Chicago Cyclo Cross Cup Final Results

What a fun YEAR! More races than ever and a great crowd of participants and awesome competition. Good Luck everyone who is at Nationals.

Montrose Race Winners

Men 123 - Scott McLaughlin (SRAM Factory)
Women 123 - Devon Haskell (The Pony Shop)
Men 3 - Dave Norton (Johnny Sprockets)
Women 4 - Eileen Neville (xXx Racing AthletiCo)
Masters 30+ - Chris Lombardo (Verdigris Custom Homes)
Masters 40+ - Brian Conant (The Pony Shop)
Masters 50+ - Wayne Simon (Verdigris Custom Homes)
Juniors - John Tomlinson (xXx Racing AthletiCo)
Men 4A - Brandon Leach (Johnny Sprockets)
Men 4B - John Villena (Cycle Smithy)

State Champions

Men 123 - Scott McLaughlin (SRAM Factory)
Women 123 - Devon Haskell (The Pony Shop)
Men 3 - Dave Norton (Johnny Sprockets)
Women 4 - Eileen Neville (xXx Racing AthletiCo)
Masters 30+ - Chris Lombardo (Verdigris Custom Homes)
Masters 40+ - Brian Conant (The Pony Shop)
Masters 50+ - Wayne Simon (Verdigris Custom Homes)
Juniors - John Tomlinson (xXx Racing AthletiCo)
Men 4A - Henry Loud (Team Pegasus)
Men 4B - No State Jersey awarded for Mens 4B

Overall CX Cup Winners
Men 123 - Scott McLaughlin (SRAM Factory)
Women 123 - June Upshaw (Verdigris Custom Homes)
Men 3 - Jason Knauff (vitaminwater - Trek)
Women 4 - Eileen Neville (xXx Racing AthletiCo)
Masters 30+ - Chris Lombardo (Verdigris Custom Homes)
Masters 40+ - Tim Boundy (Verdigris Custom Homes)
Masters 50+ - Wayne Simon (Verdigris Custom Homes)
Juniors - Brandon Feehery (South Chicago Wheelmen)
Men 4A - Maxwell Riordan (Chicago Cuttin' Crew)
Men 4B - John Villena (Cycle Smithy) Luck and Angels on your handlebars.

Montrose Frozen COW-BELLs

MONTROSE Frozen COW BELL 'HELL'.
Woman's Illinois State Championship Cyclo Cross Race.
pics....
http://flickr.com/photos/19091172@N02/
http://velosnaps.wordpress.com/

Before I start my usual rehashing.....I have to scream out YAY!
Verdigris !!!!!!!
Chris Lombardo got first in 30+ and Brian Doughtery got second! wow. Scott did a number in the cat 3 field and a great job in his first season. He got stronger and stronger! 12 year old David Lombardo got 2nd in the State Championship for his age group and took the Hole shot and he is racing against 16 year olds. Bob, and the 'new guy' Ward who is going to be seen all this summer racing so WATCH out and ALL the others all did so well and . ...drum roll... Tim Boundy!!! who we ALL owe our new Cross careers to. Many of us on the team wouldn't be racing cross at ALL if it were not for him!. His enthusiasitic passion for Cyclo Crossing is infectuous and all summer long we have to hear 'You gotta try cross YOu gotta do cross". So we do. ANd we all LOVE it. :) Tim raced in the 40+ and had a big lead, was winning for sure as this was a great course for him. Argh... but then he got a chain hiccup. He got it fixed and worked like heck. WOW. Tim got second in the 40+ even with a hiccuping chain. Wayne won his Masters 50+ race and took the State Jersey. (( I had to leave before the cat 1,2 field took off so I don't know how it ended up yet)). ... But Wayne Simon is on his way for ONE heck of a Nationals race. Ned Overend might be racing as well in the 50+ men's event. NED! .... and I hope you all from Chicago go ''NED WHO?'' and scream for Wayne to win!! GO WAYNE! GO Verdigris! I hope you all do well this weekend.

