SoNoMas 2017

[Mark Gibson]

I’m only 20 miles in to this 35 mile race and I’m cramping up so badly I’m not sure I’ll make it to the finish.  I had a flash back to the pre-race start-line warnings given by Bike Monkey director Carlos about how tough the race is, and there being no shame in using one of the bailout options along the way.  I didn't take those warnings very seriously and they were now coming back to slap me in the face with a big dose of “I told you so”.

Not being quite race fit yet, I had planned on using this more as training than worrying about trying to be competitive.  Pressure removed, I wasn’t feeling any of the usual nerves; and I was looking forward to racing SoNoMas for the first time.  I knew it was probably going to be hard but it’s only 35 miles, and I intended to be really disciplined about pacing myself.  Then the race started, and that intention went out the window - to hell with that, I'm here to race!

On the initial road climb I got gapped by the lead group, but was warmed up when I hit the singletrack and so I focused on trying to reel people back in.  On the first long climb there were a few rutted/rooty sections where people were getting off and walking, and I was able to pass some of these riders; and then gradually caught and passed more riders on the long climbs before settling in with a group going at a good pace that I knew I should be able to sustain. 

The previous week of warm temps had dried out the course a little and, although there was some mud, overall conditions were surprisingly good given the Biblical amounts of rain we’ve had the last few months.  The course still messed up my drivetrain, mainly from the water and grit at the dozens of creek crossings, and one or two river crossings, but I had no mechanical issues, or flats, etc.  Jim had given me what turned out to be some very good tire selection advice a couple days before and I was thankful for a slightly more aggressive tread given the conditions and terrain.  What let me down was my body telling me at around the 20 mile mark that it didn’t want to climb up any more of the never-ending repetition of very steep climbs which typify this course.  Cue lots of muscle spasms and thoughts about what a long day this was going to be.  I knew my nutrition was OK, so this was just good old fashioned lack of fitness.  I backed the pace way off, making sure my heart rate didn’t get up out of Z3 for the rest of the race.  This didn't stop the cramps completely but they were manageable; it just meant going at a really slow pace, and getting passed by some of those people I had passed earlier.  But, I ground it out and finished. 

Surprisingly, I ended up 4^th in my category which, while not a great result, I was happy with given current lack of fitness and all the cramping.  You always learn something from every race, and this was a painful but valuable lesson, not to mention a harsh reality check of how much work I need to do to get my fitness where I want it to be. 

There was post-race Paella and beer and we watched team mates Carson and Greg get on the podium.  All in all a good day!