Cross Racing in my "Bad Idea Jeans"

On the Starting line. Notice me on the front row and Mark way in back...

Four days into 2009 and I have already put on the "bad idea jeans". That didn't take long....

Racing with a boy out of the horrible ditch.

The 2008/2009 TN Cross Calendar runs through February of 2009. In order to win the series, one has to score points in 10 races. As of January I had done 5. This being said, the competitive nature in me has once again come out and I am off to find 5 more cross races in the next 2 months. We have 2 in Chattanooga in a few weeks so it should be a fairly easy task.

Seriously, who taught that girl how to run??!!

Sunday was a race in Columbia, TN at Chickasaw Trace Park. Chickasaw and I have a long history; I've raced mountain bikes there for 12 years and done my share of cross races over there also. In fact, that is where I got the scar on my chin from a particularly uncoordinated day on the cross bike. It only took 9 stitches to put me back together. ANYWAY, I digress, back to my bad idea jeans...

And the "bad idea jeans"event...

Mark, Dave, Foye, Rachel (as our cheering section) and I headed out Sunday morning to give it a go. After approximately 15 pee stops on the 2 hour drive we arrived. Mark and Foye both decided that they were going to double up and race two races. I, not to be outdone by the boys (especially my husband...), decided that I would also race two races. The problem with this is that the second race(s) that I normally would enter would be either the Masters Men or the Category 3 men. Both of those races were at the same time as my women's race. hmmmm... BAD IDEA JEANS, HERE I COME!!! I think I'll race the Pro/1/2 Men's race. 1 hour of PAIN with really fast boys that are going to kick my butt AFTER I have already raced my 45 minute race. Will someone PLEASE tell me why I thought that was something I should do???!!

The ditch was not fun.

So my first race, the women's 1/2/3 race, went well. I won convincingly and raced well against the boys that were racing at the same time. Then I had 15 minutes to "recover" before starting the Pro men's race. They said "go" and it was ugly. Dave got on the front and drilled it, gaping me before we were even off the pavement. The only thought I could muster was "This is going to be a LONG hour". I struggled off the back, all the while seeing Foye up ahead (he also raced the previous race). Lucky for me, He sat up at the beginning of the third lap and we rode the rest of the race together, trying to think of all the situations that could be worse than what we were currently experiencing. We came up with a very short list. We got lapped with 3 to go, rode my last two laps (much to Foye's dismay... he was ready to stop...) and got in a heck of a good training day. Will I do it again??? Possibly. The point was training and I definitely got a good tempo ride in. I got my butt handed to me but those boys should have beat me. I didn't expect to beat any of them, I just wished that it wouldn't have hurt so much!!!

Mark really NOT getting the bike into that ditch!!

I am sure that this is one of many occasions this season that I will don the "dumb pants" as Mark likes to call them. At least life is never dull.


He has way better form than I do running.

Thanks for reading...