Friends - Snow Basin Crash

The final ICup race.  The race that determined which team would take home the team cup and who would win the overall for the season.  For me there was no chance for any overall win, but it was a chance to put my legs to the test and ride a course I knew I could do well on.

Our start was a group start with the Men 57+, and the 13-15 years old.  My plans for this race was to take the first climb at a relaxed pace, the second climb put a little bit more umph to it, and then when I hit the singletrack to just pound.  Everything went as planned.  By the end of the first climb I was in last--no worries because I knew this was my course.  End of the second climb I passed on rider and entered into the singletrack with no one in sight.  I began to pound working my way along the course.  After a bit I began to worry I had let everyone get too far ahead and I might not catch them, but then I saw it.  I puff of dirt.  A good sign there were riders close by.

I continued to pound and soon was rewarded.  I saw riders.  Little by little I began to pass each rider.  And my thanks to each rider, this is the first time during an ICup race I didn't have to beg and plead to pass.  I began to pass women in my division.  Each of them were awesome and let me by.  After a moment I had worked my way from last to 3rd place.  I couldn't believe it.  I was feeling good, my legs were working well and I thought I could definitely hold this pace without blowing up.  Of course somewhere in the back of my mind came the thought "it's 2 laps, anything can happen in 2 laps".  Actually I have this thought every race, it's what keeps me going.

My race is going well, when I reach a little bit more of a climb than I planned for.  I slow down a bit, but still things are going well.  Then I hear a rider behind ask to pass--of course she is in my division.  I let her go without too much concern, because I knew in the next half mile I would be passing her back and I knew I could totally kill the downhill leaving her and others far behind.  We hit a nice flat spot again and my speed increased I decide now is the time to catch the girl that passed me not too long ago.  I hit a nice turn with a quick up, so I shift and go to pedal hard and that's it.  That's the last thing I remember. 

I don't remember flying through the air.  Not a thing, no seeing the ground, no flying through the air--I remember nothing.  I don't remember Colleen screaming.  The only reason I know she screamed is she told me.  The first thing I remember is hitting my head on rocks really hard.  So hard the first thought that came to my mind was "that's the hardest I've hit my helmet, I bet I broke it" Then the rest of my body hit and it was an instant shock to my spine, leg and hip.  My hip had hit a rock so hard that I knew I was not leaving that spot.  I lay there as Colleen asked me if I was okay.  Normally by this time I would have jumped up, said I was fine and took off.  Unfortunately this was not the case.  My response was no, I've hurt my hip and can't get up.

I stayed where I was and soon the rest of the women in my division rode up.  These women were great.  Marian took off to tell the course marshal's there had been and accident, Kory and Kat helped to slow down riders as they came around the blind corner, and Colleen kept the bugs off of me, kept checking to make sure I was doing okay and let the riders know to stop and get off to go around me. Eventually she and Kat stood right over me to keep riders from riding by me and to protect me from getting hurt.  For those who were at the race you know I was in a percarious place right by a group of rocks, and the safest way around me was to go around me--not ride around me, but get off and walk around me.   Apparently 2 riders thought the race was too important to take the 2 extra seconds to go around me and rode right up the rocks by me.  One slip and they would have landed on me and hurt me worse.  That is what led to Kat and Colleen standing over me.

While we waited the gals kept me entertained--good and bad, because laughing really hurt.  We had to wait a really long time for the EMT's to arrive--by long time, I mean long enough I believe almost every division passed us by before the EMT's got to me.  Which was fine, I wasn't going anywhere.  While waiting there wasn't one rider that didn't offer to help or show their concern as I laid stretched out across the trail. Each offered theirs words of concern and support.  There were many willing to give up their race to help and assist me.  We sent them on their way the Sport Women had it covered. 

When the EMT's arrived that's when it started to get really interesting.  By interesting I mean they started to assess my injuries.  It was then I discovered I hurt more than just my hip.  Ouch my shoulder hurt and yes my kneck is tender, oh and yeah those ribs don't feel too hot either.  Once the assessment was overwe had to wait for the rest of search and rescue to arrive.  While waiting the EMT explained to me they were going to backboard me and take me to the ambulance and then the ambulance would take me to the hospital.  I didn't like this idea and told them I needed to be dropped off at Snow Basin.  Colleen then gave me the motherly "Kendra you need to go to the hospital" talk.  She was right, but I really didn't want to leave--of course this thought left my mind the instant they backboarded me.