This was such a fun fun season . Chicago Cyclo Cross had MORE races than EVER this year and I came to every single freeegin one. Our final race was just ICING on the CAKE. Lots of Icing. Big fluffy snowy icing. Icing everywhere! ooooooh that Turin crew is a bunch of sick sick bastards for making this course. :) It would be tough to do dry, in July. But now its December, cold and we is racin' IN SNOW. LOTS of snow. with corners and walls and..... Turin bahstards...... :)LOL
Illinois State Championships.... It was a three ring circus event with 'danger!' corners and brick walls and snowy downhill bits with little muddy slides at the bottom that made you run into pointy sharp things.

((okok I am exagerating a little bit in case you can't tell)).

The only thing that I really liked about the course was the freaking long major hill to climb and pass people on and..oh..wait... There were KIDS SLEDDING ON IT. haha. Oooh I love it.
Part of the course with the 'wall' I am talking about was a ViaDuck! which we rode underneath over a paved bike path. There was a slick issue at the base where I had to scrub some speed coming down the hill to avoid a repeat of Northbrook. ((I hit the pavement hard and hurt my knee in that race and it took me 2 weeks to get my knee to bend right again)). no biggie. ~sniff~ me tough. yyyyeaaaaah I Just know better now about pavement and cross tires.
THe course inventor people really liked this ViaDUCK!~ they used up four hills on every side for the race. They taped off half the bike path underneath and you stayed on half of the path for going out and half for coming back. So during the race, we had come 'er's and go'ers moving around under the viaDuck! . ONe time I was coming down the first swoosh, rode under and started to ride up the hill on the other side and I heard a tremendous crash (DONT LOOK!!!) I barely missed getting myself slid into by a guy that was trying to ride down on the Go'er side. WHEW! The best time was half way thru the race when the barricade tape was all over the course, I came down and went under the Via-DUCK! and the tape was just gone. There was a lot of potential for the Go'ers to run into the Come'ers. ooops... That almost sounds pornish. Sorry. :( oh but they fixed it fast. There was tape breaking fast all over the course. I am laughing as I write this. It was pretty fun.
Ohohoh...~Then you had the Ouchy Branches everywhere to poke your eyes out when you weren't lookin'. I was rushin' down the hill and almost forgot about that one branch juttin out at the base of the hill just where I always wanted to take my line, too.... DUCK!!!!!! Slippery nasty cold snow. I bet there are some eyeballs scattered about down at the base of that hill.
Not much mud but HEY! Sand! I mean its Lake Michigan....There is a beach! Let's ride the beach. :) haha. ((no it wasn't that bad.)) But it was rideable because the sand was thick and cold and by the time the guys were done with their masters races there was a wonderful line thru the sand to ride. (yay) But at the end of the thick tramped- on sand was a BIG LUMPY DUNE. about a yard or so high...no it was GI- NORMAS! Big lumpy lump to ride up. HEY! What were they thinking?? Those silly course planners!! I mean, That would have been a really fun drop going the other way into a sand pit!!! It would have made MUCH more sense to ride it the OTHER way and have a hundred face plants in the sand. I mean...come on!! Weeee BOOOMP!!! flop. HAHA. ((Thank God whoever designed the course really wasn't ALL sadistical and eveilish)).
This mound was about 2 feet high and if you powered it up you could ride it on the left side just fine. If you were one of the mountain biker tough guy's you could just lift up your front wheel and ride up any part of it. ((I can't do that and when I tried to do in my practice lap, I only lifted up my bike like an inch, hit the dune, came to a complete stop and fell over like Benny Hill)) But I rode up the left side pretty easily. EVERY lap I might add ''preen'' yup I did. The men made a nice path just fer the ladies to use. Thank ya'all so much. :)
CHicago people are fun. ANd SPeaking of Chicago People. We had a brilliant line up of Illlinois talent in the women's field. DEVON HASKELL who ranks 5th in the country last I read, Rebecca 'way too' Much 'power'. and HOlly Klug that has raced..MORE cross races than probably anyone in the country this season having done both Wisconsin AND Illinois series every weekend... and ALL the dedicated and brazen (but not naked its much too cold for that) motley crew of the Cyclo Crossn' crazy SHE RAH girls of the cat 1,2,3 races.... and even a couple brave hearts from Wisconsin. All we needed to round this out was Debbie Dust (too smart!) and Sara Tilitson (where is she?) and whoever else from races past who could have rocked this course. Gals that are way too smart to come out in minus 10 windchill, lake effect, snowy Chicago weather. But even so.... DO YOU REALIZE that we had ONE whopping good bunch of ultra competitors. We almost could have had a pro 1-2 and a cat 3 race we had enough gals today. Chicago Cyclo Cross Women ROCK!!! Even for ANY championship race this was one tough group of gals. Today , at a cross race in 16 degree weather with a 10 degree wind chill....we had at least 20 ? gals. Amazing!
OK....excuses time (cause I always have 10,000 excuses to lose and god forbid it was cause I was outclassed..oh no!))... THis season..I have spent nearly all my training INSIDE and only come outside an hour before my races. ((EXCEPT for the fabulous and FUN randomly placed Bandit races shhhhh.)) Yes I know, I know I KNOW........it is my OWN fault for not riding more often. I was really kicking myself for not riding more when its snowy out and 10 below. SILLY ME!
But still, I must be THE most timid cross racer in the entire series. THE most timid. I couldn't even clip out well in August but now I have that down pat. My cornering needs work. I just have a lot of that 'back to the labratory' stuffs to do now. I was 'super wuss' in my practice lap. Anyone that was around me heard me whine that "I can't do this. I can't do this" about every other corner. MY GOD! The SNOW! the slippery! Ohhhh...I embarrass my team. I should be tougher than this. oooh speaking of the team:

