Cupcakes and Cross and Rookie Mistakes

Last weekend was one of my favorite 'cross races. Not because of the course (although I actually liked it more this year since the grass was shorter and drier) but because of the cupcakes. I haven't a clue how cupcakes have become linked to 'cross in New England but I'm all for it. I'm almost ready to put a "Fueled By Babycakes" sticker on the Tsunami. I'm sure it's detrimental to my racing but hey, didn't I say the UberGoal for this season was "Enjoy"? So it's all good.

My mom and dad were in town for the weekend for a post-anniversary celebration. That made it impossible for me to get to the Women's 3/4 race at 9am. It meant swapping the little girl panties for the big girl thong and racing with big girls. Oy. For the three or four days before the race, I alternated between bouts of dreading rolling up to the line with those fast chicks to a calm zen of "It's ok. Get a good longer work out. You only get better by riding with those better/faster than you."

I got there early to pre-ride the course. It was a mix of open fields, double-track fire roads, a challenging sand feature, some off-camber grass and a slight grade paved section at Start/Finish. There was one set of traditional barriers after two short power uphills and a short stair run-up. There was a new lollipop section in the woods to bypass some of the normal roots, and many of the rocks in that section were also removed (or painted bright orange ;)). Lots of high-speed grass and power sections, and very little elevation change made the course very fast. Not something I'm strong at and a complete change from thre previous race at Amesbury.

Given that I've been mostly racing the B race, I had one simple goal for Sucker Brook - don't get lapped. I brought two sets of wheels with me - one with Michelin Muds on them and the other Michelin Jets. Given that the course was super dry and the grass pretty short and fast, I opted to go with the Jets. I'm still debating the wisdom of that decision but on the pre-rides, they felt great.

Rolled up to the line - 13 starters which the official told me was unlucky. Actually, 13 is my lucky number so I was happy about it. I started in the second row hoping to stay as close to the pack as possible during the race. As we hit the first turn off the pavement onto the gravel I was actually about 4th or 5th from last and pretty pleased with my position. As we got off the gravel and passed the pit, my bike started feeling weird, I looked down and the back tire had flatted. :( At this point, I started kicking myself for not putting my extra set of wheels in the pit (Mistake #1: if you have spare equipment at the race, at least put it in the pit) and while I was berating myself for neglecting to do that, I slowly walked back to the start to tell the official I was a DNF. He reminded me that there was neutral support in the pit (DUH! Mistake #2: keep head in the game, be informed not only of the course but also amneties offered by the race venue) and said I could still stay in the race if I wanted. I figured I could use the workout so threw the bike on my shoulder and started sprinting for pit. The pit crew incredulously looked at me and yelled, "Did you flat at the start?!?!?!" I told them what happened as they swapped out my wheel and the leaders started coming through (so much for my goal of not getting lapped). Soon, the entire field passed as he futzed with the bike trying to get the brake cable back on (my brakes are swapped so he was actually loosening the cable for the front wheel instead of the back) as I didn't pay attention and was cheering for the NEBC girls going passed the pit. (Mistake #3: pay attention in the pit or do it yourself). We finally got the bike ready, I jumped on and sprinted to catch the last woman. I caught her on the grass and was going to sit behind her for a while but she was so tentative on the corners that I decided to pass her. She passed me back a little while later but as we hit the woods, I passed her again (it was pretty clear she was tentative not only on corners but even more so on dirt and sand). With that observation, I accelerated each time through the sand pit, the woods and each turn in order to put more distance between us. My goal became to make sure I finished "ahead" of her (I couldn't really beat her since I was a lap down). Anyway, it gave me something to focus on in a race that was pretty much over in the first 60 sec for me and I loved it. She never did pass me again. Unfortunately, I never was able to catch anyone else, though. And, how cool was it to hear Dick Ring mention me every time I rode through the start/finish. I wish I could have heard his commentary. "Here comes Teri Carilli of Lexington, MA. Well, folks, we don't know why she's so far behind....but we do know she's no Patty French from Chelmsford! And where is Patty French anyway? Isn't she one of Carilli's riding partners? What's up with that?" :)

Regardless, I did feel strong for a 45 min race and despite being DFL felt like I actually accomplished something. The whole race was definitely an exercise in how to come in DFL, ride like a rookie and still build up a bit of confidence. I think I'll continue riding with the big girls for all races except the UCI ones.

Best of all, two of my teammates were on the podium. Cris took 2nd, Libby 3rd. Totally awesome job.


Oh, yeah. I did eat one of the Big Ass cupcakes. And yeah, I did feel kind of sick afterwards. Talk about a sugar high.