Saturday morning I helped out at a
cross clinic. It was good for me to go through a few drills and get some feedback from some more experienced racers. I headed to Hermann after that was over.
I was there early enough to get laps on the course between a few races. The turns were all wide and smooth. Obstacles included normal barriers, three short barriers on an uphill, one section of stairs and a sand pit with a turn. I watched the single speed race to see if any of them were able to ride the short barriers or the sand -- they were all running it which was what I had been planning on. An hour before my race I got ready and headed out to warm up. I did a few hills and surges and also hit some grassy areas. I did one more lap on the course and headed to the line. There were seven of us racing. We got instructions and the go. I was sixth off the start. I definitely need to work on my cx starts! We wove our way through the "technical" section of the course and the lead three (Sunny, Karen, and Jenn) were beginning to get a gap. Cory was on my wheel, but I knew she starts hot and fades, so I wasn't worried there. I took the barriers smoothly and added some gear on the first pavement section. We hit the grass again and wound to the short barriers. I was smooth going over them, but I'm guessing dropped my bike too hard because I dropped my chain. I had to stop to put it back on and Cory passed me. I told myself I would get her on the power section on the field or the stairs. I jumped back on the bike and went down the short hill and back up the other side. SNAP. There went my chain. Not much I could do at that point because the pit was still a good distance -- time to run. I started to shoulder the bike and realized I was better off pushing it. I kept a nice pace and ran through the baseball field and up the stairs. I rode the bike down the hill and to the next up hill before I dismounted and ran again. Through the sand and another hill and back to the pit. I switched bikes and was off. At this point I knew that I didn't have a snowball's chance of placing in the race, but I was not about to let up. I needed a good workout and no better way to practice racing than in a race. I rode solid and switched back to my bike at the end of that lap. I was able to close the gap between Cory and me to 50 seconds by the last lap. My highlights for the race were cornering well, even in the dark and staying focused on going hard even though I was way off the back. My areas to work on our remounts on pavement -- I bobbled a few at the top of the stairs and starts.
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| Just happy to cross the line! *photo credit: Dan Singer |
Sunday's course was much the same as Saturday's with one notable exception. Sunday we ran the full set of stairs...61 of them I've been told. There was also an added section with an off camber down switchback to an uphill off camber 180 around a tree. I won't lie, that section made me nervous every lap. I warmed up on the road again and took a few extra times down the added section. I wanted to make sure I had good lines for it. We had 10 ladies in the race on Sunday--three the same as the night before, everyone else was fresh. Off the line I was in sixth place. I was following Mary Piper and was on her heels up the stairs. I should have switched sides on the stairs so I could get around her, but my hypoxic brain wasn't thinking that clearly. She got a gap on me on the downhill section. I was determined not to let her get away. Also, Teresa was right on my wheel at that point. We started through the turns on lap two and I got a little heckling from a friend. When I yelled back Teresa commented "how can you still talk, I'm dying." That made me think that I wasn't going hard enough so I added gear and went harder. I got closer to Mary, but wasn't able to over take her.
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| Top of the steps . . . those hurt! *photo credit: Mike Dawson |
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| The off camber section after the turns. Yep, scared me! *photo credit: Dan Singer |
In lap three I knew I was closing the gap on her. Plus I could see Liz and Karen in front of Mary. I knew if I got Mary, I could get them as well. Lap four we hit the baseball field and I put my head down and went after her. I was on her wheel at the dismount for the stairs. She took the right side and I took the left. Run, run, run. It helped that I had my Boo yelling at me "Faster, Mommy, faster. Your mom can take these stairs faster than you." I was a half step in front of her at the top and I lunged forward with the bike, set it down and remounted. I got the line for the downhill. It was now time for a gap and fourth place. I saw Liz in the sand when I went over the hill. I knew I could take her. I was able to pass her in the first wide turn after the start finish. I knew with Liz I would have to keep going strong because she is known for fighting her way back. I started concentrating on catching Karen. I could see her in front of me on the stairs on that lap. I passed her just before the start/finish and beginning of Lap 6. I heard the announcer say that I must have been lapped . . . he apologized later. Karen passed me again going through a turn. I stayed on her wheel through the barriers and subsequent turns and overtook her again on the pavement. She got me through the second turn on the grass. We went over the short barriers, just a few paces apart. She edged me out on the downhill/uphill and I knew I had to do something if I wanted the podium spot. We hit the pavement section and I attacked and didn't look back. I got a sizable gap on her and knew I needed to ride smart and strong and finish the last lap well. I got a gap count for Jenn in second. She was about 30 seconds ahead of me, but I ran out of time to catch her. All in all it was a great race for me. It reinforced that I need to work on starts. And while I'm remounting quickly, I'm still double hopping to do it. I know in my cx skills workouts I'll be slowing down my remounts to work on that muscle memory piece.
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| Podium shot -- two great ladies to share it with! *Photo credit: Dan Singer |
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