Monday, July 6, 2009

WORS #5-Eau Claire Race Report

I had a big slice of humble pie at yesterday's race, which was my first WORS race with the big boys. I went in thinking a top 20 was feasible. Nope. Top 40? Nope. Top 50? Nope. I arrived at the race a little late, didn't get a warmup and was staged in the very last row of a big field. The rollout wasn't all that fast (the dust was suffocating); I just maintained my spot at the tail end. There was a big bottleneck as we entered the first singletrack and we actually came to a stop as people tried to fight for position.

About 10 minutes into the race I crashed when a signpost appeared in the middle of the trail (I think some flagging accidentally got moved). Shortly after the crash I realized I lost my lone bottle of Heed. I had a half bottle of water and a few GUs, but knew that would be insufficient to finish the 2+ hour race. I was pissed. The course is fast, flows real well and is fairly flat. The trail builders in Eau Claire know what they're doing. The second lap went well as I just hung on to a couple of 40+ guys who were cruising. At mile 20 I bonked and quickly lost contact with my pacers. I stopped and picked up a water bottle someone else lost because I was out of fluids. Shortly thereafter, something grabbed my shoe and pulled me off the bike. Crash #2. I limped through the rest of lap 3 feeling really, really bad. I got passed by 7 guys in that single lap and thought I was literally in last place.

I was still hurting very badly as I started the final lap...my back was screaming at me to stop, my guts were tied in knots from all the bouncing, my legs were cramping and refusing to turn over the pedals. As I entered the singletrack I told myself I'd just ride the trail like I was there to have fun. I'd play a trick on my body and make it think I wasn't racing. As I leaned hard into a right hand turn a 4 inch maple tree presented itself on the inside of the corner. My handlebar and shoulder made contact simultaneously and I went down hard. I had to realign the handlebar with the wheel, remount and continue. The fun didn't last long.

I finished in 2:27, 22 minutes back of the winner. 53nd place overall (of 63), 42nd among Cat 1 riders and 16th in my age group. I've got lots of room for improvement. This is the first WORS race I haven't medaled in...I think I'm finally in the right category.

2 comments:

  1. Way to aim high with your racing Jess.You have been on a roll for almost 2 years...does a bad race really come as a surprise?Too bad its such a long drive to have a bad race.A small camelback[roadie`s shudder here] on a hot day with 3x8+ mile laps would have been the hot ticket.If Brian Matter can roadrace with a camelback and a visor on his helmet[Too cool] it can`t be a bad thing.

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  2. I was surprised at the jump from Comp to Elite when I did it too. It's a whole different race. If I can score a top 10 here and there, you definitely can too.

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