Crested Butte, MSC #3

One of my toughest races yet. With traffic like I-25 from Colorado Springs to Denver and dust like Kansas, I didn't kick my little (too little) ASR around the way I wanted. I never found my rhythm climbing, and I was on the brakes too much on the descents. I finished 7th out of 12....but thought I was racing for 3rd the whole time. HOW does that happen, you ask. Yeah, I'm not even sure. They started all Expert Women together and unlike, teammate, Megan I didn't nut-up and drive it to the front. She came by me like a race horse and I was the work horse they hired to plow the course for her to run.

I will say that once I got a little beer in me and some camp food Saturday night I enjoyed a 6hr. group ride with some 15 other fat tire abusers on Sunday. Crested Butte has some of the most stellar single track in the country (in my opinion). We worked our way over 403 and into 401. Good times. Tenderized legs. Aching muscles from head to toe. Even my fingers hurt. Ahhhh....

If its any consolation, I'm still top of my age group with points. Finishing counts for something. Geeez, come Snowmass I'm going to resume 'under dawg' status and just race my bike. wtf.

PARK your wideload in the CITY.

Another one bites the dust.

To the point: we win some, we loose some....except I haven't been able to 'win some' (yet). So I was sitting on the balcony of our condo at Park City this weekend, sipping a delightful pink energy drink and nibbling on oatmeal, wishing myself to the top of a podium. That's all well and good. But then when the gun fired hours later, I didn't jump like I was springing to the top of that podium.

The coach and I talked strategy and I knew I couldn't win this race in the first lap. What I failed to realize was that I could loose it in lap one. I went into the first climb second to last. I passed one rider. That put me at 16th. The next climb I moved up 3 places. And then before the long descent I moved up 3 more. Still only setting at 10th place. By not getting a good “up front seat” early on I made it nearly impossible to be a podium contender. I see the folly in my thinking. Conservative is smart, but only to a point. This is a race. I must jump off the line like a hive of bees are chasing me and I have honey on my ass. I firmly believe that for me the intensity I start with is the intensity I maintain. When I have hard, fast starts I typically maintain a higher overall intensity vs. when I go out easier I have a hard time getting to those high numbers. I think my start was my biggest error this weekend. In a field that size and on a course with so much single track position is key.

Granted field size is relative. Iles was up against 80. Chambers was out there with 60 other guys. My 18 women doesn't seem so daunting now does it! **don't be hard on yourself, Musick, positive, positive, repeat, positive**

So I really think you “learn how to win races”. There is so much that goes into race finishes alone. I’m glad that I am becoming a consistent finisher. I’m doing a lot of things right, but I’ve yet to take all those rights and push them up to the top of my category. I don’t want to be a struggling Expert. But, I know that these experiences prepare me for the massive Pro level. I really want to learn what it feels like to win. I was really close in Angle Fire in both the XC and the STXC. I was clutching the XC win for a good part of that race.

"Head in the game, Sarah, head in the game. Crested Butte is days away!"

Over and out. Both.

Updated 2007 Schedule.

My Season Stops:

March 17-18: TT, Crit, RR- Boulder, CO
Mar 31-Apr 1: NORBA#1 – Phoenix, AZ
April 7: Yeti Spring Series#1- Nathrop, CO
April 15: AFA Road Race- CoSpr, CO
April 26: Meridian Training Race
April 28: YSS #2-Nathrop, CO
May 1: Meridian Training Race
May 5: LookoutMtn. HC- Golden, CO
May 12-13: MSC#1 – Nathrop, CO
May 26-28: MSC#2 – Angel Fire, NM
June 16-17: NORBA#3 – Park City, Utah
June 23-24: MSC#3 – Crested Butte, CO

Quit Training for 3 Weeks!
July 14-15: MSC#4 – Snowmass Village, CO
July 21: Mt. Evans Hillclimb
July 28-29: MSC#5 – Telluride, Colo.
Aug. 11-12: NORBA#6 – Snowmass Village, Colo.
Aug. 18-19: MSC#6 – Nederland, CO
Sept. 1-3: MSC#7- Keystone, CO