Book of Chad

I wasn’t sure I would race again, and I wasn’t sure I would write again, but here I am trying to do something that felt normal before in the hopes that it would help me feel normal again. What you don’t know is Lindsay and I both wrote race reports; only hers are in a journal, and mine are here for everyone to read. They both serve the same purpose: a place that we could look back on and remember what we did right, what we did wrong, and what the course was like for next time. I still don’t know what my cycling future holds, but I do know that I love the community that we have been a part of for so long, and the people in it have helped me through this initial pain.

I drove up to race with our friends Reagan and Dominic for their second and first cross races, respectively. We talked about the course of years past, knowing that there would be similar sections this year. I have always enjoyed getting people into different bike racing events. I am extremely proud of the number of people I have convinced, tricked, begged, and even driven to their first bike race or first time racing a new discipline. The number of people that I have had a part in starting their first cross race is actually quite staggering.

I lined up way at the back since I missed the last two cross races. I didn’t warm up properly, and my only goal was to finish the race. When the siren went off, that all went away, and I found my way into an inside line into the first two corners, passing half the field. Then into the third corner, as everyone slowed into the muddy hairpin, I hopped off the bike and ran the inside. All of a sudden, I was in the top 5 or so, and that was really fun. I felt like my lines in the first section were absolutely perfect and that it was amazing to feel like something was going well. Through the sand section, I slowed down a bit as there was no way I was going to keep that pace for very long, especially with the lack of riding and fitness I had over the last few weeks. I rode the mulch section completely the first time through, but that would be the last time as I realized it was just more efficient to run it. The bottom section into the trees was a lot of fun, with a lot of speed and fairly slippery. The final flat mud section was actually a great time too, with lots of line choices.

My fitness and my health on the bike could only get me to 22nd place, but this race wasn’t about placing. The highlights for me were giving high fives to my nieces who came to see me race, Terry cheering me on after he passed me, Evan not lapping me even though he could have, and making me cry. I have never raced a cross race without her, and it was emotionally and physically challenging. I want to do it again because I love it.

Race: COTR #7 Beban Park
Time: 1:11:14 Laps: 7
Avg Heart Rate: 189
Max Heart Rate: 196
Place: 22nd