| The Breck Epic w/ Sarah Uhl -Stage Six |
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Sitting at Amazing Grace Cafe in Breckenridge Colorado, a few beers in and more tired then I've been all week. This is bliss. Home made muffins + cookies at a local haven and the joy of knowing I got this thing done!
I wonder if I feel more tired now then I have all week because I know I'm done and I can afford to be tired, or if it all truly did catch up to me today. Even though the Gold Dust stage was announced as considerably easier than the rest of the stages, it started with a bang. My eyes were stuck on Jill, who has been creeping closer to my hold down on 4th overall every day. She was not messing around. Off the start line like a rocket, that girl kicked ass up hill and left me to my own devices. I was feeling the burn as we traversed beautiful singletrack high above Breckenridge. Killer views and all, I was reminded that we were still knee deep in competition and this thing wasn't going to be over til it was over.
Jill's yellow Ibex jersey crept in and out of my visible horizon for 32 miles. By the final slice of singletrack I had completely abandoned my relatively conservative agenda that kept me upright all week and went head over tea kettle about 2 miles from the finish. Pick myself up and rally home as quickly as possible was all I could do. It ended up being enough to maintain my 4th place overall in the women's solo open division.
I am surprised with how well I performed, considering my relatively lackadaisical approach to training for this thing. I enjoyed watching my formula play out: no numbers, no worries... ride when you can for as long as you can and as hard as you can. Thats it. Beyond that, I had other areas to attend to this summer - things like getting a good costume together for bike prom, working at a local organic farm, making sure there were enough sparkles on my bike, designing custom jerseys and rubbing my boyfriends feet at night. The true competitor inside of me is satisfied and fulfilled with this physical result... on top of that, the more spiritually wondering side of my personality is mystified with the journey this provided. More incredible then the moments of solitude in the Colorado backcountry and pushing my own personal limits was the warmth of the mountain bike community I got to bask in all week. Living in tent city at race central for 6 days was a mini-lifetime it seems. It will be sad to leave the simple life I shared with a few new friends in the gravel parking lot of the ice rink. To endure such epic feats amongst the company of others, with unique tales and talents of their own to chase down blends super well together.
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