Good, But Not Good Enough

I found my "fast". Unfortunately, my fast is not nearly as fast as my competitor's fast. I can't complain though.
Today was the Utah State Championships at Solitude. My experiences there have been jaded, but improving. It was a good one today. Our group was pretty big considering; I think we had eight or so. My goal was to push--stand up, ride hard and not worry about blowing up. Essentially stop riding like a pansy.
We rode lots over the holiday weekend, but I still partook of the opportunity to have a "one speed Wednesday". The course was tough on a single speed, but fun. I think this helped. I commuted a bit on Thursday and tried to ride easy. And then yesterday just went out for a short hour with a couple of 30's intervals. This is essentially what Aaron has been recommending all summer and it seems to work. That Peak Fitness and Performance may be on to something.
So taking off at the start, I went out harder than normal and stayed pretty close with the top girls. Kathy was leading out, Kelsey, and Zephanie Blasi (I think that is her name) were in the rears. I passed Zephanie on the first lap and was close to Kelsey. I kept telling myself, "Push!", "Ride hard". I could see Kathy on the entire first climb which is a good sign; though I think she may not have felt as good as normal. I descended well and was right behind Kelsey. Then on the second lap Zephanie came out of no where and dropped us. I continued to ride close to Kelsey. She would get some distance on the climb and I would catch on the descent. I thought I might be able to get her on our third lap. She must have felt better going down hill on the final lap though because I did not see her until the very end and she was out of reach.
While I would have loved to be on the podium, I cannot complain about my race. I felt good and went fast. But when faster people show up, I get bumped. The thing about fourth place is the pink ribbon. Ugh! And then to add insult to it, in the ICUP 4th place gets the tweet chair. I hate the tweety chair--no offense Ed. Spin Cycle sponsored the race and I ended up with a gift certificate. I got a bunch of Pro Bars. I can't wait to try them out.
I also scored some Rooster's Root Beer from Kelsey and Brandon. I am stoked to try it. I believe it was a "Thank you" for alerting Kelsey she was off the course at Jackson. They have been incredibly gracious about that.
And to make things even better, Chris had a good race. He has been struggling since Hurricane. I am so excited for him. I hope it continues. 
And here are some photos from Snowbird last week. (Thanks Brad. The color is amazing.)