Battle at Bear Creek 11/9/2014

 The day before race, I had a good visit at DMC and with Wagoners.  I hadn’t seen Duane, Andriana, and Ace for too long.

For 20 minutes on Friday, I searched for a way to own a car from the 80’s.

I arrived race course unfit, unmotivated and jetlagged. 

_300 meter

I started slow and finished strong.  I was marginally slower than when I started aggressively.

_10k

My body didn’t want to push.  I let the pack go early.  “Keep it real.”

I kept the effort constant, making sure I wasn’t doing majority of the work.

Final stretch, I challenged Kevin from Oklahoma.  I got out of his slipstream and misjudged our stride width.  Skates clicked.  I lost balance but miraculously recovered.  “Keep it safe, you idiot!”

_half Marathon

I didn’t pay attention to the lap count, knowing I couldn’t count beyond 3.  I stayed with same skaters as 10k, watching Luke staying away, doing much of the work. 

It was the first high-heart rate workout after A2A.  I demonstrated poor left turn skill once every lap.

I faded during the final stretch and saw Jamie in the corner of my eye.  I reflexively hawked--my first front-split attempt after reached legal drinking age.  I crashed.  Helmet ground against pavement.  Road rash on elbow and shoulder.  A rib wasn’t happy.  

For next few days, I was terrified of sudden lung movements.  Every sneeze reminded me of the law of large number.