Race Report - Schenectady Central Park

After weeks of deliberation and too much internal debate, I rode my first solo race. This was the first local race of the season here. Officially titled, "Heather Rizzi's Spring MTB Race", in Schenectady's Central Park. Format was most laps completed in two hours on a four mile loop. To preface, Heather Rizzi is a pretty formidable presence in the local biking and racing culture here. She is also a total hawse and actually, at one point, rode Pro for Specialized mountain bike racing. Schenectady is a small town, not far from Albany, about a 30 minute drive from my house. These have been my 'go-to' trails- they are quick, technical and have about everything you can think of (including a small stretch of plank trails in West Coast-BC style).

I haven't really had much of a chance to ride consistently, until lately. I've been training and lifting, but wasn't sure if I was up to race potential. After a few thorough conversations with Stitz (thanks again), I signed up online so I wouldn't chicken out later on. I have to admit, it was a little intimidating racing on my own, without any of you guys to consult with on race day. But, it was truly a great experience and I am extremely glad I did it. Also, a special thanks to my cheerleader and photographer, Mindi.

Suiting up.

Walking up to the pit/sign-in.

Getting ready to line up.

This was right after the gun shot beginning. I was in second place for about 10 seconds (you can see me behind and to the left of the lead rider) and went to third and then to fourth pretty quickly.

I look pretty calm and collected, but was definitely excited and nervous inside. After heading straight into the trails, I felt pretty off with my riding. I couldn't control anything and was all over the place. The vibe was great, though and I really fed off of it. After about halfway through the first lap, everyone started to spread out. That's when I really settled in and just rode. It was a great experience for me to ride with other riders, because I normally ride by myself. After the first lap, I was somewhere still in the middle of the pack and knew if I kept up this pace it would probably stay that way. Into the third lap, (at about mile 10 or 12) I was getting pretty fatigued and started slipping back a bit. After a gu and some serious water intake, I felt better and got back after it. On lap four, I saw how close I was going to be with time and really tried to kick it up a notch.

After coming through the pit, four laps and just a little over 16 miles. Time on my cyclometer was 2:01, only a little over a minute and I would have made the cut off for another lap. After catching my breath and regrouping, I went to the pit to see the stats. In the end, I placed 6th in Sport Class out of 14 riders. Not bad, in my opinion, and now I have something that I can improve upon for future races. There are a few more races at the same location, in the same format that I'm definitely gunning for now. In the meantime, I'm looking for other races close by.