Springhill Classic, Barling, AR 10-02-2011
This race was a last minute adventure for me. I was supposed to be working at the US Open Tri in Dallas, but I was unexpectedly given the weekend off. Yay!!!! And what better thing to do on your weekend off but to race? I loaded up with Frank and Lonnie and we headed up to the Springhill Classic just outside of Barling, AR. My race didn’t start until 11:00, so it was a chill drive morning. I really was not stressing too bad about this race. I just wanted to get out on my mountain bike and ride! I’m 3 weeks away from Maui, so today was just another training day. I was told that the course was tight and twisty and flat. Perfect! My favorite kind of trail to haul some booty on! We arrived to the park and registered for the race. It’s time! All of the girls lined up and we were off. Arkansas races are a bit different in the way they break down the age categories for women. They lump all the girls from 19-39 in one group. Then there are the 40+. So from what I could tell, I was competing against the younger girls so I started to get a bit nervous. Especially since this was a shorter tight course. Our official yelled “GO” and we were off. These girls were fast off the line! I came in behind two other girls and it was ON! We were hauling through the trees, and came to a bit of a flat and they dropped me… for now. I was pushing hard. I really wanted to catch them in the trees, and I knew that the tight twisty turns were to my advantage. After about 2 miles, I caught them. This course was super fast! I love the tight stuff, and my Orbea Alma 29er definitely performed. I was also testing out my new Geax Saguro tires which were grippy and fast on this dry course. Love them! It was a bit tight to try to pass, and as soon as we hit flats, they would drop me for a minute, then as soon as we hit more tight turns, I caught them. So it was a chase. We stayed together for nearly the whole first lap, then once we hit the flats again… they were gone. Ugh! My legs were doing their share of screaming at me. I just kept pushing as hard as I could, knowing that I could potentially catch them again in the tight stuff on lap two. I headed through the feed zone, and back out on the course for my second lap. I was sucking wind! I just had to keep pedaling as hard as I could. Finally I caught a glimpse of the girl that was leading for lap one. I started pushing harder. That lap went by so fast! I was about 20 seconds behind her, but just couldn’t get caught up in time. I finished in third place only 30 seconds behind second place. (and only one minute behind first). That was a BLAST!!!! I love fast tight twisty courses! And now it was time to chill for a few, then hit the trail again for a run. Overall a great day that ended back at the car with an air show. Perfection! Now it’s time to taper down for Maui. It’s been a good season overall, especially considering all the injuries that I’ve had. I’m feeling very lucky that I even get the opportunity to race in Maui! Aloha!
