I got this in a mass-forward email a few months back. It’s not the first time I’ve read this, but for some reason, this time, I didn’t delete it.
People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.
When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person.
When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support,
To aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done.
The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.
Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.
They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it, it is real. But only for a season.
LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons, things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.
It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.
Thank you for being a part of my life, whether you were a reason, a season or a lifetime.
I’m not sure why I didn’t delete it when I first received it this time. I’m not a big fan of forwards, and I’d read it on other occasions. I’m thinking about it today for some reason.
I think I’m on a friendship kick. What is a friend really? If you look at my Facebook page, I have over 1,600 friends listed…and that’s down from the 2,000+ I had on there in January. Most of those folks are in my mafia and I’ve never met them, but they’re on my “friend list.” If I drill down further to the group I created “Real Friends” it causes me more thoughts. I’d venture a guess that that list has 300+ people in it. Some of them are people I see and talk to on a regular basis, some are former students or colleagues, some are family members. But how many of them are truly, truly friends?
My “old friend” Merriam-Webster tells me:
Main Entry: 1friend
Pronunciation: \ˈfrend\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English frend, from Old English frēond; akin to Old High German friunt friend, Old English frēon to love, frēo free
Date: before 12th century
1 a : one attached to another by affection or esteem b : acquaintance2 a : one that is not hostile b : one that is of the same nation, party, or group3 : one that favors or promotes something (as a charity)4 : a favored companion5 capitalized : a member of a Christian sect that stresses Inner Light, rejects sacraments and an ordained ministry, and opposes war —called also Quaker
— friend·less \ˈfren(d)-ləs\ adjective
— friend·less·ness noun
— be friends with : to have a friendship or friendly relationship with
Webster’s definition is much more inclusive than mine. My definition of friend is something like this:
1a: one that I communicate with on a regular basis
2a: one that for whom I would drop anything if they asked
3a: one that can read my mood before I even open my mouth
I could go on for a few more definition lines, but I think you probably get my point. A friendship is not something I take lightly, it’s something I highly value and hold in great esteem. That brings me to the point of this entry. I’m tired of part-time and pretend friends. I’m tired of putting on and playing nice, knowing that I may or may not send me to voice mail the next time I call. I tired of leaving a friendly message, not to hear from you for weeks, or sometimes months. If I hear, “let’s get together soon, I’ll call you next week about dates” one more time, I may tell you to F yourself and hang up. I don’t have the energy to keep up the act and to play these middle school games.
I understand that adult lives are busy. Hell, I work 40-60 hours per week, train another 11-15 hours, and somehow fit in being a mom and a wife—not to mention trying to be a daughter and a sister. I get it. I get that my schedule is different from others; I don’t see many other runners/cyclists out at 4AM. I get that our interests and priorities may be different now than they were when we first met. So then were we ever truly friends? Or was this a relationship of conveniences because we shared a similar experience? It’s OK with me to admit that. We can be acquaintances who shared some powerful moments together whatever they may have been. Don’t bastardize the word friend to me though. If you want to call me that, or want me to refer to you in that sense, step up. I am busy, and I don’t have time to play games that are senseless.
I’ve been culling my friend list on Facebook. I have been deleting my mafia buddies and reexamining the connections with others. If you read the paragraph above, you’ll see that I don’t have time to keep up with senseless drivel or cause request or other drama that constantly plagues some. Sorry if you don’t make the short list, but then maybe it’s time to reflect on why you sent that request or accepted mine in the first place. If you were just curious or nosy about my life, I’m doing just fine. Save the friend request and just give a call next time.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Revisiting the Beginning: A Year Makes All the Difference
What a difference a year makes. I remember pulling up at this race last year, clueless, aerobars still attached to my bike. I had no real clue what to expect and was terrified when we took off because I’d never ridden in a pack. Sunday, I had fun!
