Testing My Endurance

Last weekend, after a fruitful meeting with a friend, I played sucker to an invitation to join a "24 hour mountainbike race".

Having a finger pointed at my face by someone who does not bike regularly, I gladly gave in to the invitation to a race that was to be held the following morning.

"Its only 15 laps per team member", I heard them say. And..."this is what we train for", we very convincing words from the "more experienced" guys in the group.

I picked up my wife from her brother's house, a stones throw away from our home. I told her about what was in store for me the next morning and she said "do well".

It sounded more like a sarcastic remark rather than words of encouragement. I could not blame her.

I woke up at my own pace. Still tired from 2 work outs at my home gym, a 5 km run, and a 21km bike ride the other day. I loaded on carbs, bananas, pineapples and lots of water.

At around 10:30am, I proceeded to the event site. Instructed by our "manager", I had to drop by their shop in Alabang for some instructions only to find out our "guru" was freaking out again because we were late.

Having no choice, I decided to buy some gatorade and bananas just in case.

When I got there, the place was festive and filled with mountainbikes of all kinds. Parking was limited and there was a city of tents surrounding the area.

Fortunately, I was able to locate my group and I was able to find a good parking space. Then off I went to suite up and get ready for the race.

The occasion was eventful. Just right after the mad dash at the starting gate, a rider bumped me and my friend. We attempted to try to help him up and say sorry, but we ended up eating all the bad words the guy could muster. My friend gladly returned the gesture.

At 1PM, I did my first three laps consecutively. One lap in 20mins, the next one in 23, the 3rd one in close to 30mins.

My computer's temperature gauge read 40, so I guess that was what slowed me down. I was then advised to stop and rest to allow a teammate to do his laps.

To cut a long story short, the scenario was the same for the next 13 hours. Bike...rest...bike...rest

My other teammate quit and went home with his promise that he would return the following day. The other one ( we were a 3 man team) showed up late in the afternoon and did his 4 laps and that was it.

We were all required to do 15 minimum, or our team would be disqualified. Well being the non-quitter that I am, I finished at 4am, my 2 other mates weren't quite lucky. One was a now show and the other one had to quit after doing another 4 laps the next day.

This was a first for me. I have never worked out till 4am the next day. Feeling tired, sleepy and fatigued from the long work week, I was surprised I made it.

I had a sore throat, and a big mouth sore that became even bigger during the race. I was biking in total darkness with only a weak light to guide me through.

What helped me finish was the help of friends. The guy who offered me soup every time I'd stop to rest. The chilled apples, the bananas. The story telling from the guys who did not race but supported us. The classic rock music from the ipods friends lent us to get us by during the night.

The cheers from fellow competitors and most of all, the words of encouragement from fellow rider friends who volunteered to accompany me at night while we all fell in ruts, slipped through muddy single track trails, jumped over ditches, and pushed our bikes up un-ridable hills.

Bottom line is "I get by with a little help from my friends"...and I made it. No trophies, no certificates. Just my dirty number and a picture of my cyclocomputer that reads 87km in 8 hours.

Will I do this again? Why not.