Cat's NinKrossi race report

They said it was "fast and flat", perfect for beginners. Just three days before, at Blind Date (my very firstest cross race ever!) I was hooked on 'cross bad, so Ninkrossi sounded like a perfect next fix. Umm...yeah, it was a perfect fix of Pain! And Suffering! And I don't remember flats anywhere. Although there was the fast, the careening down bumpy terrain with only a micron of control over the bike. Terrifyingly transcendental.

Before the beginner women's race, Karleta, Hans, Jeffy and I watched "thumbs up" German, and "meat pants" John Lin and Rich the Neighbor and Killer Kristin tear it up in the SS race. They looked like they were hurting but they were going freakin fast. German did well, but his glory was shadowed by getting passed by a girl so he lost out on a beer from Tedder. John held second place solidly (maybe he was wearing the meat undies?), Neighbor kept motoring and stuck out his tongue a lot, in defiance, as if to say: take that, Ninkrossi! and KK rocked it, even after recently battling the Revenge of the Crepe.

Then it's our turn, Karleta and I. I almost missed the start when I take too long on the pre ride. Huh, must have been those pesky climbs! We're off and it hurts, immediately, but I remember something about it being fun, and how I PAID to do this, and cross is rad. Right.

I managed three laps (Three, really? Coulda sworn it was seventeen) and then it was over, thank all the gods and stars and heavens above, it was OVER! There were some harrowing moments, like getting passed by some chick (too close!) and eating it, and navigating the Ninkasi N, boy that was thrilling, but overall I actually stayed on the bike and didn't die. Yay!



Cat enjoying kicking butt at NinKrossi (photo: R. Rosko)

  

It was very extremely unspeakably wonderful to see teammates (and Hanser!) cheering us on throughout the race. Encouragement from friends and loved ones is a beacon through the haze of pain. Thanks, guys :) And being out there with Karleta was fantastic--it felt great to have a teammate out there with me, bonding through extreme physical trial.

Despite the bitching and moaning about this race, I hafta say there is something beautiful in it. Pain is purifying. Know what else is purifying? Goddess Nectar.

P.S. Julie Carter, thank you a million times for letting me use your bike! She rocks! And she's very forgiving.

P.P.S. Great job everyone on this weekend-yeow!!



Alpenrose race report - Allison

Pre-Race: After fighting a cold this past week, I still wasn’t sure I wanted to race Alpenrose this morning and I knew that I wasn’t going to have my 'A' game, but I had done all the laundry and I didn’t want to go for that 10 mile training run. So I pulled out my fun socks (thanks Sallyanne) and decided to race. I am not one to arrive to races super early. I hate waiting and it often makes my nerves more jittery. I left the house at 12:50 had to promptly turn around 2 times (once for the pump and once for the advair inhaler). This is also part of my warmup since my heart rate likes to climb each time I had to turn around and worry that I was going to be late. I knew the inhaler would help because I still have more post nasal drip than normal and I knew my lungs would fill up during the race. I got to Alpenrose about 1, but I went to look for my checkbook and I had no checks, so I had to make a quick stop at Albertson’s for some cash. I got to the parking lot and found a spot quickly (whew). This was also helping increase my heart rate.

Warm Up: Then I got ready, rode to registration and got to jump ahead because I already have my number from that race I did a few weeks back that was really really hard. I then hopped on the bike and went to warm up. It was a great warm up. The local streets were empty and offered some nice ups and downs to get the heart rate up. I saw a school and knew that would be a great place to ride on some grass and practice a run up and also some mountaing/dismounting. My brakes were still a little chattery from Starcrossed, so I had the RCB guy look at them. He couldn’t help, so off to the start I went.

Race: They had pretty much already done call ups so I just hopped in. I was about 5 rows from the front, which was okay. I have no clue where I should have been. Once the whistle blew, the ladies were off and I was probably in the front 15 or so for the first lap. Then, I guess I didn’t have much else and I got really really tired (to the point of barely pedaling on the second lap). Soon after I died, I saw "the Knight" Ryan Weaver, and he had coupons for Shimano goodies in his back pockets. I didn't have any steam to catch him and I watched the girl in front of me grab an envelope. At that point I was just trying to move forward as people continually passed. It’s nice and demotivating that’s for sure. But I kept going and found a little wind with about 8 minutes to go (thanks body). That was more fun because I could actually keep pedaling and felt like I had some power.

Allison rocking it at Alpenrose (photo courtesy of John Rudoff)

Then it was over. I didn’t make the last lap and I watched everyone else finish wondering if I could have given anymore. This race I couldn’t. I realized that when I finished, I was coughing and now it’s almost 8pm and I am still hacking a bit. I think my body is telling me I went hard. My heart rate monitor thought I could do a little better with my max at 180 and my average at about 170. As for the course, I thought it was pretty awesome. No crazy hills like Pain on the Peak and the velodrome part made me feel fast. I definitely let loose on my sprint at the end. I think I even scared the beginner that was in front of me.

It was great to hear so many people cheering me on and it was great to watch all the HV gals tearing it up!

Thanks for the support from all you awesome people and here is to hoping that everyone is warding off all the cold/flu bugs that are going around.