The weather was pretty incredible for a February race—it was actually sunny and in the 40s. Of course, that mid-Missouri wind was out in force (although it may have actually only be 12 mph give or take). I registered and got “kitted up” in my borrowed Team Rev gear. I am still adjusting to my team switch and didn’t have a Big Shark kit so Carrie hooked me up with some neutral apparel. Walking through the school and parking lot it felt awesome to recognize and know people. Last year the only person I recognized was Teresa and I had only met her once. This year I had friends with whom to warm up and was excited to race with, and against, them.
I decided to race Cat 4 instead of open and I’m still not sure that was the right decision. We 20 in our field. A lot of the women were unknown to me but that’s not unusual for a road race. We lined up and got stern yellow line warnings from Aero. (Those were hard to take serious because I kept picturing him in his fur coat from last year).
The race began. There was the normal “Cat 4” havoc of trying to figure out what we were exactly out there for. I tried to stay to the front of the group, but avoid pulling because it was windy. The pack stayed together for the first 9 miles or so. A few times some girls would try to slowly pull off the front and I found myself going after them because it didn’t seem like anyone else noticed/cared. Ashley was doing awesome in her first race, she stayed at the front and rode smart. I tried to talk her through what I was seeing because last year I remember not having a clue and missing surges and the break.
Two girls came up in front of Ashley and me and started pulling away. I told Ashley to go after them and I jumped on her wheel. One of them was a bit squirrely so I was trying to stay back from her without letting them get away. We took the second corner and finally had a tail wind. Two more girls jumped up front and the four of them surged. I went after them, dropping Ashley and we were away. Two more girls joined us. I wasn’t sure where the rest of the field was. I held on for a few minutes but they were pulling away. I kept thinking to myself “there is no way they can maintain this pace.” I looked around to see if I had anyone with whom to work and everyone else was gone. I kept trying to pull back up but wasn’t gaining any ground.
I was solo for about four or five minutes when I heard Kate, “Hop on the pain train” and that’s what I did. She had pulled Ashley, Alane and Sandy up with me…all women I know well and train with. Alane organized us into an efficient line and we were set. Every I would go to pull though, Alane would reel me in and tell me to slow down. I wanted to go all out and catch the lead group, but I also knew that I couldn’t bridge to them alone. The five of us ended up working together for the next seven miles or so. Compared to my race last year where I ended up going it alone, this was a cake walk.
With about six miles to go, we hit some small hills. Nothing epic, but in the wind they caused some lactic build up. Somewhere along there we dropped Alane and Sandy and our pace line went to hell. Ashley, Kate and I rounded the last corner back into the head wind. Kate would go up to take her pull and start to ride away. She is known for attacking off the front, so I found myself playing defense a lot and trying to bring her back. As a result, I think I did a lot more work than I really needed to do. I saw the 1K sign and popped it back into my big ring and started revving up my cadence and the tempo. I could tell by the shadow I was pulling away from Ashley. About 50 feet from the 200M sign, Kate pulled around me out of the saddle and was off. I stood up and added gear but my legs put up a fight. I took off the gear and sat down and just spun as quickly as possible hoping I had enough to hold off Ashley. I did. 8th place finish…up six places from last year. More than that, confidence, self awareness, and friendship!
The weather was pretty incredible for a February race—it was actually sunny and in the 40s. Of course, that mid-Missouri wind was out in force (although it may have actually only be 12 mph give or take). I registered and got “kitted up” in my borrowed Team Rev gear. I am still adjusting to my team switch and didn’t have a Big Shark kit so Carrie hooked me up with some neutral apparel. Walking through the school and parking lot it felt awesome to recognize and know people. Last year the only person I recognized was Teresa and I had only met her once. This year I had friends with whom to warm up and was excited to race with, and against, them.
I decided to race Cat 4 instead of open and I’m still not sure that was the right decision. We 20 in our field. A lot of the women were unknown to me but that’s not unusual for a road race. We lined up and got stern yellow line warnings from Aero. (Those were hard to take serious because I kept picturing him in his fur coat from last year).
