3:12:36

Over. I had a disappointing, but very good time at this years' Iceman Cometh Challenge. I placed 152nd out of 162 participants in my class; Mens 35-40 Sport class. Now that isn't good or even near where I was hoping to be. But hear me out why this was still a great time!

I wore the same jersey and winter tights as the very first Iceman I did back in 1997 or so... Iceman #9. I raced Beginner class back then just to try it out. Well... somewhere around mile 13 or so I developed a bad cramp that just kept getting worse for the second half of the race. I still remember following a woman racer for quite some time before she shed me near the end. I had no more juice and gave it up for a 3:20:xx time.

This time around I started in the front half of the racers. When the group launched, I was only 12 seconds behind going through the starting gate. I was cruising along trying to remember to pace myself. But everyone seemed to be going in super slow-mo, so I stepped up the pace. Next thing I new, I saw the front of the pack start to split and I was in the third group into the tighter trail. At the first sand pit I was on the heels of the guy in front of me. He didn't handle it well as he posted a digger and slammed to the ground with a thud! Luckily, his bike didn't fling up into me and all I did was run over his wheel. The rider behind and on the other side of me says, "That's not a good way to start the race!" And we keep going. Soon after I get behind a guy with a Bontrager and I strike up a conversation. He loves it and I was missing mine as I took the Fuel out for it's maiden race. I soon leave his side and move on down the trail. I manage to settle in to a high pace group. A guy with a full Giant outfit, a guy with what I think is a prototype rear hub with internal shifting, and a guy with Team Sandbag on his jersey. I hit mile 13 and my computer read 54 minutes. Outside of a lot of people not railing corners, riding their brakes down the hills, and stopping on hills and not getting out of the way ASAP... the next 18 or so miles was smooth and uneventful. OK... maybe just a little snow falling and the realization that my seat height may be just a tad too high. Again, missing my Bontrager's completely dialed in geometry. Somewhere around mile 20 or 21, I flew down a hill and into a deep sandpit. My left leg decided to go and it locked straight and sent me over to one side and onto my side. I couldn't move my leg... locked straight and clipped into my pedal. A guy stopped and unclipped my foot and I forced it to bend. At that point, I knew it was game over for me. I sat there for quite some time until my legs regained some functionality. Not since my first Iceman had I had my legs cramp sooo badly and painfully. After a while I got up and started to tredge up the next hill. Somewhere along the way a guy handed my a pair of capsules... I asked what they were and he said they were Hammer Nutrition E-Caps that help with cramping. He explained that they would kick in in about 30 minutes... an eternity. So I took them and kept moving. It seemed like forever trying to get to the last food stop. I ran into some of the sweepers while trudging down the trail and they told me of a shortcut to the finish. All I remember is saying "no" and that I will finish the race. I got to the food stop finally where they actually had banannas (good for cramping). These would have been nice at one of the other stops. The next bit of time is a blur as I tried to keep a balance between my legs siezing again and riding. Endless hills seemed to keep getting thrown at me. I even saw a guy having to pedal with only one leg... amazing. He was cramping as well. I finally reached the last shoot and knew I was on my way to the finish. SRAM flags everywhere. I started heading to the outside to pass a guy when he raises his hand and starts to wave at the spectators and drifts towards them and right into my line. I yelled at him out of instinct... he was making me have to go longer than I had to... argh. Anyway, I finished well enough to not fall below my first Iceman time... and almost an hour behind the guys I was riding with earlier on... next year, I will be returning.