A few miles in, I passed her again, and was sitting in third, although I didn't know it as the pros started with us. And those two wonderful girls stayed on my @## the whole race. I pulled away at the end of the first lap for a while but then goofed up on a hill climb and lost my lead. So they were right there again, always!
So there was no time to drink, no time to gu with them right behind me. I was so thirsty and so hungry. At the start of the third lap my Dirt Divas handed me a water bottle, I took one sip and tossed it back. Thank you Cathi and Doc!
As I was running out of steam on the last lap, I offered to let the girls pass and they declined, saying they'll just pass me at the finish. Nice. That inspired me a bit. Okay sprint finish, get ready.
And I did. After the final climb, I put it in the big ring. I took my time descending the twisty rocks and then stood up and hammered to the finish, sat down going through the water and closed my eyes, then stood up again.
One girl was one second behind me. The other was eight. I laid on the grass and drank for a few minutes, caught my breath and then greeted my boy!
I was pleasantly surprised with a 3rd place finish and really glad I fought for it for three whole laps.
I felt better this week, stronger, faster. Definitely not 100%, but improving. And just as a gauge, I was 36 minutes behind 2nd place last week and only 15 minutes behind her (1rst place on the podium) this week. A few years ago, we were always neck and neck. Soon, I hope to at least be able to see her in the woods ahead of me.
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