Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals: Thursday/Friday and the XC race

First off, take a deep breath, I know I am. The year is by no means over, but MTB nats was the big target so the rest is just for fun.

Now how did it go? That’s a loaded question. I really do have mixed feeling about it. I’m finding that there is a difference between having something to be proud of, and being satisfied with your results. I suppose I should tell the story and let everyone else be the judge. But for now I’m going to take some time off the bike and starting thinking about how I can improve.

It all started on a wonderful Wednesday night in Madison, the whole town is filled with anticipation, because Halloween was just around the corner. I was feeling anxiety, nervous about getting class work done, in time to have my mind free to focus on tearing legs off in New Mexico. Wednesday night was busy, packing and homework just trying to get it all done after coming home from work. Then I had the choice of weather to sleep for a few hours or just tough it out and finish cleaning dishes and my room. I opted for sleep. Skip and I boarded the 4am bus to Chicago that left from Madison’s memorial union Thursday morning. We began what was for me the longest day of travel save maybe the day I had a layover in Kansas a few years ago. We got to the resort and checked in, then headed out for a quick lap around the XC course. Lots of climbing and lots of mud, can you say suffer fest?

Without any real understanding of what the altitude might do to my body I wasn’t sure what to expect. I got a decent night’s sleep and woke up in the morning feeling pretty good. I went out and watched a little of the women racing and then started to get ready for my race. Things were still frozen from the night during the women’s race, but everything was nice and sloppy for the men’s D1 start.

I had a front row call up from being the MWCCC D1 champion. This was good because I really needed it. In hind sight though I would have rather been second row behind Rotem, because where I started there was a bunch of thick mud. That is not the ideal starting spot. I was able to get a decent start though, and went out top 15 around the starting loop. I got hit by another rider and had to dismount on the first climb, and as a result had to really gun it to stay up front. This put me into the red more than I wanted, but this was to be expected on the starting line. But once we hit the climb, I really felt like shit. We hit the thick mud and I couldn’t pedal. As other started to dismount and run I was left behind the lead group. It wasn’t until about halfway up the mountain that I started to feel back within myself. By then the top 10 was long gone, and I had walked about a mile up a mountain. The entire frist 2-3 miles were completely up hill. I don’t think there was a single section that went down until you got to the top. Most corners were tight switchbacks and as the day went on they all became impossible to ride.

On the plus side, I was able to start making some big passes. I passed about 5 or 6 guys on the first lap after getting shot to the back. Once we hit the top I had made all the passes I needed and the way down was all clear. I think I made one pass on the way down, but made up probably a minute on the guys in front of me. When we hit the bottom I was feeling better and made another 5 or 10 passes including Cody and Josh, 2 big rivals from the MWCCC. They seemed to be having mechanical issues. My second lap I felt pretty quick, but the course was really beat up from all the mud. I made a few passes on the way up and held off a few guys until the downhill where I had an advantage over most.

The first section that went down was this huge open double track section. The mud ruts were pretty deep, but if you stayed in the track you could really rail it. Most people didn’t so I was catching people left and right on this section. Right before it made a tight right corner into the woods; there were a few mud puddles and big ruts. On the second lap I hit the deck hard after my front wheel came out from me by getting pulled with a rut. I hit the ground really hard but I got right back up and started pedaling. After a few seconds back on the bike, my wrist and arm started hurting. I was worried that I broke something, but kept going. Turns out it was fine and I finished up the lap by catching a few more down the mountain.

The third lap was just impossible. The course was completely torn up. I walked up the entire way until maybe the last half mile when the snow was still frozen. I cannot tell you how good it felt to see the top for that third time. I was at that race to place well, but I’ll tell you that it turned into survival really quick. Just knowing I was going to finish was assuring. But it just wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t crash again. Same place, same reason, same pain as I hit the ground but with a little extra derp. The good news was that I knew exactly where to find my bike afterwards. After fishing it out of the ditch, I headed down the hill and made a few more passes. Ended up 24^th for my first National championship race ever. I was hoping for something better, but looking back I don’t know how real my expectations were.

In the interest of getting some homework done and not boring everyone to death, I end this post here. More on the Short Track race and the rest of the weekend later. I do want to thank everyone who sent me texts and twitter good luck wishes. It was awesome to see how many people were rooting for me. And as always, thanks for reading!

https://www.usacycling.org/gallery3/main.php?album=MTB/2011-USA-Cycling-Collegiate-MTB-National-Championships

Ok, I might be a Bro

This is just a little mix I did for training, but it made me realize that I listen to a lot of house music. I guess I'll have to start pumping my fist more. Let me know what you think and enjoy!

