Great report Eden... here's my take from the 1/2/3 race.

It was somewhat chilly when I rolled up to Vance Creek - about an 1.5 hour drive south of Seattle. It was hard deciding what to wear - because the sky looked like it could open up and start pouring at any moment - and I didn't want to be caught unprepared. I ended up with knee warmers, long fingered gloves, undershirt, jersey and windtex vest plus arm warmers and was perfect. Not too hot - not too cold. Dressing correctly can be somewhat of a challenge - especially in the spring. Like who would've known a few weeks ago it'd snow on TST? Frozen to the bone I learned my lesson - better over prepared in the spring time.

We had a nice showing - about 21 women. Various teams showed up in more force then they have for most of the season. Group Health, Wines, and Ti all had more than 5 members. Then there were a couple of us straglers - Byrne, UW, Axley, etc. Which meant - sit back and let the teammates do the majority of the work - but keep a careful eye on the attack situations and be prepared to bridge the gap if the right combination of racers get up the road. The only time this was truly threatening was when Lisa from TGH got a 15 second lead on the group during the last lap - and she's an excellent time trialist. I made a comment, "well there goes the race..." and apparently that was all I needed to say to get Tia from Ti motivated to reel her back in.

I felt solid going into the climbs. I've been working on getting into a rhythm - concentrating on breathing and keeping a solid pace going. Jadine's pace certainly helped. She is not the first one up the hill but she's certainly going to get up it in no time. Plus she has somewhat of a calming effect - and that little bit of comfort was all I needed to stay in the game and play. On the last lap however, I was distanced from her and the leaders and ended up hearing someone start saying negative things.... "uh oh. I can't do it...." blows the concentration. Luckily I was able to hold on tight to the wheel I was on and left the woman down the hill. That was a perfect example of how self-doubt and negativity will result in exactly that - a positive attitude and energy will make all the difference.

At about 300 meters from the turn with the steep kicker and finish line, the pace eased up and I sat in instead of driving it beyond them and getting a better placement. Dang it! Why didn't I go? Where was that energy and drive to keep it going? How about those insane watts that I can put out when under pressure? But alas, today I was content with being 10th. My hubby pointed out a good perspective - at least I'm learning and recognizing where improvement can be made. And my mom pointed out another great perspective - last year I couldn't even finish with the group. Actually, come to think of it - two weeks ago I couldn't even finish with the pack. So there! Not bad - there's still room for improvement and I'm not satisfied - but not bad, not bad at all.