I know, but it goes to show that strangers can make a positive impression in your mind. I've heard about people using the word sureal to describe a situation. Aside from having my children I don't know that I had felt this way about something until the finish line. I was completing something that I've wanted to do for years. And to make it sweeter, I did well. I ended up finishing 7 minutes behind Tiff and Hammer. I took 3rd over all the women and 2nd in the CAT 4 category.
I was greeting at the end by friends and my hubby. I shared a hug with Tiff- still not being as emotional as I had thought I would. In fact, the whole finish line didn't go as planned. After being off the bike for no more than 10 minutes I started feeling sick. Darren and I had to go straight to the hotel (with several stops along the way) so that I could be sick in comfort. I couldn't even dress myself after a quick bath. I just laid in bed and made trip after trip after trip to the bathroom. I missed the Red Burro party at the Four Seasons. I couldn't even eat anything. So much for devouring anything I wanted to after such a long day in the saddle. I guess I can say that I gave it my all that day- physically, emotionally, mentally. More than I realized, I think. I was able to get out of bed the next morning and make it to the awards program.
The program was awesome, as usual. The race coordinators are great people. It's especially enjoyable because Red Burro's do so well and recieve a lot of awards. I enjoyed my place on the podium next to my girls, Tiff and Erica.
The rest of the week is always fun as we all enjoy Jackson, the Snake River Lodge, and handing out together. I left Jackson feeling like a more confident person. Not because I had placed in the race, but more so because I had accomplished something that I had been dreaming of doing. I felt strengthened by everyone around me. I felt closer to my friends for training with me and for conquering this beast with me. I felt especially grateful for Darren because without his support all summer and during the race there is no way this would have happened. He took care of the boys on Saturday mornings when I went on long rides, he traveled with me for other races and rides, he is the voice I remember most throughout the race as he'd drive by and encourage me. He is blessed with a great personality that makes him so fun and easy to be around. Basically he balances me out when I get anxious and overwhelmed with things. I'm so glad we share this hobby! My only regret is that my Mom and Dad weren't there to experience this race along side me. They were busy taking care of Keaton while Darren's parents watched Blakers and Ethan. As you can see, it takes a group of people to make life run smoothly. I'm a lucky gal.
*Side note: I want to record what I used to fuel so I can use this information in future races. I drank plain water. I used perpetuem in a flask (two scoops) per 1.5 hours, gel (very little- maybe 4 doses), pbj (once at mile 80ish), part of a banana(at mile 120ish), part of a bar, electrolyte pills (4 every couple of hours) and advil (two doses of 600 mg). I also tried to drink some diluted mountain dew the last 15 miles. It didn't taste as good as I was told it would. Looking at this list of food it is no wonder that I got sick!