Nature Valley Grand Prix

So, the Nature Valley Stage Race ended yesterday in Minneapolis, and I was there but not racing. I had decided to do this stage race for 2 reasons: for the training mostly, and for experience. Coming straight back from the Norba in NC, I was pretty tired. I came home Sunday night at midnight, then worked 2 x 12 hour shifts Monday and Tuesday, and then drove up to MN on Wednesday morning for Nature Valley. I did pretty bad in the time trial, but I was ok with that since I could barely stay awake. The next day was the 58 mile road race. There were 30mph winds so I knew it was going to be hard. The racing began at the word go- there was a sprint on mile 2.7 and so we were going hard. The wind was making everyone nervous, and as a result there were 4 major crashes during the race. Unfortunately I got caught behind 2 of them, and I could not bridge back up to the pack in the wind. I was in between 2 groups, and I knew I didn't have the energy to get to the one up front so I sat up and waited for the next group- This was at mile 20, so I needed help to get this race done. I got into a group of about 12 girls that included kenda, dairyland, Look, Coltivita, Velo Bella, and a few others I didn't know. We rode hard and all rotated together well, but it wasn't enough. We got time cut, and afterward I discovered I was 1 minute off- if we had sprinted the last mile or so, I would have made the time cut. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted. Hopefully I will be doing this race again next year- I can only do better! Now it's time to rest and regroup before July's Norbas. I am really looking forward to Park City and doing well at Sonoma. I might be doing some local racing over the next couple of weeks. Who knows.

Norba in NC

Alright, so its been a little while since I raced this, but I have been super busy with racing so I haven't had a chance to write. I was really looking forward to the Banner Elk race in NC since I had heard the riding there was awesome. After preriding the course, I was pretty excited about the race. There was a good hard climb to start, and then some singletrack, and then more climbing. The decent was a bit tricky since parts of it were slick from rain and there were lots of roots and rocks. Luckily the day of the race there were clear skies and some wind which dried things out a bit. I had an ok start, but not great. I held by position for the first part of the climb, but then started passing girls on the second part. I got into a great rhythm and felt really good the entire first lap. I had settled into ~27th, and began the 2nd lap great. I did have to run a few parts of the downhill since parts of it were quicker (and safer) to run. This came back to haunt me on the start of the 3rd lap. Starting the climb on the last lap, I began to cramp so bad that I couldn't pedal. I had to coast for a bit and softpedal to get my hamstrings and calves to release. I climbed the first part of the climb in a "half camp" and then it went away. On the last downhill, it came back. I had to stand on the side of the trail for a bit since there was nothing I could do. I made it down, loosing over 8 minutes. I dropped 10 places. Oh well. Its all part of racing. I had a great time up until the last lap. If I could cut that last one out, I would have had the best result ever. I will get them next time...