Better Late then never

WOW, What a weekend. After the hole thing with Tess we got on the road to Iola around 10am and had a great ride all the way up (thank God for DVD players in the car). Pulled into the parking lot and found out where we could camp, well for three hours until they made us move but it was for the better.
Got all set up and Tess started with a fever again so Erica took her into the trailer and turned on the heater and they watched DVD's till she fell asleep. I on the other hand got to hit up the pre-ride.
Felt good but not the best ever, so I just rolled though it and tried to read the course the best I could. I can tell the difference with the weight loss but the fitness is not up to par yet.
Had a great night sleep even know it was cold as hell out side. We turned the heater up and sleep like a baby until 6 am when the real baby decided it was time to wake us up. Got her out of the loft and she fell right back to sleep until around 7:30 when Erica said is it hot in here or is it just me?I peek my head out and low and behold the suns out, thank you.
So I start to get ready for my race and everything feels good, head out for a warm up and get to the start line, this is weird as I haven't been in this mix in over a year, see a lot of friendly faces and the nerves start. Hear the first GOOOOOOOOOO and now its real, line up and I look up, I'm in the last row but it was all good.
The plan was just to hang on and not DNF. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO and were off, had a great start until the brain figured out what I was doing and then it said to the lungs "No Way" but I held on for awhile. End of first lap and I'm over heating, I knew I shouldn't have left the long sleeve base on. I stop a the team tent and strip it off and head back out though the bowl and up the gravel to the first big climb on the second lap "Shit" I feel like shit, the stomach wants food and the legs are empty but there is no way I'm quiting.
I sit in for the ride and by the end of the second lap the hunger went away but the power is fading fast and the last lap is spent talking to myself to go faster FAT ASS. The last pines area was like I was in slow MO even know I knew I was almost done.
Pop out of the pine to stand and put some power down and get a right leg calf cramp that felt like someone shot me but who care I finished.
All in all it was a OK race, not my best but not my worst either. Had a great time and Tess had a blast outside or at least we were lead to believe.
Monday morning comes and the calf is a knot and it painful to walk but it work though it. I took a vacation day to spend the time with the family. Erica says to me that it looks like Tess got jelly in her hair, I'm like OK we'll have to give her a bath later, so we go about doing other stuff during the day and around 3 pm Erica says "LooK at this". "Thats not jelly", "Nope thats a tick" SHIT.
Yep a f'n tick, I cover it with vasaline and let it sit to back out, give it some time and grab it with a tweezers and the things snaps in half,"SHIT".
Call the doctor and we off to children's hospital to have the head cut out, three hours later and its out and Tess took it real good, a couple pokes and a scaple cut and she was good to go.
So all in all is was a soso weekend but it is good to be racing again.

SEE YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA....................................................