SOCup 6 - Barrie
Holy hell, it was cold and windy! I found I had a hard time warming up for this one, it was so cold and other than the bathrooms, there weren't any indoor areas to stay warm(ish). I got a lap and a half in, and then it was time to head to the line. I think the break from racing took me out of the pre-race routine - I managed to pull together enough warm clothing to get me through the race, and ditched the HR monitor in favor of going with the flow and winging it. I didn't have a great start, I think maybe about 4th wheel when we hit the barrier. The girl in front of me came to a complete start to get back on immediately following the barrier - it was a slow spot, since it was on an off-camber... I ran around her and managed to keep with the chase group. At this point, no surprise, Mel was off the front in first. I latched onto Lesley and Kelly's wheels, along with Aly. Nearly every lap played out the same - I would catch up and get up to third wheel at either the run-up or the barrier, but lose that position when I had trouble getting clipped back in (using my new winter shoes, and which don't have the same clearance around the cleats). I would spend all the rest of the lap fighting into the headwind to latch back on, finally make it, and then have the same problem immediately following the next section where I had to get off the bike. On the last lap, I wasn't able to catch back on between the run-up and the finish line, so I had soloed in for 5th overall, 2nd elite woman.
SOCup 7 - Riverdale
Super fun! I always like this course, even though there's a lot of climbing. This year it was a bit shorter - well, the course, not the climbing - and I pushed myself better than in any other race. Guess I finally remembered how to hurt in a race! I went hard off the start, wanting a good shot at the prime for reaching the top of the first climb first. Unfortunately, I couldn't get around Leslie before the line, and I think that was the last I saw of her - she had an awesome race! I hung on in second for a while, but was soon passed by both Kelly and Lori. I was really starting to fade towards the end, possibly related to having cereal for dinner the night before. I was hoping to score enough points to get second overall in the series, which I did.
The Boy pretty much gutted himself in his own race, to the point where I wasn't sure he'd be able to get home. An inspiring ride that impressed many!
Subway Cross
This one was a non-race for me. I was really happy with how I raced and how hard I pushed the week before, and wanted to try to get there again for one last race. I feel like this year I haven't been able to really push and hurt in a race - not really sure why - and it was a nice feeling at Riverdale, so I wanted to give it another go. I like supporting Friends of Canadian Cyclocross Racers, too, so I was more than happy to help out with course set up the day before. Unfortunately, working in the cold nearly took me out for the whole weekend. I was bagged and asleep on the couch by 8pm, and didn't want to risk getting sick when things are really busy at work. Not only did I skip racing, I couldn't even get myself out of the house in time to spectate, and had to settle for meeting up with the gang at the season close-out party, instead.
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