"This is 10 percent luck, 20 percent skill
15 percent concentrated power of will
5 percent pleasure, 50 percent pain
And 100 percent reason to remember the name"
Lyrics from Fort Minor's Remember The Name
There's something nice about Nationals coming in December. For me, it is the crescendo of the cycling season. Then there's the fact that it's followed by all the reflections, introspections and resolutions of the New Year.
Early last year, I made a decision to give up being a relatively successful runner (at least in age group competition) and focus on cycling. I even took a page out of my eleven year old niece's playbook and put up a list of refrigerator goals. The ultimate goal was to improve my finish at Nationals to the top 10 in my age group race. Funny looking back on those goals now. I did "Stick with the plan" but got swept off my feet (literally) so much by mt biking that I ditched the crits and roadraces. But anyway....I digress...this is supposed to be about Nationals.
Days before heading to Kansas City, we kept hearing about the ice storm there. In fact, we even started wondering whether they'd hold the event. Arrived on Wednesday and the view from the plane looked like the arctic tundra. Fortunately, I had reserved a 4WD car. Headed over to the Budget counter and the guy tells me they're out of the Jeep Liberty's I had reserved, would I mind taking something else that was 4WD for the same price. Sure, no problem. Walk out to stall B26 and there's parked a giant red Hummer. 
OMG! I drive a MINI - I can't drive that beast not to mention I'd feel like someone who goes out and clubs baby seals. Geez.... S and PFFC laughed their butts off when they saw me pull up in that thing.
Since C fro LA would also be joining us, we had booked a suite at the Great Wolf Lodge. We were pretty speechless (and not in a good way) as we walked into the hotel lobby. I knew going in that it was a family hotel geared for kids but I don't think I expected the singing moose heads, the daily snow storm at 3pm, Santa's visit every day and a host of other events. The place was certainly fine and I know all my nieces and nephews would have loved the indoor water park.
The B Women race was at 9am Thursday. The course, about 10 min drive from where we were staying, opened at 8am for pre-ride. The sky was lightening as we loaded up the car at 7:30 but the sun still wasn't up. Everything was coated with layer of ice. Everything. Pre-riding the course was interesting. I liked the course but wasn't so sure about the crust of ice over it. As we rode, our tires crushed the ice resulting in the oddest sound I've ever heard during 'cross along with making me feel like I was riding in a giant glass filled with a frozen margarita. I did a lap slowly, wondering if it even made sense to do the race. Really didn't want to get hurt before the more important race the next day. Found S, talked it over, and decided to race conservatively and use the race to learn the course. Granted lines would change from one day to another (indeed, they changed from one lap to another at some points during the event) but the practice would be a good thing.
The temp when we lined up for the race was about 28 degrees. I had a front row start thanks to an early registration (cracks me up to think I registered for this race on a sunny, warm evening in Kauai. Registration started at midnight Central Time which is a quite manageable 7pm in Hawaii. Perhaps I should head for Hawaii during next year's registration as well). I had another great start - powered up the hill and hit the dirt second to the eventual winner. Along the first little pond, I rode a bit conservatively and was passed by a 5 - 6 people but was sitting in the top 10 by the time we crossed the road to the next part of the course. Getting passed by a few more women, I was more than a little annoyed and ditched the "ride conservatively" idea and punched it. I reeled a couple of riders in and really concentrated on riding hard and not making mistakes. My first two laps were probably my best of the entire season. And then it fell apart. Not sure if I just ran out of steam or what but the last two laps were probably my worst of the season. Most of the ice was now chewed up and we were riding in mud. As the mud coated the bikes, it froze. Both of my derailleur cables were going nowhere (and I have top mounted cables! Those with downtube cables had it even worse). So now I was tired and riding a single speed. Lovely. But I did manage to ride well. Handled the off camber sections fine and the ditch which seemed to claim riders and wheels every lap proved to be non-issue for me the entire weekend. The Tsunami was awesome in that crud. I love that bike. :) I finished completely wiped in 52 min or so. Good enough for 18th place.
