this is new

Day-of wait-list protocol:
Riders will be allowed to sign on to the Wait-list when registration opens at the start of each day. Riders wishing to use unclaimed race numbers must add their names to the Wait-list, present their USCF license to a registration official, and fill out a blank USCF release form.

30 minutes prior to the start of each race category, sign-in for pre-registered riders will close. At that point, any unclaimed start numbers will be given away on a first-come-first-served basis, according to the order of of riders on the Wait-list. Racers must be present at this time and have a completed USCF release in-hand in order to be given a number.

(click for link)

30 minute scramble for unused numbers. So if you don't get in and a field fills, and you get on the wait-list early, you stand a good chance of racing. 30 minutes is a pretty tight scramble. I don't think i could do that. Go to a race this big not knowing if i'd actually get to race or not. All the prep, the build up only to pin hopes on getting a no show number in a full field.

Another thing. There's this other tall freak out in the west coast. one of those ORBRA dudes. Rumor has it that he's requested and gotten a Cat 2 USAC license (amazing what the proximity of nationals does). Now no big deal. shoot there are tons of them out there who are way faster than me and should be at least a 2. Now. It isn't a big deal. But we all know that Crossresults.com doesn't ever lie. Right? It is absolute. Esp with points rankings. Okay so it isn't perfect but it is pretty damn good. Rarely wrong. And if i don't make it to Nationals this year, no big deal. And granted if i hit my goal of getting fast enough then maybe no big deal either. I'll get to the point in a second, but astute friends will know what i'm about to whine about by now. So, here in New England we've got some wicked wicked fast masters. And Masters have their own race (unlike out there where I hear mostly the Masters race with the Elite race so A races are all together). Here 'we' have our own race. Cat 1/2/3. That's the A race. And even more so this year (no offense to the 45+ field) splitting the two seems to (on paper-digital-at least) have made the 35+ a notch or two faster. No normally no big deal. Start will be call ups then reg order. Fast finger registration. Except this year they are staging: Call up, cat 1 by reg order, Cat 2 by reg order then Cat 3 (by reg order too). Yeah. I'm a cat 3. don't deserve to be any higher than that here in this hyper competitive field. And like Colin found out in New Zealand (a point Solobreak has been hammering for years now) you are fast on the bike or not. I'm not slow but man, I've got a ways to go before I can battle Mark M, Curtis B, Jonny B and the rest of them shoulder to shoulder at the front of a cross race. Heck I'm not sure I'll ever be able to reach their level. Maybe I need to hire NegaCoach, maybe he can turn me into an old Lars Boom. The slogan works for me "because you suck." Yes, at times I certainly do. Probably increasing my suck factor by thinking about this. If that tall freak from the west coast wasn't less than ten points better than me (i'm at 463, he's at 456) then I'd have no reason to be pondering all this. Heck look at another one of the guys out there. He just got his Cat 2 upgrade and well last season's wash with the injury (stroke) still can't dull what he achieved the year before. Those were some remarkable and good low numbers. And comparing the east coast with west coast (PDX specifically) we've got one hell of a lot more races here it seems. That or people out here race more. Maybe there is some correlation. I'll stop whining. It is about time to register for G-ster anyway. Oh and the other thing - it shouldn't matter too much, esp on a well designed course. All things equal you are going to be competitive with the three rows in front and behind... and that should include a good number of people. Heck a good start can jump you that many rows without much added effort. So. Really. It doesn't matter. Probably few of the Cat 3s (if any show up besides G-ride) will ever catch the Cat 1s (who don't screw up or have a mechanical or just a bad day). So it really is a moot point. But one that i needed to download out of my head so I can get on with the task at hand.

Focus. Motivation. Get the workouts done. Focus. Discipline. Train Smart. Fast is Slow, Slow is Fast. HTFU.

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