After racing as a three for about a month, since Sea Otter, I finally had a good result last weekend at Pescadero. I ended up fourth in a very tough field. One of my main competitors was crashed out (she's okay) and I was able to hang onto my spot in a very tough uphill finish. I'll post the link to the finish photo here, but don't look too closely, it's scary! (BTW-thanks Alex!)
Alex's phot of me looking scary
Like I said it was a tough field and I was happy to finally get some upgrade points. I want to give credit to Felicia Gomez of Pinnacle Training, my coach, because working with her has helped me improve tremendously.
So I'm getting ready to race the Auburn Omnium hosted by Victory Velo this weekend and I wanted to write down some of my thoughts to help me get focused:
not being intimidated by a tough field-there will be many strong women in my P/1/2/3 field. I have to remember that even though these women are fit and skilled, I belong in this field. At the Town Center Criterium, I was jittery and shaky before my race because of the caliber of the field. I am not going to focus on my performance and not those of the women around me.
strong body, strong mind: At last nights BP ride, I started all over the place. I couldn't hold my line and I was freaking out about every little crack in the road. I found myself at the back of the pack about to get dropped. Wrapping my mind around the fact that I was on my bike and not going anywhere in was difficult. I need to maintain focus the entire time at both races.
relax your hands, relax our face, breathe: There are going to be some technical corners this weekend. I have the skills to take them, and need to relax. Especially at Montserrat. The roundabout at the bottom scares me and I haven't even ridden it yet.
getting the proper amount of sleep each night: so essential. In fact I'm going to bed now.
the chief cause of failure and unhappiness is trading what you want most for what you want now: This ties into so many things. Eating right, sleeping, alcohol consumption. Everything. I need to stay focused on my goals and not let what I think I want at a specific moment ever overshadow what I want for my life.
Just some prerace thoughts. I hope to add a race report on monday night since I won't be working...
