Cats Hill

Cat's Hill
Women's P12
Holly, Bec, Jane, Emily, Mary, Haley

There is no way to follow an act like Karen Brems. I remember being a newly upgraded Cat3 at Catt's Hill. I did the 3/4 race, got dropped about half way through and chased until the official pulled me. Then I did the P123 an hour later with pretty similar results only I got dropped WAY sooner and pulled within a few laps. The following year I was in the wrongest gear imaginable on the first lap, got dropped, chased, then pulled. So at least I am consistent. I remember watching Karen anihilate the feild. I remember being at the bottom of corner 3 and seeing her 10 feet from the top. I remember overhearing her talking about shifting into the climb. She made me try harder. Not because I thought I'd ever beat her but because she was better.

We met for the team meeting at the top of the hill. Karen was our DS. I can only imagine how fun it would have been to race for her. She gave us the same shifting directions. She gave us all very specific jobs. Bec and I were to focus on the later part of the race. Em, Jane and Haley were to focus on the beginning. Holly was going to absorb as much as possible. Incidentally, I think Holly was a tinsy bit intimidated because she's a new upgrade but she rode really well in the pack. I think she has the ability to win Cat's Hill next year.
The very first lap I accidentally shifted onto my 34/11. I dragged up the hill. Was I going to relive my past? Was this course the Twilight Zone of racing? Hadn't I broken the spell of repeating races at Wente two weeks ago? I was pretty sure I was going to complete the entire race but a little panic did reverbrate through the team. I think Karen was shaking her head. Andi was trying to calculate how I was going to recover from the per-dicament. Dan, with the enthusiam of a grade schooler at an amusement park, was begging me to climb better. It took a few laps regain position. I found a comfortable gear. Bec was trying to make up position on the climb. I was doing the exact opposite.

The feild didn't do a whole lot of attacking. They basically used the hill and prime laps to sort things out. Bec took a prime mid race. Flavia went on a chrsuing spree and dragged the pack around for a long time. Tibco didn't really make their presence obvious. It was pretty clear they were in for the win. Susanna Breen made a really gutsy move at 4 to go. She attacked on the back side of the course and stayed away for almost two laps. Tactically speaking, this was a pretty good move for Freemont Bank. If you went with 2 or 3 to go you would just accelerate the entire race. If you went with 5 to go, you'd be out too long.
Somehow I missed the 2 to go lap count. I was just excited to still be inthe race. I was trying to invent a new mental image about the race. I was so used to getting dropped. I knew I had the ability to win the race. I wasn't stuck on an old visualization in as much as I was struggling to create a new one. I certainly saw the 1 to go card. I was mid pack at best and felt a little irritated at myself. I moved up a few spots on the flats, gained one spot on the climb, and pushed through the downhill moving myself to 4th position going into the last corner but the race was already over. An all out sprint for the line was gaining me ground on top 3 .

I can only beat myself up so much for not making the podium. I was spending mental energy figuring out how to ride the race 30lbs lighter than previous years and with WAY better equipment instead of looking at lap cards and planning tactics. I know Karen wants a win for the team but I hope that in some way she was just a tinsy bit happy with the improvement she instigated years ago.

-Mary