HPT Mud Edition and DeStad Cup

Friday evening Deb, Ian, and I kicked back with Clash of the Titans (better than the original, but still lame) while Jake took off for a weekend with his church youth group to a MOG/WOG (Men of God/Women of God) weekend retreat near Clinton, MO. I truly believe God is at work in Jake's life and is using him to reach more kids than my boy realizes. He is quite the inspiration to me to be a better Christian, man, and father.

Saturday's race in Topeka started at 7:45pm so I was in no hurry to leave the casa early. We all slept in and once up Deb and I grabbed a late 'Brenda's' breakfast before returning to finish packing. Around 1pm I hit the road and shortly afterwards got the word Dale was also heading up, but just for the evening and then back home (so no ride sharing this week) while I was racing also on Sunday in Leavenworth.

Stopped off at Sunflower (one of my favorite outdoor shops) to pick up some embrocation and kill a little time as I was way ahead of schedule. As I'll reference later Dave Z's In Heat is a quality product and glad the fine folks at Sunflower recommended it.

Got to the Heartland Park track just as the masters fields were taking off in the cool air. First thing I saw was the mass running into the infield and it took me off guard as this is usually a super fast course using much of the dirt track, but with a bunch of rain the day before the course was altered to what was a mud track. It was not the type of mud the quickly sheds and is loose, but the peanut butter type that clogs everything up. I secretly was smiling inside as I work on my running several times a week and knew I could fare well at foot race. Dale raced the master 50+ and after talking to him he emphasised the importance of knowing when and what to ride and to run keeping a decently clean machine intact.

No one was warming up on the course between races so I snagged some trainer time to loosen up the noodles. I had no idea what to expect as my lead up week was pretty hard (1 more to go) and was simply looking to get another race effort under my belt. As the sun kept dropping it was getting cooler and cooler.

Dale and I chatted after his cat 4 40+ race (he got 2nd) and he let me know about a long water puddle on the backside of the course and it's ability to loosen up jammed mud; filed that away as a reference. I chose to ride my Vittoria tubulars as they are mud-specific (and did a great job hooking up and shedding).

Go to start of my Cat 3 race (we started some seconds behind the open) and get a decent start before descending into the mud. Earlier races had made a slight 'path' through the upper part, but the early infield was still nasty. As we dismounted three riders chose to 'ride it' and got a big gap. I told myself to keep steady, not worry about those in front, and focus on my race. As I anticipated I moved really well off the bike and gaped those behind. Into lap 2 (I was in 4th) two of the 'ahead' riders were on the side of the course digging out mud from their bikes while I ran by (starting to pay off). As the laps progressed I rode the water hole and it worked to keep things moving, but there remained one guy around 20 seconds up on me and I saw that he was still riding most all of the infield and with 3 to go he was 40 seconds up. I said what the heck and started also rode the entire course making sure to hit the water section for 'lubrication'. I never could pull time back on the winner and settled for 2nd with a pretty decent gap over 3rd. That was a tough race not only from a physical standpoint, but you needed to be disciplined in choosing tactics. Tilford was killing it and quite impressive; that being said and not taking anything away from him it was a huge advantage having a pit bike and someone working it for you (just another reason why he's pro and the rest of us are armatures).

The venue luckily had a water hose to spray down the bikes afterwards, but it took over 30 minutes standing in the cold (no longer cool) to get my turn. After a quick cleanup and repacking I sat back and reflected on how nice it was that nothing went wrong or was broken tonight as I've had some hard luck lately. Then I pulled out of the lot to hear a crunch, looked down, and saw I had backed over my helmet!!! Seriously?!?!?!? I had purposefully walked around the truck to ensure I was not forgetting anything, but since my lid is black and there was little light where I parked. Luckily Mike G (teammate) said he would bring an extra the next day. There goes my race winnings... (sigh) Was laughing (via text) with Ira later about all the things I broke this year and it donned on me it included my body (arm in the spring) which is sad.

Pulled into my favorite hotel (Durango Inn), which is the back of my Dodge Durango in a Wal Mart parking lot (probably the biggest SuperCenter I have ever seen). I have spent too many race weekends in this thing to count. It is long enough with the 2nd and 3rd row seats down that I can fully stretch out and with a nice sleep pad and good s-bag it's quite cozy (with my bike and gear inside). Slept until 9am if that tells you how comfy it is - nice.

Up for a quick drive to Leavenworth, KS, specifically St. Mary's University campus and what is my favorite venue. Last year we raced it 3 or 4 times (each one had a different layout) and this, sadly, is it's only use for 2010. As I mentioned in an earlier entry there is so much to work with as far as options and this year didn't disappoint. Lots of climbing, tight flowing turns, off-camber stuff and a couple technical ascents (both ridable if you are a horse, but the long one was a 'runner' for me). Watched a couple races while warming up and was hearing it was tacky and pretty fast so I ran my Hutchinson Piranha's (good bite on the edges and center rolls pretty fast) as at 34mm they glide over stuff instead of sinking/cutting in (I know, 33mm is the UCI limit, but last I checked this wasn't a UCI event). Temps were about perfect for 'cross.

On of the things I have enjoyed the most about this year is the generally good nature of racers and getting to know more and more of them as the weekends go on. Spent some time with Andy Weins (who is on fire) during warm ups, chatted up Tony Stanislav after his race, and met Craig Hoppe on the start line (all good guys).

Legs felt like lead and never loosened up before the start; after a tough training week and a run-fest the night before I didn't expect great things from my body, but what the heck. Mike G (okay, it was actually his bride Kat) came up with an extra helmet for my dome - thanks guys!!!!

Quality 2/3 field (18 or so starters) and a pretty bad start for me. Got tied behind several riders and couldn't seem to get my legs to punch past them when given a chance. Decided to ride smart and give the noodles a chance to come around... and they did after lap 2. I was able to feel some snap and move up quite a few spots, but the leaders were already far and away. I hopped into TT mode and had fun riding the course which had a lot of climbing, but gave enough recovery spots to keep the gas going when needed. After 55 minutes I finished 6th (pretty much were I figured I would be) and later noticed only one other who finished ahead of me (S. Songer) raced the night before.

Below are some shots from Laterne Rouge Roger and from Chris Locke.

Make the uneventful drive home with the traditional stop at the H1N1 factory for the boy's hot pickles. Arrived home around 6:30pm for a super relaxing evening with the crew. Amazing race, some Sunday Night football, and then quickly off to bed.

What a fun and torturous weekend of racing; big thanks (as always) to Deb and the boys for letting me chase my goofy passion for pain and suffering.

One more week of heavy load training and then it all taper from here. Will be heading to STL this weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving early with Deb's side of the family and might try to slip in Bubba 'Cross at Mt. Pleasant Winery (a mother of a course similar to Manion's). Other than that it's Jingle Cross in two weeks and then MO/KS State races in three. This has been my most fun season of racing in years and it will be tough when it's over.