Sonya Looney racing stage 2 of the Breck Epic. Photo: Devon Balet Photography
Stage 2 is now in the books. I rode the first dirt road climb a mile or two to warm up, and was reminded how painful it was going to be. I’m not sure what came over me, but I decided to push hard again from the start despite telling myself I wouldn’t go there. I knew all the climbs for the day and I knew that if I detonated in the beginning, the rest of the day would be tough.
You can guess what happened next. The fuse on the dynamite was lit and while the fuse was long, it did blow. I glanced over my shoulder as I pushed my bike up a climb and saw Selene just a few minutes back. I figured it’d be only a matter of time before she came by, but I told myself to ride my own race. Coming into aide 1, I rode the last piece of singletrack that I rode in the CTR. I felt overwhelmed and the emotion manifested itself as nausea, just in time for the Westridge climb. I was so slow on that section that I think I may have been faster training on my CTR bike. It was stressful, but I told myself to slow it down, get my legs back, and crush the next climb. My plan worked well and much to my amazement, I didn’t get caught. I was excited for the ripping fun descent!
I felt much better for the backside of Vomit Hill and pinned it going backwards on the trail out of Breck to the Dredge lot where I stopped exactly 2 weeks ago. I forgot how tough the last climb of the day was and did my best to stay steady. There was definitely some suffering, but well worth it.
I was contemplating what Jen Gersbach said today about enjoying the suffering. I think the reason we like it is because everything else pinballing around in my brain suddenly becomes silent and simple.
I rolled into the finish, stoked to take the win!!!
HR and Elevation Profile for your pleasure. It’s all posted on Strava.
Tomorrow is the Guyot Stage – the hardest stage I remember from last year… mostly because of the rain and the fact we decided to leave our rain jackets behind. I’m sure I’ll feel the effects of the last 2 days, but I hope I have fun tomorrow!
