four-hour-drive-to-raleigh-two-flights-and-some-airport-ninja-stuff
breathe.
throw-bows-running-though-the-airport
breathe.
(Maybe I used up all my race competitveness power walking through the airport.)
Breathe.
When I finally arrived at the course I got to meet my two new super sweet Fuji’s for the first time.
They’re so purty.
Bill and Tom did an awesome job building them up and about an hour and a half before the race in a frenzy of bike fit tweaking, I found a position that felt alright. And check out all these sweet new Challenge tires.
The course was fast- dry with huge straights - and with a set of barriers, two sets of stair things, and a fly over that makes “the green monster” look like a playground.
The race began alright- I think I was around 4th and everyone was all together. It felt like we were racing a crit. A grassy dark crit with suprise corners that no one could really see. Teal was riding great and got away on the first lap, I think, and for some reason I decided my race plan should be “ride as hard as I can while 6 girls draft me for 2.5 laps”
What.
I must’ve missed a day in race stradegy 101 because, really, what was I thinking?
I ended up blowing up and when Meredith went, I fell off that group.
It’s crazy to realize how many mental highs and lows you can experience in a 40 minute race. Yesterday, as I fell off that group, my low hit me over the head as the course winded around the stage where a band was playing. Drunks acted drunk, hecklers heckled, and lawdry, I think I hated cyclocross for one long half a second. But it soon dissapeared, as any feeling but love for my cross bike tends to do. I tried to dig, but my legs felt shaky. I tried to be smooth over the barriers, but I was just a huge technical disaster (how do I clip in again?)
Around the last few corners I could see the shadow of a rider comming up my right side. The light was poor, but I could sense her. I shifted into a harder gear, dug a little more, and finished off the race determined.
When it was all over, I realized it wasn’t a rider. Just my shadow. I drilled myself out to beat.... myself.
So that’s what it’s all about, right?
.....No. Even I’m not that sappy.
I just couldn’t put a race together today. My legs felt awful and just all around I was sluggish. I guess it could be attributed to the long travel day or first cx race/ first time on a cx bike this year/ first time on that cross bike ever, but what better way tochristen a new bike than a race? I shoulda raced smater. Maybe I coulda done better.
Shoulda, coulda, woulda. Ready to put this day behind me and try again at madison.
- Madison USGP is a new race. Exicted to throw down with a huge field!
Lastly check out this stalker picture of green man, he-man, and a hotdog.
wait, one last question for anyone that reads this blog (hi mom)- I crashed pretty hard on the bottom of my knee mountain biking early 2 months ago. The stitches healed well and the wound is nearly gone, but there's still pain. An x-ray didn't show anything wrong. Any ideas on what I should do? It doesn't hurt riding anymore but I still can't walk or put weight on it. Is this normal for 2 months?
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