A Racer and A Champion...

Ah the sweet taste of victory,

I participated in my first XC mountain biking race on Saturday, and guess what....I won!!!  Well, I won the beginners division (against a few men, I might add ;).  XC stands for Cross Country, and basically it is the kind of race where the terrain is not too technical, but it tests your endurance with mostly uphill with some downhill as well.  

Uphill didn't used to be my best friend, but as I've gotten in better shape the last few months, I've come to really enjoy the uphill riding.  It makes the downhill much more worth it, and really makes me feel like I've worked hard and accomplished something.  

The beginners loop that I raced was 5 miles, It was a 2.5 mile loop which you did twice-- and I would say at least 4 of those miles were uphill.  My legs were screaming at me, and there were a few times I wanted to just get off my bike and take a break, but my competitive nature kicked in and told me to keep up the pace and finish strong!  

I went into the race telling myself to just have fun, and get some experience under my belt, but I had no idea just how well I would do!  I finished in just over 26 minutes, and totally exceeded everyone's expectations (there's a little stereotype about women not being as good as men and not being serious bikers...). 

I won a brand new Specialized helmet for taking 1st in the beginners division (valued at $50, so even though I paid $20 to race, I ended up on top)!  I also got a cute tee-shirt just for entering, and some energy drink powder that is supposed to help keep you energized during brutal workouts.

I feel like a champion not only for winning, but also because I finally had the guts to enter a race which is something I have wanted to do for a while now, but didn't dare to.  If you would have tried to get me to do this race at the beginning of the summer I would have told you you were crazy. The real reason I feel so victorious is because I stuck with my goals this summer and stepped out of my comfort zone. Next year it's onward and upward to the next division :)

 Dan was awesome to come support me and take pictures when he saw me.

Just getting started!

Trying to smile for the cameras when I was dying for breath because I had just climbed a hill before turning the corner

And I disappear

Racing down the back stretch

Legs felt like jello right about now

Coming back to the starting point, 1 lap down, 1 more to go

almost to the finish line!

My helmet and some energy drink powder