First Race: Over and Done with

It is Monday morning and I am here at work early and really tired. I decided not to go to the gym because I am pretty tired after the weekend's events. I finished 3rd place at the Waywayanda Spring Clean Race which is the 1st race in the Camp Mor H2H MTB Race Series. I don't think its a bad finish considering its the first race of the season but my field (19-29 Beginners) was not the largest by any means. Here is the recap of the day:

I wake up at 0600 to start the day. I had already packed everything the night before so I was ready to just eat some breakfast and get rolling. Tina and I eventually mount up and leave around 0645. The morning was foggy and a light mist filled the air. I had a feeling the race might be run in rainy wet conditions but I figured it would be ok and just go out and race. We end up getting to the park around 0815 and I start getting ready around 0830. I ride over and sign a waiver and begin my warm-up around 0845. I go and pre-ride/warm-up on the the course. I find some key terrain like hills and choke points and some places to attack. As I am getting back to the start line, I see everyone lined up and ready to go. I get in behind some people and the announcer yells "19-29 Beginners Ready, Set, Go!!" Meanwhile I am in the back while everyone leaves. I had lined up in the back with the wrong field. I says excuse me and work my way up a group of people who hadn't even started. I finally get out and start the race with half a water bottle and tired legs. I catch a few people and make my way to third place but I didn't know it. I see that the guy I had caught up to was moving pretty fast so I decided to ride his wheel. My calf was feeling funny due to the lack of hydration so I decided to just finish the race behind this guy. We spent most of the race going back and fourth and discovered that he was a strong sprinter but not so well on the climbs. I thought to myself that the next hill I would attack and force him to keep up with me. Unfortunately the hill never came and I actually struggled trying to keep him in my sights. The final portion of the race was a fire road sortof downhill where he could sprint his way to a second place finish. Overall it was a good race where I learned more from in one day then I did from reading books and talking to people about their experiences. Although most of people's experiences did help me as far as pre race preparations but next time I can actually use their advice during the race.