Hank saw me freaking out in my pre ride so he pulled me to his side and told me that there was no one here that could ride away from me. OK. Breathe... That kinda settled me down. ((True or not true I think we all need to hear something to boost our confidence from time to time . It was what I needed to hear the most to settle my nerves ))

Its supposed to be fun! I was actually surprised I was acting this way. I was nervous about losing the championship series that I managed somehow to hang onto for all the races and all the weekends of punishment. So close. I really wanted to win this series. Hank was his usual coachy self and trying to tell me what to do, what line to take and where to watch out...it really helps. GOOD advice was what he gave and mind you..he is just a reader and observer but he knows things like someone that has been doing this for years. LIke telling me not to worry about clipping in on that swooopy downhill where I had to jump on my bike in the off camber. ( I hate that) . He was right. I wish I knew that at Northbrook I might not have crashed on that hill. Just get on the bike and the clipping in will just happen on its own...concentrate on the corner at the bottom first and foremost. Control is not that hard even when you are not clipped in.
ANd whenever I said I was nervous Hank would just say "good, that is good its good to be nervous". But I really need to learn to be TOUGH.
When the whistle blew I usually have no problem getting up to the front and I have gotten two hole shots this season, so I know that is like. Not today! That went to Holly. I clipped in fine and fast but felt jostled. EVERYONE wanted that tiny clear path where all the traction was. Holly said she just got BULLY and pushed her way there. Looking back I shoulda put myself more on the outside where no one was, Or just PUSHED BACK for crying out loud! Well... Holly took the Hole shot and Devon was hot behind her, then Rebecca..... and I was ....the word Holly told me.....DFL. (dead fucking last) at the first corner. Behind TEN women. All I could think was "?" What happened? What did I just freaking DO???? WHY?
I was out of the competition in the first five seconds of the race. Such is the way of cyclo crossing . I know better too. OK. Deep breath. DO NOT PANIC. Keep it going and just pass who you can as fast as you can. For the briefest of seconds early in the race..I mean if we could have just stopped time right then and there, Holly had the championship in her hands and even won the series. I had to do something or I"ll lose everything I worked so hard for. It gets sleepy following the pace of another. This is perhaps an easier evil to fall into for a roadie who is used to drafting than it is for a mountain biker who is used to pass pass pass on the trails. I had to plan my attacks in the best areas to avoid getting crashed in the snow. I attacked on the climbs, my best asset. Push to pass the girls as hard as I could then HOLD it by hammering as hard as I could to get away. I kept myself upright. The snow sometimes made it tough to get my legs to go faster as I kept scrubbing on the corners. UP ahead , way up there, I could see the 'real' race going on for the championship. I was out of contention for a win, but had to concentrate on the series points.
Devon soon overtook her and passed her in the snow. Holly said she just couldn't hold onto Devon long enough to let her draft her up further away from Rebecca. She commented on how smooth and quick Devon's barricades were. But Holly never slows down. If you can't be on HER wheel you probably won't see her again. I know that. Soon Rebecca had caught her and passed her and was trying like heck to catch onto Devon. Once Devon gets the lead dog spot she never gives it up. I was struggling in the back to reclaim what I lost. I powered past 5 women halfway up the climb on the hill in the first lap. Rebecca and Holly were already coming down the hill. I was just going to have to reel in one at a time best I could. Stay strong. That is tough to do because the path to stay on was narrow and the sides were snow covered, JUST GO. DO NOT crash.
At this point I had to ride DEFENSIVELY just to keep my title series. There was just no way to catch a win but maybe I can still sniff the podium if I just RIDE smart and stay strong. You just never know what can happen. I blinked. People were SKIING on the course.... HA! ITS CROSS RACING AMERICAN STYLE. Gotta love it. :)

