Another double header weekend of cross racing. These two courses suited me well with lots of power sections and just a few twisty turns for good measure. Saturday was the Whitewater Trash Dash and I was motivated to do well since both my parents and college roommate made the trip to watch me race. I was chasing after the first set of barriers and bobbling the remount - been doing that a lot lately! Tried to just settle into my rhythm and picked off riders, moving into the lead by lap 2. Almost a totally flat course with a hill run up and two double barrier sections - both with lots of space between them - so it was more about power than technical skills. Felt good running and just tried to keep the pace high the entire race. Nice to get the W and nice to chat with all the cool women I race against afterward.
Sunday was Gibbs Lake and with temps in the 70s it was a completely different feel than last year's muddy slip and slide race. Here's a pic after that fantastic experience last year.
A long two mile course that weaved through some nice wooded sections and a few grassy paths. A nice massive log greeted us each lap and this thing was up to my waist in the center of it - I stuck to the left edge where it was a bit lower. A long gradual hard pack climb with a steep grassy kicker at the top was sure to wear the legs out as the laps ticked by. Some pretty cool twisty sections in the main spectator area would certainly challenge my handling skills.
Again my family came out in full force with my parents, grandma, and uncle all coming to spectate in the beautiful conditions. Patti took off from the gun and I settled into third wheel through the first twisty sections before making my move on the long uphill. You could recover a bit coming down off of that and I just tried to stay smooth and powerful through the rest of the course. I felt super slow through the off camber turns around the trees as you came back to the S/F area and know that I need to work on my handling in those areas. Abby was never too far behind me and I knew she was making time on me in the twisty sections. I kept it upright, hammered the uphill, and came away with another win. I had awesome cheerleaders all over the course - thanks to Ruckus and the Magnus boys, Nicole, Amanda, Barb, my family, and everyone else. It is so cool to hear your name out there. Cross fans are awesome and I love hanging out with all the racers and spectators who come out on the weekends. Thanks to the hard work done by all the race promoters, volunteers, and officials too!
I was planning on maybe doing the mens 1/2/3 race after the womens race but I was a wimp and decided against it. The last lap of my race I was dreading the thought of going up that hill another time. Next week I think I'll do the mens 3 race before the womens race - and now that I've written it out I might be more likely to stick to it! Halloween cross at Washington Park is always a good time - who knows maybe I'll get creative this year with a costume?
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