The race began. There was the normal “Cat 4” havoc of trying to figure out what we were exactly out there for. I tried to stay to the front of the group, but avoid pulling because it was windy. The pack stayed together for the first 9 miles or so. A few times some girls would try to slowly pull off the front and I found myself going after them because it didn’t seem like anyone else noticed/cared. Ashley was doing awesome in her first race, she stayed at the front and rode smart. I tried to talk her through what I was seeing because last year I remember not having a clue and missing surges and the break.
Two girls came up in front of Ashley and me and started pulling away. I told Ashley to go after them and I jumped on her wheel. One of them was a bit squirrely so I was trying to stay back from her without letting them get away. We took the second corner and finally had a tail wind. Two more girls jumped up front and the four of them surged. I went after them, dropping Ashley and we were away. Two more girls joined us. I wasn’t sure where the rest of the field was. I held on for a few minutes but they were pulling away. I kept thinking to myself “there is no way they can maintain this pace.” I looked around to see if I had anyone with whom to work and everyone else was gone. I kept trying to pull back up but wasn’t gaining any ground.
I was solo for about four or five minutes when I heard Kate, “Hop on the pain train” and that’s what I did. She had pulled Ashley, Alane and Sandy up with me…all women I know well and train with. Alane organized us into an efficient line and we were set. Every I would go to pull though, Alane would reel me in and tell me to slow down. I wanted to go all out and catch the lead group, but I also knew that I couldn’t bridge to them alone. The five of us ended up working together for the next seven miles or so. Compared to my race last year where I ended up going it alone, this was a cake walk.
With about six miles to go, we hit some small hills. Nothing epic, but in the wind they caused some lactic build up. Somewhere along there we dropped Alane and Sandy and our pace line went to hell. Ashley, Kate and I rounded the last corner back into the head wind. Kate would go up to take her pull and start to ride away. She is known for attacking off the front, so I found myself playing defense a lot and trying to bring her back. As a result, I think I did a lot more work than I really needed to do. I saw the 1K sign and popped it back into my big ring and started revving up my cadence and the tempo. I could tell by the shadow I was pulling away from Ashley. About 50 feet from the 200M sign, Kate pulled around me out of the saddle and was off. I stood up and added gear but my legs put up a fight. I took off the gear and sat down and just spun as quickly as possible hoping I had enough to hold off Ashley. I did. 8th place finish…up six places from last year. More than that, confidence, self awareness, and friendship!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
My Love/Hate Relationship
Even now as I sit and think about it, over 12 hours ago, my morning run seems dreadful. 45 minutes of pounding the pavement, raising my heart rate, and torturing my feet. Now don’t get me wrong, I love to workout. I love the sense of pushing my body as hard as it can go and then pushing more. I love the feeling of hitting the wall and then finding my second wind. I love the slight muscle ache when I’ve really hit it hard. I just hate running.
I hate getting up before the sun and 95% of the county. I hate the treadmill on the days that I can’t make it outside. I hate the blisters on my feet and the knots in my calves. I hate the dry skin under my nose because I have perma-snot from being out in the cold. I hate the way I feel as I trod up the seemingly endless hill. I hate running.
I am not a runner by nature. I didn’t grow up running track or cross country. Hell, I don’t think I could even run a full mile until three years ago. I can’t debate the difference between training shoes and a good pair of racing flats. I started running because I was fat. I’m not talking obese fat, I’m talking about middle age spread, PTA mom girth. I needed something to prevent me from becoming what I’ve seen so many other women my age become. I started to run. I wish I could say that as the pounds came off, it became easier. I wish I could tell you that I fell in love with the sport and religiously followed the elite distance runners. It would all be a lie. I even cancelled my subscription to Runner’s World because I hate running.
