Are you hurt or are you injured?
That's what my soccer coach would always ask if I went down. If you're hurt, you play on.
Less then 5 miles into the Ore 2 Shore 50 Mile Mt Bike race, I went down hard. Getting up from the crash, was I hurt or injured? I got back on as I was only hurt, unfortunately the bike was broke. My brake and shift lever were spun backwards. I slow peddled to the next aid station and had it fixed. I lost about 10 minutes in the ordeal. My goal for top 5 w...as lost.
Do I quit? Do I just take a ride? Or do I play on?
In soccer, the game doesn't end just because you're down 8 to 0 with no hopes of winning, you play til the end, until whistle blows. I decided to fight, if not for 5th, maybe I could recover a top 10 finish. I had the legs so I turned them on. I spent the next 30 miles battling my way back, maneuvering past hundreds of racers. Burned all the matches I had as there was nobody I could work with. I finally hit a paved road section and hooked up with a group of 9 riders that were clipping at a pace I liked. Worked with them for several miles until we hit the fire road. 3 of us broke off the front and I managed to work myself back to 7th position.
The entire race I had a slow leak in my rear tire and I was hoping it would hold but with 10 miles to go, it was flat. I had to pull off to shoot a co2. Stood there as several girls passed. I got back on, the tire held for about 3 more miles and I caught a few back. How many places I could recover? With 7 mi to go, I was full flat again with no choice but to ride it out as is. Frustration and exhaustion were getting the best of me, I started to have what felt like an asthma attack, couldn't catch my breath. Had to talk myself into calming down. Just finish, ignore it and finish the race. With only a mile left several more girls flew past me. Aaarrgg. Crossed the line and there were my friends and Ryan. They were there for me and that's what really matters. I ended up 13th overall and finally some luck of the draw, was 1st in my age category.
Are you hurt or are you injured? FINISH THE RACE.
