Winter Park, Colorado United States

Total Time = 2h 11m 11s Overall Rank = / Age Group = Sport 30-39 Age Group Rank = 7/12

Pre-race included this important step: Throw the idea out there in text to some of my closest friends the night before the race and see what kind of responses I get. Heh. They ALL told me not to do it!!! So, because I am who I am, I decided to do it. :) Of course, it has only been 6 weeks since my collar bone surgery and I haven't even inspected my bike since the crash. So I gave it a ride around the neighborhood, I'm sure that was sufficient.

I'll just start this little story by reminding everyone that I'm completely out of shape since I haven't been able to train all that much. My body thinks it is January and is still hibernating.

So I got up a little later than planned and scrambled to throw my stuff in a bag, load my bike, pump, tools, and whatnot in the car and proceed to the grocery store to grab some food. It was a 1.5 hour drive to the race and I munched on my grapenuts and yogurt along the way. I briefly looked at a map before I left and hoped for the best in my navigational skillz.

I was in such a great mood! Scenery was beautiful, ipod was rockin me and Aaron gave me our 20 minute weekly phone call. (j/k baby) I was excited! So I pull into the parking lot, at least I'm pretty sure it was. I have discovered that just because there is a lot full of cars with bikes on them in Colorado, doesn't mean there is a race. That is EVERY parking lot in the mountains. So I pull in next to a Forerunner and ask if he knows where registration is. And just like that, we are buddies for the day! Turns out it is a point to point race, meaning the start and finiah are NOT in the same place. So I am parked at the finish and follow my new friend down to register. While there, he is pointing out all the big name pros that are there, surprisingly because it is a comparatively small race for them. Well, while I'm waiting my turn to get my number, the pro chick in front of me is trying to register with the pro men. I guess she wants more competition? Yikes. All of a sudden I feel very small for registering in the sport class...

Anyhoo, I'm registered and head back up to the car to gather all the stuff I think I will need and stuff it all in my pockets. We then have to ride our bikes to the start, which took some time. I don't know how far away, maybe 5 miles? I dunno, but it took awhile on a cool bike path along the river and through town and out to the course. I would have TOTALLY gotten lost if I was on my own. But the drawback was, I was at the start way early. Mr. Forerunner started an hour before me, but I rode out there with him and warmed up with him anyway... and then proceeded to wait around for my start time.

I watched all the pros and experts start and then there was even enough time to watch them loop around through the area and head off to the rest of the course. Already there was significant carnage. When the riders looped through they shouted that a couple riders were down and then when I was lining up at the start, several riders were walking their bikes back through looking VERY bloody and broken. Yikes. Note to self: Leave those images to the RR so I don't get reprimanded over the phone for racing. :)

Anyway, I warmed up a little, did a few jumps to find my legs and lined up first on the line.