Lamo for not updating el blogo

ok so i know i need to keep up on this better- since the races keep happening and i am getting further and further behind on my posts...

i have lost my camera (well i left it in san fran and haven't seen it since) so no good pics either. i will just steal some from the intranets...

this is the start of the santa ynez NMBS race. notice how there's only like 30 women. huh. and here is a pic from the start (thanks to Dave McElwaine who takes the best pics http://www.trailwatch.net/) and how cool and calm Georgia looks... awesome. i am already suffering in the back with my head to one side- little did she realize what was gonna happen later in the race. i saw her on the trail laying down, and i stopped to ask if she was ok, she said yes- by that time there were medics there helping her in the shade. it was deathly hot that day- someone said it was 103F while we were racing. there were many casualties (girls cramping, swerving on the trail) that i saw during the race. it was like a war zone. when i saw Georgia on the ground i realized how hot it really was- it kinda scared me a little. but by that time i was close to the end, and after seeing my HR higher than i ever have, i was ready to finish that race.

i have to admit i was a little disappointed in the showing for the pro women- i have been doing the mountain states cups this year for the first time, and there are nearly the same amount of girls at these local races as there was at a national. perhaps we are lucky to have a local series that the top girls go to- kelli, katie, Georgia (when she's not racing the men :) jenny smith, etc who we get to race with close to home. but it is a shame that the numbers are dwindling at the bigger mtb races it seems...

i would say more about the race itself, but there is not much to tell- other than i had 2 great starts where i was in top 12-15 or so but melted and drifted back as the race went on. it was good to hang out with my teammate shannon gibson before she left for Hawaii for 6 weeks- we stayed in solvang and embraced the strange touristy town- i will say that they do have excellent pastries at the bakery, which fueled me every morning.. Mmm tasty. i did get to see the ocean too down in LA before we flew home- i wish i lived closer to the ocean sometimes. but the traffic and people in CA are too impossible to deal with. excluding all my friends and family that live there :)

Mountain states cup, Nathrop, CO

I had heard bad things about this race- super sandy, not a fun course, not worth the drive, etc. but hey, i figured it would be more fun than crashing in the Gila, so i chose the mtb race. i drove down with the spot girlz again- megan m. and jen g. which made the trip worth it, even if the race did end up sucking. i got up saturday morning, picked up the girlz and we headed down to nathrop. i didn't even know where it was- if you don't know either, its right by buena vista and about 20 min north of salida, where i would be staying-
so the xc for us started around 2pm, with the guys going off about 15 minutes before us- well, then it got delayed an hour- so we went off at 3pm instead, which allowed for an hour of socializing which was fine by me. until the race actually started, and then i was in the hurt box- i should have warmed up better- we went from zero to supersonic off the gun, and i was pretty much at the back. the race was almost like a road race- long, flat open sections that had mini-t0rnados (no joke). it was sooooo windy. so having a wheel to suck was important- good thing i didn't for 2 of the 4 laps. so on lap one, i was in the back. sweet. and didn't preride and crashed hard on the loose descent. supa sweet. but jen g. had a bad start too, and thankfully she pulled me up to the next group (i know, weird hearing that about a mtb race, but i am telling you, it was a road race) and got in with megan m. and lisa. the 3 of us duked it out for the next 2 laps, and finally on the 4th lap my legs came around and i surged passed lisa and was able to ride the technical section alone, which was nice since i was faster that way. i ended up 6th, coming in behind jen g. i was pretty happy about, since i had had such a rough start. so hopefully the fitness is coming around- i just need to warm up better i guess.
sunday was the short track, and i woke up in Salida to a beautiful sunny morning. i went down to the local coffee shop (beside absolut bikes) and enjoyed a very tasty breakfast burrito with chicken, eggs, potatoes, cheese, avocado and red peppers. i sat with a coffee and listened to the river behind the shop for a good hour, reading the sunday paper. i love salida. i could definitely live there-
back to the race. so my legs were really tired from the xc, but figured once i spin i would be fine. the course was pretty fun, it had part of the dual slalom in it so a few tall rollers that broke it up. overall though most of the course had one good line while the sides were thick sand which stopped the bike quick- i had a bad start again, and got stuck behind a line of girls that weren't going very fast- i gave up halfway through the race for a few laps waiting for it to be over. but then i figured i paid $40 for it, and i needed a workout, so i should start going. so i did, and passed a few girls in the last few laps. i ended up 9th. oh well.
overall the weekend was fun, with a reasonable finish for the xc, and as always great company- the next race is the Norba in CA- another fast rolling course. i had an ok race there last year, racing with teammate Barb but she won't be there this year unfortunately- sigh. but it should still be a good one, so i will let you know how that goes-