Hmmmm home cookin'

This past weekend I had the good fortune to go back to my old collegiate stomping grounds, Indiana, PA. I was going to Yellow Creek State Park to contest round #5 in the Mid-Atlantic XTerra series. Yellow Creek is a really cool park complete with sweet hiking and biking trails, nature centers, a swimming area with beach and power boating as well.
On the drive up I decided to take in a little more of our beautiful state, and opted for Rte 56 from Bedford to Johnstown. I travelled this route 20+ years ago going to college and still remembered parts, and was amazed by the sights and beauty. From the Johnstown Incline and War Memorial Stadium ("I don't want no stinkin' rut beer") to multiple five plus mile climbs the drive was great.
Sunday came around like the past three weeks in Western PA, rain. The already slick, greasy, water laden trails were only enhanced. About an hour before the race the ski cleared and all was good. The swim portion of the race was distinctly longer than the 800 meters advertised. Oh well, I got in a groove and swam second, third most of the leg. Into and out of transition I went and proceeded to be in the lead after about five minutes on the bike. My Cannondale 29er again worked flawlessly through the prolonged small, yes small, ring climbing. Once I hit the quick singletrack and the forest roads the big wheels just started rolling. I hit the run transition first, with the fastest bike split again. Out on to the soggy trails I went. The run felt great, even on the steep switchback climb it all felt good. With about a mile to go I could see no one was near me and I started to think i was finally going to win* (* I won in WV, but the swim was cancelled) one of these things. Out into the open and there is the finish. I ended up winning by 2:45 over some pretty good competition. The result pretty much sealed my #1 ranking for Mid-Atlantic 40+ regional champ. It also put me in a very good spot to win the National Point Series title for 40+.
Another great race came together in large part to our generous sponsors: VisitPA.com, Cannondale, Rudy Project to name a few.
Until next time.