Nice job Eden! Sounds like you had a good experience. Mine was a little different - but most importantly I was sooo happy it was sunny this weekend! Beats the snow from the previous week. And last year at Walla Walla they cancelled the RR because of a thunder storm! Here's a recap from my experience in the 1/2/3 field....

It started with a 5 mile TT - uphill for 3/4 of the course and somewhat windy. I did alright - placing 10th in the TT. My original start time was bumped from the beginning of the course to the very last position for some reason. I caught some poor woman who was 3 minutes in front of me. She was somewhat devastated. My advice to her - learn to LOVE time trials. That's the only way to do better in them. If you tell yourself you don't like something then chances are you'll have a disappointing performance. But if you embrace them and learn to like them - well then anything's possible.

We were able to relax between stages - lounging in the warm sun on a nice green lawn. Amara took the team switch news pretty well. She and I were one of two women on Gregg's team and I was recently invited to ride with Tamarack - a pro womens team based out of Idaho. I'll probably still be sporting Gregg's on the track and Tamarack on the road. I was more afraid of the Boursaw's reaction than anything. But they were very understanding and encouraging.

The 60 mile road race started out well. I felt super strong but as usual once I got up front it was a detrimental mistake. Instead of saving all of my energy for the 3km climb - I got up front and stayed there like a rookie. We completed the first small loop and came back around to do the climb and I was immediately dropped. I couldn't catch back on for the life of me. I just don't think I was prepared to deal with the pain nor in my head did I make the decision to go for it. I ended up catching up with Melinda, Jaimie and this other local woman. We did a rotating paceline through to the final climb - of which I was immediately dumped off. Needless to say I finished the RR and was looking more forward to the crit the following morning. I was the victim of what I told the woman I caught earlier in the TT - I need to learn to LOVE climbs. Biggest lesson learnt - get comfortable being uncomfortable and start hammering out the wattage. Bike racing isn't easy - so get on that pony and ride!

The crit was an opportunity to see how we as a team work together and hang in there. We communicated throughout the race - but Kele ended up pulling an amazing move and lapping our field. The course is super fun - lots of corners and my goal was not to break at all. Once Kele made her break and it was obvious that she was not going to be caught it was a matter of making sure Jana was locked into 3rd place in the GC - which she easily did. I really enjoyed working with the ladies and contributing. There were three of us in the field and we were able to chase down any attacks and win some premes. It's so nice to be on a team where I can actually do something! And although I didn't place well in the final sprint, I still feel like I accomplished a lot in the grand scheme of things. First of all - I can play ball. It's only my second year and I'm proving I have the fitness and ability to hang in there. Now I just have to want it. And I have to also be able to deal with pain. Cycling pushes you to the limits - and the only way to advance in the advanced field is to push outside of your comfort zone and become comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Speaking of which - it's time for me to get outside and work my weaknesses!