Some days, races just don't go your way.  Yesterday's race did NOT go my way.  Not the way I wanted to start the season, but such is life!

Our first race of the collegiate cycling season was at NC State.  The course was a 7.5ish mile loop through the country in Sanford, NC with two climbs.  The women's B race (my race) was doing 4 laps, for a total ride of 33miles (with start distance).  We left campus at an unfortunate 5am (meaning I woke up at 4am) to make the 2 hour drive and have time to get ready and warm up.  It was COLD by the time we were supposed to start.  Somewhere in the high 20's?  Enter: my fatal mistake.  I should have worn neoprene booties.  I have them... I just didn't put them on for the race.  Remember me talking about how I love my slippers because my feet get unusually cold?  Well, that certainly applies to riding my bike in 30 degree weather.  What was I thinking?!?! 

At the beginning of the race, we were supposed to have a neutral roll out (no actual racing until we got from the staging area to the actual start line), but someone decided they thought neutral start meant 22mph.  I didn't do a good job of positioning myself, and started off towards the back.  There were some gaps early because of the "neutral rollout", and then an unfortunately placed pot hole resulted in people in front of me braking suddenly and separating us from the rest of the peleton.  I played catch up for a while, but about 5 miles into the race I realized the fatal mistake I'd make with my feet.  Numb I can deal with.  But for whatever reason, my right foot was KILLING me.  Sort of a throbbing/burning pain that made it difficult to push the pedal with my right foot.  I rode for a while longer, hoping that it would either warm up or get numb, but neither happened.  By this point, the pack was gone, I'd caught a couple other people, but I wasn't having much fun (races are not fun when you're riding alone!), so when I finished a lap, I bowed out of the race, went to the car, and warmed my foot up.  Have you ever experienced rewarming pain?  It sort of feels like your toes are imploding.  Even when they felt warm to the touch, they were killing me. 

Not how I wanted the racing season to start.  Oh well.  On the bright side, the rest of the team did well!  I think we had 4 top 10 finishes?  Solid start to the season for the team... no thanks to me!  Better luck next week...

Today, there was a criterium in NC State, but the course was only .35 miles long (that's short, fyi), and none of us were thrilled at the idea of waking up at 4 again to spin circles on a tiny track.  So, instead, a teammate and I decided to ride to hanging rock.  I haven't done a long ride (>50 miles) in over a year because of the whole ankle fiasco, and it felt good to ride some miles.  The route to hanging rocks is 30 miles of rolling flats for 23ish miles, and then 5 miles of hills, with the last 2 miles being a climb to the top of Hanging Rock State Park.  It was a beautiful day for a ride!  The sun was shining, it was warm enough that all I needed in addition to shorts and my jersey were arm warmers.  We paced ourselves on the way out, knowing that we needed strength to do the climb at the end, and all the climbing once we turned around!  It worked excellently.  There was a good amount of wind, but it was never too bad for long.  We finished the 60 miles in a little less than 4 hours, which is by no means fast, but given the climbing I'm okay with it! 

And then I came home and ate lunch.  Because I was hungry.  Chocolate milk and leftover pasta.  Perfect post-ride food. 

Now, I'm going to go to Barnes and Noble to get The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest and sit on the couch reading for the rest of the day.  I know it's not next on my list, but I'm hooked... what can I say!

Hope your weather is as beautiful as it is here!
Kari