Today was the first of three "time trials" on the Pinhoti Trail System in Dalton, GA and my introduction back into the world of "short" MTB races. While my ride wasn't completely stellar, it wasn't terribly bad either. I felt good for the first half with the exception of the descent off Horn Mtn where I blew a switchback and narrowly missed flying off the trail, and then I caused a 4-guy-bike-pile-up behind me when I spaced out and had to lock it up around another abrupt corner. I was feeling ok for the first climb of the second half, but once I hit a rolling section with some short, steep uphill sections, the wheels started to come off. I just wasn't carrying my momentum well and all I could think about was getting to the next long downhill. I started to get a bit of a sour stomach on the gravel road climb section, so motivation wasn't great. I felt sluggish and knew I had to get some calories in, so I choked down a Gel and a half PB&J. The final 8 miles were quite a slog..I'd have some "moments" when I felt good, but the majority of it was just suffering...pretty indicative for me of poor race nutrition. I drank an Ensure at the halfway point, which just didn't sit well, given how hard I was working. Coke seems to be the way to go for me for high intensity endurance events, so I'll definitely have that at the sag next time. I also don't think I drank enough - only two small bottles for a 4+ hour race. I'm not sure what my "official" time was, but I got 4:12 ish on my computer.
I feel pretty good about the ride, as it is a good starting point and actually quite a shock for just coming out of base and spending the holidays away from my bike. In two weeks I have the Georgia Navigator Cup, which I've been doing a lot of running to prepare for. Once that has passed, I'll be able to donate 80+% of my training time to riding in preparation for the TransRockies.
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