The crash it hurt, but not near as bad as the rest of the stuff I went through.  When they backboarded me I was screaming and crying in pain.  You see the whole right side of my body was injured from my shoulder all the way down my leg and there was no way they could get me on without pushing on an area that was injured.  Once on the board they secured me so tight there was no way I was going to budge an inch.  I was so disappointed I cried, I know that's dumb, but it just made me feel like such a wimp.  Collen and the girls made sure I got all of my stuff.  They kept search and rescue from cutting my camelbak, helped with my glasses and broken helmet and then made sure my bike was rescued too.  You see I kept worrying about my bike. 

I won't tell you the rest of the trip was good, because it wasn't.  The ride to the ambulance and the ride to the hospital was very painful.  And all the tests, cat scans and xrays were not without pain.  My initial diagnosis ended up with a mild concussion, whip lash, deep tissue bruising to my hip, bruised ribs and unknown to my shoulder.  I saw the sports medicine doctor on Monday and the diagnosis on the shoulder changed to broken scapula.  Two weeks later after an MRI and only mild improvement the diagnosis on the shoulder became a torn laberal and seperation of the ACL, no broken scapula.  It took almost 2 weeks before I was able to sit up for a good lenght of time, but little by little I have been feeling much better.  Surgery is next week and then I will be back on the bike about 6 weeks later--just in time for cross season.  A funny side note,there are no pictures.  Apparently none of us take our cameras with us during a race.

The part that will always remain with me was the kindness of each rider on the trail and all of the women in my division that gave up their race and placing to help me.  I always knew I raced with a cool bunch of women, but that day they proved just how really cool they were.  Last year I stopped my race to help another racer, this year it was returned ten fold.  I can't tell you how priveledged I feel to know these women as well as all the other riders who showed their concern and caring during and after the race.  I always knew the mountain bike community was great, but now it has been proven. 

The Interview

A lot of you know my ups and downs with jobs the last few years.  Housing industry crashed, position eliminated, company downsized.  Enough job instability to make a person nervous.  However, with all that said I have always been able to find a job and feel fortunate to be working, but my current job is not my dream job.

It is a good company I work for.  They take good care of their employees, there are good benefits, however, it does not utilize the majority of my skills--I spend most of my time on the phone all day.  This company has great stability and good opportunity for growth, so   I was hoping eventually I would have the chance for an in house transfers but those opportunities have been very few and far between.  So finally last week I decided perhaps it was time to look and see what else was available.  I did and I found my dream job--one that makes your eyes get as big as saucers.

The position is for a sports secretary.  For those who know how much I love sports and also those who know how much I love to make reports, type, organize and do office work you know this is the perfect job for me.  I applied without much hope of getting an interview, because well the fact of the matter is the job market is tough and a lot of people are looking.  Guess what!!!  I got an interview!!!

I interviewed today and the interview went well.  It is not often I leave an interview and feel like things went well.  In fact, I usually leave thinking I totally botched the interview.  But this time I left happy with how I did.  I was able to talk about my skills and experience, and there should be no doubt how much I love sports and helping others in their sports endeavors.  However, that in no way makes me think the people I interviewed thought I did a good job.  They may think I am totally not right for the position (although I would definitely would disagree with them).  But it is not often I actually feel like I did well at something.  So I guess that is why I am writing, because today something went well and it is fun to share.

PC50

To start with this was the most emotional finish I have ever had in a race.  Crossing the finish line I was filled with so much emotion over meeting my goal and overcoming so many obsticles fromm the past and the present I ended up choking up and then crying as I crossed the line.  This race meant so much to me and because of it I know this will go down as one race I will never forget and hold dear to my heart.

Leading up to the Race
Two weeks prior to the PC50 I felt great.  In fact, I felt right on track after I finished racing USCS Round Valley race.  I had raced at an even pace and when I finished I felt good.  I had a lot of energy and knew I could keep on riding.  I knew I had two more weeks of preperation, so I felt confident things were going to go well at the PC50.  Boy can things change quickly.

