Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.

Posted on March 16, 2012 by

You all are wonderful. I cannot tell you home much all the Birthday Love means to me. I am  truly blessed to have such wonderful people in my life that take time out of their busy day to say Happy Birthday. I will be posted the pictures later that I have received and I am so excited to share them. I hope you all will enjoy them as much as I have today.

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My Birthday

Posted on March 9, 2012 by

I love my birthday! It means I made it another year. Another year of living life. Another year of learning. Another year of celebrating. In one week I will be 32 years old. To me my birthday is my new year. The time where I resolve to do things, plan out my goals, and look back on the past year. Over all 31 was great. It had it ups and downs but still I made it though and all of it made me stronger so now on to the adventures that await me at 32.

For my 30th birthday I asked that people send me photos wishing me a happy birthday, an idea a stole for a friend. Many of my friends sent me wonderful photos though out the day that kept me smiling (see below). Well I am bringing it back this year with an added bonus. On March 16, 2012 I am asking everyone to send me a photo in some way, email, Christine (dot) Vaughan (at) gmail(dot)com, twitter- CHRISTINEinLOU, facebook, or text. I will than post them, unless you tell me not to, on my blog for everyone to see. A panel of what I am sure will be my sisters and mom will pick out the BEST one that will WIN. What does the winner get? I will make a donation to the charity of their choice. A win win all around if ya ask me. I get to smile all day as birthday love comes pouring in and a charity will befit from your efforts.

I will send out reminders as I get closer to 32 so no one forgets ;)

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My Other personality

Posted on February 16, 2012 by

Most of you know me as a crazy outdoorsy kind of gal and for the most part I am but sometimes I like to put on a pretty dress, do my hair and makeup and live life on the wild side of fashion (okay not wild maybe just fun). My mom used to tell people I was the most girly tomboy she knew. On one of these days I happen to be all fashioned up I had to drop off something to a local, total amazing, newspaper called The Voice Tribune  and the Managing Editor, Angie Fenton, asked me if I wanted to be in a new thing they started in 2012 called Fashion View. I looked over my shoulder to see if she was talking to someone else just to be sure and then replied, okay sure.

The next week I meet up with the papers super talented photographer, Chris, and we did a mini fashion shoot. I took all of about 10 mins, about an hour and fifty minutes less than it took me to pick out my outfit (with help from the sisters). We carefully picked out my top, bottoms and everything in between. The shoes and jewelry were my favorite part. The shoes are little sis’s and I don’t think she will be getting them back anytime soon. The necklaces are mine and dress up any outfit.

As I said goodbye Chris informed me my Fashion View would be published in the February  16th issue, well folks that is today and you can see it below or click on this link, http://www.voice-tribune.com/life-style-2/fashion-view/christine-vaughan/. Usually people get about 1/3 of a page but due to them having to cancelled the piece that went next to mine I got about half. Thanks Angie and Chris for the extra love, I hope I live up to it.

Christine Vaughan.Christine Vaughan.

What is your fashion view?
Fashion means confidence to me. If I am having a bad morning, I pull out my best looking outfit and put it on. I put on the shoes that make me feel great and make sure to add a little more flair to my makeup routine.

If I take a little more time on what I am showing to the world that day I might get a few more compliments and that will change my mood. If I have planned a big event I make sure to carve out enough time to get myself ready. If I am not looking my best, and showing off a fabulous dress, I am less likely to be doing my job the best I can because I am not showing my best. It always amazes me what a great outfit can do to a person’s confidence.

How do you describe your style?
Comfortable classic. I do not tend to be outrageous with my style and I am not daring enough to try the cutting edge thing. I love to be comfortable in my clothing, shoes, and everything else that goes into making an outfit. Most days you can find me in a nice pair of well-fitting jeans with my style showing through in what I have on top as well as my accessories.

I try not to leave the house without some pop of color. My signature color is pink but red is right behind it in what I have on most days.

What are your favorite pieces?
My pearls. I have several different types of pearls, real and fake, that I wear a lot of the time with just about anything.

Scarves – I think I have over 30 different scarves that I love to pair with different outfits. I am always looking for new ways to wear them and show them off. Pretty much accessories are my thing. Someday’s I think I need an accessories intervention.