So where does my love for this awful sport come in? I love what running does for me. I love that I can put on a pair of shoes, without much forethought and head out the door. I love how my legs look now that I’ve been at it for three years. I love that I can conquer hills on my bike because I’ve improved my overall fitness. I love that I can pick up a pair of skinny jeans and know that they’ll fit. I love that over the course of an hour I can burn 600 calories. I love that, if I choose, I can sign up for a 5K and place well in my age group. I love how I feel when my run is done.
I hate getting up before the sun and 95% of the county. I hate the treadmill on the days that I can’t make it outside. I hate the blisters on my feet and the knots in my calves. I hate the dry skin under my nose because I have perma-snot from being out in the cold. I hate the way I feel as I trod up the seemingly endless hill. I hate running.
I am not a runner by nature. I didn’t grow up running track or cross country. Hell, I don’t think I could even run a full mile until three years ago. I can’t debate the difference between training shoes and a good pair of racing flats. I started running because I was fat. I’m not talking obese fat, I’m talking about middle age spread, PTA mom girth. I needed something to prevent me from becoming what I’ve seen so many other women my age become. I started to run. I wish I could say that as the pounds came off, it became easier. I wish I could tell you that I fell in love with the sport and religiously followed the elite distance runners. It would all be a lie. I even cancelled my subscription to Runner’s World because I hate running.
So where does my love for this awful sport come in? I love what running does for me. I love that I can put on a pair of shoes, without much forethought and head out the door. I love how my legs look now that I’ve been at it for three years. I love that I can conquer hills on my bike because I’ve improved my overall fitness. I love that I can pick up a pair of skinny jeans and know that they’ll fit. I love that over the course of an hour I can burn 600 calories. I love that, if I choose, I can sign up for a 5K and place well in my age group. I love how I feel when my run is done.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Bubba #6: Bellefountaine
I had fleeting thoughts of "it's almost too warm for a cx race" as I headed out for my warm up 
laps on Sunday. 70+ degrees in November in the 'Lou--unheard of! No way was I complaining about it after all the rain we had. This was a twisty, bumpy course for Sunday. It had longer laps than we've seen in the previous races in this series and incorporated gravel and a switchback. What more could a girl want!I made sure to position myself at the front of the pack for this race. I looked around and wondered what the heck I was doing lined up against the Cat3+ women, but thought, "What the heck! Let 'em pass if they can." They did. The whistle blew and we were off. I held my position in the front until the C-racers (I really believe that C is for crash because these boys went down like bowling pins) bunched up. I got passed like the bread basket at Thanksgiving dinner. I forged ahead though. With a two longer climbs and a couple of little steep ones, I knew I could wear down some of the field. Slowly but surely I began to pass the girls who got away. There wasn't much notable about most of race with the exception of the boys crashing and my catch of the 10th place girl in the second to last lap. By that time, I knew Alice probably had too much ground on me for a catch, so I focused on catching Soli. I had been trading positions with a rider from Big Shark for a lap or two. We were on the beginning part of the course before the long climbs and off camber switch back. I jumped on his wheel and told him it was his job to help me catch her. (He had been looking a little beat by this point.) He responded to my challenge and I held his wheel up the climbs. I let him take me to one of the paved sections where I stood up and took off. It was somewhere in here that my HR popped 190+. I caught her at the barriers and didn't look back.
