2008 Laramie Enduro

The Race
Going into my 5th consecutive Laramie Enduro, following the course markings was not at the top of my mental checklist. I don’t know the course like the back of my hand but all of the areas at least look familiar to me and I had never had an issue following the course markings in previous years. Maybe my two detours were the result of pushing harder than I ever have. I know that pace, hydration, calories, electrolytes, my line, etc. were constantly running through my brain so it is not like I was daydreaming out there. I recovered well from my first short detour off course but the second time I went off course it definitely affected me mentally. I knew that my goal was not going to happen this year.

Detour #1 was about 5 minutes

I am very disappointed to not achieve my personal goal of 6:29:59. However, I don’t want to be one of “those guys” that you hear after a race saying “dude, if I wouldn’t have (flatted, made a wrong turn, bonked, etc), I would have (insert ridiculous comment here). So that is all I am going to say about that except that I will be back next year.

Detour #2 was about 30 minutes

Momentum is huge and hindsight is always crystal clear. I was motoring for the first 16 miles before my first detour. I was at pointy end of the race and was feeling good…right on the fine edge of a sustainable pace and going a bit too hard. My split through Aid #2 was two minutes faster than last year, even with the first detour, and that gave me a mental boost and the drive to keep pushing hard. When the volunteer stopped me at the intersection after my second detour off course I was not a happy camper and dropped a few F’ bombs out loud to nobody in particular. This is where I should have taken a moment to regroup. Instead, I immediately spun it around and rode hard back to where I left the course so that I could complete the official course and get an official time. In hindsight, I should have slowed it down a bit and ridden conservatively back onto the course, onto to Aid #4, and then started my personal race again. I had my previous splits from Aid #4 to the Finish and I should have raced against those splits. Instead, I burned too many matches trying to get back on course and my hydration plan went out the window so I suffered like a dog in the middle for no good reason. I also let myself get a little down after the second detour and slowed down as a result. The Headquarters Climb was a small mental victory for me and I rode it well to finish on a positive note.

The People
Traveling with Travis, seeing Little TK, and hanging with Ed & Jenny were the highlights of my Laramie weekend. I am fortunate to have met some wonderful people through this sport and the memories that I retain are usually of the people and not of the race itself.

The best part of my day