RAAM 2006 Part V
Brass Tacks - Could I Have Finished RAAM 2006? If I hadn't slept so much in Yarnell, if I hadn't crashed, I'm positive I would have made the Durango time cut-off. There's 2200 miles after that so anything could have happened, I think I could have finished. The important thing in this type of race is going in with absolute conviction that you will finish. Any doubt will get magnified in the rain, on climbs, in the heat, eventually the introspection starts and you start thinking "Why am I doing this?" and a DNF is not far behind.
Rob Lucas racing in the Enduro category was knocked out by severe crosswinds, its environmental factors like that that can throw a monkey wrench into the works. On the positive side, I was getting stronger every day and Jason and Dave were solving problems as they came up. On the negative side, saddle sores that were an inconvenience at 500 miles might have gotten progressively worse as I traversed the country.
What About Next Year?
I will definitely be back for the 26th Edition of the Race Across America. My training will start as soon as my rib heals with some local USCF racing and I'm going to put some more 24 hour races on my schedule for this year, most likely the New England 24 hour and maybe the Texas 24 Hour. I will definitely add some weight training later this year, and continue with the DC Rand's weekend centuries. My weight has been steadily coming down since the transplant and my endurance has been steadily increasing, so I know next year will be even better.
By starting now, I hope to build a larger crew and raise corporate sponsorship to alleviate the financial burden of the 2007 race. I'll post the actual amounts spent as soon as I have them calculated and I'll also describe the state of my equipment after I've had a chance to evaluate everything.
