DFL-icious.

(photo: Bobbi Bowers.) When payout/prizes go 4 deep, and you're 4th of 4, you get the sweet sweet beer of a winner, even though you're really not. It's one of the oddities of women's racing. It happens alot... much like our WEMS series wins.

I've had a lot of DFL action this year. It's sort of a joke to me, since I'm slow and I know it, since racing is something I do for the social aspect more than anything, but I do want to share my thinking on this one...
First, I've done things this year that are new to me or that I don't usually do. One of the DFL's is on the track, which I've not ridden in two years. One is in an "open" class packed with superfast expert women, which I've never raced before.
Second, I still believe that finishing whole is more important than where I place. In the case of that WEMS race, I just wasn't risking a tumble down from the off-camber slickness, so I just took my time and did what I could to stay upright. I still think that drop out and DFL was a good, logical choice.
Third, I don't drop out of events just to avoid the DFL. Which I know some people do. But if I'm going to be able to cross the finish line, I will. Sorta like my failure marathon: if I said I'd do it, I'll do it, no matter how slow.
And finally, I'm really not serious about racing. I have it coming, basically. My love of beer will never be supplanted by concern for race weight, and my training still bows to the exercise needs of my dog.

Either way, we keep rolling. Yesterday Molly and I ran ~8 mi to the lake and back, and later I checked out the Track Cats fundraiser with Audrey. And drank lots of beer.