May 17, 2008

race weekend

the marathon mobile is all packed up for a short trip to lexington, kentucky for not a marathon, but two bike races this weekend. it has been a while since i last raced and i am excited to see what progress has been made - if any. please god, let me have made some major progress.

it was only going to be a one-race weekend for me, i had been planning on doing a circuit race tomorrow, but decided at the last minute to throw in a criterium today. for my loyal runner friends in case you don't know what a criterium is; its a short race (usually under a mile) with lots of turns. think: riding shit ass fast around a bunch of city blocks with 90 degree turns, for 30 hair-raising minutes. SCARY. i wasn't going to sign up for this race for just that reason. i thought it was scary. then i knew i had to sign up for it for just that reason - to get over the fear and just jump in, and to have another race start under my belt. i kid you not when i say that i got up early this morning to read the chapter on racing criteriums in my new race tactic book.

tomorrow's race is actually the one i am more excited about, because tomorrow i finally get to race against women in my own category - which is the beginner category 4. i will not be lined up with the national women's champion as i have been in every other race (and will be today). i'm eager to race with my own kind and see how it goes, and since i have done the type of race before (a 2 mile circuit for 30 minutes), i think i'll have a better gauge tomorrow of any progress on runner girl turned biker chick thing.

i've been riding nearly 150 miles a week, i've been learning about race tactics and riding smarter. i'm going into today's race with a totally open mind - rolling up to the start will be good. not crashing will be great. getting lapped is highly likely, getting pulled from race because i got lapped is a possibility. finishing would be awesome. i have slightly loftier goals for tomorrows race. we'll just see how it all goes. curiously, as in all previous bike races (you know, all 3), the pre-race sleepless nights and anxiety are absent. this is what floors me about all of this. i'm so much more relaxed. i haven't busted my ass for 4 months and bet the farm on one day. i've just been riding my bike. having a blast. if things don't go well this weekend, there will be another one in a few weeks.

i will bust my ass for 4 months and bet the farm on one day again, (that day may be in february now - still on the fence) - but in the meantime, i've got to get back to that chapter on criteriums.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

rock it zanne! Call me after you win tomorrow.

house on hill road said...

hope it went well! can't wait to hear.

Gotta Run..... said...

Sounds like the training plan is the best kind of all.... you enjoyed it!!

Looking forward to the race report...and pictures :)