wow...what hasn't happened since my last post...??

first, to all my trustee followers(like 2 of you) i'm sorry for not posting since before Bump and Grind. I wanted better things to post about but it hasn't happened so I'll just give you some news starting with most recent happenings....

SERC#8 Raccoon Mtn....i love this race but it's got to be one the hardest races of the year. We do 3 laps of the extremely rocky, rooty, and technical trail which has about 1200 ft of climbing over the 12.2 miles...yeah 3 of em...totaling out about 36.6 miles and 3600 ft...all big numbers by my standards of xc racing.

I was feeling good in the days leading up to the weekend so the optimism level was high...but the BBQ ribs and chocolate cake I ate for dinner(both 1st timers b4 a race) didn't sit well on the tummy. I woke race day with a nasty upset stomach...i wasn't able to eat any breakfast...i knew that would b my downfall...and it was. Lap 1 went great, felt good and was sitting about5th and 1 min off the lead. Lap 2 saw that gap grow to the leader and i had also been joined by two other riders for the beginning of lap 3...one dude dropped us and i hung on to the other...until about 4 miles left...then up one of the last climbs and techy sections another dude caught me...Noah...he has never been close to me all year but straight passed and dropped me. I had hit the wall big time. Just had to keep moving forward...only lost 2pts to Ceazer for the overall so that was good...but I needed some extra fuel in the tank. I took 4.5 shots of hammer gel and it wasn't enough. Overall it was still a fun weekend and a great race.

SERC#7 Dauset Trails...this race was my kinda racing. course had tight sections with roots and not a bunch of long climbs. The race went great...I was never out of the top 5...the two leaders got off fast but then 4 of us took chase. by lap 2 it was down to 3 in the chase, and by the final lap it was just two of us...I took the lead going into the trails on lap 3 and never gave it back. I was able to stave off any attacks from my other guy and ended up with about 45 sec on 4th. It was a great race and lots of fun!

SERC#6 Clemson, SC...this trail is hard...lots of climbing...but fun! I had a good ride but not the strongest of the year. Because of the climbing the racers were busted up quickly and I rode most of the 30 miles by myself. I ended up taking 4th but it was a small group so no podium.

BUMB n GRIND...this was a hard one...i really had targeted this race since the beginning of the year as my "A" race. so all training was building up for this...uh, not!! i never felt good...not bad but not fresh. the legs were flat and just didn't come to play. i guess the good thing looking back was that my 2nd lap was only 2 min slower than my first...it's just my first lap was slow! My goal was 2:25...i figured it would take a sub 2:20 to win it and my goal time would be good enough for a top 3...and it would have been...too bad i was 7 min off my goal. good times anyway watching the pros race!