Some small advice:
1. Get there early. Find the forms on usacycling and fill them out beforehand. Preregister. Pack the night before. The less stress on your body that morning, the better.
2. The older you are, the more warmup you need. If your fitness is at the point where you think a 45 minute warmup will somehow detract from your performance in a 45 minute crit, you're not ready yet.
3. Try to minimize accelerations. Find the better racers and follow them around. Take more speed into corners and carry it through. Close gaps early. Stay towards the front.
__________________
ElJamoquio didn't hate the world, per se; he was just constantly disappointed by humanity.