The El Tour is a huge event for Tucson as they have about 9000 participants. There are 4 bike races with different distances that are approx 104, 80, 60 and 40 miles.
In the past, I have done the 40 and the 60. My goal is to someday accomplish all of them. However, its hard to do that when you rarely ride your bike.
So, about 2 weeks before the race this year I started to feel bad that I was out of shape and hadn't been riding and so I just decided to sign up for the 40. My poor husband just goes along with my wild ideas and decides to join me.
I rode my bike to work for a couple of days (14 miles RT) and then we went for a 23 mile ride the weekend before the race. That's it. Not much for practicing.
The last time we did this in 2012, Jim and I tried to stay together and its rather impossible. So we split up once the race started. Our race started at Noon. My goal was to finish by 3:30.
It was so much fun. I felt good and strong. I didn't want Jim to have to wait around too long at the finish line so I really pushed myself. The feeling when you do that is just amazing. I managed to stay with a pack of people the whole way. The last 2 times I done a bike race....well....pretty much the party was over by the time I rolled over the finish line.
When I finished the race, the crowd was still there and people where CHEERING. It was so fun!
Jim finished at about 2:15 and I finished at 2:35. Way better than both of us thought we would do.
So, next year....maybe the 104?
Oh....one more thing. Jim told me that if I beat him he would buy me a new helmet. However, since he beat me I didn't think I would get one. I think he changed his mind after seeing me at the race. It does look ridiculous and he said I could get a new one. YAY!
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| 23 mile preride the week before the race. |
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| Our new jerseys. Waiting for the race to start. |
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| pre-race selfies |
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| At the starting line. |
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| I took a quick stop here at this rest area and quickly chowed down a quarter of a peanut butter sandwich and a quarter of a banana. I think this made a HUGE difference. |
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| Donna |
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| Jim |
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| The view most of the way - Just of constantly changing people |
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| stopped at a stop light. |
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| Finished and got my finishers metal. |
1 comment:
You guys are my hero's and I really mean it.. I'm not being snarky in any way. I'm very proud of you for doing this and maybe someday I can be there to go around too. You both are so awesome and I am so glad you posted this.
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