It's A Team Effort.

The weekend of July 4^th, I was prepped and ready for Marathon Nationals.  All year I had trained for this race. I had raced numerous 4+ hour races and spent more hours in the saddle than ever before. I was ready and I was confident. The race unfolded over the course of two laps and a couple three hours; an infinity of emotion and one focused goal. In the end, I finished in second place, behind 3x champ, Pua Mata. Elated, I stood on the podium and looked out in the crowd to see the faces of my friends.  I rode smart and smooth and strong. I had put in the work, and that work paid off. But it was a team effort. One of the faces in the crowd was Brig, my coach and my friend.

In late July, I raced High Cascade 100, a 100 mile mountain bike that I won by more than 45 minutes.  In August, I went to Idaho for the last race of the Ultra Endurance Tour and with a second place finish, took the series win.

Three weeks later, I wanted to be a cyclocross racer.  All year, I had been training my body to put out long, steady efforts and now I wanted it to be able to sprint and attack, and race well for 40 minutes instead of 4 hours. I was asking a lot of myself and of Brig. At the time, I didn't think much about the radical shift of demands, but hindsight, well, it was a radical shift.

Two weeks ago, I won the Oregon Cyclocross State Championships, and this past Sunday, I won Cross Crusade #8 at Barton Park, locking up the Cross Crusade series against strong and fierce competitors.

I have four more races on the calendar this year, four important cyclocross races, and I know that I will be fit and ready for each one of them.   I know this because I have 100% confidence and trust in the plan. Deliberate, scientific and in tune with me, as an athlete and a person, I trust Brig completely. The accomplishments of this year would not be possible without his guidance and support and I can’t thank him enough for his patience and dedication as I develop as a cyclist. 

Oregon Cyclocross State Championships

Photo: Andrew Keippela

On Saturday, I became the Oregon State Cyclocross Champion. This is an honor and I fought hard to stand on the top step of the podium.  The course was challenging, muddy, and served up a healthy dose of suffering.

Photo: Tim Schallberger

Laura brought her A-game and it was a battle from the start.  We were back and forth for most of the race, pushing one another and both having trouble with our mud-clogged pedals.  With about 2 laps to go, I was able to open up a gap on the long hill and worked hard to hold it.

Photo: Brooke Stehley, Rolf Prima

I was pushing the pace a little too much, and with a lap and a half to go, came around a slick gravel-to-asphalt corner and went down. Hard.  My brake level was bent beyond the point of functioning and I was lucky to be not far from the pit.  Only problem was that I didn't have anyone in the pit for me, and I knew Laura was chasing hard. I got to the pit, located my bike, flipped it over, handed my A-bike off to some very nice person, and headed out. My gap had been reduced considerably, but I was still in the lead.  I just needed to stay calm and be smooth. I thought a clean bike might give me a bit of an advantage with the pedal problem, but this was not the case.  My shoes were so full of mud, that clean pedals didn't seem to help.

Laura was right there, and she was charging.  Up the last hill, along the last straight away and around the last corner, I gave it everything I had. I crossed the line, elated and spent.

Laura and I stood together, holding onto one another for support, otherwise we would have both fallen over. It was a great race and I am honored to have been pushed to my limit by a fierce competitor and good friend.

Here’s to being smarter, smoother and stronger!

Into the Wind. Photo: Pat Malach

Washington County Fairgrounds is flat as a pancake, with so many twists and turns that it just about makes you dizzy.  There is also a long, flat, windy section.  This is the location of my tactical error.  I worked too hard for too long and in the end, couldn't respond to a well timed attacked by the lovely Laura.

Corner of Pain & Cave
Photo: Tim Schallberger

Laura was smarter, smoother, and on the last lap, stronger than I on Sunday.  She rode brilliantly, really.  

She was patient, strategic and attacked at the perfect time.  She was racing, I was just being silly. I was working so hard to drop her that I wasn't even paying attention to the lap count.  I was putting in huge efforts, into the wind, with Laura right on my wheel (not smart) and she just hung tight (very smart) until the opportune moment and launched a real sling-shot of a move, and took off.  We were running into the guys field, or they were running into us, and that created a bit more separation.  I recovered after a moment, but a small gap had opened and try as I might, I couldn't close it. 

Laura crossed the line first; a well deserved win and well played race. I have much to learn, but each weekend I take my lessons, file them away, and remind myself not to repeat these same mistakes again in the future.  

Here’s to being smarter, smoother and stronger!