Winning weekend

This weekend I raced the 3rd round of the national mountain bike series held on a hilly course in Margham park in Wales. It was my first national event of the year and after not racing at all for 2 months due to injury and illness I was a little unsure of my form. I decided to race the Masters (30-40yrs) category, which is a similar speed to the Elite race (but a lap shorter), with many ex Elite riders such as myself in it. On the first lap I was struggling to stay with the pace at times, moving up from 12th to 4th as the lap progressed. I joined forces with Scot Forbes (ex top elite triathlete) at the start of the second lap and together we tried to catch the 2 leaders. Scot then suffered cramp and I continued my assult on my own, catching the leader Geof Beetham at the end of the second lap. The final 2 laps I rode on my own to a comfortable and vey satisfying win. My full suspension Cannondale Scalpel was faultless as ever, flying up the steep hills (thanks again Chelmer cycles for the servicing).. Racing Ralph and Smart Sam tyre choice from Schwalble was spot on too. Sundog eyewear kept the rays from my eyes on a great sunny day and I have now got a 100% win record in Bell Helmets (not that I'm superstitious).
One reason for racing was to test my form before Mountain Mayhem 24hr mountain bike race in 3 weeks time which has good prize money (always a good motivator!). This race is in a team of 4 and the other team members Jamie Newall got 3rd in Masters, Jodie Crawforth got 11th Elite and Julie Dibens is super fast this year so all is looking good for a pay day soon!
My swimming is coming on leaps and bounds with my altered technique, and I am meeting rep times I'd have never managed a year ago. There is still a long way to go, but at least it's headed in the right direction.
My physio has given me the go ahead to start running again on Monday which is good. I'll be taking it steady for the first few weeks, and getting used to my new orthotics which I am wearing now as I type. Still got lots of exercises to do, but we're heading the right direction I hope.
Roll on August European Xterra's again, i'll be fatser than ever at all 3 disciplines!