A week away

Not that I'm counting or anything, but seven days and three hours from now my race at Nationals starts...again, not that I'm counting.

But before that we have this weekends race down in Fair Hill, which will be my first as an Expert. But the cool thing is I feel zone pressure, I plan on just going out and giving what I've got knowing that I'll be mid pack at best. I look at it as this is just a head start on next year and a training ride/race for next weekend.

With the race coming on Sunday and the big one next Friday I've kept it a pretty laid back week on the riding front. I did forty miles on the road on Tuesday and believe it not I went down to Wissa and did a MTB ride yesterday.

I thought about it as I was riding and I could not remember the last time I went out for a true MTB "ride." Sure I've rode lots of miles off road over the last few months but it's all been racing or pre riding the course before a race. I've not gone out and rode in the dirt since before the race season started, guessing it was as far back as March....and I have to say it felt good.

Marysville major

As I wrote lastnight this past weekend was the Marysville stage race. Friday night was a NTT, (night time trail) Saturday was a normal XC race and Sunday was both a hill climb (2.6 miles long) and a STXC (short track.)

The way it worked was all four races broke down into two points races for the year long season. The XC was one itself and the NTT, hill climb and STXC (stage race) were grouped together as the second one. Everything with the XC was normal, but the way they grouped racers for the stage race I lined up with 19 thru 45 year olds (Sport A.).

Having ran into a problem with the babysitter for the dogs wifey and I got the pleasure of driving the hour and 45 minute each way trip back and forth all three days. So thinking about it we spent more time in the short bus then we did racing.....

....and we kind of invaded the "Team" RV....food, beer and all.
The NTT on Friday night was a blur only being 25 minutes long, but it was a good look of the course for the XC on Saturday morning. After Wifey had a little problem Saturday morning (I'll let her tell that story) we were lined up and off for the XC race.

The course was a great mix of technical stuff, (logs, bridges and tight twisty turns) climbs and open areas the fly thru. Things worked in my favor again and I took the win....my last for Sport, more on that later.

Sunday started early with the hill climb being the first of the two races of the day. It was only a 2.6 mile climb on mostly fireroads, but it was 20 minutes that I don't want to repeat until next year. Luckily no walking (besides having to jump of and run thru a bottleneck area for 10-15 meters) but it was a nice tough climb the whole way.

After a couple hours the recover (two beers and a turkey burger style) it was off to the STXC...20 minutes of laps on a quarter mile loop thru the camping area. Wifey had the camera rocking...

....and I was just trying not to throw up....nothing to do with said beers and burger. After working my way thru traffic (someone thought it would be a good idea to fall over in front of me at the starting line) I sat on third places wheel in forth most of the race. First and second place were fighting back and forth about 25 meters ahead of us, but we just could not close the gap.

With two laps to go I made my way into third place coming across the start/finish and I heard the promoter say over the PA system if I keep third place it would put me on the podium for the Sport A stage race....
....and so it was. I took third in the STXC and that gave me third overall in the stage race....the podium shot of the three 20 something year olds and I. No respect......kids beating up an old man like that.

Even thou I was third overall in the Stage race they break the points down into the normal age classes, so with that I won all three stages in my age. And with the wins this weekend I will have mathematically won the season even thou there is four races left...so on to Expert I move.

Now the real pain begins....but I just look at it as a head start on next year.

Marysville Minor

Just got home from three days of driving and racing.

Marysville was great, in a nut shell I won all four of my races. The weekend was broken down into two races, a stage race (with three stages) and a normal cross country.

A full write up in the morning and a couple photos I hope (depends on how steady wifey's hand was) till then I'm going to sleep.........for about a day.

Till then goodbye Sport class, hello cruel, cruel Expert class.

Hi ho, hi ho....

...it's off to Marysville we go.

The wifey and I are heading out to Marysville for Stage Race and Festival for what will be my last Sport race...there, I've said it...it's official. I wanted to move up as of this week, but someone asked me not to change until I mathematically had won the Class for the year. So next weekend to the big leagues it is.

