The Casa Grande Century

Rather than bore you with all the details of a day on a bike, I'll break it down by the highlights:
8:30am Meet coach and team at starting line in South Chandler. Ride Begins.

Mile 2
Feeling strong. Glad to be here. Intimidated by the 98 miles ahead. Thankful its not raining.

Mile 10
Begin slight climb around Northern perimeter of San Tan mountains. Riding in pace line...getting a strong draft...23-24mph pace

Mile 18
Light Rain...no problem

Mile 25
First Aid Station...eat granola bar...cup of gatorade...handful of M&Ms...2 pretzels

Mile 35
Heavy Rain...still holding pace line and great pace...feeling kinda hardcore

Mile 37
Flat tire...lost the groups...Coach stops with me...total downpour...change tire in 8 min 47sec in a muddy ditch...see mud on hands below



Mile 45
Raining so hard that we miss our turn and go off course. Cleats are so muddy that we can't clip in

Mile 50
Thinking about all of the other things I would like to be doing right now...rethinking this Ironman idea...seriously

Mile 55
Still Raining...Another Flat..takes 3 CO2 cartridges to fix the flat due to the valve being filled with mud. Wanting to quit, but can't b/c I'm in the middle of the desert.

Miles 55-70
Completely miserable...riding on a back soft tire due to the CO2 issues...rain stops

Mile 70
BBQ Lunch...heaters, coffee, cake, and a tire pump. I enjoyed all of these things. I reconnected with the Team at this point.

Mile 75
Feeling refuled and charged...legs are still strong...wanting to get the hell off of my bike...hammering hard to get it done.

Mile 90
Quads and Calves begin to seize...taking salt tablets..it works

Mile 95
Thinking about a hot shower and a massage

Mile 100
Hugs and High Fives with everyone at the finish line.