Saturday's race, and the face of ouch

Mark Woolcott has been shooting some cross racing photos for many of the races.

This link shows the look of uneasiness at the time. As does this one.

Interlocken

didn't go so well on Saturday. for some stupid reason I seem to always stay up til midnight the night before a race, then get maybe 6.5hrs sleep. Not enough. Legs felt like wood and never really improved. Decent start saw me in the top 15, but a couple of laps in I kinda popped and started to fade like I was dragging a boat anchor. 2-3 guys would pass me on every lap, and I was looking forward to seeing the "5 laps to go" sign at the finish line. The thick grass that makes many racers view Interlocken as a classic course...well it is not good for me, esp. with bad legs. Energy-sapping grass made me push an easier gear than I knew I needed to, but the course was difficult and didn't leave much room for recovery. The 75 yards of running - barrier, ride or run for 15yds, then volleyball court, then ride or run for 15yds to double barrier - was difficult after riding through the thick grass by Hwy 36. Perhaps next year I will skip this one and race the Red Rocks course. Hopefully I am getting the bad race over with, as next week my parents will be down to watch out at Boulder Rez, another course where I typically don't fare super well, with the beach ride/run-up, dock section, more sand, and crit-style pavement.

The day much improved as I left the venue soon after finishing, dropped off Alina with Mary at Chataqua Park, and Helen went for a run. I drove over the Flatirons to Walker Ranch for a mountain bike ride, knowing Sunday was going to be snowy. Great descents and steep climbs may not have been the ideal recovery ride, but my legs felt okay after about 1/2hr.