The Master Plan
As a teacher, my vacation is when school is out - and that's it. I don't get extra days during the year (especially after holidays) to take off. When USAC announced that the 2017 CX Nationals would be in Hartford, CT, I knew this may be my only chance to race Nationals during my CX career (BTW Bend, Louisville, Ogden, San Diego & Tacoma named finalists to host 2019-20 CX Nationals).
So I'm going for it this year. And this is my plan.
I thought a lot about what category to race this year. As a Cat 2 racer, the past two years I raced in the Elite fields. For the big races (Nittany, HPCX, Gloucester), I needed to purchase a UCI license in order to compete. I grumbled a lot about this. Mostly because of the cost - in addition to my annual USAC license, I needed to dish out an extra $130 to cover the total cost for the license ($200). And the registration fees for UCI races cost extra. So all of this extra money (and added mental stress) I was shelling out only to get pulled or barely finish a race feeling like complete sh*t. This wasn't what I signed up for.
Last year the MAC series lowered their Master's age from 45 to 40. Even though my racing age was 40, I had already purchased my UCI license and said I would give it another season at the Elite level. At the end of the 2015 season, I pretty much decided I was done with the whole UCI thing.
Leading up to this CX season, I was able to talk to a few friends who made the switch to the Master's category. They all told me it was a great field to race in but be warned. Just because it's a Master's field doesn't mean the group is slow or it's an easy race.
After my first race as a Master this year, I realized this was true. These ladies are not only fast but they have skills. For the first time in my CX career, I'm actually racing. RACING! I'm using strategy, skills, having other women on my wheel and not just managing gaps while riding by myself as I did in many of the Elite races. And to top it off? The Master's women I'm competing with are uber supportive and totally fun to be around. Moving over to this category was the best decision I've made.
So this year my focus is on competing in the Master's races and getting more racing experience in preparation for Nationals, where I will be competing in the Master's category. There are a few PACX races that I'll do that I will race Elite because of my age - but I'm ok with that and have different expectations. It's all about having fun, right?
So I'm going for it this year. And this is my plan.
I thought a lot about what category to race this year. As a Cat 2 racer, the past two years I raced in the Elite fields. For the big races (Nittany, HPCX, Gloucester), I needed to purchase a UCI license in order to compete. I grumbled a lot about this. Mostly because of the cost - in addition to my annual USAC license, I needed to dish out an extra $130 to cover the total cost for the license ($200). And the registration fees for UCI races cost extra. So all of this extra money (and added mental stress) I was shelling out only to get pulled or barely finish a race feeling like complete sh*t. This wasn't what I signed up for.
Last year the MAC series lowered their Master's age from 45 to 40. Even though my racing age was 40, I had already purchased my UCI license and said I would give it another season at the Elite level. At the end of the 2015 season, I pretty much decided I was done with the whole UCI thing.
Leading up to this CX season, I was able to talk to a few friends who made the switch to the Master's category. They all told me it was a great field to race in but be warned. Just because it's a Master's field doesn't mean the group is slow or it's an easy race.
After my first race as a Master this year, I realized this was true. These ladies are not only fast but they have skills. For the first time in my CX career, I'm actually racing. RACING! I'm using strategy, skills, having other women on my wheel and not just managing gaps while riding by myself as I did in many of the Elite races. And to top it off? The Master's women I'm competing with are uber supportive and totally fun to be around. Moving over to this category was the best decision I've made.
So this year my focus is on competing in the Master's races and getting more racing experience in preparation for Nationals, where I will be competing in the Master's category. There are a few PACX races that I'll do that I will race Elite because of my age - but I'm ok with that and have different expectations. It's all about having fun, right?
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