09 Underway

Kicking the race season off for me was this weekends 'Devil's Revenge' off-road dualathlon. After taking a year hiatus the series is back, with this being the first of three races. I had planned on doing this series since I saw the dates announced, but it was only a few weeks ago that Brian Prosser reminded me at the shop that it was quick approaching and gave me the mental image of the pain that could be if I did not get running soon. That was enough to spur a run every few days, and after a few I started enjoying it like I once did back in High School. Since I have a base of aerobic fitness, I really just need to beat on my legs enough to hold up and let the years of bike racing do the rest.
It was perfect weather on the start line, overcast and a nice cooling wind. Tony Raboin and another good runner took off faster than I could and I already trailed 30 yards or so entering the woods. Once in the trails I began to distance the people that were behind me and was beginning to slowly reel in the leaders. I went around the runner in between Tony and I and was keeping pace with the front. About half way through the run I was feeling real good and was running right with Tony, things in the run would have stayed considerably less painful had I not rolled my right foot on some uneven surface. I heard a little pop from my foot and spent a minute or so stumbling down the trail hoping the pain would ease up. It did enough, and I continued on and entered the bike transition right behind Tony.

Since my Epic is not scheduled to arrive for another few weeks I went ahead and raced my fixed gear 29er. Even though I have ridden it a ton and feel confident going pretty hard on it I was still apprehensive about picking it up to race pace. I went into the lead and just focused on riding smooth and not making to many errors. The ride was uneventful, and even though I knew I wasn't slaying it, it would be enough to win. My right foot was having difficulty and I was happy to see the finish line.
It is hard to tell right now how bad my foot is. A blue bubble has formed on it, and I have been icing it off and on since we got home. I have no muscle strength to pull my toes towards me, but it does not hurt to bend it around manually. I have a light week of training planned this week, so maybe it will be a good thing. Rarely do I stay the course of a rest week, hammering is much more satisfying.

burning