31 August, 2010
16 August, 2010
Rest week, mountain bike, no bike
So the races ended and rest week began. I rode Monday night skirts, e.a.s.y. Legs felt like crap and I had ridden easy on Sunday, too.
Took Tuesday and picked up the new mtn bike. Brian wasn't there, he called in sick. bummer So, I got the bike and a purchased a camelback too and headed home. Wednesday was fun as I took a vacation day and headed to Brown County State Park. Others had made plans to go, but I had decided a few weeks earlier to do this and do it solo. I was accused of being unsociable, but so be it. I needed some time to get to know this new bike and play for a while. I rode for close to 3 hours. I stayed on the lower, easier trails and had a blast. It was so hot and very humid that I was drenched in 5 minutes of getting kitted up. When I finished riding I immediately changed into clean dry clothes. Driving home my bike came off of one of the posts on the bike rack. Scared me to death! So, I stopped by the LBS and had Brian check it out for me. All seemed to be ok.
By the time I got up on Thursday I noticed I was having some issues in the saddle contact areas. This got progressively worse through the day and Friday. I went to Walgreens and bought monistat, thinking that might help but did nothing. The weekend was misery. I couldn't ride!!!!!!!
So, finally today I ventured out for the skirt ride. YES! It was slow and easy. We had a new girl and I hung back with her most of the time. She did great. Poor thing fell twice as she is still not used to the clipless pedals. Thank goodness she wasn't hurt badly, just the ego. We all assured her we've "been there done that". By the time we arrived at Seneca the second time she asked how much further we were going to ride. Her legs were turning to jelly. She was happy to hear the rest was flat. Once to Cycler's we all decided to grab a recovery drink and some nourishment at Spring Street. Nice times with the skirts.
Saddle issue isn't 100% recovered, but much better than it was. CX training rides start on Wed. I don't think I'm ready for dismounts and remounts yet. We will take it easy for sure. In the mean time I hope to run on Tuesday and Thursday this week and ride easy if there's time. Friday will see some intervals with longer endurance on the weekend. Then next week we'll get serious.
be well, laugh and love, peace
Took Tuesday and picked up the new mtn bike. Brian wasn't there, he called in sick. bummer So, I got the bike and a purchased a camelback too and headed home. Wednesday was fun as I took a vacation day and headed to Brown County State Park. Others had made plans to go, but I had decided a few weeks earlier to do this and do it solo. I was accused of being unsociable, but so be it. I needed some time to get to know this new bike and play for a while. I rode for close to 3 hours. I stayed on the lower, easier trails and had a blast. It was so hot and very humid that I was drenched in 5 minutes of getting kitted up. When I finished riding I immediately changed into clean dry clothes. Driving home my bike came off of one of the posts on the bike rack. Scared me to death! So, I stopped by the LBS and had Brian check it out for me. All seemed to be ok.
By the time I got up on Thursday I noticed I was having some issues in the saddle contact areas. This got progressively worse through the day and Friday. I went to Walgreens and bought monistat, thinking that might help but did nothing. The weekend was misery. I couldn't ride!!!!!!!
So, finally today I ventured out for the skirt ride. YES! It was slow and easy. We had a new girl and I hung back with her most of the time. She did great. Poor thing fell twice as she is still not used to the clipless pedals. Thank goodness she wasn't hurt badly, just the ego. We all assured her we've "been there done that". By the time we arrived at Seneca the second time she asked how much further we were going to ride. Her legs were turning to jelly. She was happy to hear the rest was flat. Once to Cycler's we all decided to grab a recovery drink and some nourishment at Spring Street. Nice times with the skirts.
Saddle issue isn't 100% recovered, but much better than it was. CX training rides start on Wed. I don't think I'm ready for dismounts and remounts yet. We will take it easy for sure. In the mean time I hope to run on Tuesday and Thursday this week and ride easy if there's time. Friday will see some intervals with longer endurance on the weekend. Then next week we'll get serious.
be well, laugh and love, peace
08 August, 2010
Last race of the week - the Criterium
I should've gone to bed earlier. Up @ 5 am, to eat, pack cooler and car, etc. Pulled out of my space @ 6:11 and into the parking lot @ 6:21. It was wonderfully cool and a nice breeze off of the river. I almost wished I'd worn long pants and sleeves, almost. I couldn't setup the tent solo, so when the t-shirt vendor arrived we helped each other out.
Kelly's race was @ 8:00 am, the 30-34 AG. What a race it was! There's something about cheering and screaming at a sporting event early in the morning that gets the blood flowing. I was so impressed with her demeanor throughout the race. She pulled two laps early on and hung in the rest of the race, working with another woman. In the final straight-away the sprint was on and Kelly kicked it up a notch and crossed the line third. This was so cool to see a team mate finish 3rd and podium. Way to rock it, K2!
I took the next hour and a half and relaxed across two camp chairs and continued to hydrate and ate a bagel with almond butter. @ 11:30 I started getting ready, kitted up and took off to warm up. I decided not to use the trainer after all and just do my prescribed warmup by riding Utica Pike. It was a good warmup - high cadence and steady states were good and my legs felt great.
