Racing in Ruidoso

I raced, it hurt, and I got second. The best part of the day was the happy baby I brought along with me. 

So that I can remember how it all went, here are some details. My preparation in the days before this race included planning when I was going to nurse the baby, how early I was going to get up, and how many baby supplies I needed to bring with me. Hey, I'm new at this mom stuff; it can be overwhelming. Surprisingly, I remembered things like my bike shoes and helmet.

Hunter's been an early riser lately, so we all woke up in plenty of time for breakfast and last minute packing, then headed up the mountain. My erroneous weather app said the low was in the mid 50s, when we actually hit the low 40s on the hour drive to Ruidoso. I hadn't brought warm clothes, and thankfully the sun came up and heated us up. The baby fell asleep in the car, and I finally relaxed.

I got registered, set up in transition, and did a little jogging up and down the hill by transition while the race director spent 15 minutes going over every detail of the course, including how we were expected to stop at a stop sign on the bike (I didn't). With less 30 minutes to spare, I headed back to the car with the baby and husband in it, and we had a little last minute nursing session.

Finally, it was race time. I somehow missed the men's start and looked up to find the women all lined up and ready. The run course starts by going straight up a hill that seems endless but is probably only .1mi. I wanted to start off slowly, but might've been a little too conservative. I think I was behind half the field as we turned the corner at the top of the hill. Jeremy even said, "you started off really slow." But one by one, I caught a few women. I recognized 2 ahead who I'd outsplitted on the run last year. Once into the trail, it got steep fast. I learned at my first 50k that even fast runners walk the hills, so I walked as fast as the woman in front of me was running. Two women passed me on these walked hills. Over the crest, I was right behind them as they tiptoed down. The trail was so much easier to navigate than it had been last time I'd run it; it was icy and muddy, and I was pregnant then. I charged right by them and went on to catch the two up ahead. By the far side of the lake we were running around, I had caught the #1 woman and we ran together for a bit. After the final hill, I started picking it up for the downhill back to T1. She stayed right behind me, even as I almost missed a turn. Thankfully a man behind us (we caught several, even though we were 10 mins behind for a less than 3.5 mi run) caught us before we got more than a few steps by. 

So I won the run! My time was about 2 minutes slower than last year for just under 3.5 miles. Once I thought about it, the elevation gain was just under 300 ft, which is pretty significant for such a short run. Unfortunately I didn't win T1, probably due to my lack of practice. Oh well.

The bike heads back up the same hill out of transition, then there's a bit of downhill before the long stretch up up up to the turnaround. This year there seemed to be even more headwind going out than last year. Or at least that's what I'll blame my 3 min slower time on. I was expecting the local woman who won last year to come by me on the bike. And she did on the early downhill. I always get smoked on downhills. I tried to keep her in my sights for as long as possible, but the distance was growing. I started focusing on the next man ahead, and passed several more going up that endless hill. Did I mention the bike was only 10 miles long? It had a relatively significant elevation gain too, at about 630 feet. The downhill was smooth enough for me to not get nervous before I hit about 40mph. 

Back into transition, which, by the way, is gravel that you have to carry your bike over, cyclocross style, Jeremy told me to be aggressive on the swim since a big pack of men had just gone in. We had to run across the street and through a parking lot to get to the pool (and thankfully that part was carpeted), then swim down and back in each lane, get out, and repeat. The first 200 went smoothly; I didn't pass or get passed. I followed a few men out of the pool, and a volunteer told me that I needed to do TWO LAPS! I nodded and kept running out of the building. Only when I got outside and realized I was headed toward the finish chute did I turn around, duck under the ropes, go back inside to the opposite end of the pool and start my second round. Oops. At that point I was behind a woman who had just gotten in the pool, and she seemed to be going a decent speed, so I followed. Breathing toward the lanes behind me I saw a quick-swimming woman who I was scared was gaining on me. I decided to make the pass, but there were hoards of men at the next wall, some swimming under me, others at me. So I had to wait. The last 50 yards I finally found some clear water and passed, then hopped out of the pool to see the volunteer again. She was laughing at me for running around the building. I did my best post-swim sprint down another carpeted path back through the parking lot to the road, which was the finish line. My swim was slower by around 30 seconds, which I could attribute solely to the extra running. Or maybe the fact that I have been to the pool 4 times since Hunter was born. But I think I swam smoothly and efficiently for me, probably since I wasn't being beaten up.

 The grand finish line at the end of the carpeted path through the parking lot

Hunter had been sleeping most of the race, but when Jeremy cheered for me he woke up (to cheer also, of course), and was ready to EAT when I finished. I grabbed all my gear and headed back to the car for the last leg of the race: more nursing.

The kids' race followed and we hung out in the shade and snacked (all of us) until Hunter fell asleep and I got my award. He was happily hanging with Daddy in the Bjorn, sucking his favorite finger most of the time.

A quick stop to pick up our latest favorite Ruidoso food-- chicken salad sandwiches from the Herb Market (the only food I wanted while in the hospital after H was born) -- and we headed back down to the heat. I wore Hunter out playing in the car apparently; after we got home he went to sleep and stayed asleep for 15 hours (minus a few minutes when I got him to eat and changed him)! He is already sharing my longest sleep record. And at such an early age.

Next up for me may be a race in an actual lake, the one I won from the swim last year (!) before I knew I was pregnant. I have memories of a hot slow run.

For the family, the next endurance event is a big trip to Coeur d'Alene, packing a BOB, carseat, and bike box. Oh and then there's that Ironman that Jeremy's going to do :)