Blood, Sweat and Tears (aka BikeJam/Wilmington)

I'm definitely not exaggerating the title - all three elements were very prominent during the weekend. Some more than others.

First up- Wilmington. A big girl race. With over 80 riders. Last year I managed to not only finish, but chase back on to the lead group (with lots o' help from HPC and now-teammate Sonja Evers) for a spot in the money. Despite a horrible winter training season, I was hoping to be in shape enough to make this a goal event. So much for goal events. Started out like a rocket. I was never in a good spot, never comfortable. Gaps opened almost immediately and we were going fast enough that the umph needed to close those gaps was just not there. At least for me. And 50+ other women who didn't make it to the end. All I know is that when I pulled myself and limped off the course, I saw that I was not in that bad of a spot ... not in the money by any means, but still with my "normal" competition. It's okay, the group I was in got pulled "officially" about a lap later so I just pre-empted the officials.

Coach Slavedriver saw my powerfile for the whole 7 miles I lasted of the 25mile race. He laughed on Sunday asking if I had seen "sprint intervals" on my schedule that day. Apparently my normalized power was obnoxious (for me). Those 7 miles or so were probably the hardest I've done in a while. Rockstar teammate LJ got a top 10 ... awesome. I managed to hold back the tears and there was no blood - those came on Sunday.

ClusterF*ck at BikeJam. Which is pretty much how that race goes. Most everyone I know says they hate that race, it's a crap shoot and people get hurt every year. Former teammate and friend, HvT got the raw end of a wreck a few years back. A pro rider last year broke her leg. This year the cluster resulted in an ambulance ride for friend and awesome-racer Jen R. Jen, get better soon - good vibes being sent your way.

Start at the beginning - I had a sh*t start since a few of us decided to take a lap around the course and everyone else apparently decided to line up. Thankfully, I felt pretty good and started picking my way through the pack. Within a couple of laps, I was sitting pretty around 20th or so ... It was one of those days when things flowed well ... I was *finally* finding my groove. I was well-within my comfort level and I remember thinking - good, I need this ... just pay attention and be smart.

Aside from having to hop the grass on that 120degree turn at the bottom, I didnt have to do too many evasive moves. I noted that the right side going up the hill tended to have a big slowdown ... no apparent reason but I stayed left. About 8 laps or so into the race, I was stuck kind of in the middle going into the hill. Not where I wanted to be but stuck. At the last moment I saw a cluster going down a few girls ahead and to the right. I had a half-second to grab the brakes and think: "This is going to be ungood". My bike was taken out from under me and I did the tuck-and-roll, knowing there were 40+ riders behind me.

The cartoon balloon of my thoughts would have said "son of a .... my effing bike ! please don't chain-ring me, please don't chain-ring me. how the eff are we wrecking going UPHILL??".

After the crunching of bikes and bodies subsided, I sat up and located my bike. Stood up - woozy - okay, good, have the bike to lean on. A couple friends and my coach were immediately at the sideline trying to help. I told them I wanted back in ... they must've thought I was crazy. Only a small spot of blood on my knee, another few scrapes on my elbow. Bike was relatively okay ... off I go. Get a good re-start after the ambulance cleared the course. What I didn't realize until about 2 laps into the re-start was that since I didn't have that much blood, it meant I didn't slide. Nothing dissipated the energy when I fell. That means I actually hit the deck pretty hard. Which meant that breathing hard immediately revealed that something was way wrong with my chest/ribs. I pulled myself out of the race, unable to get enough oxygen to keep going.

Side note: when pulling out of a race like this, with a few technical turns ... is it best to keep a straight line and drop back, or is it preferable to drop to the right ? I had several different ladies give "suggestions" as I was trying not to kill myself or others on the course.

Anyway. Long story to get to me limping back to my car, dejected and trying not to make eye contact with anyone for fear of them seeing tears. There's no crying in cycling !!! I dont know what upset me more - that I was really hurt, that I had yet another disappointing race or that I was sobbing in my car alone. Sigh.

X-rays revealed no fractures, but some badly bruised ribs and torn ligaments. Vitamin "I" is my friend. They also gave me percocet (sp) but I'm saving that for a rainy-er day.

I did lay low Sunday nite (watching the Lost finale with Z) and Monday, but was back doing repeats on Ilchester on Wednesday. Zim thinks I'm bad-ass because I am so "dedicated". What she doesn't realize is that Coach Slavedriver drives me to it ... I pay someone to make me miserable on the bike. How does that make sense ... Maybe I should have gotten an x-ray of my head while I was at it ?