Where is your favorite place to shop?
I love to shop at outlet stores. My family and I take a trip at least twice a year to different ones (can someone please put one a little closer to Louisville?).

I also love consignment shopping. Some of my best pieces have come from someone else’s closet. I also “shop” in my sisters’ and mom’s closet. It is awesome to have two sisters and a mom that have the same size foot as you and similar taste in style when you need the one perfect piece to make your outfit.

Who is your fashion icon? Why?
My grandmother and mother. My grandma knew how to rock any outfit at any time, like a leopard print track suit with a pair of black heels. She taught me a lot about how not to leave the house and you can make most outfits work with the right bag, shoes and jewelry. I am happy to say that I inherited some of her most fabulous jewelry (including her pearls).

My mom was voted “most stylish” in high school and is still on the ball with what to wear. She has a great talent for putting things together and making it work. She is the one that taught me you have to be comfortable in what you are wearing or it is not worth buying.

What beside fashion do you have a passion for?
I get inspiration in everything that I do and try and find the beauty in it all. In my job I help some of the most wonderful people in the world that remind me everyday that the most important thing you leave home with is your smile.

My family are super important to me and I would not be the person I am today without them and their constant support and inspiration.

I am an avid cyclist that runs an all women’s team in Louisville, Team Fleur de Lis. The women on that team inspire me to work harder, stay in shape, and have fun. They remind me that life is not always about the next email. Sometimes it is about enjoying being on the bike.

I am the co-leader of a Daisy Girl Scout troop. There are 17 first grade girls that inspire me to be the best I can be so I can inspire them.

I am a member of GLOW and those women inspire me by letting me know anything is possible with a group of outstanding women who have your back.

All in all, I love my life. I love my family. I love Louisville. I love to see people smile.

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Review of 2011 Goals

Posted on January 9, 2012 by

Last year around this time I posted my goal’s for 2011 and I am now working on my goals for 2012. So far I have one really big one and a few smaller ones. I am going to think about them for a few more days before putting them out there but I thought I would update everyone on what goals I did or did not accomplish in 2011. I am happy to say that I did reach many of my goals and I am okay with the ones I did not. Below you can read my updates.

Christine’s 2011 Goal’s:
1. Get credit card paid off- I am happy to say I did this. This summer I made my last payment and have only used the card when I know I will be paying it off the next month. So I am still at a $0 balance. 

2. Remodel Kitchen- This did not happen, I did however get my bathroom fixed so I could shower and replace my hot water heater so I still feel like I was accomplished in home updating. 

3. Go on a real vacation- “Real” might not have been the word I should have used. I should have said longer than a weekend vacation. I did some wonderful weekend trips and did have a week-long one planned that did not happen. Overall I had a good year in travel but 2012 is already looking better. I am spending 7 days in Colorado in February and a week somewhere with the family for my mom’s 60th birthday (it is a surprise to her as to where but expect a blog post from the location in April).  

4. Race in my first cycling race- I not only raced in my first race, I raced in 10 total races in 2011. In 2012 I this number will be higher. 

5. Be 100% on my Kayak roll- This did not happen. I tried and got it about 50% but I also only got in the kayak once. This one is on hold until I can go underwater without getting an ear infection. 

6. Try a new adventure (any suggestions)? Let’s see, this past year I raced in my first road, cyclocross, and mountain bike race, learned how to run a bike race, took over an all female cycling team, did some trail running, and other things I am sure I am leaving out. I will say I accomplished this one.   

7. Improve my blogging skills- You all can be the judge of this one, but I think I have improved. 

8. Make something crafty- Back in September my family started family craft night. We got together once a month and made different items to give away at Christmas. I also did some projects all on my owe like a Halloween wreath and some fabric flowers. I am getting better at my crafting skills and think they will expand in 2012. Somehow it makes me feel closer to my grandma, who passed away in 2010. She was an amazing crafter. 

9. Clean out my closet- DONE! It took me all year to do this one but I purged. I not only did my closet but the whole house and I am still going. After the clean out I redid my closet and made a new rule, for every new thing I put in something old has to go.  

10. Take more pictures and learn how to edited them- Not sure I took more but I did learn  new editing skills. I also inspired a 16 year old friend of mine to take pictures. I gave her my camera at a bike race and she feel in love. This makes me happy.

