Need good vibes

[silly]

Ok guys. I need some super good calming vibes sent my way. I have a VERY big race coming up Saturday called Syllamos revenge Anyway, if I do well, then I have a really good chance of doing well in the state rankings for the Marathon Series. So, even though I've been riding my bike more than posting here, please, I need encouragement and calming words because I'm starting to get nervous.

Thanks,
Sarah

[emartin10]

Doooooooooooo dooo dooo dooo dooo doooooooooo doooo de dooo

Dooooo de dooo dooo de dooooo

Dooooo de dooo dooooo.

Don't worrryy.............beeee happy...

[Kaiser]

Don't think about all of that stuff. Que sera, sera. You're just riding a bike. Pedal, pedal, pedal, pedal. Riding is FUN! Warm little fuzzy bunnys. Ahhhhh.......

[emartin10]

The best thought is the post-race meal. What are you having? Cold beer???

[ODBSGIRL]

Forget warm fuzzy bunnies- HOORAH YOU are a Kamikaze Dust Bunny so *&^% those B*^%#es and ride it like you stole it, you a**kicker you. Fear? You have no fear. Fear is quivering thinking about you. Not even bloody stumps for toes keep you down. I can't be there to fix you bacon at 2 a.m. but I'll be thinking of you.

[Mark57]

^^^Right on!

Good luck Sarah. Remember that when you show up at the start on Saturday, all the other women are going to see you at the line and say "Aww, shit. Sarah's here too. Oh well, maybe I can still place."

[sg516]

just realize that the course has nothing in it you can't handle. nothing new. you have done these things before and you will do them again. i mean they didn't add jumps through flaming hoops over moats full of crocadiles or anything (at least i hope not). so just pedal like something large and hungry is chasing you and you will be fine. we are all pulling for you. and when you get to the start just say three words to yourself. "I got this."

[silly]

Originally Posted by ODBSGIRL

Forget warm fuzzy bunnies- HOORAH YOU are a Kamikaze Dust Bunny so *&^% those B*^%#es and ride it like you stole it, you a**kicker you. Fear? You have no fear. Fear is quivering thinking about you. Not even bloody stumps for toes keep you down. I can't be there to fix you bacon at 2 a.m. but I'll be thinking of you.

Ok, I'm officially menopausal because this made me cry. Thanks guys!!

[emartin10]

Eric: Are you crying? Are you crying? ARE YOU CRYING? There's no crying! THERE'S NO CRYING IN BIKE RACING!
Aaron: Why don't you give her a break, Eric...
Eric: Oh, you zip it, Doris! Lance Armstrong was my trainer, and he called me a talking pile of pigshit. And that was when my parents drove all the way down from Michigan to see me play the game. And did I cry?
Sarah: No, no, no.
Eric: Yeah! NO. And do you know why?
Sarah: No...
Eric: Because there's no crying in bike racing! THERE'S NO CRYING IN BIKE RACING! No crying!

[caffer]

Good luck!! Remember, you love to ride your bike, you're good at it, and riding your bike is fun!!

[ODBSGIRL]

Ah you guys make me giggle! I love the moats of crocodiles and flaming hoops ideas! I've been joking with a promoter about an urbanathlon but one with silly crap like big wheel races and rolling down big grassy hills like a kid. I think moats and flaming hoops would rock it! There is NO crying! Use your head, you know that lump 3 feet above your ass!

Sarah Sweeting- YOU are a ROCK GODDESS. Go nail it. And stop crying you hormone imbalanced whiney ass crybaby.

[Mark57]

Well?

How'd it go?

[silly]

Well, Syllamo's Revenge ate my lunch. Like a fat bully in the school cafeteria, it punched me in the face and then just stole my tray.

Aaron and I drove up Friday night and stayed at the Ozark Folk Center so we wouldn't have to wake up stupid early and drive Saturday morning. Saturday morning we woke up late, ate breakfast at the Pizza Inn buffet in Mountain View, and headed to Blanchard Springs for the race start, missing the pre race meeting and warmup so we could get our stuff together. I had been warned about the race start, a mile long washed out hill at 11%, because it would redline you or you'd get stuck in the back. I got stuck in the back, having to walk because I'd pedal, trying to warm up, and someone in front of me would stall and the domino effect would happen. It was not pretty.