Three days after round valley I discover my sinus infection was back.  I don't know about others, but when I have a sinus infection I am sooooo tired.  I immediately went to the doctor and he gave me a shot as well as a prescription, so I could kick it in time for the race.  I left relieved knowing it would not be long before I felt better.

Apparently my body had other ideas.  That same evening I had an ovarian cyst rupture.  The pain was bad enough I eventually ended up in the ER, and was throwing up from the pain.  The ER doctor sent me home with some pain meds and instructions to see my doc the next day.  Which I did since the pain was still very intense and I need pain meds every four hours.  It was there I found out it was a pretty large cyst and it could take up to 2 weeks before the pain went away.  Okay, so now I am just a little stressed.  I realize I am a week away from the race and I am taking pain meds every 4 hours because I hurt so bad, and it may be a bit before the pain subsides. 

Little by little the pain began to subside, but it was not until the Tuesday before the race I could quit taking pain medication (by pain medication I mean the stuff the doctor prescribes)  The abdominal pain contninued, but was now manageable without pain meds.  I figured I would try a ride on Tuesday to see how I faired, and let's just say it was not pretty.  Trying gasping, and struggling just to ride up Spiro.  I went home realizing this was going to be a tough week. 

The rest of the week I was only able to work half days and then I would have to go home and rest in bed, because it really hurt to sit.  Another stress, I was wondering how I was going to sit on a bike for 50 miles when I could barely sit in an office chair for 4 hours.  I guess I was going to find out.

The Race
The race started out slow, and so did I.  I was going to take it at a very low pace working on keeping my abdominal pains at a minimal and hoped it all worked out.  It turned out this put me at the very back of the pack.  For once this did not bother me.  I just plugged along the climbing the hill making sure I did not over exert myself.  Oh, and while I was climbing I kept thinking "I ski down these slopes!".  Skiin at PC has it's benefits.  I may not know the singletrack at PC, but anytime we hit double track I recognized the slope and knew what to expect.

A lot of good things happened to me during this race.  Lyna and I ran into a group of racers going into single track after making a wrong turn.  This meant we didn't make a wrong turn.  We ended up passing everyone in that train and continuing on to the first aid station.  I refilled at the first aid station losing Lyna, but getting what I needed to make it to the second aid station.   Aid station two Jen Hanks helped me get my camel bak, water bottle and gels ready.  Without her I probably would still be trying to fill up my camel bak.  I was able to kill the downs and pass a lot of people on the trail both up and down.  On mid-mountain I rode with Carl Irwin, his knowledge of the trail and what to expect got me to aid station three and then on to the home stretch.

This race was hard.  My abdomen hurt during most of the ride and because I was compromised abdominally my lower back hurt too.  And as much as I love going downhill mid-mountain can really beat you up.  So much to the point you lose all feeling in your hand.  Although it was hard, and although I really hurt by the end I accomplished everything I had set out to do, and that was to finish.  This race was about overcoming more than just the last two weeks of physical aliments, this race was about overcoming all past aliments and proving they were in the past.  So crossing the line not only proved I could do it, it proved I was not going to let them keep me down.

Do Overs - Round Valley

I did the second race for the USCS series last night at Round Valley.  It was a great course and a lot of fun to ride on.  I have to say if you have not had an oppurtunity to particate in one of the USCS races you should.  They are low key, fun and your kids can race for only $5 dollars--who can beat that.

The start time for the race was 5 pm--different from what I am used to, but apparently my body was okay with this.  We started off with a pretty good group of sport women.  I like this series, because it breaks the up the women's sport division into sport and 35+--although we start together we do not compete against each other. 

As we took off from the start line some of the gals blasted off the start.  I actually started at a reasonable pace and then picked it up--I wanted to take this race at an even pace, so I could ride after and prepare for the PC50 coming up.  During the shake out loop, not to my surprise Sally went blazing by, perfect, now I have my carrot to chase.

For the entire first lap I could see her just ahead--which was fine, because my goal was to turn it up on the second lap.  By turning is up I mean on the up, because anyone that knows Sally they know she can down--like me her favorite thing is to see if she can go down without using her brakes.  I think this may be where a broken hand can be an advantage because you do not want to brake, because it will hurt.  Oh, yes did I mention Sally was racing with a broken hand!  And apparently it did not affect her mountain biking skills at all, because I never caught her.

