I know I haven't updated my race calendar in some time, but I am actually racing this year. It all starts in a couple weeks with Memphis in May and then it will lead into some longer stuff later in the year. Short course racing really isn't my thing, but I wanted something to do in the month of May and MIM has always been on the 'to do' list. I also think that a tri with a time trial format will be a nice way to ease back into racing again. While Memphis will be a nice way to ease back into triathlons, I needed something to ease back into the 'easing back', so I did a few local events over the past couple weekends. Last week I did a small 10K (on dirt) on Saturday and a 28K (bike) Time Trial on Sunday. The double-race weekend went pretty well, but I felt much better racing on Saturday than I did on Sunday (big surprise). I actually recovered pretty well from the 10K, but I clearly struggled at the front end of my time trial on Sunday. My legs were flat until 15 minutes or so had passed when I began to ride with a much better rhythm to the finish (36 minutes total).

Yesterday I decided to do another Time Trial; the Rabbit Mtn TT. Its a 11K course that is essentially flat for 5K; then climbs 180 meters (little over 500 feet) for 5K; descends 500 meters; then 500 meters @ 16% or something like that (whatever it is, its steep and requires complete anaerobic commitment).

I headed over to the race site early in the morning (I started at 7:45) and proceeded to go out for a warm up ride prior to my start time. The roads were all wet (rain all night beforehand) and I intentionally went down a certain road to avoid crossing train tracks. I didn't realize that this road had tracks too, but I crossed them carefully and proceeded to do my warm up. As I headed to the start line I had to cross the tracks again so I slowly rode over them and then WHAM. I hit the ground hard as my back wheel completely slid out from under me (which was exactly what I was trying to avoid).

The thing is, I have actually crashed on train tracks in the rain before (seven years ago!) and I was being extremely careful not to repeat that act. And, as it goes, when I was mindful of something happening... ...it happened.

Anyways, I crashed going very slowly which wasn't so great because I slammed my full weight down on my knee, hip, and ankle. I had less than ten minutes to my start so I gathered myself up and headed to the start. Fortunately, this happened close enough to the start that I didn't really have time to stiffen up. After drilling myself for 17+ minutes the race was done and I began to feel the crash. The combo of road rash and a 16% climb left me feeling pretty crappy. I spun back to the car and went home to clean my wounds and ice up.

Its been a while since I last crashed so it was a nice reminder of why we want to keep the rubbber side down when riding. I was pretty sore yesterday, but I'm starting to feel much better today and should be back to the normal training plan by Wednesday.

Good times,