First of all, let me just say the guys at Pilarcitos put on an excellent race, with a new twist on an old favorite. The race was held at Coyote Point near Burlingame, CA on October 25.
It was a beautiful fall day in NorCal (as in mid to high 70s and sunny) and the course was fantastic. I mean great! It was wide, with lots of places to pass, it had some road, some loamy dirt, some sand, a sand pit, grass, short climbs and descents, lots of turns (some of them very tricky, loose and offcamber), a short run up and a set of barriers. The course essentially stradled the top of a hill mostly covered in eucalyptus trees. It took advantage of the existing bike/pedestrian paths as well as the sand pit, grassy fields, and large parking lot. A well done cross course!
So I warmed up, pre road the course, and went to line up for the start feeling pretty good, and actually happy to be racing. After a week of soul searching I felt like I had started to rediscover my love of racing. They called up the top 20 from the first race, which did not include me, and so I ended up starting in about 30th place or so. Unfortunately, only about five local guys can start faster than me if we line up on the same row. So at the gun I ended up getting pushed back temporarily by a couple slower starters that had beat me at the first race. But I was thinking happy thoughts like I was Peter Pan and immediately started being agressive and moving forward! It was great! I moved up to around 15th in the first two laps and was feeling good riding with Aaron O'Dell and another dude who both usually whoop my ass. So I was pretty stoked to be up there and feeling comfortable and confident.
Right about half way through lap three I decided it was time to put in an attack and see what happened. So just at the top of the run-up, where most crossers suffer most, I remounted and launched my attack on my two fellow racers. It was very effective, playing to my strengths as a runner, and their weaknesses as cyclists. Unfortunately, it didn't last long.
About a minute after that effort my legs lost all power. I mean, from feeling strong to feeling feable in two pedal strokes. What was going on? I decided it would be best to go tempo and try to limit my losses. Well, I spent the next 30 minutes limiting my losses, realizing that I had not fed myself enough and was dehydrated. I managed to put in a solid last lap and a half to catch three other racers, but still finished a lap down in 28th or so.
I've never been so happy with getting lapped! I realized that had I fed and watered myself correctly I could have done much better. So, knowing that I was coming back into some decent fitness, I was encouraged to keep up the good work and be better the following weekend with nutrition and hydration.
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