Super Fly

FIRECRACKER

So I can come up with a thousand excuses why I had a bad race. Did you ever have one of those days where you just hit a wall, well I think that is what happened to me at the start of firecracker on Sunday. I ate well, slept and kept hydrated the entire weekend and I was focused on doing well and felt more compfortable on these trails this year than last. Your mind can play tricks on you at the last moment and all of a sudden at the start I could not clip in on my left foot pedal at the start of GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! That is all iot took and I fell back and I kept falling back not even caring really. I told myself it's too hot, I don't want to hammer it it, F**k it and I rode in the back watching everyone pass me not even giving it any effort until I hit the single track and then when I got stuck behind a few I thought what the hell am I doing? Well now it's too late to catch anyone, but I stepped up the speed and put it in gear and started to pass whom ever I could. I got to the second lap finally feeling on fire but no one in site. Finally after coming up out of the rockstairwell and up into the single track I saw my competitors husband off to the side cheering everyone on. I asked him how bad is it? How far back am I from your wife and he said about three minutes and I was disgusted at that point, thinking I'll never catch her now not anyone else for that matter. At least her husband was nice enough to run some cool water on the back of my neck from his water bottle but that did not take away my frustration a this point. I thought to myself...I will try to hammer up all these hills and just maybe I can make up some good time. Low and behold to my suprise I was whipping through some of that ledgy single track and I see Christine off to the side and I said, "what are you doing!?" after I almost plow her over the edge while she was standing there. ( I am sure telling me this was not what she wanted to say) "I got a flat," she exclaimed. Needless to say I had no words to say other than what a bummer as I tore off. I thought to myself there is hope! I hammered it as hard as I could for the rest of the race ended up finishing 3rd in my age which was a complete suprise after all. After all that I have to say it was a pretty good day considering there is a full case of lakefront brewery beer in the cooler back at the Alterra tent just waiting for me.