Candice's First 50K MTB Race at Little Sugar
Words by Candice:
The day I signed up for a 50k Mountain bike race, I was fresh out of the E.R. post crash from undershooting a jump and landing face first into the dirt. I had some crash fear to overcome and thought this cross country style race could be just the thing to cure my fear. Sure, at the time I had a small concussion and wasn’t super clear headed, but I was pretty adamant that I was going to do this race. Training meant adding more and more miles to my rides, and I quickly learned that I would need a quality chamois and some chamois butter-things I never rode with before. I needed to fuel my rides with so many more carb heavy trail snacks than I had ever packed for a ride…even putting powdered carbs in my water. I suffered from saddle sores, which if you haven’t had the pleasure of experiencing one of those let me tell you, It’s a real treat!
Two weeks before the race my motivation to do torture climbs and long miles started to dwindle, and my spirit was low. I reached a point that mountain biking was becoming a chore and I missed my fun rides with friends. I wasn’t trying to be on the podium but I also didn’t want to be last. So, I gave myself a little pep talk and thought, finishing was winning for me!
The day of the race I was excited and nervous, but I was racing with friends and I knew we had all worked very hard for this day. My goal was to finish in 5 hours, a total of 32 miles on single track, the longest ride I had ever done on my mountain bike. Having my husband and friends stand trailside and cheer me on every 10 miles kept my spirits up. The challenging route spared no one as it was 50 degrees and poured rain on us unexpectedly.
I cramped at mile 17, I struggled on the climbs at mile 26, but after three shots of pickle juice and some trailside cheerleaders I was determined to finish.
Finally, at 4 hours 55 mins I crossed the finish line! I cried tears of joy, put on my medal, and hugged my 3 fans.
In the end, I was so proud of myself for signing up to do such a challenging race. I’m unsure if I will ever do a long distance race again, but I can honestly say despite the leg cramps and the cold rain, it was a really fun day!
If any beginner racers out there want some advice, here are some rookie tips I learned:
- Don’t burn out/over train and make biking a chore (like i did)
- Have a really great support team, like your spouse and friends to cheer you on
- Finishing is winning (if you’re a rookie), so just have fun out there
- Take care of your private bits…nice chamois and chamois butter makes a difference
- Find the trail snacks that don’t hurt your belly