Whoa, that was a really tough race. Women’s racing normally has some reprieves where your HR drops down to a casual number. I was pinned the entire time. My average was 186 just so you have an idea. We started out and already people were attacking as we left the parking lot. 5-6 miles in there was a really steep hill that I thought was going to be just a mile but it was for sure longer. Mindy stuck with the lead group and Anna charged up it strongly too. I did about all I could and had a thought that I would just get off my bike and quit. Crested the hill and caught up with 6 other women and we started a paceline that was insanely fast. I saw Anna in front of me and let her know by yelling “Anna, I’m coming on you” so she would know. The pace was really, really fast and Anna hung on for a while before she blew…I was crying I was in so much pain!! We rolled that way for the majority of the race with some women attacking our paceline a couple of times. The final 10 miles are a gradual 2, 3, 4 % uphill into a headwind and I cracked probably 5 miles to the finish. Just had nothing left. A Sorella woman caught up to me with a mile to go and I sat on her wheel and then outsprinted her at the end (I felt badly about that…should I?).
Sprinting past the Sorella racer (courtesy of Oregon Cycling Action).
Overall, it was the hardest race I’ve ever done, not really the course, but the pace was really fast. It left me an emotional, snotty wreck. But I was so thankful for Lindsay and Alice and Anna and Mindy to all be there afterwards for hugs and beers.
Rough to say the least, especially at the end of the season.
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