I'll give a quick play by play:
XC:
My Expert class of women went out fairly slow, unusual for a MSC race. I was setting mid pack going into the climb. As the other ladies started to blow up I ramped my effort. I moved up to second and set on the leader's wheel up the climb. She was my focus, having beat me by 13 mins in Nathrop. I knew I could not let her get away from me. At the top she and I were both off of our bikes through the end of the rock garden. I jogged my bike by her and went into the decent first. Then one mistake on a root took me from first to third by the end of the first lap.
Four of us were together at the lap line. I settled back in and moved from third back into first as we climbed again. This time I started to pull away. I had good legs and felt like I could. Then teammate, Megan came by me. Her presence boasted my moral and I took the opportunity to get farther ahead of my age group. I had gaped them by a couple of minutes. That is when I started to get a cramp in my stomach. It felt a little like a runners side cramp. As I pushed it worsened to the pain of an appendix about to rupture. I dropped my endurance drink at the water station and started getting pure H20 in me. Pretty soon I was off the bike, doubled over in pain. I told myself to keep moving. I was leading the race, how could I possibly stop. Through excruciating pain I keep moving forward. Every glance over my shoulder I expected to see my competition gaining on me. By the top of the climb two women had passed me. I made it my goal to top the climb. I knew I could tolerate the pain descending and finish the race. I did just that and rolled across the line in third place. Thankfully I didn't drop out, because it still equaled a podium finish.
STXC:
This was the race where I learned what it felt like to actually RACE. I was really lacking motivation at the start line. A friend of mine (who is a coach himself) told me to hold back more at this Short Track start then in others. He said it would be easier to attack them when they got tired than when they were fresh. I think altitude played a hand in that as well. So I went out hard enough to be in the first half of the pack but not to be in any kind of decent position. I sat in this place for 4 laps or so. Then I recognized that I either needed to race or get out of the way. I chose to race. I started working my way up from 9th place to 8th, 7th,6th. Pretty soon I was setting in 3rd place behind teammate Megan. I trailed her for a lap and then said "what the hey..." and gunned it. I passed her and took off after the woman in first. There was quiet a gap up to her. Each lap I narrowed it by seconds, but it still felt daunting. I was completely maxed out. I put everything out there. It came down to the final lap. I was still several seconds behind her. The announcer said there was little chance of "Musick" catching the leader. At the bottom of the uphill finish a friend of mine screamed "Sprrrrrinnnnttt". I bolted out of the saddle long before I had planned to and put the hammer down. It was one of those moments were everything almost goes black. I crossed the finish line some 6 inches behind first. She dropped her bike and collapsed to the ground. My lungs felt like they would explode with every exhale. It felt simply incredible. This was a break through race for me. I'm sure of it. I found that place of suffering and I didn't hide from it. I faced it. I suffered. And it made for a stellar race. The only thing better would have been to take her at the line. Next time...
Short Track VeloNews
Chili Challenge XIX
Angel Fire, New Mexico
May 27
Short track
Women
1. Katie Compton, Spike Shooter
2. Gretchen Reeves, Tokyo Joe's
3. Kelley Mattingly
4. Caitlyn Tuel, Trek-Volkswagen
5. Kristina Andrus, BMC-Sports Garage
6. Heather Baumgartner, Colorado Singletrack
7. Becca Blay, Bear Naked-Cannondale
8. Sonya Looney, Tough Girl-Contessa
9. Stephanie Ward, Spike Shooter
10. Sarah Musick, CoMotion
No comments:
Post a Comment