I haven't done any sort of personal update in awhile, so here is the race report from last weekend that I posted on our team's online boards.
Race #1 - Fort Ord/East Garrison
As with every other NorCal rider, I was so excited for our first race (and had been freaking out for a couple weeks). I had been looking forward to this day since September, when I decided to ride for my school. Coming from a background in running and triathlon, it is so different and AMAZING to be part of my school's MTB team, a total feeling of team and camraderie. I can't tell you how much fun I have had being with you guys for the past couple months. You all are the absolute best team!!! Extra thank you to A & M who spent a Saturday morning at Tamarancho helping me (A stood the the top of switchbacks and would not move until I made them!).
We arrived at the Fort Ord in time for the team pre-ride, which was hugely beneficial. I was very happy to see that it was relatively untechnical and had a couple good little uphills (which I like), and the course was sand rather than gravel which I am more confident on (softer landing if I ate it).
On Sunday morning, we left the hotel early and got to the race site. At 8 on the nose, the trailer started being unpacked and the pit zone was set up like a well-oiled machine. I was treated to some amazing (best I've ever had!) breakfast burritos that kept my legs going all morning. Soon enough, we had our team pre-race meeting and then it was time to hop on the trainer. I got a short, good warmup in and then headed up.
I had to start way in the back since I didn't have callups. It calmed me down a little to see A and E in the call-up area, and M behind me getting ready for the Soph race. Soon enough it was go time! I got stuck behind one slower rider on the start, but by the time we got to the top of that little hill, I went around her and passed a bunch of riders on the left. I caught up with A and E and rode behind them through the singletrack section in the trees, and rode with them till the start of that first decent-sized hill with all the rivulets. Since hills are my stronger area, I made sure to hit all of them as hard as I could. Soon after I saw a girl about 30 seconds up on me from Woodcreek (I think-whoever was 3rd place team Div 1). For a while I just hung behind her because I didnt want to waste too much energy but I didn't want her to beat me! At that gravel hill, I moved up and temporarily dropped her and we both passed another girl. But she caught up again on the downhill and just sat there not trying to pass. On the next uphill I pushed a bit harder and put some distance on her again and she didn't respond (Did anyone else hear our coach's voice during the race or was it just me?). Just to be safe I tucked down on my bars and hammered that flat spot near the end.
Like A, the next two laps were pretty uneventful. I was always alone. I was happy to see M at one point where two trail points squish down next to each other and called out to her. Two Vars. boys were at that first big hill with the rivulets the first and second laps, and it was nice to see them cheering for us girls. Other than that I passed some Frosh/Soph girls and the tail end of Varsity girls. My dad always tells me to pick two people to race for. Coming through the last couple miles, those two names were repeated over and over in my head and out loud (people must have thought I was crazy!).
Next time I think I'll have call-ups (not sure how that works-maybe?) and it will be good to have a cleaner start, and I'll try to keep speedy Redwood-ian Kelsey Urban as well as the girls who were 2nd and 3rd in sight to push myself harder. I did have a tough time with this race because it wasn't 10 miles that I could sprint/red-lined the whole time, or 20 miles that I could go into endurance mode. So I have to figure that out. Maybe a really, really easy and long warmup will help. The fact that the next race is shorter will make it easier to put it in the sprint/red-line category. And I should finish a whole Gu rather than dumping half of the one I tried to eat all over my grip and shifter. Whoops!
After the girls were done and we ate some amazing food, I joined A and a whole bunch of other people to cheer on the JV and Varsity boys at the last hill about two-thirds of a mile from the finish. Music, a cowbell, teammates and the boys' Pirate flag is fun. My favorite line of the day was after when S said something along the lines of "Seeing you out there cheering made me… made my essence tingle".
Another big, huge thank you to the whole team. Like I already said, I am so lucky to be a little part of the complex, amazing system that keeps on rolling (and crossing the finish line before everyone else!). I was so proud to be standing in the middle of the podium surrounded by the best teammates and coaches, ride leaders, mechanics, and parents. My main goal for this race was to race hard, not fall at the start, and I was really hoping to beat Redwood, and I am so happy we did.
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I love my team, and am do happy to be a part of it, and I had such an amazing time. Really, truly. My mom asked me if I could see myself *not* riding anymore and without a split second hesitation, the answer was "NO!".
That said, I was a bit disappointed with my performance at this first race. Physically, I could have won. Technically, probably. Experience prevented me. I have been training with the 'A'-group (all other girls are in B and C groups), and have been keeping up (toward the back of the group). I did not have call-ups, so I started about 23rd of 27 in the race. Immediately, I presume the top three girls were off since they did not have 20 other girls blocking their path. I saw very few people the whole race, which was hard to push yourself to the next level when you can't see anyone to catch.
Also, this distance is hard for me. I am best at long distances and uphills. 40-mile NorCal League race? I could win it. Uphill time-trial? Positively. The Varsity races are around 18-20 miles, which would be great for me. Fort Ord was 15. The Frost/Soph distance of 2 laps (10 miles) would be okay-just hammer time the whole way. The Varsity distance of 4 laps (20 miles) would be good-get into endurance mode. The 3 lap/15 mile was an odd distance that I do not feel like I had adequately prepared for. I burned through my fast-twitch muscles 100% but did not even touch my slow-twitch.
The race this weekend should be better. Just knowing how raceway works, the short (red-zone only), a longer warmup, and hopefully being able to have Kelsey there to push me harder, I should be even faster.
