That left a few marks

Going into Fat Tire there were a few certainties:
1) I am relatively fit but not in bike race shape.
2) If dry, I can fake it with said fitness and experience with the race.
3) If wet, I am screwed.

It rained 4+ inches Friday night which made #3 my reality. On top of it, I wasn't feeling well and knew that it would be a long day for me. Tried to take it easy the first hour of the race so that I could feel like I was pushing through the 2nd half of the race. Starting getting cramp tinges at around mile 20. Fire tower put me over the top (I managed to ride 2 sections of the climb which was my main achievement of the race considering how slimy and how few people were riding around me). After that, my quads were full on cramping to the point that I had to walk ALL the uphills in the final stretch of the Birkie trails. Ate and drank a bunch at the aid station exiting the Birkie section and did what I could to finish strong. My time was meh, my place was meh, and frankly I really didn't have that much fun until the 32 oz cup of IPA hit my tummy. Miles of trials for sure... end of the day, my lack of bike fitness, the difficulty of the soft course, and the heat/humidity all contributed to a pretty lackluster result. Amazingly, my bike worked as well as could be expected.

This year was Robin's first attempt at the 40 (I talked her into it). The good news is she is still talking to me. But she had a rough go. The course was hard and was progressively worse the further back in the field you were as hundreds of passing riders made the route increasingly difficult. At ~ mile 25 she came up on a medical emergency - she stopped to see if she could be of assistance. A man in his sixties was in cardiac arrest - and passed away on the trail. It was very emotional for all involved (there were EMTs and even a cardiologist assisting) so he had the best chance you could mid-race... I cannot imagine the shock his family must be dealing with. Robin went on to help a lady experiencing an asthma attack and then at that point, decided it was in her best interest to step off the course at the next aid station. I would have done the same under those circumstances. Because of the DNF rate, there was quite a wait to get driven to the finish area - so she hopped on the roads and biked to telemark. She still ended up with 33 emotional miles - one tough lady to be sure.

Needless to say - it was a very emotional day at the races. I'd be lying if I were to say I was excited to register for next year... but as with everything, time will fade the memories.

This morning I am able to register for the Boston Marathon. I was around 4.5 minutes under my qualifying standard - which means I didn't get to submit my entry until week 2. I'm really hoping I get in but not much I can do at this point. Had I been 25 or so seconds faster at TCM last year I'd be in but alas...

I'm still pretty sore from Fat Tire so I skipped this morning's run. I'm hoping to do one more block of training this week into mid-week next week (including my longest long run). Barring any issues this week I'll be signing up for a second marathon this week - TCM 2018.

Happy Monday.