Iron Cross V Race Report

Wow. This past weekend was awesome. Pennsylvania is so much fun to visit this time of year. All of the trees were changing color, and the weather was perfect. Sunny and temps in the mid-60's. A far cry from the rainy weather I've come back to.

Ironcross V started at 9 a.m. on Sunday. It was really chilly in the morning, as the sun hadn't come up yet. Jason, Paula, and I tried to keep as many layers on as possible, so that we wouldn't waste a lot of energy trying to stay warm.

My usual morning race routine was more frantic then usual. The stem on my tube broke off when I was checking my air pressure. As a result, Jason and I had to do a mad scramble to get my tire off of my wheel and change my tube before the start. I was bummed that I didn't get a good warm-up in because I knew that we had to do a loop on the cross course before heading out for the 62 mile race.

We had a field of 30-ish women, and a good group of us stuck together for the first climb. It was on the longer side, and I think a few racers got shelled before we hit the first road. Once we were on the road there were about 6-7 of us in a paceline. I could tell that my cross bike was over-geared almost immediately. Last year I was able to spin my mountain bike up the climbs with no problem. This year I was forced to mash. Needless to say, it hurt.

Like last year, the course had a few paved roads and lots of dirt roads. There was a little bit of trail, and of course...the walk-up from hell. I had hoped that maybe I had built it up in my head over the winter as being harder then it actually was. Nope. It was just as hard as I imagined it. I think that I need to take up climbing in my spare time just to prepare for next year!

This was my first time riding my cross bike on actual trail, and I had a blast. It was so much fun to ride it over rocks and roots. However, it also made me really thankful that I don't have to race on a rigid fork on a regular basis. My hands hurt so bad by the time I was done that I could barely open them! Let me tell you...I will never take my forks or disk brakes for granted again! There were a few dirt downhills that I could barely stop on. It was fun, but at the same time I was glad that my mom wasn't watching :-)

I spent most of the race racing with Cheryl Sornson, from the Trek East Coast Factory team. She's really strong, and it was nice having someone to ride with. I didn't feel the greatest during the race, but I didn't expect to since my intensity training ended in September after Shendandoah. Ironcross is the type of race that is fun no matter how you feel though. My legs/lungs hurt like crazy during some of the climbs but I still found myself enjoying the views.

I ended up racing the last couple of miles alone. I knew that Cheryl wouldn't be far behind, so I had to gun it to the line. I ended up 4th and Cheryl finished less then two minutes behind me in 5th place. Talk about close!

Everyone should try this race out. It's a really laid back, cool atmosphere. The course is a lot of fun, and the race promoter does a really good job of putting it on. I'm really hoping that I can race it again next year...on my mountain bike!!!!

I didn't get any pictures of the finish, and I was so busy catching up with some fellow racers that I missed my podium. Bummer. However, I did get this picture....

Jason was nice enough to take a picture of Anne, Paula and I...even though we all beat him :-)
Well, that's a wrap. I'm going to keep doing some short cross races for fun, but I'm ready to start doing some cross-training for next year. I have to thank Jason for doing all of the driving for our trip, and for helping with all of my tire changes. I also have to send a thank-you to Ted because my bike worked perfectly.

Now I have to unpack everything, do laundry and then pack again. I leave for Death Valley in a day and a half.