Hayley Richards' Racing blog

In the world of racing there are so many factors that go into one day. Between the following: nutrition, sleep, training, hydration, mental focus, recovery and life circumstances. Going into this race, I was both excited and interested to see how my legs/body would hold up considering how I had felt that week. Sometimes you can prepare to the best of your abilities, but when it comes down to the line, minutes before you start, your body just doesn't understand that it NEEDS to be ready.  Off from the start line, I decided I would see if I could stick with top five. It didn't feel too rough until we got to the end of the first fire road climb. Although I knew we were only starting, my whole body wasn't on the same page, so I settled my mental focus and prepared for a tough race. The "Tunnel of Love" is always the fun part of the course, full of dips and rolling humps! Lately, I've found descents to be much more enjoyable on my bike aka "Black Beauty&qu