KnoxieCross

Last weekend I headed up to Knoxvegas for the 3rd race in their cross series, at Melton Hill Park. Highland-Adventures put on this event (same crew that puts on the 12 Hours of the Hill of Truth); this crew puts on top notch grassroots events (no bells and whistles, but always a great course, great prizes, and attention to detail for a very reasonable price... and always a ton of fun!)

It was a gorgeous sunny day, but the wind kept it nippy out. I drove up alone, but met a few other Chatt friends there. The C race (with the women's division) went last, so I had a nice long warmup and plenty of opportunity to ride the course. It was pretty straightforward, winding through the field. There was a fun drop, 2 tight turns near the lake (with some dried mud - this had the potential to be quite nasty if wet!), one serious climb we switchbacked, and 1 barrier on a slight incline (although not steep enough to be a runup.... still gave me problems though on the remount. I definitely didn't earn any style points there!) The course in general was deceptive though, with several false flats that really wore you down. All the women raced together which made for a large class (and where did all these Bike Zoo chicks come from??!) It's really great to see lots of us out there; but it made for a tough race. I don't know what the final results are, but I think I was around 7th. Jeremy Chandler took some great pics - here are a few of me in action.

After the race, we refueled with some locals & Asheville folks, then I headed over to Michelle's for the weekend. On Sunday we did a great trail run at Norris Dam with some of the Runner's Market team. (OK, we started with them, but those speed demons did their own thing). We ran for 2:17, then I added another small loop to get to my 2:30 goal for the day. Yeah, I know, Iwasn't that far off before, but I'm really trying to stay on task with what Matt puts on my schedule. I was a bit short on my ride time for yesterday, so as soon as I got back to Chattanooga that afternoon, I rode at the Bend for 1:15.