Greenbrier 2014

Greenbrier, also the Maryland State and Regional Championships, was perfect practice for the Pennsylvania State Championships coming up in two weeks. The course had some super gnarly descents and two extremely technical climbs. I set my sights on finishing as close to an hour as possible. Having raced mostly longer endurance races, I needed to prove to myself that I could go all out for a solid hour.

Angelina and I were forced to start behind ALL of the other categories; so I knew that I would have to be smart about passing in order to maintain my speed and catch the Cat 1 women who started two minutes ahead of us. The whistle blew and I went off like a rocket. I attacked the technical climbs, literally hanging on by a thread and gasping for air. I knew that once I crested the top, I would recover quickly.  I felt fast and smooth on the loose rocky descents. I honestly never felt like I was going so fast in my life! I was able to catch six of the cat 1 women. My first lap was just under thirty-one minutes and I wasn't about to let up at all. I just kept telling myself that the lap was only six miles and, after the second climb, it was all downhill. My second lap time was only a minute slower than my first and I walked away with a 1st place finish in the 15-16 Cat 1 Women.  I am super happy with my performance and gained the confidence I needed going into states in two weeks.

Congrats to Angelina for winning the Cat 1 17-18 category!

FUN FACT : My average heart rate was 195!!! Woah!

Sweet potato power!

"No Mom, I did NOT wreck!"

OSMO + milk = OS-MOO!