Today’s course is the same as the last 4.3 miles of last year’s circuit race. It starts at the Bluffdale exit by the prison and goes all the way up to Traverse Ridge to the top of South Mountain. The weather was actually sunny today, but still a bit nippy. For a hillclimb it is perfect weather. Since I didn’t race yesterday I was feeling much better — my heart rate was down this morning and my legs didn’t feel that heavy. Heather went off before me and as I was getting her bike ready, I could hear water sloshing around in the frame. I took out the seatpost and I was able to pour out a bunch of water, no doubt accumulated from yesterday’s wet ride.

Heather got a good warmup and then lined up for the start. I wouldn’t be able to follow her since my start time was shortly thereafter. So I got my rollers set up and got ready. I got a good warm-up in and headed to the start. Heather made it down the hill before my start so she was able to help me get ready. She told me I didn’t need my water which was a good thing, I didn’t to carry more weight up the hill than I needed to. I started at an easy tempo and gradually worked into my threshold pace. It was a good start but the hill still felt hard, even after easing into it. By the time I got to the main hill, I could tell I wasn’t having a super ride. By halfway my 30-second guy passed me. At that point, I got somewhat discouraged and was in survival mode. I did try to push the last kilometer but it was tough. I sprinted for the line in an effort to make up a few seconds. After that climb I was even more glad I didn’t race yesterday. It was tough, even with a 27-tooth cog, and I couldn’t imagine what it would have been like if I raced 60 miles in the rain yesterday.

We went to the awards ceremony at Thanksgiving point where we learned that Heather got 7th in the hillclimb with a pretty slow time. She only had a 25-tooth cog and wasn’t feeling good either. But due to the points format, she still held onto third place. I didn’t place in the Master’s Men 30+ but my time of 22:18 was still respectable. It would have put me 14th in the Cat 2, very consistent with what my GC placing was before I decided to not start yesterday. I still have pangs of regret about that decision, but on the other hand, who knows if it would have put me over the edge and made me really sick. That would not be good as I go into my first recovery break of the season.