TMBRA 2023 - Fall Series - Race 2 - Rocky Hill Roundup 02/19/2023

TLDR: First place Cat 2 15-18. Fastest single lap, Cat 2 female, fastest overall race Cat 2 female. Would have placed 4th in Cat 1. 

We went up on Saturday to pre-ride the course, and I wasn't feeling good at all. I was really tired after the pre-ride, so I sat at camp and ate a protein bar while my dad and sister pre-rode her 12u (she's 9yrs old by the way) course. I chilled the rest of the day, and then we went to bed around 9:00. I woke up at 7:30 and had to get ready quickly. I was still feeling pretty fatigued during my warm-up, so I was extremely nervous. 

Josie Cowen, who I would be racing in NICA, was also on that course, so I wanted to compare times. For the race start, I quickly hopped in behind Sabrina, who took off like a rocket. 

I was having trouble staying behind her on the hills, then saw my opportunity and passed her at the top of a hill. I then passed two other girls, and Sabrina got stuck behind one of them. I used that opportunity to go zone 5+ for a couple minutes, just to make sure she I created some distance between us. 

Then I let off the gas, probably a lot more than I should have. I started to sit in until there was an open stretch where I looked behind me and saw Sabrina, way closer than I realized. I took off, tried to hold her off, and succeeded. At the start of the second lap, there was a huge circle, maybe one or two miles long. I burned more matches than was probably necessary getting into the woods before my competitors entered the circle so they wouldn't see me and get encouraged. I wanted to be 'Out of sight, out of mind.' I went so hard, though, that I was extra tired on the big climbs after that, and so I had to put in that much more effort getting up the hills.

 I made it through the second lap without any major issues and had a great finish. I was really happy, and I got a cool Paul Uhl pottery cup to show for it. Take away lesson from Rocky Hill was that sitting in when you're in front gives your competitors time to catch up and you have to work twice as hard to keep the lead.