Charm City CX Day 1

Most of the car had been packed the night before, so when the alarm sounded at 5am there wasn’t much to do. I grabbed some coffee, donned my headlamp and walked the pibble before taking off for Druid Hill Park. After a couple of miscues, I arrived in the correct location, pre-rode the course and picked up my number. 

The course was different this year...there was more climbing, more sand (four sand pits total), and a “fly over.” My primary concern was the sand, so I went back to that section to watch. Some of the guys in the first race were running it, some were riding it and I couldn’t tell which was faster. Last year I didn’t attempt to ride it because my technical skills sucked. Not much has changed since then, but I figured I would give it a shot and see what happens.

We were informed that the “fly over” would be removed from our race because it was too dangerous. The announcement was met with mixed reactions. While I had no problem riding it, I certainly didn’t want someone who couldn’t to come crashing back down into me. 

Every time the whistle blows it’s a blur. I’m starting to piece together these fragments, realizing that I need to be more aggressive at the start. The sand pits came at the end of each lap, after we had already passed through two sets of stairs and some brutal climbs. I stuck with my game plan and (to my surprise) successfully rode the sand pits. I knew there were four people in front of me, but only one was in sight. Eventually, I was able to pass her and shortly thereafter, another rider (who was removing course tap from her rear derailleur). There were still two laps to go. Both of the riders I passed were strong and could easily come back to pass me, but they didn’t. I crossed the line third. It was my first podium in a MAC race! 

The encouragement and cheers coming from the CAWES ladies as well as the elite women racers were definitely heard and VERY much appreciated. 

After the race, I did a quick yoga podcast, ate a peanut butter sandwich and headed south to Washington DC to visit my brother in the hospital. We talked and took a walk downstairs to sit in the atrium. It was the first time he had been outside since his surgery on September 4th and mom said it was his best day so far. Later that night, I had BFD (breakfast for dinner) and banana cream pie...and thought to myself “Yeah, it was a pretty good day."