Track List:
One Last Ride - John Dahlback
Levels - Avicii
Eagles - Sander van Doorn & Adrian Lux
Calling (Instrumental Mix) - Sebastian Ingrosso & Alesso
Pressure - (Alesso Remix) - Nadia Ali, Starkillers & Alex Kenji

Back in the Groove

The last week has been pretty tough. I’ve had a lot of homework and things to do around the house. Now I don’t like to complain, but things were just piling up and I was having the most difficult time getting them done. In the aftermath of regionals, I was pretty tired. As the days went on I began to realize just how tired. Nothing I did seemed to help. I was getting tons of sleep, eating plenty, recovery riding, you name it I was doing it. But nothing could get me out of the rut I was in both mentally and physically.

After a recovery ride on Monday, I decided to just take it easy, focus on getting homework done and get my head back in the right place. Tuesday and Wednesday were just hard days. I had a tough time getting out of bed even. But I pushed on to at least get my homework done. That was good for me. I got my homework done and actually enjoyed it a little. But having nothing to do on a Thursday night? That was truly special. I completely chilled and went to bed without any worries. Friday was similar, just chilled and got to bed super early. Mentally I just needed a little break.

On Friday I got the cross bike working and headed out to Olin park with some buddies to practice some barriers. It was a good time, but I realized just how out of cross shape I had become. This year I was able to get into really good shape for MTBs, but completely lost all running muscles. Seriously, I couldn’t run, not even a little bit. It was a lot of fun though, and after a few barrier runs I got the feel back for the barriers, almost like I had never left.

Saturday was the annual apple cider ride with the UW club. I have missed this ride every year since freshman year, due to races or other things, but not this year. I skipped the cross race on Saturday to ride out to an apple orchard near devils lake and stuff my face. The morning began much like the week did. I just didn’t feel good at all and couldn’t get my heart going. I was holding the groups pace, but I felt really dead. I suffered for 65 miles to get that apple pie, and man I felt like I really deserved it.

And seriously, that’s what I did. I bought an entire apple pie, no more, no less. It was simply delicious. Sugary and awesome, I ate about half of it before I thought of stopping. I packed it away in my jersey pocket and we headed home. The 45 miles back were less torturous. We rode to a ferry about 5 miles away and rode that across the Wisconsin River. It gave me a shot to stop and really look at the amazing landscape in that part of the state. I wish I had some pictures.

After we got off the ferry, something amazing happened. All that crap and heavy feeling in my legs just started to go away. I don’t know if it was the apples, the fresh air, or the company. But something about that ride was exactly what I needed. That is without a doubt the weirdest feeling I have ever had. I felt way better at the end of that 100+ mile ride than I did at the start. I guess the lesson is that I still need to figure this bike thing out. Just when I thought I had a handle on training, curve ball, but not in a bad way.

So with this new found motivation and legs I raced in the Sun Prairie CX race today. I really like the course they have. It was awesome last year, and the park has some really neat features. I have to say that I didn’t like the course as much this year as last year, but it was still a cool course. It was a tough race though. Brian Matter was there so the pace was quick right off the bat. I knew it was going to hurt, and that is exactly what it did. It was good though. I was able to dig deep, and suffer. That’s always a sign that I’m feeling rested. And I think I ended up 7^th or 8^th, not bad for the first time on the cross bike this year. Hopefully after MTB nats and a little time off the bike, I’ll be back racing cross like a champ. The big goal this year is MTB nats, but I’d really like to have a solid cross season, or at least what’s left of it.

Skip and I leave next Thursday, early for New Mexico. I'm really excited to be racing and I think I’ve got something to show for all my hard effort this year. I’m shooting for a top 10 in the D1 men’s race. If all goes according to plan, it’s going to hurt, but I will do it. That’s all for now!

This week in music

Great remix of a song I've never heard of. Melodic, catchy, calming. I get a feeling of nostalgia, reliving the past one last time. Great track 

New club banger from Kaskade.  His new album drops in a few day, or weeks or something. Fire and Ice, should be amazing.

This is the other single off Kaskade's new album. It's a little slower, but the vocals are amazing! I'll be on the look out for some great remixes of this one.

