This was my first CX race and boy was it an eye-opener. It's 30+ minutes of all out hammering. I felt I did well on the dismount and mounting... just need to improve my flow and gracefulness and make it more fluid. It was by far a tougher course than the race Scot and I observed in Gloucester the previous weekend.

Right from the start I felt nervous going into the turns with the pack and let off the gas a little and stayed really wide. I managed to stay on the saddle for all of the hill climbs the first lap (minus the steep hill with the muddy s-curve right before the finish). My body was not able to sustain Zone 5b-c for that long. I started to drag during the second lap, and just about died during the third lap.

Put in more interval and Zone 5 training in. Not take a 2 month taper prior to my first race. Take a few weeks off from tri season, but get back on the saddle and gradually work up to speed and hill work on the bike. Need to practice the fluid cyclecross dismount to keep my rhythm at race pace. In general experience, experience, experience is what I need.

Gatorade and a peanut butter sandwich.


Experience! It was my first race. Also the lack of high-intensity Zone 5 training.


This was my first race of this kind so I have nothing to really compare it against. Tri's and Trail races have a different feel. CX is really laid back, even more so than XTERRA. Hey they have a "street clothes" category ;-)