During the second lap I turned it up and I kept seeing Sally up ahead.  I pushed on the hills and pushed on the downs hoping I could overtake her--no dice.  That girl is sooo fast. On the final climb and descent the majority of the pros started to do their passing.  This was the one place I was hoping to not run into the pros, there is passing, but it is tight.  Thinking I could still see Sally I didn't want to lose much time, so passing without pulling over became tricky.  Thank goodness the pros were so skilled.  As we went up I would go close to one side of the trail and they would hop over and pass.  As a side note, can I just say how amazing it is to watch them climb with such speed it's like I am standing still as they go by.  I wonder if it looks the same to them, the me standing still that is. 

At the top of the final climb is a straight away, then you go down into some semi rocky switchbacks, then you got to another short straight away and into smooth switchbacks.  This is where I wish I could have my do over.  Hot after Sally and hoping I could catch her I hit the top of the climb ready to push it hard on the down.  I am not sure where, but somewhere on the descent I was overtaken by a pro rider and passed.  It had to have been on a straight away, but I am not sure where.  What I do remember is following him for just a little bit as we skidded through some of the upper switchbacks.  Sometime during that period another rider wanted to pass.  We hit a straight away I said pass, but no pass--I took off and we headed downhill.  The rider stayed close behind me, and I was surprised.  I had passed another rider behind me on the down and left him far behind and thought this rider was him.  I couldn't believe the skills the rider was displaying as they had not been present when I had passed him on the downhill before, so this greatly added to my confusion.  At this point I began to wonder if the person behind me needed to pass, was I holding them up or were they fine staying behind me.  I kept going not quite sure what to do.  All of the sudden as I was trying to figure this out.  I hear "Kendra I can't pass without taking both of us out you need to find a place"  My internal response is "yikes"  I am holding this person up.  I immediately pulled over so he could pass feeling awful knowing I had held him back.  As I pulled over I hooked a tree/bush branch with my handlebars and immediately went over my bike.  A few curse words were dropped, I jumped up got on my bike and  took off.  A little shook up as I went down I lost some of my momentum and smoothness on the down--I hate it when crashes do that to you.  I finished, feeling strong and happy with how I did, but with ripped up skin and bruises on my knees and arms.....ugh.

I found Sally and learned she was actually 5 minutes ahead of me!!!  I don't know who it was I kept seeing in front of me, but it obvsiously wasn't Sally (or at least some of the time it wasn't).  I found the rider and apologized for holding him up.  I felt awful, and it wasn't because I knew him or that he was a pro, it was because I held up and rider and I never want to do that.  I don't know what I could do to do it over, but I want a do over.  I want to let this rider pass, and I want to avoid the crash.  I know how frustrating it can be to not pass, as the last two races I have had riders intentionally not let me pass and it held me back from my competition.  In my case I continually asked to pass and was refused, in this case I didn't refuse, I basically just messed up.  

On a brighter note.  I took 2nd place!  Very excited about the win and about how I rode.

Draper - Laying it Down

I listened all night and into the early morning as the rain came down.  I wondered as many I am sure did whether the race would be delayed or post-poned.  Early in the morning the first tweet came in "Well, no snow out here.  Very light rain."  Then the next "No rain now. Clearing. Walked part of trail. No tracks. Sand drys quickly."   Eventually another tweet came letting us know the race was delayed an hour.  Hmmm... maybe the race course wouldn't be too bad, I was skeptical, but thought I may as well go and give it a try.  I liked this course and felt like I could do well.

Upon arriving to the race, I immediately realized the condition of the course was going to be the least of my worries.  It was cool and breezy--the cold part would not have been so bad but the breeze chilled you to the bones.  Just standing in line all of us in the women's sport division were chattering from the chill.  I could not wait for the start just so I could get going and get warm. 