You know that you are all nuts for liking this...You know that , do'nt cha? :) ha!!! yeah yeah. I love it too. ..sigh... I really do.

I did finally pass Katy and then powered up to Jessica. It took a while. But once the race started and the nerves dissappeared, I felt faster. I had moments where I felt like I was flying... WHen it was open and I could hammer I just let it open up and I let the speed happen. After a while the corners didn't freak me out so bad. Those three in front of me were NOT slowing down. NOt ever. It was like too little too late, you know?
I never did get up to Rebecca and HOlly. Devon was already long gone. I was riding as fast as I could and sometimes I couldnt even see straight. I almost forgot about the barricade at the end of the limestone path on the third lap but I clipped out just in time. I fell once in the snow but had to jump off my bike anyway to run up the hill so it didn't matter. The tape was EVERYWHERE on the course, men in front of us had blasted thru the course and once I nearly got caught OUTSIDE the course when I took the wrong side of the tape. That is when Katy caught back up to me again when I had to hit the brakes to reorient back onto the course. Grrrrrrrr. She passed me after the sand dune and I passed her immediately and this time I made it STICK. I am glad she was there to egg me on or give me a carrot to chase or I"d have given up. I heard later that Rebecca had crashed in the last lap. Holly had taken that opportunity to pass her. Holly took second. Devon won!!
Devon is Illinois State Cross Champion for 2008. :) I came in for fourth place and Katy was storming up behind me.
Yeah I am frustrated with my start it makes me lose sleep a bit. But hey. It was meant to be. Even if I had a do-over at the start, I think on this course I"d have gotten the same place anyway. I need to get on my mountain bike this summer and relearn my skills back again. :) And I will, too.
Well....At least I held onto my series but the final scene was rather anti-climatic since I didn't get a podium. That was tough to do with the talent I was faced with. GOOD race. GOOD competition. I did my best. WOW we really did have more races than ever before and somehow I survived.
My second cross season is now done officially. I am definitely rooting for the men of my team and for the men and women of Chicagoland to do well at Nationals! GO VERDIGRIS!!!

NED WHO?

Ride like the Devil chasin' ya

WOODSTOCK

I was really feeling down and a bit burnt out. It was probably more to do with the weather and with staying focused. But the emails I got from some team mates were just enough to motivate me and help me relax a bit. They have the best attitudes!!!! I changed up my workouts and picked shorter intervals. I guess I needed that change of rythm as I had been doing long intervals. I like longer intervals because they ...are long. .... I don't know. Maybe I am lazy and don't like pain. But.....the new training really helped me psychologically and I actually enjoyed my workouts last week. Long intervals can sometimes be brutally 'mind- exhausting'.

Hank also told me that I should think ONLY about Cyclo-cross. No other distractions. No tv, no computer, no blogging, no holiday shopping online....JUST racing. It was hard to do that since I have a lot of other interests that scatter me. But I think he has a good point. FOCUS is what is in your heart and if you got the racing in your head then it will come out of your heart on race day.
oh.....Ok..Hank just corrected me . He said it has more to do with not exciting your Central Nervous System and resting your mind and body as much as possible. well. Ok. OH and no drinking of the WINE. That helps too. :)

WOODY WOODSTOCK!

WOW what a course!! HUGE park. We were even in the trees today for a bit. :)
Lovely park with rollers and long grassy laps which challenged everyone's abilities. Wisconsin folks should mark their calendars to do this classical race next year. Super class too since the procedes all went to charity for Leukemia.

