What the ham sandwich went wrong?

Well, a month and almost a half passed without my competing in a race. I took a week off the bike entirely after the disappointing race weekend of October 4 & 5. Then, I got back on half-heartedly the week of Thanksgiving in an effort to prepare for the next NECCS event the Saturday after Thanksgiving. However, I had no real motivation to race as a series ranking was totally unattainable at this point and it was going to be a bit of a hassle to get to the event. As the week unfolded, my interest totally deteriorated. We all drove down to the Cape on Wednesday to spend Thanksgiving with my mom. I then had to drive back to Maine early Friday morning to run the rink for a high school tournament. The thought was I could hit the race on my way back down to the Cape on Saturday, but a 12-hour workday that didn’t include the 4-hour drive wore me out. I instead started Saturday leisurely and headed back to the Cape skipping the race, a first in a mighty long time for me.
So, what was going on with me? I tried to deny the burn-out excuse because I didn’t want to admit I was doing too much, that I could handle the load. However, as I thought more and more about why I had little interest in riding let alone training, burn out was the only reason. Race preparation actually began January 1st under the tutelage of my coach. In all my past, I usually was on my bike no earlier than April, and finished no later than October. This year I was on my trainer and lifting in January, doing a 3 hour ride on Easter, and racing more than I ever had. So yes, I admit, I was fried, especially given I still had the ‘cross Nationals to prepare for on December 15th. Even that race, the biggest of the year, was questionable.
So, I took time off the bike, skipped a race, and trained when I was motivated enough to give the effort, and didn’t worry if I missed a session. For the 2 weeks leading up to Nats I prepared as if I was going to do it, and decided a week before to compete based on an excellent starting position and decent weather.
There was a big question as to how the race would go. I didn’t want to be pack fodder and get run over and spit out the back. It was a tall order to do the race because I had to coach a game Thursday night which meant I couldn’t drive down until the day of the race, and the staff Christmas party was Friday night so I had to return home that dame day. But, I was undeterred. I had a good attitude going in and I was as ready as I could have been. So, did the time off help or hurt and where did I finish?
Tune in to the next installment!