Catching Up

The weekend after Sundance Single Speed Challenge was 12 Hours of Sundance. I felt some pressure and anxiety coming into this race. First, Chris was sick, again. He caught another cold, sounded and felt terrible. I thought I was going to have to find another partner, but the day before he started to feel a bit better. Secondly, we have been lucky and won the overall the past two years. This year there were a couple of really quick teams. And lastly, my feeling good on and off had me nervous. This would be a "feeling off" weekend.
The morning of the race was warmer than I anticipated for which I was grateful. Chris took the first lap and said he might do the second also. I was surprised at how quickly the leaders started finishing. Chucky laid down a super quick first lap. Chris was just a bit behind him and I was going to take the second. My first four laps were within a minute of each other. Then I started to slow. Results should be here sometime.
We ended up in third place. We were in fourth most the day behind Josh and Matt, Chuck and Joseph, and a four man team. Chris came in before my final lap and  made it sound as if I would be taking our last one. He said that we were not going to catch anyone and no one could catch us so just ride quick, smart  and safe. I was pushing pretty consistently and on the back side of Archies, I see Joseph. The poor guy had cracked and cracked hard. I wished I had something to give him, but I could hardly even speak when I passed him. At this time, I realized I could likely get in before the cut off time...and we would move up a position. I spotted Phast Dan where the course crossed and asked if he would tell Chris that Joseph was done and I was going to make it in before the cutoff so he would be ready when I got there. Chris went out for another lap and we moved up a place.And in the grand tradition of 12 hour racing with Chris, I came in off of one of my laps and could not find him.
The following weekend, we spent five days in Moab with the in-laws. We biked and hiked until I was cooked. We rode Sovereign twice, Amasa Back twice, Porcupine Rim, and Slick Rock. Most days we would get up early, often before light and head to the trail with our lights. We would come back, have breakfast and then go hiking with Chris' family. We hiked Delicate Arch, Sand Dune Arch (the coolest one in the park), and Devil's Garden--Double O Arch, Landscape Arch, and couple more in the area that I can't recall the names. We also hiked Corona Arch, which was really amazing. The hiking fried my legs though.
We thought about going back down to Moab this weekend, but opted to stay home.