2 weekends ago, I went to Missouri to race my bicycle, but I wouldn't say that I really raced my bicycle. I find road races to be pretty boring sometimes, especially when the pack gets split up in the first mile, and you spend 43 more miles riding by yourself. If my objective was to ride by myself, I could do that at home. During the mizzou road race, I got dropped on the first lap because I was pulling while some people attacked. Moral of the story: don't pull. Ever.
The Sunday crit was even worse. I don't know what was wrong, but I just had no desire to race. I think it was partially nerves, partially low iron, partially sleep deprivation, and partially spending the entire weekend freezing. These races are all so cold, and I usually sit around for 4 hours before my race starts. By the time I race, I'm so cold, I overdress, and I have no motivation to actually race. I ended up 10th both days, but also frustrated with myself.
Last weekend was much better. We raced in Pittsburgh in a combined race with the Eastern conference. The road race was really hard - 3 laps with 3 major climbs on each lap with grades up to 18%. Everyone was saying how the race would be decided in the mile, so on the first hill, I bridged up to another girl who attacked. I went too hard, though, and I couldn't sustain the effort (this is the exact reason why I should actually look at my powertap while I race). I was with the top 2 girls, but I had to drop back. I eventually got passed by like 7 more people. Then I spent the rest of the race TTing my way back to 5th. Another boring TT road race...so is the life, I guess. At least the snow didn't stick on the ground.
The crit on Sunday reaffirmed why I like bike racing. . It was a rectangle with 2 bridges on the course. It was so much fun! It was hilarious, though. Every time they rang the bell for the prime lap, we slowed down to like 12 mph to the point where we could have probably gotten blown over. I wasn't about to do any work, though, because I got in trouble in Missouri for "towing fatties." I felt really good the whole race, I got some prime points, and I just sat in the pack, didn't do any work, and waited for the finish. I got on Devon's wheel because she tends to win races, and I thought it would be a good wheel to follow. The other girls jumped before we did, though, and I just couldn't catch them. Devon got 6th and I got 7th. I'm a little annoyed with how I timed the sprint, but oh well...Not too bad for my first attempt at a sprint this year, and I did get 8 prime points. I wish I had known that points went 4 deep for primes. I thought they only went 3 deep.
When I got back on Sunday, I went swimming to loosen up a little bit and to insure that I don't forget how to swim before nationals. As I was swimming, I pinched a nerve in my neck, and my tapezius got really really sore. My fingers got sort of numb, and I couldn't swim any more. It's a little better today (2 days later), but I still can't really turn my head to the right. This happened to me last year, and it went away in a few days. I rode yesterday and today, and it was ok, but I can't run or swim. Ruh roh.
My culinary skills are slowly improving. I made mushroom risotto and salmon today. Fancy fancy.
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