So I think I've finally thawed out enough to post about how this weekend's race went. We had to leave the house at 6:00 am to make it out to the course in time to register and warm up. Ugh. I didn't realize how much racing would take away from my beauty sleep.
When we left the house, it was pouring down rain. As we drove the almost 2 hours to the site, it was pouring down rain. When we arrived, it was only drizzling. By the time the race started, it was pouring again and it continued to pour the entire time.
When I pulled my bike up to the starting pack, I was a little overwhelmed by all the women that came to race. There were 41 of us in the field. I had to start at the back of the pack and I was really nervous that would increase my chances of getting dropped. But, I hung in there. I had teammate Jessica on my left and after about a mile or so, she said it was time to start moving up. So I did. I wiggled my way up a few spots and then it hit me. There was so much water shooting into my eyes from the back wheel of the rider in front of me. For over an hour, there was an unrelenting rain on my back and water spray in my eyes.
I think it was probably good that this was my first race because I was so concerned with getting dropped or causing a crash that I quickly accepted the onslaught of water.
What really caught me by surprise was all the chatter in the peloton. "On your left!" "On your right!" "Slowing!" "Hold your line!" Constant chatter. I think the veterans were really trying to pysche out us rookies but I was determined to not fall for the tricks. Why on God's green earth would I let you in on my left? This is a bike race! Not a group ride on the Burke Gilman. I bet there is a lot less of that in the men's races.
At the end of the first lap, I lost a little steam on the last hill and fell quite far back in the pack after maintaining a nice mid-pack status for most the race. I then realized that the finish line was not too far after and that would not be acceptable to do on the next lap around.
I found the whole thing to be pretty exhilarating. I tried to find the open holes and close the ones that would threaten our team's position. I would have loved to be more strategic to help Jess and Lucy, but I don't know how to do that yet and honestly, I think they are talented enough to do well on their own.
Last couple of kilometers, I was feeling pretty tired. I hadn't touched my water bottle at all because I was too scared to grab it. Everyone got a little ancy to be done and out of the pouring rain, which really hadn't let up much at all. Then, it happened. A bike crash. One girl went down and then another and then another. Luckily, I was on the right hand side and was able to steer into the gravel and then back on to the road. I definitely felt a compulsion to stop to help but it was a race and I kept going instead. Does that make me a bad person?
Then, the sprint broke out and whoa, I was left in the dust. I tried my best to push it but I was so tired. I was happy that I beat one girl to the line who was really phoning in the last few yards. The final result? I took 14th out of 41. Not bad for the first ride out! I was kind of sad that Kevin missed the finish because he was helping out another rider from another team, but was happy that he was playing the role of a good samaratian.
But the story doesn't really end there because once I finished the race, I couldn't feel any body part. Remember, it had been between 36-38 degrees and pouring rain all day. I was soaked through and through. Thank heavens for the Mason Lake community center! I took my dry clothes and changed and Kevin had hot chocolate waiting for me. I couldn't even drink my hot chocolate properly because I was shaking so badly. I nice elderly lady at the center rushed around to find me a blanket and wrapped it around me. I think it was my closest encounter with hypothermia to date. Unbelievable shaking.
So once I warmed up, I was doing laundry and getting things ready for the race in Ravensdale. We drove out there Sunday morning (another 6 am departure time) and there was snow sticking to the ground in mid March. Yuk! After an hour of waiting around, the race was canceled. My second race will just have to wait another week!
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