Luck was on my side for race #12! The course was a good fit for my strengths and I had recovered from the previous weeks of racing. I started out feeling super good, I got on Kelsey's wheel from the starting line and hung on for most of the first lap. Of course, on the descent she got away and Sarah ended up passing me. I could see them on the second lap but by the third they were out of sight. I thought I had finished 4th but found out that Sarah flatted on her third lap so I ended up in 3rd place! Kelli Emmet won, she's big time Pro, so she hardly counts (right?!). The great thing about placing well at this race was that John Rose from Team Revolution added $450 to the pro purse, so I won extra $.
The heat of the day did take it's toll on my body. We stood on the starting line in the blazing sun for longer than normal. I was dripping with sweat before we even started to race. I ran out of water on my third lap and both of my legs started to cramp (right calf and left tibialis anterior~strange muscle to cramp~). I ended up with blisters on my palms, another new one for me. Endurolytes will most definitely be in high consumption this next weekend.
The course was quite dusty so everyone ended up with extra dirty/brown faces. I have a few close ups of friends faces, but instead of posting them here, I will use them for blackmail at some point! I looked like I had a uni-brow, almost as cool as Frida Kahlo.
This was the longest of all of the races, 26 miles and it took me just over 2. 5 hours. I'm glad to have it out of the way. It was a great course, I think it's my favorite. And you can't beat the venue as a whole. The views were gorgeous, parking was easy and bathrooms were luxurious, clean & air conditioned. We got to sit at picnic tables in the shade for the awards ceremony, talk about spoiled!
