Schooled at 'cross

Saturday was the ERTC's School of Cross cyclocross race. I knew it'd be much tougher than the Tuesday races as I'd have to keep my effort up for twice as long. That turned out to not be quite true as I DNFed. This course was like two different courses in one and neither one suited me very well. Half of the lap was spent close to the school with some tight turns mixed in with lots of long straights. The ravine section was mostly steep climbs and steep descents. Over the course of a lap, I had to get off my bike six times. I might replace my small chainring with something even smaller for next year as one or two of the hills could have been climbed while on my bike, if I had a few lower gears. I ended up dropping out after just two laps. I was really struggling at the end of my second lap. I can blame it all on my lack of training though I was also fighting a sore throat and cold brought home by my eldest daughter from preschool. I ended up riding for just 20:09 with my second lap being about 50 seconds slower than my first. I averaged 173 bpm with a maximum heart rate of 184.