Aug 19 2009
Dog Days
Man, it’s been a while. I think Facebook is killing the blog. We’ll see how this fall plays out though. There’s plenty of well-written race reports and witty commentators to go around…and sarcasm never goes out of style.
The summer season ended fantastically (is that a word?). I did my first TOE 50, finishing well…for me at least…in just over 5 hours, despite the ridiculously painful cramps during hour 3. Things looked good until then with a 2:20 split but the legs unraveled during that second long climb of the loop. Maybe next year but probably not if it’s Father’s Day.
Remarkably, I didn’t get hurt. I think I need to start adding this to my response when people ask me how I do. “I came in 15th and best of all, I didn’t injure or seriously maim myself!”.
In a virtual 180° change of racing styles, short track started the next day. I skipped the first one but did the rest. The first short track is just…just…rude. That’s all. 35 minutes of intense racing. The first two from this year I finished and thought “Good God, what just happened?”. It’s way shorter than PIR. Shorter than a crit. A bit longer than Tabor but without the rest on the downhill. Shorter than a cross race but way, way bumpier and ’sprintier’ (another made up word). Oh yes, plus the dust.
My goal for STXC was just to finish the summer season strong. Race hard. Stay positive. Improve bike handling skills and racing technique. Most of all, enjoy racing again. Stuff I can take and build on the the fall cross season.
By all accounts, I’d say it was a success. I started slow for the first 3 races and really turned it on for the last 3. I thoroughly enjoyed racing the Anthem, really making an effort to push it, which, on a side note, is an incredibly fast xc bike. Really.
So STXC ended with me feeling very motivated for this coming season, probably more so than when I won the B35+ a couple years back. I have a season of A35+ behind me so I know what to look forward to. I know I’m heading into this season with a far, far stronger base than last year. The importance of that can’t be understated given the rate and depth which I unraveled at the end of last year.
So no races for a while. I’ve got Disney World next week (“Hey, I’ve got a great idea…lets go to Florida during the hottest and most humid time of year for a family vacation!!! Did I mention it’s hurricaine season?”). I took a rest week after ST and reset training back to endurance/tempo base work to give myself a little break. I’ll start slowly ramping up once I get back from the House of Mouse. There’s a long way to go until Nationals in December.