The evening before the race Evan, JD, Kris and I had a nice dinner of Bartolli's Chicken Pasta with some good ole Texas Toast cooked expertly in the RV. After dinner, we settled in for a pay-per-view movie, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Not exactly the best movie to gently lead you into peaceful slumber, but definitely a thriller. The next morning we all had our favorite, Jimmy Deans Sausage, Egg, Cheese Biscuit and an espresso, and then began the pre-race ritual of registration, pinning on numbers, etc...
When 10:00 arrived I felt ready to race. The field size for the 1,2 race was bigger than I had ever seen it in several years of having participated. I would guess there were between 40 and 50 guys on the line. Normally, this category has the smallest field because there are simply fewer Cat 1 and 2's in every state so it was a pleasant surprise to be lining up with so many. When the field is that big you can always expect the racing to be fast. Almost immmediately after the neutral start a Dog Fish rider attacked into the crosswind....solo. No one, except for maybe his teammates, thought he would be away long in such harsh conditions. He was out of sight realtively soon but there was still no panic in the field as we still had 70 miles to race. The first of three 21 mile laps was fairly steady with the occasional attempt to bridge to the lone rider off the front. The Dog Fish team, however, did a great job of controlling all the attacks and brought everything back. Wes Wolfenburger, one of my OKC Velo teammates, sat on the front and rode tempo most of the first lap trying to keep the lone break away within grasp. He totally sacrificed his race for the team and demonstrated the kind of selfless attitude you love to see in a teammate.
The second lap began with what felt like a little more urgency on the part of the field. The pace picked up and there were a lot more attacks. OKC almost always had a man in the attacks but every single attack eventually came back to the field. The second time up the only climb on the course I was in the front and feeling strong. On the false flat after the climb everyone is scrabbling for wheels into what was a fierce headwind. It was then after only 46 miles that I got a debilitating cramp in my left hamstring muscle. I got the kind of cramp that simply won't let go. I stopped pedaling and watched as the entire field rode passed me. I knew my race was over. As we were only 5 K from the start finish area I stopped, stretched out my legs, and eventually got back on the bike to ride back to watch the finish of the Masters and Cat 4 races which were only racing two laps.
As I sat there in the grass at the finish line I was so damn frustrated. You train your ass off and then get these strange electrical currents that pass through your body and render your muscles useless well before you're fatigued. No one really knows what causes cramps, but everybody has an opinion and there are no shortage of "secret" formulas for preventing them. For me, so far nothing has worked. I was adequately hydrated and had plenty of electrolytes in my system. My newest theory is that someone told me that to much spinach in your diet will cause cramps. I eat quite a bit of spinach so I am going to eliminate that from my diet to see what happens. What do I have to lose?
As I pondered my plight, the Masters race finished and I was ecstatic to see my teammates roll through in 1st, 2nd, and 4th place, Les, Peter and Jay respectively! JD had missed the break but still came in about 6th or 7th. Next the Cat 4's came through with Evan leading out the sprint from way to far out. He was swarmed at the finish but still managed to place just out of the top ten. A little later the 1,2's finished and the solo breakaway Dog Fish rider won the race after an extremely impressive 72 mile effort! Our best placed rider was Brady (7th), then Frank(8th or 9th), then Paul and Kris. A tough day for OKC in the 1,2 race.
As we packed up the bus to leave, our band of brothers was more quiet than usual with no one really happy with their result. As I reflected on the race during the trip home, I tried to put things into the proper perspective. More important than results is spending time with good friends with common interest, and in my case, spending time with my oldest son. Regardless of the outcome, these times are to be treasured as they are fleeting in this short life of ours. OK....I think I made myself feel better, but I'm still pissed about cramping! I can't wait for the next race! Thanks for reading.
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