Tiesto! Maximal Crazy, so much energy in this tune. I have been thinking that I wish Tiesto would get back to trance, but songs like this are too good to pass up.

As a rule I try not to post the same song more than once. I posted this on twitter and Facebook back a ways, but it is just too good not to post again. Ask my roommates, I can't stop humming this song. I seriously was dancing to it on the bike today. 

Collegiate Regionals: Taste of success

So this past weekend was the Midwest Collegiate regional TMB race, which was held at Nordic Mountain in the middle of the state. The weather was nice all weekend, save a touch colder than I was hoping for, but a nice reminder that fall is here. Its taken me a while to get this post written up because I have been so busy with school, mostly because I put off a lot of work coming into the weekend. But then again, I always do that.

Saturday was the Short track race, an event that I consider myself to struggle in a little. All season I would kill it in the XC but suffer in the STXC. I was a little worried about my form coming into the race because I was tired all week. Put that on top of being really nervous for a good performance, I just didn’t feel good coming in. The race started at 3:30 on Saturday, which was kinda nice because I had the chance to eat properly and wasn’t tired from not getting sleep. I did end up cheering all day for my teammates, I’m glad I did, but I was on my feet all day. While I don’t think this really hurt me, something to pay attention to. When the race started, I had to fight around the outside to get into the leading few from a second row start. Not too big of a deal. I think I lucked out because the pace was pretty easy and no one attacked from the gun. After lap one Taylor Ladd went off the front in his signature move. Nobody reacted. We all stayed calm, and just rode together. The lead group was pretty big, almost 10 people. We ticked off the laps, but about half way through I decided that Taylor was increasing his gap, so I went to the front and pushed the pace. I was able to get my own gap in the single track. This made everyone else have to put that little more effort into each lap. I thought this would wear them down.

With about 5 to go we caught Taylor and passed him. I was in the lead, something that never happens in STXC for me. I continued to push the pace. My plan was to attack on the last lap out of the single track and just go for the line. Unless someone attacked, in that case I just had to hope I could catch their wheel and pass them in the final few corners. Coming in for 1 to go, Cody stood up and started coming around me. Not really an attack, but I reacted. Just then Josh came around my other side and really attacked. I stood up to match but it just wasn’t there. Cody and Josh rode away. I pulled them back through the next lap, but couldn’t make contact. Josh got it, Cody in 2^nd. I was really happy to have such a good short track race. It showed me I was in good form, despite my worries. I would have liked the win, but I’ll take 3^rd in a STXC, because I knew I’d be better in the XC the next day.

The XC started a little earlier. We had to leave at 5:30 am to get the B’s and C’s riders there on time. My race went off at 11. This time I got a call up for a front row spot. It was nice, but I didn’t need it. The first hill was selective enough that you could get around people pretty easily. Still nice though. Don from WORS was there too, it was cool to have him announcing the race. Plus having his trademark starting style was fun. When we started up the hill Eric from Ripon just went for it. He didn’t quite get a gap, but he put me in the pain cave. It was Eric, Josh, Cody then I. I was hot on Cody’s tail through the first few sections, but just couldn’t ride my bike very well. A few dabs, and a few bad corners and I lost his wheel. From there it was just a matter of getting my head back in the game and pulling cody back. Turns out he was having a really good day. I couldn’t pull pass him, but we caught Josh in the process, then I got dropped. I was struggling to keep myself going, just didn’t feel smooth. But my legs felt ok. In hind sight, probably shouldn’t have had any drinks the night before, I always feel slow in the head the next day. Mistakes, what can you do but learn from them.  But, Cody ended up slamming his derailleur against a rock and had to pull out. I was in third. I was feeling pretty good by the 2^nd lap and thought I could catch Josh. I pushed on and started to pull him back. At the end of the third lap I caught him and sat on for a few moments. He let me by, I figured he was hurting. I was to, so I didn’t attack him. He sat on my wheel, and coming into lap 4 I dropped my chain into the spokes, FUCK! I didn’t panic, and started to pull it out. Josh got around me and so did a guy from UW-Platteville.

I got back on and started hunting the two down. Eric was long gone, but I knew that 2 laps was a long way. The Platteville guy was killing it. Passing me must have made him hungry, because I couldn’t close it up. I was even feeling smooth in the single track, but just couldn’t close it up.  Finally in the middle of the 5^th lap I started to see he getting closer. All of a sudden, he was right in front of me. I smelled blood, and attacked him, gave it everything I had. He was toast. I kept telling myself that he was right on my tail, to not slow up. I gave it all. He ended up about 1 minute back when it was all over. Coming into the final few sections I could see Eric in front of me. I figured that Josh had caught him and was a ways ahead. He had about 20 seconds on me. I put everything else I had left into catching him. The last few sections are very technical, where he had the advantage. I just couldn’t close it up. Another 3^rd.

