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Jen Jordan's Journal
Santa Rosa CX 11/7/09
posted by at 09:38 PM on November 12, 2009
| I must be honest that I did this race mainly because I had convinced myself that I would win it. It is so hard to come close to win in the A field, but I knew the field would be smaller than usual. I always give 100%, but this time my goal was 1st. It is so hard to commit to this mentally. The course was very short with lap times around 3.5 minutes. It was also very flat with a few short "whoop-di-do's" that reminded me of the BMX course in Sacramento. There was one technical section that could be potentially dangerous. It involved a large root/log on a sharp turn into a narrow bridge. The root was totally ridable, but required some concentration. Later in the grass, the barriers were a bit high (up to my knees) and placed 3 in a row. This run is where my heart rate spiked. During mt warm up Wikie informed me "you get to race Ali Starnes today." I had noticed a few fast looking gals during my warm up laps. I figured out that Ali was the one who would blast like a rocket through the flat, hard packed dirt on the back, but dismount her bike when she got to the root. On my way to the starting line I started burping up the energy bar I had swallowed 45 minutes earlier. NOT GOOD. I should never eat anything solid less than an hour and a half before a cross race. At the starting line, no one was in front of me. My strategy was to take off like a freak, and never slow down. I did just that and didn't look back for atleast half of the race. I hoped that I could get out of their sight and they would somehow forget about me. If only I could get away, they would have no rabbit to chase or judge their efforts apon. I was in the lead, and Wikie kept telling me "go go go! you're getting a good gap!" Wikie was so encouraging to me, but the crap feeling in my stomach was not. I tried to ignore it. After about 25 or so minutes, the race announcer was saying "they are closing the gap". This and my stomach pain kinda broke my spirit. I started passing the B's, and hoped that somehow I could get around them faster than the chasers. When I was finally caught, it was Cathy Crawford of NorCal Velo who caught me. She passed very smoothly. Her pace was followable, but I think I was broken at this point. As Cathy's gap grew, Ali must have been getting comfortable with the course behind us. I remember hearing the announcer saying "Ali Starnes is making up alot of lost time!" I guess she figured out how to ride on the dirt - especially hard packed, flat trails and grass. Ali passed me with about 2 laps to go. I tried to keep up with her. She'd get away on the flat parts, but I'd close on the technical parts. I guess there were alot more flats. She got away, and almost caught Cathy, but not quite. I was third. According to the results, the three of us finished within the same 10 seconds, but I felt a lot farther away. Stomach ache, head ache, and dissapointed, I tried to take pleasure in the fact that everyone on our team who raced made the podium that day. Thanks Wikie, Baker, Les, and Jeanine for your supportive words. |
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