Living in the now

So I was sitting here looking at my bruised legs, some bruises a day old and some a week, and wondering why I am already looking forward to next week's cyclocross race. I'm not particularly good at it, I usually manage to hurt myself or my bike and I end up exhausted and lots of dirty clothes and bike maintenance to attend to, but still I love it.

So, aside from the fact that lots of really fun, cool people show up to race cross, I've decided that during a cross race you are forced to live in the present. You hear it all the time. . don't dwell on the past, don't obsess about the future, live for the moment. During a cross race (or any other kind of a race for that matter)everything else goes away. For 40 minutes yesterday I didn't think about my bills, my work stress, my family stress. I thought about trying to catch the person in front of me, I thought about not getting caught by the person behind me. I thought about the best way to negotiate the mud. I thought about breathing deeply and pushing harder. I truly was living in the now. I'm guessing my fellow racers were doing the same because there were lots of smiles!

Yesterday started out a bit hectic. Pre race was spent in a foggy Heber swapping out Kara's tires and adjusting her brakes. We collided hard on a warm up lap and went down on the asphalt. Kara felt so bad I think she was actually trying to catch me as I flew through the air. We were banged up but no serious damage us so we spent the next 10 minutes readjusting brakes and wheels once again. Then it was time to start.

I had a terrible start. My shorts, which are becoming a bit baggy, snagged on my saddle and I didn't get clipped in. I caught up to the bottle neck at the barriers only to get dropped on the grass. I worked hard and tried to settle into a rythm. I managed to pass a few people but then lost some of them as I bogged down in the mud. I thought the way to go was to gear down and spin through the mud. Apparently this is the way to go if you want to get the absolute most mud on your bike and tires. I finished toward the bottom of my field, mud covered but happy.

I hung out and watched the rest of the races. It got warmer and drier and the races became faster and less muddy as the day wore on. I had fun cheering for Kara's son in his first ever cross race. He did really well but is still feeling bad about the little kid that finished last. While he was racing I took Kara's other son up to the top of Mt. Heber (the giant mud/poop hill that serves as the run up). I turned around just in time to see his little head disappear over the edge. I ran over and looked down and was relieved to see him laughing happily as he rolled and slid down the muddy embankment. He was covered in mud and wanted to do it again. Sorry Kara. I forget you have to watch those little ones all the time.

I finished out the day eating yummy lasagna at Teresa's and enjoying good company and wine. Be sure to check out Two Wheel Lovin ladies for all of the racin ladies action.