Palmer Park 50

Headed out this Sun for a romp in Palmer Park which would mark the first time I've ridden 50 miles on my mountain bike since....well, I don't know. Anyway, due to recent heavy rains, a bunch of the course had been washed out so the lap was shortened to 5 miles (10 laps). The lap was a mix of dirt road, a little rocky/technical singletrack, and some sweet smooth singletrack.Headed off the starting line at a conversational pace when one guy went around and started hammering...because why pace ourselves for 50 miles? Obviously everyone felt the same because the race was on. On the first technical downhill, I managed to lose a little connection due to a poor line but after about lap 2 I was feeling a little more in my groove. The next 5-6 laps went really well as I was able to move into 3rd and grow the gap each lap however it was not to be. Lap 8 I started feeling a little tired however was able to get enough Honey Stinger down the hatch to get the legs back around somewhat. I went at a moderate pace for lap 9, then decided to crank it up for lap 10 and make sure I could nail 3rd down....this is when things went backwards. I started hammering up the first climb when every pedal stroke I could feel my right hamstring cramping on the upstroke. I had to stand for most of the climb to keep out of too much knee flexion until I got to the top and could stand up on the pedals to stretch a little. From there, it was pretty much a soft-pedal/hammer the downhill for the last lap to hold on to 4th. Overall, not as I had hoped things would go, but not too disappointing for the amount of long distance training I've actually done to prepare. All of my equipment held up exceptionally well from the Top Fuel, to my Maxxis Ikon/Crossmark combo I couldn't have asked for better performing gear. The Top Fuel was a blast on this course with a number of huckable drops and some rough single track thrown in a few spots, my back never really felt sore like endurance races I've done in the past. Definitely may have to dabble in some more enduro races next year.