I just found this blog post that I never published... and I think I am going to start writing again. Stay tuned!
West Branch Classic Crit 2016
Wow, it has been a long time since I have written a blog post. All the way back on the shortest day of the year when I dug out the Sufferfest videos. This winter did not seem like it would ever end, and I lost the will to jump on that bike and do any more trainer workouts.
I did go to Ironworks gym, a benefit of being on the Hagerty Team and did some core building work and some spin classes. They have a great gym and even greater trainers! But even that as the winter dragged on wore off.
Finally warm weather is here again, and I decided to jump back into some racing, even if I am not in top shape. Being very competitive, it is hard to just do this. But I feel it will help motivate me to get back into shape. So, I signed up to do the West Branch Classic Crit on June 14. I have raced this before and the course is fairly easy, not technical at all. Not too bad of a drive for me and an outlet mall nearby...sounds perfect.
There was not a large turnout for this race, just four women. Having only four women in a race does not equate to a boring or easy race though. For one, there is no hiding in the pack when there is only four women. Everyone is going to have to work. Also, getting away requires a bit more finesse as again, you can't surprise anyone that easily. You can also look at this opportunity to think of what you might do if you were in a break away with four people and how to win that final leg of the race.
The four of us lined up, Kari Sederburg, Sally Seese, and Alicia Trevino. We all talked before the race and agreed that we didn't need to go balls to the wall at the start. They offered us three primes during the race, even though there were only four of us, so that made the race a bit more fun as well. We did a few laps to warm up, each taking a turn at the front.
It wasn't long before the bell was rung and the race for the first prime was on. The course was all right handed sweeping turns and one small hill on the back of the course. On the first prime I attacked shortly after the hill and was able to get the first prime. The second one came along and Sally gunned for that one, and I noticed that she had some pretty strong legs. It was apparent about this time that Alicia wasn't working much in the race so we slowed down to give her a turn in the front. She slowed down to 15, not taking the bait to go to the front and work, so Kari took off, leading an attack to drop Alicia.
She then took the next prime, as she lead both Sally and I for some distance and worked her ass off. Just a few laps to go and I wondered what I was going to do to try and win this race. I noticed again how Sally was right there every time I attacked and wondered how I could get away from her. On the last lap, I moved to the back and attempted to attack from the back. I got some distance, but not enough to shake Sally. I slowed down, let Kari catch back up and regrouped for the final sprint. Sally attacked on the last straight away and I stayed right on her wheel. She was very strong though, and I was spun out, and forgot to shift up. I didn't have enough in my legs to stand up and sprint around her either, so she took the win with me coming in right behind her. Kari followed close behind.
It was a fun race as there was a lot of strategy to think about during the race and it felt good to just get out there again. I am hoping to keep improving my fitness and get out there more in the next few months.
