I Left Something at Home

I left something at home today, my brain.

Today was the Sundance Spin. I was pretty stoked about the race after my ride last night. It took a while to warm up but after I warmed up I felt really good and was excited about riding today.

I should have paid more attention to what happened last night. (hint one that I left my brain home) My warm up consisted of ride for 2 minutes, stop and talk. Ride for 5 minutes, stop and talk. Total warm up 20 minutes, of which I think half was spent talking to friends which is great unless you are trying to focus on a race.

Since the start had been moved up the road from previous years it was a fast and furious race to the single track at which point I was just about last. I soon found myself stuck in traffic but then after getting around some guys I found myself not focused on the climbs and taking the pace way too easy. Yea my heart rate was up but I felt my excursion level was 80-85% of what it should be. The decent on the first lap was good I was able to focus and ride pretty consistent and then felt really good going into lap two.

At lap two I found myself alone into the single track climb and not focusing on anything but hey what a great view of the mountains, I wonder how long before Timp can be ascended? (hint two I left my brain at home) Oh yea I'm supposed to be racing. Luckily I spotted Utahmountainbiking Dan in front of me and was able to focus and chase him down. I got around him just before the top of the climb but then couldn't seem to ride the DH well. I heard some 40+ guys breathing down my neck at one point and decided to let them pass. Dan was with them and I made the mistake of letting him get around me (hint three). I did my best to try and keep the gap small with Dan to the bottom of the single track hoping I could catch him on the climb back to the finish. I hit the finish and he was about 50 yards in front of me. I pushed as hard as I could into the climb and managed to get about 20 feet from him when he started to pull away to finish 22 seconds ahead of me. Then as I crossed the finish I noticed I had my warm-up bottle still in the cage. (hint four I left my brain home) Not only did I ride with 30 oz of water in a Camelbak but I also hauled a 12 oz bottle around for fun as well. The only time I really felt I rode hard was the final road climb. Hopefully this is my bad race for the year.

Next week I'm arriving extra early to make sure I get a good warm up in.