race report: treadfest

it was one of those days. i woke up sick (I blame the Larabar. those things do a number on me.) and hit the start with the requisite brick in my stomach. looked around and couldn't find anyone in my age group, though i knew there had to be someone... lined up with familiar faces- Anne and Amy- repeated the "just have fun" mantra and it was go time.

the start was straight uphill- super steep. it was my first time on the spot and it felt... bouncy. yes, i'm still running 40 psi, but it's also the front end was far lighter than on the Rocky Mountain and on that first climb i struggled to keep my front tire on the ground. my ankle was killing me. i felt like crap. i thought about maybe just dropping out, seriously, and was preparing the excuses for that in my head. but i forced myself on.

i wasn't the last girl off the climb, but i wasn't the first either. the first lap was annoying... people in front of me slamming on the brakes to walk over logs n' such. i was moving so slow that stuff i'd usually ride over i had to run, unable to hit it right. folks were not so good at the singletrack.

by the end of lap 1 I had found Amy- faster on the climbs but I caught her with my slickish tires on the lawnmower sections. we rode a whole lap together, and it was a hoot. jokin' around, keeping it fun. i glanced down and my heartrate, which i was pushing into the 180's before finding her, settled into a nice 166. i started having fun.

finished slightly ahead of Amy and sat around wondering what i'd done. 1st in age group. Tim rightfully asked if that meant I'm headed up to Sport, but I gotta say- if you look at the finish times of the Citizen women, they're 58:00-1:12. I won my age group in 1:06, but other age groups were way faster. I'm sticking in citizen for a spell. besides, those sport women are really alot faster. It takes alot for this really proud girl to admit to it, but I really am a citizen rider, both in speed and bike handling.

Tim took 2nd in Citizen Clydesdale, and Adrian rode his first MTB race. Jason was faaaast but ran through the finish with a flat. Helge crashed out with a shoulder problem. Killjoy's riders did great, with Mike nearly on the podium and Ben swearing less than usual. Our tent was a party, and 2 cases of beer somehow disappeared.