"I'm an endurance racer"

I chuckle inside whenever someone claims to be an "endurance MTB racer". Usually it means that they are getting shelled in shorter XCO (olympic length XC ~1.5-2hrs) or cyclo-cross races and aren't really that fast in the longer races. Marathon world championships, stage races, and longer 1 day races are consistently won by those who dominate the XCO circuit.

-Solid week, had the Tuesday nighter race that I was looking for, then broke my derailleur hanger when I was just riding along (JRA) on Friday, and Hardcore Bikes fixed it on Saturday, ready to rock

-Itching to race, I signed up for the Giver8er, on a surprisingly rideable course after a week of monsoon in Calgary

-Long distance racing is all about being chill, Miller Chill. You only have so many matches to burn, use them wisely

-I was a little too Miller Chill. It was kind of like when you buy a six pack of Miller Chill, then realize that you should have man'ed up and not bought light beer. Probably could have showed up more than 15min before the start, and not started near the back of the field, and not taken looonngg breaks.

-Couldn't string 2 good laps together at the beginning to save my life: Flat tire and slightly dented rim, chainsuck after the water washed the oil off my chain, waiting in line at bike wash while wankers clean their shoes, pedals, and tires, and never got around to moving my shit from the car to the pits.

-Homemade smoothie was fuel for the diesel engine I never knew I had. Switched phasers to kill for the last couple of hours of racing.

-Result? Pretty far down, but if you are not first, you are last. I am stoked that I was feeling good at the end, and as consolation, I'm sure taking the time to hydrate and eat properly, while slower overall, was probably better for training purposes.

-The clock is ticking even when you are not riding, I need to limit the breaks I take by grouping up tasks (bike maintenance, eating).