DNF at Kokopelli

That's rigth. I DNFed at the Kokopelli Trail Race. Shit.

The race started at a moderate pace up the first couple of hills at midnight, and I was waiting for my legs to warm up. It usually takes me about one hour, but somehow my calfs were still heavy 2 hours into the race.

At one point of time I passed a bunch of riders on a longer climb, and I ended up riding in 5th position.

5 hours into the race I realized my stomach is not doing so well. As soon as I got some food or liquid in, I felt like I have to throw up. It felt a little better when I wasn't putting a lot of force on the pedals, but I got annoyed by not being able to ride as I want. At lot of the type of climbs that I love and I barely was moving up those hills now... the stomach got worse, and 9 hours into the race I started thinking about dropping out. By now even the smallest effort I put in made me want to throw up.

Up to now all I had were 7 gels and my Gatorade - that's not too much food for such a long time. I felt like I was bonking, but I just couldn't eat.

I could fight the DNF thought for another 3 hours, but then I had to make an executive decision. I gave myself 10 minutes time in the shade of a tree to clear my mind and decided if dropping out is a good idea - and I decided it is the best I had in a long time.

Now I just have to find out what caused my stomach problems and come back next year again. Fun!