It started out with a wide open start and a few corners. NO SAND PIT anywhere on the course! But lots and lots of hills. There was a fast downhill pretty early on ((( I think this could be totally brutal as a stair climbing 'run- up' if the race were going the other direction)). So much fun to swoosh down into the corner and let the momentum take you up the next hill and a set of two climbs back to back. It was dry Sunday. I could see that the bottom of that hill had potential for slidey danger.
The rest of the course was super fun and everyone loved it. One triple barricade after a slight incline was the only obstacle that had us off our bikes. There were sections of taped off loopdyloops and an off camber downhill corner. GOGOGO. The back section was really bumpy and I was almost blind from the chatter it made at top speed. Super bumpy. But that was ok, it only minced the legs more. :)

Rebecca got the hole shot (surprise~surprise) and I was in third spot this time. We hit the inclines and suddenly Holly came out like a ballistic missle and just hammered her way to the front. It was an all out brawl. I was behind Rebecca and thinking it was a good place to sit since Rebecca can close the gap fast. I felt itchy to get around her though..... So I broke my roadie habit of staying on someone's wheel and I passed her. Certainly it was not a bad idea to wait but it was a better one in this case to GO.

Holly was at a clear advantage being in the front. Her cornering is excellently good. She has nothing but sheer guts powering her legs and that girl can MOTIVATE herself to fly. Even with a DNF in the series that knocked her down to fourth, she came up out of no where and is now blasting her way to the top. This motivation clearly energized her and it showed.
I saw her taking her corners and whipping us off her wheel. I passed up two girls in the hills and she was still gapped in front of us. I was next in line and could hear the breathing behind me. HOlly was only going to get further and further away. I kept pedalling and almost caught up to her before the first of the tricky taped off corners. I came out of the loopydiloop and almost caught Holly, but was a total dork on my first dismount. I messed up my timing on my first barricade and slowed down way too much. Jessica and Rebecca passed me back up like I was standing still. Now I had three people to pass. I got around Rebecca right away. hmmmmm....Her super powers were not working today. ((She has amazing super powers.)) Even though I passed her, I kept expecting her to blast around me at any moment. It was just like ''the devil'' was chasing me the entire race.

Now I had to get Jessie. I got around her (barely) on one of the hills but I couldnt shake her. If I messed up she'd pass me again and I still needed to get up to Holly. Jessica's barricades are usually pretty fast compared to mine so I knew I had a gap on her because she didn't come around me this time. I jumped smoothly then clipped in fast and just rode like heck. It worked. I got the gap. The momentum even carried me to Holly and soon, I dont know where or how, I got in front of HOlly . I spent most of the second lap trying to ride away from her but I couldn't. She used me to rest. I imagine she would have just stayed there but she probably lost her patience with me, especially with my cornering......((Like waiting for a granny to move her butt out of the way.)) Hank was screaming at me and begging for me to "" Pleeeease June .....Pedal in the Corners!!!!'' :P
She came around me and took off fast. I began the chase and tried to keep my pace as even as I could. She slowed down n the wind knowing full well I was there and now we were doing the cat and mouse thingy.
We were half way thru the race. I told myself to just GIVE her a good fight and ride the way you ride with Hank and the guys. Forget everything else and BREATHE!!

It went thru my head at this point, too, that I was actually having a total blast. I was having fun! People were screaming for both of us and I dont know when I went around her but I did it more because it was 'my turn' to be in front and I didn't want to be sucking her wheel for lap after lap like a chump. (not cool). I went around her and kept my tempo high. Pretty soon I gapped her, I don't know when or how. I kept riding hard. GOGOGO.
Wayne who was leading the 50 plus race, came around me. ((His race started about 3 minutes ahead of ours and he usually passes us before we are done.)) He told me I had a good gap and to keep going.

Well... This time I didn't choke or crash and held my pace to take the win. Holly was fast behind me for second.

