So it is COLD here. Really cold. Wisconsin cold. Almost too cold to ride outside. My solution; race of course...
With that being said, last Sunday Star, Mark and I decided that there is still cross racing going on and we should give it a try. It was 21 degrees when we woke up and wasn't supposed to get above freezing all day. Time to pack the warm clothing. All of it. we loaded the car and headed to Columbia, TN.
The fields were small. Apparently the cold scared off a lot of racers. I would much rather race cross that do a long cold training ride this time of year but apparently everyone does not share my sentiments. Star had some girls to race with but I was alone in my quest in the 1/2/3 women's field. That's okay, I raced at the same time as the Cat 3 and the Masters men. I'll just race them!!!
Star continued her dominance and rode away from the cat 4 women's field. She's ready to race as a category 3; she's got two more weekends as a cat 4 then it is time for the State Championships and an upgrade. Great race girl!!! Star has really come into her own ths year with cross. She's the girl to beat right now in the southeast in the cat 4 women's field.
I lined up with about 15 men. Fun times. I started at the back; I didn't technically have anyone I was racing so I didn't want to get in their way. They said go and I threaded through the men quickly and soon found myself riding comfortably in the top 5. Okay, this is fun. And then I passed another one. And another one. I rode a very steady pace and as the guys started to fade I was catching them. In fact, all of my laps were within 10 seconds of each other. I finished 3rd overall. Jordan, a friend of ours and a cat 2 roadies was gone; I wouldn't have caught him on an open course like this one, regardless of how strong I rode. Second place however was one lap away from me catching him. I finished 15 seconds down and I was closing fast, I just ran out of real estate. So, me, 15 boys and I beat 13 of them. For a girl that has been traveling and not doing much since Nationals, I feel really good about that. Thanks guys for making me work!!!
We've got a few more weekend of cold weather and winter cross races. This weekend is the local race. Mark is the promoter and I am his helper. If the ground thaws long enough to get the course set up it is going to be fun times.
Thanks for reading...
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