Going into this race, it was raining and windy in Moscow, Idaho, and I was fighting to muster the willpower to stay committed to racing in Pullman. But I reminded myself that doing hard things makes me stronger and I pushed through the mental negatives and focused on taking it one piece at a time.
As we crossed over into Washington, only a few miles away, the rain stopped. What a nice surprise! Early in the week I had chatted with Colin, one of the owners of Rolling Hills bike shop and a veteran cyclocross racer at this course. He shared the course details on a map and mentioned it’s a favorable course for using a mountain bike. I pre rode it on Wednesday, and found the ups, downs, and constant cornering to be fun and great technical and psychological practice. I did a warm up on the course and Grahm scouted out a few spots for photography options. I had a goal to do at least 3 laps. I set it low since it helps to have shorter, more attainable goals, especially when pregnant. We had blustery, windy weather for the race start and the USA Cycling official was quick to get us moving. I love race starts because there is a quick punch of effort and speed to get wheels rolling. The cyclocross course was more akin to a mountain bike course for several parts. We had some real steep climbs, which made for fun photos on the first lap when many of us were close together, and fun descents. This course had some great hills which were fun to fly down on my Pivot. Typically, cyclocross style races are raced on a cyclocross bike, but I prefer the extra suspension and cushion of my Pivot. After 3 laps, I continued to have more steam in the engine and powered through 2 more laps to finish 1st in Cat. 1! My new cycling friend, Sierra Kozaka, a student at U of Idaho, also finished 1st in the collegiate division and we took some post race photos together with our stamped leather awards and her beautiful white furred dog. I was grateful to have Grahm out on the course cheering and snapping photos. My Boise VeloWomen cycling kit is stretching well with my growing baby belly. It was fun to meet Russ, a racer from Utah, who recognized the BVW team kit and had raced and enjoyed the cyclocross race our team sponsored- Crimson Cross, which benefited the local food bank, in September. Here is a shout of THANKS to all our team and individual sponsors! One more note for those of you into sports nutrition; my post race recovery foods included a protein shake and mango sweet sticky rice!
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Over half way through two weeks of training in St. George and it's been stellar! The views have me jaw dropped everyday, the beauty here is stunning. Curving, water carved rocks and mesas, snowy mountains within view of the city, trails along the Virgin River, single track in every direction! Mountain biking paradise; praising God all week long. The patriarchs in Zion National Park. Isaac Mountain in the middle.
It's February. I'm excited for two weeks of 'winter training' (because it's not spring yet), in St. George, Utah! Flying to Nevada on Monday and taking a shuttle to St. George! This will be my first training camp as a professional. There will be hours of flying on single track trails and some road riding too.
Last year was filled with great early season riding and racing, It was a dream come true to be competing at Sea Otter at my first international races (short track & cross country) with some of the best pro women riders in the world! The summer was filled with field work in the high mountains of Idaho and not much racing due to our jobs and grieving the loss of our son, Issac David. This season is all about building strength and continuing to gain training, bicycle maintenance, and racing knowledge and insight. A heartfelt thank you for all your prayers, support, and sponsorships in 2016 and 2017! The Barking Spider is my season opening race. There are several factors which make it a tough opener. One, more obvious reason is it's early season, so I am not in top shape. Two, it is one of the longer races for XC, at 30 miles, when most races are in the 15-20 mile range. Thirdly, the climate and course out in semi-arid Idahoian desert is pretty brutal. Going from training in mostly cold to racing in 7o degrees plus is a tough transition.
The race was exciting. My first time experiencing getting called to the start line as a professional. Unfortunately, there are not many pro women in Idaho, only 2. And though it's a regional race, no other surrounding pro women made the trip, so after the fast start with the Pro and cat. 1 men, it was a race against self, and good training for the upcoming international race in Monterey, CA. The race in Monterey, called Sea Otter, attracts the top athletes from Canada, USA, and other countries. A number of the competitors I will be racing against have participated in previous Olympic Games! Here is a photo of the Barking Spider Race start. Winter training in Idaho, (I am staying inside on the trainer for the really cold days) super excited for the 2016 season and seeing where it goes! The Olympics in Rio de Janeiro are in 214 days! I officially upgraded to Pro status with my 3rd place finish in the elite field (aka category 1 or cat. 1) at the National Championships in 2015!
At the National Championship race Category 1 riders who place in the top-three in the 19-24, 25-29, and 30-34 age groups will automatically be eligible to upgrade to Pro for the remainder of the current season and following season. After 3 hot and high laps above 8,000 feet I finished in 3rd place! The first lap was my fastest by 4 minutes. On lap 2, I took a spill on the descent and stopped to let air out of my new front tire. Maverick and Stan's No Tubes helped with the new front tire set up right before the race when I realized my previous tire was leaking. Super fun to have many friends out cheering- Grahm, Emma, Roger, Joe, Mike & Karen!! This is my second time in Montana this June. I raced 2 Wednesday nights in the Kettlehouse League Series, and came out with a 3rd place finish last week and a 3rd place finish this week. I set a new personal record on the course.
