School and Cyclocoss

Mud!





Ted heading up the run-up.


Hanging out at the races.


Up the run-up.







School is keeping me far busier than I anticipated. It will be a big relief when this first semester is out of the way. I will be starting my research in October, rather than a year from now, so that will just add more to the plate. I'm not sure how much cyclocross I'll end up doing this year, but we did two big races in Seattle a couple weekends ago.

Starcrossed was first, which is always really fun. The combination of tons of spectators, a beer garden, and racing under the lights makes it a unique race experience. We have done Starcrossed four times now, and this was the first time we had rain... and boy did it rain. It did not stop all day, leaving what was a grassy course a mess of slippery mud. I had never raced in those conditions before, so it was a new experience for me! I crashed several times, but the mud just let me slide. I quickly found myself at the back of the field, which was not a huge surprise, and I wound up finishing last.

About halfway through the race, I felt like I had a fat lip and like my cheeks were swollen, but I tried to ignore it. After finishing (in last place!), I asked Ted if my face was "fat," and he said it was! No idea what happened, but I had an allergic reaction to something. My face was completely symmetrically swollen. It gradually went down throughout the evening (maybe the beer helped?), but I couldn't help but feel self-conscious.

Ted also had the pleasure of slipping and sliding in the mud, arriving at the car with a mud-speckled face. His sister and nephew made it out to watch, which I think just reinforced their opinions that we are somewhat crazy.

Sunday's race at Steilacoom was much drier and warmer, which was a pleasant surprise. Ted's lungs were bothering him, so he backed off of his race pace, and just rode it in. I rode as hard as I could, finishing near the back of the field. That 80 meter run-up is brutal!