MORE HILLS.....

Well, it took me a few days but I'm back! No, I did not go on a 4 day bike ride....yet! Haha.

The weekend after the Elkhart lake triathlon I drove to Blue Mounds Wisconsin for the Horribly Hilly Hundreds....for those of you that have never heard of this race it is....horribly HILLY! I have been trying to do this race for the last two years but medical issues got in the way both times & the second year they began doing a lottery for the race. I was lucky enough to win a lottery this year & stay healthy enough to finally get to the start line. There are 100k, 150k, & 200k options. This was my 1st time doing this ride & I opted for the 150k route (93 miles). Friday night I slept on a lawn chair in the gymnasium of the Mount Horeb HS. There were only 10 others that stayed there & I really didn't sleep too bad, better than the weekend before..ha! While setting up my sleeping area I saw some old teammates & I was very happy I did. Melanie, Kim, Jeff, John & I made a plan to all ride together tomorrow or at least start together...all but John were doing the 100k. As I awoke Saturday morning I noticed that most people had already left & it was only 5:45am....did I miss something?! The state park was only 4 miles away & the ride didn't start till 7:20am. Anyway, I took my time have my breakfast & cold coffee from the day before & was on my way.

Coming into the Blue Mounds State Park we had a LOOOOONG hill to drive up & I noticed it was the only path to get to where we needed to be...the finish line! So coming into this race I knew there was going to be about 10,000 feet of elevation but if all the hills were like this GOD help me.  I found my friends & it started raining...never fails on a ride, I had my rain jacket & we were off. About 5 miles into the ride my aero bottle with about 2 hours worth of nutrition popped off my aero bars & came crashing to the ground spilling everywhere. My 1st thought was o crap now the girl I was chasing is getting away, my second thought was o crap what am I going to drink for the next 20 miles till I get to a sag stop. My friends stopped to help me & I thankfully I had another bottle of nutrition & gu's. About mile 10 we came to a hill that hurt. Come to find out it was an alternate path to get to where the cars were parked up that insane hill, however we only had to climb it halfway....this time! After a few more insane hills I lost all of my friends & gained others along the way :). I developed what I like to call the Tour De France climbing technique where I zigzag up the mountain...these were mountains, NOT hills! After sag stop #1, 26 miles in I was feeling great. I refilled my aero bottle & made sure it was secure & was off again. Gave a little wave to my friends on my way in as they were heading out on a different path. I was alone for this portion of the ride mostly except for the speed demons that flew by me....all men! That is 1 thing I noticed, not many women on this ride. So I knew the pink path was the 100k, blue path 150k, & green path 200k....I was staying on the blue path. After some time I only saw green arrows, WTF!!! I missed a turn...but where? I didn't want to turn around for fear of really getting lost so I kept on pedaling. I was now running out of water & really needed a sag stop, my watch stopped working at some point so I wasn't sure how many miles I had traveled or how many till I was finished. I was on the green path, 200k (124 miles) & I was NOT prepared to do that. I went into a little panic mode & started to get a cramp in my inner quad up another monster hill. While I was getting my salt tabs a few had fallen out so I didn't have them when I needed them & I paid the price. I rested a moment & got some salt from another rider & hoped for a rest stop soon. I found a ride offical & got more water & restored my nutrition & he showed me the map & how to get back on the blue path. Whew! I really didn't want to go 124 miles....

Once back on the right path I saw my friend John & then got some more salt tabs & kept drinking so I did not cramp again. I never did. There was finally a proper sag stop at mile 75, which turned out to be miles 85 for me...I went 10 miles or so out of my way. I took my time here, ate like it was my job...watermelon, banana, honey stinger waffles, blueberries, grapes, bagel, & more salt tabs. By this time it was hot, humid & not raining. I had 24 miles to go & I had spent enough time prolonging the inevitable....time to go! I was told the last 8 miles were tough so when I had though enough was enough there was a water stop & I was telling someone how I made a wrong turn & started to cry....I was done! The ride offical told me how to cut some mileage out so I took the opportunity. I knew that mother of a hill was waiting for me & as it turns out it was the same one at mile 10 we climbed...only we turned a different way to continue climbing. This was the point I had to walk my bike up a portion of what seemed like a never ending mountain. I found many walking their bikes & was encouraged by the race guys to get back on my bike still going up hill, so much so that I needed a push. I pedaled another 30 feet to the top, the FINISH LINE! I again has tears in my eyes not because I was defeated by the hill & had to walk but because I climbed those hills, traveled extra miles, & did something a few years ago I never thought was going to happen....after having to back out the past 2 years I FINALLY tackled HHH! I can't wait till next year!

Enjoy the pics below, they are from ALL of my adventures!

Goodnight.......