By the way. The NEXT day , monday, we had a lot of rain and snow. We missed that bad weather by one day. What a different course it would have been.

ssshhhh

Ok I am at work sneaking a blog report in. Hank told me no bloggin. Just training. I am being rebellious!!!
I can squeeze a fast report in. :) cuz...I want to. It's really fast and un-editted so I am sorry if it sounds breathless a bit.
Good Golly Holly gave us a spanking on sunday. She won! I got third. My team mate Deb took second but was motivating me to hurry it up ..just in front of me. ha! I messed up my barricade once and just lost my head a moment. That was all it took. I let the gap form and never caught back on. Her plan was to wait for me to come around her so that I could get ahead of her. (for the points series) I just never got up to her . I think she shoulda stopped for coffee and that might have helped me a bit. :) haha.
Hey.... Its cool. Her plan was messed a bit too because the race seemed to end rather fast. (Though not fast enough for me!) The lap sign had been '3 laps to go' and we rode a lap and then it was over that same lap. THe races are run, we start after the cat 3 men. Sometimes they catch us sometimes they don't. When we get lapped by the men's cat 3 then we be done too. (Its to avoid confusion with the lap counter) And that was the lap they lapped us. OVER.

Hmmm. I was rather dragging my ass a bit. Don't know why. OH I know why. heh. yeah. Sand pit. Also... I didn't warm up properly. Someone walked off with my trainer last weekend and I miss it.
:( Its a cheap white one that has a name that starts with an 'M' and its gone. Me bummed. You can't replace cheap stupid stuff like that and I know that I valued it more than whoever took it. Its not worth a bleeding red cent and whoever took it probably chucked it away and will never use it.
It was my FRIEND!!! MY LUCKY TRAINER!

Cry.


OK race. Just the low lights.

There was a barricade about a ...I dont know... placed 40 yards before a big deep sand pit. whew it was a tough run to do. I saw some of the men having success with running the entire thing and I thought that the sand was too deep for me to take a chance on..so I ran the whole thing every lap. It was not a bad idea and at first I was ok with it. But it wore me out eventually. I am NOT a runner... not like that. I ran the KRYPTONITE sand and the deadly trap sapped me of my super powers. ..... no super powers to draw on.
That barricade was a rather cruel joke to an otherwise flat 'full of corners' power course.

BUT..on a lighter less whiney note. The guys are giving me some pep talks and some are REALLY good. You got to admit, sometimes you need a kick in the pants and sometimes you just need someone to remind you that you are there to have fun. plain and pure and simple.
Like Lombardo said, ''Stay positive''!
:)

OK. Positive: I am very very VERY happy with my dismounts.
Somehow by training INSIDE I am learning to clip out faster. Go figure. Just using visual focus and imagery. When I am in- between intervals I 'see' the barricade and practice clipping out. I still wish I could get out more and train just to practice my newer technique. The foot 'pass thru' method is not such a big deal to me anymore and physics is physics, I learned I won't fall at top speed. Its a confidence thing and I am gaining confidence by just working it thru mentally. YOu have to understand, in August when I was training with the guys I couldnt even clip in and out. I was that scared. SO this is a big deal for me. :)
I just need to get my timing better and my remounts better. I might be able to lessen the run time a bit this weekend too by trying to ride more of that sand pit. Well. We shall see.

YOu guys all have a great weekend and a super thanksgiving!
Hope your training is going well.

Save Ferris! Save me too!

editted. (I should wait a day to post! doh. )

http://www.veloist.com/video/video/show?id=661421%3AVideo%3A27466

Here is a link to some video of the men's master race (mostly 30+) Chris is battling it out to the bitter end , a very close second to Robbie Ventura who eeked out a win. Ok....""eeked'' is wrong word. That was a TOUGH course and you had to have top skills to compete. But its fun to say it like that cause I was screaming "EEEEK!!" the entire time I raced in my own event.

