I was not "feeling it" pre race yesterday. I was struggling getting into my pedals following remounts and just didn't feel like I had the mindset to race. I took out my cleats since it was dry, hoping that I may have an easier time without having them. I got to the park early enough to get two laps done. The course was mainly flat, a few off camber roller coasters, lots of gravel and a nice little run up on the back side. I finished my warm up by doing laps in the soccer fields. The weather was great, high 30s, no wind, sunny. We had nine women in the Open field.
The whistle blew and I was up and out of the saddle but I couldn't get my left foot locked. I was immediately sitting in seventh position. I finally got my foot locked right before the grass. I concentrated on staying connected with the six in front of me as we worked through the first set of turns. As we hit the uphill s-section, I knew I needed to get around some girls. Carrie had to stop on the uphill and caused us to lose the group. I went to the outside of her, but she got in front of me again. We headed through the down and back and did the s turns before the first gravel and I realized I was on my brakes too much. I actually yelled at myself to stay off of the effing brakes. As soon as we hit the gravel, I added a gear, moved my hands to the tops so I couldn't grab brake. We cut through the trees and hit the second gravel section and Tara came around me. I stayed on her wheel to the barriers and was able to remount faster and pass her. We headed to the back section and the run up. I shouldered my bike on the first time up it. We headed through the thick grass and to the off camber turns. I was able to pass Carrie at that point, but I totally screwed up the second one and went through the tape. I just went with it and kept riding and reentered the course. We hit the pavement and went out for lap two.
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| Schlepping it up the hill lap 1. I can't seem to find a smile. *Photo cred: Mike Dawson |
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| Ah! Now I'm racing like I know how . . . cheesing it up! *Photo credit: Mike Dawson |
Lap two was better in that I stayed off the brakes, however Tara passed me again in the second patch of gravel. I stayed close to her though, knowing that she floundered with remounting. We also had gained ground on Cat and Britta and were shutting down their gap. We continued to gain through lap two. In the third lap, Tara grabbed Britta's wheel in the first set of turns following the barriers. I got on Tara's wheel immediately before we hit the long stretch before the downhill to the run up. I sat on the train for about 15 sections before making my move. I heard Cat say "that was a stealth pass" as I flew by. We hit the run up and Cat was along side of me. I shouldered my bike again on this run. Cat got in front of me in the thick grass, but I stayed on her wheel and took her lines through the off camber turns and got through them cleanly. We hit the pavement and I added gear and added gear and added gear. I went around her and didn't look back. I couldn't see a shadow. I guess Tara made the same move I did because I could feel someone back on my wheel, although I didn't know who it was. I knew it was Tara when we passed her husband by the barriers. That lap I pushed my bike up the run up instead of carrying it, it felt much harder to me. When we hit the pavement, I again took off. Tara's a tough competitor and I wanted as much ground on her as possible. I was able to put a gap between us and keep it for the rest of the race, finishing in 3rd place.
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| Shark Attack . . . come on Tara, let's go! *Photo credit: Mike Dawson |
Reflections on the day: my start sucked. I let myself get nervous and ride the brakes again (like Concordia) until I was able to relax. I'm getting smoother on the barriers, actually finding a rhythm to run them. And gravel is starting to scare me less as well. Having great hecklers and fans helped immensely, especially the "Go Mommy!" I heard over and over again.
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