FITCHBURG 2008

 This was my first NRC race with the pros and I knew it was going to be tough, I wasn't disappointed.

Day 1 ITT

I warmed up and went to the start area.  They were measuring our bikes and weighing them.  I got a chuckle from the officials when they weighed my bike.  Yes, it is heavy.

I felt weak and nauseated but attributed it to being nervous.  I was wrong.  On mile 2 I threw up all over my bars.  I considered stopping but what would be the point?  So I slowed down the pace a bit and finished the best I could.  My time was 21;16, not much better than last years.  I was a bit disappointed.  I was 37th.  

Day 2 Road Race

69 miles of racing with Cheerwine and Colavita, this was going to hurt!  Again I didn't feel great, so figured I would see if I could go with a break and at least have a little fun.  Cheerwine attacked and I went with the move.  It didn't stick.  Then Colavita counter-attacked and I jumped right on a wheel.  That move didnt' stick either.  At least Cecelia witnessed my attempts which was kind of cool.

Every lap I fell back on the climb by the church.  I just couldn't keep up with the pace.  My legs felt awful and locked up and the nausea was a bit unbearable at times.  Elena looked strong and chugged right up the climbs every time.  It was amazing.

At about mile 50 when we were neutralized, someone asked if we all wanted to take a pee break.  It was a funny sight.  70 something women pulling over and pulling down their spandex.  I took the opportunity to throw up a little and then try to pee.  Couldn't pee, guess I didn't have to.

We continued on and I lost momentum on the final climb.  I felt weak and sick and just took the final ascent at a pace that I knew I could maintain.  Luckily, Elena felt great and placed 11th!  Amazing.

Dav 3 (circuit race) This course is fun but after the road race, the climb to the line seemed so painful.  Cecelia rocked this course last year and didn't disappoint this year.  She took 14th!  Awesome to see.  Elena made a great attempt to get away and scored some sprint points, but was swallowed up by the field.  Overall we raced well and not one of us got dropped.

Dav 4 (criterium) I finally felt a little better, still not myself, but at least an improvement from the previous days.  The laps were fast, but I felt safe in the pack.  I tried to always be in the top 12 up front and had a fun time jumping on Colavita's wheel when they tried to take off.  I raced aggressively so I felt good about this last day on the bike.  I took 22nd place and 34th in the overall GC.