Mohican and the Spiral of Death

Two quick race reports here...The Mohican State Park OMBC race and Spin's Cross my Heart CX.

I definitely had the Mohican race on my calendar ever since riding the 25 mile loop the first time. This race would be epic (as long as sport class did the full loop). Luckily for me, the sport class riders at the previous OMBC race overwhelmingly voted for the full loop!

I entered Sport Veteran with about 20 riders. Got the hole shot at the start, but made a wrong turn in the campground. I was able to get back on track and still be 3rd wheel. I entered the singletrack in 3rd and me and the 2 ahead of me started pulling away on the initial climb. Less than a mile in I notice something seriously wrong with my Lefty fork. The lock out knob is spinning freely and its rattling. I find it to be completely locked out...oh crap. I fiddle with the knobs while climbing, thus not paying attention to the course and end up going off course in woods. I decided to try and fix the shock then rejoin the race.

I got the knob back on and working, lost about 10 places, but was able to find a good group to hammer out the next few miles with. We started catching slower riders from earlier fields and our group had trouble passing efficiently. I got past most of them, but approached one of the last riders to pass just before a hairpin descent. After passing the rider, I couldn't nail the turn and endoed down the hill into the forest. Lost several more places and more importantly - lost confidence.

Miles 6-16 were fine as I was able to get back in a groove, pass several riders, and enjoy the ride (even thought the fork was still nearly rigid and really beating me up). At mile 16..the leg cramps started. I fought them by adjusting riding positions slightly to hit different muscles. This caused more issues and the flow just wasn't there anymore. The climbs were very painful.

After a minor slideout at mile 23, I was just ready to get this over. Prior to re-entering the campground as you exit the singletrack, there was one steep short rise to get past. I had to dismount to climb it, but my legs COMPLETELY locked up from cramps. Never had them this bad before. I stood motionless in pain for 1-2 minutes and saw more riders pass, just 1/2 mile from the finish. I final got moving and rolled across the line in 9th. Definitely put this one on your calendar if its offered next year. Its epic.

Then there's Willoughby...Spin's CX race. I looked forward to this race as its near my hometown and I grew up sled riding on the monster hill that now us CX racers must climb up. Yea, still seems just as big as now it was back then. Add in the fact that nearly the entire course was soft and muddy, and you knew ahead of time this was going to be extremely hard.

The course was reverse from last year with less course in the parking lot and more in the baseball fields...mainly in one thick peanut-butter filled baseball field spiral of death. I was racing with the 'A's and we had the full hill to climb. Initially I was dreading the hill, but in hindsight, it seemed no more difficult than many other sections...thats how tough this course was. I got some pre-race tips form Rick Parr who just completed his race, which helped me pick good lines to start the race. Despite being at the back in the line up, was able to move up pretty well in the 1st half lap.

Things got much worse after that. I knew I was ahead of some higher horsepower than me, and expect several to pass me early in the race. The problem was that the passing didn't stop. There were some racers that I though I should have been competitive with and they were just blowing by me. I was fighting the course and my lower back seemed to pay for it. After two laps, I was very near the back and trying to hang onto any wheel at that point. It wasn't working at all today. So I just continued to put down a hard effort and watched the lap card numbers go down, albeit very slowly.

I may have achieved a last place result here as long as nobody DNF'ed. Still had fun and then looked forward to a good brew and burger at Willoughby Brewing Company. Now I have to develop a plan to have a bit better showing at a few of the final CX races here in 2009.

Good news though..earlier this week, I was able hit a new personal record on Fran http://www.crossfit.com/mt-archive2/004989.html (CrossFit: 21-15-9 reps of thrusters-95lb and pullups). Old record was 7 min 30 seconds, new is 6 min 30 sec. I set a goal of sub 8 min at the beginning of the year. Now I'm hoping for a low 5 before 2010 starts. get some....