I'm off to a furiously slow start, even though my mind is deep into race mode.
The Abilene venue was a great one to get my feet wet coming out of winter and basketball season (the shoulder was sore but held up fine). There were only 2 in my field, so I was guaranteed second if I could only make the finish line. I knew Amy would win, so I pushed myself but didn't have to go "all out." It always takes a couple of races to get comfortable enough to ride safely at your limit, so I focused on staying out of the cacti and not crashing on the rocks, but getting used to feeling the burn in my legs and the feeling of competition. (I did wreck once when I tried to chunk a water bottle and got off-balance and skid out. Oops. I also smacked my head on a low branch while I was crossing a technical rock garden.) Something always seems to happen at the first race back. One time I dropped my water bottle early in the race and had to stop several times to pick up discarded bottles to see if there was any water left in them.
At Coldspring, I had a great time, but was pretty bummed about how slow I was. My average speed compared to last year was significantly less, I got passed by virtually every woman in our field (8 of us), plus almost all of the women in the older groups who start behind us, some of whom are almost 20 years older than me. Seeing a 52 and 54 year old kick butt is pretty inspiring. The best thing that came out of the weekend is that I am motivated to get to work.
My brother-in-law Andrew is racing a lot this year and is doing awesome. He has been a big encouragement to Aaron and I (Aaron even raced in Abilene!). The boys we took to Vail last summer on a downhill trip are also showing up at the TMBRA races. Alex is racing strong after recovering from a collerbone injury and Jonah is about to start training hard after having a meniscus repair. His father and sister race, so we have been cheering them on, too. And lest I forget my Bicycles Inc. teammates and the numerous other friends I get to see at each stop along the TMBRA calender...these races are a blast.
Since I forgot to take any pictures in Abilene or Coldspring (except the one above), here are some good ones from this week:
Sometimes it's easy to get absorbed in training and forget to simply ride and have fun. And every once in a while take the time to stop and say hi to old friends.
