Race of Suffering

Really, I don't know why I'm posting this. It's not all good news.

Today I raced the Utah Championship Road Race: Wolf Creek Pass. The race started at an elevation of 7080 feet, and went up to 9485 feet. It was brutal. Even worse because I've been nursing along a hip/lower back issue for the last couple of weeks. It pretty much crippled me today.
I should have known not to come to this race when I saw the list of the others who had signed up: all ranked much higher then myself. But, I guess I'm a glutton for punishment. :rolleyes:
Here we are leaving the start line. I'm the one at the back.
Attachment 3974

I managed to hang on to the pack for about a third of the way up the climb before dropping off the back because my left leg had gone numb. I did manage to catch another Cat 4 woman about 3 miles to the summit (also, I passed a Cat 5 man who had started 10 min before our group!). At the summit we made a u-turn and headed back down. Shortly into the descent a lead vehicle passed by and shouted something at me. I figured he was warning me about another group coming through. I looked back and sure enough there was a group of men coming, so I moved over to the right so they could pass. A group of four men passed me, and I noticed that their numbers indicated that they were from the Pro/1/2 group. I didn't really think much about it at the time. But, a mile or so later it occurs to me that it was Dave Zabriskie, Burke Swindlehurst (Toyota United), Jeff Louder (Healthnet), and someone else. Dang! What I would have given to have grabbed Z's wheel!

I was really looking forward to getting to the finish line and meeting Dave. But he took off before I made it to the finish. :(

So even though I didn't race as well as I wanted to, I still had fun. I'm considering it a "good training ride".

The climb to the finish:
Attachment 3973

Good job AK! I am proud of you! :D

I would like to ride Wolf Creek, it sounds beautiful. You know how much I love hills, though. :rolleyes:

What fun to see the Pros, etc.

You had fun and thats good. Im still in awe of you ladies that race so i think you rock no matter where you come.
Love the pics you look good.:)

looks beautiful. But where is wolf creek? is it near SLC?

Hope your back gets better and that numbness in your leg isn't from siatica. Get well.

smilingcat

Makes a note that there are no races with cool names named after places like "Wolf Creek" here in NZ...

Also makes a note to send Dave Z a note admonishing him for disappearing before AuntieK got in.

Sounds like a fun day - and what a great attitude! A fantastic training ride :D

I thought about you a lot yesterday, AK. As you know, just finishing that ride is a great accomplishment (especially with those gears of yours)!! Big high five and a hug from me. You're a superstar for even biting off something like that! You rock, woman! :D

smilingcat, Wolf Creek is State Route 35 in Utah, a bit southeast of Park City. The nicest part of the highway (which is what AK rode on) goes from Kamas over to Duchesne. It is one of my favorite rides in the area. It's gorgeous! (If you're a routeslip member, I think you can see most of the route here. This is the "short" version from Kamas to the summit and back down.)

Hey AuntieK

Congrats on COMPLETING your race. It takes a lot of mental toughness to get to the start line and to keep it going. You look great! Sometimes its not always about COMPETING, but COMPLETING (as my friend and mentor always tells me).

I always say find THREE things to celebrate from every race/ride. (advice from another friend too)

Time to celebrate!

Smile
Han

Thanks to all of you for your wonderful and uplifting comments! :D

And a HUGE thanks to you, Yellow. You showed me the way to the start line in the first place. I was expecting the race to start at the higher-up Wolf Creek Ranches, but when I got there, no one else was there. If you hadn't shown me that back route with the other Wolf Creek Ranch, I wouldn't have had a clue what was going on! Doh! :o

RoadRaven, I've been thinking a lot lately about the strange race names around here. This is the third race I've raced this year with the word "creek" in the name (the other two were Garden Creek Gap and Chalk Creek). Weird.

Yeah!!!
I am so proud of you AuntieK. You are my hero. At least now you have a time to try and beat for next year - its all about the personal improvement. :D

I had no idea DZ raced some of the local races. Gotta love a local boy in the pro peleton. Althought it will be weird to see him switch from my beloeved black/red/white of CSC to argyle...hopefully it will grow on me.