Train or Race?

This morning several of us met for ride. "Crazy" Bob, Grasshopper, "Snickers", Tom C., and myself. There was another rider who joined us and rode along to Cty. Road 47. We headed south and rode part of the Baker loop. Portions of the ride were pretty fast paced and early on Greg "Snickers" exclaimed, "What got into those guys?" He was referring to the 24 mph pace that Bob and Matt were clipping along at. I looked at Greg and said, "That's the way they always ride." I was trying not to go too hard because I have a race tomorrow. (Eric's Spring Cup) Yeh, Mother's Day. WTF is up with that? But, I guess if you can fish on Mother's Day, you can ride on Mother's Day. I did a lot of "big ring" riding which probably won't serve me well tomorrow. So much for pre-race rest day.
Of course Matt said that I didn't have a thing to worry about because the course is flat with very little elevation gain. Seventy feet according to the course description. I believe I logged around 46 miles, considering tomorrow that was plenty. Shortly after finishing our ride the rain moved in and it has been raining steady ever since, and is forecast to rain through the night and into tomorrow morning. This should make for a very soggy and muddy course tomorrow.

I really don't know what to expect since this is only my second mountain bike race. My first was Chequamegon last September. I like starting big. My thought is that since I'm in Cheq again this year all other races are mere training rides. At fifty, I feel like I've lost much of my competitive drive and I'm just doing it for fun more than anything else. Of course I'll be on my own tomorrow since the rest of the Amigo's have family commitments and Kenny just had eye surgery. I going into it alone and am not sure what tomorrow will bring. Hopefully a good deal of fun!