race report: Gran Prix of Gloucester Day 1, Verge NECCS #3, 3. October 2009

Got on the road at 6:45 a.m. and hydroplaned my way up 128 to Gloucester. When I arrived it was still rainy and disgusting. This is why I pack seven pairs of socks for every 'cross race. I shucked my jeans, pulled up my bibs, threw on the rest of my warmup Spandex, sucked it up, and went for a quick pre-ride before the Cat 4 men took the course. It was soggy but not completely terrible, but I knew the conditions would probably change more than slightly before my race (i.e., duh, more mud, we can always run mud if we have to). With the schedule running late and times in between races tight, my next three objectives were: 1. get the pre-ride gunk off of the frame and out of the drivetrain, 2. keep the drivetrain running pre-race, 3. keep rolling around because the trainer is at home and broken (normally, this would be cause for celebration; on a rainy day, not so much), and 4. stay as warm as possible while doing 1, 2, and 3 in the middle of a gale.

Sooo... 1. The bike wash wasn't crowded, so cleaning the stuff off was easy enough. 2. In between running around to reg and doing other pre-race stuff, I kept lubing the chain (I am really liking Pedro's ChainJ this season; it's drippy enough for a wet race, but not as gunk-attracting as SynLube) and running it through the gears. 3. I rolled around halfheartedly. 4. Rolling around seemed to make me colder, so I got in the car and slathered on a bunch of embrocation before attempting 3. again. This sort of helped until the start line. It was pouring rain and the 3/4 women were staged two minutes behind the cub juniors; the 100-odd seconds without a jacket were pretty uncomfortable.

Once we started, the discomfort of the rain was, of course, replaced by the discomfort of the race. I always have a difficult time with the uphill start at G-star, and Saturday was no different--made it into the hole shot about mid-pack and had to start picking people off through the grass chicanes. Got crashed out behind Clara Kelly in a corner, got back on again. The lack of a proper warmup started to hit me; my transitions onto and off the bike were slow as a result. Same problem after the runup--I normally rock remounts, but I was shaking and struggling to find the pedals. My legs felt like some sort of ancient machinery. By the time we were rolling past the ocean on the south side of the park, I wanted to jump off the bike and jump into the harbor. I know that sounds emo and dramatic, but it really felt like the more preferable line.

Then something happened--I don't remember where or how it occurred but I know that by the time I was back on the grass, my legs were warm again and I was attaching myself to Michele Harrison's wheel. I was able to focus on the task of wearing the wheel down, and I started enjoying the task of picking lines through corners in the mud. I don't remember where I passed Michele, I just remember that it happened. Hope's wheel was next. I think we battled it out a few times, but I got by eventually. Then it was Cathy's wheel again. Sometime during the last lap, I found myself in front of her and behind Julie from IBC, with Julie just almost within reach. I crashed out after trying to remount after the last muddy chicane-turned-runup, but righted myself. Didn't catch Julie, but kept my position to finish 14th out of 75 starters. Considering how I finished last year, and that finishing in the top HALF of Verge races was one of my season goals, with the hope to maybe be 15th at a smaller race like Sterling... that was unfreakingbelievable for me. So, so happy. I <3 mudders!