This past weekend was one of my favorite mountain bike races - the Whiskey 50 in Prescott, AZ. Last year, my results from the Whiskey 50 (along with a few other races) had given me enough leverage to earn my pro mountain bike card. So, this year, it was my first time doing the event as a pro! Just to give you an idea, my finishing time from last year was almost an hour behind the winning pro women's time! I knew coming into this event, that I had to step-up my game if I wanted to be competitive in this field.

Last month had been a whirlwind of racing and traveling - all helping me prepare for that big 50 proof. I traveled to the Sea Otter Classic in Monterrey, CA two weeks ago and raced against Marianne Vos along with many other top world-class contenders. Even had a chance to randomly pre-ride the Sea Otter XC course with one of my hero's, Katerina Nash! It was during that ride that I found out she too was going to the Whiskey 50. "I'm going to the Whiskey 50 in Prescott," she said when another rider asked her about her next upcoming race. I immediately perked up, "Me too!" In my head I was thinking, "Holy $hi# it's going to be fast!!"

Sea Otter went really well, I wasn't dropped or cut from the race due to the UCI 80% rule, and finished about mid pack so I knew I was going to be ready for the Whiskey!

As the event approached, I began receiving phone calls from friends who were also going to the event. "Did you see the forecast Melissa? They are calling for 40 degrees or even snow!" I kept checking the weather daily and it always seemed to change, however, the weather looked colder and wetter and more epic. I packed all of my gear, just in case and knew I had to mentally prepare for the worst conditions. I've been through some pretty epic and cold races, especially during my time in Wyoming, Belgium, and living in New England so I new I could handle whatever came my way.

Friday finally came and I hopped into the car with the Hanson Family and drove on up to Prescott. The first day would be the Pro Crit in downtown Prescott. This criterium involved a massive climb up a street with tons of cheering spectators, however once you turn onto the backside of the climb, it keeps climbing more - and into a headwind!

Our race started off fast as we took off racing for the hill. I tried to move up on the left side but found myself pinched between another lady and the cones. We were falling back in the field. I moved back around her wheel and up the center and found myself with Mary McConneloug and a few other phenomenal world cup riders. As we turned the corner at the top of the first part of the climb, I started moving up to get back into the main pack. All too soon we were descending and the field started to stretch out again. It was a slinky effect every lap where I would gain ground on the climb, but get stretched back on the descent! The field wasn't moving too far ahead so I had some hope, however as the race progressed, I found my lungs and my vocal chords starting to burn in pain from breathing so hard. I hadn't felt this type of pain probably since racing cross in New England! It was everything I had to keep pushing hard but I realized we were starting to fall further back. Finally at 17 minutes (about 4 laps to go) the officials pulled me and a few other ladies from the race. I was toast! My vocals were still in some serious pain so I focused on slowing my breathing and making my 's' sounds. (Back when I was in college, I was treated for vocal chord dysfunction by the speech language pathology department and found that making 's' sounds help.) I watched the race finish with Chloe Woodruff taking the win at her hometown event!

As I started to move myself through the crowd of people, I found my friend Tricia Davis. "Melissa, here!" She pulled out a flask of whiskey from her jacket. My eyes lit up and I giggled. I took a swig of the maple whiskey (she's Canadian) and immediately my throat felt soo much better. It seems too appropriate to have a whiskey recovery at the Whiskey 50!

Saturday was a mess. I wasn't racing however several friends and athletes of mine were. I woke up early to get to their start and cheer them on. It was pouring rain and less than 40 degrees out. One of Tricia's friend's, Karen (a Kiwi) had a grand plan and had bought a bright pink robe at the thrift shop for 50 cents. She wore that along with her shower hat over her helmet and right as the race began, she ditched the robe. Karen actually ended up finishing the 50 AND making the podium!

