first race of the season!!!

wow so it started- the chaos of the season. again. its crazy how fast the seasons go by- i feel like i just finished racing cross a month or so ago- i suppose i am starting later than a lot of other racers- some have been racing since February. but, i am planning for a long season so i would rather wait for the weather to be a little better before digging too deep on the training aspect:)
the mountain states cup #1 was this past weekend in Fruita, CO. i have set my goals on local races this year since i am flat broke from years past of paying for airfare, hotel, car rental, entry fees, etc etc. la la la. and, since the local races are becoming just as expensive, i figured i would just save some cash and drive to all of them- after winning some decent prize money this past weekend, i am gonna try to have a goal of at least making part of my entry fees back at each race weekend- not saying that $70 is a lot, but it is something, and way more than expected for 3rd place in a 19 minute TT. i will take it!!!
so yeah- i got 3rd place on saturday- on a wicked hard TT course that included a steep climb that i thought i might puke at the top of, then some good techy type riding that weeded out the roadies from going too fast. i was way off of jenny smith's time, but still managed to pull off 3rd place behind her and jen gersbach, my new teammate. it made for a pretty funny podium of 3 jens... we got a few pics so hopefully i can post one if i can get a hold if any...
so i suppose i should insert a little blurb about my change of teams for the mountain bike season-i have decided to ride with the dale's pale ale/spot team this year( http://oskarbluesbrewsbikes.blogspot.com/2009/03/dales-pale-ale-spot-brand-bikes-team.html )
its gonna be a fun year if nothing else- i traveled with jen g, chad, megan and the rest of the crew for a few races last year and had a blast. this year i am taking a different approach- its called having fun and not taking anything too seriously- just racing my butt off and having a good time in between. thats the plan, and im sticking to it....
as far as sunday's race went, well it was quite a different story. i had my usual not so great start- but i didn't get too frustrated since i knew the race was 30 miles and it was long. i didn't preride it, but there were a few parts i had ridden during the co-motion training camp that i tagged along at. as the girls i should have been racing with disappeared in the distance, i started realizing that they were getting too far away. i needed to turn it on. but for some reason there was no gas in the tank. nope, i pressed on the gas, even drank and ate something, waited for my legs to power up, and nothing. i was totally flat. i have no idea what was going on. was it that i wasted myself in the week before riding too much? the TT the day before? who knows. i know! maybe my tire is flat! ha! actually it was pretty low, so i stopped and put a co2 in it. now i was way OTB. sweetness. riding alone, in no mans land, no motivation and flat legs. you can guess where this is going... yep, had a terrible finish, but i did finish. limping in, i went straight past everyone and spun around alone. dang. first xc race with the new team and didn't do so hot. perhaps its because i have forgotten how painful xc racing is- i have gotten spoiled by all these short cross races. i can't tell you the last time i did a 3 hour hard effort. prolly last xc race in the fall. ouch. i got done and wanted to puke so bad. i had to just sit there and not move too much- had to get out of the sun since my skin felt like it was burning in the 70F heat. ha! so sad- i better get used to this racing and sweating thing- perhaps my body went into shock from not being bundled up and inhaling 30F air during my training rideS. i suppose going from snow to heat is a shocker for the system...it was great seeing everyone again, although the turnout was kinda lame- i think a lot of peeps are boycotting these expensive msc races...
now its time to rest and recover a bit before enjoying the nice weather in boulder- FINALLY! its gonna be in the 70's this week- goodbye stupid snow! goodbye heavy tights and lobster gloves! until next year!!! nathrop is in 2 weeks- another flat power course- im planning on getting through it and looking forward to the climbing races :) hopefully my legs start coming around... perhaps i need to drink more of that beer... it obviously works for jen and chad who rocked the races all weekend...