So Friday I went out for a pre race ride on the El Santo to test it out. I wanted to make sure all the gears worked well, no skipping etc... and to get a feel for the bike. The legs were not working out well. They felt heavy and very slow. I think that I might have done to much at the gym on Wed. Well at any rate after the ride I cooked up a nice pasta dinner and tried to relax. The legs still were not feeling great so I took a nice relaxing ice bath, my first one of the year! 

5am rolled around way to quick. It was time to get up and get going for a what would be a very long day. The drive down wasn't bad, some clouds and a light mist. As I rolled into Mass. the weather started to improve. When I pulled into the rest area on the Mass pike for my first cup of coffee and a bathroom break the sun came out! I though this was cool, the exact opposite of what the weather was suppose to be. By the time I got to the race course the sun was out in full force and blasting on my pasty white arms.

I met up with Brian and Ethan. It was good to see some old friends again. The three of us went out and did a pre ride on the course for a warm up. As soon as I hit the dirt the gears started skipping like crazy! Ahh!!! I only fell off the bike once on the pre ride, thats a good sign.

The race didn't go to well. The shifting was not good and the legs felt like pooh. The bike handling skills were sub par, falling on some corners etc... After a lap and a half I started to wake up and the legs started moving. I passed a few people and came close to third. By the fourth and final lap I was closing the gap on 3rd and doing alright until the legs started to cramp up. I looked at my shoulders and they were white from my sweat! I crossed the line in 5th place, 4th place was 2 seconds ahead of me! If my gears were working and I could have stood up and really hammered I wouldn't have lost 4th place. Turns out I still had a lot of fluid left in my camel back. I guess I need to learn how to race with a camel back and drink more often. I usually only use bottles when I race and its easy to measure how much fluid I am taking in, but with a camel back its a lot harder.

I also got burnt pretty bad. The pic doesn't really show how red my arms got.  

Overall I am very pleased with my race. A lot didn't go well, but a lot can easily be improved! If I am going to race professionally I need to be prepared professionally. So much planning goes into a race and its easy to forget some of the stuff which I clearly did this time. I plan on hitting up the next rt 66 race which I will be much more prepared for! I am looking forward to the challenge!