Before & After World 6-12-24 Hour Time Trials

Before & After the World 6-12-24 Hour Time Trials

November 2, 2018

Last weekend, three women broke the 24-Hour course record at the World 6-12-24 Hour Time Trial Championships in Borrego Springs, California. I was one of them. I racked up 456 miles (733.8 km) in 23:57:24 to place first in my age division (30-39) and second in the Women’s Solo division, mere minutes behind the indefatigable Jennifer Orr. It was an incredible weekend, from catching up with Trans Am friends, to racing through the moonlight. I’m still arranging my thoughts about how it all went down, but wanted to share a little before and after. A brief race report can be found in Pedal Mag; results can be found here.

Before: Check out this FitSpeek interview I did in early October, 2018, to get a sense of my training and where my head is at before the time trials.

After: Immediately following race I took a photo with Janie Hayes, Trans Am vet and 2nd place finisher in the Women’s Solo 12-Hour division, where neither of us appear nearly as floored as we undoubtedly feel. I raised a glass of champagne with my crew, then downed another two beers during the awards ceremony to drown out my immediate aches and pains. My mother (who I was sharing a bed with) tells me that I groaned through the night, which I don’t remember, though I can say that I barely had the strength to turn myself over.

But the following morning I hauled myself—with bloodshot eyes from some sort of desert dust irritation—out of bed and off to Kendall’s where I drank all of the coffee and took photos with Seana Hogan and the velociraptors. Suddenly, I felt alive again. I was reminded of my time playing roller derby and the routine of waking up the morning after a bout with that whole-body pain of being plowed over by a tractor. But as the day progresses and you have the chance to get some food in, swap stories, and relive the previous night’s glory (and suffering), the physical ailments fall to the wayside and all that’s left is exhausted bliss. I realized that I was so, so happy. As we drove past the now-familiar Christmas Circle and saw the RAAM crew finishing their tear down I grinned, stupidly content, and reached into my pocket to grab another Advil.

For a more thorough rundown, check out this writeup I did for Canadian Cycling Magazine.