Summer Sizzler Recap
Two years ago I signed up for the MASS Summer Sizzler even though I told myself I wouldn't race once camp started. The name of the race ended up being appropriate for the day. It was an incredibly hot day - so hot that the promoter shortened the course that followed my race.
It was an awful race for me. A fast course that required constant pedaling and little recovery. I remember looking at my HR in the first lap and knew I wouldn't finish if I continued at that pace. And I didn't. On the 2nd lap, I started to feel nauseous and had chills. I remember the men catching me on my 2nd lap - and Lance coming behind me. He asked how I was, I replied "I don't feel good" and coasted through the remainder of the lap. I never went out for my 3rd lap. While it was the best thing to do, I was disappointed that I quit.
I wasn't going to let that happen this year. I had a goal of not blowing myself up and finishing.
It was lonely ride down as I went by myself and had no teammates to hang with. But it gave me time to think about how I would approach the race. I lined up in the back, letting all the ladies go ahead of me. I figured I would just pick my way through the crowd.
When the whistle blew, I was towards the back going into the singletrack. No big deal. There were some short punchy climbs in the beginning that many of the girls were getting hung up on, causing an accordion effect of us all getting off our bikes. By the 3rd time, I had enough, and ran CX-style past a few girls. I was behind another girl and made a pass. Then I caught a girl who I knew would be someone to hang on with. She has been someone I've been chasing and caught before in CX and other mountain bike races.
We rode together for 2.5 laps when I got hung up behind another rider. She was able to get past and rode away. I thought I would catch her on the technical stuff at the end of the lap, but I never did. I finished 2nd in my category and 2nd female overall. And I'm ok with that - my race goals were met.
It was an awful race for me. A fast course that required constant pedaling and little recovery. I remember looking at my HR in the first lap and knew I wouldn't finish if I continued at that pace. And I didn't. On the 2nd lap, I started to feel nauseous and had chills. I remember the men catching me on my 2nd lap - and Lance coming behind me. He asked how I was, I replied "I don't feel good" and coasted through the remainder of the lap. I never went out for my 3rd lap. While it was the best thing to do, I was disappointed that I quit.
I wasn't going to let that happen this year. I had a goal of not blowing myself up and finishing.
It was lonely ride down as I went by myself and had no teammates to hang with. But it gave me time to think about how I would approach the race. I lined up in the back, letting all the ladies go ahead of me. I figured I would just pick my way through the crowd.
When the whistle blew, I was towards the back going into the singletrack. No big deal. There were some short punchy climbs in the beginning that many of the girls were getting hung up on, causing an accordion effect of us all getting off our bikes. By the 3rd time, I had enough, and ran CX-style past a few girls. I was behind another girl and made a pass. Then I caught a girl who I knew would be someone to hang on with. She has been someone I've been chasing and caught before in CX and other mountain bike races.
We rode together for 2.5 laps when I got hung up behind another rider. She was able to get past and rode away. I thought I would catch her on the technical stuff at the end of the lap, but I never did. I finished 2nd in my category and 2nd female overall. And I'm ok with that - my race goals were met.
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