I drove 5.5 hours from McCall into town a few hours before the race this week. I met my coach, Dustin, for the first time in person and pro athlete and friend, Rose Grant before the race. Doing my warm up ride, I was kindly surprised by a hand on my back, as Alex Gallego rode up to catch me. We rode together and he gave me some tips on descending and cornering and we talked about the length of training/racing seasons, and racing strategy, mainly to work on my weaknesses during this particular race. Today is resting day before the BIG RACE tomorrow, Missoula XC. Curently, I have my feet elevated, just ate some pre-dinner, waiting for Grahm to roll in from McCall, and reflecting on the day. It's interesting how connected I feel in this place. I lived in Missoula for almost 9 years, moved away in 2011, and every time I come back I see fantastic friends and meet new smiling faces around town. Today, I went on a meander to fix my flat rear bike tire. At Missoula Bicycle Works, I got to catch up with Jesse Carnes, and hear another tip from Alex Gallego- keep my body low on the downhill. Next, I found myself at Open Road Cycles, as MBW didn't have the right size tire. Picked up a new $49 racing tire, and met Jim. He loves biking and is thinking about being a teacher one day. Jim and his son are going to watch the races tomorrow. Then back to MBW, to learn more about road bike fitting, and Danny aired up my tubeless new tire. Stopped by Missoula Federal Credit Union to deposit some checks and met Turner and his friend who love biking. Ate some tacos for lunch at Taco Sano, made by Chris, who graciously heaped on extra pineapple salsa! Then to Break Expresso for my favorite chai in the whole world, nice and spicy, and some quality time with the famed and beautiful Turkish princess of Missoula, Emel. Glad to have the first race for 2015 under my belt! I raced hard, saw some improvements and some areas to improve. Really enjoyed riding a record fast second lap, nearly 7 minutes faster than my fastest lap time from 2014! Also fun to meet Emma, a stellar rider and coach in Bend, and riding with Sarah and her wonderfully bright socks that we conversed about while racing.
This season I will continue my adventure towards advancing to Pro, and I'm excited to announce I have a coach, Dustin Phillips. Which means more organized training and strategy. Excited for what lies ahead in 2015! Racing almost on home turf, it felt like it was though, with all the friends and teammates out on the course cheering!! What a hot and humid day, but I was powered through on some banana chocolate peanut butter muffins specially made by Liam! Super fun to stay with Annette and Jim! We met at the MN coaches clinic held earlier in the week. The race start was fast and furious, especially because I was already out of breath, pulling up to the start line with 30 seconds till GO! It's great to see consistent improvement in my speed and technical skills. Special thanks for all the great contributions and provisions as of late. It will take time to develop more strength and skill, and I am thankful for all the generosity in these earlier building phases. Getting closer and closer to the Olympic dream. Grassroots fundraising site: www.gofundme.com/Joy-Olympics Top 5 finish at XC Nationals with lots of love!Going into Nationals with the race times I've been achieving, I didn't think I would place very high because the top Elite ladies have 7-10 minutes on my time in past races. After two grueling laps, some blood and loud singing, I wrangled a fifth place podium spot!
Racing a National Championship was a fantastic experience. The highlights were having my aunts, uncles, and cousins out on the course yelling, "Go Joy!" and blowing whistles and bell ringing, and having a few new friends out there too- Amy and Von (we met and camped next to each other in the parking lot overlook)! Also, leading up to race day, out on a pre-ride, I had the pleasure of meeting Olympian, Georgia Gould!! I was having a tough time on the course and she gave me some tips on how to get through a technical section (which turned out to be Heckler's Ally) and was super encouraging. Loved watching her and Lea Davison battle during the Pro race. Also got to cheer on Jena Greaser (formally from Idaho) and Rose Grant (from Montana)! Back to afore mentioned technical section, Heckler's Ally, as my Aunt Lisa put it, was "something I've never experienced before." The crowd was so loud and crazy, as I came through the woods I wondered if I was near the finish line already. People were everywhere in the super technical section, cheering, blowing trumpets, running a chainsaw, heckling, shouting, jumping, dressed up in a nun's costume ( I didn't notice that but was informed after the race about the nun running behind some riders with a ruler and shouting, "Go faster!") and being crazy. I enjoyed it. Narrowed in on my line with a big smile and had a roar of noise all around. A very unique experience. |
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October 2017
Joy J. AdamsMountain bike athlete since 2011. Enjoy the stories about my journey from amateur to a professional cross country mountain bike racer. Categories
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