This weather is very unpredictable. After touring the Garden of the Gods and checking out the local scenery, mom and I headed back to the hotel for an hour of down time before going back to the track for the evening session. Secretly I was exhausted and praying for rain! And rain we did get - but not until after our first series of sprint competitions. I was paired with Anna-Brit - a really fast Canadian sprinter. I figured my only chance was going to be to jump on her early and try to get a gap to hold her off - but instead we did a little cat and mouse game where I tried to pin her up against the rail. And she pretty much knew that was my only chance. So she stuck to my wheel like a fly on ..... yeah. And beat me when she jumped first. It was a good match and I learned a lot - eager to improve that skill. I need to remember flicking and then diving down.... but really my legs felt like lead weights and they wouldn't go any faster even if I wanted them to.
And then the thunder clouds moved in, lightening flashes, thunder, pouring rain and gusty winds. We all headed into the tunnel for some dry huddling and waited it out for about 2 hours. Then it stopped raining and it started to clear up, just in time for another warm up and our sprint rep. Heather and Cari Higgins were in my heat. Again, my legs weren't feeling too spectacular. But you only get stronger if you give it a go! And the three of us played a cat and mouse game - I hestitated a slight moment, throwing out my chance... and Heather had the jump on Cari but pulled up track 100m from the finish, giving Cari the opportunity to win it. Why she pulled up track? She said she has been burned time and time again by not pulling up track. But you never ever ever give up your line! That move cost her the race. But she was content with beating me.
Finally we had our points race. They shortened it from 30 laps to 24, with sprints every 6 laps. Our field was small but stout - Katie Compton and a couple of roadies who always quicken the pace. After the neutral start, katie took off like an animal and we didn't see her again till the end - when she caught us. She didn't do any other races though so her legs were super fresh. So the rest of us pacelined and worked together and I managed to get all the second place points mainly because the other ladies didn't realize what was on the line. My tank was out of gas when Katie caught us on the last lap and I swung up track to only get the last point. But my work was done and it secured me into 2nd. I almost fell over from exhaustion.
All in all it was a great weekend and I'm really glad we came. It gave me a chance to train at altitude and against some of the nations best. I'm looking forward to the AVC next weekend - but think I'll leave the sprinting to the sprinters. :)
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