 |
| Anna, Catherine, and me We got new kits, and they are awesome! |
Catherine, Anna, and I raced together in the 3/4 crit with 16 other women. We had a few primes, and after the second Amy P from Mystique and I were off the front with a little gap. She looked at me and said that, and I said, "OK, let's go!" This was maybe 10 or so minutes into the 35-minute race. After a few laps with Amy (all of which I made her lead up the hill and into the wind), I just couldn't hang with her any more, so I had to let her go (this meant, Amy by herself at the front, me in the middle by myself, and the field containing Anna and Catherine behind me). I made a valiant effort to stay by myself, but with 5 or 6 laps left they caught me.
I got in the group to recover while Catherine attacked and stayed away for a couple laps. If she had stayed away for 2 more laps, she'd have gotten second by herself, and it was a good risk to take. Especially since it forced some of the other girls in the group to work hard to catch back up to her. We were all together (minus Amy) on the final lap, and Anna drove the pace enough to drop a few girls and keep most of the others from passing her or getting close to the front. I came around her at the end to win the field sprint (2nd overall; 2/6 Cat 3), and she stayed in it long enough to get 4th overall and 3rd Cat 3 (we raced together, but they scored us and payed out separately). Catherine ended up as the 3rd Cat 4.
After our race, we had some down time before we watched Kat and Parri race with the P/1/2 (and some 3) women. They were all super fast and worked very well together--it is fun to watch those pro teams and hope to be like them some day!
 |
| Kat and Parri |
Sunday was the 57-mile road race that last year was rough for me (I dropped off the group within the first 5 miles and rode the final 52 by myself, finishing last). This year I went into it with a much better attitude and evidently legs that were more tired than I'd expected. I thought if I could make it up that first climb with the group, I'd be OK. However, I made it about 5.5 miles when I realized I just wouldn't be able to stay with them the entire time. Then I folded. Todd was right there in the caravan behind our group, and I told him I didn't want to quit but I didn't want to ride 50 miles by myself, either. He said if I didn't get back on my bike right then, I would be by myself, so I'd better make a quick decision. I put my bike on his car and called it a day.
Instead of racing, I got to sit in the car and watch the race unfold (until we got to the feed zone, where we stayed until all the Team B women rode through). Then we went to the staging area (not the finish) and chilled until everyone was done. It was not how I'd expected the day to go. As soon as I got home, I got on my bike and rode some miles just to get a ride in.
No comments:
Post a Comment