Biker Chicky Pookie: October 2009

I had to do 2 posts..my pics are pulling in weird to blogger.

OW!!!!! That about summarizes the Montvale Mahem Race. It's been 3 months since my last cross country race. During that time I was riding fairly strong until about a month and a half ago. Hubby dislocated his shoulder...so I sort of lost a little motivation to ride.. I felt guilty every time I went out w/ out him. I haven't been putting in the long road miles to keep up my endurance & although I've been riding..I haven't felt really strong. Laura keeps getting stronger & stronger since she healed from a crash earlier in the fall. She's been focusing on the Iceman coming up in November all the while practicing short, intense, fast stuff. I knew going into the race it was gonna be a close. I was totally up in the air about racing until about 2 days ago when I saw Laura & Kristin had signed up to do expert. Sport, Singlespeeders & Experts all did the same length..so I decided if I'm gonna race, I may as well sign up for Expert too...just to make it interesting & possibly get some cash out of it for my effort.I had not ridden out here since February. Back then the trails were still fairly new. Much more has been added since then. I had heard folks talking about the course..how fast it was, where the log crossings were, the long climbs...Basically it was a course where you're on the gas the entire time. I would be riding "blind" as I had not pre-ridden the course so I had no clue what was in store.
When we lined up at the start, the girls were quite "whiny"...It was pretty comical to the boyz...they probably thought..."geez, what the heck are they racing for w/ all that whining...were's the cheese??? "
The start began w/ a gravel road climb.....great way to start for someone who hasn't been climbing real well. Laura pushed the pace right out of the gate. If I was even going to have a shot at doing well, I knew I had to stay on her wheel. We climbed the road, then onto the grassy section...then through the freezing cold creek into the singletrack. We ascended Yellow Drum trail..lots of leaves, roots, climbing. Laura was going so hard...I wondered if I would be able to stay w/ her. We got to one of the switchbacks & she pulled off...I took over the lead as we continued up. I thought to myself..oh no...I'm gonna pace the whole race and end up losing in the end. (nice positive self talk huh?) We continued on...up Bealle's Treasure, twisting turning, climbing, descending. A few of the sport boys caught us as we continued.. I had a slight gap going through the second half of the course. It was a ton of fun...very fast downhills, a few bermed turns..the only weird thing was the course went back and forth on itself so much, you could see your competitors but could never gauge how far in front you were. As I descended this super fun section, I must have hit a root the wrong way. The next thing I knew, I was in a heap of leaves on the side of the trail. One of the other riders who caught me said I was riding soo fast..next thing he saw was the lump of Paula laying in the leaves.
I got back on & continued. Little did I know I had the start of a nice bruise on my thigh...OW #1. As I continued, I encountered the log crossings. I was so hesitant after my crash that I ended up walking over all of them. It was pathetic. I have a bike w/ big wheels & couldn't do the darn logs!
I continued to push my pace b/c I figured Laura was right on my tail....Lap 2 was harder than lap one. On the climbs, I could feel twinges in my legs...never a good sign b/c I could tell I was on the verge of cramping. I kept drinking & eating my Shot blocks...but all the while telling myself..push the pace, she's gonna get you.
I crashed again in a different spot on lap 2. It was a sandy switchback where I had too much speed & just washed out. I did a 180 degree turn before falling. Argggh! OW #2.........Through Lap 2 I caught a glimpse of Laura in the same area as I was. I pushed it a little more b/c I didn't know how much time I had on her. As I came through the check point, the marshals were encouraging me on. I was running out of gas. The first part of the lap is mostly climb. My legs were starting to cramp...not good. I continued to push through it. Lap 3 was clean...slow, but clean. I still hiked all of the log crossings but I did not crash & maintained good control. I was flying the downhills b/c I knew I could make up ground there since I was labored in my climbing. Came through the last section & then followed the directions to head in. Another sport buddy of mine caught me. He said I had at least 2 minutes on Laura...I said "are you sure..b/c I think she's right there"...he said I was fine. By this point my legs were severely cramping. I didn't think I could make it back b/c there was one more climb. Going through the cold stream didn't help b/c I tensed my muscles ....as we headed back out the grass, I tried to spin & pace w/ the sport....he paced me up the climb....I was groaning & in a serious world of hurt. I tried to spin fast to the finish and that's when my right calf quit. It seized up & I couldn't get my foot out of the pedal to stretch it. Finally I got it out. I hit the finish line screaming. OW #3 Kenny (race promoter) was giving me a hard time for not taking my Sport Legs..when in fact I had taken my pre-race supplement (race caps)....I think I was a little dehydrated going into it & the constant up/down contributed to the cramping. Laura was only a few minutes back..she finished strong.

Overall I'm pleased w/ my effort.