Runnergirl - what a fantastic finish! Way to go especially after a tough pre-ride. Sometimes it takes getting dirty to get the jitters out. And I know what you mean on how a race lowers the inhibitions to allow you to have more fun.

I will never forget that on all my club rides, I was taught to keep your feet on the pedals and that if you had to put a foot down you were riding out of control. In my first race I remember the rider in front of me taking her foot off the pedal to turn a sharp curve. I'm thinking "hey, that's gotta slow you down, etc", but I couldn't get it out of my head. So in my next race (yeah, I was out of control!), I thought I was gonna wipe so I put my foot down to take a curve and it helped me take the curve and keep some speed. So the moral of the story is, sometimes you have to try something knew to give you some confidence and help you have FUN with what you'rd doing. Besides, I thought it looked cool even if it's not technically correct......