It's been 5 years or more since I raced this very fast race. Going in, I wasn't sure if I could even finish it without being pulled. I've never been able finish it before. This season, I haven't finished a national race, either. I signed up for both Saturday and Sunday. Sunday was the official National Criterium Championship, but Saturday had many of the same characters.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 16
My mom, dad, and niece, Kaitlyn, accompanied me to the race. I set up my trainer next to the race course and Kaitlyn gladly took on the role of coach and cheerleader. She told me to go faster as I did some intervals on the trainer. We set up next to the hay bales and witnessed a pretty exciting wreck there in the mens' race... several crashing into and through the bales.
There were 80 women at the start. Team Tibco, Cheerwine, Colavita, Vanderkitten. Women such as Tina Pic, Lauren Franges, Laura Bowles and other big names there. I started in the back, but was able to get into my cleats pretty quickly and hung on the back on the fast, first lap. I had no idea that a group of four had gotten off the front fairly early until the post-race report from my family. There were very few laps where my heart rate came down to a manageable rate. I was pretty much hurting the entire race, but took each lap as an accomplishment with the "just one more" mentality. Each time up the hill, I talked myself into the right gear... not too easy that I'd slip backward but not too hard that I couldn't turn them quickly. The hill was short, but fast and fairly steep... at least it felt steep as we got further into the 45 minute race. There was a very long recovery after the hill, but the pace picked up, too, so there wasn't any coasting. It was a figure eight course with a couple tight corners. The final corner before the finish had a line of hay bales and the finish was on a manageable incline.
So, I was happy to finish the race. In the last lap, I got dropped off from the pack as the pace picked up. But I finished and got placed 62nd. (I got placed!) I was so excited to finish the race. Our average speed was 24.9! My heart rate averaged in the mid-160's with my max in the 170's.
We all walked around the perimeter of the entire course, watching the mens' pro race. We ate some pizza after the races.
SUNDAY, August 17
I went only with my Mom because Dad had some things to take care of. Kaitlyn came with her family, but didn't arrive until after I got pulled! So, I missed her coaching during my trainer workout. I could tell during my trainer workout that I was sore and having more trouble with the warm-up, but I didn't know how tired my legs actually were until I got into the race. I don't know if it started out faster, but the hill and my legs did not get along even on the first lap. I managed to stay with the pack on the first lap, but on the second lap my legs went to jello and failed under me. I couldn't even get back on the recovery side of the course and mentally gave up. The rear car passed me. On the third lap of the hill, I cried out in pain. The pack wasn't that far ahead, but I was behind the race vehicles, so they pulled me off the course. It was disappointing that I got pulled so soon, but it wasn't going to be long until I got lapped anyway. I got off the course, and my sister's family had just showed up. They never even saw me on the course.
Kaitlyn (6) and Zachary (3) decided to participate in the big wheel race. It was difficult to find ones that fit them and neither of them had ever ridden a big wheel before. It was a downhill course for them to the finish line (backwards on the course). Zachary got in a wave in his age group and I waited at the bottom and waited and waited. Where did he go? He changed his mind and didn't want to do it. Kaitlyn got in her age group and raced down on her borrowed big wheel. Where were the brakes as it appeared she was going to plow into the other kids. I stopped her before the finish line and she got her medal. It was cool to expose the kids to the race scene. The last time I had raced it, Kaitlyn was less than a year old.
After the race, we ate breakfast at a local restaurant and then went to the Morton Arboretum and enjoyed the new kids' area.
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