The ups and downs of a cyclist

Two weeks ago I won my first mtb race and was feeling quite good on the bike. This week, things have taken a different turn.

Last weekend I went up to Sherwood to do the NPS Nationals ('A' race). I started the race feeling tired. On my warm up lap my legs felt 'heavy' but I thought I'd work through it. I was not grided at the start so found myself in the 6th row. At the start of the race I fordged my way through the field and managed to position myself around 10th place. I was on my limit to hold on (max HR 196) especially on the flat open parts (this is surprising for me) - I found I could not turn my legs quick enough so had to drop a gear and get out the saddle to close the gap.

At the end of the first lap I was still (just) with the front group (12 of us). Then, the heavens opened up and it rained very hard. I still had my semi-slick tyres on and now started slipping all over the place and so begun to fade. Both, technically and physically. Half way round the second lap I'd dropped right off the pace, started getting gear problems and lost my head. Needless to say I 'packed' and pull out the race.

Major problems:
- tired-feeling legs
- loss of power
- no leg speed
- no strong mental focus

Why the problems?
- not sure - probably late to bed night before, but that doesn't account for the total break-down.

What happened next?
Drove home and went to bed at midnight. Woke up on Sunday feeling tired and totally uninspired to race so decided not to race (BEC RR). Very disappointing as I was wanting to target the BEC and get some ranking points. My non-accident knee (right one) was a little sore near the knee cap - probably injured when it rained and I crashed - hitting the bars or tree?

Monday
Rode to work still feeling tired. I planned to ride tempo to and from as I never raced on Sunday. But, I was too tired and just doddled on both my commute routes.

Tuesday
Worked from home. Still feeling tired I decided to just do a little spinning session on my turbo at home. Felt ok and completed the session.

Wednesday
Commuted on my mountain bike in the morning - not feeling too great (in my head). I headed off to the hills for my Hills session (x4). It took me 01:30 to get there - rode tempo. At the end of the first interval my left knee started to ache a little so decided to abandon the training session to prevent any further injury.

Thursday
Raining. Rode into work at tempo pace. Felt a lot better today (in the head and on bike).

What is going on?
Not sure what to do from here? Here are some options:
1. Ride tempo home today and tomorrow (both ways). Then just go on LSD on Sat and Sun (no race on Sunday)
2. Try and do the intervals tonight. And continue with the original plan racing on Sunday.
3. Put the bike away until Monday next week - total time off.

I need to look for a solution to stop sliding and get on top of things again.