As all of the above thoughts raced through my head, I felt a tinge of regret. I felt I had a shot at being champion, but after my poor performance at Over the Hump, I had learned that racing when exhausted could (a) be demoralizing and (b) dig you into a hole training-wise. Besides, I had decided I wanted to do Leadville, and I wasn't sure this race would fit into my training.
So, I trained all week and did not taper. I even got a little drunk Friday night and suffered from a mild hangover Saturday. I really, really was NOT planning on racing, though I was throwing the thought around in my head and bugging Heidi. :-) I even declined to carpool with Annabelle. I was that unsure.
Saturday night I set my alarm for 6 am. When I woke up at 6 and wasn't exhausted, I took this to be a good sign. I hopped on the trainer and tested my legs - they felt good! David texted me and told me go. All signs pointed to yes. So, I threw all my race supplies together, forgetting my salt tablets, my camera and DIRECTIONS and stumbled out the front door. (Fortunately, Keith later helped out in the directions department, and Heidi hooked me up with some salt tablets!)
When I got to Big Bear I realized it would be a HOT race, so I opted for an old and ugly sleeveless jersey over my Team Margarita jersey (which I would later wear for the podium). By the time I had registered and got ready, I only had 30 minutes to spare, and people were telling me that it was a 20 minute pedal to the race start!
I started pedaling up the hill, using it as a warm up. I stayed mostly in zone 3. It only took about 6 or 7 minutes to get to the start, and I whizzed by my competition on the way.
As it turns out, only two girls were racing Pro, Lauren Gregg and Vanessa Humic. Both are sponsored, whereas I just turned Pro 3 months ago. I thought I looked pretty lame next to them, in their sleek outfits and toned muscles. But I put those thoughts away and lined up at the front. I figured that with the way I was feeling (tired!) I'd get beaten by some of the fast Cat 1 girls, like Allison Jones or Larissa Fitchett. (Both are going to upgrade to Pro, by the way! Watch out Pro girls!)
From the word "go" I sprinted but had to pull back almost immediately. Lauren Gregg did catch me up. She said "good luck" (for the second time that day) and then attempted a pass. I put the hammer down and never looked back. (Actually, I looked back a lot, but neither girl was in sight. Yes!)
My sprint at the start (I am the girl in the ugly blue and white jersey):
I established a large lead early on and then pretty much rode a bit above tempo pace for the rest of the race. There was no way I was going be able to go 100%, but I did the right thing. I didn't fade at all; my pace was consistent. I was racing smart, given that I wasn't fully recovered from Temecula. I figured that the 24-mile course would take 2 hours.
Anyway, the course was absolutely perfect for me, given the way I was feeling. It was mostly fire roads. They weren't too steep. I didn't have to think - just go. Perfect.
I kept slipping into "cruise" mode. I didn't even notice Mario when I passed him. Later he told me that I was "enjoying the views" and "cruising." I really need to learn how to race fast when I'm out in front. I tried "priming" myself with words like "fast," "strong" and "rocket." (Research has shown that thinking about such words can make people behave in accordance with the words.) Anyway, this seemed to help a little. But honestly, I didn't want to go too hard and drive myself into a training hole. And also, I just looooove Big Bear! The views are spectacular.
The last few miles involved some technical descending on single-track, but I had it in the bag, because I used to shuttle Big Bear quite a lot and had done that trail many, many times. I was railing it. Unfortunately, by that point the beginner racers were completing their shorter lap, and a beginner man out in front of me wouldn't let me by. In fact, he flat out ignored all my protests. I probably lost a full minute right there. I was livid. When I finally executed a dangerous pass in a particularly technical, rocky section, I yelled, "What's your problem man?!" No response, of course. I wish I had taken a moment to note his number so as to report him to Tom. I always, always get over for other racers. There's just no excuse for that sort of thing.
Anyway, everything was really well marked, and the volunteers were all cheery and nice. They weren't even perturbed when I rode the course again after my race while the race was still going on (Leadville miles!).
When I crossed the finish line with a time of 1:46 I was all smiles. I had predicted two hours, so it was a very pleasant surprise. I hadn't even gone anaerobic or anything. Sweet - I'll take it! Later on I would learn that I had the fastest female course time of the day. When I podiumed, Tom announced that my time was competitive with the amateur men. That - plus the giant Sierra Nevada beer (which I couldn't drink, b/c I had to go ride more) - put a big smile on my face. Of course, I couldn't help but think that I would have been competitive with the Pro men if I had tapered for the race and not done Temecula the weekend prior. But that's neither here nor there. Courses with long fire road climbs and technical descents play to my strengths for sure ...
My first real 1st place Pro podium:
Team Margarita makes it into the top of the Pro results for CA State Champs (not a bad a first year!):
. Note - the Cat 1 women 15-18 did a shorter course.
The rest of the day was a blur of catching up with friends and riding. Unfortunately, an RV crashed on the 330 on my way back, so I was delayed by 30 minutes. When I got back, Keith took me out for some delicious thai food, and I think I ate enough for a week! I could stand to lose a good 8 lbs before Leadville, so it's time to cut the fat, desserts and alcohol out (well, not completely!). We ended the night with two episodes of Breaking Bad - the perfect end to a good day!
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