Keyesville: SoCal race #3

After Fontana's race on Saturday I then set all my focus on recovering and preparing for racing Keyesville the next day. The drive to get there felt forever, but once we got to our hotel room I ate dinner, rolled out and went straight to bed. I set my alarm earlier than normal because Hayley and I did not get to pre-ride the day before, like we usually do, so we planned to do it early that morning. Once we woke up we ate breakfast and set off the ride the course. I really liked the course, which made me exited to race on it in just a couple hours. As I waited in the team pit watching my teammates race I began to feel really nervous because I really wanted to get podium this race and do better than the last two races. Warming up I concentrated on my goals for the race and my legs surprisingly did not feel too sore from racing the day before. Lining up I was lucky to get second row right behind my sister. I kept stretching and moving on the start line, so I wouldn't cool down, and then we were counted down to start my third Varsity race!

Lap 1: The race took off and the top six stayed together until the beginning of the first climb. I then moved in to fourth place behind Madysen Rails, Mead Plum and Hayley Richards. On top of the climb Madysen broke off , and it was Hayley R., Hayley B., and myself in a pack for the rest of the first lap. I couldn't believe that I was in third place and my goal was coming true, but I knew the race was far from over and there was much more work to be done.

Lap 2: The start of the second lap was us three in a pack trying to catch Madysen, but as the top of the fire road approached, I made my move and sprinted to the single track, going in second place. My sister, Hayley B., followed shortly behind. I could not believe we were in second and third, my goals of just getting Podium seemed to turn into keeping second place for the rest of the race. My sister and I worked together the rest of the second lap and we flied through the course. I could hear my family and teammates cheering so loud as we passed them, and I felt even more determined to keep up the pace.

Lap 3: As Hayley and I started our last lap I knew we had to speed up or someone might catch up. It was fun to work together the whole lap pushing ourselves to go faster. The climbs felt longer and my legs began to feel the effects of racing twice, I wanted to slow down, but then I thought about how amazing it would be to be second and third together on podium. As we came closer to the finish I knew we would have a sprint finish. The last straight away before the finish was defiantly the hardest segment in the whole race because I tried to stand up to sprint but my legs hurt too bad so I sat down and gave it everything I had left.

I finished second and my sister finished only three seconds after me. When I crossed the finish line I felt so happy knowing I gave the race everything I had and didn't give up. I also felt happy knowing my sister and I both accomplished our goals and worked together to achieve them. Not only did we both get podium,but Yucaipa got first as a D1 team. I am so thankful for the people who helped me get to where I am at right now. Keyesville is defiantly my best race so far and I will never forget it!