This past weekend I raced Canada Cup #2/UCI Junior World Cup race at Mont Tremblant in Quebec. Is has taken me a while to process this race, and figure out what I wanted to learn from it, because it wasn't my best race or even one of my better ones. I think I have finally come to terms with what I want to take away from this race.
So here are some thoughts:
I went into the weekend hoping for a race that would match how powerful I've been feeling lately. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.
At face value I did everything right. I stretched, foam rolled, warmed up strong, trained hard and ate properly. I was ready to race, but, as soon as they said go, my head wasn't in it.
I spun up the first long gravel hill, not pushing it nearly hard enough, but instead trying to stay smooth. Looking back I think I was afraid of blowing up. I was afraid of hitting the wall. Of bonking. I was afraid of what might happen if I pushed it too hard, and so I didn't push hard enough.
Going into the first single track section I focused on riding smooth and staying on my bike. It had rained hard the night before and, after having all of the morning races go through them, the trails were pretty rutted and tough to ride. I was forced to run a few sections. I also crashed three times throughout the remainder of the race. Just minor crashes (where I slid out) but enough to shake me up a little. I tried to put them out of my head and still ride a strong race and stay smooth.
In the end, I felt strong during the race, but I don't think I pushed myself as hard as I should have. A good bike race is more than just leg muscles. Its a mental game too. A good rider has to be able to push herself hard enough during a race to achieve the results she want. I think this weekend I struggled with pushing myself. My head wasn't in it, which I was really disappointed with.
The most important part is that I learned a lot from this race. I can now take what I learned and apply it at Baie-Saint-Paul this weekend :)
Find the results here.
Happy riding!