It was rainy, cold, and possibly fun. My race plan was to go out and watch my heart rate, ride tempo, and not try and follow someone else’s wheel. I rolled to the start and found myself to be the only woman starting in pro/open-single speed-expert. How could that be? With seconds to go about five others rolled up and we were off. The disjointed start had me a bit off mentally. I kept thinking about my race plan. Within the first two miles I was dropped. Cue negative self talk!
The race course was greasy and cold. It was an effort within the effort just to keep on. Somewhere around 8 miles and before 1000 feet of climbing I went over the handlebars hard. Cue frustration and pain!
I got back on and kept on riding. Feeling stronger as the race went on I eventually found part of my category again. I started having fun rather than trying to be deliberate about what I was doing.
I ended the night on a box taking third in my category! Stick to your plan. You made it for a reason. Ride your race, not someone else’s. Get out of your head and have fun!
