Hey, It's Janea

The Original Growler haunted me for months.  From the moment I hit "submit" for my online registration, I knew I was committed.  Thoughts of the race appeared in my mind every day.  "Are you ready?" was the reoccurring question the day before the race.  Yes?  No?  Maybe?  Does it matter at this point?  I arrived at the start line excited, nervous, and shivering from the mountain morning.  My first "real" endurance race in five years, the first since having two kids, stood there looking me in the face.  It was time to rise to the challenge or retire for good into mommyhood. 

After hitting dirt, I worked my way up kill hill trying to figure out if I should ride hard to avoid the singletrack bottleneck, or save some energy for the many hours ahead.  The first hour was very mellow, with nowhere to pass and lots of easy riding and walking sandwiched between dozens of riders.  All in all, the first lap felt great and those downhills on Bambis, Joshos, and Rattlesnake were awesome.  Crew members at every station told me I was in 3rd and I just wanted to stay in that spot.  Riding through the lap zone made my day:  two kiddos and my man handing me food and drink and cheering for me, someone handing me wet rags for my face, and an amazing AO crew to work on my bike.

As for lap two, well that felt great too until about mile 15, when all of my reserves suddenly disappeared.  A bottle of ice cold coke at the bottom of Bambi's and my daughter screaming for me was just what I needed for that final push.  Rattlesnake might have been more fun than ever before on that last lap.  Nothing like some caffeine for the girl who never drinks any.  In the end, my 3rd place finish put a huge smile on my face.  It was so fun to be back in the world of racing.  And I could not have done it without my awesome AO support and my bomber gear:  Pearl Izumi clothes, Santa Cruz Tallboy, Stans NoTubes Rims, Rudy Project helmet and glasses, and A LOT of Acli-Mate.  Thanks everyone!