US National Championships Re-cap

Saturday morning came and my stomach was in knots. I had a peanut butter banana bagel and some coffee. I drank a ton of Nuun. I went to the bathroom several times. I took an Immodium since my stomach was being very ornery. I then packed up and headed to Sol Vista to get ready to race. I warmed up for about 40min, did some efforts, drank lots of EFS and Nuun. I had a bottle of Pre-race mixed up. I was still feeling pretty good-legs felt good, lungs felt good, a calm had settled over me. My mantra for this race was going to be "Strong, Smooth, and Steady". I had cold bottles of EFS ready for Ann to pass me, and I had a cooler of ice-filled water bottles for one lucky family member to hand me to douse myself with.
Soon, it was time to line up. I was one of the very last to be called up to the line-that's always a bummer. My goal was to line up on the outside, ride steady and strong, but not go too hard. I wanted to be ~20-25 going into the first single track, knowing that there were lots of passing opportunities throughout the uphill climb and knowing that a lot of people would blow up on that first grunt of a hill. My strategy worked and I was able to consistently pick people off on that first hill. I went into the downhill single track riding by myself. This is when I sort of lost it- I got nervous and twitchy. I got to the one knarly downhill section where all the photographers were waiting for people to do something spectacular. And I did a spectacular somersault down the hill with my bike still attached. Nice! My good friend Jen Gersbach came down right behind me and just kept saying "you're ok, you're alright, you're ok" as she passed me and then I was like "you're damn right I'm ok!" That didn't hurt! It was go time.
Each lap I got my two bottles, I drank one, and poured one. I was covered in black dirt from my tumble, but I was feeling good. I felt strong, smooth, and steady. I picked off a few people each lap, and I got smoother on the downhill on each lap. I finished the day in 16th. I was happy that I had a strong race from start to finish.
The next day was the short track race. I had loftier goals for this race. I love short track, and I'm relatively good at it. So, again I was called up 3rd to last to the line-ok, this is getting old! The start sucked. They had us lined up on a steep hill that was super rutted. Therefore, anyone in the back rows (me) had either their front wheel or back wheel in a deep rut. That meant that when the gun went off the first 20 girls already had a huge advantage because they were able to clip in and go. Those of us in back had to roll to smoother ground, then clip in and go. I rolled, clipped in, and went to the outside and tried to pass as many people as possible on the uphill. Then, tried to be as smooth and fast as possible on the downhill. Then repeat the process for as many laps as it takes. I was feeling good and had worked my way into the top ten, then I sort of blew up. I had thought I was going to get pulled, but then I wasn't. So then I was like "uh oh, you might actually have to suffer through this whole damn thing". So I decided to ease up a bit. I was passed by a group of 3 girls, and I got on to the wheel in front of me getting ready to sit in for another lap and then try and attack next time up the hill. It was then, to my extreme frustration and dismay, that the official decided to pull me. ME, just ME. Not any of the other 3 girls that were directly in front of me. I was pissed. I may have let loose an expletive that I rarely say and happens to rhyme with my last name. That really sucked.
Anyway, I was in 13th place when I was pulled. That's still not bad. I can be satisfied with that.
My first national championships and it's interesting to see how I stack up. It's been a rough summer for me so far, so I was happy with how I did. I definitely think having the race in my backyard was a significant advantage. I also definitely think that having a full-time job is a significant disadvantage. In fact of those 15 people that beat me in the cross country race, not one of them has a job other than racing their bikes. So now I just need a special jersey for being the "fastest female cross country mountain bike racer in the USA with a full-time job" Yeah, it's official. I AM A BIG DEAL. It also helps that last week I was able to put on a wind jacket succesfully from start to finish, while riding my bike. Didn't touch the handlebars once during the process. I wonder if I can get a jersey saying something to that extent as well...