By the time our race was over, the sun appeared. It warmed the course and really started the melting. By the end of the day, the trees no longer had that gorgeous ice coating and the course was a complete mud pit. I hung out to watch the Mens B races and cheer for the MRC boys. The off-camber section turned to slick mud for their race so that ended up being a good place to watch the carnage. ;-)Next day, my race was at 1pm. Plan was to eat breakfast and get to the venue in time to pre-ride at noon. Breakfast at IHop - bad idea. At least for me. Not my kind of food. Lesson #32: don't change your pre-race eating habits before an important race. You'd think I'd have learned that especially after hearing about Andy blowing his egg mcmuffin at the MRC race.
The course was totally different on Friday and challenging in a whole other way. All the melting from the day before had resulted in frozen mud ruts that would grab your front wheel. Interspersed with the frozen mud ruts in the shade were long stretches of peanut butter mud that I felt were trying to suck the rubber off my rims. And then there were what appeared to be areas of peanut butter mud that in reality were frozen. That led to unexpected and fun jarring. Last but not least, there were slick patches of ice on either side of the narrow brown ribbon of best line through the course. That would make passing interesting.
I had a second row start for this race which worried me a bit given the condition of the course. I was anticipating girls going down on the first turn/downhill-uphill ditch off the pavement and didn't want to get caught behind that. Punched it at the whistle and floored it to get to the front. I arrived at the first turn about 5th or 6th and one of the first women on the dirt biffed it as expected. I changed my line last minute to avoid running her over and that was just enough to cause my rear wheel to slide in the mud and I was down. 45 sec into the race and I was already eating dirt. Wah. Got back on and started passing people again. I actually rode the mud and gunk better than many (yeah, mtb skills). I think the key for this race was to stay on the bike, ride hard but not on the crazy edge because each time I pushed it, I face planted. Case in point: coming off the long off camber section I was trailing a woman I had been trying to get ahead of for a while. The MRC guys were cheering like crazy for me, "Make a move, Teri! Make a move!" Inspired by their yelling, I decide to leave the narrow brown ribbon of safety and pass her. As I climbed out of the saddle, I realized I had picked a lousy point to pass. I was on ice, the bike flipped sideways hard and I did a superman slide on my stomach in the mud. (MRC boys yelled, "Not that move!" Yeah, I kinda figured. Thanks.) Lesson #17: Don't listen to everything the spectators yell.
As the course was more and more turned up, I found it was easier to get traction on the edges. This was fine except it also meant one ran the risk of catching the tape. At one point where I was actually keeping up some good speed, my right brake caught the course tape. Damn - those stakes were in good because my bike stopped instantly and I flew over the handlebars. This time landing hard on my back and sliding a bit. At least I was getting symmetrical mud stains on my jersey. Similarly, while making a tight right hand turn onto the off camber section to take the high line, I caught my right foot on a stake. Didn't fall but got hung up enough for people to pass me. In each fall mishap, a woman or two would pass. I felt like I was falling further and further behind. Then last time over the barriers, my chain got stuck between the spokes and the cassette. Took 30 seconds or so to free that. I was so angry by then, though, I caught two more women.
By the time I crossed the line, I was sure I was in last place. I was completely exhausted. I tried not to sob. All year, worked hard, came in last. I suck. And my head really hurt from one of the falls where I really smacked my helmet hard. S was there at the finish telling me I had did great. Wasn't sure which race she had been watching.
In retrospect, I had been riding in about 5th place for much of the race. Had I raced a little more carefully and stayed on the bike, I could have stayed there. Looking back at the pics, I was even ahead of a woman in the age group that went off before us. The disparity between my perception and reality is really quite shocking to me. I didn't look at the results until I was at dinner that evening. Totally shocked to discover I came in 10th. Next year, top 5. Year after that: 1. Remember the name. It's a new year - may as well put those goals out there.
And congrats to my teammates who took the Stars and Stripes jerseys (go Julie and Libby!) and Cris taking #2 and Sally 3. NEBC women rock!
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