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RACE REPORT: LA RUTA DE
LOS CONQUISTADORES
 One
of the hardest races I've ever done is La Ruta. The 3-day, 300 mile race
goes from one end of Costa Rica to the other! I did this race once
before in 2001 and got 2nd. This year I wanted to win, but ended up 4th,
although I did win the Masters class. Fourth overall wasn't important to
me, I wanted to win overall! DAY ONE: A tough Day. The night before my
roommates arrived late. They tried to be quiet, but they still kept me
awake while they unpacked and got their bikes ready. There's nothing
like a good 4 hours sleep before a 100 mile race.
That day was hell and I lost quite a few minutes to the leaders. DAY 2:
Much better! I stayed with the leaders, then me and the guy ahead of me
made a wrong turn and I ended up 7th that day. Winning the overal would
be hard after that. DAY 3: The overall was realistically out of reach.
"But I can still win the day." I thought and put out a good effort all
day. Near the end of the day it was raining hard and I lost time going
over these old railroad bridges that are like 100 feet over the river.
You gotta walk over because there are big gaps between the beams---one
slip and you'd fall through. I went over all tippy-toe, so scared. Once
I got off the bridges I caught up to the guy in 4th, eventually dropped
him and then saw the lead three about 3 minutes ahead of me, powered up
and caught them with 3 kilometers to go. I was feeling good and knew I
had a good effort left in me...probably enough to win the sprint. Then
just as the pace started picking up I got a flat! Arrrgh! I fixed it
quick as I could and got 6th for the day 4th overall.
I'm looking forward to the 2005 LaRuta. I did well with two good days,
but it takes three to win that race.
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