Xterra Blackhawk

I skipped the Accenture Tri that i had already registered for so I could do this race. My lead in the Xterra point series depends on this race. If I win my age group, I clinch the series title. Race morning was a disaster. First I notice my tire wasn't holding air. Having flashbacks to the Torn Shirt race where I exited T1 and my tire was completely flat, I go to work to prevent this from happening again. After about an hour of messing around with the sealant trying to fix it, I give up and put my heavier back up tire on the bike. After that I got on the bike to go for a warm up ride. After about 10 minutes, a stick gets jammed in my rear derailleur and mangles my hanger. Now my bike ghost shifts constantly and is unrideable. I hurry back to my car to get my back up bike ready for the race. I maintained my focus and was able to go hard for the entire race. I had the 7th best swim, 7th best bike and 4th best run. I gave a good effort, but those stats are deceiving because the best biker in the race really outrode me and the best runner really outran me. Overall I finished 6th and 3rd in my age group. Not the result I had hoped for. After the last race in the region, I am tied for the series lead with Yaro Middaugh with 217 points each. I'll have to see how the tie breaker goes to see who is declared the regional champ.