In the build up to the Michigan Tech MTB race I was really
just focused on school and work, I was super busy, but a little bit of poor planning
led me to just being so overloaded. I got most of my work done, but missed one
assignment. I need to do better than that in the future. With such an awesome
weekend at Chequamegon, I was excited to get back on the trails. After riding
recovery on Monday, and some longer intervals on Tuesday, I decided that I had
enough on my plate and took an impromptu rest week. With exactly one month
until MTB nationals from this next Purdue weekend, I figured that I could take
a week off and then hit the training really hard for 3 weeks and then get one
week of rest in to feel in top condition. It was also a good opportunity to let
my body rest and get an idea how it would react to having some time off.
I rested the rest of the week, and worked like a dog getting
HW done and making sure that things were set up for the weekend. We left Friday
around 3:30 for Milwaukee to drop off my sister. Another huge thanks for her
coming to madison to drop off the car. I know it’s a pain, but I’d like to
think she enjoys it, because it’s always fun. We made it up to Houghton and the
host house around 12:30 their time. We passed out immediately, we were all
pretty tired. Woke up in the morning and there was some dude on the couch with
Skip. He was pretty close to cuddling with him, but it took a few minutes to
notice him. When we did, the kid ran out the door. That was odd, but hilarious.
It still makes me chuckle.
The racing wasn’t too bad, in fact it was awesome. The XC
race was on the copper harbor trails which were about an hour’s drive north
from Houghton. We got there and watched Sam, my roommate and teammate destroy
the C’s field. Then we kitted up and Skip and I lined up for the start. I had a
decent start. I had a little trouble hitting my pedals, but was able to keep
the power on while I found them. Skip and I went 1-2 into the woods. I think
the other riders allowed me to get the hole short. I know that last time that
happened I was beat by Eric of Ripon College, but not sure he realized that I
also had a mechanical. Either was we still didn’t find out who is faster on a
fair playing field because he had 2 flats that day. I’d still like to beat him
without the flats, but I need to remember that that’s part of the game. I knew
to run my pressure where it needed to be. It also helped I had tubeless too,
but I don’t think I bottomed once. I got a small gap which grew to about 2-3
minutes after the first lap and held it there even after 2 hard crashes on lap
3. Final gap ended up around 5 minutes to a quick as hell Mich Tech guy, solid
day.
Had a few drinks that night and enjoyed the company of my
teammates and the hosts. Got some sleep and got ready for the next day at the
short track race. Skipped breakfast that morning, not sure that was the best
idea because I was a little hungry during the race. I suppose the better way to
describe it is that my stomach wasn’t perfect and I felt flat. Could have been
the beers, could have been tired from the day before, could have been the lack
of food, or it could have been the junk I was eating that morning cause I was
hungry. Either way I was a little flat, but still was fast. I just lacked the
aggression and full on power from the day before. Eric got out in from and due
to a crash in front of me, he got a small gap. I burned a few matches closing
that down, but on the plus side it made it a two man race as third place got
really tangled. I chased Eric, but he opened a gap which grew to about 20
seconds by the half-way point. I toned it down to stay out of the complete red
and save something for the last few laps, hoping he might blowup completely. He
actually ended up crashing and having another mechanical. I was able to hold
off the guy behind me, the mich tech guy again and bring home another win.
Despite getting the win in the STXC from a crash, which
again I think was partly a tactical mistake on his part for continuing to push
the limits, I still feel amazing about the XC result. I was head and shoulders
above the rest and was in complete control of the race from start to finish. I
know that to have a solid performance at nationals, I need to be dominating the
MWCC field. I don’t think I’m there yet, but I’m getting close. Hopefully the
next few weeks of training will get me there. I know that I will probably be
lacking some firepower in these races, but if I can still compete at a high
level while under heavy fatigue, I know that with some rest I’ll be really
fast. Arg, that also reminds me I need to start getting money and arrangements
together for Nats. Well, if you need me I’ll working on homework or whoring
myself out for money to pay for the trip, one of the two for sure.
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