Saturday had no pavement at all, but the frozen grassy ground more than made up for it. Temperatures were hovering in the high 20's at the start, low 30's by the end of our race. No mud, no sand, a few good chicanes and hairpins, a little climbing, and three dismounts. I didn't quite feel right, and I was a little jittery at the start. Ate oatmeal for breakfast. I dressed right with bib knickers, wind-proof base and long sleeve jersey. I ran the tires at 34 up front, 38 in the back - a little harder than normal, but it was well worth it on the frozen ground. I had another great start. I clipped in and jumped into 4th place. Next year I need to start on the front row - it's time. I rode in fourth place for about a half-lap, then realized I was going too hard. I had to back off and a couple guys passed me immediately, followed by another couple a little further on. We rode four laps, and the guys up front pushed a hard pace - they will be moving up next year. The remounts were pretty miserable - I stutter-stepped every time. Ridiculous.
Anyway, the race was good, the course was alright (though still way better than a couple years ago). They gave us an incorrect lap count, and I rode to 8th place with the guy behind me waiting to make his move. He never got the chance - 3 laps to go, 2 laps to go, oh, wait, you're done...
I went pretty hard, but I really felt early on in the race I just didn't have it in me. I was jittery, I was missing my remounts, and I figured I really needed to back off and save some for Sunday. On a better note, the photographer for the series came up to me and said I look like Justin Timberlake. Which I totally don't, but I can still bring sexy back. Really.
Sunday, now that was a better day. The course was a little muddy, a lot grassy, a little "pave-y". Three dismounts, one big run-up, and way warmer. Temps were in the mid-40's and a little windy by the time our race started. I wore my skinsuit, arm warmers, short-sleeve baselayer, and a little medium embrocation on my knees and calves. From the gun, I pinned it (as well as I can "pin it", anyway). I was sitting in fourth or fifth by the first turn, and feeling like I was on fire! I really knew, in my heart of hearts, that I was going to crush it today. And you know, I did, until that run-up. Damn, that thing has crushed the spirits of many a fine racer, I believe. In my head, I was running it with big, strong strides. In reality, people were saying "you call that running?" as I shuffled my feet up this thing. Wicked. In fairness, I did tuck away the "you call that running" comment and save it for the next race. I used it with reckless abandon along with a little cowbell and my big plastic horn. My main "rival" dropped out of the race, which really stinks, because this course would have been great for him, and it's always fun to have a direct competitor. Again, we rode 4 laps. I flubbed the first couple remounts, then got into the rhythm and starting nailing them again. Oh, yeah!Sooooo, I finished 4th in the series, which is totally awesome! One place off the podium, I guess. Last year, same series, I finished 12th. I may be more on track than I previously thought, which gives me more confidence in my training schedule. I still need to do more running, and I still have to get that remount to be second nature, but I feel it is coming together nicely.
Now, more over-training, then a brief rest before Knoxiecross February 7th and 8th. If I can stay in the top half there, I will have had an exceptionally successful season. Who knows, maybe next season I'll change this blog to "Top of Bottom Feeder 'Cross"?
Thanks to Brian Frambach for the photo - http://frambach.smugmug.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment