Winter Park Race #6

Winter Park Race #6 Mountain Top Circuit

 

The decision to compete in this race was a tough one that kept me up almost all the night before contemplating. I talked to quite a few people about it, and the majority of them were pretty against me riding anymore. I knew overall it was my decision to make, and it was only me that would have to live with the consequences.

To make a long story short of the injury that has been haunting me; my left wrist has been giving me lots of problems the last few months. It mainly happens after long rides, and really started after Kokopelli. I went to the doctor, he first told me it was an overuse injury and just give it time to heal. I would, but it never got better. Actually it got worse. And then this last Wednesday while I was riding, something happened, I heard a pop and it caused the most excruciating pain. When I headed back down it was hard to put any pressure on it, and it almost gave out on me a few times. So I decided to go back to the doctor. He pretty much said it was not carpal tunnel like originally thought, and more than likely was from a previous traumatic injury that I have re-injured, and continued to make even worse. So he said I needed to see a hand surgeon, but in order to that I need an MRI, and in order to get the MRI I need an x-ray. So I got the x-ray Friday, and will go in for the MRI in the next week or so. I have been going to my doctor for about 11 years now, so he knows me, and my injuries pretty well. Whenever the subject of restrictions comes up, his answer has always been, “well as your doctor I would have to say take it easy and lay back a little until it heals, but ultimately it is your decision.” Not this time. This time he flat out told me to not ride, or do anything that could injure it even more. Since I have been making it worse, he thinks it is possible that I could make it to the point it will cause permanent damage and even with surgery I might possibly not have a full recovery…

Ok, so maybe that was the long version, but it helped to write it down… so all of the above was going through my head while I was trying to make my decision. Was it right to go against what my doctor was so adamant about? Maybe, but he doesn’t have to know.

I was nervous from the moment I made the decision to do it. I tried really hard not to think about it, but it was really hard, especially when I rode my bike I felt the pain in my wrist. I was lucky to be around my teammates before the start, and really lucky that Marni was with me till the start. Talking to them helped keep my mind in check, somewhat. After looking at the overall stats, Marni and I knew who our main competitions were. We scoped them out and memorized what they looked like. It was actually kind of fun, and it was nice to know that my competition was only one girl, the girl in the pastel shirt, not the whole group. We wished each other luck, and we were off.

The race started up a dirt hill, like always. Fortunately it wasn’t as steep as the other ones, so it wasn’t too much of a killer. The pastel girl started in the lead of the pack, and I kept my eye on her, I figured having something else to concentrate on was good for me at that time. I was able to pass her on the road, and I never saw her again. According to Marni she took a pretty bad spill and she DNF.

The course took a sharp left to start the singletrack. It was downhill for a couple miles, with a narrow trail that had lots of rocks, roots, switchbacks and was even washed out pretty good in some sections. It was definitely a course you really had to pay attention on. I was able to stay with the lead group through the downhill, and it was actually a little frustrating because the trail was so narrow there really was no place to pass, and I was probably 4 deep in girls. The girl that was right in front of me was one that we met in the parking lot, a one day racer that was in our age group. I decided I wasn’t going to let her win, we get annoyed when the one day racers come in and dominate the race. (of course that is only because they always seem to be better than us…) So when we were in the section before we went back down Long Trail, I sprinted up the hill to get in front of her before the singletrack started again. She saw what I was doing, and pushed harder too. I beat her to the trail, which I don’t think she was too happy about… Once the trail hit Gunbarrel it spread out pretty quick, and the one day chick passed me with a vengeance.  I knew it was a fairly long climb so I’m like go for it girl. I was on her back tire by the time the double track started. She was pushing pretty good, and I wasn’t ready to push harder to pass her. There were still quite a few miles to go. She knew I was on her tail, which is why I think she was pushing so hard. When the trail took a right and started to climb, she bonked. She moved to the side and I passed her, hearing her struggling for air. I never saw her again. Once the second lap started I was pretty much alone. I came upon quite a few Sport men, but never really saw any girls again. The second lap was more fun, it wasn’t as crowded so I could get going a bit faster. By the time I got to the end of the lap to where we turned onto Icarius I had passed probably 20 guys, and almost got stuck in a traffic jam at the sharp turn. There were 4 guys piled up heading up the hill, and one by one they bailed the climb and started hiking their bikes. I was able to clear it, which was nice, I didn’t want to be in a big group on the descent.

This was the part I was dreading the whole time. My wrist had survived the laps, but not without pain. I knew this downhill was rough, but I had to push through it. I knew I was in a good position and didn’t want to lose it. The descent wasn’t as bad as I remember it from the pre-ride, but was as bad as I expected on my wrist. I was in tears by the time I was down, but once I hit the bottom I couldn’t help but smile. I knew I wasn’t done yet, but I was getting closer and looking back up the hill, there was no one in sight. I caught another girl on the road descent, although I knew she wasn’t my competition. Across the parking lot I shifted my thinking; I knew the obstacle I still needed to get through.

Jackalope. No words can really describe this, but a saying can. “Are you kidding???” Fortunately I rode it before, so I decided to just stay in a low gear and take it easy over everything. There were three guys in front of me, and two behind. I knew this was not the type of trail to be in a pack on. But two of the guys struggled up the same hill, and I was able to pass them. Soon the third guy failed a technical and I passed him. I have no idea what happened to the guys that were behind me, but it wasn’t long before I was all alone. I did my best to concentrate on the trail. My wrist was throbbing and I was having a hard time steering my bike. I avoided many near crashes throughout the race, but finally, on one of the downhills, my body couldn’t fight it anymore. My left hand gave out and turned my front tire to a 90 degree angle. It seemed to go in slow motion, I knew what was happening, and as I was flying over the handlebars I was screaming “NO!!!” I got up quick and got right back on my bike. I didn’t want to take time to assess the damage or even think about what happened, because I knew it would get to me too much. Fortunately it happened fairly close to the end, I was having a really tough time getting back into it. I struggled through the trees and went off the trail on the final switchback. It took a lot out of me to push through that last section. I knew if I would have crashed any earlier, it would have been the end of my race.

I came up to the road, the final stretch, and heard people cheering for me and squeaking their animals. I was going to finish. It felt so good to finish. I did it, and survived. How, I am not sure, but I did. And not only survived, I somehow beat the girls in my group, taking my first “official” first place medal home.

Overall it was an emotional day for me. The end was not what I expected at all. I came into the race just wanting to finish, knowing it could be my last race of the season. I had done fairly well in the series, and needed one more decent race to clinch the lead spot overall. I was skeptical it would happen, and didn’t think it was going to happen like it did.

If my season is over, I will be disappointed, but I know there is always next year. I may not be able to do some of the races I had planned for the fall, and might have to take some time off the bike for quite a while. If yesterday was my last race, I could live with that. It was amazing, emotional and very unexpected. It would make a good ending to a rollercoaster first season. Whether I race the KoTR next week or not, I will be up there to support and cheer on my team, for we have done amazing overall for our first year. Everyone has accomplished so much, and it will be exciting to see Marni pull of 2^nd in Sport Women overall, and Melissa to take 1^st overall in Beginner Women.

Did I make the right decision in going against doctors orders yesterday? Maybe, but I think I just got lucky. J

Was it worth it? Every last minute.