Big Frog 65

Since it's one of my favorite races, I decided to race the Big Frog 65 even though it was just a week after the big stage race in Costa Rica and I was far from being recovered. Justin and I stayed at Thunder Rock campground and I was grateful for having the RV since it stormed all night. Regardless, I slept like a baby. Woke up to a light rain on Saturday morning, and lined up for the race at 7:00. Even though I was tired, my plan was to race the first 25 miles like it was an xc race and then settle into an endurance rhythm.
All of the Big Frog racers lined up together for a mass start which begins with a two mile road climb into the Brush Creek trail, which gets pretty backed up. Needless to say, sprinting that climb is pretty important. I started hard and made it into the single track pretty close to the front of the pack. The pace on brush creek was fast, but fun and I was having a great time on the flowy trail. My legs were pretty tired from the stage race the week before, but the sun was shining and I was feeling good. Then I had flat tire number 1 right before we hit the first aid station. I hadn't had a flat in over a year and a half, so it took me longer than I would have liked to change it. And my legs were not grateful for the stop! My efforts in the beginning were slipping at that point, but I kept going at a good pace. Then about two miles from aide station two, I had flat number two which posed a big problem...I was only carrying one tube. Therefore, I was at the mercy of my fellow riders. So I started walking and it didn't take long to get another tube from a fellow rider, maybe 15 minutes or so. So I was off again. However, I must have pinched the tube or something on that change because about an hour and a half later it went flat again. This time I had to walk for a long, long time. But thankfully I encountered a truck heading to aide station 4 that stopped and gave me a tube and had a pump. The weather had held off until a little after that point and then the sky opened up. It was freezing and pouring the last couple hours of the race. It made for an epic day, and despite the struggles and weather, I finished with a big smile! I later learned that there were riders taking a bail out option and I'm happy to say the though never crossed my mind. What doesn't kill you will make you stronger :)