WOW

The end of the season brought me to my last two races.  The SM 100 and the Terror of Teaberry.  Both tough in their own way.

The SM 100 turned out to be a solid ride for me, but not a stellar ride.  That day I felt really tired and was unable to push my high limits. Although I did finish well ahead of my personal time goal, it was short of winning the day.  That also meant that the NUE title was out of my grasp.  I ended up second in the NUE series for the year. 

Terror of teaberry started with much terror due to the dumping of rain the night prior and the morning of the event.  Ugghhh, not another nasty muddy race.  I was looking so forward to a beautiful day on my most favorite trails of all.  Surprisingly, as go time crept upon me I began to feel excited to tackle Teaberry.  Sure enough the promoters needed to further stick it to us with a running start to our bikes.  With the terror being lifted from the humor of the start we got underway.  Once on the trails I was pleasantly surprised with the condition of the trails.  It had been so dry that the rain soaked into the trails and they were not too sloppy.  Yes the rocks were a bit slippery, but not completely unrideable.  The gray of the day, the black soil and the glowing green of the forest made for some awesome trail sights.  It was quite magical.  During this race I really found my legs and top end again.  It felt great and I was loving it.  It started out on a tight single track and then opened up on a double track where I was able to pick off riders and get in good position for the tough techy trail ahead.  I had high hopes of keeping up with some local pals to keep me in good lines, but some of the rocky sections took me off my bike and I lost contact.  Once the trail again chilled out I caught back on, but only to be shelled again once we hit the next batch of rocky puzzles.  As the day went on the rocks did get more slippery and frustration did set in a bit.  I kept it at bay and continued to push my self knowing it was to be the last push of 2010.  I was very pleased with my performance and turned in a solid time to place 13th overall and 1st among the women.   

Wow is really the best way to sum up my 2010 season.  I wasn't even sure that racing at an elite level was still in my guts.  However, after being signed on with Team CF, I found the inspiration and motivation to push myself beyond what I thought possible.  Being an ambassador for the CF cause changed my focus from my own glory into a focus to bring awareness to others regarding the disease.  It was this focus that pushed me harder than I have ever gone in my life.  My hope is that my efforts inspired those with and without CF to find their way to an improved life quality through bike riding or other exercise.