I finished the rest of that lap and the next one comfortably for a 9th place finish. My goal was to stay upright for this one and I did it! We're supposed to see more rain this week/weekend so Sunday may be sloppy again. :)
laps on Sunday. 70+ degrees in November in the 'Lou--unheard of! No way was I complaining about it after all the rain we had. This was a twisty, bumpy course for Sunday. It had longer laps than we've seen in the previous races in this series and incorporated gravel and a switchback. What more could a girl want!I made sure to position myself at the front of the pack for this race. I looked around and wondered what the heck I was doing lined up against the Cat3+ women, but thought, "What the heck! Let 'em pass if they can." They did. The whistle blew and we were off. I held my position in the front until the C-racers (I really believe that C is for crash because these boys went down like bowling pins) bunched up. I got passed like the bread basket at Thanksgiving dinner. I forged ahead though. With a two longer climbs and a couple of little steep ones, I knew I could wear down some of the field. Slowly but surely I began to pass the girls who got away. There wasn't much notable about most of race with the exception of the boys crashing and my catch of the 10th place girl in the second to last lap. By that time, I knew Alice probably had too much ground on me for a catch, so I focused on catching Soli. I had been trading positions with a rider from Big Shark for a lap or two. We were on the beginning part of the course before the long climbs and off camber switch back. I jumped on his wheel and told him it was his job to help me catch her. (He had been looking a little beat by this point.) He responded to my challenge and I held his wheel up the climbs. I let him take me to one of the paved sections where I stood up and took off. It was somewhere in here that my HR popped 190+. I caught her at the barriers and didn't look back.
I finished the rest of that lap and the next one comfortably for a 9th place finish. My goal was to stay upright for this one and I did it! We're supposed to see more rain this week/weekend so Sunday may be sloppy again. :)Sunday, November 1, 2009
Bubba #5: CC Park in the daylight
Today's course was much faster than last night. We were in the same area, but the course was more spread out and avoided the uphill muck that caused me so much trouble.
We again started with single speed and C men. That meant our total field on the course was about 60 riders. I lined up poorly today; I was in the back of the women. The whistle blew and we headed out on pavement. We hit the first set of turns and the field bunched up. From there we moved into tall grass that actually had solid ground underneath. My goal today was to finish in the top half of the women's field (there were 17 of us). I knew there were about four or five that I passed off the whistle. I was trying to keep two girls in my sites because I know I'm strong enough to beat them. We hit the railroad tie barriers from last night. The ground was pretty messed up there. Over those with no problem and back into part of the course from last night. The same tight turns, but at least I could see them in the daylight. The back grass straight from last night was all mud and ruts today. I took Klucker's advice, picked a line and pedalled steady and easy. It definitely made a difference. From there the course had larger turns and came up to the traditional barriers. I knew they were coming, I talked myself through getting off the bike, but my left foot would click out. Down I
went, on the same hip that's been getting abused. I grabbed my bottle and bike, hopped the barriers and remounted. My hip hurt. I tried not to cry because there is no crying in cyclocross. I let the "go Mommy" cheers urge me on and I let out a primal yell on the front paved section. I kept going somehow.
went, on the same hip that's been getting abused. I grabbed my bottle and bike, hopped the barriers and remounted. My hip hurt. I tried not to cry because there is no crying in cyclocross. I let the "go Mommy" cheers urge me on and I let out a primal yell on the front paved section. I kept going somehow. I cringed everytime I had to hop barriers, but I've promised myself I will not DNF a race. I never caught the girls I was after and don't think I made the top half of the field, but I wasn't last either. I finished hard and was ready to keep going. 
Bubba #4: Fun in the Mud
Last night was a rough race. It's been raining all week...we've had a record setting, wet October and the course was next to a huge lake. I knew the course would be soggy, but that doesn't even begin to describe it. I'm glad we raced in the dark because I think I may have backed out had I been able to clearly see what I was going to ride. We got there and got our costumes ready.
Being as it was Halloween, those wearing a costume were staged first. Klucker went as a blood doper and I was a pirate. It was a little chilly during my warm up laps. The course was almost completely flat with lots of turns, three paved sections and some large gravel. All-in-all, pre-race it seemed do-able.
