First race of the season. We raced in Lacey at St. Martin's University on a course that I believe is about .2 miles long, given the times. The course is a simple 2k loop that runs around a gravel path around a pond and into the woods, up a small hill and through a parking lot back to the start area. Mostly flat except for the small rise and fall getting to and from the parking lot. The terrain gives good footing, so there's not really any reason for slow times except for a long course. My race plan was to key off the lead group and see how I felt. My teammate, Dak, took the lead halfway through the first loop and I fell in behind him. I held that position through 4k and then started to fade. The University of Victoria was in the race, and all 5 scorers were in front of me at that point. Heading into the final lap, I focused on reeling in their #5, and he was coming back. With about 1k left, another of their team went flying by me like I was standing still and I had a moment of mental weakness and let him go by. Letting him pull away took some of the wind out of my sails and I stopped making ground on the next group. Despite the mental lapse, and despite not hanging on to the lead pack like I wanted, I am pleased with the race. I felt pretty good overall, I just felt all the work of the last few weeks in my legs. Breathing was good, legs felt a bit leaden, which I know will go away as the season's end approaches. We race this team again in 2 weeks, and my goal will be to break them up a little better than I did today. | 