Before I stop talking about fighting for a couple of posts (maybe), I would like to give a bit of a redux on my fight now that it’s had time to sink in, and I’ve looked through some pictures/video. I’ve dubbed my first fight experience as “panic braking into the rock garden.” From the get-go, I did exactly everything I’d practiced not doing for months and basically acted like an aggressive heavy bag. However, I did notice one thing that sucks… the punch that suddenly took me from, “I’m gonna stick this out no matter how much I’m getting my ass beat” to “Get the eff out before you are seriously injured” was illegal by the rules given to us prior to the fight. I’m guessing that from where she was standing across the ring (you can see a blue glove in the first photo below) the ref didn’t see it. Watching the video, it looks careless at worst, and not intentional… it’s not like she needed to sucker punch me to keep winning.

Like I said before, I’m not worried that I went down in flames the first time. It seriously reminds me of when I first started mountain bike racing. In my first real endurance race, the Fool’s Gold 50, I came in waaaaay too hot down a descent on Bull Mountain, and, in a similar fashion, I did exactly what I shouldn’t have done by grabbing both brakes and locking my eyes on to every solid object that could end me if I hit it, essentially guaranteeing that I’d hit something and yard sale at 30+ MPH. Aside from scaring the hell out of everyone who was in the general vicinity, I cracked at least one rib, severely pulled a groin muscle, bruised my arm enough that I thought it was broken, and punctured the shell of my helmet. I still finished, and held on to 2nd place. A broken nose is waaaaaaaay less painful than a broken rib.

Did I give up on descending? Well, hop in your way-back machine and ask the pros from TSE 2013…

It’s true… when I first started mountain biking, I sucked at it.

I no longer suck.

Speaking of not sucking, after last week’s volume of techy-climby stuff in Michigan followed up with a handful of rest days, I’ve started back in to my pre-Vapor Trail training camp in all-out wattage cottage form. Monday, I killed some 10 minute intervals. Tuesday, I lifted heavy stuff, then Wednesday, I had a kickass tempo ride, nailing 78 miles in about four & a half hours (water stops inclusive).

In case anyone else who reads likes to rely on the hose at the Wagon Wheel Rd. VFD, the water is cut off now. I had a sad…

But, there’s a church a few miles from there on Old Hwy 59 with a nice shady/cold spigot

…and a church on Hwy 196 in Galloway an hour or so later

The strong start gets me amped for workouts to come. It’s mostly hard training and good fitness with a side of “everything seems easy compared to fighting.” Not that Vapor Trail will be easy… I’m incredibly excited about it, though. The very loose plan of attack for the next month is to train hard, race the state championship XC race on August 17th, then leave for Colorado sometime in the week following that.