My start went really well this time.  I went off the front, but this time I held it for at least a mile, and then somewhere just before we entered into the Equestrian area Ali passed me.  She was looking strong.  I had now worries about the pass, I was just thrilled I held the front that long.  As we entered into single track Jen soon came up on me and I let her know to let me know when she needed to pass (I figure you can pass and if I am fast enough I will pass you back).  She waited until we hit the double track and then up the hill she went.  My last words to her "see ya' at the finish".

I kept going strong and was surprised to not hear any other sport women come up on me.  In fact I didn't hear anyone until we hit the double track downhill.  I was able to hold the next rider off until we went into the switchback uphill climb--amazing!  And actually it was good she passed me here, because I definitely needed to pace myself in this part.  As I went up I could see Lyna behind me--I didn't know how long I could hold her off, but I sure was going to try.  Eventually she caught me on the down just before the half lap--snuck right by me, it was awesome.  Even better, I held with her.  My goal was to keep her in my sights for the rest of the race.

I was doing great at my goal, and then it happened.  I went into a downhill switchback that had a trench on the inside, a little percarious, but very easy as long as you hit it right.  I hit it right and then all of the sudden I was down, and I was down hard.  Not seconds after I hit I jumped up grabbed my bike and sent the two riders behind me on their way.  I went to get on my bike and saw my handle bars had turned around.  I went to turn them back and discovered they were stuck!  I tried and tried, but could not turn my bars around.  The course marshal came to help and he could not get them to turn.  They were stuck and they were stuck good.  It took some time, but eventually with some prying and jimming the course marshal and I were able to turn them back, but not without some damage to my bike.  During all of this I lost sight of Lyna and was passed by another rider in my division.  I took off and did all I could to catch everyone.

My poor bike.

I felt a lot of frustration welling inside of me as I rode.  I had wanted so badly to do well at this race and here, once again, I had crashed and had lost a significant amount of time.  There was a lot of encouragement from friends on the course and thanks to them I was able to stave off the frustrations here and there.  I tried hard, but never did catch the other riders.  I did see them, but just wasn't able to catch them--oh the frustrations.  I crossed the line in sixth place, and rode a good ride, but I felt a lot of frustration from the ride which I just could not seem to shake.  It was hard feeling so good and riding so strong and then to watch it all slide away due to a stupid crash. 

The reality is this is mountain bike racing and these things happen.  There are flat tires, chain suck, crashes and who knows what other mechanicals--all of these are a part of racing.  And although we don't like them and we wish they wouldn't happen they are part of what makes a race, and draws us to the next race.

As for me and my frustrations I should have remembered how much I accomplished this race instead of focusing on what I loss.  As I read through this I realized I stayed near the front for a really long time.  Not only that I kept with the front part of the group up until I crashed--that is huge.  I wished I had thought of this at the race.  Oh well.  For now I will celebrate my accomplishments and prepare to do it all over again.  Well, at least as soon as my sore muscles will let me.

Me with my trusty steed.

Proof mud was flipping everywhere!

My bike looks muddier than me!

My Quirkiness



Proof of my quirkiness.



All of us have quirks, and I sometimes wonder just how quirky are mine.  You see I have a few weird things I always do.  Example, I always count the stairs when going up or down them.  I can tell you exactly how many stairs we have on each level at our house.  However, I do not count stairs just at home I count them where ever I take stairs.  Sometimes I will try to trip myself up and skip stairs, or take them in a hurry.  This seems to work and then I don't count them, but under normal circumstances I count them.

Another quirky thing.  I plan out my route as I am driving home figuring out which is the fastest way to go home.  This means I know how each stop light works.  You see, not each stop light has the turn light at the same time--some turn left right when the green light first goes on, others turn left after you have been waiting a bit.  And then to add to the mix in the early morning the left hand turn is different before  7 am and different after--and yes, I know when and how all of the stoplights turn on my way home!  So of course I am watching as I drive to decide whether it would be adventageous for me to turn left or go straight to get home.  And it is not about the distance I take going home, it is about how quick I can get home.  Sometimes the quickest way home is the longest.



