I promised myself I’d leave it all on the course for the end of the season race. I nearly did. It was the first race I finally reserved enough time to register, get ready, and warm up. It felt good to crank to tunes and move at a less-than-frantic-pace. Course inspection revealed a very interesting twist to the normal MN state championship. As you may have read; long gravel road start to grassy twists and turns, then a long straight, back around the edge of a lake, back to party-central, over a triple barrier set, around and up the hill, then the nasty off camber 180, back down to gravel walking path, up some single track, run the stairs, around a rock, over a double barrier set, back to gravel road and repeat.While most people complimented Hollywood, the hosting promoter, I heard it was actually former Urthel team member and future crossniacs leader, Scotty Rob  who set the course up. So, credit should go where credit is due, if rumors are true. Anyways, as you also read, it was cold (as it should be for the MN state Championship.) When the sun peeked thru the clouds, it felt better, but it was cold. I lined up second row in a field of 90. My race included the state SS championship category, so the field was stack with good talent. I’ve gotten good at forcing my way into a up-front starting position. It has helped a lot and a clear distinction from last year. Anyways, whistle blows and I’ve got a great start. Top ten heading into the grassy area. SkinnySki.com pictures don’t show me up front, but I was flying. Everything felt good. Good air pressure, good legs. Just a waiting time until the lungs catch up and I can settle in and defend a great position for me. One lap down and hurting, I remind myself I’m leaving it all on the course. Harden’ the F*ck Up, right? Second lap, I start to find a groove; I cant match the speed of the SS talent, so I work at my rate for my race. And then, well quite frankly, I nearly sh*t my pants. I don’t what happened, but my stomach said, OH NO YOU DON’T!” and put the hurt on that lower stomach area. What can you do? Keep riding? Find a bathroom? I don’t care who you are-you gotta sit up, take notice of the situation. Big mental blow. Stomach settles down, and I try taking another dig and jump on someone’s wheel. Nope. Stomach says “no!”. I sit up again. I cant decide to call it quits or keep rolling. I keep rolling, but my race is over and I soft pedal it for a while. I come around that 180 on the hill and flip over. Another mental blow. Easy fall, but I wished to stay on the ground longer than I did. I see Eric coming and I soft pedal to roll with him. I think two crossniacs finishing together would be fun. So we roll, but again, the 180 sends me to the ground, second lap in a roll. Eric keeps going and does his thing. I soft pedal it to wait for Nate. And that’s fun until the stomach acts up and finally we get to finish, lapped behind the leader. Post race, stomach settles down and I search for beer, which I continued to drink well into the evening. I had a really good season. Not great. But I’m proud of how far I’ve come. And even though the season is over, Illinois’ state championships are on Dec. 9^th on the lake front, down in the loop. I mean, come on… Cross racing down in  Chi-town? ( http://www.chicrosscup.com/)On the Lake?  How can I convince Kathy? Is anyone else interested in a road trip? FPA ps.. posted pics on FPAScene.blogspot.com so you can see them better.