Because of the late start, they staged Men's C, Single-speed, and women together in that order. At the whistle I tried to take off, but it was a mad house until the second set of pavement. I didn't like my field position and worked for the next two or three laps to move ahead of the women in front of me. All was going well and I was riding great. Because the course was flat, my heart rate was in a great range. Then there were five laps to go and it went south. By this time the course was a mucky mess, what grass we started with was beat down or gone. I was making one of the 180 degree turns and lost my back wheel. Down I went, muddy and wet! I got back on as Alice passed me and took off. I made it past the barriers and saw Cristel and Cory. I passed them on the back asphalt and started to the third-to-last lap. I made it through the turns and into the slime. I guess I tried to power through too much, didn't gear right, or just was completely crazy, but sploosh, mud bath number two. Cory and Cristel passed me as I hopped back on and I worked to chase them down again. I made it past them in the front half of the course and navigated the turns successfully and upright. Back to the mud and back on my butt! This time, after they passed me, I couldn't catch them. I got lapped by the men's leaders as they were finishing their last lap and got the all done signal as as I passed the start finish.
I was over an hour for the results but never saw them. I need to work on riding in the mud and not letting my frustration get the best of me when I struggle.
I found out today that I finished 12ish...after someone reminded them that I actually raced. Oh well, all in the name of fun!
Being as it was Halloween, those wearing a costume were staged first. Klucker went as a blood doper and I was a pirate. It was a little chilly during my warm up laps. The course was almost completely flat with lots of turns, three paved sections and some large gravel. All-in-all, pre-race it seemed do-able.
Because of the late start, they staged Men's C, Single-speed, and women together in that order. At the whistle I tried to take off, but it was a mad house until the second set of pavement. I didn't like my field position and worked for the next two or three laps to move ahead of the women in front of me. All was going well and I was riding great. Because the course was flat, my heart rate was in a great range. Then there were five laps to go and it went south. By this time the course was a mucky mess, what grass we started with was beat down or gone. I was making one of the 180 degree turns and lost my back wheel. Down I went, muddy and wet! I got back on as Alice passed me and took off. I made it past the barriers and saw Cristel and Cory. I passed them on the back asphalt and started to the third-to-last lap. I made it through the turns and into the slime. I guess I tried to power through too much, didn't gear right, or just was completely crazy, but sploosh, mud bath number two. Cory and Cristel passed me as I hopped back on and I worked to chase them down again. I made it past them in the front half of the course and navigated the turns successfully and upright. Back to the mud and back on my butt! This time, after they passed me, I couldn't catch them. I got lapped by the men's leaders as they were finishing their last lap and got the all done signal as as I passed the start finish.
I was over an hour for the results but never saw them. I need to work on riding in the mud and not letting my frustration get the best of me when I struggle.
I found out today that I finished 12ish...after someone reminded them that I actually raced. Oh well, all in the name of fun!
Bubba #3: JB
Sunday was the perfect day for a cross race. It was overcast and low 60 degree weather. I had run several 5K races at this venue, so I expected hills for this race. I got out on the course to warm up, and found my assumptions were correct. It was going to be a fast course, lots of level changes, long and spread out. I had enough time to take two laps and get a good feel for what I would need to do.
The start line was on an uphill. For the first time this season, the women actually were given their own start 30 seconds after the C race. There were about 15 of us at the line—a few new faces to our pack. Larry blew the whistle and we were off. I had a good start position, about sixth off the line. By the first turn, Teresa passed me. I knew I should be able to hold off the rest of the pack, so I planned on just staying as close as I could to the leaders. The first section of the course was roling, with an off-camber climb and quick turn. From there it had a few long sections with 180 degree turns. We then headed to a very brief pavement piece with a quick off camber hill, a few technical turns, back across pavement, a down hill turn to the nasty hill. The nasty hill was short but STEEP. Some of the stronger riders, women included, took a long angle on it and rode up and down. I chose to view it as a run up. I decided to be more brave than I had been at Faust and remount for the downhill. Amazingly, I made it down that hill each time without losing my bike tire at all. From there it was uphill and turn again before the long climb. The long hill wasn’t steep, just taller grass that seemed to go forever. A few more sharp turns and a steeper, mid length climb followed. The back section of the course was much faster with three or four turns downhill to the barriers. After the barriers, came a bit of tall grass and turns and the gravel road back to the starting straight away.
