Ovalized

Darrell took the title I was planning to use for this post, but I survived the RMR oval. Not where I wanted to race my first crit of the year, but it will do. The oval in the B group is a bit of a gamble. The majority of the races I've done there have had at least one crash. Yesterday was no different. I heard the ugly sound behind me of someone breaking their collarbone.

The fun part of the oval is going fast. We averaged a little over 27 mph and I was able to mix it up on the front. I got off for a few laps a couple of times, but had no real chance to stay away. As usual, I'm wasn't fast enough in the bunch finish to score any points. I have top 15 B sprinter speed but not top ten. I did get in a good workout with 29 minutes above threshold HR. I was feeling more than worked on the ride home. I also avoided getting dizzy after doing 55 laps according to my Garmin.

It was good to see MK out for his first crit venture. He did well and made it to the front a number of times. It's always good to have fellow cross brethren around.

Looks like more good snow today. I have command performance meetings Monday and Tuesday so it looks like I'll miss it. To make matters worse, my neighbor gave me passes to Snowbasin. They will have to sit on my counter for a while.

ET and I are planning to make the trek south for the Cholla race if we can make it work with our families. I've always had good results in that race other than the time I nearly died from dehydration. The course is now supposed to be shorter with more up and down. Good news for Bob but not for me. Give me long and flat. If I don't go south, it will probably be Hell of the North. I still have some tubular cross tires mounted in case it's full-on mud.