Barkin' Dog

Drove to Denver this morning at 5am to race the Barkin' Dog. First ever multisport race! It was actually a lot of fun. Kind of milled around waiting for the race, watching all the elites do wind sprints to get warmed up.

We got started and people were serious from the start. Some sprinted out to get a clear path while others ducked and weaved a bit. It felt fast, too fast. Quickly brought back down to reality when we hit the one mile marker at 6:20. Took the foot off the gas and tried to stay mellow about it.

Transition to the bike leg was pretty good. Already kinda sweaty so had a drink, put on my shoes, helmet and took off. Within a few minutes of leaving the transition area I thought a car was passing me! Turns out it was a guy on a disc wheel - I'd heard about the noise they make, but never heard it up close (I want one now). Bike was good - kept getting passed by guys with aerobars and discs, but managed to pace a little bit off of another roadie a ways ahead until we got up to the dam - and then - one word - bugs! Seriously, so thick I thought I didn't need a gu because of all the bugs I was swallowing (felt like it was raining). Luckily - the return trip was relatively bug-less! Kept pushing on the bike - got passed by some of 40-49 guys, but a pretty decent ride overall.

The second run - that's where the pain sets in. First the legs were kind of numb and wobbly, then burning a little bit, then the lungs burn a little bit and maybe a mile into it just startnig to get tired. We passed the turn-around on the first leg and I seriously wanted to just turn around and go home... But we still had another road to cross, a downhill (knowing that we had to run back up it!), another road and another downhill - then the returning uphill. I just kind of relaxed and kept it at a decent pace.

Fun race overall - plenty of water and snacks. 1:33 something... Maybe 12th place in AG?

Hail...

Plink pa-plink plink PLING! That was the sound of my ride yesterday. It was kind of dark and rainy in the morning when a group ride I was thinking about was leaving - so I decided to trust the weatherman (bad idea) and ride after 10am. No rain after 10am - all done... Stupid weatherman...

Anyway - rode up rist. Actually not too bad. A little cold, the batteries on my watch died, but a nice climb. Got up to the top and saw a few gray clouds, but they didn't look bad. Had a little to drink and screamed down the back side of Rist. Maybe 20 minutes later it starts raining. Not too heavy, but enough to make me slow down a bit going around the curves. Then tink. Uh-oh... Tink. The incessant reminder that something potentially bad was going to happen. Tink ... tink - tink, tink, tink, tink, plink, plink, pa-plink... These little bombs being hurled from the sky kept getting bigger and more rapid. Hiding my fingers under the bars, hating all of the vents allowing little pieces of ice to zap me in the top of the head, keeping my glasses pushed up so I wouldn't lose an eye!

Eventually - I did hide under a rock/bush alongside the road for the worst of it. It was too much... The rest of the ride, well - it sucked too. A mile or two of slushy ice on the road and just couldn't really seem to get the engine going again after that. Maybe another 45-60 minutes of slow riding in the rain. Builds character, right? Stupid weatherman...