1/15/2011
12 laps, 120 miles, and 11:28 in the saddle. What a ride. My early season goal was to have fun and be consistant. And that I did.
My bike of choice: 2011 Specialized Era Carbon Comp, Stans NoTubes 355 AC Wheelset, and Ergon Team grips (good choice since I forgot my gloves on the first lap).
The race started out with a mass sprint to the bikes which were staged only about 100m away. Since I brilliantly decided the night before to reshape the melted heal of my left shoe (was kicked next to a fire in 2008 USARA Natls race) this was an interesting way to start. Instead of the flame from my match remolding the plastic into this new shoe I thought I’d have, it split the already fragil material right down the heal. Of course I didn’t notice until I put my shoes on at the start of the race. I put on loads of hot pink duct tape to keep my shoe together. But, I like to spice things up. That’s how I roll. So, at the start, I couldn’t sprint out the gate as I felt I needed to go easy on the duct tape. The first few trails were a bit bottlenecked, but it was going to be a long race.
Lap after lap I kept the pace up and rode strong. I took a quick break every lap to switch bottles, stretch, eat, reapply butt butter, socialize, or whatever excuse I could come up with to get off my bike and briefly stop the abuse from those rugged trails. All it took was a minute or two, and it was like complete rejuvenation. I was ready to go! Again! And again! And again! I came in off the 12th lap with 2 minutes to spare before the cutoff to start my 13th lap, but I was satisfied with 12 laps. The course was pretty technical, loaded with rocks and roots, and it felt as if I had road rash on my sit bones. In hind sight, it would have been sweet to knock out 13 laps, but I was ready to sit back and hang out with all the awesome peeps who supported me all day long.
The end result: 1st place solo female (of 4) and 3rd soloist overall (of 24). Woohoo! It’s just a little taste of what’s to come in 2011. Like Tony Horton says, “Bring It!”
Hi Jen,
I’m following the race looks awesome you should have a bio did’nt see one. Wouldn’t it be great if you make it to Tasmania where I have been and it is so awesome! Go Girl you are the bomb!