Bicycles Plus/Sierra Nevada May Classic Criterium

I went into this crit wanting points and a podium. I have the endurance and my sprints are slowly but surely coming back. It's been a frustrating road, but thanks to my coach, my injuries aren't worse. I know that if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have progressed as much as I have. To be honest, my dumb ass would probably still be really injured.

Thanks to Alex Chiu for the photo! http://acaurora.smugmug.com

 I went to the race on 3 hours of sleep. I felt like hell. It was just a bad night overall. The most frustrating part was that I couldn't get the proper rest even though I wanted to do well in this race. I got there early because I wanted to see a few friends race in the 5's and a couple of friends in the 4's. The races were fun and I hung out and chatted. After that, I went to do a very poor warm up (I was exhausted), a few people came to talk to me, I gave up trying to warm up, and went out by the course, where I met up with a couple of teammates.

Asa (aka my sister from another mister) and I were in the women's 4 together. It was awesome being able to race with her. We lined up, did our neutral lap, and off we went.

The cool thing about this course is that it's fast and safe. The bad thing about this course is that it's fast and attacks don't usually stick. Yeah, you can attack, but most of the time you'll get caught unless you can get really organized or you're some freak of nature. The course is in the shape of a D, and the two turns that it has aren't sharp nor technical. Cake. If you're thinking of doing your first criterium, this is the course to pop your cherry.

Thanks to Alex Chiu for the photo! http://acaurora.smugmug.com

We started racing and I heard that there was a prime. $10. Okay. I went for it. So I sprinted, got it. I know I should have probably saved my legs for the final sprint, but dude, $10! Anyway, we went by, and another prime lap was belled. Asa went to the front and I followed. She led me out beautifully for the sprint. Got the prime. After that lap I told her not to worry about the other two primes since I wanted to save some legs for the final sprint. She agreed and we just kept going with the race. I pulled to the back of the group for a bit since I wanted to rest. Since this course is so easy, falling to the back of the group isn't that big of a deal. I rested for a bit, saw how many laps we had to go, and started to organize ourselves.

Thanks to Alex Chiu for the photo! http://acaurora.smugmug.com

Asa pulled me beautifully into the last sprint, but I was about two strides too behind in it and missed the podium by a tiny bit. Disappointment to the max. I got 4th, which yes, is still in the points, so I'm happy about that, but still disappointed. Damn. I was right there! At least now I know I have more than enough endurance and my sprint is coming back. Soon enough I'll be getting on that podium again!

We all gathered and I went to get my two primes. As I was waiting for them and I was chatting with people, one of the promoters said, "you got three primes?" Uh... I wasn't aware that I got a third prime but okay. That was a nice surprise. While I was waiting for the promoter to gather my prizes, a few people congratulated me on a good race, on my strength, and told me I was racing very strong out there. Some ladies came up to me and thanked me for a good and safe race. My coach said I did well but that we need to teach me to do less work. I agree. I'm pretty bad at that, but I'm learning. I'm telling you, internet, with his guidance, I'll be back on the podium!

Party time!

So what did I get as primes? Two bottles of wine, coffee, and $10. Basically, I got 4th place and a freakin' party. Not bad. At least I got points toward my upgrade, some wine, coffee, and enough cash to buy Asa and me some beer at Sam Horne's.

One of our CAT 3 racers and his daughter. 

We hung out a bit to watch some more racing, took some pictures, and hung out. Asa, Frank, and I had to set up course for one of our mountain bike races, Race Behind Bars, hosted at Folsom prison, so we couldn't make a day of race watching and, as Dean Alleger says, "trolling for racer boys," so we had to leave shortly after our race so we could get some food, a little bit of rest, and get back to work.

What happens with lack of sleep, racing, and working.

The day was fun. I'm still disappointed in my last sprint, but it's coming back. I look back at how hurt I was two months ago and I have improved a lot. People can't say I'm not improving, because damn, two months ago my achilles and calves were killing me. Now I'm able to sprint (sorta). It'll get back. I looked at my results from last year, and I got 10th in this same crit. Going from 10th to 4th isn't bad, though I still would have loved to be on that podium. It will come.

My next race is Cyclebration. The crit is the same course just the other direction. I'll race smarter. That podium and upgrade are inches away.