Climbing. Maybe I should try breathing while racing. The oxygen might help my judgement.
Yesterday I went to a race the Boston Road Club Cyclocross @ Shedd Park, in Lowell. It was rad. Well, mostly.
The course was pretty fun. I like courses where we can get the climbing out of the way fast. Whether it's a run up or a steep little kicker, I like getting the climb over and done with and then having a lot of twisty descending stuff. Or at least, that's how I feel this week. Ask me about it next Monday and I may have a different outlook.
Anyway, the course in Lowell started with a big parade lap around a field, then went into this little up-and-down u-turn around a tree, followed by some muddy-ish rough stuff. Then you had a fast descent into the barriers, another turn, and a super steep little climb. Twisty kind of loose stuff, then a cool series of switchbacks to get down the hill. Then you went back up it. The second climb was a little looser (originally I wrote "loser", which is funny) but it got a little less steep halfway through so you could really power up the last part, unlike the first climb that wasn't as loose but stayed steep the whole way up. Anyway, then you had another fast descent, followed by a little berm that you could kind of air-out if you caught it just right, before entering the woodsy section, then a little pavement, then more woods, finally onto the finishing stretch that was long and windy. As for the climbs, I rode them both in my pre-ride, but some people were running them and I was a little worried that when I got tired I was going to have to run.
I was feeling kind of yucky and super unmotivated as I got ready and "warmed up". Mostly I just rode the trainer for a few minutes, did some dynamic stretching, then decided riding the trainer sucks and went out and did some super half-assed openers on the road. I had a third row start, which isn't really that bad, but the start was super fast and I got sketched out by all the sketchy people. Or maybe it was just me. So I wasn't super aggressive. The result being that when we hit the u-turn around the tree I was pretty far back. I had this really bright idea that if I stayed on my bike a little longer and took the inside line that I could get around people. Um, that was kind of dumb. I ended up getting knocked over and trampled as I was getting off my bike. Seriously, I have a MTB shoe-shaped bruise on the inside of my elbow where I got stepped on. (AND I ripped my nice Fox gloves - but I'd almost not worn any gloves so in retrospect I'll take the ripped gloves over the missing pinky finger.) Anyway, I was Dead. Last. By a long shot. And my chain was off. Again. I was still feeling yucky and crashing and hurting my elbow and my pinky were a really good excuse to quit, right? Even after I got rolling again and passing people I was thinking that I had a good reason to quit, and I should probably just call it a day. But I didn't!
So I guess it can only get better from there, right? It was a 1/2/3 field, and there were 37 of us. So after my mishap I was in 37th. In the end I passed enough girls to end up 14th. That's pretty cool, right? I rode both of those steep climbs every time, except on the last lap when a lapped rider got off right in front of me. It's cool, it happens. Anyway, I was actually riding pretty strong, catching group after group, and feeling like when I went around people I had really good power and could distance myself from them pretty easily.
My coach/team director was standing around the start/finish area yelling at me, which actually was really helpful. It was windy through there and a couple of times when I was a few seconds back from a group or a rider, feeling ouchy and unwilling to dig too deep lest I not be able to claw my way out of the dark pit of pain, he yelled at me "GET UP THERE, NOW! GO NOW!" And I did and it worked out for me every time. Which just goes to show you that our biggest limitations are our heads, not our legs. I really would appreciate it if someone wants to just follow me around at races and tell me to go harder and quit whining. Although, Cody's tried this to no effect in the past, so maybe the difference is I had the fitness to back it up yesterday, for what really felt like the first time this season. Why? Beats the hell out of me.
Anyway, Lowell, Shedd Park, and BRC - kudos, rad race.
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