LOL. What a FUN. Totally fun course and difficult course. I am covered in bruises and am sporting a stiff knee. But I survived! Wow. If it weren't a series I'd have DNF'd this race for sure after I took a bad tumble on the cement. It was a good course for a true mountain biker and left very little for the roadie to catch on. Iwas unique for the Chicago series in that it had no barricades at all. Just a stair run up and then another stair run up. NICE!!!
I guess it was the mud that got me . ha! ~ But I tried. The toughest section for me was the stair run up and the sled hill. I think I fell four times on that hill! I was covered in grass and mud and have some nasty road rash and a sore knee. The hardest section was the sled hill, going down, it was portioned off with three off camber and very steep and challenging corners. I managed to ride it ok three times in my pre ride. I was fine . I was on my tufo's and didnt like the way they were sliding around. I think it didnt matter what tires you used though. You were going to slide around. I already knew what lines to take but It didn't matter, I still fell a couple times. It really tested who was the most nimble on a bike as well as the power trip guys.
There were so many curly Q's in the race that I bit my lip and had Hank put on my michelin mudd 2 tires. They were AWESOME in the curly sections and gave me huge confidence when I concentrated in the corners. (If I didnt' think though I' d let off the steam and coast again like a dork so as long as I keep my concentration high I pedalled in the corners fast as blazes.)). I did feel that they were heavy in the straightaways , the grass and long sections. I shoulda just rode on my tufo's. The tires did fill with mud half way thru the race and didn't clear very well for me. About half way thru the race I could feel the weight. I was huffing thru sections I normally fly thru. BOY did I feel the difference. I should train on these though now and then. They have some merits.
I was in third spot on my start into the course and Holly was in front of me and Rebecca was in front of her. I ran up the stairs and kept my position. But my downfall. (why does this wake me up at nite) and probably my stupidest move was not jumping on my bike right away at the top of the stairs. I saw Rebecca slide out on the mud in the first treacherous corner, so I took a cue and ran that. The sweeping corners were all hugely off camber on the slippery sled hill . (that is fun to say really fast ) . I prerode the course with no problems but the masters men had been racing in huge numbers over the course and the first corner was a tough one, very slick and much more muddy than when I rode it earlier.
My choice to run was not a bad one but my choice to get back on my bike was. Hindsite is I shoulda just ran the entire length to the second corner and THEN hopped on my bike. I might have held my position and had half a chance. As it was, I was pretty lame hopping on my bike too slow and let three girls pass me. UGH. Ok it was early.
I managed to catch back up somehow but now there were still three in front of me and Rebecca was not within my reach anymore. But this was a race where anything can happen so I didn't panic. I came up the second stair climb. Like I said, there were no barricades in this race, just muddy corners. :) I got back on my bike fine and swept down the treacherous but fast downhill that curled into a sharp corner onto a cement path. Cyclo cross tires and cement don't get along and there was Holly, getting back on her bike from a tumble she had. I rode over the path in a wider angle and took most of the turning angle OFF the cement and on the dirt on the other side. That saved me from falling. I passed Holly who grabbed my wheel fast and then we caught a girl that had passed me earlier when I fell on the hill. She slid out in a corner and I had to put my foot down to avoid hitting her. Holly grabbed a better line than me and rode past me around her. I was now behind HOlly again and going up a hill. The second lap I was keeping it close enough, Hank and the guys were cheering for me and I can't really remember who was in front but I think at that time I was holding onto third? It wasn't bad. They were all within reach and I had a lot of whooooopass to use. Just keep going. I was hoping to just keep it close enough in case someone made a mistake. But the only one making mistakes was ...ME! haha .

I came down the sled hill the second time and jumped on my bike right away. I was careful of my line as I came around the corner but then, felt the slip, ~Totally WIPED OUT on the corner. A nose dive with a slide. WOW. When I picked up my bike I got it caught under the tape. DOH DOH DOH! stupid tape. Now two gals passed me again. I didn't get too flustered. ((okokokOk I was a bit flustered)). But I hammered harder than ever now. I was getting some progress and now my adreniline was higher than ever. Came to the second stair, ran it, jumped on the bike, came down the mud slide. I knew I could pass that girl in the pathway so I took the corner from the mud to the cement a bit too fast and a bit too sharply and BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I fell HARD! On CEMENT dammit.
~I saw stars!




((and Not the Pierce Brosnan James Bond kinda stars either durn it!)))




Damn I was stupid. I shoulda taken the corner wide again especially with the new tires I was wearing. They had filled up with mud and were slicker than snot.
here is another tongue twister: The cement path surface was slicker than snot. ((I"lll keep saying this next time, that way I won't ever forget again that cyclo cross tires dont corner well on cement on muddy days.)) Well.....I guess it coulda been worse, right?
I got back on my bike and my knee was throbbing like heck. Yes. today I have a swollen knee and its a bit stiff. But I can ride on it. ((lots of bruises, ugh)). I worked thru the pain and just rode. I think if I weren't in a series I'd have just called it a day and gone home but I had to keep going, had to finish the race. I was subdued a bit and a lot more cautious. It took me about a half a lap to get my head back into the game. I was trying to look like I was having fun but I think any pictures with me in 'em are going to show me grimacing. I was hurting. It hurts mostly now when I extend my knee.

