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Maine Mayhem |
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Written by M. Longhofer
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Thursday, 22 May 2008 |
Maine Mayhem - MMBA #1
Rockport, ME
May 18th, 2008
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Humpty Dumpty back together again?
What a long, hard trip it's been. This was my first "race" (I use this word loosely as racing can barely describe what I did on Sunday!) since 2006. In brief, 2007 included three orthopaedic surgeries for me. Hardware placed into my hip for a stress fracture, said hardware taken out of hip 9 months later along with shoulder surgery on that same day. The bone I broke in my hand mid last summer barely makes the honorable mention list buried amongst the other heavy ticket items, although it did afford me a pretty cool red cast that went with my Bikeman kit.
So, up until this past weekend, I wasn't sure if I would toe up to the start line or not. After continued issues (namely discomfort) with my hip following two surgeries and several expensive diagnostic tests later, it seemed pretty evident that at least the stress fracture in my hip, diagnosed in Dec. 2006, was healed. Whew. So, that gave me greater confidence that I couldn't do any regrettable damage Sunday by showing up to ride my bike with a few of my fast friends. My plan was merely to finish with body and bike intact.
Sunday dawned a bit cloudy but quickly cleared off to be an incredibly gorgeous morning for a bike race. The course was bone dry with the exception of a couple of muddy spots not even worth acknowledging considering the last two years (two years ago raced, last year spectated) this course seemed to me more mud than it was dry. This course is an absolute blast to ride when you can actually ride it! It is a short (maybe 3 miles) with tight, technical single-track, lots of roots, several bridges, no climbing, and pretty much no recovery sections. Two years ago when I raced it I think I ran my bike as much as I rode it so I didn't remember how technical and fun it was. That year I did 5 grueling, muddy laps and this year the Experts did four. Thanks to limited fitness level due to previously mentioned surgeries, a fifth lap would NOT have been pretty (as if four were!).
Anywho, I started off the first lap in a train of fast people. I got part of the way into the first lap with heart rate soaring and risking sudden cardiac death, and realized that if I were to survive for the 3+ more laps that I still had to go, I might want to dial it back a bit. Reminder to self - goal for race = survival. So, dial it back I did, watched the train pull away, felt bummed for a moment that I couldn't stay on it, then continued to ride until I could actually breathe again and my heart rate seemed at a reasonable rate that I could sustain. Lap one pretty much sucked, though, and I was rethinking this racing thing again. Another reminder to self - the plan was to smile today between grimaces (think I did more grimacing than smiling but oh well). After much time spent perfecting the fine art of sofa surfing last year (recovering), I was determined to HAVE FUN today and be grateful that I was here (and off the couch)! So, on I rode and lap two started to feel better - better pace, better lines, ease of breathing. Lap 3 felt pretty good too, but by the end, I was getting tired and picking some pretty bogus lines. I rode with the previously mentioned stainless steel hardware (see photo) jingling in my jersey pocket to remind me to not do anything stupid and again, to have fun. So, there was some dismounting involved on Lap 3. As I passed through to start Lap 4, I realized that I was going to finish the race! Wow, whatta feeling. At this point, I knew I could do it. I was ultra fatigued and rode a pace that I'm pretty sure a child could have kept up with, but again, survival and finishing were my humble goals for the day! As I was nearing the end of the 4th lap, teammate Rick Nelson came along on his cool down (and 5th) lap...he had already lapped me once during the race! He kindly rode along behind me and encouraged me along to the finish! A big shout out of thanks goes out to Rick for that as well as his Mom, Dad, and brother for being out on the course and cheering. I did finish the race - bike and body intact!! Mission accomplished! I have never been so proud of a last place finish. The way I looked at it, someone has got to sweep and it might as well be me!
So, two days later I seem no worse for the wear. I hope to continue to build some fitness over the summer. I don't really have any goals other than continuing to heal, get stronger, enjoy riding and feeling able-bodied, and see what I can (and can not) do.
So, since Sunday was such a momentous event for me, I want to send out some more shout outs, really big ones being to my doctors at OA - Centers for Orthopaedics . I work at OA, and thanks to such a great, skilled and knowledgeable group of doctors, Humpty Dumpty is back together again. I am so grateful for all of their help, knowledge, and patience during this really hard injury and my recovery process. I also can't sing enough praises and give enough thanks to Salsa Bikes for their sponsorship and incredible rigs. I am proud owner of three Salsas, the Moto Rapido still being my weapon of choice on the trail. I love all of my Salsa and some days, it is really hard to pick which one I want to ride (how fortunate is that?)! I also would never ride any rubber on the trail but the Panaracer Fire XC Pro tires. These tires are the best all around XC tire - they hook up with anything and feel versatile enough even in the drier conditions of Sunday (with the roots and mud thrown in to make them work a bit). My Avid mechanical disc brakes also continue to work flawlessly and reliably. I will never brake with anything other than Avids!
So, here's to wishing everyone a great season of dirt. Whether you enjoy riding and/or racing, it's all good. Just being out on the holy trail and in the great Maine woods, for me, is a little slice of heaven here on earth.
Ride on and ride safe.
Mary
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