I'm going to start backwards, just because I need to get the bad crap out of the way.
Day #3 Race #4
Road race: is a hill climb, as far as I am concerned. Right from the gun, we climbed for almost 20-minutes, until we flattened out for any length of distance. Those short, steep descents, hardly justified all of that dam climbing.
I was told it was 109 degrees in the shade. Good times for me. Not good times, is when I lost all of my GU packets on the first lap. I was getting progressively weaker and did not want to ask for a gel from one of the others, otherwise they would have picked up the pace and then I would have been really S.O.L. I ate 1 pack and planned on 5!
Crossing the finish line, I was beyond depleted of calories, drinking only water on the final lap. The 4-mile ride back to the start seemed impossible, so I had to sit on the side of the road. Suddenly out of nowhere, Bellas surrounded me. Monica rode back to the start and brought back ice water for me (after ROCKING her race!), Liz, literally force fed me several GU packets, Stella watched over me like a mother would, Marian gave me her food, Sue was there pouring water on me and Andrea was on the way to retrieve a car to get me, when Robert showed up in his Velo Promo van, which felt like a Cadillac on the ride back. I barely recall much else, so I apologize if I am missing anyone. Angels? Teammates? Fricking impossible to tell the difference!
Day 2 race #3
11-mile hillclimb: from the start, we were climbing. We had a couple of mountain goats in our group, who set a blistering pace for this 145-lb. girl. The sun felt great on my skin and I slowly started passing other riders on the ascent. I have never passed anything on a climb except for rocks, so rolling by 6 girls was a great motivator.
Day 2 race #2
Circuit race: I really like this course, it suits me well. We had a crash on the first sprint and then three girls tangled handle-bars at the sprint finish......right in front on me. Were they going to topple over left or right? After a moments' hesitation, I bolted around them for a safe finish.
Day 1 race #1
Time trial: my forte'. I felt like a million bucks and love the internal challenge of a TT. The idea of catching the rider ahead of me, is all the motivation I need to keep me focused and powering through. We were let off at 1 minute intervals and I passed one rider and nearly caught up with the next.
I was 10th in my highest stage and finished 15th overall.....crappy final race, fudged it all up for me.
Our team was clearly the best supported, most cohesive, was the largest in numbers (bodies and winnings) and we had the most fun. Thanks to everyone for a spectacular weekend. Without our guys (Tyler, Michael, & Rick) and Erica, our weekend would have been much harder. THANKS!!!
Day #3 Race #4
Road race: is a hill climb, as far as I am concerned. Right from the gun, we climbed for almost 20-minutes, until we flattened out for any length of distance. Those short, steep descents, hardly justified all of that dam climbing.
I was told it was 109 degrees in the shade. Good times for me. Not good times, is when I lost all of my GU packets on the first lap. I was getting progressively weaker and did not want to ask for a gel from one of the others, otherwise they would have picked up the pace and then I would have been really S.O.L. I ate 1 pack and planned on 5!
Crossing the finish line, I was beyond depleted of calories, drinking only water on the final lap. The 4-mile ride back to the start seemed impossible, so I had to sit on the side of the road. Suddenly out of nowhere, Bellas surrounded me. Monica rode back to the start and brought back ice water for me (after ROCKING her race!), Liz, literally force fed me several GU packets, Stella watched over me like a mother would, Marian gave me her food, Sue was there pouring water on me and Andrea was on the way to retrieve a car to get me, when Robert showed up in his Velo Promo van, which felt like a Cadillac on the ride back. I barely recall much else, so I apologize if I am missing anyone. Angels? Teammates? Fricking impossible to tell the difference!
Day 2 race #3
11-mile hillclimb: from the start, we were climbing. We had a couple of mountain goats in our group, who set a blistering pace for this 145-lb. girl. The sun felt great on my skin and I slowly started passing other riders on the ascent. I have never passed anything on a climb except for rocks, so rolling by 6 girls was a great motivator.
Day 2 race #2
Circuit race: I really like this course, it suits me well. We had a crash on the first sprint and then three girls tangled handle-bars at the sprint finish......right in front on me. Were they going to topple over left or right? After a moments' hesitation, I bolted around them for a safe finish.
Day 1 race #1
Time trial: my forte'. I felt like a million bucks and love the internal challenge of a TT. The idea of catching the rider ahead of me, is all the motivation I need to keep me focused and powering through. We were let off at 1 minute intervals and I passed one rider and nearly caught up with the next.
I was 10th in my highest stage and finished 15th overall.....crappy final race, fudged it all up for me.
Our team was clearly the best supported, most cohesive, was the largest in numbers (bodies and winnings) and we had the most fun. Thanks to everyone for a spectacular weekend. Without our guys (Tyler, Michael, & Rick) and Erica, our weekend would have been much harder. THANKS!!!
7 comments:
Do you remember telling me you felt like a goose being force fed for the liver pate?
SOOOOOOOOO proud of you Denise - bummer on the last day for sure - how did you lose all your Gu's??? Next time ask - anyone with an ounce of sportswomanship would help out!!!!! Great Job out there girl - you are an inspiration!!!!
Felicia
congratulations, Denise. what an epic finish to an epic weekend. your teammates are the best!
Oh Liz, I forgot about that!
Liz had to tear the packet open for me and squeezed it into my mouth for me to swallow. I told her that I felt like a fois graz goose, being force-fed!
great job denise! I'm always in awe of you ladies doing this heat wave stage race every year!!!
Denise,
You inspired me all weekend. Great Job! Rick said he saw your GU packets on the road somewhere. It must have been the slanty pockets. I've pulled stuff out and inadvertently dislodged other items before. Even with 4 packets I was feeling a little bonky at the end (due to the inordinate length of the race). I don't know how you did it on one! You go!
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