SCPS#12/SCNCA District Champs race report.

lame.

sunday didn't go as planned.

saturday was a GREAT day. i had a good night of sleep and then got a couple mellow hours in on on the bike. the rest of the day beth and i lounged around the house... a rarity for us. we went out for brunch, did some xmas decoration shopping, watched some college football, had a couple of beers, hit the hot tub, beth cooked me dinner, and we watched a movie. probably a typical "non-athlete" type of saturday. it was rad.

turkey meatloaf, kale, and butternut squash soup.


sunday i was up early and headed up to Ventura. mellow drive. the race site at lake casitas was beautiful. sunny day, no wind, and perfect temps. i got there a little to early and the races were delayed a bit so i had plenty of time to kill. so i just watched all my friends race and then warmed up. my legs were feeling good and i was ready to go.

it was pretty good sized field so i was stoked to get the call up. the whistle went off and we were hammering down the initial 100 yards of paved road. I was sitting just in the top 10 and then about 7th when we made the sharp 180 degree turn on to the grass/dirt. then it was single file and fast on the grass. a guy went around me right before we got to a little log that we would have to bunny hop up.

we were probably going about 20 mph, and wheel to wheel. he attempted to bunny hop the log with me doing the same right behind him. he got sideways in the air and rolled his from tire when he landed and went straight to the ground right in front of me. there was nothing i could. my front went straight into his back (on the ground) at full speed. me and my bike went into full on front flip/somersault mode! i don't exactly what happened. it was fast and i have never hit the ground that hard in any of my bike crashes. then about 5 other guys piled on top of us. sweet.

i jumped up and was dazed and out of it. i tried to get right back on my bike but couldn't. so i started walking a bit as guys were flying by me. i finally got back on my bike, fumbling around and was probably in about 30-40th place.

at this point i was just frustrated. i wasn't thinking about the pain. just the fact that the race had gotten away from me and we were only 2 minutes in. so i did what i do... i chased hard and hammered my way through the field for a couple of laps. i was riding aggressively and making a lot of passes and eventually worked my way back into the top 10 but then the pain started to settle in a bit. i had some significant pain in my chest on my left side, like right under the pectoral muscle. every time i would get out of the saddle it would hurt pretty bad. i wanted to pull the plug, but needed some points for the series... and i don't quit... bad karma. if i can roll across the line, even if it's in last place, i am going to do it.

so i ended up finishing in about 6th or 7th (i think). not sure because i didn't stick around. right after i crossed the line i picked my spare wheels and headed for the truck... and home.

i was pretty sore driving home and once i was home, i showered, got to icing it, and then watching the DVR'd bolts game. that definitely cheered me up a bit.

i got this morning and my chest and rib felt a bit better just sore. i decided to go ahead and go to urgent care and get an x-ray just to rule out the possibility of a break. that's what having good insurance is for. so the x-ray came back negative as well as all the tests the doctor performed. it's just a strain. so that's good news.

so it looks like it will just easy riding on the road for the next week or so. nothing hard and nothing that puts any strain on my uppperbody (riding out of the saddle, offroad riding, lifting weights, or running). no worries. i just want to heal so I am 100% for the start of my 2010 base training and my last 2 CX races of the year on 12/6 and 12/20. I will have to have good races at both to pull of the series.