Fall Fitness?????

So after last weeks MTB/CX race double I didn't ride a bike until a brief outing with Lyna on Friday evening. Inside ones head, one thinks, I must ride to race, but insides ones soul one realizes, rest+cookies+movies=faster. It does, honest.

So Fort Buenventura is by far my favorite UTCX course . I have always had good results there, partially due to the technical nature of the course, twisty, turny and rocky and usually muddy or icy. Good times. Good enough that when late Friday evening I found the 2nd pair of pedals that had not been sent back to Crank Brothers for a spa treatment, and discovered my geared CX bikes tires held air, i hatched a downright stupid scheme.

I shall race twice.

1st being my usual SS race at 11:15. Followed by the 35+A race at 1:45.

I planned on not warming up and taking it kinda easy in the SS race so I'd have something left to a. heckle the women's races. 2. Race in the A group

In the SS race I was about 10th going into the 3rd turn, and then proceeded to pick people off one by one on the first lap. Cody H and I traded back and forth for a bit with Chris C close as well. I rode the river of Sand section 3 of the 5 times through only running it on lap 2 when i took a bad line and lap 5 when i lost the ability to think. Riding it was probably slower than running, but conserved massive energy. I felt like i was cruising over the barriers and hammering out of the 35,000 corners. In the end I took 4th, behind 3 guys who regularly crush the field. I also caught all but the top 8 of the B's who started a minute up. All without much of a warmup. But I did bury myself a few times, which is foreshadowing....

I then proceeded to heckle the ladies, mostly Mama T, I don't heckle Lyna, cause that wouldn't go well. SPeaking of Lyna, she had a great race, taking 3rd in B women. The winner was way off the front, halfway through the A's and the 2nd place was a few seconds up.

So, I line up with the 35+a's, no points, means back of pack start, which means being delayed around corners, after the 1st lap shake out I pass a few people and settle in. 25 or so minutes in, I start to gain on a few groups (who ended up being 6th-10th place), Then at about 35 minutes in, My system shuts down, I was able to fake it for a few more laps, but by the end I was crawling, walking the barriers and ended up DFL.

A double CX day isn't a bad idea, however when the first race is 40 minutes and you bury yourself, the 2nd, 60 minute race, likely won't go as well. Actually 4 laps into the 35+ A race the announcers said '5 Laps to go' and all I could think was 'we only did 5 laps in the SS race!!!!!'

Oh well, it'll make me faster, or not.

Grizz made a video, I'm in it a few times. Check it here.

Sunday, Ty-Bo and I did a 55 mile MTB ride, 4.5 hours, Well 40 of it was the ride to and from the trail head, but still. We met up with Lyna, Sally, Jen, Shannon and E-Pow in Draper and ripped some trail. My legs are shot.