Jamie's Saturday of pain!

I had been waffling back and forth about if I should go out an do Sylvan 1/2 Iron. I'd signed up and paid but I had so much on my plate this weekend. In in end I decided that my time was better spent in town then driving back and forth central Alberta!

Saturday I join my boys for a last big bike ride in Alberta (yes, I know I will probably ride my bike in Alberta again) I was looking forward to a nice ride and an opportunity to say goodbye to some beautiful roads instead I got a day o' pain. The ride started off simply enough. Out to Millerville, I had intended on talking some of them into stretching the ride out a little longer. I was hoping for 6-7hours of riding, we stopped for a quick food break in Millerville and things were all good. The thin cloud cover kept the hot sun at bay and the temperature was very nice. I noticed that as we took off for the Road to Nepal things were starting to fall apart for me. I was more tired then I should be but thought it was just a case of break-legs I pushed on and away we went down Nepal! (or rather up Nepal depending on how your see things) Jamie had convinced us to take the road up the Leighton Centre which I remembered from the previous week except we road it downhill. It puts the Cochrane hill to shame, it's long and on soft pavement so you feel like your riding through peanut butter. I started cramming Fig Neutons into my mouth two at a time! The the water ran out! It was still 20km from anything! I was starting to get a wicked side stitch and the boys were at least a km ahead.

We'll call this the crater point. I manage to buck it up and get to Millerville, slam a Gatorade (error #1) and an Eatmore (error #2) and start to feel better. Until I got back on the bike. My stitch is getting worse by the second. I thought maybe it's an electrolyte problem so I start sucking on 1/2 a nuun tab hoping this will calm it down. (fatal error) The effervescents in the nuun has combined in my tummy with the cramp and I could barely breath. Finally I catch up with the boys and tell them to carry on and I'll make the last 30km into Bragg on my own. I barely make it up the next hill and something has to be done. I started thinking about if this was next month and it happens on race day what do I do...

I parked my bike and lay down in the ditch! I knew my tummy just needed some time to settle down as I'm getting off I lift up my jersey and my normally mostly flat tummy has expanded to the size of a beach ball! I look 5 months pregnant or I'm smuggling a watermelon! I stared up at the pretty sky and gave myself 5 minutes to relax. I said if this happens race day you can't just quit so what do you do?

It worked! I got back on the bike and started drinking water, I tried to make myself burp but to no avail. My Grandmother would be so proud! Finally after a whole water bottle full of h20 my tummy started to move again and I ripped through the last 25km into town I thought that maybe I would add Elbow Falls onto the day and stretch it out to 7.5 hours. Then a bolt of lightening hits. I'm not speaking metaphorically here I see the dark clouds and think, maybe I'll just call it a day... No sooner then do I get into town and say good bye to my very patient and awesome group then the sky opens up and golf ball sized hail comes down.




Several important things learned today
1. I can come back from the dead
2. Keep on top of the water
3. Maybe throw a couple of tums into my bento box, just in case
4. Eatmore + Gatorade = Bad
5. Ensure early on the bike, was good. More Ensure I say!
6. Don't listen to Jamie when he says it's going to be a short ride (oh wait I already knew that one)
7. When faced with a stitch what I need to do it ease the pace back. Not push harder to try to keep up with the boys!