Cholla Challenge

I had a good warm-up--better than normal. I got to the start line right as the first group was about to go. That gave me just a couple of minutes before our start. I sucked down my PowerBar Gel. I lined up on the far left side. This was a mistake as this pushed me into a bad bit of trail off the start. I slowed up just a bit to ensure I got a good line. This put me at the back of the group for the second consecutive race. I did let this bother me though as there was plenty of racing to come. I settled into fourth position. This was a fair spot. Second and third, Kathy and Sarah, had a pretty good gap. I thought I might be able to close it but they continued to pull away. I kept hydrated with PowerBar Endurance. My legs felt like they might fail--cramp--but this must have just been fatigue. The electrolytes from my bottles kept any cramps at bay. Jen was close I kept trying to lose her. But she kept coming back; she was riding strong. About half way through the second lap I decided to let her get in front for a bit and let her pace me and maybe catch a bit of a draft. She was going at comfortably quick pace. As a couple of guys came by, I jumped on with them. Jen didn't make it and I was able to get some decent time on her going into our last lap. I was able to hold her off to the finish. I felt like I had race smart and finished fairly well, even if it was mid-pack.

-- K.C. Holley

More pics form the race
Team Points