Midwest Cyclocross Regionals December 2011

For Regionals we had a hotel right next to the race course. Only a mile away! The hotel was nice (although not as nice as the Marriott suite we got to stay at during Jinglecross) and the internet was fast, which was a treat for me since our internet at home makes dial up look fast. Laying around in the hotel before and after my races doing nothing made things very enjoyable. The race was on the nationals course so we went to see what the course would be like, and dial it in. The course was awesome. There was a nice long tar drag that quickly narrowed into a banked corner on grass for the start. Bumpy, hilly, technical, with long flat sections in between. In short, a course that everyone except me seemed to be complaining about.

On my first day I had a good enough start in the cat 3's, however the temperature (12 degrees F) was very cold and I did not wear enough clothes while waiting at the start. My legs were all cold and seized up and I could not feel my hands nor feet, which made it nearly impossible to shift or stand up. After a few laps of falling back and even suffering a few crashes from lack of feeling in my limbs I got warm enough and starting really cranking. I gained many spots and moved all the way up to 18th place in the end, almost sprinting the person ahead of me.

The next day in cats 3's the weather was not so cold (about 28 degrees), but still I bundled myself up with thick layers while I waited for the start. I accidentally ran into Gavin (another junior) at the very start which slowed us both down, but still managed a decent start. I drifted back a little bit on the power section in the soccer field, but not very far. I was in the group with Ian and Gavin, but at the back of it. I could not get past some adults before the group shattered. Ian and Gavin got away. I was then passed by my team mate Max, whom I latched onto. I was not feeling very good, tired from a poor nights sleep, but I managed to stay with Max. I was coming through the sand pit when I dropped my chain! Max and a few others flew by me while I got it back on. Eventually I caught Max and finished 14th. I'm happy that I got to race the course and get a feel for it, as nationals is now only a week away.