Santa Fe (Half) Century

Last weekend, Josh and I rode the Santa Fe Century.  I had originally wanted to do the full 100 miles, but as the race got closer we both realized that 100 miles was a little bit too ambitious for our recent training levels.  I've been in the field so much lately that it's been pretty hard to get in very much riding, so I decided that I'd rather do well and feel good about riding 50 miles than be miserable and push myself through 100.  We met up with a few cycling friends, caravanned up to Santa Fe early in the morning, and started out.

The Santa Fe Century isn't actually a "race".  There is no official timing and no official start time.  It's very well run and organized, but also very laid-back.  This year there were about 3000 riders total, including the 100-mile, 50-mile, and a 25-mile course.  Everybody shows up and starts whenever they want to.  This kind of setup is really great for me, because it means that there are always people both in front of and behind me at all times.  I really hate feeling like I'm out on a course all alone during a race, and that never happened at all during this ride.

This course was a lot harder than we expected.  Very hilly.  I'd been riding quite a bit prior to the race, but I hadn't ridden more than 35 miles in months, so this was a little bit of a stretch for my fitness level.  I started off strong, got into a groove, and even found a small pack of guys to draft off of for ten miles or so.  Then the hills started.  I hit the first half of the course really strong, and pushed up all of the hills harder than I should have.  So, halfway through the course, I was hurting.  My lower back and my saddle were not happy.  But man, this course is beautiful!  I can only imagine that the full century ride is even prettier.

I stopped at a couple of aid stations for water and stretching, but otherwise just plodded along.  I rocked the first half, and survived the second.  I had hoped to finish the 50 miles in less than 3 hours, but in the end I finished at 3 hours, 11 minutes.  If I had been just a little bit better trained, I would have easily met that goal, and considering that my back was bothering me like it was, I'm pretty happy with how I did.  And I beat half of the guys from our little group of riding friends!  (Small victories- I'll take 'em.)  I would happily return and do this ride again next year (hopefully the full 100!).