We had two races this weekend - Strawberry Crown, in Watsonville - which was just a pro men and women races, held in downtown Watsonville. The venue, for the first year was really good. The town showed up, had a festival on Main street, and there was great energy. I was feeling better than the weekend in Reno, but still having some back issues. I went for the Rock Tape, and swear that stuff helps. It was a very fast race, with four PB and Co girls including Dillon, Rivera, Hannan, and Starns, Liza from Primal, and the Swiss champ - Pascal. There was a break straight away, and Jazzy from VK was in it! We all worked to bring the bridge attempts back and control the group, while Jazzy threw down like mad off the front. Her efforts paid off, and the break stayed away putting her in third, on the podium!
Then Jennx threw down with fourish to go, bridging up to Starns. And it stuck! She managed the 5th spot on the podium, and we all walked away in the money. It was a fun race, and we came home with lots of strawberries!
Day two was in Pleasanton. The race wasn't until 7 pm, which was a little weird. I was house sitting/dog and cat watching for Devon and Aspen on Saturday night, and decided to wake up pretty early and meet Jennx for coffee at Coffee Cat - I swear they put crack in their coffee. It got me all fired up, and I did some serious cleaning, dog washing, and general life catching up activities until it was time to pack up the car at 3:30 to head to the race.
I must say, getting text messages and phone calls wishing me and the team good luck, was pretty great and turned my afternoon lul mood around a bit. Once Jennx and I got to the race, I was fired up. The crowd was out, music was playing, and energy was flowing. Chris the race director was on the ball, with legit pro parking, and accommodations that made it a lot less stressful for us.
One thing ive noticed this year is how important a good warm up is. I feel like if I bag on the warm up, i really suffer during the race. As much as I dislike riding the trainer, it's one of the best ways for me to get a proper warm up. I guess i'm a control freak, but it's noticeable and i'm sticking to it.
We got to the line, went through call ups, and the race started living up to the name - Pleaston Fast and Furious! Out the gate there were attacks, stringing it out, and keeping the pace hot.
We all did a good job initiating, and responding and worked well as a team. That was fun. Another thing we did well was communicate during the race. It really helps when someone says they need me to get up there, or if I ride by someone who just threw down and say good job, I think it helps keep them motivated. It keeps us together, when we're not side by side.
I'd say my defining moment in the race was with four laps to go. The tension was high, and Starns was in a really threatening break. Starla rode by me and said - we need to move up to support Emily! I snapped out of my suffer mode, and made my way to the front, got on the front, and lead the peleton, closing the gap on the back side of the course which was a long, long straight away with a head wind. After that, i was pretty toast. But, I helped out and closed a gap for the team, and if that helped contribute to the W - heck yeah!
The remaining laps were fast fast fast. I tried to spin the effort out of my legs with three and two to go, and lost some position as I floated back. I watched Starla shine on the front as she kept the pace hot for Emily, and as I heard the announcer call out Emily's name - I smiled. She won! She came through for us, and threw down against one of the best teams in the country. I'm still smiling from last night. That was pretty unforgettable.
We celebrated, drank from the trophy cup and enjoyed the feeling of victory for a while while the men buzzed and hummed around the course. Then made our way back to the car, said our good byes and headed home. Jennx and I hit up a burrito place on the way home, and had to eat it in the bar next door because the restaurant was closing. We find ourselves in the oddest places... I swear! They were doing Karaoke, and we were dancing and eating and singing along. We finished it off with frozen yogurt, and then called it a night. One thing Jenn said, that i'll have to remind my self of i'm sure, is - you have to take the good with the bad. You can't be on all the time, and sometimes you have good races and sometimes you have crappy races. It's all a part of the process, and there's always another race and opportunity to shine.
