Rogue Trail Series – “The Loop” – Collapse
A combination of heat, improper nutrition/hydration, and cumulative training fatigue lead me to bonk on this one. Big time. For the 30K race I was expecting something in the neighborhood of 3:15. I was fit enough for that time, maybe even faster. But, it took me 3:42, which is is WAY off the pace I had expected. [Note: In the same race in 2011 I finished in 3:01.]
To make matters worse, this was the first race that my parents were ever able to attend. And my wife. And my son. Who all sat out in the heat waiting, and waiting, and waiting for me to stumble through the finish. The first loop was roughly on target, if not a bit too fast at about 59 minutes. Then came 75 minute, then, for the 3rd loop, 90 minutes. Those are 10K loops so you can imagine the sort of pain involved if it took me an entire 30 minutes longer to do the 3rd than the first lap. Major suffer fest. Early into the 3rd lap I started cramping – both hamstrings – and by about 25K I started having real issues, including trouble hearing. Not good. Writing this now (in June 2011), I fully realize that I was dealing with the effects of low electrolytes and possibly severe dehydration. A gel pack with some water every 20 minutes during the race and the whole mess could have been avoided. As it was, I was happy to finish at all, keeping my still-unbroken history of completing every event I’ve entered.
Some pics from the event, I assume before I crashed:
Kind of Like Fun 
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