When: August 1, 2004
Where: NHIS

Sunday 8/01
I arrived at the track at about 7am after having been at a wedding in Salem NH the day before.  The wedding was a 14 hour non-stop party, so this race was going to be rough.  It was raining all the way up to the track, and I was hoping for a wet race.

I went out in semi-dry conditions on slicks in morning practice, and almost high-sided coming out of T12.  I had been doing pretty well, but got a little too aggressive and the back wheel came out from under me at one of the pavement transitions, but I managed to catch it.  Since I didn't do the qualifying sprint on Saturday, I was gridded dead last in 19th spot on the fifth row.

125 GP
It didn't rain for the race.  In fact, it was full sun, 85 degrees and super humid.  I got a great start from the fifth row and managed to get myself into 8th position, then up to 6th by attrition.  I battled with a rider for a few laps, but managed to put him behind me and check out.  Around the halfway flag, I started making a lot of stupid mistakes.  My left foot was totally cramped, and I couldn't get the bike shifted.  Just before the halfway mark, I went wide into T3 and almost went off the track.  The next lap, I went wide through T3 again, and ended up going through a bit of the gravel trap and hopping the outside curb.  The next lap, I went even wider through T3, narrowly missed the wall, and ended up going through the gravel and up the grass.  I had to let a bunch of traffic through, and lost some positions.   I went around once more at a slower pace to make sure I could still get through T3 without crashing (which I did).  I realized I was totally dehydrated, and had no energy.  I was making stupid mistakes all around the course, so I pitted in.  I hung out on the hot pit for a while collecting my thoughts, and went back out a few laps before the end of the race so I would take the checkered flag.  On the third to last lap, I ended up blowing a shift and going off the track again, this time in T12a.   Eventually, I finished the race, and finished in 14th position.

Apparently, 14 hours of partying the day before a 25 lap race at NHIS is not an appropriate method of training.  Note to self.