I am looking forward to sharing in 2012 goals with you all and working hard to make them happen. What are you 2012 goals?

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It’s been a long time

Posted on January 5, 2012 by

I am a bad bad blogger. I know this. I have started several posts in the last few months and have not been able to finish them. I have never been good at keeping a journal, so I am going to blame some of my neglect on that. But in the year 2012 I will try to be better. I also see my blog going in a different direction. Maybe not focusing so much on cycling but more on the other adventures in my life, throw a little family in along with other stuff.

I recently read another bike racers blog and he said something to the effect of “I have not been posting because it is hard to write when you’re not doing as well as you want to, it is hard to put down that you are not reaching your goals, having crappy races, and not really doing what you know you can.” I can relate to this. It got harder and harder for me to post about how bad I was doing.  It is only my first year of racing, but still when ya finish last or second to last in most races it starts to get to a person. No matter what you learned or how much fun you had. I did learn a tremendous amount this year in racing cyclocross and did have a lot of fun, but I also DNF (did not finish) a race due to my asthma, which made me cry, but that is for another blog post all together. Looking back on my season I did well, and feel good about it, and will be better prepared for next season.

Another reason I think I have not written is over the last few months my life has changed. For starters, CivilRacer and I are no longer together. This hit me hard, harder than I want to admit. I am a big believer that everything happens for a reason and this falls under that everything category, but emotions are a bitch and hard to reason with sometimes. When it happened I was not sure I wanted to ride anymore. He was not the reason I started riding, but a big reason I jumped instead of eased. That thought lasted all of a few days. I missed my bike. It was a simply as that. CivilRacer and I remain friends and he still answers most of my biking questions, for now.

I also took over running my cycling team. It is very hard for me to express how much this means to me. I know the person who passed the torch to me believes in me, and trusts that I will lead it to bigger and better things, but it is also WOW a lot of pressure. You might not believe me, but I think it might be a tossup  on who scares me more; the 30 wonderful, talented, beautiful kick ass women on bikes; or the 18 6 and 7 year olds in my girl scout troop. I will tell you one thing; they are both good for me and I need them. The team helps me to stay focused, to learn new things, and I get to promote something I love. I also get to see others fall in love with cycling.  This is something that I couldn’t t ever do on my own.  In business you surround yourself with people smarter than you, so that is what I did. I could not be happier with these women who help me stay grounded in the craziness that is a women’s cycling team.

You might have caught the 18 1st graders in my Girl Scout Troop comment above. I, along with two other wonderful women, started a GS troop last year with 9 girls. I guess we did something right because at the start of this school year we had 18 who wanted to be a part of the troop. These will probably be some of the adventures I start to talk about. I learn so much from the girls, and no matter what else I have going on in my life, I walk into our meetings and see their faces excited about what we are doing and know that is what really matters. I make a difference in their lives as much as my troop leaders did for me. There is nothing like a 6 year old saying, “I cannot wait until our next meeting, Girl Scouts is so much fun.”

Work wise, I still love my job. Over the last few months, however, it has been slightly frustrating. I do not have a boss at this time and have not for a while. For the most part I do not need a boss. Even when I did have one he let me do my thing, but I knew he was there if I needed him. The biggest difference without a boss is in communication. I have found that I am left out of some stuff that was pretty important for me to know about because someone assumed someone would let me know about it.  This is stressing me out a bit because I will have a new boss soon, and I worry about he/she not understanding my work style. Something my old boss did very well.

One of the highlights in the last few weeks; I was informed I will soon be an Aunt. My little sister and her husband are expecting their first kid. I cried with joy when they told me this. This does not come without stress. I worry that everything will be okay, will I be a good aunt, and this kid is not going to have any cousins close to its age on my side of the family. Yes, stupid stuff, but still stuff. Look for a post about this as time goes on.

Speaking of cousins close in age, one other big change to my life is I have a new roommate as of January 1st, 2012. My cousin, who is 8 months older, moved in. My sister who is 14 months older than me has lived with me for 3 years and we work well together. Adding one more to the mix will be interesting. We have always been around each other and close, more like sisters than cousins, and I hope this holds true with the move. When I was a kid I would tell them we would all live together someday and they would laugh and say ‘yeah, right, that will never happen.’ Never say never.

