It’s been a hot minute since I’ve raced a Cross Country race. In fact, this was just my 6th one since I started riding off-road in 2009 and 3rd one since I upgraded to Cat 1 (with my 1st Cat1 race being a DNF because of a broken derailleur). So, with my area of expertise generally swinging between 100 milers and 45 minute CX races, I wasn’t 100% sure on pacing myself (not totally in the dark- more like about 90%).

Stanky creek is rooty as hell. The turns are small and the hills are tight. Err… close enough.

I decided a while back that I’d ride the Crowbar. While anything can be fast out there, the full suspension lets you keep traction over the roots & whatnot, so you can pay less attention to your line and more attention to the next turn. I did a few single laps out there leading up to race day, and had my lap time nailed down to ~50min. I figured that’d be a good starting point on pacing for 3 laps, and I could modify the plan depending on the competitive heat.

Only 2 other women entered the Cat 1 race- Laureen Coffelt, who I race against often in the NUE series, and Jennifer Moorehead, who has been on hiatus for a bit and is just now getting back into it. We lined up behind the Cat 1 men and started 2 minutes after the 40+ age group.

When the race started, I took the holeshot. The way the trail rides is very tight in the first few miles, gradually opening up to the more flowy, power-hungry white trail for the last few miles (with the white trail being briefly interrupted by a tighter, anti-flow loop that was built a few years ago). I aimed to maintain speed in the first section by staying off of the brakes as much as possible then start dropping the hammer in the sections where the trail was more open. Everything went off without a hitch, except for the creek crossing. The race directer did a great job of making it nice and smooth, with a bit of a berm over the exit lip to keep it from becoming eroded again. However, the turn to get onto the trail is sharp and left on the exit, and I found myself launching into the bushes and putting a foot down every time I crossed it. EVERY time. Oops.

My slightly conservative strategy meant that I could hear the other women behind me for a little while. Once I was on the more open trail, I started to lay down the wattage, and they disappeared. After that, I was alone. Well, I passed a few of the men that started ahead of me, but someone that you’ve put 2+ minutes into generally doesn’t put up much of a fight when you want to get around. I found myself getting complacent in the 2nd lap. I got a little mad at myself for not going full-bore and dug in the spurs.

I was satisfyingly tired by the 3rd lap, but was able to continue pushing. I took enough chances that I had some close-call almost wrecks, but managed to remain upright the entire race. There was one cramping incident near the end of the last lap- I swung my right knee out for balance, only to have my inner thigh muscle turn itself into a ball. I talked to it… trying to convince it that I needed it to fully function for just another 10 minutes. I finished in just a hair over 2.5 hours- 7 minutes ahead of Laureen, who was minutes ahead of Jennifer.

It’s weird to race for 2.5 hours. I feel like I could have gone a little faster, but, like in some of the CX races from last winter, once I’m way out front, I tend to take fewer risks and take the pace down to a few clicks below “bleeding out of my eyeballs.” However, it’s going to take racing against people that can kick my ass in every direction to get that sort of effort. It’s good training to get ready for the Breck Epic, so my search for an ass-kicking will continue until I find one.