Third place!
Trying to keep away from the slick trail, also snow in the background.
Almost to the finish! And having a blast.
Soldier Hollow this year was different but always fun. This time it snowed and rained in the morning. I actually thought about not doing the race at and go straight to Park City with my mom like what we were planning to do afterwards so mom and my sister Becky can go shopping. I just wanted to go straight to the motel hot tub. When we got to Soldier Hollow, the rain and snow stopped around at 8:30. I thought for sure they were going to still have the race but shorten the course. But good news, they didn't shorten it that much, just maybe a couple miles or could be three. They took out the very the high altitude part of the course which was at the very top of the mountain above Soldier Hollow Resort. I guess because of the trail conditions, they wanted us to stay on the grass. It was still fun and there were some slick parts but most the trails were all tacky. At the start line, it's funny, I had to pee so bad but I couldn't go because we were starting all ready. I rode with having to go to the bathroom but I didn't survive, I gave up, stopped, and went about halfway of the course right at the side of the trail. It felt so much better and then I jumped on my bike and continued. While racing on the big climb, another guy on the side of me and said, "you're in beginner 30-39, aren't you?", then I said, "ya, guess I am." Later on I said, "I got to peeee!" He laughed and said, "then I will stay at your pace". I had a good time on this course and I felt great. There were a lot of steep uphills and mostly this trail was all up and down. I guess it's because it's actually a cross country ski course, well it's the 2002 winter olympics course.I finished in 42 minutes and got 3rd place. I was excited about getting on the podium this time and got a gift certificate and a ribbon. It was a fun experience. Mostly I had a good race. This time I am not complaining because my knees didn't bother me anymore and my achilles tendons felt better. I have got brand new pedals 2 days before and that definitely fixed my problems with my feet and knees.