This move brought on a massive purge, something that needed to happen. I think in purging my stuff it helped me to also clear my mind. Nothin’ like getting rid of shit ya just don’t need any more.

The last few months have also brought wonderful new friendships. I am an extrovert in all meanings of the word and love meeting new people, however in the recent past I was doing just that, meeting new people. I was not fostering friendships. Over the last year I have cut back on networking and started to do more hanging out. I have met and now have a few more close friends to help talk me off the ledge, talk me into stupid stuff (like my first Mountain Bike Race), tell me it is okay to cry, accept me for me, and even make me go out during the middle of the week.

To say I am not a religious person would be putting it lightly. To each his own in life on that matter. I do believe in blessings. I am a very blessed person with all the good I have in my life. Most days are happy and even on the not happy days I am thankful for all that I have.  The year 2012 will be a year for me to be thankful and count my blessings, even if it is just thankful to be getting out of bed or not having too. Yes, 2012, I will make things happen. Look for my 2012 goals posted soon.

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A easy way to give back

Posted on October 19, 2011 by

I just found out today is “Geeksgiving” day. I could sit here and tell you what “Geeksgiving” is all about but my good friend MichelleJ has already done that on her blog, Consuming Louisville. I have copy and pasted it blow but she has also added some other good info, so be sure to click the link to her blog and read up on all the cool stuff that the geeks of Louisville are doing today.

GEEKSGIVING 2011 

“A day of service inspired by our mayor and an opportunity for those of us who spend our days writing in virtual ink and pushing pixels across the screen to make a dedicated effort to doing some good in our city.

Participating is as easy as can be. You can drop off physical donations at the Home of the Innocents and say hello to some local geeks (including yours truly after noon) or you can buy much needed items from the Home of the Innocents’s Amazon wishlist or you can make a monetary donation online.”

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Thanks for Cheering, it Helps

Posted on October 4, 2011 by

This is something that a friend said to me after her race. She is a super speedy kick ass girl on a bike. When she rides by me I always tell her I want to be her when I grow up and that she is my hero. She is not the only person I yell for. If I know your name I am going to cheer for you and/or heckle you. It is part of the fun of cyclocross racing. You can see so much of the course so it is perfect for spectators.

I saddled up for race number 4 on Sunday morning at John Bryan Park in Yellow Springs, OH. It was about a 2.5 her drive and we (my totally awesome teammate, Kelly G and her hubs) left at 6am. We got to the course in time to change, check in and do a pre-ride of most of the course. After that I hopped on the trainer for a good 15 mins to keep the legs spinning and to help me stay warm. It was about 40 degrees when we were called up to the line. I was ready for this race. This was my kind of course, or so I had been told by a few people. No major elevation change or major hills, some fun fast short tack, and a few other fun things put in to make the course just right.

This was by far the longest course I have ridden. In 30 mins we did 2.5 laps. Yes .5 is strange but hey it is cross, why not? The start was a long long straight away that was a false flat and when the cat 4 women rode it, it was still wet. That was my least favorite part of the course and my slowest, I think many people felt that same way about it. There were lots of 180′s and some single track thrown in just to keep us on our toes, a rideable sand pit, barriers, and some logs that a 10 your old could bunny hop, but not me.

Overall my legs felt great, I mean really great. I did all my workouts for the week given to me by my coach and could tell how much they helped me. What was not great was breathing. My lungs suck. A lot of it is fitness but some of it is the fact that I just have crappy lungs. I was told once by a doc that I have the breathing of a couch potato even though I was/am super active and maybe spend 5 hours a week on the couch. This slowed me down. It is really hard to keep up with someone when you cannot get full breath. My lower back would cramp ever time I would try to take a deep breath (people with lung issues will understand this). In my mind I knew that I still needed to do the best that I could and not stop. I kept going and did not get last. That was  my overall goal, not to get last. I am still unsure of how many people finished behind me but I know there was one or two (or maybe more depending on who you ask).

