Race Report: Smithville Cross Festival Day 2

In retrospect, it might not have been the best plan to drive 4 hours each way to and from a race that only lasted 30 minutes. And I had to go alone. My Cross Yoda had a busy weekend, and my parents wanted to go to church. It would have been a great time to have a supportive girlfriend.

Anyway, the day was ridiculously windy. Like can't walk in a straight line kind of windy. Like trouble staying upright kind of windy. And the course was also much more exposed to the wind than the course at Chris Cross.

I'll only talk briefly about the course, because I just don't have the energy tonight. It wound back and forth quite a bit. Like a very long snake. It made for some pretty sharp turns. There was some off-camber riding, as well. And, in one part, a realllly steep run-up. You'll see that in the video, when I post it (it'll be a short one).

So my race, once again, was the last one of the day. Our race left five seconds after the masters' men and five seconds before the juniors. Eight juniors in the field, by the way, and that was really cool.

I probably went out too hard on the first lap. I was in third place for a while. But after that first lap, I knew I had pushed too hard. The second lap was really hard. I wanted it to be over. But coming to the end of the second lap and seeing that were only two laps left gave me . . . well, let's call it hope. So I was able to push through the final two laps. There was one other woman whom I passed in the first lap and then worked really hard to hold her off through the next three laps. And I did!

I managed to finish in 6th place out of 12, which is a far cry from second-to-last. And I was happy with my performance. I still think that I can do better. I think I could win. But it's only my second race, still, and there's still plenty of time for that later. I'm extremely happy with the way my cycling skills are coming along--my handling, my cornering, my accerating, my body position. It's all coming together, and it feels awesome, especially after so little time doing it. Also? Totally nailed the mounts and dismounts. Didn't so much nail the run up. My borrowed mountain biking shoes are about half a size too big, and my feet kept sliding out of them while I was trying to run up this super steep hill. Had to pause and jam my feet back into them a couple times. But once I got past that run up, I was golden.

Unfortunately, I think the racing and driving, combined with two cycling classes and a 4 mile run today, may have taken some kind of toll on my body. All day, I've felt sluggish, hungry, thirsty, and cold. It may just be low blood sugar and dehydration, but I'm a little concerned that I'm getting sick. At any rate, I'm exhausted right now, and that's why this race report is so boring.

Note: Thanks to Lanterne Rouge Racing for the pictures, again!