well- i am finally back to my blog. it has been an eventful hiatus, to say the least! after racing san marino (AND having a great time...), we got back to lucca at 11pm, packed, only to leave the house at 5:45 the next morning. 23 hours of travel later, i arrived in san francisco- still absolutely high from the thrill of the trip- only to get back on a plane to chicago a few days later. andrew graduated from law/business school and i struggled to finish up the last details of my dissertation... the day after i returned to the bay area, i met with my committee and defended my dissertation. the following monday, i gave my public defense and now? now, i am doctor brooke, bike racer!
so, now the doctor is on a plane heading to montreal where my team will race montreal world cup, tour of montreal, the philly liberty classic... then back to santa cruz, graduate, then off to nature valley grand prix in minneapolis, a few other races, then toona... then then then...
i am REALLY excited to get to race again! i feel like it has been FOREVER since i have raced, although i actually just raced this last weekend and the weekend before. but they were just local races. one was a crit that i raced with the men (my first time), the other was a local road race that climbed a 4,500’ climb over 15 miles to start it out. the top local climbers were up at mt. hood, so they didn’t drop me and i managed to win the sprint. the next day was a crit where i was trying to lead out a teammate, but she mistook the lap counter and won the second to last lap.
now that i am back, i can reflect a little bit on the whole experience. my race high coming back from europe lasted for a little over a week. i was just buzzing and constantly running around, seeing everyone, telling everyone my stories. it was exhausting! the trip itself was exhausting... it really took a lot of out me. the first time i tried riding my bike, i could not understand what was going on. i could barely ride! then i had to switch modes from riding/racing to research and just had to crank on my thesis. i narrowly avoided getting sick and instead, rested and worked. it is funny how when you feel strong, you feel like you will always feel strong. then when you are tired? you feel like you will always be tired. when i first got back, it was hard to remember that i WILL get strong again. it is hard, sometimes, to trust your athleticism and just know that it comes back IF you rest. so, i rested. and it did come back. now, i am riding strong again and feeling good. feeling VERY antsy to get racing again!
these next two races are not going to be good races for me. they are more suited to climbers. but i have some great teammates that can do really well here and i will be doing whatever i can to help the team. it will be a thrill to get back in the pack! for now though, back to the airplane life. we have already gotten body checked by the stewardess and told to keep our voices down. do they tell screaming babies to shut up too?
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