Well, it took a week ... of hosing down items in the back yard, scrubbing mud off of every peice of gear and clothing we used, and loads and loads of laundry ... but finally most of the gear is cleaned up and I am back on the trail.
Yesterday was my first ride with my new caloric/food strategy and it was a success. I won't do too much celebrating yet as it was only a 3 hour ride but it did include 3000+ ft of climbing and about 26miles of riding with lots of fun twisty single-track mixed in to keep it interesting!
The first lap my legs felt pretty sluggish but by the end of the first (30 min) climb they were back in gear and I was feeling good. It never ceases to amaze me how fast my body seems to recover from these longer races! I am not saying that nothing hurt -- there are a few sore mucsles ... but overall, I felt great and am looking forward to another 3hr ride today.
I am gong to continue to use my new food/caloric strategy for all of my rides ... the real test is in 3 weeks when I will race a 12 hour!
.. off to the trails once again!
