Lake Perris: Beach To Boulders 2/19/17

      All throughout the week, I had been trying to mentally prepare for the first race of the SoCal League High School race season in my first year with the Varsity Girls. I have the honor of being the first ever Varsity girl in M3T's mountain biking team! The jitters were definitely something I was experiencing quite often this weekend as I looked over my new competitors times from last year's race. There was no doubt I would have to get out fast and keep it that way.

     Thankfully, I've had the exceptional opportunity to join the SoCal Devo team this past fall. Though I experienced some personal difficulties with my training last season, I was ready to give it my all this year. Through intensive training, eating correctly, and gaining mental strength, I can honestly vouch that I can feel the power difference this year because of the team. Coach Brian and Coach Jason are relentless in their constant care and genuine concern for our racing performance to reach our full potential. They are honestly amazing coaches that anyone would be lucky to have for even a day!

     On Thursday before the race, I decided to get a massage for my unusually tight back that I've been struggling with through my mountain biking career. As my massage therapist, Kelly, would put it, she had to tear me up to get rid of some of the knots. I tried to rest on Friday and drink fluids to flush out any toxins. Getting ready for the race weekend, my Dad rented an RV for the family to help race day go smoothly. We arrived at the Lake Perris Recreational Area for Camping around noon on Saturday after packing all morning. It was drizzling, but I was hopeful that the rain wouldn't affect Sunday's race. Being physically at this venue again, the reality was sinking in that I was ACTUALLY racing in Varsity. I tried to keep an open mind when it came to my predicted placing, but I was nervous about whether a podium would be in the foreseeable future.

    Throughout the rest of the day, I felt tired and tried to keep off my feet in order to keep my legs well rested. My team had your typical race night dinner of spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread and salad. Our team parents were thankfully gracious enough to prepare and serve all the food to the racers and parents. After dinner, I made sure to keep warm and just watched a movie in the RV before going to bed. With everyone going in and out it took me a couple hours longer to go to sleep, not to mention the nerves that had me playing out all of the possible scenarios for Sunday.

     Waking up at 6:30 am, I was tense about getting everything on my bike ready and being prepared by race time. I knew that my Dad (aka the greatest mechanic) was going to let me borrow his Carbon RideFast Racing rims to help lighten my bike. After going to a team meeting at 8:45 am to get my racing plate, I was anxious to make the changes. It turns out that there was some size variabilities between my old wheel components and the carbon one, which without adjustment would render me without brakes! Thankfully my dad, being the amazing person he is, was able to get the problem mostly fixed with some help. The only funky thing is that I would be racing with two different types of spokes and tires! By 10:45, I was over at my team pit zone, but I had to wait for an adaptor to use a trainer with my thru axil . The waiting created a sense of jitters again. Thanks to Coach Brian, I was able to quickly warm up and take my RynoPower endurance and electrolyte supplements. My only concern was that my legs still felt sore and heavy as I was pedaling in the warm-up. After getting over to the staging zone early, I was able to relax for a few minutes and spin around the parking lot.

     Once the Varsity Boy's call-ups were over and pushed ahead, the first five Varsity girls were called up. I wasn't sure where I would start because I did not have a call up. I turned out that one of my competitors could not make it to the race, so I was able to take fifth girl's call-up position which made me hopeful. Having a few minutes to settle down before the official race start I was able to chat with a couple of the girls and get to see who I would be racing with this year. As roll outs and the stop start occurred, I could feel the pre-race jitters in my stomach grow stronger.

     3, 2, 1... and we were off! I started to settle in 6th for the paved road as I mentally prepared for the pain that the dirt climb would bring. The girls didn't take it out too fast and I felt surprisingly good despite the quad soreness. As we neared the curb that led to the dirt, I decided I would "mash it" on the climb no matter what. This method worked and I was able to pass into 3rd place behind Madeline Bemis and Gwendalyn Gibson. I quickly decided that I needed to take it back a notch and pace myself before I blew up because my heart rate was about 189 bpm. I thought that the other girls might be behind me, so I pushed the second half of the climb, breathing as loud as a hyperventilating kid. At the top of the climb I rested for a second, looking back and discovering my competition wasn't on my tail like expected. Not taking any changes I used my brakes quite sparingly on the downhill, trying to keep decent body position and focus on what my coaches told me. Throughout the rest of the lap I felt very strong and made sure to push on the beach sand section to further gap 4th place (Jordyn Watkins). On this lap, I took a feed from my cheering coach Heather Ranoa that had RynoPower Hydration Fuel in it. Everyone would cheer for me to keep going fast, and that's what I tried my absolute best to do. All of my team encouraged me with loud cheers and I felt a great satisfaction as my coach, Jason Ranoa, proudly announced me coming through on the first lap.

     The second lap, I tried to swallow a liquified version of my gel as I went up the dirt climb for the second time. Each lap I told myself to act like it was the last lap and motivate myself (acting like someone was behind me). My dad yelled out from the course that I had about 25 seconds on 4th and needed to keep pushing. I cranked on all the flats as fast as I could and sped down the downhill section. It was tough riding alone, but I decided to make the girls in the different race categories my targets. I would try to reach one girl and pass them and then kept doing that to keep my speed accountable.

     Going on the third lap, it felt more strenuous, but I knew that everyone was feeling this way and that I just needed to keep the suffering going. My dad tried to remind me to breath easier as I paced up the dirt climb for the last time with a little less than a minute gap from the girls behind. The whole race I was trying to get my heart rate under 180, but I couldn't. Getting to the top of the climb, I could feel my calves getting fatigued as they began to cramp up. I made sure to stretch them as I made my way down the last downhill section. Pushing on the beach for the last time, I could feel the affects of having an extra lap, but the people cheering me on helped me push harder to endure. I was beyond happy to have this gap so I did not have to sprint my way in the finish like I have in the past two years. Both times, I was in the wrong gear on the last turn onto the grass and ended up getting 4th in my category. As I sprinted towards the finish I felt a great sense of disbelief and accomplishment getting 3rd in my first ever Varsity Race!

     First off, I couldn't have accomplished a 3rd place finish without Jesus Christ. Praying for strength and perseverance throughout the race, I was able to stay clam and remember Him. Secondly, my Dad deserves a ton of credit for helping me through the race so supportively with all of my needs and complications. My coaches on Devo and M3T deserve credit for believing and training me, without them I wouldn't have been able to even podium. From food to training schedules to bike changes, they help with it all. Huge shoutout to my sponsors: RideFast Racing, Ellsworth Bikes, Kenda Tire, Ryno Power, and ESI Grips for helping make it happen on my awesome bike and keeping me going without complications! Looking forward to next race at Vail Lake!

                                          If your Nerve, deny you -
                                           Go above your Nerve -
                                                 
                                              ~ Emily Dickinson