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Jennifer Greenberg's Journal
KCCX 2007
posted by Jenni-O at 12:46 PM on February 03, 2008
It's been over a month since Cross Nationals in Kansas City. When I sat down to write this the day after I'd gotten home my head was still spinning. Every time I tried to write an intelligible sentence it came out as a run-on pile of confusion.
I'd never been to cyclocross nationals before, as I'm pretty new to this. Road nationals was a bust for me, so I wasn't sure what to expect. At road nationals, I felt so lost. I didn't know anyone and we'd just lost Beth that week. I was a complete mess and ended up ditching out of the road race and going home. Just the word, "nationals," kind of made my stomach churn, but everyone here in Wisconsin was so welcoming both to their series and for the caravan down there that I felt like I could go and have a good experience.
It's crazy to actually think back on the chain of events that led me to cross nationals: from telling a friend I was planning to go over the summer and immediately thinking, "why the hell did I just say that?" to conversations with Joshua about getting experience and having to start somewhere, to an internet announcement that all my plans had fallen through, and being rescued by one life long friend and one acquaintance, to a multi-day trip through midwestern scenery covered in ice, and the most comfortable back seat I've ever slept in.
Traveling to bike races is nuts. Maybe y'all do things a bit more organised but for me it's one bag, one bike, train tickets, hiding "over-sized" items in the carry on space, two to three stops in different cities to find a car-pool, and a slew of old and new friends who are kind enough to always have a spot on their couch/floor for me (and an extra cup of coffee in the morning).
When we arrived in KC, David, Paul, Marko and myself went straight to the race course. Rene was making her way through the freezing mud that was covering the course for the Women's 35-39 race. Women were all over the course stuck in the mud and looking miserable. As always, Rene still had a smile on her face and was looking strong wading through the thick muck.
It was gnarly out there. I was suddenly struck with the severity of not having found my shoe spikes before we left. It was colder in KC than it had been in Wisconsin, and I was having a hard time with that. My throat felt tight and my body got really cold, really fast. I hadn't packed very well for the weather and was about ready to roll someone for one of those big puffy coats I kept seeing around.
The weekend went so fast. Before I knew it they were calling elite women to stage in. Yikes! My position sucked, but then again, why shouldn't it? I was registered for 91st off the line. When I got up there, Patti, Sam, and Devon were there waiting for their numbers to be called up (or not called up, in my case). All the other girls had their game faces on. I was really grateful to have some people I knew around me. Those few minutes before the gun goes can seem like an eternity when you don't have people around to distract you.
At the gun, the row in front of me fell over. Oh geez oh man - I slammed on the breaks and very narrowly avoided (slowly) running into the pile of girls and bikes as my eyes drifted to the pack flying up the hill away from me. Yeee-haw!
I put the pedal down to catch the back of the pack that was splitting up at the first little muddy ditch where I was able to avoid another girl/bike pile up. I was so amped I couldn't stop myself from yelling, at Patti, "let's go, Patti!" as I caught up to her. She laughed and told me to, "go get 'em." Women were all over the place. The ruts that had been formed by the race in Friday had frozen solid and then begun to melt a little causing the perfect cryptic combination of mud and ice. People were falling all over and flying off the course.
I was taking a lot more risks than many of the people I was passing, and that was helping me a lot for my first lap. The second lap, not so much... I did a lot of falling and eventually did enough damage to my bike and knee to make them both hard to use.
Compton caught me just as I was coming to to the concrete section for one to go. I was pretty bummed about that, but felt pretty good with the ride I'd had. I felt fairly confident that I could have made it to one to go had I not fallen that last time where my handle bars went all crooked and my front wheel came out of the drop outs (I don't know either). But then again, who knows? Caught is caught, and Katie Compton sure caught me. I finished 50th.
When I was pulled at the line, Chris and Rene were there with my coat and some water. Boy was I happy to see them. David took my bike and told me to go clean up. When I took my tights off I had a huge goose egg on my left knee. Eeek! When I got some dry clothes on, I waddled over to the medic tent.
I had an absolute blast at KCCX 2007. I can't wait to go back next year. Thanks to everyone who helped me get down there, lent me things I'd forgotten to bring, and helped me get ready for my race. Joshua, Chris, Chip, David, Marko, Paul, Rene, David, Kim and Kristen, you all are the cat's pajamas! Thanks for taking me under your wings and showing me how it's done!
categories: General
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