Hitting the singletrack wasn't the respite I hoped it would be. The trails were muddy and slick from rainstorms on Friday. I lost confidence on the trails, which were super technical already, and the mud made it worse. There was ALOT of pushing involved. I think the trail would have been a freakin' blast in other conditions. Aaron gave up his race to ride with me, which I was happy about, but it also raised my anxiety level because I felt like I was then responsible for his race, too. At one point, I said to him "why am I wussing out?" and he said "because you're worried about something". He was right, but how do you choose one : fear of failure, worry about the cut off time, my Crossmark tires that were caked with mud and left me slip sliding through the course, disappointing Jason, Frank, Pat, Kevin, and Aaron- all of whom gave their personal time and effort to make this season a success for me.

The first section of 15 miles left me walking, crashing, and flatting for 3 hours, which was waaay off where I hoped to be by then. At the checkpoint I took 5 minutes for a short refill of water, a 5 hour energy, and couple of gels; and then I hit the trail with a vengeance, trying to make up time. Fortunately the next couple of miles were quick, and I felt pretty good. Despite not feeling lactic acid, I knew I was panting really hard for the amount of speed, and it hurt. With Aaron behind me, I kept pushing forward, and we hit the second checkpoint at 1:30-another average of 5 whole whopping miles per hour. Seriously?

The cutoff was 10 miles away, and we had 1 hour. It was the most difficult section of trail. Aaron checked the pressure in my rear that had flatted, and it had 20 pounds in it! We decided to push on, knowing that it would be impossible. We climbed up this rutted out road and I just kept feeling mentally beaten. At that point, it felt like I was just punishing myself for failing. We turned around and caught a ride back to Blanchard for burgers and beer. I'm disappointed, but happy that I tried. It gives me a goal for 2009, for sure.

[bmph8ter]

Dumbass Syllamo's revenge. She's not joshing about the lunch eating that happened yesterday. The course was brutal! At least one concussion, a 1 inch stick stuck in someones head, about 1000 flats, at least 3 broken derailleurs, a possible broken cheekbone, and some other carnage.

Knowing Silly though, all of these are the things that will inspire her to stay up until midnight the day registration opens so she can get her ticket next year. It's pretty cool being married to a crazy person.

[emartin10]

Wow. Sounds brutal! At least you got out there and gave it hell! I hope you are enjoying some R&R today, no matter what you think, it sounds like you really earned it!!!

E

[Kaiser]

But you entered and you did it. It's not a failure, it's a learning experience that will make you better.

Today, I had a crappy group ride, my first not great ride of the year. I didn't contend any of the sprints along our 50 mile route. The pace wasn't too quick, but when they kicked it up a notch, I was hurting. So instead of dying a slow death, I peeled off the 8 man paceline and slipped back to help a couple of teammates who were dropped to come back and meet up at the next stop point. And they thanked me for it. And I gave advice to one of our young riders on what to do on the final sprint of the day - and he took the sprint for the first time ever! And I also made a mental note not to sub teaching a spin class on Saturday when I have sprints to contend on Sunday. I'm not so young anymore and I need a little more time to recover.

Don't do so great but learn from it and it's not a failure, but a success.

[ODBSGIRL]

Originally Posted by silly

Well, Syllamo's Revenge ate my lunch. Like a fat bully in the school cafeteria, it punched me in the face and then just stole my tray.

We all know that standing up to a bully almost always backs them down because at the heart of it, they're big babies. Next year. I am impressed that you went- it sounds like the kind of ride I have nightmares about. Since the Womble has made me cry, I'm guessing this would have me curled in a fetal position mumbling unintellible gibberish for 4 days after. But you? You're just pissed. Which means you'll do it again just to kick it's ass next time.
So the Syllmao served you a very sloppy joe- you're still my rock goddess.
Now I have to go search for the story about the stick in the head. I'm sick like that.

[caffer]

Good job... That sound pretty brutal!!