So the season is over. My first "real" season of cross. The past couple of years, I've done races here and there (and only if the weather was decent), but I never really trained for it. This year I went all-in, and I loved it. It's a good thing I wasn't the fair-weather 'crosser of old, because we had an uncharacteristically wet season. Who knew racing in mud could be so much fun?
I really had no expectations going into the season. I just wanted to push myself to ride hard and get better. Mission accomplished. I was consistently finishing in the top 10 and I even won a race. Winning a race is an amazing feeling. To know that training has paid off and that for one day you were stronger than the people that you line up with week after week is an amazing confidence booster. I finished the season in 10th overall in the points rankings even though I skipped a lot of the points races. I also won the overall in a 3 race series, so I'll actually win *something*.
The state championships was a mixed bag for me. On one hand, I never expected to be top 10 when I was first starting out this season. On the other hand, I know I underperformed. I know that I would have done better if I had been more motivated and if I had worked on some of my technical skills. I have a lot of months to think about that now. :)
None of this great season would have been possible without the support of Christine. Even though she was traveling back and forth to Austin all the time and was sometimes in Fort Collins only on the weekends, she was cool with me disappearing to a race nearly every weekend. Not only that, but she frequently spent one of her valuable weekend days in Colorado by sitting at my races, cheering me on, handing me water, and putting up with my neurotic pre-race nerves. She's also my wheel and tire sponsor, buying me my first ever tubular wheelset. The wheels, by the way, that I used when I won my race. She's amazing and I couldn't have done it without her.
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