In all of the OVCX races this year riders are chip timed. I am not sure why as I was told, by officials, that the chip times does not matter. I was told this because sometime during the race I lost mine. I went to look at the results and they said -1 lap. WTF? -1 lap, chip must have gotten lost some time during the last lap, maybe when I crashed. I asked them to give me that lap back and they said it did not matter, what mattered was my placement being right. I have no idea if it was correct or not, I was trying not to collapse as I crossed the finish line. After determining they were right about my placement from what was hand recorded I asked them to changed the lap results on paper to reflect that I did all the laps and again was told it did not matter, I looked at the lovely, very understanding official (can you read the sarcasm in that) and said it does matter, to me at least, I worked my butt off for that last lap and I would like it to show that I finished without being lapped (I wanted to add, all’s you did all day was sit in a chair and write down numbers, but I did not). They still did not change it. Oh well, I know so I guess that will have to do for now.

I finished, and I finished as strong as I could, I did not give up and I am happy with myself. I crashed, but not hard and I got right back up and kept riding. I thought at one point I was going to puke (maybe when my heart rate was at 192?) and said so out loud. Some kids heard this and told me to keep going, I would be fine, just keep riding. So I did until I crossed the finish line.

Getting back to the title of this post Cheering does help. I reflected on that as my friend said it to me. To hear your name being yelled, for someone to tell you keep going, you are doing great is AMAZING. Thanks to everyone that comes out to race, to watch, to cheer and support. It means the world to me to hear your cheers and to be able to cheer for you.

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Birthdays are Great

Posted on September 29, 2011 by

Today is my blogs birthday. Lots and lots can happen in a year and did. If you have not read my first post you should. One year ago I had a borrowed bike, had no idea what it meant to be clipped in, never heard of rollers, and thought I would never race a bike. Now I own two bikes and will probably have a third soon. I can not image what it would be like to not be clipped into my peddles. You can observe my knowledge of  ridding rollers in this post here. And well if you have been keeping up with me at all in the last month you know that I raced my first, second, and third cyclocross races (I have signed up for number 4 BTW). I am on an all female cycling team that is taken Louisville by storm and proud to be able to help it get even bigger and better.

I am not sure where I wanted this blog to go, if I thought that anyone would read it, or that I would still want to be typing about my life. I don’t think I will ever be someone that post something everyday but I would like once a week or even twice. I think blogging has helped me learn somethings about myself and become a better writer. I still don’t post it without some editing but now I am not as afraid to hit the post button with a mistake.

I have made 33 posts to date, the most views I got in one day was on my Birthday and I have received great feed back and encouragement from people. I still know I have more adventures in my life that I will want to write about. Like taking 17 first graders on a camping trip (my little Daisy Girl Scout troop), racing a road race, riding my mountain bike more, and maybe skiing in Colorado. Who knows what the next year will bring, let me know if you can think of anything that I should try or that you might want to hear more about that I have already talked about.

The one thing that I can say it’s has been one hell of a year, good, bad, pretty, ugly, but a damn good one all around. I am a happy person with unhappy moments but I would rather have that than an unhappy life with happy moments.

Thanks to all of you that have read, will read (I hope), and support me and my crazy life. What is 2012 gonna bring?

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I am not just a cyclist

Posted on September 27, 2011 by

I know most of my blog post in the last few months have been about cycling but that is not all that I do to make my life adventurous and active. Way way before I owned a fancy bike I owned a field hockey stick.

I have always tried to be in some sort of sport in school starting in 3rd grade where I was cheerleader (a very short-lived life on the side lines).  Next I was onto basketball, cause that is what all the cool kids were doing. In middle school I was on dance team. However all the sports I did before high school had nothing on field hockey in my book, I was instantly in love with the sport of field hockey. It might have been that I could look cute and still kick ass on the playing field or that I actually have some raw talent on the field.

If you are unfamiliar with field hockey the players wear skirts, with shorts under, a jersey, shin guards, a mouth guard, cleats, and well that is about it. In standard play you have 11 players on the field, including the goalie. I will not bore you with a lot more detail but if you have not seen a game you should at least watch this cool you tube video and try and go to a game. Louisville has a great team and they are really interesting to watch. There are a lot of rules and not a lot of protective equipment worn by players. But that is half the fun, right?

