2017 Episode 1: Mission Accomplished

     So I stalled posting this after Nationals.  I typed this up, and while trying to find pictures to post along with it (and realizing I can't actually find many) I kept delaying.  I got to the point that I wasn't sure that I should actually post it anymore since Nationals seems so long ago.  But here I am, convinced that maybe someone would like to read about it.  Plus there's some other things that I've been wanting to go on about that I feel like I can't without posting about this one!  So for those who aren't tired of hearing the story, or haven't yet and want to...

     Two years ago I never thought that I would actually ever win a National Championship and wear a Stars & Strips jersey.  Two years ago I also drove to Austin for my first ever National Championship race and got dead. f'ing. last.  It was a very humbling experience but a trip that I don't regret taking in the least.  Then last year I discovered that I didn't have to race the Elite race and train to try and get a top 25.  I discovered that I was just old enough to do the "Baby Masters" (30-34 age graded) race.  So I did that.  And I got third.  And I looked at the jersey while standing on the podium and realized that I really, really wanted one.

     I got in touch with Mike Stoop and after discussing my goal and race schedule with him, started to seriously focus on and train to achieve that goal.  I've had very consistent results this year, better than last year, and was really looking toward my goal.  After NCGP in December however, I started getting a little anxious about Nationals.  It was coming up really quickly and I don't think I was expecting the season to end so soon.  What if my training wasn't enough and what if I didn't put in enough effort during training to get it done.  I was hoping for a top 10 at NCGP and I didn't get it.  I tried to not be disappointed, after all it wasn't Nationals and wasn't my A race.  But it placed a seed of doubt in my head about whether my effort was going to pay off.  But Mike obviously knows what he's doing, otherwise I wouldn't have had some of my best results to date while working with him.

     I got sick the week before Christmas and had to miss a few workouts.  I couldn't believe that all the work that I put into the season was going to be meaningless because of a stupid cold.  I made sure to rest and hydrate as much as I could so I could recover as quickly as possible.  When I started feeling better I was on the bike making sure I had every workout in.  The van got an oil change, Zuma had her reservations for boarding, and I had a packing list that was two pages long for everything I could possibly imagine needing.

My 2 page packing list included 4 sets of tubulars and 2 sets of clinchers,
2 helmets, 3 pairs of riding shoes, a tent, propane heater (the forecast was 26 degrees!)
and of course my bikes!

I was as prepared as I could possibly be.  Nothing I did at this point (or weeks before at NCGP) would make me any more prepared.  Nevertheless I was so nervous I was almost sick.

Cyclocross Nationals Day 1... 2 days before my race.

The holeshot on Tuesday...it was way muddier by the end of Wednesday!

     Chris and I got to Hartford on Tuesday to rain and mud so deep that seemingly 50% of the course was unrideable.  I knew that Thursday everything would be frozen at 8am and the course would be completely different.  There was no point in pre-riding the course at all.  I did get to walk around and see how steep the levee was and where all the off-camber sections were so there was an advantage to getting there that early.  Chris and I went out to dinner with friends and I came home for one of my last trainer rides of the season.

Pre, Pre-Nats Dinner with the housemates!
Photo: Michael Carey

Tuesday night we received an email that the course had changed to shorten lap times.  On Wednesday Melissa Seek and I planned to get to the course early to pre-ride before the men's Masters fields and Collegiate fields started.  We were hoping for a slightly more frozen course so we get some idea of how the course was going to ride.  But alas, the ground was still sloppy muddy and gave us no idea of how much riding we would actually be able to do during the race.  I got one and a half laps in before they closed the course and I spent the rest of the day setting up the tent, riding the trainer, picking up my numbers, and relaxing.  I had no desire to pre-ride any more because I knew the course would be nothing like it was that day after a twenty plus degree temperature drop.  We ate dinner back at the house we rented for the few days, and received another email that the course may change for Thursday's races.  We would find out what the course was going to be when we lined up at the start.

     We got to the course at 6:45 Thursday morning.  The sun was still not up all the way, and temperatures were several degrees below freezing.  I got onto the bike as soon as I could.  I needed to dial in tire pressure as quick as possible.  The ground was frozen solid.  The ruts from the previous days of racing were etched into the ground with what seemed like concrete.  They were deep, solid, and I was bottoming out my tires and slamming the carbon rims into everything.  I was very cautious going through on my first full pre-lap and started getting really nervous again.  Chris put 24-25 psi in my tires and I went off for a partial lap which made me feel a quite a bit more confident through a lot of corners I wasn't previously.  Amazing what a difference of two psi makes.  The morning went by much quicker than anticipated and I felt rushed getting changed and getting on the trainer and properly warmed up.  I got off the trainer, Chris helped me change front wheels on my race bike (after realizing that the wrong wheel was put on), double-checked tire pressure, and rushed off to staging.