These two quirks nobody knew about me until now, but the one that is noticable and makes my husband laugh is how I eat frozen M&M's.  You see I am not a big fan of chocolate--basically I could take or leave it.  But I do like frozen m&m's.  They are crunchy, and you really can't taste the chocolate.  Here is the quirk--I separate my m&m's by color.  Each color is placed into a group with the same color, and they cannot touch each other.  After doing this I eat them in a particular order--in my mind the yuckiest to the best.  This is brown, yellow, orange and red.  Blue and green tie, so whichever one has the most I save for last.  Give me a bag of m&ms and I will save it for later, I just can't eat them out of the bag.  Quirky I know, but I also eat my pizza backwards.  Anyone else have some funny quirks, or is it just me?



The 2 Soldier Hollows

Mad Dog Race Team 2011 

I didn't write about my race last week, there was not much to write, because I failed to show up.  I was there physically, but mentally I did not show up.  I had a very bad attitude about the course, and basically was only riding because it was being sponsored by Mad Dog--poor reason I know, but I did show up.

Since my attitude was so poor, I did not feel competitive and was there to try, but not hard.  It took a wrong turn, and losing a spot to change my whole perspective.  It was at that point I started to ride hard.  After the race was over and I had time to reflect, I was very disappointed in myself.  I wasn,t fatigued or coughing off the finish line.  In fact, I wasn't anything I should have been--I was very disappointed I didn't give it my best.  Giving it my best I wouldn't have placed different, but at least I would have put forth a good effort.  With all this reflection I decided the next race was not going to be a repeat.

Muddy results.

Lining up for race #2 at Soldier Hollow, I was very nervous.  You see, since I had decided I was going to try really hard my nerves got the best of me.  Not so much about placing, but about being able to meet my goal.  With that said, can I just say when you are nervous and you are waiting for Ed to call your division up it is just pure torture--it also, causes many problems with the bladder.

Once on the line my nerves calmed down and I took off.  I rode strong and felt good the whole race.  I did have one small wipe out at the top of the course with the mud.  Because of this I ended up running three switchbacks that were loaded with water and mud.  I don't know if this was a good idea or not, but I felt it would be better than crashing--either way I would lose time and I really didn't want to find out the hard way.  I crossed the finshed line and felt great, I had tried hard, and had the typical I rode hard cough.  Results were good and best of all I gave it my best effort.  Goal from henceforth, no more bad attitude; ride hard and have fun.

Sport Women Podium

Picture by Kay Hutchings

Picture by Kay Hutchings

Picture by Kay Hutchings

Picture by Kay Hutchings

12 Hours of Mesa Verde Redemption

This is my second year doing 12 Hours of Mesa Verde, and I had one goal in mind for this race--to greatly improve from the year before.  Last year when I did the race I was fresh off of my heart surgery.  I thought things would go well at that race, but well let's just say that was when I learned the upcoming year was going to  be a year of recovery.  For me the race this year was a pinnacle, a turning point from where I have been and where I am going.

This year I raced with some great gals Sally and Heather--our team name Cranky Cowgirls (theme for the race was western).  Heather started us off, with Sally second and me third.  Heather and Sally killed it on their laps and then it was my turn.  I started out strong, in fact a little too strong.  I was going to hard at the first and was worried I would end up blowing up.  I kept telling myself to slow down a little bit, but no go, I kept going.  Eventually I did settle in and started going at an even, fast pace.  About half way through the course I looked at my time and saw I was ahead of my goal--I was feeling great, everything was falling in to place.  Then it happened, I crashed!  I didn't just crash, I flipped my bike and landed hard on the ground with a huge grunt, startling all of the people behind me.  I jumped up, moved my bike off the trail and let a train of people ride by.  I saw two women in our division go and began to panic--what if I lost our place, what if I ruined everything Sally and Heather had done.  As soon as the trained passed I hopped on my bike and proceeded to catch up.  In less than one mile I crashed again!  This time nothing major, but once again I had to let a train of people go by and fix my brake--ugh, all that time lost.  From here til the end I flew, hoping to make up for lost time.  Results, I improved my lap time by 15 minutes from last year!  Of course all I could think was if only I hadn't crashed how much faster my lap time would have been.  My biggest concern, not letting my team down.