Somewhere in the second lap, Soli passed me. I had finished ahead of her in the last two races, and my pride hurt when she went ahead. I was determined she would not finish ahead of me in this one. I kept her in sight for the next two laps, and got my chance to catch and pass her on the long hill. This was a long course, and a long race (I was on course 57 minutes) and I don’t think a lot of the girls have the endurance to go so long. With three laps to go, I started lapping some of the women. I was on the back half of the course heading towards the barriers when a girl on a mountain bike didn’t hold her line. I was trying to pass and stay out of her way and, whoosh, down I went. Of course it was my left side that still is the color of eggplant from last week’s slide across the parking lot. That hurt! I got up and back on as Carrie passed me. She told me to get at it—only a few more minutes to go. I caught and passed the girl at the barriers. Two laps to go! I was so looking forward to hearing “Go Mommy!” by the run up hill; my leg was throbbing at that point, but my cheerleaders weren’t there. I kept going and just concentrated on holding my ground. At one point I saw Kate K. close behind and I knew I needed to hold her off. The barriers were really tough the last two laps, it hurt to jump them. As I was heading to the start/finish for the last lap, I heard my cheering section and let that motivate me to push through. Chris and Amy lapped me on the last lap. I held onto Amy and think I actually edged her out on the line.
Once again, I had to protest the results. Girls I passed and who were pulled off the course were ahead of me. In the end I think I was 7/15.
The start line was on an uphill. For the first time this season, the women actually were given their own start 30 seconds after the C race. There were about 15 of us at the line—a few new faces to our pack. Larry blew the whistle and we were off. I had a good start position, about sixth off the line. By the first turn, Teresa passed me. I knew I should be able to hold off the rest of the pack, so I planned on just staying as close as I could to the leaders. The first section of the course was roling, with an off-camber climb and quick turn. From there it had a few long sections with 180 degree turns. We then headed to a very brief pavement piece with a quick off camber hill, a few technical turns, back across pavement, a down hill turn to the nasty hill. The nasty hill was short but STEEP. Some of the stronger riders, women included, took a long angle on it and rode up and down. I chose to view it as a run up. I decided to be more brave than I had been at Faust and remount for the downhill. Amazingly, I made it down that hill each time without losing my bike tire at all. From there it was uphill and turn again before the long climb. The long hill wasn’t steep, just taller grass that seemed to go forever. A few more sharp turns and a steeper, mid length climb followed. The back section of the course was much faster with three or four turns downhill to the barriers. After the barriers, came a bit of tall grass and turns and the gravel road back to the starting straight away.
Somewhere in the second lap, Soli passed me. I had finished ahead of her in the last two races, and my pride hurt when she went ahead. I was determined she would not finish ahead of me in this one. I kept her in sight for the next two laps, and got my chance to catch and pass her on the long hill. This was a long course, and a long race (I was on course 57 minutes) and I don’t think a lot of the girls have the endurance to go so long. With three laps to go, I started lapping some of the women. I was on the back half of the course heading towards the barriers when a girl on a mountain bike didn’t hold her line. I was trying to pass and stay out of her way and, whoosh, down I went. Of course it was my left side that still is the color of eggplant from last week’s slide across the parking lot. That hurt! I got up and back on as Carrie passed me. She told me to get at it—only a few more minutes to go. I caught and passed the girl at the barriers. Two laps to go! I was so looking forward to hearing “Go Mommy!” by the run up hill; my leg was throbbing at that point, but my cheerleaders weren’t there. I kept going and just concentrated on holding my ground. At one point I saw Kate K. close behind and I knew I needed to hold her off. The barriers were really tough the last two laps, it hurt to jump them. As I was heading to the start/finish for the last lap, I heard my cheering section and let that motivate me to push through. Chris and Amy lapped me on the last lap. I held onto Amy and think I actually edged her out on the line.
Once again, I had to protest the results. Girls I passed and who were pulled off the course were ahead of me. In the end I think I was 7/15.
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