Thursday

I don't often feel like a rookie, but yesterday I did. I only took 9 days off the dirt, but it felt like about 99. While I felt great in warmup and climbing the big hill early on in the ride, the setting sun coupled with my failing vision and lack of ability to discern features on the ground all were factors working against me as I hit a short rocky bit I have been able to clean for months. Instead I had to take out my left foot and attempt a few hops to regain composure, only to fall in a big thud on my left hip.

Score.

It hurt for a bit, especially when I tried to put the power down for the remainder of the ride. I still tried not to take it too easy, and attempted 3 or 4 times to forget about the minor crash and continue on. Unfortunately I kept dabbing and near-falling for the rest of the course. I did finally clean one steep section I've missed my last few times. I missed the others, though, so not sure it was score 1 for me.

Post-ride we geeked out on training info. Gotta love it.

Today is a short road ride with a few spin ups. Tomorrow it's putting the power out for probably 2.5 hours (maybe a little less) and somewhere between 16 and 24 miles (depending on where you look for course info).

The best part? 50% chance of rain. I don't do well in the rain. What do you wear, anyway? I'm packing for the apocalypse, but I'll probably be dressed for normal weather. Like James keeps saying, weather is no excuse. Hit it hard and go for it. At least temps aren't going to drop too much; this isn't the mountains afterall.

Good luck to all those participating in the Xterra race this weekend!