The FSA Grand Prix was a huge event for Marymoor velodrome and for my team who put it on. But it was mixed for me. The level of competition was amazing, with huge women’s fields, and competitors from all over the U.S. as well as Canada and as far away as New Zealand. I was competitive in the 3K pursuit, but had a terrible points race. Maybe I was having depth perception problems because I’m still monocular, or maybe I’m still gunshy from the accident last year, but it was just too aggressive for me, and I didn’t feel able to protect my front wheel. I ended up taking myself out of competition by deliberately dropping off the back of the field, though I finished the race. It was very frustrating to feel like I had the strength but not the chops. That’s not like me at all, and I was really second-guessing my dedication to the sport and my ability to compete at the elite level.
I felt terrible until sprinting started the next day, but sprinting reminded me why this is such a fun sport! I raced well against some awesome women, and made some very smart moves, ending up 6th in the sprints. My weekend was made when I realized that I had qualified for Elite Nationals in both sprints and endurance. Apparently I don’t stink quite as bad as I thought. My plan is still to race Masters (age-graded) instead of Elite (open), but qualifying certainly gives my confidence a huge boost.