Everything was going so well, shortly before the marathon began
at 12:30pm;, awesome weather, good legs and righteous motivation.
In the beginning I did well and after 12m/20km, I was riding
in the second group that included places 15 through 25. That
was enough. We all worked together and the distance between
us and the front got smaller and smaller.
At some point, I started getting such f...... back pains that
I had to downshift and the group disappeared. This is how an
XM, or XC-race, since the track was more like an XC-race track,
turned into a mere training ride with just the basics, because
my back didn't want to play. I watched helplessly as one biker
after the other passed me, until I had been handed along into
40th place, out of 600 riders in the age division 8, when I
crossed the finish line.
Must I metion that I wasn't happy with the outcome!? ;-) The
one positive thing that came out of all of this, is that I know
I'm in good shape (as long as my back doesn't act up).
Now, I've got to get my back checked out, as soon as possible,
to find out what is causing the problem (probably the position
I sit in), because next week it's off to Kirchzarten for the
48m/77km lap, where I should do better.
See ya then and ciao,
yours,
Jones
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