Collette Haney’s Race Recap: Whiskey 50
hi,
wow. I’m still amazed I rode 50 miles. I was shooting for 10 hours, or 8 hours, but 6:35 was a surprise. I stayed at Motel 6 close to the square in Prescott, so it was a 10 minute coast to the start line. The corrals were a self-seed start, so I put myself at the very back, but after a half hour, there were many more (100+ or more?) people behind me, and people passing bikes over the barriers and squeezing in. Guess I’ll get used to stuff like that.
I figured I’d take it easy through town, plenty of hard stuff for the rest of the day, so I enjoyed the start through town, letting folks blast past. The fewer people behind me on the single track, the better.
the trail wasn’t as bad as i remembered, and once we got to Trail 48 (where all the berms were last time – when I kept either hopping off and walking up, or trying and tipping over), so I watched a guy ahead of me just ride up and over the berm, and I did what he did…and i got over most of them!
some spots were very steep, so there was plenty of hike-a-bike happening too ( and a few times of tipping over when I thought I should be riding). but no one was in a hurry. at barely 6 miles there was a bottleneck, i don’t know what the deal was, but we were backed up for a while through a few water crossings and little drop offs.
I just didn’t mind the sketchy stuff anywhere near as badly as two weeks ago. Maybe I was still a bit fatigued from the GI distress and long run, so the first look at the trail was overwhelming. but today it was enjoyable.
I hit the long downhill into Skull Valley, ten miles or so, and decided to pass the time “woohoo-ing” and cheering for everyone coming back up the hill. it was a fun way to pass the time.
Hit the aid at mile 25, back on the bike and uphill at 3:29; then the climb just got hot and steep and long. I had Infinit potion in my Camelback and my bottle, so it seems like I do well with mainly fluids. no belly upset or anything today.
the climb out of Skull Valley on Copper Basin road took forever, and when we got back on the trail I felt good, but tired. I wasn’t as confident on the single-track, having not seen that part of the course.
plenty of water crossings, plenty of photographers (for me to send for ZoeFitness sponsors!). Mile 41 was “Cramp Hill” and it was amazing how quickly people (including me) were cramping and climbing off their bikes. should’ve been able to ride it, but not the way my legs were cramping. so I walked up with everybody else. 3 more miles of single track, at which point i was pretty discombobulated and ready to be off my bike. we hit the road at about 44.5miles, and it was asphalt downhill and into town.
ready to try again next year!
thanks again for all your amazing help. I just motored up those hills (on the dirt road) past folks who were suffering. They could’ve used your expertise!
be well.
Collette