CX Season is Done!!!

Wow, what a fun season of cyclocross. I never expected to have so much fun while racing. I know that sounds funny but it is true. I knew that bike racing "could" be fun. It was certainly always fun when I was done. It wasn't until this year that I have really enjoyed racing.

My last race of the year was the final race in the Seattle Cyclocross Series.  The week leading up to it I decided to let go of my self doubt that happens on a weekly basis. I knew that if I had a relatively good race, I'd end up on the podium for the series. Just the thought of getting a bronze cowbell was so very exciting to me. I sort of did the math and new that I had to have a good race to secure my third place finish. That alone made me so excited to race!

My race started very well. There was a ton of mud and I knew that the course would be a lot of fun out there. I remember laughing several times during the race. I would be riding along and then the mud would pull me perpendicular to the course and I would squeal each time with joy. So fun!

I was in 2nd or 3rd position in the race during the first 2 laps or so. Then Andrea (the girl leading the race) had a mechanical and had to start running with her bike on her shoulder. I felt so bad for her as she is such a strong rider and has done so well this year. I tried to give her encouragement as I passed her, but it was really the end of her race. She finished in 11th place which is remarkable for having to run a lap of the course with a bike on her back.

So, the race went on, I tried to race smart and not make any major mistakes. I knew that Tamara was about 6 bike lengths behind me. I could feel her creeping on me at different points in the race. She is relentless and very talented in the technical/muddy sections. In past races, Tamara will just come out of nowhere and fly by me like I am standing still. It is amazing, I don't know where she gets that intensity towards the end of the race.

By the fourth lap it started to dawn on me that I could continue to hold my pace and maybe even win the race. I still felt Tamara creeping down on me in the muddy sections, but I was able to put a little gap on her during the hard pack sand sections. As we finished the sand and turned towards the finish stretch, it was all I could do to get the line as quick as possible. I had won!

My finish. You can see Tamara in the background on the left. She is still coming for me!

I had the BIGGEST smile on my face when I finished. Yay!!! I did a killer fist pump after I crossed the line. Well, it was more like a "cha-ching!" then a fist pump, technically speaking.

I was really hoping that my first place secure a podium finish. I had no idea it would help me get into first place! Here is a shot of me after I realized I had won the series.

Podium shot:

Andrea, me and Tamara. What a great finish to the series. We all received cowbells and can koozies. Pretty dang cool.

Here is an even better shot of the podium. This one involves Lori Brazel trying to take a bite out of my right leg.

Love it!

Such a great season.

Steilacoom Race

When I started out this race season, my goals were pretty simple. I wanted to be a competent "mid-packer".  I was going to be happy with top ten finishes. I knew some might be better than others, but top ten seemed to be a good goal for me.

At the beginning of the season my first couple of races were fraught with mechanicals and were very frustrating. But, then the races seemed to get a little better and I started to really enjoy myself out there. Racing didn't hurt as much this year. Sometimes I would even smile while racing.

Then, I started focusing on my nutrition and understanding what to eat (and what not to eat) when I was training and racing.

Then I got a new carbon bike.

Then I started really doing well as a Cat 3.

When I got a couple of upgrade points, I figured I had gotten somewhat lucky and that my performance had probably peaked for the season.

Then I got a couple more upgrade points and things started to become clear to me. I'm actually not a bad cyclocross racer after all!

Two weekends ago, I raced at Steilacoom. It is a course that is always featured in the Seattle CX series. This year, we did it twice. It is sort of boring, has some hills and has absolutely no technical features to it whatsoever. For some reason I was REALLY nervous before this race. I was full of self-doubt and was thinking I would have a bad race.

Then the official said "go" and we were off.

The pace started quickly and I tried to settle in as I knew there was a hill in the first stretch. I was in 2nd position when a racer flew by me so fast I didn't even know what to think! Actually, I thought to myself, "Yikes! It is that girl that had just upgraded from Cat 4. Holy crap she is a Cat 2 on the road."

We lined up for the barrier section and these girls really flew during this section. I began to get nervous.

Then the downhill section came upon us. That is where it all happened.

I panicked a little bit and realized these girls were getting away from me. I flew down the gravel hill but picked a horrible line. My brakes weren't really working right either, so I double panicked.  The result? I ran a girl off the course and she almost hit a tree. I feel horrible about it. Very bad thing to do to a fellow racer. It was a huge mistake and I learned my lesson. I apologized to her profusely, but I still think she hates me. I would probably hate me too.

Oddly enough, I have a set of pictures (thanks to Brian Koder) of the entire event. It is good stuff. Check it out.

There I am, I realize that I've taken the WRONG LINE in a gravel downhill.
Photo courtesy of Brian Koder

Here I am running her off the trail. Notice the tree in front of her? And, no, i am not really smiling.
Photo courtesy of Brian Koder

I am yelling, "I'm so sorry......" Man, did I feel bad.
Photo courtesy of Brian Koder

The last photo is Brian Koder jumping out of the way as the rider (the one I ran off the course) narrowly misses him. Doh!

Anyhow, I feel bad, it was wrong. I won't do that again.

So the race progressed on. I played it safe and tried to conserve energy. There were 4 of us in the lead, then there were 3, then I realized it was just me and one other racer.  Towards the end of the course I began to think about what it would be like to win the race. I focused on clean lines and not making any mistakes. We rounded the last part of the course and my road biker instincts kicked in. I was going to ride this girl's wheel until the sprint. I was going to beat her in the sprint because I knew I could.

Then I did it. I won the race.

It was great. I didn't do a fancy salute, or finger guns or anything like that. I just smiled. I was really proud of myself.