This race came and went. I told my coach that I needed redemption on this course since I got lapped last year. I didn't like that; getting lapped is a really shitty feeling. When I first started with my coach, this race was months away, then I saw the schedule and went, "Holy shit! Crap! No wait... it can't be July yet. Crap it is!"
Lodi is a W 3/4 race, so we know it's going to be faster than usual with a few more games in the field. Women love tactics. It's also a technical course. It's a figure eight with narrow turns and some cobbles. Basically, it's a freakin' fun race if you know what you're doing.
As I saw who was in the race, I knew we were in for a fun, fast, and hard race. These women are tough. The more the day went on, the more nervous I got. This was my "A" race, I got lapped last year, I knew exactly what was going to go on in the race. Was I ready? At that point, I either was or wasn't.
I taped up my achilles and my knee for this race. We got to the race around 1pm and got our numbers, ate lunch, watched some racing, chatted, and then warmed up. Frank helped Asa and me get our bikes and pit wheels ready, helped us out with anything we needed, and so on. It helped calm the nerves because apparently this is srs bsnz and I was nervous. Okay there, Kay. Way to go on that one, buddy.
I started the race pretty mellow, but I started to get anxious. I'm the type of rider who needs to attack otherwise I can't get into the race. So I did just what I needed to do for the first 15 minutes of a 40 minute race. I got a prime and nearly got into a breakaway with a Rio Strada girl, but it didn't stick. Damn. I did as many attacks as I needed to do to get into my zone and then chilled for the rest of the race.
The race went well. Some shady cornering from some girls. I actually told one to watch where she was going because the girl couldn't hold a line if her life depended on it. Herp sorry, don't really wanna crash. I hear it hurts like a mofo.
As we raced, the usual happened. People attacked, counter-attacked, played games, more attacks, more primes (which I didn't go for), etc. Asa and I then started to organize ourselves. As we saw two laps to go, everyone started to organize even more (you see this a lot more with a CAT 3/4 race).
The last sprint came. I was in a good spot and felt good. The problem is that I froze, just as I always do in the final sprint. Ever since my injury, I've been afraid to go all out in a sprint because I'm scared that I'm going to pop my achilles. The biggest issue is that I know I can out-sprint those girls; I've done it before, I can do it again, but I froze. I rolled passed the finish line in 5th place.
I won't lie, I was extremely disappointed. I felt as if I just couldn't do it, as if I had failed for some reason. Then I realized that last year, I got lapped and I've been hurt for over a year and a half. It wasn't a win and it wasn't amazing, but it was definitely an improvement. My coach has gotten me from being one of the weaker, lapped riders to being on the podium. Am I still disappointed? Yes, but I have to realize that there was a lot of good in this race. I'll ask my coach what I need to do to get out of my mental block in the final sprint and I'll go for the win next year. This is my favorite race... I want to be on the top barrel, and I think I can do it.
Asa and I went to get our prize money, I got my prime, and we both got podium wine. It wasn't a bad result. Seriously! I went from being a lapped rider to getting both a prime
and on the podium. I went from being one of the weaker riders to being in the spot light quite a bit this year. There were many successes, but I have to improve, I'll get out of that rut, and I'll be on that top barrel.
Since I got a $10 gift card for the brewery in Lodi, Asa, Frank, Frank's kids, and I went to spend it. Asa and I got our post-race beers and we had some good times just hanging out. We parked our bikes in the front and everyone loved them, especially since both had podium wine in the bottle cages. After some good post-race hydration, we went back home. I went to feed some horses and then hung out with two friends, ate Chinese food, watched movies, and became one with the couch. I pretty much zonked out.
I had a blast this year. I'm a lot stronger. I'm looking forward to next year, to being stronger, and to getting on that top barrel. It's going to happen! I gotta say, you know you're having a good season when 5th is disappointing.
Next up, Menlo Park on Sunday. Wish us luck!
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