Racing in Deer Valley and Sonoma...

I just got back last night from a long trip that contained two Norba's- one in Deer Valley UT and the other in Sonoma, CA. It's kinda weird to be home and back at work- I almost forgot how to be a pharmacist.

Park City UT is a pretty cool place- even if it is at altitude and burns the hell out of my lungs. Luckily I raced this one last year, and knew the course, which only changed a little. I had a great start, besides all the crashes that always happen off the line of a women's race. I felt pretty good, and settled in to mid 30's in the pack. I faded a bit on the last lap, but was still ok. Then, I got a bit sloppy on one of the downhill switchbacks, took a bad line, and went down. I was ok, but I realized that I bent my deraileur hanger and my chain caught in between my cassette and spokes three times during that last lap. I lost about 6 minutes trying to fix it, which cost me around 10 spots. Oh well. Short track the next day was definitely short- I surprisingly felt really good- I had a good warmup, but an unlucky bobble cost me about 5 places and I was pulled.
After a fun weekend of racing, a few of us from the team met up with the Kona team and got a chance to relax, have some food, and experience Park City night life. Not too bad...
The next morning Kim and I were off to her house in Auburn, CA- a nice 9 hour trip. I spent the rest of the week there with her and Jesse (her husband) and rode some great rides. Kristin came in from Durango and we all headed to Sonoma for Nationals.
We stayed in Vacaville at a host house, which was about 45 minutes away- we got spoiled staying at the venue in Deer Valley. The cross country race started off with the typical crash, which left me close to the back- and after getting 3 flats that's pretty much where I stayed. I stopped after walking 2 miles back to the start/finish and called it a day. I haven't quit a race in a while. That was hard for me to do. Short track was a bit of a disaster- I forgot to take my inhaler, and it wasn't pretty. So, I think its time to rest up and get ready for the next adventure...