After the race started, the temperature dropped and it started sleeting and snowing. Meanwhile a group of us (who were not racing) hung out at the coffee shop! As soon as Jen Hanson's phone rang beside me, I knew something was up. It was her daughter Shelby. She and Regina had stopped at a road intersection on the course with early hypothermic signs so were going to call it a day. Many of the mountain rescue crew were pulling people off the course as so many riders were becoming hypothermic.

Although Saturday's weather was very 'epic', it made way for the best riding conditions for my race on Sunday morning. The clouds had cleared, temperatures were 50's when our race started and the trails were perfect with the bit of moisture.

Our race started with a helicopter swooping ahead and a crowd of people cheering in downtown Prescott. The first few miles we climbed up the road as if we were in a parade. People were waving and cheering from yards and sidewalks as we climbed the hill. I had suspected we would be hammering it at the start, however it was quite a pleasant surprise that we kept a steady pace. When we were about half a mile to the turn-off onto the gravel road, the pace picked up and the hill pitched up. The group started to get strung out from the intensity of the climb. I moved forward and hung onto wheels. As we crested the road, there was a clear break in the pack and I was sitting in about 15th place as we moved onto the gravel road and to the first segment of single track.

I have to admit, being in the pro race had HUGE advantages as we had the entire course to ourselves and didn't have to deal with any bottleneck or getting slowed by riders. We were moving along at a very steady pace. My strengths were climbing so I could pull away on the hills however when we came to a long downhill segment, I was passed by several riders as downhills are an area I need to work on. I was still rolling through some drops that I had never ridden before so I was pretty thrilled with that. When we came to the next hill that takes you up to the turn to ride down to Skull Valley, I started making ground again and started to catch a couple of the riders that had gotten me on the down hill.

As I reached the top of the climb and turned down to the 9 mile decent to Skull Valley, My body was feeling the intensity of the race. I tried to put more food into my mouth and drink up. As I reflect on the race, I probably could have had more electrolytes and could have used my honey flask.

About 4 miles to the bottom, I finally saw the men's field. They were flying up the hill! I couldn't imagine what their speed must have been but it was pretty insane! The lead women were about a mile from the bottom, headed back up. I was a little relieved as I knew I was probably at that point 10-15 minutes behind them. I came to the turn-around and didn't see Aaron as he had a slight delay getting over, so I took a bottle from the neutral feed and headed back up. I could see a few people behind me but wanted to get a bigger gap on them.

The climb out of Skull Valley was grueling. I had to keep focusing on keeping my pace up and fueling my body. The temps had risen so I was losing more fluids. I pushed on and took a bottle from Aaron at the next feed zone. After about an hour and 10 minutes, I crested the top of the climb and was back onto the singletrack. This next section was mostly downhill however the few uphill sections and fatigued legs made for the name 'cramp hill'. I cramped so hard on this section, I had to stop twice to shake the cramps out. The second time I cramped, two people passed me, "Are you ok?!" they'd ask. I got my legs to stop seizing up and clipped back into the pedals. "Relax, relax, relax." I would repeat over and over in my head. I was so close to the bottom but losing my mojo. Finally I hit the last creek crossing and saw some familiar faces. Jason Hanson was screaming, "Go Melissa, stay right, stay right!!" I crossed the creek and finally made it to the road. Another rider had been breathing down my neck. I didn't want to lose another position so when I hit the road, I turned on my 'roadie' brain and hauled butt down the hill to the finish. My legs were nearly cramping again at the line! Whew! Made it!

Although I didn't place as well as I had hoped, I did set a personal best on the course by 20 minutes. I also felt if I had done better on my electrolytes and food, I could have possibly avoided the cramping and shaved another 10 minutes or so off my time. But racing pro definitely took the meaning of 'red-lining' to a new level as there were no chances to slow and catch your breath, you were literally doing a 4+ hr time trial.

Now that Whiskey is over, I am getting ready to head to the Grand Canyon to hike with my dad and brothers, and then start focusing on the Laramie Enduro in July and Leadville in August.