Sunday: Cross Crusade-Hillsboro

After the half-race Saturday my legs were feeling a little off.  I couldn't really pinpoint it but there was *something* going on.  Meh, let's race anyway.

A look at one of the shallower mud pits
Photo credit:  David Mackintosh

The Hillsboro course was everything I remember it being and then some.  Think of PIR mud with about 3 more of those really long deep puddles and a bunch of grass to make the whole thing stick to your bike.  Yep, a perfect day to use an entire can of PAM.

Still felt off on the start line so mentally I didn't really click until we'd completed two laps.  All of a sudden, the legs loosened up, I was able to find lines and I started to think "hey, I can actually do this."  It was a race from then on out.  I was able to catch the 17 year old I've had in my sights all season but he caught me again on the  last lap.  Regardless, 23rd on the day (so close to top-20!!!), lots of mud and a good bit of fun but I want more runups!  Oh well, next week's race at Barton is my course.  Two runups, a couple of barrier sections and a nice off-camber dropoff.  Should be fun, until then it's just more training for Nationals.

Lap times on the day:  7:13, 9:15, 9:18, 9:18, 9:18, 9:21, 9:29.  Hey, there's something to be said about consistency.

Oh, one last thing, apologies to Nat for my move in the off camber section.  I was running, he was riding.  I went to pass, he slipped towards me and I pushed past causing him to get tangled in the tape.  Sorry about that, next time I'll wait until a more open part of the course.

picking through another group
photo credit:  Pat Malach; Oregon Cycling Action