Cross Season starts with a bang

Whew. I know, I have been delinquent again in my posting. I make no excuses, I am just really REALLY busy. School is great, I love it, but all my extra time is going to it instead of things like blogging. I apologize to all of you. I'll try to get things caught up here and stay a little more up to date.

As usual I decided to do things the hard way. After the WC I needed a break, my body was tired and I wanted to focus on school for a bit. We postponed my cross racing and early season training because of this so my season is going to be shifted a bit. I will hopefully be strong later (like around Nationals and State Championships) but the first few are going to be trial by fire. I knew it was going to hurt but WOW...

So my first race of the season was the Wisconsin USGP. Yes, I decided to start things off at the biggest race series in the US with some of the best riders in the world. It went about as well as one would expect it to. I suffered, tripped,crashed and fumbled my way through 2 days of racing. In the process I remembered how to race my bike. I had a blast. I still love cross.

The following weekend, taking my re-found ability to Alabama, I had a much better experience. I rode really well, won the women's 1,2,3 race and passed most of the men. Star rocked it with a second place finish in her very first race in the "big girl" field. It was a great day for the Grace Law-Trek p/b Vantaggio team.

This past weekend we were off to more UCI races. This time 3 days of racing in Ohio. The purse was big and the fields were HUGE. My initial goal was top 10 but after seeing our start list a top 15 would still be a huge accomplishment for my early season legs. Day 1 was one of the best races I have ever had. The course was technical and hilly, my two favorite things. I started really strong (top 5 on the dirt) and held my own. I took 7th!!!!! Holy crap. I am not even in race shape yet and I just raced WITH the best in the US. Saturday I got stuck behind a crash at the start and chased back to 14th; not what I had hoped for but I rode strong and some days that is all you can ask for. Sunday was not my day. My body very quickly informed me that two days of racing was enough. I pushed myself as hard as I could but 17th was all I could manage. Star rocked it all weekend in the 3/4 women's field and was 5th, 8th and 9th in fields of 50-60 girls. Mark was our one podium with a second place on Saturday.

After Ohio I am very optimistic about my cross season. I am still not in race shape but I have already shown glimpses of being strong. Even on my bad days I am finishing in the top half of the field at the UCI weekends. I feel like a bike racer. All of these are good signs.

Thanks for reading...