Well, that was tough.
Riding that course in that heat was just crazy. When we went out to Ourimbah a few weeks ago I did what, 3 laps in 4 hours? Today I managed 1 1/2 in 6.
It was a bit of an epic day for me, with a few key events I can see were pointing towards ultimate failure now, but I didn't see that at the time.
My first problem was that I started the day with really high blood sugar, so I was dehydrated and feeling pretty lethargic. No worries.. Dose up, eat some food, dose up some more. She'll be right. That's what I thought anyway. I rolled out for my first lap and probably went far too fast/hard for my ability. It's a bit hard not to in a race environment. Came down when I was coming through a corner which stuffed my hip, arm and my front shifter. I had to stay in the middle ring to get back to base, which kind of sucked for some of the climbs.
Got my bike sorted back at transition, then set about sorting out the food situation. Blood sugar still sky rocketing and I felt like utter crap. Dosed up, ate minimal food, dosed up more... Rolled out for the second lap when Lindsay returned.
I realised at some point on that lap that I really wasn't feeling well at all. I started seeing stars and getting a little dizzy. It's easy to think you're just pushing it too hard though, so I continued. It wasn't until I was coming down into a corner that my legs went like jelly and I caught myself going a little sideways, and I felt like I blacked out for a second that I realised it was time to get off the bike.
I sat on a log on the side of the course, and yelled 'yep' back at everyone who asked if I was ok as they came past. The world was spinning at this point (perhaps I was just drunk...) and when it didn't really stop I started yelling back 'no' so I could get some help. Someone called it in and after about half an hour or something help arrived. Poor Christian got stuck sitting on that log with me for a while. I don't know if I was making any sense at that point.
So it was pretty much all over for me from there. I've since determined the problem - the heat killed my insulin, so it was basically like riding and not eating any food at all. Which is damn near impossible with mountain biking.
I've been feeling pretty off about the experience since I got home. I'm feeling a little off about cycling all together right now for the first time since I started, which isn't very nice and I am sure will pass after a good feed and a rest. It certainly taught me a few lessons... Like stay in bed when it's going to be 41 degrees!
Apologies for the lengthy post... It feels good to let it all out
![Wink ;)](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)