Call-Ups
Photo: @usacycling

     I've never had the first call-up in this big of a race.  I rolled up to the start line, wherever I wanted, checked my starting gear, pulled my jacket off, checked my shoes, started my computer and looked down the starting straight.  The officials gave us final instructions and told us they were adding in a large piece of the course that had been previously removed.  A large section that although we had seen, had not had the opportunity to ride under these frozen conditions.  As soon as the whistle blew all my nervousness dissolved and I was focused on riding as smooth and hard as possible.  I got the hole shot and put my head down past the pit where Chris was yelling for me.  I got to the levee first and decided to take the low line before climbing diagonally up to the high line.  This whole section turned out to be like sightreading for me.  Remounting, I tried to pedal with both feet as much as I could, unclipping my left foot and "skateboarding" only when I felt like I may slide out.  This section of the course was really where I needed to be smooth if I wanted to stay in front.  The off-camber section had changed slightly from the morning's pre-ride, taking us into another off camber, and a steep, switch-back descent.  We headed into a wooded section that had the days before been a long pool of mud and standing water, but this morning was a frozen path.  The grounds crew had driven the gator on parts of the course to help pack it in before the freezing temps, this was a section that riders could benefit by riding its tire tracks.  Coming out of the woods the race took us straight up the levee, with a 180 degree turn back down to the right, another 180 degree turn this time to the left and back up, and the a 90 degree left turn that ran us off camber and back down the levee.  I tried to maintain my speed back into the woods and riding past the pit I yelled to Chris and assured him that the tire pressure was good.  I got through the barriers, over the flyover, and into the start without any issues.  I didn't know what kind of a gap I had, I just kept my head down and kept digging.

Riding the top of the levee.
Photo: @cxmagazine

     My second lap was a little messier than my first.  Laura van Gilder was yelling for me before I got to the levee.  Laura van Gilder was yelling for me!  How cool is that?!?  At the top of the levee some guy was riding beside the course on the road yelling for me to keep it up.  I started losing traction and he started yelling at me to relax and settle down.  On the off camber I reminded myself that smooth is fast and felt comfortable again on the descent and through the wooded section.  On the second half of the climb back up the levee I turned the bars too tight and I was on the ground so fast I didn't realize what happened until I jumped back up.  Heading past the pit my left knee was throbbing from where it hit a frozen rut.  Behind the boathouse my handlebars got caught in the tape.  I tried riding through it but they were pretty tangled and my shoe hit the post in a way that the BOA dial opened.  I couldn't go anywhere without my shoe falling off.  I didn't have an updated time gap and it felt like ages before I got clear again.  I think it ended up being only 5 seconds or so that I lost but at the time it certainly felt longer.  I found out later that Jared Nieters had gotten a video of it and posted it on Instagram.

     I collected myself after my shoe incident, finished out the lap, and put my head down through the start/finish with two laps to go.  People were yelling for me at the top of the levee, I heard my name from different spots of the course, and I stopped paying attention to what anybody was really saying.  Chris yelled something about champagne from the pit, I yelled back to remind him I still had a lap and a half and that I wanted a time gap.  Maybe I didn't yell...maybe I might have snapped a bit in my excitement...  He didn't give me one but instead said to just keep going.  My legs were feeling great and I had one lap to go.  I've had a lot of races where I tell myself at some point to not go backwards.  Don't get caught.  I don't know if there was any race where I was more focused on just going forward.  I finished up my final lap, came into the finish straight, and posted up.  I had finished my season, and accomplished my goal.  I am a National Champion!  Someone from USA Cycling stopped me after the line and got an interview with me.  A guy from CX Magazine took my bike so he could take pictures of it.  Another guy from CX Magazine wanted to interview me.

2017 USA Cycling Women's 30-34 Cyclocross National Champion!

     I was, and even months later still am, elated from that morning's events.  I set a goal an entire year before, focused and worked toward that goal, and finished the season off by achieving that goal.  I could not be more excited to have finished off the season on such a big high and I'm really looking forward to next season!

     Thank you, everyone, for being so supportive of me this last year.  Christopher, I am so very thankful to have you by my side through all of this.  To all my family and friends that I had to skip out on plans to go ride or race, thank you for putting up with me.  To my coach, Mike Stoop, thank you for focusing my training and helping me to reach my goal.  Thank you all again.  I think I may be my biggest critic and the encouragement and kind words that I received from everyone went further than anyone can imagine.

Thank you, also, for reading.  I'll have more later in the week!

2017 Episode 2