One clear takeaway from racing in France was that I am very weak on uphills compared to flats and downhills. US Champs in Big Basin won't exactly be flat, so time to work on that. It was hot out (real feel >100F) and I considered backing out, but then saw that Peggy and Max did hill intervals the other day, which served as ample inspiration for me.
I did 6 x Capitol Hill from the National Mall side (up to Capitol steps) after a long warmup and drills. The goal was to run each one a little faster than the one before. Almost succeeded: 1:43 1:38 1:36 1:34 1:35 1:31
There was a large demonstration of Falun Gong followers on the back side of the Capitol to keep me company... A good, tough workout, and I am pleased to have done it.