I LEAD A PRO RACE!

Ok well I am not trying to brag or be arrogant or anything, but I am pretty excited about the start of Alafia on Sunday. So far in the first 4 races I have not been getting good starts at all. So this race I went into it with the mindset of, I am gonna give it what I got and try to be as high up as possible but not hoping for anything. So the horn blows and I am about 4th into the first turn, and then we have double track for probably 300 yards and then a sweeping turn into single track. Well on the double track I was feeling really good and just laid down some power and shot to the front just before turning into the singletrack. at first I thought "wow that worked pretty good" and then I thought "HOLY COW! I AM LEADING!" It was hard to control the excitement, but I was just trying to stay calm and not let the thought of faster guys behind me make me push too hard. I felt really good and I think that being at the front really helped mentally to make it not hurt as bad.

About a mile and a half to two miles in we got to a section that was pretty muddy and rooty. I was still in the lead with Martin on my wheel and Robert Bounds was now wanting to go. I bobbled in a muddy turn and he got around me on the inside, and he kept sayin "its time to go Regan come on" well Martin got around as well and I just tried to keep them in sight, but with a combination of nasty roots and new cut in trail I just couldn't keep the pace that they wanted, and soon Ryan, Victor, and Kevin Hoffman got around me. My first lap I was about a minute off the leaders. But going into my second lap I really slowed down, and the mud and roots really got me mentally and phyiscally. It was all I could do to keep pushing and persevere through it. After coming into some nice flowing single track I really rethought my game plan and mental state. I wasn't gonna let this cause me to have just another bad race, so I laid on the gas and pushed through the burn into my 3rd lap. there were several people through the feed zone and trail crossings that were telling me time gaps and that really fueled my fire to stay hard at it to catch them. Well I ended up catching Ryan Walsh about half way through the last lap, and people kept saying that Martin and Robert were not far up, but I just didn't quite have it to close that gap by the end of the race. So I got 7th. definitely better than my previous performances other than Tallahassee. I am finally pleased again with my power and energy level again. Now I just need to keep learning when to attack and when to stick someones wheel. But I will leave you with this note. The Woodall Brothers will be ready to feed on the weak at Miami...