Solitude

Yesterday was the State Championship Race at Solitude. All but beginners started at 11 AM, so
I didn't need to leave until after 9. I really wasn't expecting anything anyway. I've been slow as a turtle all week in the wake of the 12-1 hr last week. I thought a little about why I was even racing, and remembered
that I have nothing to prove and that I could just race for fun and quit if I
wanted.

As I warmed up with Brad he said, "If I didn't know what we did last week, I'd predict a win today. I feel good." I didn't feel quite like that, but I felt OK in the warmup. My HR was a bit low and unresponsive, but the legs seemed fine.

As we took off at the start, I was surprised to find I was hanging with the
fastest guys. I knew it wouldn't last, but it was encouraging. As the race
continued, I felt surprisingly good. By the 3rd of 4 laps, I was pretty sure
I was in 6th place, and seemed to be catching Chris Holley, who was the next
guy ahead. On the 4th lap Chris had blown, and I caught him. He jumped on my
wheel and easily kept up for the entire climb. I was able to gap him on the
downhill, and finished in 5th place, only within sight of Kevin Day, who
got 4th. Ahead of him were Spannring (3rd), Bart G, and Alex Grant (1st). Three minutes isn't all that close, but that was the gap between me and Spannring, so I felt pretty good about that.

Brad chose to race the single-speed category. He had a great race with Chris
Fox, and won the race to take the state title. Afterward Brad speculated he had a little bigger gear that allowed him to pull away from Fox on the flat, but Fox later assured me he was too tired from the climb to catch up.

Reed's race was not so good. He flatted again, and had stomach issues. He and Katie were traveling all last
week, so he's probably feeling the after-effects of too many McGriddles. Despite his problems, he still finished 3rd. He's got the fitness -- just needs to nail the details.

Bob rode a great race, scoring a 2nd in the Expert 30-39. Nice.

Lapping was less of a problem than at Deer Valley, even though we were lapping people on the 2nd lap. The speeds are in general much slower than Deer Valley, and I think this helps a lot. Also, the beginners raced earlier so they were not on the course.

After last week, this race seemed to fly by very quickly. I kept thinking, "Really? Another lap done already?" I really enjoyed the downhilling, and the climbs are nice because the switch-backs, rocks, and roots keep the mind occupied.