5 Attachment(s)
Lagoon Valley Race Report
I woke up bright and early Sunday morning to drive to Sacramento for the 2nd race of the series. Velogirl was hosting a clinic that day and wouldn't be able to join but Kim was there so I didn't feel too alone. Also, miffy'sFuji was coming out to cheer us on which was very awesome. I got to the race course a few hours before my start time and got registered and dressed at a leisurely pace. Kim showed up and we decided to take a couple of exploratory laps to warm up and prep while the Men C's were racing. The first thing we noticed was that this course was super hard. Long flat stretches into headwinds, long steep ride/run ups and just when you were trying to catch your breath you got shot into steep, sometimes scary downhill sections that required all you had to keep the rubber side down. Kim bailed on a downhill section and ended up with a bloody knee before our race even began. I came close to hitting not only a fence but a tree a few times so both of us were a little apprehensive about our ability to come out of this in one piece. On top of that it was 90 degrees with no shade to be seen on most of the course. But we sucked it up and took our place at the line. Twelve women were entered in the women's C cat this week so we had a nice group starting. Last race I had a bad start and was dead last on my bike so this week I had decided to go for the front and see how it went. As soon as I heard GO I took off in the lead. Unfortunately I was unable to hold that pace or place for long. I got passed by the girl who took 1st right before the long steep run up and then was promptly passed by 2 girls on mountain bikes who were able to gear down and pedal up more easily than I. That was a little demoralizing but I kept chugging along, determined not to DNF. The race adrenaline helped out during the downhill and tight turn sections and I was able to hit each turn and dip with ease unlike during the warm up. By the 3rd and bell lap I was running on empty and the headwind was getting strong in the one place on the course were you would be able to recover. Hearing that bell somehow though keeps you going so I put all I had left into my legs and went for it. In the last 3rd of the lap I felt my rear tire go flat. No way though was I going to pull out and I rode on it for the remainder of the course and over the finish line to take 4th. All in all a hard but great race. Here are a few pics, compliments of miffy'sFuji of me on the course. Hope to see more TE'ers out at the races!
:p Erin