 I wish I could say my second lap was great, but alas it was not.  Both my laps were in the heat of the day, but my second was in the prime of the heat.  Coming from 40 to 80 degrees just does not seem to agree with me--I can't wait to for it to get warm, so I can start to acclamate to the heat.  The other issue, I drank a very heavy milk product inbetween laps.  I know better than to drink milk during a race, I don't know what was I was thinking--I guess you could say I wasn't.  Needless to say when I left for my second lap I was sick,  all I could think about was throwing up, I even tried about mile 3, but without success.  I felt so miserable, my legs didn't want to go and I all I could hope for was to get through the lap and not lose our place.  My goal had changed from killing it on my lap to making sure no woman passed me and I passed any woman I could see.  I felt so miserable I was sure it took me an hour longer to do this lap.  Lucky for me that was not the case.  I only lost us 8 minutes, and no women passed me....whew. 

Heather coming in on her final lap.

Heather wrapped us up with the final lap and our team held on for a poduim win of 5th place.  The teams this year were much faster than last.  To put it into perspective the first two teams were retired pros and pros, and beat last years times by over an hour.  I can't begin to say how cool it was to race with Heather and Sally and podium.  What a great comeback from last year, and what a fun, fun race.  I am so looking forward to returning and racing here again.

Awesome team mates, awesome team!

Last Day of April

I had great plans for mountain biking and then woke up to this!

Not to be deterred by the weather we met up and decide it was time for a long road ride.  About 13 miles into the ride we passed Patty, so she turned around and rode with us until she reached the outskirts of Payson.  The ride was long and fun--53 miles....so take that snow you are not going to ruin my day!!!

What Happened at Cholla?

I was actually nervous before the race started.  I am not sure why, because I did not have any expectations.  I knew I was still not up to being as fit as my competition, and I would be lucky if I could hang with them, but for some reason I was nervous.  Sally thought it was because we had to wait around for the start and I tend to agree.

KC & Chris's dog Texas making himself home on my chairs so he could watch the race.

Weather conditions were great for the race, except for one minor issue--the heat.  Had the race started earlier the heat was manageable, but since it was later...well, it was not so manageable for me.  When we started the race it was approximately 82 degrees.  Now this is not so bad except apparently some parts of the course were 94 degrees as I was soon to find out.

It was hot enough for the lizards to sun.

I started out the race in true fashion fast and at the front.  Now this is not unusual for me, because I seem to have a fast start, but it doesn't get much faster from there and about 15 seconds from the start people start to pass me.  However, this time that did not happen.  I was a little stunned.  There was some jostling for place going over the slick rock, and I was doing great.  I continued to be near the front until we started to climb.  At this point others began to pass me.  I was okay with this, because we stayed close together and I felt great.  I was pushing it just perfect.

Over the slick rock.

A little more than half way through the first lap.  I hear a cute, little voice behind me, saying she is just pacing off me....it that's okay.  Of course it is okay, I didn't mind, it's always nice to have a little company.  I could see the whole pack as we rode, and was ready to put a few riders behind me.  However, the trail conditions made it difficult for me to pass and then all of the sudden it happened.  We were in this canyon, gulf, gully, I don't know what you want to call it, but all of the sudden I got very, very hot.  I was heating up from the inside out.  I backed off making any move for a moment and just hung with the group hoping my internal heater would cool down.  No such luck.  I continued to get hotter and hotter and as I got hotter I got slower.  Realizing the group was starting to pull away from me and I was not cooling down.   I let my pacer know that she would need to make her move, and she did.  In fact she made such a great move she took 1st place!!!  Something she needs to be posting from the mountain tops--or at least on facebook.

As for me.  Well I never cooled down, but I never quit.  I pushed as hard as I could, but my body rebelled and I heated up each time I tried to push it.  I finished, but I honestly do not know what place I took.  I know it was 3rd to last, but that's all I know.  I was so toasted when I crossed the finished line, all I was concerned about was cooling down.  The cool part of the race  Although I got very hot and my body couldn't handle the heat, my body could handle the race.  It felt strong, which has me looking forward to more races to come.

JEM Trail

After every good race is a well deserved ride.  A group of us decided we need a good cool down ride and headed over to ride JEM.  The ride was beautiful and perfect.  We had a nice little breeze that kept us cool, with perfect cloud coverage.  The down was awesomeness and by the end there was nothing but smiles and huge grins.  What a perfect way to end the day.