In the Middle of a Good Drunk

The initial buzz of having some good wins is gone and I am now in that in between phase of a good drunk. Just like any drunk I had a super high last week in Indy with my own state's championship title and now I added a Ohio state championship race win to the mix this past weekend. It wasn't as much of a buzz, but I did enjoy the feeling quite a bit. Like all drunks (which is a thing of the past for me), they eventually end, and I know what that is going to ential in the next week. With one more cyclocross race left to the season, I hope that buzz continues until I enter "hangover" phase 2 days after that last race. That would be the day I have surgery, and the day my riding goes from top of the world, to laying on the couch being dependent on others. In the mean time I'm looking forward to the week of riding and running the same routine I have gotten used to for the last 14 weeks. That's right, for the last 14 weeks I have raced every weekend, sometimes 2 or 3 races a weekend. I race, come home late Sunday nights, unpack the car or RV before heading off to bed usually around midnight. Then Monday its up around 530 am for work, do the anesthesia thing, then head off to Joe's for massage and reflexology. Once back home I finish unpacking and usually start a 24 call shift at 6pm at work. Then sometimes I get really lucky and sleep through the night, but not always. I work Tuesday until 6pm, come home and do a 1.5 hour training ride, clean the bikes from the weekend along with bike laundry, eat, pack for Wed night cx worlds in Ft Wayne the next day, and pass out in bed. Back to work early on Wed, then do cyclocross worlds in Fort Wayne or at home if time doesn't allow 2 hours of driving. Then I'm usually back on a 24 call shift at 6pm and work until 6pm Thursday. After that I head out for more cross practice, eat and head to bed. Fridays I sometimes take off work to travel, but most times I work. After work I head to do a killer core workout with Darrel and after that I'm home and getting the gear and truck packed for a early morning trip to some race somewhere. Then once Saturday arrives I do what I trained for all week and if I'm really able to put it together- I win.

So, it's a good feeling to be rewarded for the routine. I don't change the plan, I don't take a "easy" day and skip workouts or bike cleaning or laundry. Because if I don't do it, no one will do it for me. The routine becomes quite normal really and I feel a little lost without it. So after next weekend when I am recovering from surgery I may actually go a little insane and that will be the "hangover" phase in full force.

But for now... the good drunk continues. I decided to skip Jingle Cross that I had planned on doing for a few reasons. Mostly, because after the Brookside win, I actually could figure into the OVCX series overall win. Plus, spending the bling and traveling early the day after Thanksgiving would have made things a little hairy for me. I opted out of Jingle this year, but that's okay since I plan on a much more national focused cross scene next year.

So Sunday morning Josh Johnson and I headed for Yellow Springs near Dayton. It was a great day for racing as the weather was perfect and the venue was pretty sweet too. The course was pretty fast and had some good stretches for me to lay down some power, but I wish there was at least 1 more on and off the bike for me to throw down some skills in that regard. The start was pretty fast and it was all business for the Ohio residents as it was their state championships. Terri Meek and Sam House had great starts and put the pressure on from the get go, showing that this was going to be a battle for sure. Nikki D., who leads the series quickly went to the front and started laying down the power. I needed to beat Nikki in order to have any chance at the series, so I didn't want to give her any space. I found myself 3rd wheel behind her and Terri and I was content to sit there and draft and put the pressure on the front gals to take the lines and try and shake me. I had no problem matching the speeds and settled in until Nikki tried to step it up a notch and went into a corner too hot, hit some loose ground and ended up on it herself. Too bad for the wreck, but I knew I had to attack at that moment and after sitting behind Terri for a short section, I didn't want to give Nikki any chance to get back near me. We had 4 laps and I pretty much gave an easy effort for laps 1-3. After getting lap times from Mike B on the sidelines, I saw that my slacking ways had Nikki gaining a few seconds on me and I decided I should go into race mode on the last lap. I got on the gas and coasted across the line with a comfortable lead for the win! Kudos for Nikki to work all the way back to 2nd after hitting the deck.

It was win #2 for the State title runs this time of year. Last year I won the elite OH and KY state races and missed out on the IN win. This year the wins have been a lot harder to get with such a increase in the level of competition that the series is bringing. So they seem a little sweeter to have. I would love to win the series title based on that above statement and am undecided if I will attend the last OVCX race. Crazy I know, however, my anesthesia group Christmas fling is the Saturday before that event and it is such a party that I really hate to not get to celebrate all the hard work and long hours I put in as a professional all year at work. What to do? I will see how my week goes and will stick to the same routine and be ready for anything.

If I race the last race of the year I have to win in order to take the title.

No pressure right?

One more toast for the good drunk?

I like the sound of that.

Time will tell.