Race Day!

Race day was finally upon us and I wanted to make sure I got up.  I set both my Fitbit alarm and my phone alarm.  I was up before 6am, made coffee and headed out to the garage.  I had put most of our gear in the van Friday night.  I checked the tire pressure on the bikes and loaded them on the rack.  I went inside and everyone but Brendan was moving about.  We had a lite breakfast and headed for Negaunee for the start of the race.  We arrived with plenty of time to get ready and to the start line.

Warming up.

The wait on the line.

Headed for Marquette.

There were over 900 racers and we were near the back.  The start was very slow and in the first section of dirt we actually came to a stand still as things spread out. The trail was in great shape and the rain helped the sandy areas.

It was nice riding with Jay Jay and I kept reminding him to eat and drink as often as possible.  I wanted to make sure he stayed fueled and hydrated.  An hour in and I knew that we were on pace to make Jay Jay's goal of 2.5 hours.  I was feeling really good and kept trying to push Jay Jay to go harder.  He was doing well.

We got to the big sand hill and picked our way through it.  After clearing the big wood chip hill climb I knew we were doing well.  I kept dropping Jay Jay as we moved on and we were finally in the final couple of miles.  Jay Jay was having a hard time and I kept encouraging him to push.  We finally could see the finish line and he was just about out of gas.  We crossed the line in 2 hours, 28 minutes and 21 seconds.  He made his goal!

Almost there!

Crossing the line!

Mission Accomplished!

An incredible team!

After the race we went back to the house and got cleaned up.  Michelle made some great Chicken Corn Chowder and grilled cheese sandwiches.  After eating and a little rest we headed back for Brendan's race.

We got there with plenty of time to spare and got Brendan on the front line.

Brendan relaxed and ready.

Off to the races!

Brendan started out good. One boy went down hard on the gravel.  Several adults riding with other kids just went by.  I made my way up to him and he was back on his bike.  I asked him if he was okay and he said yes.  I double checked and he said he was good.  So I started to work my way back up to Brendan.

I could see Brendan was not riding really hard and soon realized that he was not able to.  He said his stomach was not feeling good.  It could have been because he ate close to a bag of Power Bar gels?  I kept telling him to ride harder and he tried, but was not able to.  He just was not ready for this.  He managed to finish mid pack.  Not bad for not doing any riding this year.

We went back to the house and put the bikes away.  Cleaned up quick and headed for Applebee's for a little celebration.  After our celebration we went back to the house, watched a movie and called it a night.  Our vacation would soon be over.