I need some cross practice, fast!

The Seattle Cyclocross Series kicked off today at Evergreen HS. It's hard to believe it's already that time of year! I hopped out to race this morning having not spent any time on the cross bike since last year's Kringle Kross. I had a blast as always, but finished pretty close to the rear despite having a front-row start. Ick, but I'll live with it.

The women's 4 field had a great turnout as usual with slightly over 30 riders. I seem to have an uncanny ability to place myself near the people who end up crashing or near-crashing on the start. One girl overlapped wheels with someone and caused a bit of chaos that made me unclip. Everyone stayed up, but I just lost my rhythm. My left knee has been screaming at me all week and sprinting and hill climbing right now are particularly tough. The fast start gave me trouble and I drifted to the back way too quickly. Note to self: despite a decent warmup, I still need to get more!

I lost most of my ground on the runup, believe it or not. The knee would just not cooperate and I almost bailed after the first lap it hurt so bad. Then by the second lap I seriously didn't notice it anymore. Not sure if I didn't care, if it was numb, or if it just quit acting up. My first two laps were horrible. I was less than graceful, cornering horribly, and hopping on and off the bike like a retard. The last half of the race went much smoother, so I just need some practice.

I think about 60% right now is fitness and the rest I can chalk up to no practice and a grumpy knee. Hello Zone 5, haven't seen you since Derby Days and the first half of the Indie Series. A few practices at Marymoor along with some knee taping should hopefully get me a little further at the next race. It was great to get out there again!!

After cross I spent an hour sweating my ass off in 105-degree heat or something like that. I have a friend who raves about hot yoga. I've never done any yoga, but since this year seems to be all about healing injuries, I might as well throw yoga in the mix. I joined her for a hot yoga session this afternoon and all I can say is: it was intense! Surprisingly, I managed most poses ok, though a few were totally impossible for me. The second half of the class was much tougher and the heat started to get to me, but I made it through only needing to lie on the mat once or twice for a quick break. I can't believe how refreshed and relaxed I felt afterwards. Guess I have a new addiction now :)

This past week was a tough one. I increased my runs to about 2.5 - 2.7 miles (hurrah!). On Wednesday I did a lunch run followed by my first leg workout at HQ in a month. That was not a good combination, especially when I realized my PT appointment was set for Thursday morning. Astym was particularly brutal this week and I'll be sure not to do a leg workout, run, and PT all back-to-back. Then I hit Discovery Park on Saturday for a 3-mi jog and hike. After adding on cross and yoga today, we'll see how I feel tomorrow. I think tomorrow will be a nice day off!