I'm Down With OTB. (Yeah, You Know Me)

Thanks to Darian Nagle-Gamm for the photo.

Two days in a weekend - two races...Or how one old lady learns her limits.

Thanks to Brittany McConnell for the photo.

 Sunday I was what is known as, OTB or Off the Back from about the start of the race. I actually wasn't even going to do the race. My legs were shot after the 10K running race the day before and then my asshole cat kept me up half the night. I'm not sure what the hell his problem is, but he's been really bad lately. He wakes us up, so we lock him out of our room, then he stands by our door and whines and meows. I was lucky if I even got 3 hours of very interrupted sleep. Ugh!

Anyway, this race starts and ends on a big, steep hill. The kind that is never kind to me. I rode it once on the preride and barely got up it. Granted, I know old ladies need to warm-up more than the younger kids, so my legs would probably work better after more riding, but we also need more recovery time in between races, and I didn't give myself much of that. So, when I was standing at the start, I told the official that I was going to bow-out. I said something to some of the other women, and one in particular talked me back into it. She told me not to worry about my results and since I already paid to enter, I might as well ride my bike on roads with no traffic and have fun. She was right, so I threw my helmet back into the race.

Oh holy hell, but it felt good to cross that finish line.

 It was no surprise that I was off the back almost immediately. That was okay. All the Cat 5 men came up behind me and I just kept riding and after the first lap, my legs felt a little better. I came upon my team member who is in high school and hasn't ridden her bike for a few months. I told her to get on my wheel and she could draft me until we got to a big hill and I might not be able to help her.

She hopped on and we kept on riding. We chicked a few of the Cat 5 guys and then we got to the sweeping downhill, immediately before the longer uphill. I'm not too bad with those types of hills, because I get a lot of momentum going down first. I thought she was right on my wheel and the Cat 1 and 2 men were coming up on us, to lap us. I scooted way over to the right, and tried to go faster up the hill to stay out of their way. After they passed and I looked back, my teammate was way behind me. I thought about waiting, but then I figured I better just keep riding. I didn't want to give myself a reason to quit the race. Just keep swimming....

The owner of Geoff's Bike and Ski was nice enough to provide the after race libations. Also thanks to Mauro Heck for the photo.

I got lapped by all the fields, but I finished the race and I'm glad I did it and I had a lot of fun on the back sections of the course where there were more rolling hills, and everyone is really nice to me, even when I'm sucking.

So, yesterday I ran 4.5 miles and then did a slow, social ride with my friends and for the next two days, I plan to take off of everything, except bike commuting to work and back. My poor legs need a break. I'll let you know how it all feels on Thursday.