I went to Meridian, MS for some races this weekend, and noticed a cycling team from Baton Rouge that has Boudreaux's Butt Paste as a sponsor. Not only that, the words BUTT PASTE are displayed on the cycling shorts across the booty. I badly want a pair of those shorts.

My idea to race this weekend was totally dumb. I knew it was going to be hot, but had no idea what racing in 100 degree heat with no shade really felt like. This is one of those rare instances where I say "never": I will never race in this kind of heat again. On top of heat-related suffering, I haven't been eating for a couple of weeks and started having GI problems two days before the weekend. I am annoyed with my loss of appetite, and the only cause I can think of is that I don't like to eat when I am hot. Last week, some very good lunches were brought in to reward my department for our participation in making sure that our customers had electricity during this heat wave. I did not want to eat any of it. I have been drinking some recovery drinks as meal replacements in order to get down some calories. Also, I trained too hard during the week, thinking that if I rode in the heat, I would acclimate to it. Actually that had the opposite effect, creating a sense of dread about going outdoors and sapping my enjoyment of riding a bike.

Thus, my race performance suffered. I was proud of myself for finishing (every cell in my body wanted me to quit), and I did beat some other, equally crazy women. On Sunday, my road race was at 8 am, so I did not have to suffer as badly from the heat, but still did not ride at top form, and was happy to finish the race without having to sprint with the lead group at the end.

I tend to be a perfectionist and beat myself up for not doing as well as I wanted to, but in racing, not every race is going to be a great one. I'll chalk this one up to a learning experience, and if it's really hot outside next time, I won't be there.

Photos