MOUTH FULL OF DIRT : Super D's Blog: Unexpected Trail Running

    Race 2 of the season was in Columbia, TN at Chickasaw Trace Park. I kind of consider that my home trail, though I live 90 minutes away. I have made countless laps there and that is definately the biggest, most-attended race in our area. It was not part of the SERC series this year, but there was still a decent purse and so the Pro class had a good turnout.

      The past few years have been wet and nasty, so it was no surprise to see a dreary forecast for this year's event. Race day was cold and wet. Overnight rain had made the trail slick, but otherwise good. It was far less muddy than in recent years. The biggest problem for me was the temperature. It was a chilly 37 degrees when I arrived at the course, almost 50 degrees colder than the previous week's race in Florida. Talk about shocking the body!

     The Pro/Cat. 1 races were first this year, making for a tough warm-up in the cold and mud. I couldn't decide which bike to go with. I spent way too much money on my new hardtail to go destroy it in the mud. I did my warm-up on the Titus and decided the trail wasn't bad so I made a last minute bike change to the hardtail before the start.

Pro and Cat. 1/ 19-29 riders on the start line

I was excited for the race and knew I would ride well in these conditions. A little mud always helps me out. Add in the new tight, twisty sections they have added in the last year and you could see why I was pumped. I had a good start again, something I have worked on the in the past year. Cory Rimmer was first to the woods and set a fast pace right away that got ride of the riders who struggle in the mud. I was sitting 4th after the first climb and we had already established a gap back to the group.

Pro start

Pros about to get to the singletrack just after the start

One of the Cat. 2 classes diving into the first turn

I was cool and calm through the first section sitting on Craig Evans's wheel just making sure that the front two riders didn't leave us. Then I heard that awful hiss of air spewing from my tire. I cut my rear tire on something under the mud. It was too big for my Stan's sealant to seal so I had to stop just a mile into the race to put in a tube. The mud made for a slow change. I lost a good 5 minutes and was passed by the Cat. 1 30-39 and 40-49 classes before I remounted. That left me with a lot of traffic to deal with the rest of lap 1. I rode like a madman, but traffic kept me from gaining any time on my class. I actually dropped a minute to 6 minutes back after lap 1.

It was good to see Rick Harmon back in action today.

Kiersta Tucker (Wood-N-Wave) behind one of the other women racers

Me chasing hard early in lap 2

I fell apart a little halfway through lap 2. I almost felt like I was bonking, but I think I was just feeling the effects of hammering the first lap with all the adrenaline. I finally cleared most of the traffic and even caught one of the Cat. 1 19-29 riders that I had started with. Still, the nearest Pro rider was 4 minutes ahead. I caught my second wind on the third and final lap, making big gains on the tiring riders ahead. I cut the 4 minute gap down to less than 30 seconds with 3 miles to go.

Me starting my final lap

Partway through my final lap

There was a chance I could catch two guys by the finish, but then it happened again. This time a pinch flat on a rocky descent. I was bombing it and was too far back on the bike, pinching the rear on a big rock. Just a mistake from not being used to this hardtail yet. Can't put that much weight on the rear when you have no shock. Of course I didn't have another tube so I was forced to run the last 2+ miles to the finish. There was no way I was going to quit, especially since I have been running so much this year. Cycling shoes really aren't made for running and I was quite sore the next day, but at least there was no DNF by my name. Several people did DNF so I was rewarded with a top 5 finish, coming in 5th place. But like last week, it looks bad on paper as I was the last finisher. I always hate that, but again, I stress the word finisher. I was disappointed with how the day turned out, but sometimes things are just out of your control so there's no point in getting mad about it. Just go clean up and start preparing for the next race, which in this case was SERC #2 in Bryson City, NC on the trails of Tsali.