Wow what a weekend! We got into Austin around 2 on Saturday, picked up the rental car, grabbed some lunch; then made it in time to watch the elimination races. I got a chance to catch up with some of my A2A friends and then finally got to meet a couple of my Endomondo friends!! We had dinner with them and then it was lights out.
Sunday dawned crisp and beautiful; not a cloud in the sky. We headed down to the stadium so I could get my skates on and warm up. I was feeling really nervous! (So nervous I forgot my number and Allen had to run back to the hotel to get it for me!) Got my skates on, took a few laps around the parking lot and then it was time to line up.
I have to admit, I felt weird lining up with the pros. I had no idea how many pro master women there were, in fact- I didn't see very many women at ALL. I went to the back of the group with minor illusions of being able to keep up with them. Ah, no. They dropped me and 2 other women at the very first hill!! I later found out that the 3 of us were pro master women - and that there were only 3 of us: Renee, Carol and myself. Renee and I played tag for a while but eventually she got out ahead of me and finished a good 40 seconds before I did.
As for me, I felt pretty good at first, but I could not seem to find a pace line that I could stick with. Also, the course was a little more hilly than I'd expected! My favorite part of the course was when we got out of the park and went along N Co road 122. That part was super fun. My least favorite portion was along E Palm Valley road (as we were on a bumpy shoulder alongside traffic.) the tar snakes inside of the park kept spooking me too; I tried to avoid them thinking they would be gooey like the ones in Duluth. (I had no issues with them.) I also saw no fire ants or armadillos. Good on the fire ants, bummed about the armadillos.
On the 3rd trip around the course, I began having some pain in my left leg on inside just below my knee. It was a nagging ache: not a sharp pain like something had suddenly pulled or strained. I think coddling that made me start skating sloppy because not too long after that started up, those areas on the backs of my heels started burning. I'll admit, the pain made me almost consider quitting with only 2 laps left to go. But I didn't want to quit so I ignored it and tried to keep going - I'll tell you, I was keeping track of each lap SO ready to celebrate the last one...
I ended up skating a lot by myself, but eventually fell in with my friend Mike for the last 4-5 laps. I skated with Mike in Duluth and I like skating with him: he has a strong, steady stride and keeps a really good pace. I finished with a respectable time of 1:40:49.28, (my goal was 1:45) and I finished with my buddy Mike. I placed 2nd in the pro master women's division but I felt bad because Carol had skate issues and I know she's a strong skater! Another bummer is that they were having timing issues so they didn't do the awards ceremony. I was REALLY looking forward to being on the podium! (Oh, the coveted cheese grater trophy... They're sending them to us in the mail...)
There was also a point where I was in a pace line with 3 of my Endomondo friends and that made me feel so happy!! Connecting online and then actually getting the chance to skate with them... Unreal. It was very, very cool!
I think this is lap 4...
My heels are torn up and that area on my left leg is still very stiff and painful. I'm going to baby it for a few days to let it heal - whatever it is. I have no idea what I did... Probably didn't stretch enough or something. Very frustrating... I'm sure that slowed me down a bit because I was VERY aware of it for the remainder of the race... I also once again have two raw spots on the back of each heel; those too need time to mend...
I accomplished my goal of skating one race at the pro master's level, so for my remaining 2012 races I'll skate the open/advanced divisions. I still have a LOT to learn and a lot more skill to acquire but I think I'm continuing to grow and become faster and more efficient. It's a process and I am totally in for the long haul!
Me and Mike coming up on the finish line.
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