24 Hours of Springfield

I followed both 24 hours of Moab (USAC Nationals) and 24 Hours of Adrenalin in Australia (24 Hr Worlds) from the internet this weekend. It’s the first time in a few years I have not been at either race. Instead, I am in Illinois with no bicycle and doing very little exercise. It’s amazing how things change in a year. I was excited to see my friend, Jari Kirkland take another 24 Hr Nationals solo title and it looked like she had very little competition this time around. The 24 Hour Worlds race was closer with Aussie’s Jess Douglas and Katrin Van der Speigel taking 1-2 and US racer Eszter Horanyi finishing 3rd. They said it was to be the most competitive women’s field in years and they did pull in athletes from multiple countries. However, it was still the usual suspects (except for Ezster) who were up near the top. I raced against both Katrin and Jess at 24 Hour worlds in Canmore. It’s hard not to think about how I would have fared against them in their home country.

A ton of people have been asking me why I wasn’t in Moab or Australia this weekend to defend my titles. The answer is a wee bit complicated and part of me really did want to be at one of those two races. It’s unfortunate that they were both scheduled on the exact same day, but that’s a whole different story. The answer regarding my absence is multi-faceted. It’s one that I’ve been fielding all year. My decision this season to focus on 100 milers and stage races was initially for health reasons. I have asthma and 24 hour solo racing really does a number on my lungs. I end up coughing for weeks afterwards and have to sleep sitting up so that I don’t choke on the fluid that builds up in my lungs. I love 24 hour solos and really long endurance events and those type of events are where I feel I am at my best. However, I want to be riding my bike, skiing, running, climbing for a really long time and I just felt like damaging my lungs to that extent a few times a year was a bad idea. I’ve had one of my best season’s yet and was able to achieve all my goals for 2010, including another Leadville 100 win and course record. I also earned a Masters XC World Championship title. I have no regrets about my race decisions this year. The bottom line is that there are so many awesome endurance events to choose from and it has been fun to spread myself around a bit more and do some different events and face different challenges.

Another big part of the reason that I did not race 24 Hr Nationals or Worlds is that my Mom had open heart surgery on Monday. I am in Illinois in the hospital waiting room while she gets some rest. I’ve mostly been hanging out with her, escorting her on small walks down the hospital corridor and helping figure out her new schedule of rehab and doctor’s appointments. She has come through the surgery just fine, but it’s going to be a long road to recovery. I will help take her home tomorrow and get the house set up so that she can get around easily. All of this makes missing a race seem quite insignificant. I’m really glad I could make the opening in my schedule to be able to help her out. I’m only here until Thursday, then there will be a bit of hand off as other family and friends come here to stay with her on a rotating basis.

Thanks for all of you who sent notes and emails wishing Mom well. She’s been my biggest fan and has attended tons of my races all over the world. She probably knows more adventure racing and cycling athletes than I do. She’s always following me and the racers she knows from Illinois when she can’t be at the races. I’ve kept her up to speed on the weekend results and she has been really pleased to get all the good wishes