nationals recap
me& allie headed down to RI on saturday to watch the elite men. what a cool race. we got to hang out with some cool peeps & watch some awesome racing.
My race was scheduled for 9:30am the next morning & i was having doubts about whether or not i should do it. i have been feeling like poop lately, barely been on the trainer, and overall, was just not in the mood for racing. i hoped that the excitement of nationals would give me some super-human strength & allow me to finish good. Last year i had a good ride & finished 37th. This year, i was 'hoping' for top50.
well, things didnt go as plan, by the end of lap 1, i had move backwards soo much, it was demoralizing. my legs felt horrible. i had nothing. people were cheering for me, but it wasnt helping. after 2 laps, i went down pretty hard & almost nailed a tree. ugh. both shifters were pointed in, my hip & knees were hurting, and now i was a little pissed off. i continue on, but i aint working hard. my teamate jen yells out "come on, you barely look like you're sweating". yeah, thats because i WASNT! ha. at that point, i just wanted to be done. to add insult to injury, i went down again on the same hip. ugh. at that point, i lost all will to race. i wanted to drop out and Coley from harborside could obviously see that, as he yelled out 'come on, you cant quit, its NATIONALS". i soft-pedaled the last couple laps to the end, finishing an embarrassing 114th place. even typing that upsets me. i have never felt soo bad on a bike as i did yesterday.
i got changed & me & allie had a good 'rest of the day' most of the IBC team was there & it was good to hang with everyone, one last time, before hibernation :) The rest of the IBC team had good rides, especially CTodd, who finished thirty-something. Pierre kicked ass coming in at 14th.
it was disappointing to go out on such a low-note, but i have big goals for next year. y'all just wait and see. Last night included some Sam Adams and some Soy Delicious ice cream... aww yeah.
My race was scheduled for 9:30am the next morning & i was having doubts about whether or not i should do it. i have been feeling like poop lately, barely been on the trainer, and overall, was just not in the mood for racing. i hoped that the excitement of nationals would give me some super-human strength & allow me to finish good. Last year i had a good ride & finished 37th. This year, i was 'hoping' for top50.
well, things didnt go as plan, by the end of lap 1, i had move backwards soo much, it was demoralizing. my legs felt horrible. i had nothing. people were cheering for me, but it wasnt helping. after 2 laps, i went down pretty hard & almost nailed a tree. ugh. both shifters were pointed in, my hip & knees were hurting, and now i was a little pissed off. i continue on, but i aint working hard. my teamate jen yells out "come on, you barely look like you're sweating". yeah, thats because i WASNT! ha. at that point, i just wanted to be done. to add insult to injury, i went down again on the same hip. ugh. at that point, i lost all will to race. i wanted to drop out and Coley from harborside could obviously see that, as he yelled out 'come on, you cant quit, its NATIONALS". i soft-pedaled the last couple laps to the end, finishing an embarrassing 114th place. even typing that upsets me. i have never felt soo bad on a bike as i did yesterday.
i got changed & me & allie had a good 'rest of the day' most of the IBC team was there & it was good to hang with everyone, one last time, before hibernation :) The rest of the IBC team had good rides, especially CTodd, who finished thirty-something. Pierre kicked ass coming in at 14th.
it was disappointing to go out on such a low-note, but i have big goals for next year. y'all just wait and see. Last night included some Sam Adams and some Soy Delicious ice cream... aww yeah.
posted by Justin at
6:53 AM
3 Comments:
At least you finished!!! That's why I decided not to race Nats this year though, figured I'd finish the season on a good note (end of the Verge series) instead of getting my butt kicked ten times over. But again...you at least finished which I'm sure is more than a lot of racers could say. Great job keeping at it and see you next year at the races.
Your screaming made my day.
Screaming is always made better by running alongside a suffering rider during a race and forcing his name out of your lungs to the point that blood nearly shoots out.
But really, thanks.
See you.....around, I suppose.
DFL is better than DNF is better than DNS.
Give yourself some perspective JJ - you shattered your collarbone and cracked some vertebrae. The fact that you were able to come back and even race is completely amazing to me. The physical aspect is one thing - we all heal in time - but the mental aspect is so tough to get over. I still sometimes hesitate when I see a sketchy downhill. We're only human.
Come mountain biking with me sometime next year. That'll help prepare for cross. :)
Happy holidays buddy! May Santa bring you and Allie lots of soy goodness.
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