2012 3 Ring Circus

This race was the end of a 4 week block of racing. I had done OK in the race last year so had been looking forward to it. In the week leading up to the race I had been really tired so just concentrated on doing the minimum amount of training for a taper week.
I travelled down with Dicko and after registration and a quick chat with Steve 01 we did a short warmup and waited on the startline for the briefing. It was pretty cold and damp so I chose to leave my clear glasses behind. Later I would pay for that decision a few times.
Wayne and I were on the front of the startline waiting for the elite boys to finish their warmup. Most of them turned up with only a few minutes to spare so missed out on the opportunity to acclimatise to the 8 degree temperatures.
The gun went and the pace wasn't that fast for the first kilometre or two. There were surges after each corner and I was starting to struggle and dropped of the back of the front group. Steve 01 went past shortly after so I tried to settle down to a pace I was comfortable with. Went through transition and still wasn't feeling great for the fire road section of the red loop. It had turned into a fairly constant drizzle by this stage and it made it tough to follow people on the fire roads without getting a face full of mud. There were a couple of times I was struggling to see after copping some mud in one or both eyes. It was simpler to sit off to the side or ride by myself.
Started to feel a bit more comfortable in the single track and felt like I had stopped going backwards. There was a strange noise every now and then. I didn't pay much attention to it until it turned into a constant clatter. I looked down to see my brain bouncing off the spokes on the rear wheel. Seems a screw had come loose and my brain had fallen off. Standing on the side of the track I was thankful the brain was still attached to the shock. After looking at a few options I managed to attach it to the frame near the seat post with a few cable ties. Not a brilliant repair but serviceable. With the temporary repair in place I started riding again. Not sure if it was the rain, the temperature or feeling a bit flat but I was planning to pull out at the end of the red loop. Somewhere during the remainder of the red loop I changed my mind and decided to finish the race.
Went OK on the yellow loop, strava tells me I was a couple of minutes slower than last year. Overall this is the first race where I have gone slower than the year before so a bit disappointed with that. I guess 4 weeks of racing may have been one to many.