Missoula XC Race Day / Drive Home

Race day woke up to the sounds of the cat 3 racers going off. Felt good, had plenty of time to focus on the race ahead. I ate breakfast, filled bottles, picked out nutritional's for race, and relaxed until warm up time. For warm up I road up and down the road leading up to the resort. The road was either up or down no flat sections which was almost perfect and was able to do hard efforts and cool down and spin with out using to much energy yet being able to warm up muscle properly. I set my spare bottles in the feed zone and got lucky and a guy said he would feed me. At the start line the cat 1 were split in to Jr.'s 15-18, open, and masters 45+.  Jr's started it off at noon and open group went off 2 min later.

I started in the second row out side, was able to get a pretty good line but slipped my pedal and fell back a few spots putting me in about 23 spot out of 30. I knew I had to make a move quick before any gaps grew. I attacked the first long climb moving up a few spots. I continued to grind it out maintaining high rpms I was passing competitors at first but everyone was starting to stretch out. I could still see a couple riders ahead and focused on catching and passing them.  The climbs were slow and steady. The descents were fast and technical. If I could paint a picture for you the trail was bench cut with roots, rocks and lots of washboard from braking. The switch backs went from steep to almost vertical. The best way to maintain speed through each switchback was to power slide each one which allowed me to maintain a higher speed and to take a better line in the corner. I was able to pass a couple competitors in the corners with this method. Main focus on descent was to stay off the brakes. The course left no room for any error!! The first couple laps went by, 3rd lap nothing major happen started to feel fatigue setting in. I took a deep breath and reset my focus. If I lost my focus on the descent it would mean absolute carnage and loosing focus on climbs meant loosing countless distance in seconds. 


The goal for the last lap was to continue to focus and to not bonk. I maintained power on the climbs and keep tire side down on the descents. I was able to pick off one more competitor and chased another but lost sight on the descent. Crossing the finish line was a welcome sight. I finished 15th, there wasn't much I could have done to finished any better. The competition seems to get stronger and stronger. This was a great boost in confidants and a reassurance of all my hard efforts. I know I'm getting faster and better overall which will start to show in increasing ways!!!


The drive home was long, I drove straight through 19 hours. I got home around 8 am instead of 2pm like I was planning. The drive was well worth it, being able to see my kids as they were waking up. Thank you for reading hope you enjoyed!!!