At this point you might be asking yourself, where this blog post is going? I will tell ya, for the last 9 years I have been playing field hockey on what is loving called The Old Lady League. It has been around in Louisville for years and some of the best players I’ve watched play, played with, coached (yes I coached for a brief stent), and been coached by, play every Sunday in the fall. There are 4 teams and we all play for fun and no matter what your level of play is you are welcome to play. The only requirement we have is that you are female. We tried to let the boys play but they are just way to aggressive and well we all have real lives to get back to on Monday and we don’t want to go with black eyes.

The new season started last week but I couldn’t play until this week. I was super excited to play this year because I am in the best shape I have been in, in a very long time. Thank you cycling. I play defense and always have. Mainly back to the reasoning that I hate running and defense is more for sprinters and you really do not have to cross the 50 yard line all that much. Don’t get me wrong you still run a lot just not as much as a mid or a forward.

I take my place on the field, ready to go and excited. And then the rain starts. My thought on this was, bring it on (hey it is cross season right, what is a little rain)? We play for 60 mins with a 5 min halftime. We do not play as fast as they do at the collegiate level, nor do we always have refs, but we play.

We did play a full game (even with the rain) and well my team lost but we were also playing 7 on 10 so we were down a few players. You can play with up to 11 on the field but have to have a least 7. The important thing is we played hard and we played well. Most of us have not played together before, we do not practice but some how we figure it out. We also had FUN! We laughed at each other as we miss the ball or hit it short, or well anything really. We tell each other no matter the team good job on the block, or nice goal, or damn you are fast. As we get closer to the end you hear a few more damn-its on the field, but that is okay we know we are still out there trying.

We play for the love of the game no matter what team we play on. We do it to hold on to a sport we love. We do it to prove to ourselves we still can.

I heard one of my teammates sum it up well, she said this is my thing, my release, what I do for me and I need it. I feel the same way. When I bought my house my family and I worked on it non stop on the weekend with the one condition that I would leave for a little over an hour to play. This was best for everyone’s sanity. I need the feeling (and still do) that I get on the field. Win or lose I have fun. Bad day or good day the field makes it all better. Proven to me this past Sunday where I just need an hour to think of nothing but the game I was playing.

I am a little sore in the legs, but nothing like years before (thank you, again cycling) and a lot sore in the back, something new. I really hope that my back does not keep me from playing because now more than ever I really think I need my Sunday Old Lady Field Hockey League.

Have you played field hockey before? Do you want to play again? We are always looking for new players and would love to see some new faces. Let me know if you would like more info on it.

Me and my old friend, my field hockey stick.

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3 races in 2 days?

Posted on September 25, 2011 by

Yes that is right, 3 races in 2 day was someone’s bright idea. I think it might have been mine. What the hell was I thinking? Ugg!

First sorry for the delay in the post on the race report. Typing is not really the easiest task for me, well anything that requires the use of my left hand really. If you read this post and this post you would know that I have crashed a few times in the last few weeks, well in one of those crashes I messed up my thumb and finally went to the best hand doctor in town (he is also a Louisville bike racer and husband to an awesome team-mate) and he told my I tore a ligament in my thumb and have to wear a silly looking brace (see pic below) for up to 12 weeks. YES 12 WEEKS and it is my left hand. Yes I am left-handed. The good news is he understands the world of being on a bike and did not put too many restrictions on me. Thanks Doc.

Okay back to the races. Starting on Friday night I had signed up for CX clinic with a pro CX’er Ryan Trebon. Ryan came to Louisville to teach the clinic and race. Super nice guy and he was great at the clinic. Then I headed over to On Your Left Cycles for there grand re-opening in a new location. Did not stick around too long as I still had to get ready for the big day on Saturday.  I got all my stuff together and headed over to Civil Racers. My bike got a bath and was all pretty with the help of CR, he says you feel faster with a clean bike. Most of the time I just go along with what he says in the smile and nod kind of way when it comes to bike stuff so I washed my bike. He also helped me put some spiffy new PINK bar tape on my bike earlier in the week. That is what really made me feel faster. I know I am such a girl.

In the cyclocross world CR is also known as Little Cesars because he eats it the night before almost ever race. Why mess with what works? So we had some Little Cesars’s pizza for dinner and called it a night.

6:30 Saturday morning came way, way early. I had all my stuff together so that was a plus. I get in the car and CR tells me I better eat. So I do. Not sure I even tasted it. The whole drive is a little blurry to me. I just remember telling myself over and over again it is just a bike race, it is just a bike race. Why the heck are you so uptight about this calm down, you are crazy, calm down, stop being so nervous. Yes that was what was going on in my head.

