WORS Cup Short Track - Portage, Wisconsin

My original plan for this weekend was to use the Short Track race as a test event to see how my sports induced asthma and chest would feel under a very hard effort. I wanted to make sure I figured out exactly what I could and couldn't do before the Cross Country event, and more importantly, Nationals next weekend. During my warm up I was a little worried about my breathing, because it didn't seem at it's best. But I made sure to use my inhaler when my doctor told me to, I later learned that I should have used it before I did any efforts in my warm up. That was a great thing to have learned before Nationals. I was on the second row of the start line, right next to my teammate Silas Blunk along with  40 other Cat 1 men. All of our teammates had finished in podium positions in their categories, so Silas and I were determined to do the same. The gun went off and the race was on! I made sure to get near the front quick, but without going too hard, knowing that I was still unsure on how my body would react to this intensity. I felt really good. After a lap or two I was sitting about 5th wheel, and looked back to see Silas right on my wheel. We both stayed in the pack switching around a little. We rode in the lead pack of 9 riders, and I knew that the pace was fast, but not fast enough to fatigue the riders enough so I'd be able to break them in a 'one to go' attack. And I knew that I couldn't let this race come down to a sprint. So even though it was early, I decided to do my best to cut the pack down. I attacked, confident that I had enough in me to make this work. But as I continued to look back, I saw that all the riders were right with me. They stayed with me and I became slighly less confident of my decision to attack. As I was really getting to my breaking point, Silas came up to take the pull. He completely saved me and the plan was going just as I hoped. I looked back to notice that we had dropped many riders. Silas hammered the pace as we were on 2 laps to go. There was only one guy right behind us now. I could tell he was powerful and I knew I had to get rid of him. As we came into 1 lap to go, I attacked again with everything I had. I was burning to get that gap. I looked back to see that I had opened a gap on both Silas and the other rider. I second guessed myself and wondered if I should have attacked with just a little less effort, so Silas could have stayed with me. But I figured that the other rider would have had the power to sprint past both of us. And there was still a chance that Silas could hold on for 2nd. I put everything I had into the last lap, and took my first win of the season! I looked back to see that the other rider had finished just a couple seconds behind me, Silas right behind him. I was so stoked. The whole team made the podium!

The beginning of this season was really hard, not being able to capture many of the results I had hoped for. Last night, thanks to many doctors, coaches, teammates, family and friends, I was able to regain that feeling of why I love racing so much. And hopefully I get to feel that more often on this trip. Thanks so much to Matt McCourtney, Dario Fredrick, Whole Atlete, Specialized, Oakley, SRAM, OSMO, Pro Bar, Kewl Fit, Elemental Herbs, Pro Gold, DZ nuts, Genuine Innovations, ESI grips, Bungalow Munch, DNA Cycling, Rock Tape, and Tam Bikes. And all family, friends, and supporters.