Notes
Bit of a bummer race today even though my pace was decent throughout. 20+ mph winds and low 30s temps on a 2k loop course with a lot of painful gravel sections. The start was nice and easy and I was able to sit in a pack. It started to break up after we hit the first mile in about 5:27. As it splintered, I got caught near the front of the chase group and worked really hard on the second lap to get to the back of the front pack again. Much of that running was into the wind. It was a poorly executed move and by the time I got to the group I was gassed. It took me the next two laps to recover from the second lap and I dropped at least 5 places. Probably went from 12th or 15th to 20th over the next two laps and by the time the last lap came along, and I felt ok again, everyone else was moving with me so there was not much to recover, Howell ran the race I should have run, starting slow and moving up. Will learn from it for Bend. A decent finish today, but not how I want to run at Nats.