Day 111...The Prescott Punisher

I raced in Prescott this morning...the same trail that I pre-rode the other day.  All I can say is that the race organizers correctly named...I got punished!  

While the altitude and the challenging terrain were certainly factors in my punishment...I must admit that I too am partially to blame.  You see, We headed up to Prescott last night, right after I finished up training clients.  We drove straight to the Firehouse Kitchen (a great little restaurant inside the original Prescott Fire Department station-house) for dinner, prior to checking into our hotel.  My friend Paul and his wife joined us, as he too was racing this weekend.  

When planning our little weekend race getaway, I had mentioned that I would not be drinking any wine the night before the race.  Well guess what...that did not happen!  We had a great dinner with some good wine, and stayed a little too long.

When I woke up this morning at six, I knew that I had made a terrible mistake...I should have stuck to the plan!  The combination of the altitude, wine, and late night, left me without much energy, and with some stomach problems.  

Once on the race course, I quickly thought about quitting.  My stomach was cramping, my head hurt, and I had zero energy.  I watched in horror as one of the riders whom I had finished well ahead of in my first race (The Foray at the Fort), pulled away from me like I was standing still.  I truly think that if Donna had not been there, I would have quit after the first lap.  That is how bad I felt...but there was no way I was quitting...not in front of my wife!  So I stuck it out and finished the race somewhere around 10th place.  I'll know for sure what place I ended up in, when they post the results online tomorrow.  I didn't bother to stick around for the results at the race due to my lackluster performance.

It's pretty disappointing, but I know it happens...I just wish it hadn't happened to me!