It’s not all bad news though. I had made up a lot of time. Josh was the guy who won the cat 1 race at Subaru cup. He beat me by about 5 minutes on the same course. This time he only beat me by about 1 minute. That’s pretty awesome and huge improvement. I was also crowned the D1 individual Endurance champion! That’s also pretty cool. Josh probably deserved it more than I didn’t, he only had 4 races that counted outside of regionals, but I still take it. It gives me a front row start at nationals. I figure I’ll need it.

Well, now it’s just a matter of getting in some more training before nationals. I plan to take some rest too; I think my body needs it. But I want to get in a few days just to remind myself how to push it. Next Thursday I fly out to New Mexico and compete against some of the fastest people my age in the country. Should be a blast, Skip is coming with me. I getting really nervous, but luckily I have a lot of school work to get done so that keeping my mind off the stress. If you’re looking for a way to keep tabs on me for nationals I’ll be tweeting about it, @jhmaloney. Thanks for reading!

Universal Religion Chapter 5!

As you may know I listen to a lot of dance music. I first started listening to trance, and its still my favorite. Anyways one compilation that I have always loved was the Universal Religion series by Armin Van Buuren. Its always so captivating and uplifting, while catchy and exciting. You can always feel the crowds because they are in the background of the live recordings. Anyways, in honor of the new chapter, I made a little mix of my favorite songs from the previous 4. Hope you enjoy!

Track List:
1.As the Rush Comes (Armin van Buuren's Universal Religion Remix) - Motorcycle
2.The Timelord - Signum
3. Daydream - Markus Schulz Vs. Andy Moor
4. This Moment (Prog Mix) - Nic Chagall feat. Jonathan Mendelsohn
5. Tuvan (Gareth Emery Mix) - Gaia

Awesome results, but it's just the beginning.

This past weekend I had a difficult choice to make. I could drive down to Mizzou and race collegiate on some pretty awesome trails and get some collegiate racing in or I could race the WORS Wigwam race in Sheboygan. It was a tough choice, made even more difficult by the fun that was to be had in Mizzou. On the flip side the competition at WORS is so much better and I stood to gain about 160 points in the overall which could move me up considerably. In the end between competition, points, and the amazing Wigwam fans and course, I decided to race in Sheboygan.

It wasn’t all bad either. Saturday night I went out with some friends from high school and had a really awesome time. I got back a little later than I wanted to, but no big deal. I’d rather go to bed in a good mood than super early. That’s not to say I wasn’t really tired in them morning though. My dad woke me up 30 minutes before we were going to leave. Luckily everything was already in the car from when I drove home from Madison the night before.

I got to course in time for my dad’s sport race and the weather couldn’t have been any better. Seriously anyone who was there would agree. The fall colors were amazing, but it was almost warm for summer time, let alone fall. The course was also in amazing shape too. Some spots were a little dry and dusty, but I’m not complaining. Things got even warmer during my dad’s race too. But it was a lot of fun to watch him race. He has been putting more time into racing and riding this year and it’s fun to watch it pay off for him. As he was finishing up, I got ready and started my warm up. It was just a few 30 second sprints with about 20 minutes of spinning, but it was just right. Then I headed to the start line.

 

I got super lucky on the start. Everyone had a call up who was in front of me so I actually ended up on the 3^rd row right in the middle. I knew that the inside of the first turn would get crowded so when the race started I took it fast and got to the outside. It worked really well and I went through to hole shot banner like 15^th wheel. I was able to make a few passes before the single track started, but everyone in front of me was plenty fast enough. I did make a few passes in the second section as Scott Cole was behind me pushing me to go faster. I made those passes and actually left him behind and caught his Adventure 212 teammates Chris Peariso and Ryan Krayer. I filed in third wheel and started looking for passing lanes. I tried to pass on this off camber downhill, not the best idea I admit, and Ryan made sure I knew as he put me into the bushes a little bit. I was able to get him later in the lap, but only after Chris got away. I broke away from Ryan and ended up catching Dalas Fowler, a good friend, Kuhl Midwest rider and UW Alumni.

