Race Report

As always, when I race, I must report on that race. Racing has to be one of the most fun things to report about and, based on responses by others, also one of the most interesting things to read. I always enjoy reading the stories from my Ride Studio Cafe teammates even though I am left imagining where they're racing as I'm not familiar with the New England races.

Photo courtesy of Jay Robbins. Photo missing teammates Joy & Mo, we had a great showing at the race.

Last Wednesday, two days after becoming my race age of 35, I raced in the Witches Cup in Salem, the Massachusetts State crit champ race. Almost every year there's a race on or around my birthday. The last race that I did when I was really serious about training and bike racing was the day before I turned 30--downtown Denver at one of my favorites, Bannock. Eeek, time has flown much too quickly.

Salem is a town I have grown to like through a few bike rides that have brought me there and I did this same race last year. Thinking back, I like almost every small town where I've raced. Maybe it's the adrenaline and happy feelings that come along with the endorphins that endear me to a place after being there to race. This, in conjunction with getting to know people and the place shows its personality and warmth as so many small towns do.

Time before the race with Erin & Cindy.

One more reason to race: get to know small towns and places that wouldn't be seen otherwise. Silver City and Salida are both places near and dear only because of races. St Paul is a town I like otherwise, but thinking back to the race of attrition that happened as Stage 1 of Nature Valley Grand Prix the year I was there and how devastated I was in that race, it almost soured me to the place.

Back to the Witches Cup: it's a very fine course that involves only right-hand turns around a large park so it is the perfect venue for racers and spectators, alike. Being a Wednesday night, it doesn't mess up a weekend day and everyone goes out together after the race to have dinner since no one has made plans, which is a typical problem on weekends. The best part of racing is the time after the race, hanging out and enjoying the company of teammates and friends. Racing is super fun, of course, it's just usually a let-down to finish and immediately go home alone. Traveling races are good - so are hours afterward to talk with teammates about strategy, what happened, who did what, etc. Yes, the conversation is hours in duration to be complete and fully satisfying.

Photo courtesy Russ Campbell

My goal for the Witches Cup race was to finish with the pack and be safe. I haven't trained for a crit, haven't done any intervals (though I've gotten in a few hard rides in the past few weeks) nor did I go in remotely well-rested. The pace was reasonably high, though no one tried to make an attack stick. Had they done that, it would have helped raise the pace to something a bit more uncomfortable. The first part of the race was good, though I was pretty concerned about the racers who didn't appear to have good cornering skills. Everyone, at first, was worrying me as I didn't know who to trust. My racing once-upon-a-time found me blog-stalking my competitors. I knew what my rivals had eaten for breakfast. I knew which wheels to ride on and who I needed to worry about at the line. The research was useful. Racing week after week with the same set of people helped, too.

I realized how few people I knew at the race and it feels weird to be so unknown in a situation so familiar. Having good teammates out there was awesome. The warm-up with the RSC girls was really cool. I don't like warming up alone because I often find that I think about the race so much that I get lost and almost don't make it to the start on time. It's also nice to have company for the pre-race leg-openers. Worrying about others' races helps me not think about mine. I offered more advice to my teammates than they probably cared to hear. I like to give good advice and promptly discard it where it comes to my racing. I care that my friends have a fun race, make it to the finish line & feel good about the experience. For me, I feel that if I die out there by working hard, then I've had a good race and I know I will feel good about it. If I play it safe and not everything goes perfectly in the final lap, I didn't get my money's worth. Actually, if I play it safe and do well, I'm still not totally satisfied. Whether I race or not, I love racing and am hooked on it. I know I never have to worry about disliking riding or the sport. I used to guard against that, especially as a cat 3, when so many women decide that racing really isn't for them.

Photo courtesy Russ Campbell

Around and around we went. It's a bit of a blur - though only a 35-minute blur. About 15 minutes in, I was pretty sure I was going to get sick. I'd eaten a bit too much earlier in the day because of pre-race nervousness, but the feeling of sickness was probably due to my heart beating faster for longer duration than it had done since last year at this same race. Fine with me, I didn't have to do a single interval session, my least favorite part of training or racing. February intervals. I used to hate those with a passion and they hurt so badly, it's hard to explain, especially because in February I used to be super fit from a winter of long endurance rides, long trainer rides and lifting in the gym. Still, those intervals....sends shivers for me to think back about doing those out on a lonely, flat, boring bike path to nowhere at dusk feeling like the least fit person in the world as I had to fight to get my heart rate to rise high enough.

I didn't compete for a single prime during the race. That was hard for me to bear. I always, always like to sprint for primes and at the very least give the others a run for their money. For starters, they're a great way to warm up the legs in the race and it's also very educational: how is everyone else sprinting? What's most effective? Who's riding well? And, of course, it is always the time to attempt a breakaway.

But in this race, I was a bit concerned that I'd blow up going for a prime and not be able to recover to continue to race with the pack. So I rode hard, tried to keep good position up front and reminded myself to not do anything too ultra-stupid. With only a few laps to go, I lost position some and I don't exactly know what happened and why. With two short laps to go, I moved up a lot, pretty close to the front. The pace was fiery as people positioned. On the last lap, a crash happened to my left and it spread across the street. I had to ride around it to avoid it so that messed up the finish a bit. When that crash happened, all I could think about was how silly it would be to be broken because of a crash and not be able to be fully functional at work. I used to type for a living, now I need to be able to stand on my feet for 12+ hours some days. When I get (hopefully much) older and naturally less mobile, I look forward to going back to being a computer geek, but now I'm eating up the chance to be active during the day at work.

The final result? 15/44 and it felt great once it was over. Reminded me what it is to race, how fun it is and how possible it is to return to the sport (so unlike tennis or soccer, two sports I used to adore but can't participate in any longer, don't get me on a rant about that). Doing it as part of the Ride Studio Cafe team really added to the experience. Having guys out there represented in the other races was great and sharing in the experience with everyone at the Sul Posto really enhanced the time spent out there during the evening.

Well, I raced. Once ought to do it this year. As fun as it was, I'm really very happy to continue to spend weekends doing the job I adore and living vicariously from the race reports and stories of others. I've discovered so many kinds of riding (off-road dirt for the cx bike and going out at night) that I enjoy so much that spending this time doesn't leave me wishing I were racing. Even if time permitted, I'm not sure I would race more. Okay, I probably would, but that's because it's the thoughtless solution to what, for me, would possibly be an otherwise dull weekend.

There it is, one race, one race report sized for a full season of racing. So, Witches Cup next year? Maybe it's time to start racing masters. Or, maybe it's time for track so I can get my sprint back. Then again, racing is a distraction from much bigger goals I have for my life that I won't achieve if I'm distracted. When will there ever be enough time for both?