Let's Have Those Outlaw Ride Reports...
Would love to hear how everyone else's experience went Saturday at Outlaw. I did not make my goals, but I had a blast!
For those of you that did not know, I signed up for the 50 miler and sort of, well, let's say "prodded" Red into signing up too. Sorry Red, I did not make it. :-) I saw Red, Nickie, Julie and Scheryl at the start and never again. Rode out with Stacy and Carolyn and thoroughly enjoyed the first 20 miles. The 20-mile mark was new territory for me as the 18 miles at River Cities Tri was the longest I've ever been. Don't ask me why I thought I could go from 18 to 50 miles! I think it's because I hang around with people who casually talk about doing a hundred miles and some insanity sets in and I think "Anh, I can do 50."
No. I found my limitations on Saturday. Up to the 2nd water stop, it had been a fun ride. And I thought if I did the 40 I could make it back and it would still be fun, but if I did the 50 it probably wouldn't be fun. So Stacy split from us and took on the 50-miler alone and Carolyn rode with me on the 40. I really need to say Carolyn "shepherded" me because half way to our 30 mile water stop, I started fading. I felt guilty about not taking on the 50 miler for about 5 minutes, and then my mantra became "I'm so glad I didn't do the 50, I'm so glad I didn't do the 50".
The wind just killed me. I was having trouble anyway with my hands and arms getting numb, but it didn't take long for them to just turn into noodles. We got some food at the water stop and I thought I could make it on in, but I had to stop several times. Carolyn stuck with me the whole way, shelling some pecans for me at one stop, helping me thru some exercised-induced asthma at another stop, talking me up the hills.
We were probably only about 4 miles out from the finish. Stacy and Tom rode back out to help, but I made the decision to get on the SAG truck. I don't like not finishing what i set out to do, but I don't regret that decision a bit. I couldn't hold myself up on my bike and it was the right thing to do.
So I signed up for the 50, tried to do 40 and ended up actually doing around 36. Not making my goals, but going farther than I ever have before - twice my longest distance. I guess I found out a lot about what I can do, what my limitations are and the kind of friends I have in this group, and at the end of this ride, I felt like a winner.
Tom, Carolyn and Stacy went home and then came back to cheer Annette and Cindy in after they finished a ride that went past 103 miles!! I'm sorry I did not get back up there to be a part of that, but I am so thrilled for them. I am not a veteran cyclist, but that was a pretty grueling ride and I am proud of everyone that came out and took on this challenge. Hope to see some of your reports too.
-Emmie
You did great!!
Emmie, the ride kicked my booty too. I agree, the first 20ish miles were great!! The remainer...uphill, very windy and exhausting. You rocked and rode further than ever before, that is great!!
Yay, Emmie!!!!
Emmie!
You are a big time winner! Yeeeeeha! No doubt about it... :-) I am so proud of you for doing the smart thing. That way you stay healthy and can double your mileage again soon (haha!). Maybe give you a day or two??!?
And you are so right; we are surrounded by such supportive workout buddies... Amazing... We are blessed for sure!!
See you soon, girl!
Cindy
ps My report out soon...
You are an awesome
You are an awesome individual. You hung in there, doubled your distance and have a lot to be proud of. Even ride vetrans said the course was at least 50% harder than it should be with wind gusting to over 25 mph. If the wind was less, I have no doubt you would have made the finish.
AND, you were up early today to take IBM race photos. Thanks for that.
Oh my goodness, Emmie!
You are my hero! First, to challenge yourself. Second to push yourself, third, to not push yourself past your limit and know the right thing to do was to get on the SAG truck. That, sweet friend, is WISDOM. Congratulations!
{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{BIG HGS}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}},
Amber
Oops
Oops--I hit post twice and now it won't let me delete this one. Have a good sleep all and congratulations to all who raced this weekend.
WOOHOO!!
Way to go, Emmie!
That is TERRIFIC that you went twice as far as your farthest distance, and in grueling conditions, no less! WAY TO GO!!
Congratulations on a job well done!!!!!!!
