A day of firsts ...

March 4th was a day of firsts:

• First mountain bike ride of the season
• First ride on my new (sweet) Norco Phaser 1
• First mountain bike race of the season
• Unfortunately, i didn't take first place ;-)

And yes, all in the same ride :)  Getting to the race was a bit epic and we arrived a good 5 minute early ... lol.  Nothing like 'racing' to the race!  The course was pretty fun ... and the bike ... amazing! This is why I LOVE Norco bikes .... out of the box (trimmed handlebars, adjusted suspension) and it feels like an extension of me, even when my legs are screaming for mercy (i haven't done much fast riding yet this year). Amazingly fun bike! Once i settled in I was haveing the time of my life - so much fun i kinda forgot i was racing ...

So lap 1 is always interesting. My brain forgets sometimes that my legs are not trained to go fast. It thinks my legs are in Canada Cup shape and I take off like a shot ... and then pay for it. So lap 1 goes something like this: Sprint out - i'm in the lead, often i take the lead into the single track.  5 minutes later I'm hurting and almost the whole field passes me as I curse myself for going out too hard.  20 minutes later I'm recovered (and into lap 2) and finally start to catch people. The longer the race, the more I catch.  So I was bummed that we only had time for 3 laps ... oh well! I caught enough to land in 4th but was reeling others in!!  The course was super fun ... 95% single track - not super technical, lots of short steep climbs and fun corners.  Some roots to mix it up a bit - in short, perfect for the Phaser! I finished muddy, feeling good, and wanting more!! Ah well, so begins project "Race Into Shape". These short races make for good intervals!

PS: yes, i am smarter in 100 mile and 24 hour races. In those races I ignore my brain and explictly choose to go SLOW at the beginning. :)