BOTTLE THE FURY

SOME DAYS WE TOTALLY BLOW IT.  For instance, today I thought first place was long gone and I thought I had second sewn up.

I finished third.

It’s such a potent pot of emotion.  It should be stirred and savored.

Yesterday I’d have been thrilled to be on the podium, within two minutes of JJ and right behind Ty.

Today I’m ticked.

JJ was out of sight on the first long climb. So, I gave up on him.

Ty and I battled all race long and he sat on my wheel the last two miles. I didn’t care because I have so much confidence in my sprint.  I hit it hard into the left hander and had it lined up with 40 yards to go... then pulled so hard my cleat released from my pedal and Ty pedaled right on by beating me by .1 seconds.

Had we known JJ was so close we might have gone harder the last few miles vs waiting to sprint.

I could cry Wo is me, but I’d rather take this angst and put it to use for next race:

-I’m digging the borrowed pedals. I need to buy my own pair and set the release point harder. I knew this was an issue in testing and should have listened to my spider-sense.

-I need to remember mountain bike racing is really just a long tine trial and it’s critical to stay focused on going all out till the end because people do fade and they do have mechanicals.

It’s critical to review what went well too:

I’m getting more and more in touch with the bike.  I PRd a bunch of downhill sections as well as setting top 5 times among all racers.

My pre-race food and rituals are spot on.

My taper into the race was great. I felt strong from the start on... there is nothing like the start of an MTB race, nothing comes close to the all out effort to get to the single track first.

I know I’ll go faster as I get more time on the new bike and when I put the race wheels on her (her name is Sparky).

My daily push-ups and pull-ups and core work paid off as my upper body felt great the whole time.

Could it have ended better... maybe, maybe not... the results show how it should have ended.  

End of story.

Stopped by the Trabuco General Store for one of my go to post ride snacks.

Hmmmmmmm

 _____

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