Halfway.
I knew I wasn't back yet. My body still ached from coughing, and my lungs had the capacity of a thimble. The record number of rainy days had left the course soaked, which only deepened the soreness I felt as soon as I pulled up. I should have packed it in right there.
But darn it, this is ArcticCross!!!
After missing the first race, I wanted to give it a shot and see what I had in the tank. I had already written off the season to one of participation rather than of competition, but that didn't mean I wasn't aching to line up and race.
This was a new course, and while it was run mostly on soggy grass, there was a road section, short run-ups, technical turns, barriers... and oh yeah... the bog. Shin-deep organic mud that coated everything as you ran through it. I gained more than one position by passing people that had fallen into the goop.
The start was a junk show for me, as without a call-up I was relegated to the middle of the pack. Once we started, a short technical turn backed up the pack and the leaders were off and running while the rest of us sorted ourselves out. I began the painful process of working my way up the ranks over the next couple laps.
Halfway through lap 3 I had worked my way up to the top 10, but my lungs started closing off and I was hyperventilating. Trying to control my breathing resulted in ragged coughs and narrowing vision, so I bagged it when I crossed the start-finish line. Then I spent the next few minutes on my hands and knees hacking up a lung. I had made it through about 24 minutes of racing before my body failed, which was roughly half of the race. Considering I didn't even start the week before, I considered that an improvement.
It was the right choice, as I would have done a lot of damage for a semi-decent result that really doesn't mean anything in the big scheme of things. My body hopefully has plenty of other races left in it, so I'll just be happy that I lined up at all and look forward to next week.
But darn it, this is ArcticCross!!!
After missing the first race, I wanted to give it a shot and see what I had in the tank. I had already written off the season to one of participation rather than of competition, but that didn't mean I wasn't aching to line up and race.
This was a new course, and while it was run mostly on soggy grass, there was a road section, short run-ups, technical turns, barriers... and oh yeah... the bog. Shin-deep organic mud that coated everything as you ran through it. I gained more than one position by passing people that had fallen into the goop.
The start was a junk show for me, as without a call-up I was relegated to the middle of the pack. Once we started, a short technical turn backed up the pack and the leaders were off and running while the rest of us sorted ourselves out. I began the painful process of working my way up the ranks over the next couple laps.
Halfway through lap 3 I had worked my way up to the top 10, but my lungs started closing off and I was hyperventilating. Trying to control my breathing resulted in ragged coughs and narrowing vision, so I bagged it when I crossed the start-finish line. Then I spent the next few minutes on my hands and knees hacking up a lung. I had made it through about 24 minutes of racing before my body failed, which was roughly half of the race. Considering I didn't even start the week before, I considered that an improvement.
It was the right choice, as I would have done a lot of damage for a semi-decent result that really doesn't mean anything in the big scheme of things. My body hopefully has plenty of other races left in it, so I'll just be happy that I lined up at all and look forward to next week.
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