UTCX #4 - This is getting hard

Do you know what happens when you do a race after not training for a month?

Answer: you dothe hardest race of you can remember and only end up in 30th place.

Note: none of these photos are me, just photos I took of the other races.

This is probably the best planned race that I've ridden. I warmed up on my trainer, making sure to get in some hard sprints to open up the legs. I stopped with enough time to hit the loo and get to the start line to have a first row start. I was ready to go in my new Team Clammy Chamois jersey. We were told to go and everyone went... right around me. Not sure what happened, but it was some combination of being in the wrong gear and an inability to get clipped into my pedal. My front row start turned into an instant 20th place. No problem, roll with the punches. Things got a bit squirrely through the first turn as the pack got funned through a 180 degree turn. After that I settled into a good pace, fast but something I could maintain. We wound through the course, which was being run in the opposite direction as last time. I felt good as we came through the triple set of barriers, the first two right in a row, then you had to turn a tight corner and finish with the last; I didn't like this section as it always seemed rather cumbersome and nothing seemed fast enough. As we headed toward the horse race track I was sure to grab a wheel and run a pace line with 4 other guys. It was nice to have a small amount of recovery time. I managed to race about half the time, keeping people at bay.

Riders would try to pass, but I'd put on the gas and keep them back. That is, until Clammy Chamois captain Josh McCarrel slapped my butt as he flew past me. I wasn't about to let that attack go unpunished so I jumped on the pedals, got past the rider in front of me and barely managed to get behind Josh just before the race track. I maintained the connection for about a lap, then started getting attacked from behind, first one, then another until another Clammy Chamois teammate, Ryan Coburn, came by. I had enough so I pushed through the pain for the next 3 laps and kept close to him. I'd like to personally thank Ryan for towing me around the course for 15 minutes.

As we neared the finish line it was clear Ryan still had something left, whereas I was just hanging on for dear life. He popped ahead about 30 yards to finish ahead of me. Just as I was getting close to the line another rider came up next to me, I tried again, but failed, and he got past me just as we crossed the line.

I coasted to a stop near my team, dropped my bike, and laid on the ground. I feel like I'm starting to get this cyclocross thing figured out. Perhaps it's not a good idea to quit training just as the season starts. With my legs still hurting I vow to get on the stupid trainer tonight and make myself fast(or at least faster) again.