Victory at Vail 2018 NICA SoCal
This race weekend, I decided to go in with a new mentality- having fun. I had been putting so much pressure on myself the previous races that I didn't enjoy my races and time with my teammates as much as I should have. I was more focused on placement than enjoying the experience with what I love to do. I was thrilled to be racing at Vail again and I was also happy that most of my team would be racing too. Bonus fun- My brother and I camped with our grandparents in their trailer and that's always a good time!
When I got to the venue for pre-ride, I was happy to be on the course but wanted to take it super easy because I was still sore from the last race weekends crashes. (Yes! Multiple crashes!) With the amount of people on course though, I didn't have to worry too much about that. One of my favorite things about pre-ride is being able to ride with teammates. Everyone can just chill and do what they love without any rush or competition. It was nice being able to bond with the other girls and get their perspective on racing.
After pre-ride, I went out mini golfing and played ping-pong with some teammates while we waited for the middle school races to start. Most of the kids on our team are middle schoolers so it's always fun cheering them on, including my little (not so little- yep, he's taller than I am now) brother. When the races started, the energy was so fun! All of the kids did great and were happy to be out racing. My brother got a personal best placement (8th) which we were all excited about! It made me more pumped for my own race.
The next morning, I woke up a little nervous but was happy about the conditions. It was warm (I prefer the heat to the cold) and the dirt was practically perfect. I had a good breakfast and immediately started stretching out. After I was done, we went up to the team tent and I relaxed for a bit waiting for warm up. I took this time to write reminder messages on my arms and my mom and coaches both decided to write stuff too. I felt great during the warm up and felt good going into line up.
Unfortunately, I was in the second to last row, which was a bummer, since I had earned call ups at my last few races. I knew I just had to push my way up from the beginning and try to stick with the top group. When we started, I felt great. I pushed hard and was able to work my way up to somewhere in the top 15. I felt strong on the first single track section and was ready to start the major hill climb, Ambulance Hill. I was able to catch a few racers who were in my competition and pushed with another girl to make a gap and pull away. She got away on the downhill but my goal was not to let the other girls catch up to me. I had never pushed so hard for so long, but it awesome. (I was in a racing zone!)
Going up Airforce, a tough off camber hill that parents, coaches, and spectators like to watch riders go up, was very fun. I had so much speed going into it and seeing my coaches and some of the parents cheering me on was a motivator. I continued to push up the hill to the single track and decided to take it easy once I got there and had to save my energy for another climb people like to stand on, Marine Corps Hill. I knew I wasn't going to make it up but I didn't want to waste much energy going into it because I like to run up it.
I got to the top of Marine and felt that I was in a good position. They changed the course a lot from the last race here, so it was fun to face new challenges.
During the beginning of the second lap, I definitely started feeling the tiredness kicking in and I was trying to take a breather. I was definitely wearing out and had some trouble on a punchy climb but caught my breath and started pushing again.
I felt good on the single track sections and could feel my energy coming back towards the last section or two. On the last section of the course I caught up to the same girl who had lost me on the single track on the first lap. She let me pass and I began sprinting. She stayed close for a while but I pulled away on the sprint around to the finish.
Our races are based on time, so I wanted to push and try to beat her and her time to the finish line, I continued sprinting all the way and when results were posted, I had placed 12th! (Beating out the other racer by 0.05 of second.) I was very happy with how I raced and ultimately enjoyed the entire weekend. Definitely one for the books!
When I got to the venue for pre-ride, I was happy to be on the course but wanted to take it super easy because I was still sore from the last race weekends crashes. (Yes! Multiple crashes!) With the amount of people on course though, I didn't have to worry too much about that. One of my favorite things about pre-ride is being able to ride with teammates. Everyone can just chill and do what they love without any rush or competition. It was nice being able to bond with the other girls and get their perspective on racing.
After pre-ride, I went out mini golfing and played ping-pong with some teammates while we waited for the middle school races to start. Most of the kids on our team are middle schoolers so it's always fun cheering them on, including my little (not so little- yep, he's taller than I am now) brother. When the races started, the energy was so fun! All of the kids did great and were happy to be out racing. My brother got a personal best placement (8th) which we were all excited about! It made me more pumped for my own race.
The next morning, I woke up a little nervous but was happy about the conditions. It was warm (I prefer the heat to the cold) and the dirt was practically perfect. I had a good breakfast and immediately started stretching out. After I was done, we went up to the team tent and I relaxed for a bit waiting for warm up. I took this time to write reminder messages on my arms and my mom and coaches both decided to write stuff too. I felt great during the warm up and felt good going into line up.
Unfortunately, I was in the second to last row, which was a bummer, since I had earned call ups at my last few races. I knew I just had to push my way up from the beginning and try to stick with the top group. When we started, I felt great. I pushed hard and was able to work my way up to somewhere in the top 15. I felt strong on the first single track section and was ready to start the major hill climb, Ambulance Hill. I was able to catch a few racers who were in my competition and pushed with another girl to make a gap and pull away. She got away on the downhill but my goal was not to let the other girls catch up to me. I had never pushed so hard for so long, but it awesome. (I was in a racing zone!)
Going up Airforce, a tough off camber hill that parents, coaches, and spectators like to watch riders go up, was very fun. I had so much speed going into it and seeing my coaches and some of the parents cheering me on was a motivator. I continued to push up the hill to the single track and decided to take it easy once I got there and had to save my energy for another climb people like to stand on, Marine Corps Hill. I knew I wasn't going to make it up but I didn't want to waste much energy going into it because I like to run up it.
I got to the top of Marine and felt that I was in a good position. They changed the course a lot from the last race here, so it was fun to face new challenges.
During the beginning of the second lap, I definitely started feeling the tiredness kicking in and I was trying to take a breather. I was definitely wearing out and had some trouble on a punchy climb but caught my breath and started pushing again.
I felt good on the single track sections and could feel my energy coming back towards the last section or two. On the last section of the course I caught up to the same girl who had lost me on the single track on the first lap. She let me pass and I began sprinting. She stayed close for a while but I pulled away on the sprint around to the finish.
Our races are based on time, so I wanted to push and try to beat her and her time to the finish line, I continued sprinting all the way and when results were posted, I had placed 12th! (Beating out the other racer by 0.05 of second.) I was very happy with how I raced and ultimately enjoyed the entire weekend. Definitely one for the books!
Great strength throughout the entire race but the finish-- you never stopped. You never stopped pedaling and was raised up off your seat pushing hard all the way through the finish line.
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