race report: Palmer CX, a.k.a. "Jungle Cross," 29. August 2009 (Accelerated Cure Project #2, Spank Me Sunday #2)

"The spankings will continue until handling improves."

Dear Lord, I have *got* to stop crashing. Alternatively, perhaps given that I crashed at least eight times at Palmer, I now have the season covered? Oops, no, probably just jinxed myself. DAMMIT.

Anyway. Rolled into the parking lot in the rain, wayyyy too hyped up on coffee. Took a lap in same (rain, not coffee). Much to the amusement of some of the marshals, I dropped several F-bombs upon reaching the lake after the first section of singletrack--the water was knee-deep. Thankfully, I had brought six pairs of socks. I continued my warmup with some lackluster time on the trainer, but at least I was staying loose.

Then I went to line up. Given that a lot of the course was pretty MTB-like, I was bummed that no one at the line laughed at the joke I made when we were told we had 4:20 till the start. I mean, I'm not a stoner either, but come ON, it wrote itself. Anyway. My start was pretty good--I was right behind MRC, Perri Mertens, and Natasha until I crashed pre-lake. Still, managed to right myself and get up to the grass chicanes behind them. Early on in the race, I started feeling like I was bonking, but I did okay until we reached the chicanes in the second lap and I could see CBRC gaining ground on me. Yeeowch. Managed to keep Tasha in sight and hold CBRC off until another crash in the mud sent me flying off to the side of the course. D'oh. Cyclonauts passed me on... maybe lap 3?... when I went to the pit to fix my shifter and drop my glasses, which had become useless.

In some ways, it was an improvement over last week: the first lap went MUCH better than Blunt Park, and despite the two crashes that lap, neither of which cost me that much time, most of my other lines were okay. I did not get lapped.

But: one of my friends (the same one who told me to ride the log last week) was heckling me during the race, saying, "you're faster than this!" It embarrassed me a little because there was some truth to it--I was definitely NOT on my A-game.

So the race was also a good reminder of things to work on this season. I would like to do the following:
-get a smoother routine back in place for race day. SpectaCX was great in that it made me really happy about racing again, but spoiled me a bit in that when we weren't racing (which was most of the time), we were hanging out shooting the shit, and it was really laid-back. I need to readjust to time constraints, and plan for needing more time when the weather is crappy.
-fight back when I get passed. Being passed takes me down a notch mentally (I think this is true for most people), and in 'cross, I'm at my best when I'm reacting rather than thinking. So I want to make fighting back my default reaction, unless I know that I'm at an area of the course where I should bide my time (i.e., if I'm passed right before going into a barrier section, better to dismount and pass her again running).
-pay attention to choices that the strong racers are making in terms of everything from gear to lines, etc. Consider the options and decide whether they work for me.
-not be intimidated by the race leaders (particularly on SMS days), focusing instead on the race within the race.
-transfer my nervous energy into pushing/reacting rather than crashing. If the physics of potential --> kinetic energy always worked the way my race did Saturday, life would suck. Maybe I need to start thinking of races as rollercoasters, with the understanding that, if I take out whatever I'm feeling that day--happy, sad, nervous, pissed--on the course, the ride will be fraking awesome. I had one of my best races last year on a weekend where I was sad and pissed... it stands to reason that I can have another good race if I'm channeling run-of-the-mill nervousness.
-tune other crap out unless it gets me fired up. If someone is yelling something annoying at me in a corner, get out of the corner quickly and safely. If someone is being encouraging, transfer their positive energy back into my race. If someone is offering me a beer, pass and ask them for a rain check post-race... unless I'm pouring all of my reserves into the second race of a double day and still getting spanked, in which case, grab and drink the goddamn beer.