turkey & cow pies

Let me just say, this is going to be a brief report on the final week of racing for the year since I'm friggin' burnt out!!!!! Gobble Gallop has become the premier 5k in the northland and the numbers support it as I saw the Duluth News Tribune published 1600 in attendance. Business was same as usual in terms of prepping upon waking up: grind some legalized performance enhancer, eat a light breakfast, punch out a couple shitz, enjoy some banter @ the DRC, & head out to the curb to run my ass off thru downtown. Temperature hovered around the freezing mark w/no form of precip and only a slight breeze making weather conditions near perfect(in my opinion). For the second time in as many weeks, I've chosen to go w/o any electronic devices on my wrist and will continue to do so at shorter distances. Once we started, I felt confortable immediately and was striding near the leader which had me anxious to hear a one mile split but nobody was there yelling. So, I'd have to wait for the turnaround in hopes that someone would be at #2 and to my delight there was somebody. A monotone voice read 11:18 as I pressed on to see Gregg in full costume. He got me razzed to catch another guy on course before finishing. Jen and I couldn't wait for results as we needed to hurry over to her folks to change and travel to mine in the TC to eat bird @ 1:00 PM which we made it to the table just in the nick of time. This worked out to be a blessing in disguise as I found out later on the weekend in a hotel that my final clocking was 17:36, placed ninth overall and won my age group. Doing the math, I was moving only a second/mile faster than my average pace upon completion thru two miles all based on RPE! Plus, my award was probably an edible dessert that surely would have had a negative impact for Iowa since I possess no self control and devouring it all the same day came as a given to me.

After Jen took in some BLACK FRIDAY action w/my mom we'd head further south for Jingle Cross Rock!!! The town of Coralville hosts this event at the Johnson County Fairgrounds. We drove to the venue so that I could see the course conditions and take in some great under the lights racing atmosphere! Jingle Cross is a UCI sanctioned weekend meaning it is the real deal. Attracting the likes of world champion & legend Ned Overend, 2-time olympian Todd Wells, and 2009 national road champ Meredith Miller to name a few. A killer scene was illuminated by the same company that will be brightening the stage of this winter games in Vancouver and they did it for free! All proceeds go to a local children's hospital which brings in many helping hands. They've had a lot of rain this fall and it showed as the ground looked as if it were a mix of manure, grass, and other organic matter. Christmas bulbs shined in the barns as riders past through 'em. John Meehan, the director even made his way around in a grinch costume. I could tell while hiking up & down Mt Krumpit that my legs recovered nicely and I'd be ready to board the pain train Saturday morning @ 10 bells. So, w/hurting knuckles from ringing the cowbell we left in search of dinner. Finding a spot called the Pita Pit would offer a delicious prerace meal. Checking into our hotel would come next followed by going down the road to meet up w/our friends Josh Roeser, Jesse Rients and their wives for beers in their hotel. Volunteers provided a power washer @ the race site but there was still lots of detailing to be had. Josh chose to shower w/his bike and plugged the drain. Sleep was high quality and continental breakfast taunted me w/donuts. Weather turned unseasonably hot by us 'crossers standard as the sun was out in full force and the course deteriorated rapidly from the races before mine. Mud was no longer frozen from the night and it was slick in areas while thick as peanut butter in others. I had a fabulous start, suffering more than I had all year to date and even leading the race for a second on the run-up. My courage on the slippy descent put me in a way that I seemed to be outside looking in. I was in the zone and loving it but reality eventually set in. Confidence in the pinwheel never came each lap w/my tires giving me a feeling of sliding off. I finished a few ticks back from Jay "Hollywood" Henderson to grab sixth place as Brian Eppen captured victory. Later on, Jen and I went down to the Airliner Bar for pizza and to view a film by Keith Walberg, Warriors of Cyclocross. Ending near quarter to nine we decided to go to bed since we'd need to hit the road @ the crack of dawn to get Jen back for a 4:00 PM rehearsal and it was seven and a half hours to Duluth. Reliving experiences will be on hold until 2010. Maybe now I can log some training data thru the holidays???