Catching up

Its been a while since Ive blogged. Since Tour of Lawrence, I haven't had a lot of racing on my calendar. Here are brief summaries of what Ive been up to:

Wildwood Centaur TT
Wildwood, MO
7/17/10

I did the local Wildwood TT and pulled out a 4th place finish (out of 12) in the Women's Open against some of the strongest triathletes in the area! Might I add that the top 3 had TT bikes and all the best aero gear, while I was on my road bike with just my clamp on aero bars and a borrowed TT helmet! Oh, and I was only 10 seconds off of 3rd place!! Ok, Im a little excited. Probably because Ive never been much of a time trialist and because my TT results have been hit and miss this year. Overall, Ive improved dramatically though, and so Im very happy with this result!

Missouri State Championship Races
Time Trail: 7/31/10
Crit: 8/1/10

I debated going up to Chicago to race the Elk Grove races this same weekend, but opted to stay closer and support the MO state races instead. Unfortunately, these races never seem to bring in the crowds and Im not sure why. In the TT, it was me against only two other women. :( Both of which who beat me in the last TT, and was sure to do the same this time. This was one of the longest TT's I have done at 40K (24 miles). Most are more like 15-20K. Some categories only had to do 20K at this though, so there were two turn around points...(this is key information). I head out the busy road (still open to traffic that was usually traveling way too fast) and Im feeling pretty good. Its about 95 degrees though and its super hot. I see the turn around ahead...I see the 20K painted on the road w/ an arrow and think, ok, this is 20K, only 20K back. I think, wow, this came up pretty quick. As Im starting to settle into my rhythm again, I look at my clock and realize the error of my ways. I turned around too soon! CRAP! I look back and there are a line of cars I have to wait for. I turn BACK around and head back out. Im totally pissed at myself. I pass the 20K turnaround again and realize I have a LONG way to go and Ive just lost lots of minutes. My only calming thought was that Amy and Maureen were going to beat me anyway, it was now just going to be by a bigger margin! I settled back into the suffer fest. Having waves of feeling good and feeling like I wanted to sit up and just save my legs for the next day. I finish...over 3 mins behind Amy. Oh well...lesson learned.

The crit was the next afternoon. I get there an hour earlier than planned b/c I was looking a last years schedule. At least it wasnt earlier! Fingers are crossed that we have enough women in the Open category to hold the race. I had resolved to trying to race w/ the Mens Cat 3 group if we didnt get to race. However, we get a total of 6. I despise racing with such a small group. Its just not very fun. But, Im glad we get our race and Im after MOBRA points! There were a couple of women there that had been racing for a while and most of our group kept the race really animated...and as fun as we could given the size of the group. I try and attack, chase some down and make the best of it. My eye is on Emily, because she is the strongest sprinter. Amy attacks with 3 to go and no one chases her!? REALLY strange. I happen to be in a really bad position to try and go without taking the whole group. I try to bridge on the back of the course, but Im quickly reeled in. I focus on the finish. I get in a great position on the last lap and grab Emily's wheel. However, she hits the apex of the hill and just lays it on. She has an amazing jump! She gaps me and I just sprint as hard as I can to hold my position. I hold off the others and finish 3rd. Wish I had been in a better spot to go w/ Amy. She worked her butt off those last 3 laps, so kudos to her, she earned the win!