things have changed - my questions is do people read blogs? is anyone reading this?
just for fun, let's recap #CXNats18, mainly so i can remember the details but also in case someone is interested in how things went down. i like breaking things into bullets with simple details to describe the situation so let's keep with that for now. but first to set the stage....
in 2016 i took some time away from racing to reevaluate some things and to reset my headspace including several parts of my life. And even though one of the things i wanted to get away from was the "stress" that racing added to my life, i actually found that that it left a void in things. if you are married - have kids - have a real job - train and race bikes and want to all of them well - then you know the stress it can cause. i found that upfront communication and balance is a winning combination. so after careful evaluation of how everything fit into place and many discussions with the fam, kids too, i decided i wanted to go after #CXNats18 and laid out a plan with my coach and wife on how to make it all work in harmony.
in 2017, i used the entire year to rebuild and regain the fitness i lost in 2016 - i raced a few mtn bike races and then a healthy cross season with marginal results. but after the year was over, i knew my motivation was high and the 2018 year was going to be fun one. i designed a small spring racing schedule just to keep things interesting and to have something to work for while i trained in the cold months. but as the days got longer, i just rode. i trained hard all year putting in one of my largest training years, recording over 9500 miles and 600hrs of ride time. and just for good measure, i started using a Stages Power Meter to train. so the plan was set...lots of training and a full cx season with nats in December.
The season was slated to start September 30th with the first MagicCross and run through Dec 14th at Cross Nats and things pretty much went to plan. I had two major A races - Nats of course but i also really wanted to win the AL State Championship, which i did!
So Nats recap...
Wednesday the 12th:
- drive up and arrive late to Bike and Bed - AWESOME place!
- forecast keeps changing - looks like 50-80% chance of rain...I just knew it's going to rain
- one back up bike and a great one man pit team with Davis Yarbrough (rockstar) (i've never pitted or executed a bike change in 7yrs of cx racing)
- fitness is ok...strong but not overly fresh due to a maybe too hard of a late season rebuild
Pre Ride the 13th
- Thursday - course was money! tacky dirt and 100% rideable.
- laughing while i rode!
- hot lap = 8:36 with tons of traffic
- i was feeling really good and was ready!
Friday the 14th - RACE day
- rained all night and forecasted to rain all day
- warmed up well - 50min with 4 solid efforts to open up.
- rain started to fall 10min before the start...steady rain with occasional semi heavy rainfall.
- crap grid position - row 8, 65th call up out of 80 racers - worse starting position ever at nats
- start was hot - i found some space immediately on the outside in the grass and was able to motor up past several people
- first lap through the sand i rode it clean and passed more people
- EXCITED - i got pretty happy at this point - i was passing without too much effort and was feeling good...
- the longest off camber descent on lap one was fun - hard - slippery and crazy but manageable
- first hill which led to the first off camber was a runner...
- the technical descent was crazy but manageable on lap one
- the plunge was fun...
- but the long off camber along the bottom was brutal - i realized a major mistake here...too much psi in the tires was costly!
- i actually rode most of the longer back climb...on lap 1
- the rain really started to fall in laps 2-5 making all the above mentioned mostly unrideable.
- lap 2 i took a new bike
- lap 3 i took a new bike...i rode the crux lap 3-5 because the breaks were just so much better
- my lap times were consistently 10:30 laps 2-5 with lap one @ 9:35 being my fastest.
- my shoes were not set up for muddy runs...neither were my legs!
- i think i made it up as highest as 24 but then got passed back throughout the race during the running.
all in all the season was a success but nats was a flop in my opinion. so many things to replay and learn from...like....PSI in tires when it's muddy. Gaining more points beforehand. Building a stronger core. Work on technical skills. Be a faster runner.
2018 is a wrap and the 2019 season is already in development. stick around and maybe i will blog better? #doubtit
Peace!
JD