We battled back and forth on lap 2, 3 and 4. One lap he would attack and I was on the rivet, and the opposite would happen the next lap. But I was pretty content because we were riding well inside the top 10. I decided to take it a little easy on lap 4 because I knew I wasn’t going to just ride away from him, he’s just too strong. I saved my energy for the last lap and attacked him going into the single track. I got a very small gap, but most importantly had control of the pace. I started to really put the hammer down and push it. I stretched the gap out to about 5 seconds. I tried to snap the elastic but he was just a little too strong. I finally was able to get out of his sight on the climb after the river crossing and continued to push the pace until I went across the road into the riverside single track.

I was pretty confident I had him at this point. I ended up getting caught behind a comp rider in the single track. This made me nervous because I had the big advantage in this section. I admittedly was being a little bit of a dick trying to pass in this section, but all I could think of was Dalas catching me. I got just a little too close to the rider in front and crossed wheels, getting thrown over the bars. Without even thinking I grabbed my bike before the guy even knew I crashed and he let me by. I lost some time and Dalas could see me now. I just laid it all out there. Two big climbs and some single track left. Dalas had the advantage in the climbs, but I was faster in the technical stuff. I gave it everything I had on the first climb and found the strength to demolish the equalizer on my final lap. I continued pushing it. On my way down towards the lake I felt my heart rate spike and I knew I was going deep into the red. But I kept pushing. Finished up the lake section and got a little caught up in the sand. Coming into the final section, I took a look back as Dalas wasn't there. I took a deep breath and rolled in for 7^th place. HELL YEA!

This was a huge confidence booster going into collegiate regionals. Not only was it my best finish all season, but it was on a tough course with a stacked field. I also felt like I really laid it all out there, nothing left at the end. I played the tactics game just enough to give me an edge and gauged my effort perfectly. Overall it was an amazing race. I got to thank my Dad for being there, love to hear him cheering for me. Also Claire Cannon form the Trek Store of Madison and Team WORS. She works so hard and still offered to give me a hand up, which on lap 4 I really needed big time.

That was an awesome way to end the WORS season and good way to feel heading into two important races. Next up is collegiate regionals. Then there is a weekend of cross races in preparation for collegiate MTB nationals. The next month is going to be crazy, but I can’t wait!

Thanks for reading!

Songs to train to

So I am going to start posting song that I hear while training and working on HW. One of my favorite things to do is discover new music. I at one point had a thought of being a Dj, but now that is gone. This is close enough for me. Hopefully you enjoy the songs and if you really like one of them feel free to comment. If you have other song suggestions, stuff I should listen to, let me know as well. I will try to have one song from each day, or at least let you know which day I couldn't stop listening to it.

::::Wednesday:::

A very uplifting track, and a great remix. Admittedly the lyrics are incredibly catchy, so much so that its hard not to sing along. I love the line "So much pressure, so much heat. So much hustle, they want me."

:::Thursday:::

This is kind of a sad song. The original is really slow and sad though. Kaskade has been known for his amazing ability with vocals. This remix is no exception. Beyond that Skylar has an amazing voice and the tune is incredibly catchy.

This song is also actually kinda sad if you listen to the lyrics. I usually don't though. The song is just damn catchy, and the beat and melody just groove. It has electro, house, and trance vibes all up in there. This mixing of multiple genres has really been catching my eye lately. But saying that makes me sound like a hipster or something.

:::Friday:::

Uplifting, always from Above & Beyond. Their new album has a few similar tracks and they are all good. This one definitely has a good message too. When things get busy and you feel a little like you're going under, don't forget about a thing called love. Always puts me in a good mood.

Finally something (relatively) new from Tiesto. It's been a busy week. Training, working making that money, homework and class plus actually trying to sleep once in a while. I'm on this shit all week. This beats for all my freak, so line the shots up!

Have a good weekend!

Stuck in my head!

Cannot get this out of my head, I just had to put it up. The Artist who did the remix is one fire right now too. His self titled album came out a while ago and I've been playing that on repeat, plus he has a few other slamming remixes. People are saying he is the king of drum and bass. That's a bold statement, but I tend to agree.

Enjoy!

Possibly the Most Fun I Have Had...Ever

This past weekend was possibly the most fun time I have ever had, but certainly in a long time. Skip and I went to Purdue to race the collegiate event being held there. Plus there was a Purdue home game that Saturday. Things were bound to get out of control.

