Sea Otter aka Sea Hotter

I got home Monday afternoon from a very warm (ok hot) trip to California for the Sea Otter Classic. This was my first big race of the season. I was really nervous. We got to Monterey area about 1 am Friday morning and I needed to be at the site and practicing Super D course by 9am. Well we didnt make it there by 9am but I did however manage to meet up with Dave from Vanderkitten get my kit, get dressed and head up to practice. I got one run it, I felt like I had 1am legs (heavy and slow). The course was fire road and fast. It was sandy in many places which I wish I could have ridden twice so I knew where to slow up. As far as Super D course it was pretty lame but what can you do. It was a lemans start and we had to start on our hands and knees with our heads touching the ground. I had a pretty bad start and couldn't get clipped in. I moved into 6th place pretty quickly. The race went by fast I had a few mistakes which costed me in the end but the real mistake was trying to pass for 5th place in the last corner and well sliding out and ending up in a sand pit. I ended up losing my place and finished in 8th. I was a little dissapointed, but was really just glad to be on my bike.
Sunday was the Cross country. I had been nervous about this race since I landed in San Jose. I think a combination of not getting in the training I needed because of the weather in the NW and being tired from being up with a baby (6mo old). I had a few goals one was to finish, not be last, and well give it my all and see what happened. I got out to Laguna Seca on Sunday and it was all but 90 plus degrees. About 50 degrees warmer that what I am use to training in. Shock. I found out they were shortening the course, which was a good and bad thing. I am an endurance person, but with the temp I was happy to limit my exposure to the heat. The race started out really pretty fast. I tried to go out hard but was still in the second half of the pack. I raced hard, about all I remember thinking about was how hot I was. My legs felt good but everytime I would start to push harder my head would throb and I thought I might melt. I drank as much water as possible with the one bottle I had, took the feed and got another bottle and tried to ration it. My mouth kept getting dry so I wanted to have a sip or two for the last climbs out. I kept trying to push harder it just wasn't seeming to work, I stood where I could and tried to keep my head in the game. After the start I didn't get passed and was able to pass many people along the way falling to the heat. All in all I was pretty satisfied with my finish, it is really early in the season for me and I have a lot of room for improvement. So hopefully over the next few weeks/months I can get my legs going and be flying by 24 hours and Trans Rockies. Next race Tuesday night circuit race, haven't road raced in about 3 years. Should be fun!!!

Oregon Coast April 2009

Noah looking for Sea lions in the sky...

Can't beat running and playing in the sand.

Trying to stay warm watching the sun set on the beach.

So it use to be when I was in high school we went to the Oregon Coast every spring break. It was such a blast to spend another spring break there. We went to Gearhart, OR just north of Seaside. We pulled a late night drive to get all the way to the coast while the kids were asleep. I can't say it was the best of weather, but I don't ever remember spring break having good weather on the coast. It was however a blast. My entire family was there Thursday which was cool. We walked down to Pop's sweet shop for a warm mocha and the best scones I have ever had. Noah loves the beach. He just loves to run, look for shells and sand dollars, fly kites, and chase the surf. The sun managed to break through on Saturday morning so instead of heading to Portland like planned we stayed the morning in Seaside. We went for a small hike at Ecola State Park which is beautiful. Then spent some time on the beach where Noah was making friends right and left. He was covered in sand before we knew it. So much fun!!! We headed back to Portland and spent some more time with Shelly and Maggie. Sunday was the day for the MTB race.

So it has been over 1 1/2 years since I have done a MTB race. I was a little nervous to say the least. My sister offered to watch Noah and Adri so Kris and I could race. I owe her big time. So we headed out to the Hornings Hustle. It is a pretty cool course always a little muddy. It really wasn't to bad this year. There was still pleanty for slippery snotty hills to climb and descend, but no mud pits. Sweet!!! There was a nice creek crossing to clean the bikes off each lap. It was warm out a nice 70 degrees. Mind you the highest I think I had ridden in temp wise was 45. It was a little warm. We warmed up and headed to the start. There were 12 women lined up in the open/pro catagory. As if I wasnt a little nervous before, now I really was. I felt pretty good, my legs were a little loaded but hopefully would work themselves out. I raced in second most the race. I say most because I broke my chain with almost 2 miles to go. I thought there was a lot of downhill so I originally didn't fix it and ran the ups and coasted the downs. This wasn't really working very well. So I had to fix it, I really need to work on being a faster mechanic. Needless to say third place passed me so when I got my chain fixed it was all or nothing. So I hopped on my bike and sprinted for the entire last mile. I caught her as we entered into some single track and we got stuck behind some slower races. As soon as it opened up to the climb right before the finish I sprinted and well I got 2nd. Yippie. I was pretty stoked. So now it is time until Sea Otter Classic next weekend.