Deer Valley 07

I was really looking forward to Deer Valley, since its the first norba at altitude and finally some climbing. i was ready to test out my fitness and if doing all the climbing in boulder has helped- and i have to say i felt way better this year at this race than the past two years. i got the chance to drive to a race finally, and save the money of flying and packing the bike which i was glad to miss. i got in thursday night and met up with some teammates at kimber's house, who live about 10 minutes from the venue. the next day i prerode with kristin and shannon and the trail was faster than i remember- or maybe i just felt better. who knows. but i was pretty excited about it. yeah, there was quite a bit of climbing, but thats the part i usually like. but on this course, i liked every part of it- the downhills where so much more fun than last year. on saturday, we had the luxury of racing earlier, while the men's race didn't start until 2pm- they sweltered in the heat. it was hot for our race, but i was pretty glad we started at 11am, so we were done by the time it got sticky hot.
anyway, i had an ok start, and then i got caught behind some chaos (as usual in a women's field) that set me back a bit on the first lap. it was frustrating, but knowing that i had 3 laps i figured i could make up some time. as the race went on, i felt better and better. on the third lap though i think i settled into my rhythm too much and could have pushed a bit harder. but, i am happy with my result, which was 28th. although i had thought after finishing i was 26th, but oh well. i am feeling stronger at every race, so thats something.
the next day was short track, and i had a great start. i was second row behind chloe and shonny, and after discussing starts with Wendy, i felt like it was now or never- i went for it, and was top 10 for about 2 minutes- and then chaos found me, and i was stuck behind crashes and girls unable to ride their bikes in front of me. how do i always get stuck in that? needless to say, i had an ok finish of 30th. kinda sad since i knew i felt good, and i had the perfect hole shot.
afterward krisitin and i went and rode away our sorrows from another pitiful short track by riding some trails.
the next morning i drove back to broomfield, back to work and reality.