Je ne suis pas un randonneur… (I am not a randonneur)

I guess that depends on how you define the term but since I was going for a certain goal, I’m not a randonneur…yet.  Turned in a DNF (did not finish).  At mile 89 (of 125) I hit the wall.  Legs turned to cement in the face of a brisk headwind.  Had to call my son-in-law for rescue.  It wasn’t cramps.  It was no energy left.  Ran out of fuel.  I had plenty of food with me but it was in the wrong place.  It was in my bag and not in my blood stream.

Someplace between control 2 (Lytton Springs) and control 3 (San Marcos) I fell off my feeding routine.  Wasn’t putting enough in and I exhausted my muscular glycogen stores.  San Marcos is also where we turned back north and the headwind didn’t help.

At one point, David, who graciously rode with me after I fell back from the main group, basically walked away from me and there wasn’t a thing I could do to keep up.  Lots of HR reserve left but the legs just wouldn’t go.  At the end I was struggling to keep 10 mph into that wind and my rest stops became more frequent.

I’m not sure what put me off my eating schedule.  At one point I started to get the threshold of nausea and the thought of putting something in my stomach (except for water and electrolytes) was almost too much to bear, even though I knew I had to eat.  I also noticed that my electrolyte drink was starting to turn my stomach, something that has never happened before.  Even on much hotter rides than today.  The cold front that brought us the brutal wind also brought us “cooler” temps and much drier air.

So it’s back to the drawing board and experimenting with ride food.

…mais je serai (but I will be)

Disappointed but not discouraged.  There’s another 200k scheduled in late October, and the spring ride season is just around the corner.  Definitely going to try again.  Good bunch of people in this group.  Fast…several of them will be attempting the 500 mile at the Texas Time Trials later this month.  Got some good advice on food and other little tricks from them.