Either was the weekend should be a blast. It all starts with a night time trail today, a XC tomorrow and when a hill climb and short track race on Sunday. I hill climb is what I'm not looking forward to, I remember it from a couple years back. Was pretty much a 20-25 minute climb up this long beat up dirt road.

But it should be a good weekend mix of fireworks, beer, a race (or four) followed by more beer.

Time to go get sleeping beauty kick started....or maybe kick sleeping beauty. At this time of the morning they one and the same thou.

Pity Party over

Not that I was really having one, but the self pity party is over.

I did not really put to much thought into Saturday's poor showing till I did a road ride yesterday. It was 30 miles of should haves and could haves. I little talk to the wifey about endrance thoughts in the future and a plan is set....for when and where is yet to be determined. But it's gonna be game on.

Today I met up it Gary for a 40 miles spin out of Doylestown that kind of hurt. The legs were still pretty shot which I was surpised by, but the "undercarriage" took the worst. Not sure if the bibs were sitting wierd on Saturday or what, but damn...we've got some heeling up to do the trhe next couple days.

After the ride it was time to meet up the Geoffrey to work out all the latic acid that must still be hanging out in my legs. Hoping things feel much better tomorrow (leg wise).....still need to figure out what I'm racing this weekend, the six hour endrance or the XC.

Eight Hours of Cranky Monkey....

....if that was Saturday the day would have rocked....but it was 12 hours, not eight.

After the combination of the five hour drive (an hour plus in traffic) to VA, race pit set up and a crappy night sleep I was ready to get on the bike and just zone out.

The race started like most endurance races do, with a 400 meter Le Mans style start....aka, a run. Even thou I run like a female humpbacked whale I entered the singletrack in about tenth overall, but not knowing may placing among the solo riders.

The first lap flew by as I was following a local thru the trail that knew the lines like the back of his hand. After a quick stop for a bottle I was off for lap two....again with nothing really to speak of. Coming out of the singletrack ending my second lap (a 800-900 meters loop around a school in the open sun) the heat starting getting to me. With this in mind I sat in the pit's for 3-4 minutes and took in a little extra water.

About two miles into my third lap I was past by the solo rider in the pit next to me, having no idea where I was sitting place wise I just let him go....not to mention it was only hour three. I keep him in site for about the next 20 minutes, but then I started to fade. Nutrition was good, it was just the heat....and with that, lap three was 10 minutes slower then laps one and two (about an hour each.) After a 5-10 minute stop in the pits lap four was a little more of the same....heat, heat and more heat.

Lap five was tough, not only because the fading was continuing but I don't think I saw another rider the the whole ten miles. I heat was still killer but other problems were coming in to. I was starting to make mental mistakes, the hands were getting a few blisters and the saddle was.....causing problems lets say.

After the suffering that was lap five and a second 5-10 minute pitstop on to lap six we were. But after five minutes in the trail I knew it was over...the body was starting to get a little worse and I told myself this was the last lap. So I made the call to pull the plug before things went to far downhill. Do I really want to ruin the next couple weeks of the season just to push myself to far over the edge today? No......I've got a couple big races coming in the next few weeks and I was already on the verge of no return.

So six laps it was.

Now fast forward an hour in the pits with the wife. "Did you know you were leading the first two laps" she throws out....ahh, no. "Did you know you're in second place right now?" Again, ahh no. I could have went out for a seventh but I would have buried me for the week, if not worse.

In the end I fell to sixth place, not to bad for only riding for eight hours and no real endurance training in six months. Congrats to Jason for hanging in with the heat too.....I over heard someone in the pits say it was 96.

Now time for a little recovery before Marysville.

Cranking the monkey...

...nevermind, forget that.

All the gear is stuffed in the car for the drive down to Quantico this afternoon. Once the Wifey unties herself from her desk we're off.

Cranky Monkey here we come.....just think, this time tomorrow Wifey, Jason and few others will be cranky the monkey...sorry, I hate to.