Tough in Tulsa

Today was day 2 of the Tulsa Tough. The race was L-shaped with a slight hill, some wind and some serious heat. For those that know me, Tiff + heat = bad times. Just ask the hubs if you don't believe me. I went down and rode the course this morning before the tire melting heat really set in. I connected with our uber awesome host Darrell down at the race before heading back to the compound. Took a little nappy then Lins and I rode down to the course.

I put a baggie of ice in my sports bra and drank like crazy. I roamed the course in search of the shadiest, breeziest spot. Much sitting. Not on a trainer.

Within the first 5 laps there was a HUGE crash--taking out about half the field. I luckily dodged that bullet. Unfortunately, Linsey went down on her bum--but she was back on her bike. The wreck was so bad they actually neutralized the race. OMG. Not what should be happening (the huge wreck, not the neutrality).

The silver lining of that gnarly cloud was that Darrell completely styled us out with several refills of water. (Steve--I DID carry 2 bottles with me!). Refilled bottles and poured water all over myself. I actually was able to lower the core temp to slightly sub-boiling. We let the ambulance off the course and then the race was re-started, as a 40 minute race. Surprisingly there weren't a ton of attacks. The pace was definitely kept pretty high by the teams--but no moves were getting away. I scored 2 primes ($100 and $200) and then there were 8 laps to go. I was stuck too far back. I knew this. I could just write the same thing I wrote from last night. I needed to move up, I would try to move up and get pushed back. Try again. Finally just stuck it out in the wind and moved up as much as a I could. I thought I finished somewhere around 12th in the field sprint but the results had me at 16th. My brain was probably too fried to count so what do I know?
Shelly Olds took the win with LVG in 2nd. It was a tough race with the crash and the heat.

Tomorrow's race is supposed to be technical and hard with a hill. I'm actually looking forward to it. For now, some sleepy time--and send me some speedy, ballsy (but steady) vibes!