I just returned home from the Teva Mountain Games where I had my most disappointing results that I have had in over five years of racing.  In the extreme race I finished 7th.  I don't think I've had that poor of a finish in a decade of racing.  In the downriver race I finished 3rd in the non-modified boats.  

People usually look at poor results as a bad thing, with obviously it is.  But for me there is a bit of a silver lining because I can now use it as motivation to train harder for next years races.  Over the past several years I've started my training later and later in the winter, because that has always been enough to still be at the top of the podium. 

But this year was different.  I'm not sure if it was that I didn't train hard enough, or just bad luck that the last drop pushed me into the rocks on the left, or a combination of both that let to my poor result.  But either way, it was a good reminder that my competition is getting faster, and if I want to beat them I will have to train harder.

Congratulations to Mike Dawson for having the fastest time this year at the extreme race!

Tao