there were 3 IF/Wheelworks girls at this race and the plan was that kerry
and i would work for liz.  i think kerry was off the back fairly early (it
was a 3/4 race, mostly 3s and the pace was high, she's a 4) so it was just
me.  this was the first time i ever tried to work for a teammate in a race
with a field (26 racers as opposed to 3) and it worked perfectly.  i
worked my ass off chasing down every single attempt at a break.  my
heart rate was around 195 the whole time.  at one point one of the girls
yelled at me for not pulling through. =)  but the whole point was to keep
the field together because liz's best chance was in a field sprint.

a girl i particularly dislike rode up by me after the field was back
together and said in a snotty tone of voice that liz had pulled the field
back up to the break i was in and that i should "have a talk with her."  i
think i just smiled.  and liz was barely doing any work anyway, according
to plan.  she would usually sit on in the pack and wait to catch whoever
was in the front with me.

there was a bit of bumping the final time up the hill as someone came up  
on the inside of the turn (my pet peeve) and tried to cut around me, and i
bumped someone on the left trying to get out of her way.  no crashes
though; i guess my bike handling is getting better.

last lap, liz and i were 1-2 coming around the last corner and then
everyone fanned out for the sprint.  i was hoping for top 6 so i could get
an upgrade point or two but unfortunately two things happened: the pace
car was parked on the finish line (?) and an official was standing right
in front of me (??!!), forcing me to move over a bit not to run her over
at 32 mph.  i just edged over slightly but someone had overlapped my rear
wheel and nailed it really hard, disturbing my momentum and basically
stopping my wheel from spinning freely.  so i got 7th =(.  the girl who
hit me got a flat, i heard, but i never saw her.  i did hear a "thunk,
thunk, thunk" behind me though, and some cursing.

i stupidly forgot my training wheels in the pit without my name on them so
now i'll have to try to track them down.  dammit.                              

liz gave me half her prize money and a box of protein bars from a sprint
lap. =)  all in all, a good day.  the team thing is working out great.