The season finale — USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas. After two weeks of sickness, with one week of recovery, leading up to the race, expectations were tempered, but Nationals is Nationals and you still show up.
Bad Prep
Two weeks of sickness leading into the biggest race of the season. Paula got sick first half November, and one week later after racing in Lowell where I did not feel well, I got sick as well. Typical flu symptoms, sore throat, muscle ache. After a week I felt better and anxious to not lose too much fitness went out for a two-hour bike ride, unfortunately it turned out too soon, and I got a fever overnight. Next day went in to see a doctor, just to exclude a pneumonia. Turned out  not to be the case fortunately, it took another week before I felt better. Less than a week before Nationals, not good.
The Road Trip
With my race on Wednesday, we had to leave on Saturday for the three-day drive down to Fayetteville in the camper van. The first day we stopped before it got dark at a Rest Stop and I pulled out my trainer, and did a 45 min spin. Later we overnighted at a Cracker Barrel. Sunday we drove all the way to Waterville Missouri, we overnighted at a Planet Fitness parking lot, after I did a spin on one of the Planet Fitness trainers. The last day of driving brought us to Fayetteville, Monday late afternoon. After we arrived I immediately set up my trainer and spun out the legs.
Registration at the Meteor.
The next day - the day before the race - was a busy one, first went to the Meteor Cafe to register. After a cup of coffee, we went and ran into David G, who had arrived a few days before. We also ran into some other New England riders.
We then drove to Centennial Park, where the course had already been setup.
Course inspection
They opened up the course at 1pm for pre-riding. I met up with Adam Myerson from Cycle-Smart, who had offered to pre-ride with athletes trained by Cycle-Smart coaches. Following Adam made the course look so easy, great lines. We spent a lot of time on one hill which had an S-curve over it. Riding it wide, short, and run. I ended up running up and riding down. The infamous staircase run was as long as I had imagined. To finish it off, Adam and I did a hot lap. After that lap  I was psyched and ready to race this course the next day.
Race day - warmup and pre-ride
The next day, race day, my race was at 1pm. Since pre-riding was only allowed before 10am and a slot between noon and the start of my, I had decided to not pre-ride early. Instead did my warmup earlier, so I could pre-ride the course for one lap just before my race. While I was doing my warmup my buddy David had a really good race in the 70+ category and got 2nd place.
The Race — Master 60-64
My starting lineup was good, I had a second row line-up. And at the start, I had to force myself to look up at the start light (which goes green) instead of a whistle. The start went great was around sixth place at the first turn. But soon I felt my power fade, and I had to consolidate. I tried to keep going as fast as I could but just did not have it. Got passed by a lot of riders, and at some point felt I was last. That turned out not to be the case, and I didn't even get lapped. I ended 24th out of 39 finishers, 5 minutes after the winner. Disappointing, but to be expected considering a 2 week illness just before the race. I was happy to have raced, and really enjoyed the course. New England local Paul Richard won the race, and Michael Parent, who I have been battling all season, finished 7th.
Link to results: https://www.crossresults.com/race/13642#r116643
NE CX Dinner
After the races, the 60+ New England crew got together for dinner — a nice way to cap off the season. Was great to hear all the stories, and we picked up some good tips, for our road trip.
Season wrap-up. Nationals is always special regardless of the result. The two weeks of sickness made it a tough day, but being there with teammates like David (and his 2nd place!), pre-riding with Adam Myerson, and the NE dinner made the trip worthwhile.