Salsa - I think you hit the nail on the head. It's hills and fear. I don't like soft, steep climbs, and rocky technical singletrack - I need to work on those. As for race day itself, it's nerves I need to work on.

Carback, good ideas. I don't bring my trainer but I do ride around spinning a bit before I start. I actually had much less nerves when I did my solo race. When it's a team I put more pressure on myself so I "don't let the team down", thinking. Maybe it's just experience I'm lacking. I've only been biking for a little over a year.

Thanks for the great ideas!