Dave Benjamin's Blog – April 2017 Archive (2)

This would be my 6th year racing the Sea Otter Classic cross country race.  I had signed up in November, as I tend to train more consistently if I have set a goal.  For various reasons, my training plan didn't really play out as expected and I came into the race not feeling real fit or rested. This is one race where base fitness is key, as it is 28 miles where big chunks of time can be gained or lost.  After a warm up that never really got me warm, I lined up with teammate Greg Alsterlind in…

Sonomas has been lurking in the back of my mind for the past couple of years.  I've talked with friends that have done the race and each of them have said what a hard and unforgiving race it is.  Having done the Grasshopper MTB two weeks ago on much of the same terrain, only in reverse, I knew what I would be up against.  In fact, I had pretty much decided to skip Sonomas.  The mind is a funny thing, it seems to be programmed to forget the suffering and remember the good times, because I…