Air Force Cycling Classic/Crystal Cup

(Coming into turn 1)

Way up my ass somewhere is my head. The Internet says it's about 8.3 inches in diameter and controls my behavior, but no one has seen it for weeks. I came into Crystal Cup letting recent crises get the best of me, but the excitement of NRC racing made me want to get my act together. Before the race, my legs could barely feel the previous day's 70-mile/6000 ft climbing extravaganza, but my mind was mired in stress. The kind of stress that makes you want to drown yourself in lame behavior, like eating soup in a bread bowl, skipping your planned training ride in favor of a zillion junk miles, and listening to The The's entire Soul Mining album alone...in the dark...with a cat. Ok, I've only done 2 out of 3 of those things, and for the record, I don't have a cat.

Anyway, our director Mike eeked a warmup out of unwilling me, and Sarah provided a pep talk as we previewed the course. It was a 2-mile barbell shape with a square on one end and a hairpin turn at the other. The race was fast. I even enjoyed it a little, but potholes, cornering, and an aggressive pack kept my brain on the rivet and led to some bad choices. Always getting nervous at the first corner, I'd give up 10 or so wheels on every lap, then make up for it on the little kicker hill around the corner. I found a wonky but comfortable line to take through the hairpin turn, but I was constantly in the wind on the straightaway. Since this part led into the finish, I knew I would blow myself up. I found Jocelyn and tried to put my inevitable destruction to good use. She got on my wheel, but I think my line through the hairpin disrupted our xi. We came in on opposite sides of the pack, taking 14th and 15th in the field sprint. I feel like there's hope for me to do better in these NRC races. The speed is fun, unlike anything I'm used to. I left this race wanting to try harder, and it's been a while since I've felt that way. I know I have the strength it takes, maybe a little bit of the quickness, and for the first time in a while, the desire to try.