Thursday, May 6, 2010- The OC Great Park Crit Series

I thought I was going to be late and completely miss the ride, but I managed to arrive early enough to register and do a practice lap. I was way too nervous, looking back I didn't even get to absorb the course at all during that lap. I got in line with the Masters. Thankfully one of my shop ride buddies was there, and I vowed to hold on to his wheel.

I was mentally overwhelmed. I was surprised and confused when we started off and quickly forgot everything I had ever learned about crit racing. I approached the first corner and got boxed in on an acute turn, felt my wheel slip on some sand, and thought that it was the end of me. The pack attacked immediately and I had not recovered fully from my freak-out and completely got dropped- we were only several yards into the race. Feeling slightly dejected I struggled to catch up but I coudn't match the momentum of the pack and only saw the gap widen.

I continued to soft pedal, waiting to hop on to the next group coming up from behind. I was timid- afraid I would cut off people in the pack if I tried to move in. I wasted a massive amount of energy trying this over and over again, but with little success. Eventually I got the timing down and managed to hop back on with the 4/5s once, but did not have the strength to hold on to the pack. Apparently I was on the windy side, but the wind was the least of my worries at that point. I also managed to hop on to the Pro 1/2/3's once, but they were just blasting down the tarmac at an incredible speed.

I felt like I still had a legs at the end of the race. Where was that every time I got dropped after catching the end of the pack? Tsk tsk.

It was certainly an interesting and positive experience. I've always had severe anxiety attacks before competition, so today was really not bad for me at all. I definitely want to go out there again next week, and am goign to begin interval training and build up some sprinting legs. Wish me luck!