Sunday, April 13, 2008

So, uh, how'd I do coach?

The frustration of being outnumbered and lack of confidence to make any attempt of bridging today seeped in just as deep as the damp, wet rain toughened the course.

Ah, Boat Street. The rumple strips, the technical corners. The over breaking bottom turn. A classic - and only minutes from my house.

This early season dose of speed and endurance tested my will today and desire to do well. And unfortunately it got the best of me.

So now, in typical over analytical fashion - it's time to sit back, relax and learn from todays valuable lessons. Let's start with the bad and ugly:

- Not chasing down a single attack. I sat in the back half without popping my little red Incredible suite up front and at least attempting to real things in. Sure, TGH had a lot of ladies in the field - but come on! I could have at least gotten a better work out! I am so frustrated with myself in that I didn't express 100% of my ability - and have committed to myself to do so from this point forward. Even if that means burying myself in a hole and never crawling back out. At least then I'll know I did everything within my powers and tried. Believe in yourself and know you've trained - you can do it. This is what you train for - to test yourself in competition and show you are willing and able to throw it down. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

- Being behind freaked out ladies who were super spooked to go through corners fast. I know it's wet out - but the more you tense up, the more likely you are to crash. Relax out there and look through the corner. Get a motor cycle and it will help you 500%. My lesson - surge ahead of the scared ones and stick on the wheels of those who are confident in the turns.

Okay enough ranking on myself - now for the good stuff. My form is coming around! Yay! The speed is coming back to my legs and I'm able to sustain longer bouts of intensity. Yahoo! Linda was able to hang the entire race too - I'm so proud of her! Brook made an appearance as well - hung in for several laps and then cheered from the sidelines. No one went down despite the slick conditions. Lots of people braved the rain and cheered us on - thank you for yelling everyone!

For next time - have a game plan. Don't just show up to the race and play it by ear. Instead, mark someone or have some sort of action plan to kick some booty.

Now - back to lounging on the couch and recovering for next weekend.

1 comment:

Michele said...

Nice job Jen, from all accounts Boat Street was scary and dissapointing for many, fear of crashing over shadowing tactics and hard racing.

Rain, rain go away!