The suckage
I woke up to this:
And had visions of this:
Instead I got this:
I can echo @seanrunnette's statment about having to get shit in order after this wake up. I forgot so much shit, starting with a jacket. No big deal, its only 36 degrees and windy, and spitting a little snow.
And to also echo my other mtbnj teammate @Delish , I've been sick since cooper river 5 weeks ago. No joke. I went to the Dr and he's like "Wtf, you stupid?". I had bronchitis/walking pneumonia, and this race was 4 days since i came off the antibiotics, so what kind of expectations am i really supposed to have? (BTW Eric - Go see a dr. 3 weeks is too long. So i was told) .
Anway, I tried to hold on to some semblance of fitness throughout the sickness so when the time came, i wouldnt die. Well the time came, and i died a little Sunday.
I was going to warm up on my trainer, but its a smart trainer and i was not about to set that up outside in the snow, so I just rode the lot for 30 minutes before the race. Once day i'll learn that this does not really accomplish much. I also need to buy a cheapo trainer for cx warmups. Or i guess i can just bring my rollers?
Lineups and i'm waaaay back. Like 5th or 6th row. And let me take a moment here to rant. If you are about to race and they are lining up.. go there and be ready. If they call your name and you miss it, you're fucked. Dont expect people to make room for you. Go to the back of the pack and think about your mistake. Rant #2, why do some people stink so fucking bad? Dude I lined up next too took off his jacket and I almost gagged from the stink. I could wear the same kit for the month in july without washing and not smell that bad.
We're off and there is a definite delayed reaction... GO, wait, wait, then start pedaling. Go really fast. Then stop and wait for people to dismount and run through the mud. I try to be a little aggressive here and muscle my way though the crowd, but there's literally 4 inches of mud and i should add mud spikes to the list of things i forgot. So, I have very little traction and am forced to wait my turn and then start running. By this point the front of the race is gone...just like that.
Once I am able to ride again, I hop and pedal, and i am getting an awful grinding when i am in the easiest gear. Probably stemming from the bent deraileur hangar I never fixed because hey, it shifts fine.
The rest of the race is a mix of running through the mud, riding slowly trying to ride unsuccessfully, and skidding down the hills.
Not skidding here!
This was the most off camber-ish race loop i can remember so having the entire (no exaggeration.. the entire loop) be mud was super challenging.
By the last lap I was much more comfortable, but I was also physically shot.
4 laps took me 55ish minutes. LOL.
After the race I pondered many things.
First of which was bothering to line up for the bike wash!
I decided against that. I changed out of my mud kit, jumped into dry clothes and got the fuck out of there...forgetting my mtbnj jersey in the process. (Thanks @Santapez for grabbing it)
I also thought alot about my season and I came to the conclusion that its sucked, and nowhere near what i wanted it to be, but i'm not about to change plans. I'll still do the last 2 races on my calendar and I'm still going to go for natz. If nothing else, I really have learned a ton of stuff about myself, and what I need to do to be fast. The problem is life outside of bike, also known as real life.
Sometimes, life takes your plans and does this:
All I can do is pick up the candy and eat that shit.
I woke up to this:
And had visions of this:
Instead I got this:
I can echo @seanrunnette's statment about having to get shit in order after this wake up. I forgot so much shit, starting with a jacket. No big deal, its only 36 degrees and windy, and spitting a little snow.
And to also echo my other mtbnj teammate @Delish , I've been sick since cooper river 5 weeks ago. No joke. I went to the Dr and he's like "Wtf, you stupid?". I had bronchitis/walking pneumonia, and this race was 4 days since i came off the antibiotics, so what kind of expectations am i really supposed to have? (BTW Eric - Go see a dr. 3 weeks is too long. So i was told) .
Anway, I tried to hold on to some semblance of fitness throughout the sickness so when the time came, i wouldnt die. Well the time came, and i died a little Sunday.
I was going to warm up on my trainer, but its a smart trainer and i was not about to set that up outside in the snow, so I just rode the lot for 30 minutes before the race. Once day i'll learn that this does not really accomplish much. I also need to buy a cheapo trainer for cx warmups. Or i guess i can just bring my rollers?
Lineups and i'm waaaay back. Like 5th or 6th row. And let me take a moment here to rant. If you are about to race and they are lining up.. go there and be ready. If they call your name and you miss it, you're fucked. Dont expect people to make room for you. Go to the back of the pack and think about your mistake. Rant #2, why do some people stink so fucking bad? Dude I lined up next too took off his jacket and I almost gagged from the stink. I could wear the same kit for the month in july without washing and not smell that bad.
We're off and there is a definite delayed reaction... GO, wait, wait, then start pedaling. Go really fast. Then stop and wait for people to dismount and run through the mud. I try to be a little aggressive here and muscle my way though the crowd, but there's literally 4 inches of mud and i should add mud spikes to the list of things i forgot. So, I have very little traction and am forced to wait my turn and then start running. By this point the front of the race is gone...just like that.
Once I am able to ride again, I hop and pedal, and i am getting an awful grinding when i am in the easiest gear. Probably stemming from the bent deraileur hangar I never fixed because hey, it shifts fine.
The rest of the race is a mix of running through the mud, riding slowly trying to ride unsuccessfully, and skidding down the hills.
Not skidding here!
This was the most off camber-ish race loop i can remember so having the entire (no exaggeration.. the entire loop) be mud was super challenging.
By the last lap I was much more comfortable, but I was also physically shot.
4 laps took me 55ish minutes. LOL.
After the race I pondered many things.
First of which was bothering to line up for the bike wash!
I decided against that. I changed out of my mud kit, jumped into dry clothes and got the fuck out of there...forgetting my mtbnj jersey in the process. (Thanks @Santapez for grabbing it)
I also thought alot about my season and I came to the conclusion that its sucked, and nowhere near what i wanted it to be, but i'm not about to change plans. I'll still do the last 2 races on my calendar and I'm still going to go for natz. If nothing else, I really have learned a ton of stuff about myself, and what I need to do to be fast. The problem is life outside of bike, also known as real life.
Sometimes, life takes your plans and does this:
All I can do is pick up the candy and eat that shit.
