CX and other updates

Time to post again, well..way past time. I think I've raced like 3-4 times and by the delay in my report, you can guess how my results were:

Akron rubber city melt down: Great course...sure wish I would have known the cat 2/3 race was really a 1/2/3 race. Fast from the gun and pretty damn hot too. Only lasted about 4 laps with the main group, but had a great time on the completely closed course with 40mph downhillin' right into corners...

Zoar: Watched the Cat 1/2/3, Cat 3/4, and women's race with my kids at the top of Middle Run climb and stayed dry in our minivan! Some people had a look of complete disgust on their faces at the top of the hill during the main monsoon portion of the race.

Milk race: Super windy and decent pace in the 2/3 field. Managed to do a bit of work early in the race, but heat took its toll on me. I finished with the pack, but sat up for the sprint knowing I had nothing left.

Shreve: Hot hot hot. Hilly...fresh stones on the course...somehow I still liked it. I was dropped on the 2nd lap, but grouped up with about 7 dropped riders to finish out the race.

I really lose physical power in the heat, but I know a significant portion is mental. The voices telling me to quit are much louder in 80+ degrees. Need to figure out ways to quiet them down, or July/August racing in the 2/3 fields will be futile.

At least Cross is just around the corner and so is cooler weather! I am working with a few others at Stark Velo to put on our first CX race on Sept 26th at KSU Stark Campus. Hope to see you all here as it is part of the Bike Authority series. Check http://www.starkvelo.com/ for a link to the flyer.

I'm looking forward to CX racing, and also hitting CrossFit workouts harder now that road season is done. It was a bit tough to manage completing mainsite WOD's and yet save legs and energy for races. Hard to say if it helped my racing from a results standpoint, but I never felt beat up after any rides this year. Recovery went a lot better, and significant gains in core strength definitely help!

Later...