Race 6

Another one in the books!

I admit, this is not one of my favorite courses, although it wins serious bonus points because it is (a) in the city (and actually in the city, a mere 15min ride from home even when carrying race stuff and spare wheels), and (b) the location of my first cross race ever.

We were treated to some seriously un-cross-like weather. Hot and sunny, and very dry. Gorgeous day to be on the bike & hanging out in the park with friends. So, cross race... perfect combo of these two things, no?

I got up to Cedarvale a bit later than planned, but was counting on the ride up as part of the warm up. It took me a while to get my wheels set up in the pit after I registered - I took them up, leaving my bag at registration, then realized I had left the quick release skewers in my bag... I hopped on the course to check it out, swung by registration to grab the skewers, and stopped at the pit my second time through to finish getting everything set. I got in a couple of laps of the course, and then headed to the start. At the line, I was offered one of the date squares that had been brought by another racer. Rarely one to pass up baked goods (even 1min prior to start!), I grabbed a small piece, followed quickly be some water from a spectator to wash it down.

The women got in 6 laps. A few women went really hard right off the start, and it was tough to not go with them and to stay calm. They were eventually reeled in, and by lap 2, the top 3 were generally sorted out. With two to go, we were lapped by the lead Junior, and the lead two M2s. I really tried to reel in second place on the last lap, and I came pretty close to getting on her wheel, but it just wasn't meant to be. Too little, too late, I think.

The course has three short but steep climbs on it - after 6 times around, I was happy to see the finish. My lower back was killing me by the end of it!

Getting lapped by the M2s provided a bit of frustration - the first rider called that he was coming up, since we were about to go through a narrow section. At the last minute, the guy on his wheel calls that there are two of them... but they didn't seem to make any serious effort to get through it without slowing me down. Totally not cool, but also hard to deal with. I obviously don't want to impact the results of their race, but if they are only calling it so I don't "get in the way", and in turn, they get in mine... well, I'm racing, too! And while I had to slow for a second to let them through, I lost a bit of time on second. I don't think it's a make-or-break thing, but it's frustrating to feel like my racing is somehow less important.

Check against goals:

• Finish within 10% of winner's time - I was 1:53 back, or 4%.
• Consistent lap times - my lap times varied from 9:17 on lap 1 (which was a bit longer) to 8:09, generally around 9:20. Not as hyper-consistent as at Earl Bales, but still pretty good.

Possibly more fun is a look back at how much I have progressed relative to my first race ever... I seem to recall that I was lapped twice, and there was a short, steep single track that I ran down every lap except my last. I also seriously lacked fitness, and had to walk/run one of the hills that I was climbing without problem. Ok, it hurt - a lot - but I had enough fitness and strength to get up it despite the hurt! Very cool to realize how much I've improved in 4 years, and to feel like I am improving still.