I tried something new this weekend - racing two hilly races I'd never done before back to back both on and off road. That's what this team is all about...Real Women "Trying" new things to see how far we can grow!
Friday evening Matt and I drove up North to give the West Branch Road Race a try. Four CAT 3 women were signed up, all wonderful women and tough competitors. My goal was to keep the pace high and crank on the hills whenever possible to attempt to tire out the slim field. A most excellent surprise awaited me at the starting line after my warm-up, my teammate in pink, Lori Hotchkin! Seeing her made me smile knowing I wouldn't be the only RWT out there on the hills. The USA Cycling officials gave us the option to reduce our race to one lap, but we all voted for the full two laps. Lap one moved along at a healthy clip. All five racers worked together, and we averaged a pace nearing 22mph, (much faster than our combined CAT 1/2/3 race at Frankenmuth's flat course last week). There was a little rain halfway through, but not enough to deter our race pace. At the end of lap one, Marie Dershem from Team Priority Health, pulled ahead of me halfway up the steep climb. I dug deep and worked hard for two miles to chase her down. I did not want to get sucked back into the field or lose Marie with her time-trialing skill. Once I caught her, we decided to work together and did so at a fast pace for the remainder of the race. The wind picked up as the temperature warmed, and we struggled against a long stretch of hilly road in a fierce headwind. Taking shorter pulls made it a bit easier and having someone to work with helped immensely. Once we got to the base of the ending climb, we were side by side - an appropriate position considering how we worked together in the second lap. Marie out-climbed me in that final hill, and I ended up in second place. It felt great, though, to know how hard I'd worked to catch her and to enjoy the feeling of a fast and competitive race! 2800 feet of climbing and 44 miles raced.
Then...Matt and I drove over to Grayling where we relaxed and anticipated a mountain-biking adventure, Hanson Hills. We awoke to cold temperatures right around 50 degrees with mist and drizzle in the air. It felt more like November than June, so I just pretended to gear up for Iceman instead of Hanson Hills! There was a combined Elite/Expert field of 7 women. After a ten mile warm-up to try to loosen up my tired legs, I hit the start line. Kati Krikke from Freewheeler was ready and raring to go, along with Rachel Decker from Hagerty and Chelsea Strate from Einstein. Mentally I was excited to race - I loved the idea of riding this new trail and racing some tough ladies. Katie took off on the long hill in the first lap, and though I hung on up the climb, Rachel passed me and I dropped to third. Immediately I could feel the lethargy in my legs from racing West Branch the day before. Chelsea sat on my wheel for the first lap. My legs felt like dead-weights whenever I upped the power on climbs or straights, and I was questioning my choice to try racing these two events back to back. My entire second lap was ridden alone. During that lap I seriously thought about bailing on the race - being out of contention and out on my own created a mental challenge; it felt more like the third lap of Lumberjack 100 than the second lap of a quick 33 mile race! Coming through the start/finish with one lap to go, I saw Jack Kunnen take a picture of me in my misery, and I told him I was ready to call it. He looked me in the eye and said, "They aren't far ahead of you at all! Go get 'em! You have one more lap in you!" So...I clipped in and took off. Sure enough, I caught and passed one lady racer and saw Chelsea ahead of me through the woods. My legs finally began to loosen up, and the third lap was the best yet! I came through the finish chute and took fourth place. I would love to do this race again when I'm not fighting leg fatigue from racing the day before. The trail flowed smoothly and the climbs were fun! I logged another 2400 feet of climbing.
It was a successful weekend insofar as I pushed myself to try something new by racing back to back road and MTB races. 75 miles of racing on the road and trails with 5200 feet of climbing among the company of fantastic competitors and teammates was well worth the challenge. In the end, it's the people who make this fun - Jack's encouragement in my low moment of racing, the smile on my face upon seeing Lori at the start line, hearing teammate Laura Korienek cheering and enjoying the challenge of the race with Marie. Real Women both DO and TRY!