Don't feel bad, I didn't make it either
After you prodded me to do the 50, i prodded Scheral, Nicki and Julie, but a problem with a flat at one of the water stops (which took 6 of us 20 minutes to figure out) and time running short (some of us had other engagements that afternoon) we opted for the 40.
It wasn't just you. The first 20 miles were really nice, but that last 20, with the killer head wind were not-so-fun. Although, we'd considered the 50, if we had tried we would definitely have been late.
You doubled your best distance and that is certainly nothing to sneeze at. The 18 you did at River Cities weren't anywhere near at tough as the last 18 you did at the Outlaw, that was a tough ride and you should certainly be proud of yourself!
Red
" Yeah, I swim/bike/run like a girl."
Our 50 turned into 40
Red convinced us (Scheral, Nicki and I) to do the 50, so we started with that wave of cyclists. What Red left out of the report above is that we also got lost.....well, not exactly lost, but I was conviced (100% +) that the BLUE route was the 50 mile route. When all the guns pointed right except Red and Blue - we kept going straignt.
After a great downhill ride and up the curves on the other side, calls came out to stop. Scheral or Nicki - don't remember which pointed out that if there are only 2 guns on the pavement - they must be the 100 Mile and the 100K. Ooops. Makes sense to me, so we got out the color coded map and sure enough - Blue is 100K. I took the heat and we decided to head back to where we made the wrong turn.
We got to the water stop and bike computers showed 20 miles - my watch showed 1 hr. 15 min. Wahoo - we were making great time! Then came the flat tire, then the wind AND the hills. Aarrgghhh. I was hurting. Scheral was so kind to ride with me. Red and Nicki were in front, I kept hoping to draft off of them, but no matter which way we turned, I could not get a draft. I guess they are not very good blockers.
The last 20 miles took us 2 hours. I think Red said our "ride time" was 3 hrs. 13 min. Congrats to everyone who rode. It was a tough ride.
Julie
Emmie you so rock!!!!
You define what we strive to be.....strong- you doubled your distance, proud - you had a good time, and took pic's to boot!, and smart - you when to say when. No regrets! And you had the best support crew around! Congrats! You just kept getting inspired by those 100 milers. They started 1 mile at a time just like us. Vick
Courage doesn't always roar, sometimes, courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying.... I will try again tomorrow.
What a weekend!
Emmie, I'm so glad I saw you before the ride Saturday. You have no reason to feel like you didn't accomplish The Goal. You rode 36 miles under your own power. Lots of people have never done that or will ever do that. I talked with Maggie, who has done Ironman Florida, and she bowed to ME yesterday. She had ridden the 40 mile course and said it was WAY worse that riding 112 miles in the Ironman.
And you came out for the 10K also, even though you weren't running! Thanks for the encouragement and the great pictures! I feel so lucky to have all of you as friends and workout buddies!
- Annette
Good job Emmie!!
You did great Emmie! I got talked into doing the 40. The first 20 were fun, then came the wind, the hill. It took us 3:56 .The way I see it--once you cross the start line, you're a winner.
Be Proud
Emmie - you should be proud of doubling your miles, lasting as long as you did in that god awful wind, and last but not least, of lifting that bike of yours! Girl - you could have ridden another 10 miles at least if you had a lighter bike! :o) I really enjoyed riding with you and will do so any time!
LOL!! Thanks!!!
LOL!! You know, that thought about a lighter bike actually crossed my mind on Sunday. :-) Thanks Carolyn! You were a real pal to hang with me and I so enjoyed your company.
And thanks to everyone that posted for your encouragement!! I am very happy with what I was able to do and look forward to doing more in the future. :-)
-Emmie
Upcoming Races
- 11/27/2008 - 09:30
- 12/06/2008 - 07:30
- 12/07/2008 - 08:00
- 12/14/2008 - 08:00
- 12/14/2008 - 09:15
- 01/25/2009 - 07:00
- 02/15/2009 - 07:00
- 02/15/2009 - 07:00
WOW EMMIE!
Nothing to be ashamed of at all Emmie! Like you said, you did twice your longest That's freaking awesome in my book!!!
And you took great pictures! Thanks!
Be not afraid of going slowly; be afraid only of standing still. - Chinese Proverb