So things continue the rollar-coaster of riding, training, working and recovering. I have had some great mountain bike rides since the last post as the weather and trails have had some spectacular moments in the last few weeks. Its hard to beat perfectly packed singletrack with 65 degree temps as you blaze by a huge patch of sweet William. Sometimes the air is filled with so much sweetness it is almost unbearable. Those days are moving on to warmer temps and 3Ibs of weight loss after sweaty rides, as summer starts to set in. That also means the heart of the mtb racing season for me and my team. Starting this weekend, its full-on for several weeks as I will be traveling to many places to see how all my hard work has prepped me against other girls in the nation. This weekend I head to North Carolina for the Cowbell Challenge Kenda Cup and am hoping to showcase the DRT training plan and come away with a high placing. I would be lying if I said I just wanted to do good. I have all intentions of doing my best to win this race.
I am gradually getting stronger, both with my power and with knowing what to do with it. This just shows that my Coach Don G. has developed a great training plan to bring me back from a major injury. I also attribute a lot of my gain in technical sections to the work I have been doing with Darrell Carr at the balanced body. My core is super strong and being able to "pull through" the rocks and roots is so integral to the core being in top shape. Now if I only had a six pack to prove it!
Aside from the NC trip I will be doing the remainder of the DINO races and may even throw in a few road crits for good measure. Once again, I will get to know my good state of Indiana very well in the upcoming weeks as I look forward to a strong mtb season.
Last weekend was the DINO Frankie race. I was happy to have another race close to home where things are familiar. It was nice to see all the DRT team there and also the guys at Summit City Bicycles doing support and grilling dogs for the racers. I was fortunate to get a good start (which I usually do thanks to the BMX days) and dip into the woods in the lead. I was able to lead for the good majority of the first lap until the race became more vertical. My legs were heavy upon getting out of bed that morning and I debated to even race, so that first incline was a challenge to take at any reputable pace. Oh well, I needed to work with what I had. I held 2nd until about the same spot on the second lap then was passed again by Erin. I hung with her as long as I could, then fell off her pace and settled into third. Erin usually kills me, so I was pleased to lead her, then stay with her for as long as I did, especially with my subpar feelings that day. I finished in 3rd not to far off the leaders. It was a draining race since the ground was so soft and the lack of lead up to get the momentum going. By the last lap it was getting better and cornering become more enjoyable instead of terrifyingly slick. I spent a good portion of this race convincing myself to drop out because my foot was killing me. It was so painful that I started riding one legged on the first lap. I may have looked to be in agony from the tough riding, but it was really my foot that had me yelping out loud at times. I crossed a whole new world of tolerating pain in this race. It wasn't as bad as the pain I had with my double shoulder surgeries (that was a mess), but it was the first time that dropping out even crossed my mind. I simply don't drop out unless someone makes me. So this week I have decided to take it easy for about 4 days and give the foot a rest until I see the ankle surgeon again to review my recent mri. We decided to get this done since that pain is increasing and now is worse than what it was before surgery. I hope he has some answers for me to help me make it through the next 6 months.
