Tomlinson Run

It’s been a while since I raced a legitimate XC course. This week’s race was at Tomlinson Run State Park, located  in the northern Panhandle of WV. Unlike the endurance races I have been racing all year, Tomlinson was pretty tame as far as technicality. I did this race last year as a sport and I can remember that it was one of the muddiest courses I have ever done (at least up until that point!). I also remember having mechanical issues (chain suck) and being afraid of some of the downhills. This year, the course was muddy but the main challenge was the relentless heat and humidity that seemed to suck the air right out of my lungs.

Lap one pretty much sealed my fate for the day.  The course began with a 1 mile climb that eventually leveled out before dropping into a fast downhill. Right away, I noticed that my body wasn’t handling the heat properly. I wasn’t dehydrated necessarily, as I was sure I took all the right measures to fuel properly. But I just didn’t feel right. I couldn’t seem to pull enough air into my lungs, I felt really nauseous,  and my body temperature was really high. When I finally hit the downhill, I was ready to let loose and cool off a little bit. I thought I had picked a decent line, but my front tire slid out of control over a balmy log pile on the downhill, and I crashed hard. With a banged up body and bike, I limped through the remainder of my laps and ended up finishing 2^nd pro/expert women, enough to qualify for nationals.