Chasing Satisfaction

By Shannon Edson

I can think of better ways to prepare for a big race than a move across the country, but sometimes, you have to sacrifice perfect pre-race conditions for convenience. Thus, after a few days of packing up the house in Fort Collins, Tim and I set out on our cross country move to Berkeley. Our first stop was Park City for the Deer Valley NMBS.

First of all, we love Park City, so it wasn’t too much of a bummer for Tim or me that we were to spend three days in the Disneyland for adults. The mountain biking is great, and the downtown is lined with beautiful homes and restaurants set against a lush, green backdrop. It was the ideal first stop on our trek.

After seven hours in the car, we arrived in Park City on Thursday afternoon. We checked into the Courchevel, which is a condo right at the base of the venue, and I headed out for two laps on the course. The conditions were perfect. The loop was comprised of a smooth, tight and twisty descent sandwiched between two gradual climbs. With only two rocks and lots of turns on the descent, it wasn’t really my type of course, but it was fun and the purple and yellow wildflowers lining the hillside were beautiful. The pre-ride went well. I did one easy lap and one race pace lap, and my legs and lungs felt good. Having raced at Angel Fire, I wasn’t really worried about the altitude.

I did another easy lap on Friday with Tim and spent much of the day reading and resting. I have to keep my mind occupied or else I will work myself up with worry and nerves.

Saturday rolled around, and I felt pretty good. I had a successful warm-up, and the temps were supposed to be a little more forgiving than the days prior. At the line, I was pretty nervous since this was my first NMBS race as a pro. Although it was intimidating, I was racing against most of the women from the MSC circuit. My nerves subsided when we were given the signal to start.

Given that I was starting from the back row, I had a decent start. My legs felt strong up the first climb and I hit the singletrack in a good position. A few women squeezed around, but I caught back up on the long descent. On the second climb, I didn’t feel as strong; I couldn’t get it going again. I think I’m better on long, sustained climbs. The girls I had caught on the descent climbed away from me, so I tried to settle in and “limit my losses,” as Tim says.

On the second lap, I caught Lindsey, and as soon as she was out of sight, I crashed on one of the switchbacks. It wasn’t bad, but it took a few seconds to right myself, my bike, and my frame of mind. Into the final lap and covered with dust, I caught Joy and rode away from her on the climb out the feed zone. I could see one other woman ahead of me, and I tried to catch her, but she out descended me to finish 22 seconds ahead.

Despite the crash, I rode pretty consistent lap times and was not disappointed with my effort. I say “not disappointed” because I’m not satisfied with my race either. My cross-country coach in college said that she could count on one hand the number of “good races” she had had. I think this means races with which she was fully satisfied. I think I hold a similar number. Maybe it is the space between disappointment and satisfaction that keeps us racing and aiming to improve. I finished 28^th overall, and I am now motivated towards moving up and closer to satisfaction.

Photos by Christopher See. Used with permission, all rights reserved. Clicky for more Photos from the Deer Valley XC. Mille Grazie!

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