training camp 2007, Norba #1

So the season has finally started. The first race is out of the way, the jitters and the question of "did i train enough this winter" are exposed. And, to be honest, it turned out better than expected.
The week began in Tucsan, AZ where our training camp was held. The team, consisting a few of us from last year's team (Kristin, Shannon H, and Rebecca) and many new faces (Barb, Shannon G, Natasha, Alex F, Erika, and Sara J) that made up our new team. I flew in Tuesday, and my first ride back on my mountain bike was on Wednesday with the team. i was pretty nervous since i hadn't ridden the mtb since my crash back in July. But, it was just like i remembered- super fun and lots of rocks. needless to say, my back and shoulder was sore for the entire week, but who cares. My physical therapist wasn't too happy though when i got back, but thats another story.
so after a few days of training with the new team, we got to the race venue in phoenix on friday. i got my new bike built up, a hot scandium kona that turned out to be 3 lbs lighter than last year's bike. sweet. i decided to do short track saturday night under the lights- it started at 7:30pm so it was dark which was interesting, since it was downtown Fountain Hills and we raced through a dusty parking lot. i got called up last (i was #72) but made my way to midpack within the whole 8 minutes i got to race. at least it opened up my legs a bit for sunday, but i coughed up one of my lungs after inhaling so much dust during the race. On sunday, i got called up 41st, which was a big improvement, and definitely helped my start. My first lap was pretty good, sitting in top 30 (~25th) which i didn't realize until later. by my last lap, i really didn't want to finish it. i was so hot, and my lungs hurt pretty bad. all i could think about was a big bowl of ice cream with some chocolate chunks in it. that movitivated me to get across the finish line, although i hit a wall that last 10 miles and lost about 6-7 places. i ended up 36th, which i am happy about since i have only trained about 6 weeks this entire winter, and had 2 surgeries. so, hopefully this will be a good year for me..