Cross Crusade #4 at Portland International Raceway
We had just over an inch of rain yesterday, and it continued raining through the night and most of the morning. The sun broke through during the race before mine, but when mine started it was raining again. Within a few minutes it was raining so hard it hurt. If you look at the
PIR course map on Google Maps, you'll see something labeled "Mud Slough" right next to the race course. We had some lovely filth on the course too.
During my slow pre-ride lap, while cruising up to a set of barriers, I snagged the crotch of my pants on the nose of my saddle and went down hard on the pavement. Not a good omen, but I came out of it with just a scrape on the elbow.
My digit group got called up in fifth, so I started in the middle of a 200-something group, but since I'm a bottom 20% kind of rider, that just meant I spent most of the first lap being passed. That's not so bad, as I also got to find my proper place while seeing how the course felt in racing conditions. Two laps in, I felt like I was doing pretty well, but then near the end of the third lap, I dropped my chain and took a really long time to get it back on.
That took the air out my sails for a while, but I got my head back in the race just in time for the barriers/run-up. Nobody seemed to be chasing me, so I thought about taking it easy on the run-up, but I decided instead to really go for it and see if I could catch the guy in front of me. I almost did, but just between the barriers I felt something snap in my left calf. I HATE hill running!
This was probably going to be my last lap anyway, and I was about 3/4 of the way through the lap. I really didn't want to collect my third DNF in four races. I had a similar injury that took me out of a race last year, and the thing I learned then was that you can ride a bike with a pretty bad calf strain. So, I hobbled up the hill, got back on the bike and gingerly rode on. There was one more running section (off-camber with peanut-butter mud), but I managed to hop through that and finish the race.
I haven't seen the results yet, but I think there's a chance I wasn't last.
The calf injury isn't as bad as last year's. I'll probably have to skip the Blind Date this Wednesday, but I can't see it keeping me away from next weekend's two-day mudfest in Astoria.