Some Ups, Some Downs

Hanna City Hustle was a mild success. I ran a sub 24 and got what I wanted out of the day which was a fast 1st mile and no real pain. That was accomplished with a 6:43 first mile. I hung on and just tried to run comfortable and pain free for the rest. My finishing time was acceptable at this point and I proved to myself that I can still run fast but need to heal and train accordingly before I try and do it for repeated miles. That was the highlight.

I knew going into the Kickapoo race that it would be a stretch to do well. I had about 6 hrs of sleep in the two previous days and had run the 5K. I decided to not push and just get comfortable and get into a flow. That plan was working as I got into the race and I was really making up time and catching people. I was actually feeloing pretty strong, even on the technical stuff which Kickapoo throws at you....and then it happened. I had a nice flow and was really pushing as I was reeling in a group of 6 riders. I took my attention off the trail to yell at a course marshall and went off the course into a hole and a log. As the bike started to throw me ass over tea kettle I got out of the pedals, threw the bike between my legs and hurdled forward. It was actually a great dismount. The problem was that I landed on my right leg and the force of the landing just exploded in my hamstring. I had to continue running forward to a coasting turnaround because I just had no power to put on the brakes. I gathered myself for a minute, adjusted the bike and got going again very gingerly. I was hurt and I knew it. By the time I could really go again it was too late...race over. I made the most of it and tried to just pick off as many people as I could. My time was terrible, and my hamstring was now worse than it has been since this whole problem started. All that said though, I had a blast. Probably my favorite trail system to ride. Unquestionable (past) time to see someone and start healing up. I've got a couple weeks before my next mtb race and almost a month before my next trail race. It's gotta be now if I'm gonna get right to end the season on a positive.

Milkman...always smiles on his bike


Higgins subtly reminding me I'm supposed to be handing off a bottle, not taking pics


My pre-race pit area