FSC #3 HARDROCK

So, after my 4th place finish at Nationals, I got to thinking.  I no longer cared about Florida State titles, I wanted to be a National Champion.  And was determined not to let the fact that I live in Florida hold me back.

I knew that I had to step up my training or I would fall even farther behind.  Changes were made to my race schedule (less Florida races and more GA/AL races). More climbing experience is a must, those girls out West crushed me.  I have also decided to race with the 11-14 juniors (all boys).  I was originally going to race CAT 2 women, but with the helpful advice of Mr. Mace, I changed my mind.  He made me realize that the extra distance would not help me at Nationals.  The junior boys are actually faster than most CAT 2 women anyway.  So..."boy chasing" was decided, with a very slim chance of ever getting on the podium.

Now what stinks is trying to balance school work and training.  And man has that been extremely challenging.  I'm in all advanced classes this year, with about 2-3 hours of homework each night (even on weekends). But...so far-thank goodness- I'm making it work.  I have straight A's, have never missed a workout, and even manage to squeeze in some time to hang out with my friends- skateboarding and jumping ramps on my BMX bike.  I feel stronger, power is increasing, and I'm getting some defined muscles in my arms and abs from the core/full body workouts.

Finally... on to the race report.  I will make it short since I've been rambling on.  The course at Hardrock MX was AWESOME!!!  Many of the racers complained about the drops and climbs, not me, I loved them.  I hope they open the course year round for bikers, so I can go back and play around.

The race started with a steep climb, I managed to position myself in the middle of the pact.

photo by: Christie Burnett

          And then, nothing really exciting to report.  I keep at good pace going down all the drops and making all the climbs.  Nobody passed me, and yes according to my heart rate monitor, I did slow it down during the last 15 minutes of the course.  Hey, I was tired and boy chasing was wearing me out. (Not sure I like wearing the heart rate monitor, it's like a little spy camera, ha ha.)  Anyway, I ended up finishing 8th out of 16.   Had lots of fun and happy to be racing kids my own age again (even if I have to eat their dust).

Thanks Coach Drew for helping me get stronger and preparing me for the race with your custom training plan.      

photo by: Nancy Cyman-Bregg




 

photo by: Christie Burnett