Downers Grove Criterium, Saturday August, 15th
Just four years ago, I was pregnant with my son Shane whom will be turning 4 this September. I remember going to the Downers Grove criterium every year, watching these women race. I thought, "god these women are truly remarkable, putting themselves out there, testing their fitness, skills and courage." Then last year, during spin class, someone asked me this question. "Have you ever thought about bicycle racing?" I looked at this person and said "I don't know. I have never been asked." This person continued to comment about how great my form looked on the spin bike. I went home that evening and could not sleep. In fact, I couldn't get this question out of my head. It became my driving force. I didn't know if I could be competitive on a bike like I was in tennis. I had to find out. I started with club rides. I rode with the men, got my butt kicked and always got dropped. My fitness improved greatly over time. I then got into Kristen Meshberg's class at the Oakbrook Club over the winter. I found a coach and started another training program through cycle-smart in March. Before I knew it, I was racing my 1st criterium in April and placing in the top 10 or higher by May and June. With all this said, I had a race schedule, I put together back in March for my coach Madeleine. I had taken Downers Grove criterium off my list and then put it back on a few times. Finally I just said oh ... just go for it. So, I did.
On Saturday, I lined up with about 25 women. This was by far the most nervous I have ever been for a race. I took 3 deep breaths and looked around. I could only pick out Kristen Meshberg on the side looking at us all. I was grateful to have had a few laps around the course with my coach Madeleine before the race. Race started. First few laps where conservative. I stayed in the middle of the field. The pace picked up after a while. I made maybe 2 attacks. I stayed 7 or 8th position throughout most the race. It was a hot and humid day so the pace was conservative I thought. The kicker on the hill was fun. I loved turn 1, 2 and 3 as you approached a bit of a false flat then hit the hill. I stayed pretty much with P5 and Leah from Flatlandia. As the field split, I could see maybe 12 of us towards the last part of the race holding strong. I was having a great time out there. All smiles and taking the corners fairly well. Last lap, I could sense it was all or nothing. My friend had told me that when you hit turn 7 you will most likely have a moment of ..."take it or just go for it mentality." Maybe it was like "do or die kind of thing." It's a little hard to put into words. Last lap, I made turn 1 and shot up to position 5. I made my way to the front by the hill and took the descent. A few others took the descent a little quicker than me. The pace was very fast and furest. By turn 7, something happened to all of us. We just slowed down a tad. We all don't know why either. As I hit that turn, that moment of "take it or nothing" kind of feeling did hit me. Instead of flying through the last turn in my drops ... I followed behind 5 riders. I got out of my drops as I barely made it through half of the turn and started my sprint. I had a good cadence going. I went for it and shifted into the sprint. I hit it very hard. It was one of my best sprints I hadnt had in a while. I crossed the line to take 7th Place. I was very happy.
Thank you to everyone who came out and supported us. Thank you to my coach Madeleine Puissant for a great year. It was a blast spending the weekend with you and team. Look forward to some fun rides and oh yes a few more road races coming up just to top off the year.
Photos of Race: click on link below.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/niccyp/sets/72157621926312093/show/
More photos: http://chicagopersonalphoto.smugmug.com/gallery/9282036_3RVWw#621631029_ti6xK
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