TMBRA 2022 Fall Series - Race 4 - Shred De Roots 10/9/2022

TLDR - This was my first 20-mile race, my first race without my dad there to help me, and my first TMBRA race of the season. I was terrified, and so many things could've gone wrong, but I made it through with a first-place medal and 20 more miles under my belt. 

Getting to the race was really tough, a couple days before the race my bike broke and I had to go get help from my friend's dad, Coach Marty because my dad was at the NICA summit. This was gonna be my first race without my dad, and he put me in charge of getting all the bike stuff ready because I had the most experience with it. My little sister raced 2 hours before me, and I went to cheer her on. She got second out of two twelve-year-olds, and she is only nine! We were so proud of her, and I loved seeing her crush it out there. 

A couple hours before I raced, my stomach started hurting a lot, and I didn't know if it was from nerves or if I had eaten something bad. When we started lining up, I was very nervous, but when she called 15 seconds, everything went into a hum in the background and I was all focused. 

When the whistle blew, Sabrina, my friend, and ex-teammate took holeshot. I stayed on her tail into the woods and kept up pretty nicely. On a hill about a mile in I passed her and felt a rush of exhilaration along with a sharp pain in my stomach, which I ignored. I could do this! I kept up that pace until the pain grew stronger and I had to slow down. It got worse when I stood up and pedaled, but not when I stood up and coasted. It also got worse when I went over roots or any obstacle or bump. It got so bad I had to slow down to about a third of how fast Sabrina was going, and I knew that meant she was going to catch up to me if I didn't pick up the pace soon. The thing is, I tried, but every time I went faster it would get so bad that I would start crying and would have to slow down and it even got so bad that I  considered breaking off and not starting the second lap. I knew I wouldn't let myself quit even if my appendix was about to burst, but what if it came back worse in the second lap? I wouldn't know what to do then. Sabrina passed me at about mile 5, and that discouraged me even more. The pain in my stomach started to ebb around mile 7, and by mile 8 it was all but gone. In those last two miles of the first lap, I kept saying to myself; I can do anything for 2 miles. I can go as hard as I can for 2 miles and I can give it my all despite my stomach for 2 miles. It helped, and I sped up in those last 2 miles of the first lap. 

Still considering DNFing, I crested the hill and sped towards the last little bit of track before my first lap was over. All of my friends and family were there cheering me on and that helped my mindset switch from I can't do this what if it hurts more to I can do anything I put my mind to, a little stomach pain isn't going to stop me. I continued to the second lap. After it mostly faded away, I found that I could go faster. In my head, there was a giant stomach bug chasing me, and the faster I went the harder it would be for the stomach bug to catch up to me so I was free from the pain as long as I went fast. 

Cresting Hamburger hill, the steepest hill on the course, at about 15-16 miles, I saw a flash of red in the distance. It was Sabrina! I'd caught up with her, finally! Well, I hadn't caught up yet, but at least the goal was in sight. I sped down the downhill and overall sprinted to catch up to her. I then stayed on her wheel for the last 4 miles. One of the hardest parts of the race, I think. Now that she was there, I couldn't rest, because then she would get away, so I was at her mercy speed-wise. I managed to hang on, and the last 2 miles I was with her were super flowy and fast. We joined in with the 12u course, and that was the part I knew the best because I had pre-rode it with my sister. 

We turned a corner up a hill and double track opened up in front of us. Sabrina took the inside corner on the turn, but then I snuck past her on the right side of the double track. I sprinted as hard as I possibly could, and it was probably the hardest thing I had ever done, sprinting up the hill and leaving it all on the trail. The rest was downhill to the few turns before the finish, and I pushed down that, too. Once I felt my tires cross the timing pad, all the emotions I had stuffed down for the race came tumbling out. 

It was a great race and I'm proudest of how hard I had to work to win it. Sabrina is fast and I had to turn myself inside out for the win. It was a good day.