Full Race Report

OK, since everybody is doing this, I am doing it: Here is my report of the Crocodile Rock Race.
I didn't know until Friday, how to get down to KS, since Martin was sick. But Friday he announced that he could as well be sick in Kansas and so we (he) packed all our stuff and after I did my Road Training Saturday morning, off we went to KS.
We've been there last year before. Perry State Park is nice to camp. Before we put up the tent we drove up to the race course and Martin asked me if I wanted to pre-ride it.
Pre-riding is something I learnt last year from racing in KS, on courses I have never been on. You go out and ride it, so when the race comes you don't think: Heilge Scheisse! No, you say that the day of the pre-ride, because nobody else is out there...
Well, I had done a 1.45 hrs road ride with 30 TTT (race speed) and it was in the upper 80ies, so my motivation was not the biggest, but I did get my behind on the bike, made it through the first rock garden and after 20 minutes out there, all by myself, my heart started laughing. YES, this is it! This is why, I am riding and training (so hard) to go to places like Perry Lake and ride there.
The course was a bit different then last year but I could already tell, that I was better prepared.

Race day= HOT!! Those folks down in KS start their races at noon. So, all of us were standing out there in the heat, waiting for the race to start. I had ridden those first few rocky down hills again in the morning and by now, I knew, I just had to point my bike down them and go...
So off we went and other then in the road racing you often have to gain your positions in the very beginning, before you hit the single tracks (that's why they are called "single", because, there is often not enough room for two riders next to each other). I sprinted as fast as I could and reached the woods in first position out of my group. All good till the next climb... I just kept pushing really heard and after a few miles I realized that I had nobody behind me, en contraire, I was passing people, so knowing the length of the course was 5miles, I just kept going.
The tricky part is, that on these windy trails, you never know, how far behind the others are, so you can't really slow down...
Well finishing up my first lap, I had passed quite a few people with flat tires, crashes and just slower people. I realized, that I rode strong enough to pass guys on hills, on rocky sections and that was the real win in that race!
My second lap was slower, even for me. I had only one bottle of water. It was 91 F (my HR monitor records the temperature) But, I knew I could keep going. It was almost like spacing out the heat. Had to get off once or twice on the very steep parts, due to guys on the trail and me just getting weaker but other than that, I kept spinning.
On the last mile, I rode behind two guys and I thought, I let them pull me in, but they were too slow, so I gathered my last bit of energy (that last bit goes uphill), passed these two guys and came over the finish line...OK, time to breathe and to get some water.
After that, I went to the finish line to check and for sure, I was the first female rider in my class:))
Gotta check out the times, when they get posted. Should be interesting to see mine compared to other folks.
GOOD TIMES!!