Sea Otter training/racing...

The past several days were loaded with training and racing. I am beat and will be resting even more today. I had been away from racing for a long time until this weekend. What better weekend to get back at it then Sea Otter...I love this event and I know the roads/trails very well.
I started my racing adventures on Thursday with the crit. Man, it has been a long time since I have raced a crit and it showed...the surges were pretty gnarly and the hills on the course made for a hard session. All in all though, it was AWESOME training and perfect for Xterra...hard, hilly hour race.



On Friday, I was back at it but this time I was racing on the Laguna Seca race track for the circuit race. This is by far my favorite cycling race....hard course and crazy fast, fun descents on the race track. I had so much fun! I had a bit of cramping during the race after I threw a few attacks (it was so much fun to mix it up and launch some attacks up the climbs). I was certainly dehydrated from the day before and the race efforts were certainly taking a toll. It will take some time for the body to get back into racing but, the bottom line was that I had a blast racing and will be stronger for it.
After the circuit race I spun home for a run, ate, and then took advantage of the AMAZING weather and head out for another road ride with James and Ryan. A great day with about 6 hours of training. Plus, a massage and an epic dinner made by my grandmother!

--The boys rocking Skinfit on the way to Ryan's race on Saturday


--heading to the start of the XC on Sunday...Skinfit in full-effect!

Saturday it was all about recovery...I did a mellow lap of the xc course with James and then did a drill swim with Eric. Sunday it was time to test my fitness on the XC course...2 laps and 38 miles (a very brutal morning!). Turns out it was really HOT and I think nutrition was key on the day. I think I had a decent race having already raced Thursday and Friday. I felt in control the whole time and actually managed to have a lot of fun railing the singletrack...the course is SOOOOO nice right now.

--Me finishing up

It was a lot of fun to race with James and I think we both came away completely stoked on the day.

We were both pretty cooked after the race so we rode easy back home and, yes, I did get in a transition run. Of course, it was all I could muster to just run after such a brutal effort in the XC race but I did do it and then spent the rest of the afternoon trying to cool off and get back to normal.
So, a perfect 4 days of training and after some rest I will see the results of my hard work.

I am finally back in S.D. after being gone for 3 weeks...it feels great to be home and I can't wait for Jess and Sophie to get back down south. We have been apart for a while now and I miss those little ladies =) I will rest up a little and then get back to the hard training. I am starting to feel fit and I love it.

--Beautiful morning in SLO...post long run before heading up to Sea Otter

Have a good week and have fun out there!