Congrats Becca! First Iceman is always tough, hard to know what to expect. There was more single-track this year than last. I didn't have a great race either. I went out way too hard at the start and hit the wall big time--just in time for all the hills in the last 5-6 miles. It was pure misery. But we had fun hanging out afterward with everyone and watching the pros come finish.

I did a pre-ride of the finish, about the last 3-miles, the day before the race. I decided to attack one of the hills as hard as I could. I wanted to have a positive mental image of myself climbing that hill, feeling strong and fast so that I could recall that during the race. Totally backfired! I'm grunting and snorting my way up when these two women breeze by me, one had on the handle bars, chatting and laughing. It was demoralizing. Turns out one of them was Kelli Emmett.