Taking the Detour
DETOUR #1: Driving over the Eastern Sierra was very relaxing after a solid week of work. I finished work at 2:30pm, arrived in Santa Rosa to race Vineman 140.6 at 11:30pm. Turns out there is a fire near South Lake Tahoe, which translated into a turd chase on windy county roads trying to get down and around.
DETOUR #2: Exited water feeling pretty good and in 4th place. Solid bike legs came around and we were cranking in 2nd or 3rd place (pretty strung out and no one giving splits) just past mile 100 of bike. Head down and hammering a corner full of volunteers shouted left turn, I turned left. Ten minutes later I realized I'd been sent out on lap 3 of a 2 loop point to point bike. Missing the "lolly" part of the "lolly pop," was at 120mi and 10mi from the bike to run transition when things hit the fan.
Most days are awesome, so everyday can't be. It's my responsibility as an athlete to be familiar with the course. That was the first, and hopefully last, time I've been that close to the front and feeling good then gone way off course.
Vineman is a great race. I would certainly plan to go back and would recommend it to friends. Very scenic.
I sorted out my excess energy on the Pacific Crest Trail off Sanora pass with a couple hours of mountain shuffling and silence.
Solitude and mountains is restorative.
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