I <3 Cross

I hadn't planned on doing any more cross races until November but when Shannon and Laurie offered me a ride down to Macon for the 2nd series race I couldn't help but say yes... Cross is addicting. Extremely addicting. Our friends were also in town from Thursday through Sunday so the weekend involved a lot of this

Staying out late and drinking is not usually what I like to do before a race, but I figured this is technically my "off-season" so it was pointless to stress out about drinking a few beers before a cross race. I mean, some people drink during the race so it was probably no big deal, right? At least I was relaxed, for once I was not too worried about the race.

The morning of the race I had a really weird feeling...not like a hangover or upset stomach...I felt really good. I usually have nagging pains before a race, whether it's a hip flexor, piriformis, or calf pain. This time my legs didn't feel heavy (yet), there were no last-minute body pain developments, and I actually felt like I might be able to win this race. I will admit I have NOT felt like that in a really, really long time. At most of the races I have done this year it's pretty much a race for second place as my friend Amanda Carey absolutely dominated at every single 100 mile race I did. Normally I would start stressing out over the fact that I might actually have a chance at winning but I didn't today. I was just in a really good mood and I have not laughed that much in a long time..Shannon and Laurie are absolutely hilarious.

Once we got to the venue I did a couple short but easy pre-laps. The course was good but it didn't play to my strengths what-so-ever. Hmm...well maybe it wouldn't be my day after all. Once I saw Kim there it confirmed that there was pretty much no way I would have a chance at winning...she is fast and a "cross specialist" plus she is racing short, fast races all year on the mountain bike. You can't control who shows up to a race so it really didn't affect my mood or nerves at all. It was nice to still be quite relaxed and I was looking forward to a good, hard race no matter what happened. Like in mountain biking, the women racing are amazing. I think the best part of racing is the people I have gotten to meet along the way.

As expected, Kim took off and never looked back. The race for 2nd place was on and Elizabeth and I took over 2nd and 3rd, continuously swapping places throughout the race. I knew it would come down to a sprint finish but in the last corner Elizabeth crashed. It was NOT how I wanted the race to end...I slowed up to make sure she was not seriously hurt. She got back on her bike so I went ahead and rolled across the finish line in 2nd. It was an exciting race and despite not being a "good course" for me I felt like I raced well. I know I still have a lot of things to work on but so far the season has started on a good note..not too bad for an endurance person.

No racing this coming weekend..I will have fall break so Eddie and I are heading to Mulberry Gap for a 5-day mountain bike training binge..Pisgah Double Dare is in two weeks- 2 days, and up to 80 miles and 12 hours of Pisgah riding BOTH days. I hope it's not too much of a good thing!!