We got to the course super early so the CR could help with last-minute stuff. I see people I know and try not too look too crazy or scared. A friend somehow helped without even knowing it by saying all the right things to me and making me sound like I knew what I was doing (Thanks Barb). I found a place to change, got my number, and warmed up a bit and pre-rode the course for my first ever CX race that was going off at 9:30. It was only to last 20 mins. We figured that to be about 2 laps. Well it got started a little late and since nothing but pride was on the line we were told we got to do one lap. So one lap as hard as you can go.

Call to line up. Oh boy here we go. The official gave us directions and said on my whistle go. I had one goal at this point, Hole Shot. I looked down, waiting for the whistle. Tweet, we were off and I got the Hole Shot! And that was about all I can brag about in that race. There were 2 other ladies in that race with me and for the most part we stuck together. At one point so close that as W dismounted I ran right into her (she had the tire marks on her back leg to prove it). Good thing she is a good sport about it and just laughed. I came in last but that was okay. I tried hard and got my first taste of racing. Nerves settled. Or so I thought.

I still had another race to go at 11. I cooled off a bit and said hi to a few people. CR parents arrived and I went to say hi, and like a true momma she took one look at me and said,” honey you do not look so good”. Damn them mothers for always knowing something is not right. I told her I did not feel so well but was okay for the moment. I then walked away for a bit to just breathe, then I tossed my cookies and it was not pretty. Damn it, time to race again. By this time my family had arrived to cheer me on. A big step for my mom who is not 100% behind the me racing bikes thing. She is getting there.

Puking helped a little. I was on the front line again and there were lots of great teammate in this race with me and my good friend Rachel.  Goal again was the hole shot. I did the same thing in this race as the last. The whistle went off and I went for it. There is a little debate whether I got it or not but if not I was damn close, like less than an inch. I already knew the course and felt good. A few people passed me but still some riders behind me. In total we did 3 laps. I felt okay on all of them but think I can do better. The last lap was one of the more fun but I think that was due to the hecklers, a common staple at any CX race. I was promised a beer by a few of them when I finished.

I came to the finish line and gave it my all just to see if at the end of a race I could. I did okay on that as well. I crossed and thought I got third. I will take it for my first race. I got off the bike and just about felt like I was going to pass out. I cooled down and it was time for podium.

I walked over waiting to hear my name. They call up the number one person (she is an awesome Cat 3) and then my name. Yep my name, not 3 like I thought but #2. Wow woohoo go me. I was so excited. I won some great socks, chain lube, and confidants. Overall I liked the race and was ready for more and to take on tomorrow.

Now time to sit back and watch the other races and cheer/heckle the rest of the day.

Day 2 was not as exciting as day 1. I knew what the course looked like with the changes and was not all the excited about it. For some reason I let it get in my head that I did not like it and was not going to do as well as the day before. I was tired and a little stressed and just not in it. I raced at the same time as the day before, 11am. I tried to take a little nap in the car before I had to start getting ready but it really did not work, so I got up changed and got on the bike. I ride the course super slow and still do not like it. After a little more warming up it was race time. I was again on the front line but there were a few more of us and it felt very tight. The whistle went off and well I just did not have it to get the hole shot. I guess I just need to be a little more aggressive, something I will have to work on. But I just did not feel comfortable knocking someone to get to the front. From that point on it was down hill. I stayed with the group for about half a lap and then was in the back. On lap 2 I found out we were doing 4 and was hating life on a bike at the point. CR was yelling at me to go and all’s I could get out was “I can’t breathe”. This is how I know my fitness sucks or well it is not where it needs to be. I should have been able to hold on a little more, I should have done better. My bike handling skills are decent for my first year but I get beat every time in fitness. Learning more and more about myself and what I need to work on.

I finished dead last in the race. Ugg I was not happy with the finish and deep down felt I could have done better. Maybe not the brightest idea to do 3 races in 2 days but it was over all fun. I learned a lot and know what I need to work on. I know that I do enjoy the sport and the good changes biking is having on my body and mind. I am excited about my next race, not really sure what the race will be but it will be soon.

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