But luckily by the time we had to be racing at 3pm I had enough time to work my knee into full motion and was able to weight bear again. It actually wasn’t that bad by that time but I wasn’t sure how running with it was going to work out since there was a long beach run we had to do in the race! Yikes.
Picture of the venue on the water before everything was set up
Despite all that was going on with changing tires and wheels (I was NOT about to use my set up from last nights race in the mud today!!!) and the knee among everything else I was really super calm before the race. So calm in fact that I only did one lap of the new course. ONE!!!! And it didn’t even bother me that I had only done one. It was like I just knew things were going to be ok.
And they were. I lined up on the last row again. My brother and Chris were right there to cheer me on (they were there last night too!!), lend a hand and give support which was awesome.
The gun went off and I made my way up to the super front of the race by the first corner. Alrighty then!! Now we are talking. The mudder tires and mudder skills were working much better today which was a good thing since it was super duper muddy. It even started pouring mid race after shining sun on us for the first part. Crazy weather! I was sitting in 7th for a while and made my way up towards 5th but the sandy run section got the better of me and I went back to 7th. It was a full on duking it out session for those spots I tell you. It was so fun and awesome to be back in the mix! 7th was maybe not exactly what I was capable of but given the long running sand pit sections, I will take it!
I didn’t get to race Cyclocross last year as I wanted to and planned to and I cannot tell you JUST HOW MUCH FUN I am having right now. Nothing beats the passion that has come to the surface again along with a great team, Hudz-Vista Subaru, who supports my endeavors with awesome support and great equipment. A huge shout out to all those that gave me the opportunity to get in the saddle again and rediscover what I had lost and wasn’t able to do during 2009.
After the races are over it is always a little time for some rest, relaxation and some fun! That night my best friend from preschool came up from Lakewood to hang with me and the gang. It was so great to see her. She even got to meet some of my team which was very cool.
Here is Jon B earning his keep at the Sherwin household, lending a much needed hand.
I decided to see my Aunt at her assisted living facility she was in. I hadn’t seen her in a few years and she has a bit of dementia now. She is my moms only sister so seeing her was a big deal and a huge priority. Mom would want me to visit and I really wanted to. I'd been far too long.
We were told to expect anything from my aunt as things can vary from day to day. But we were blessed on this day with an aunt who immediately recognized my brother and I and then started crying with joy. She then immediately perked up and we had a wonderful conversation. Absolutely wonderful.
The hard part was leaving. Not only did my aunt look like my mom to me now, she was the closest thing I have to mom and I had to walk out the door and perhaps never see her again. How hard is that? It’s super hard. I cried the whole way home. But really I just needed to see that this day as a blessing and nothing to cry about.
The rest of the day I got in a beautiful ride, riding over to my brothers house for dinner. We got to just sit and hang out and I got to know my niece a little better which is always a wonderful thing! Being able to drop in on family while on the road racing sure is a GREAT thing!! I love what I do!!
A little post race interview with a very flattering thumbnail....or not. Gheesh. Makes me laugh though everytime I look at it.
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