I do love cross! I think biking helps me stay calm and happy at work. Its a great therapy. PLUS..my god! I love the way my body is feeling stronger with all the running and jumping . The stress has taken some pounds off me. It keeps you young to try new things!
But I think Devon wins the show in looking pro. I tried to deck her later for passing me (lapping) me at the finish line. haha! She got a 3 minute lead with the cat 3 guys but that is the first time she caught me like that. Chris said its a tough mental battle to keep your head in the game and your power up when you know you are beat. I agree. I got myself beat bad. I do know I let off the power a lot after my knee injury. I probably was putting out lowest watts ever for any course I did. ha!!!

Have a great week! Congrats to all on my team! THey were stylin'. Wayne and Tim as usual were way off the front of their races and A super awesome job by Chris for giving Ventura a run for his money. ha! Also a big WOW for team mate Scott in the cat 3's for getting a personal best in his place. YAY! We all had fun and Chris's kid won again. super yay!
:)

Barton Mud Wrestling

Thanks Amy! This is really funny. ha! We might have some mud to contend with tomorrow!

Mental toughness and clock changes

ok. Its Thursday, I didn't blog the race. I lost. But got third. Don't want to talk about it. HA! so there. MY god it was the first time I got lapped EVER in a race by the cat 3 men's field.

It gets dark way too early now that we changed the clock. WHY can't they change it the OTHER way and get MORE light at nite so we can play?? Stupid laws. hmmpfh. What were they thinking?
I grew up in Lafayette Indiana and We NEVER CHANGED OUR CLOCKS!
Cuz...... we just didn't and I don't know why.

TIME.

I decided to just get out on my lunch hour (no blogging!) and ride my bike! It was soo freaking nice out this week. Well. Except today its windy howling rain and lightening.

Truth is in the training, right? But wow..I just have trouble with the whole mental toughness thing. Mental Toughness. Training inside is all about mental toughness. Since I am having a tough time finding the time to train outside I have to train inside either before work or after. I don't get home sometimes till 6 pm!
I was getting grumpy about training indoors all the time. I need a butt to follow! damn it.

Hank gave me a good talking-to a couple weeks ago and it helped. I wish I could remember all he said but the most important thing is that I can't give up. FIGHT! Its ALL in my head and I can talk myself out of this slump if I want it bad enough. FOCUS. FIGHT!!! FIGHT!!!

ok. Sometimes when I am driving home I see the long sweepy grass that goes along the highway. I always dreamed of a trail being on it. Its still a little light out and I wish I could just ride home. WOuldnt that be fun to bike along the highway or any road for that matter, on a dirt trail or a nice smooth bike lane? safely away from the road. yeah. well. That will never happen.

It really really aches at me when I pass the Gibson Farms. ((home of the muddy buddy) GOD I wish I could stop and just train there! Gracefully sweeping country side with hills and grassy trails. Wouldn't it be the GREATEST place to have a huge, long, blistering tough endurance cyclo- cross race at? WOW. Big hills, long fields, grass, mud. Ton's of space.

Hey..that reminds me. THere is a REALLY REALLY amazingly hilarious and fun 5K run there every year about this time. Its coming up Dec. 7th at 10 am. If you like to run cross country, you have to this race! I know our championships are the same weekend. same day. Bummer. Oh well. It is truly a fun event and a family one at that! old shoes and clothes though, the mud can rip your shoes off sometimes. ANd there are hills and a creek that you have to run thru. brrrrrrr. Fun costumes. Fun people. Family fun too! (if your family likes to run).

https://www.signmeup.com/site/reg/register.aspx?fid=MF2V9K7


But anyway, back to my MENTAL TOUGHNESS .... I mean...WOW.... it is 70 degrees out and its November! I just had to ride. I went out on my lunch hour and found some areas to train at. That was nice even if a bit short, time wise. But its better than nothing. Legs are sore. good stuff. Today it is raining and getting colder by the minute. SELF MOTIVATION is the key!