I got some good sleep on Friday night, with the exception of waking up once to some drunk people coming into the host house. This was not only expected, but welcomed as I then knew they knew how to have a good time. Saturday’s XC course wasn’t very good; it was bad to be honest. It was completely flat, kind of short, and too technical to really make or lose time unless you made a mistake. It was seriously just 4 miles of hairpin turns. Of course I made a mistake on the first lap and lost my lead after getting the hole shot into the woods. I lost something like 30 seconds and fell back to 3^rd. Eric smith from Ripon flatted again but I couldn’t quite catch the leader Josh, so I got a 2^nd for the day. I would have liked for things to have gone better, but I think either way Josh, the guy who won, was the strongest.

So we headed back to the host house at the Purdue Cycling club house and cleaned up for the awesome night ahead. While getting some dinner at a local Qdoba, we saw this guy across the street. He was completely messed up, curled up and shaking in his chair. It looked like he was just wrecked from a long morning of drinking or something. His friend was just sitting there eating, and watching him. Take your friend to de-tox dude! Some guy that was sitting by us decided it might be funny to get a picture of him. Thought that was kind of funny, but seriously that guy was in bad shape. Anyways, a crazy night was defiantly on the way.

We started out by tailgating with some friends of the host. Good time, and free food and beer. Got a little buzzed and headed back to the house to start the party off for real. The guys at the house were selling parking spots, so I helped out. I drank while I was doing so, which made it so much fun. Yelling at people, telling them to paaarrrk (parking pirate), and making some money while doing so. We then started just hanging out on the porch yelling at people which turned into cheering for the Badgers. Between skip and I, I think we had everyone cheering for the Badger, and also a little confused as to why. Either way, go Badgers! We also learned that everyone will give you a high five if you say f-Nebraska; Universal truth right there. There was even this one guy, in his late 30, early 40s. He insisted we shotgun some beers. He lost both times, but the second he spilled all of it on his shirt. Anyways, he did the Iggy shuffle and threw his can down, absolutely hilarious. Then we headed inside for some music and beer pong. Skip and I took 4 games in a row until we lost. It took 4 games, two schools, and a sober girl to beat us; and that was a close game. After some more stories and dancing; we headed out to the bars.

We hit up a few bars and had a ton of fun. After the first bar, we headed to another one across the street where things started to get crazy. We eventually found a table after getting a few drinks. We then started talking to these two older guys. I started heckling them and got them all excited. I then convinced them to buy us a pitcher and a few rounds of shot. I was always jealous of how girls could get free drinks. Well, now I know that guys can get them too, in a completely hetero way. After we finished the pitcher and a few Irish car bombs, we went to the dance club. It was a really good time too. The music was insane and the people were going crazy! On a side note: it’s really awesome how house and electronic music is everywhere now. I’ve liked it for quite a long time now and it seems that it is just getting popular. But we danced the night away and then some, and had an amazing time. We finally returned to the house and told a few more stories before hitting the sack. Totally awesome time and I remember all of it too, which is good because I loved every minute of it.

Woke up on Sunday morning: no hang over! I must have danced out all the booze, because besides begin hungry and smelling like the bars, I felt awesome. Must have been the water, I mean light beer. Anyways, the race was fun too. It was an exciting course to watch, and very demanding. I had a good start but my insides were kind of pissed at me from the night before and I just couldn’t hold the pace. I got passed and slotted into 4^th. Alder Martz from Marian was able to catch me after a few laps and we battle very hard for the 4^th spot. Elbows up the finish hill every time. A little bit of dirty racing, but nothing too bad. I ended up getting him after a few solid attacks and some well-placed passes into technical sections where I had a big advantage. It was good to really have to earn that spot. It was a 4^th spot, so nothing too big, but the fact that I earned it made me feel really good. Josh got the win again after some really hard racing up front. That kid will be hard to beat come regionals. The race will be on a course where he has already beaten me once before this year. Hopefully I feel good on the day; because I know that I’ll be in really good shape.

That was the weekend. Now it’s a lot of work to get done in the next few weeks before regionals and finally nationals where I’ll be gone. These next couple of weeks will be important to make sure I keep up in school, train hard, and rest well. Total focus will be important. Having said that, I think I’ll be in Sheboygan for the Wigwam WORS race, I absolutely love the course and the competition will be tougher so I think I’ll get in a better workout. Plus if I race I will move up in the overall a little.

Thanks for reading!