Randy back writing to you. Susie is still sleeping after an endless night trying to keep me going. The cramping would finally subside, during the second century and countless doses of Electrolyes and V-8. However, nausea and stomach issues set in, which is rare with me. The hour that I had banked going into the race track was withdrawn quickly with two 30 minute rest breaks. I wasn't eating and the race was taking a turn for the worse. At some point, Susie brought me turkey soup. It went down well and I started to feel better. There was still an opportunity to have a good race and exceed 400 miles. After a handful of laps, nausea would set in again. I dropped from 12 minute laps to 16 minute laps in a short period of time. I was spending more time off the bike than on it. I was getting frustrated and was just trying to keep moving. My results were horrible at just over 300 miles, especially when you're anticipating 420+. Susie and I will look at the logs to see if we can find a silver lining in all of this. It will be difficult!
The weather was perfect and conditions were optimal. I have no excuses for such a poor performance. I just need to work out the kinks over the next 3 months. I'll follow up after reviewing the logs.
We did have two friends (Bill and Len) that RQ'd. They both had their issues along the way, but were able to overcome them and finish strong. I was very impressed with their performances, as endurance cycling of that distance is not part of their typical routine. Len actually had the opportunity to ride in the 420+ range, but was happy to stop at 408. They said they had no desire to do RAAM, but you never know... Congratulations Bill and Len! Awesome job!
7 comments:
Hey Randy--just to put in in perspective...I would have fallen off the bike and died at about 100 miles. You're doing great, keep up the strong work!!
Thanks Russ. Moments of frustration are all part of the journey. What determines a successful RAAM is whether I learn from this and move on. And I think you know what that answer is...I appreciate the hand on the back though.
I think you are going to kick butt -- I'm sorry it was so tough.
Randy, whether it was 300 miles or 420 you kept your goal in mind "to finish". Don't let this get you down, one peddle stroke at a time "to finish".
Cheers
Randy -
I'm sorry to read that the Sebring wasn't all you hoped for as a dry run. But as you noted, what you learn from it is most important.
How do we find you and / or Suzi on Twitter to follow along when you're in the field?
I'm very much looking forward to following along. As you tackle this. Best of luck.
Mike
Randy,
I have yet to have endurolytes be effective for me but have had great success with Succeed in capsule form.
Good luck,
Bob
Thanks for all the comments and words of encouragement. The best way to follow when I'm out in the field is via this blog and twitter. Just go to Twitter.com/rtmouri and you should find me. Sign on as a follower and you'll get my tweets. I tend not to over tweet, so you don't have to worry. One of the crew members will be giving the updates along the way.
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