The course was a lot of fun and I was well suited for it. There were very few elevation changes. The turns were wide, allowing me to pedal through comfortably. My favorite section was right after the second set of stairs--there were three short uphill/downills that were like being on a roller coaster.
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| Course Map |
I got to the race and was able to sneak on the course and pre-ride it. I was very glad I did because the barriers came so quickly after the first set of steps, I almost rode into them in my pre-ride. That also gave me a chance to try out the flyover and lose my fear of it. I did the rest of my warm up in an open field. It was warm at race time, almost 80 degrees. We had a nice size field. I was staged in the 2nd row. We got the green light and off we went. I was conscience on starting hot. I was able to keep contact with the lead group until just before a little off camber hill about a quarter way into the course. After that I got passed by three girls and it made me mad. I set out after them. I was able to overtake Kelly pretty quickly and Sally was next. That was within the first lap. I looked back for a little bit until I felt like I had a comfortable margin on them. I started after Cory next. I could tell I was gaining on her. At the pavement leading into the finishing straight, she waved me past. She wasn't looking good at all. I took the opportunity and went. I saw three to go on the counter. I could see Teresa and the lead four in front of me. I continued to push myself to go after them. I bobbled my dismount on the first set of steps in that lap. My brain and legs were not working together. When I finally began running up the steps, I heard Dan Singer say "There's that smile." That made me push harder. I spent the rest of that lap and lap three whittling down Teresa's lead. On the last lap, in the straight before the stairs, she realized how close I was. She was out of her saddle trying to get away. I focused on clearing the stairs well and riding good lines. I was right back on her as we crossed over into the field before the finish. We went past the pit and she turned on the gas. I was expecting that and went harder as well. She took the last corner before the pavement better than I did and got a little gap on me. We were both out of the saddle sprinting at the finish. I was able to catch her wheel, but not pass her. I think I set an all time new heart rate record for myself--it was 197 at the finish.
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| Having the time of my life! Photo credit: Mike Dawson |
After the race, and getting past the feeling of wanting to puke, I couldn't stop smiling. It was so much fun! What was even better was that Nell was with the kids so I got to stay out and play. It was awesome to watch the pros race. The crowds were great, especially considering it was a Wednesday night.
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