Had my body not felt like it had shut down from not racing (GASP!!) a whole 2 weekends in a row I would have had extreme fun on that backside instead of just some fun. And actually I know what "shut down" feels like for me and really I wasn't quite in that particular pain cave but I was indeed in this one which was a step better:
The pain cave really speaking its mind
I honestly don't think I have worked that hard for 8th place in a while. OUCHEE - MAMA. This realization started to hit me about 2 laps in. I was like "Wow, I really am not feeling the love right now." Not something that you want to find yourself saying mid race either and usually I am really good and nipping those thoughts in the bud but this was hard to not truly realize! But that's when you REALLY do need to step in and mix those thoughts around to play mind games on yourself to get you thru.
And at that same moment of realization that I was hurting, I by accident got a look back and saw that only 4 bike lengths behind me there was a train of 6-7 girls sitting on each other. Where'd they come from!?And there I was in never never land all by my lonesome.
The thought then was "Catch or Be Caught and to go like hell". Had those women caught me I would have been effectively been in no better position than the last girl in that group which was around 15th and I was going to do everything it took, EVERYTHING to stay away by what small gap I had already formed on them. God that was painful and hard mentally too.
I also thought I was going to puke mid race and actually thought I might have to stop mid race to do so. I raced my heart out, somehow broke the group behind me, passed a few women and came in 8th at the end. And this is just what it felt like that whole 40 minutes. Eeeek gad.
And in proper fashion for this cyclocross season, I crossed the finish line and started barfing. This time though, it really didn't feel relieving as it always has, instead it felt pretty yucky. Just par for the course I guess.
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