2022 Flyover Silver Creek CX

My first race of the 2022 WCA cyclocross season also may have been my last. Today at the eighth running of Flyover Silver Creek CX in Manitowoc, I re-injured that left calf muscle, this time with a discernable “pop” and a sharp pain that almost certainly means a torn gastrocnemius. When the injury occurred, I was in no danger of winning the Masters 1/2/3 50+ age group. I knew before the race began that even the lower steps on the podium are not meant for me. But I was on my way to a 14th place finish in the 18-man field, and I was OK with that. In the end, I yielded 14th and 15th to riders who caught me on the last lap when I no longer could run with the bike or climb hills. I was still able to apply force to the pedals while seated, though, and I preserved 16th place by outsprinting my last challenger. It was my first bike race since CrossFire in Sun Prairie on October 26, 2019, and I had high hopes for it and for the season in general. Now I just want to be able to walk without a limp when I visit my mother in two weeks.

I’m assuming there will be no more cyclocross races for me in 2022, so my training focus is going to shift back to high-mileage weeks on the road for as long as the warm weather holds. As of today, I am still 300 miles short of my goal for the year and 688 miles short of my 15th 4,000-mile season. I will shoot for those marks. When the weather turns, I will get more serious about Zwift. Clearly, this isn’t how I wanted my season to go, but I will try to salvage something from it.