My expereince with National championships are that they are always a little different. My first ever Master Road Race was no exception. At the elite level I have always seen less team work at these events for numerous reasons and this was even more so at the Master's level. At the elite level many times your teammates are foreigners and are not eligible, so you have less teammates. The other reason is that the event has a title and more significance than winner of the XYZ road race. At the elite level the title is also many times a ticket to the Worlds team and the National team. At the Master's level many of the competators do not have teammates because of the different age groups and I personally only knew one other athlete in my race. Sue McDonough was unbeatable back-in-the-day when her and Karen Bliss won 90% of the National level criteriums in the country. Not a person I thought it would be wise to take to the line. Loisville Kentucky decided it was tired of the heat and decide it was time to rain. The fun course was not so fun in the rain with the fear of carnage at every bend. I am only thankful that it was the road race and not the criteriun taking place on this wet slippery day. The first 2 laps were all about staying safe. I either pulled the field or gave my self plenty of room. On the third lap 3 riders went down and I had to come to complete stop. I chased back on to the 7 leaders knowing the urgency after watching the previous races and the effects of the crashes. Numerous attempts by myself and others to get away were made. This was the fittest group of advanced aged women I had been with and we all wanted a chance at those stars and stripes. I thought about where I wanted to punch it chewy, did just that and it all worked out this time! Show me the jersey!
The criterium 2 days later was a different story with nice, dry weather(my 2nd Master's Crit....I did one as a 30 year old when I was a cat 3...got dropped of course!). The races prior to mine on this fine August 7th day all ended in a field finish. I was licking my chops because my sprint has been working and I think it is due to the lunges, squats and step-up routine I learned from Dotsie at one of her camps a few years ago. It's a great little routine and I throw it in when I am short on time(I am short on time 10 times a day!). I tried to work at the front to de-motivate the group from attacks. It worked great until 4 laps to go when Christine Schryver (Rochester, NY/Genesee Valley Cyclng) launched an attack that caused all us sprinters to hesitate until we realized she was gone like a frieght train. Even when we all decided it was over and started working she was gaining time on us. She so deserved this win and title! With 20 secounds and the dwindling pack exhausted I gave my final effort with one lap to go to claim the silver.
I learned not to take your medal home in your carry-on. TSA didn't know me(Can you believe that? TMZ does!) and wasn't sure if I should be allowed to swing it around with all my bags. I was just too elated to bring home the medal for my team who has been so supportive this year! I thank all the sponsors for believing in us and helping us be able to do what we do. I now have National RR win in both elite and Masters but only a 2nd in both elite and Masters! How ironic is that!
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