Before our dismal dismissal of the Chickasaw Classic in Tennessee, Meredith Link coaxed me in to going to the Knobscorcher race at Tsali Recreational Area in North Carolina (April 6th). She praised the trail system and Randi also exclaimed how fun the trails are.
So, I talked Jason in to driving me across the states to Bryson City, N.C. Getting there was tricky in that it rained during the entire drive, and we made an extra pit stop after watching a car hydroplane and flip upside down. Matt, being a firefighter and first responder, and Meredith, being a nurse, sprung in to action along I-75 to administer health care to the occupants. Fortunately, the 5-year old girl and 2 adult women were unscathed in the accident. That is, we think their teeth were missing before the crash.
After 3+ days of pouring rain, we lined up for the AMBC/SERC #2 race. This 30-mile hell was my first Expert showing as well as my first national event. Lining up on the start line with the pro women was certainly a proud moment. I gushed at two of the girls who were riding my dream bike, which this week is a Gary Fisher Superfly 29er.
I managed a decent start but quickly lost my position within the 17 riders of pro & expert women as we started the ascent of the first hill. It was a fire road and my quads were burning already. I was last into the single track and trying to get my HR down—I’m always nervous like that at the start. After a few minutes, I found my rhythm and started concentrating on my mantras: boobs to the tube, breathe, flow, push on my outside leg in the corners, etc. This was fun!
The trails were drying nicely and despite the hilly start, I was living it up. With 4-5 miles to go in the first lap (15-mile laps), I saw her—the yellow jersey. It took me a while to catch her, but I finally went around. As I climbed the last hill of the lap she was still right behind me. Jason was there to give me a water bottle which I greatly appreciated. I had already consumed over half of my water.
On lap 2, yellow jersey girl passed me—she was a much better climber. Did I mention there was about 2500 feet of climbing in that 30 miles? Ouch! No worries—I knew I would get her when it flattened out. About halfway through the second lap I managed to pick off 3 more. Where was yellow jersey girl? And then I ran out of water. I had been rationing a bit up to that point and still had a little Heed in the water bottle. Eating without drinking is kind of nasty, but I knew I had to.
With about 3 miles to go of the race, I started looking for the Finish Line. It had to be around the next corner or over the next hill. Ugh. It must have been mile 28.5 when I finally cracked. I was still going a decent speed, but I just wasn’t pushing like I was up to that point. I never did catch yellow jersey girl.
My final place was 13th. Results are posted here. Total race time was 3 hours 6 minutes—my longest distance and time of pushing myself. My own victory indeed.
So, I talked Jason in to driving me across the states to Bryson City, N.C. Getting there was tricky in that it rained during the entire drive, and we made an extra pit stop after watching a car hydroplane and flip upside down. Matt, being a firefighter and first responder, and Meredith, being a nurse, sprung in to action along I-75 to administer health care to the occupants. Fortunately, the 5-year old girl and 2 adult women were unscathed in the accident. That is, we think their teeth were missing before the crash.
After 3+ days of pouring rain, we lined up for the AMBC/SERC #2 race. This 30-mile hell was my first Expert showing as well as my first national event. Lining up on the start line with the pro women was certainly a proud moment. I gushed at two of the girls who were riding my dream bike, which this week is a Gary Fisher Superfly 29er.
I managed a decent start but quickly lost my position within the 17 riders of pro & expert women as we started the ascent of the first hill. It was a fire road and my quads were burning already. I was last into the single track and trying to get my HR down—I’m always nervous like that at the start. After a few minutes, I found my rhythm and started concentrating on my mantras: boobs to the tube, breathe, flow, push on my outside leg in the corners, etc. This was fun!
The trails were drying nicely and despite the hilly start, I was living it up. With 4-5 miles to go in the first lap (15-mile laps), I saw her—the yellow jersey. It took me a while to catch her, but I finally went around. As I climbed the last hill of the lap she was still right behind me. Jason was there to give me a water bottle which I greatly appreciated. I had already consumed over half of my water.
On lap 2, yellow jersey girl passed me—she was a much better climber. Did I mention there was about 2500 feet of climbing in that 30 miles? Ouch! No worries—I knew I would get her when it flattened out. About halfway through the second lap I managed to pick off 3 more. Where was yellow jersey girl? And then I ran out of water. I had been rationing a bit up to that point and still had a little Heed in the water bottle. Eating without drinking is kind of nasty, but I knew I had to.
With about 3 miles to go of the race, I started looking for the Finish Line. It had to be around the next corner or over the next hill. Ugh. It must have been mile 28.5 when I finally cracked. I was still going a decent speed, but I just wasn’t pushing like I was up to that point. I never did catch yellow jersey girl.
My final place was 13th. Results are posted here. Total race time was 3 hours 6 minutes—my longest distance and time of pushing myself. My own victory indeed.
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