There Goes Gravity

The great thing about this Interweb Thingy (as people like to call it) is that once in a while you get some really good feedback that just makes sense. When you think about it the obvious answers are often right there in front of you but sometimes it takes someone else to point it out. Here's the evidence in 2 parts:

Maurice

"Hope I can see you at the race. This is an interesting place to race at... Don't get too hung up on the course as you know it, it may be different this time around. In any case it's a somewhat long race, so don't sweat the start too much. Don't take it easy either as it's harder to get going otherwise. Most importantly, play it safe. This is a place where stacking it can be expensive, and it may be slippery in spots (bridges, roots, gravel,...). Those are nice times you clocked, you should do well. Good luck, Maurice"

Thanks for the comments, all of them are well taken. You bring up a good point about the course. The rumor is that it's supposed to change this year so I really shouldn't take anything for granted. It just makes more sense to pace that first lap and take it from there. I can let it all go if need be on the third lap.

And who am I fooling here? This is my first pure XC race so I should make it a priority to play conservative, especially since - as you mention - it's a bit of a longer race. For what it's worth the trails are pretty beat up so things are a little bit looser (and wider) than you may remember. Lots of gravel on just about all of the trails.

Hope to see you there. Not sure what time you start but we should cross paths at some point.

Terren

"Norm - Today I'm the voice of your blogging past: "if I continue to cramp up in races I will have to call it quits" (when I channel spirits I always paraphrase). You burn out of the gate and you're much more likely to cramp up. Play it safe, don't cramp, and if your only problem then is that you got stuck behind a bunch of grandmas, then at least you figured out the cramp thing, for one race anyway. I know, it's not the sexy advice you might have been hoping for, but I've got something else sexy for you when you fix my bike. Terren"

Damn, you guys are good. Or am I making this too easy? Here's another example of why this is good advice. That first lap Tuesday hurt more than it should have. I can keep a good pace but hauling that dump truck up those hills makes me redline a lot more than I want to. Undoubtedly it's hard to classify that pace as fun. Sure it's satisfying to be able to turn fast times but I need to keep it fun. There are 3 more months of racing left so I have plenty of time to hang loose if I want to at a later time.

Good stuff. Thanks for the input guys. You Hunterdon County folk sure are sensible.

Man I was really spent last night to the point that when I finally went to bed I was worried I might be getting sick again. I think my rides on Tuesday and Wednesday were much tougher than I realized and it cashed in on my body last night in a big way. Riding in that heat both days probably didn't help matters. Jake mentioned that he was slow yesterday too and my neighbor said she was having problems breathing on her morning walk. Plus work was hectic again yesterday so I ate erratically and drank far too little water and too much coffee.

I just need to let it soak in over the next 2 days before the weekend and hit the road as usual Saturday morning. I'm not taking it easy Saturday because the race is just a training session for me so I should be out for 2.5-3 hours of tempo riding. I will try to limit the hills but other than that it's business as usual. Also, I tend to ride better on the backside of back-to-back days so it works out well.

This morning I feel good but also happy I didn't ride. I slept in which gave me some much needed rest and woke up feeling the better for it. Too bad in some ways because the heat broke overnight and it was an absolutely gorgeous early morning, exactly the type of day you want to wake up to when you go camping. Perfect mountain biking weather.

I got my pink and black FatCyclist jersey yesterday but unfortunately the large is way too tight. I've had good luck with jerseys this year so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised that Karma swung the other way on this one. If there is such a thing as Karma it must be the brother of Chaos because I dropped $60 plus $8 S&H for this jersey just to support the breast cancer cause. Really bummed it was too tight. Hopefully the folks at TwinSix help me out with an exchange.

I emailed the shop with a question about replacing my linkage and it looks like they ignored me. It's been 2-3 days now so I think that would be enough time to respond. Perhaps they read the blog and don't like the way I've slagged them. But only a few people who read here even know what shop I'm referring to and they're all capable of coming to their own conclusion. Ah whatever, it's time to drop the bike shop talk and move on. Just needed to vent a little.