The race at Port Jervis has been on my “to do” list all year. The township has been promoting new mountain bike trails and putting on races. It is always nice to go someplace new. I did the Erie 40 in the fall and while many of the trails did not seem finished, the ones that were new, were really nice.
I checked out the course a few days before the race and could see that much more trail building had taken place since the fall. I was tired the day of my pre-ride and did not fully get a grasp on how fun the trails would be at race pace. Actually, I did not know if I was even capable of a race pace. This race would certainly be a part of my training preparation for cross-country nationals next week.
The race looked to be on the long side with two 9+ mile laps. According to Strava, Cat 1 Men were running just under an hour and and Cat 1 women about 1:10 per lap. My casual pre-ride took 1:26. I did not like the thought of a 3 hour race, and hoped that I would have some more energy on race day.
I lined up in the back row behind the pro women and got what I thought was a good start, but as I was entering the single-track, everyone insisted on squeezing by me. I guess if I was young, I would try my best to pass any old lady before the singletrack too. I made an effort to hang on, and it worked. I rode the back of a train with my heart rate pegged for close to 20 minutes waiting for the right time to pass. I knew it would present itself, when I was ready.
When we hit the powerline climb everyone wanted to pass. I made my move, digging for my legs and lungs and they answered. First time in quite a while, so that in itself was good, but that on top of the 20 minute effort was really exciting. I am not super fast on the downhill, so you can be sure I booked as hard as I could trying to hold my position. I ended up catching the leader, who may have had a mechanical problem, but I will take any motivation that comes my way. I was pretty excited by that point, and the course was so much more fun at race pace. I was having fun and racing hard. I don't know if I have done that since nationals at Bear Creek in 2014.
So my first lap was super awesome, but as the clock ticked away, my legs started to fade and lap 2 was not as good. My foot and calf started to cramp. I kept the wheels rolling best I could, trying to ride smooth and drinking everything I had left. I took my last sip of water a few hundred feet from the finish line. I held my placement, but lap 2 was more of a struggle to complete.
This race by far was one my best efforts in the past year. I am happy to be back racing and actually racing. I am looking forward to racing at nationals.
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