There were 16 in my AG. Still small, but nice sized field. All are seasoned racers. We come out of the second turn and everyone is all bunched tight. A girl bumps my left side and I hold my line, but she then moves left and takes out another racer. The pace picked up and I matched each big effort and attack. We come around the back side on lap 4 I think and are all bunched up again. This chick tells me to get my handle bar out of her hip, that this isn't a contact sport. Hmmm, I beg to differ. Anyway, my heart rate is staying @ 170 and I'm working and hanging in mid pack. But on lap 7 (30 lap race) there's and attack, she's pulled back but another immediate attack and then a third. Not sure about my legs, but my cardio just can't take that yet. I got gapped. I tried so hard to bridge, but instead watched 3 others pass me by. So there was a Kenda girl and me left. We talked through and agreed we wanted to finish and would work together to make it there. I was a little frustrated because she stayed in her 23 cog the entire time and just spun. I would get us up to 22mph and then she'd drop us back to 18. I tried to take advantage and rest and finally just relaxed and realized we weren't going to get any closer and I just didn't have it to do on my own.
I have to say that having so many people cheer my name as I went around and around was like nothing else.I am very rich to have so many friends that care so much about me. I almost felt guilty or at least bad for the others who had no one on the sidelines to cheer their names.
This was a great week of racing and spectating and supporting team mates. I learned a lot this week. If you have a flat, take a wheel off then maybe the wheel truck will stop during a road race. If I'm going to do TTs, I need to do TTs and more steady state intervals. Train, train, train. If I'm going to do crits, I need to do crits. Today has seen some post race blues, but they won't last long.
Cyclocross is approaching. It's quite a lot like a crit on grass with obstacles. I need high intensity, short duration workouts.
I wish I still had my friend coaching/mentoring me. I'm ready to play. Get the mtn bike soon. That should help me with skilz and muscle building.
Start line
Kelly's race was @ 8:00 am, the 30-34 AG. What a race it was! There's something about cheering and screaming at a sporting event early in the morning that gets the blood flowing. I was so impressed with her demeanor throughout the race. She pulled two laps early on and hung in the rest of the race, working with another woman. In the final straight-away the sprint was on and Kelly kicked it up a notch and crossed the line third. This was so cool to see a team mate finish 3rd and podium. Way to rock it, K2!
I took the next hour and a half and relaxed across two camp chairs and continued to hydrate and ate a bagel with almond butter. @ 11:30 I started getting ready, kitted up and took off to warm up. I decided not to use the trainer after all and just do my prescribed warmup by riding Utica Pike. It was a good warmup - high cadence and steady states were good and my legs felt great.
There were 16 in my AG. Still small, but nice sized field. All are seasoned racers. We come out of the second turn and everyone is all bunched tight. A girl bumps my left side and I hold my line, but she then moves left and takes out another racer. The pace picked up and I matched each big effort and attack. We come around the back side on lap 4 I think and are all bunched up again. This chick tells me to get my handle bar out of her hip, that this isn't a contact sport. Hmmm, I beg to differ. Anyway, my heart rate is staying @ 170 and I'm working and hanging in mid pack. But on lap 7 (30 lap race) there's and attack, she's pulled back but another immediate attack and then a third. Not sure about my legs, but my cardio just can't take that yet. I got gapped. I tried so hard to bridge, but instead watched 3 others pass me by. So there was a Kenda girl and me left. We talked through and agreed we wanted to finish and would work together to make it there. I was a little frustrated because she stayed in her 23 cog the entire time and just spun. I would get us up to 22mph and then she'd drop us back to 18. I tried to take advantage and rest and finally just relaxed and realized we weren't going to get any closer and I just didn't have it to do on my own.
I have to say that having so many people cheer my name as I went around and around was like nothing else.I am very rich to have so many friends that care so much about me. I almost felt guilty or at least bad for the others who had no one on the sidelines to cheer their names.
This was a great week of racing and spectating and supporting team mates. I learned a lot this week. If you have a flat, take a wheel off then maybe the wheel truck will stop during a road race. If I'm going to do TTs, I need to do TTs and more steady state intervals. Train, train, train. If I'm going to do crits, I need to do crits. Today has seen some post race blues, but they won't last long.
Cyclocross is approaching. It's quite a lot like a crit on grass with obstacles. I need high intensity, short duration workouts.
I wish I still had my friend coaching/mentoring me. I'm ready to play. Get the mtn bike soon. That should help me with skilz and muscle building.
Start line
06 August, 2010
Race #2 - The Road Race in Cherokee park
Didn't exactly turn out the way I'd hoped, but it started well. Tracy Tolson, who had just won the National Championship for her age group right before my race started, came over and told us all of the places to watch out for. It poured rain during the first race(s) of the day cutting them short by 1 & 2 laps respectively. It continued to rain during her race and there were some place that had moss and once wet were slick as ice.
Anyway, I stayed with the pack all the way to Cochran hill. Not an easy hill to climb. As we got to the last part of the ascent I started being gapped and the harder I pedaled the slower I went. My rear wheel felt like I was going over stress cracks n the pavement. I approached Lexington Road and my rear wheel fishtailed which made me a little nervous but as I was going down towards Ledge Rd I looked down and back at my rear tire, it was flat. I walked my bike up Dog Hill to the feed zone. One Wheel truck passed me and I tried waving it down but it kept on going. Once to my team mates I was ready to give in, but they encouraged and cajoled me to continue and try for the next wheel truck. I reached the top of the hill and waved and waved but he just kept going though he did acknowledge me and pointed forward down the race course. Brian had walked up with me and was just as perplexed as me, but he kept a cool head and found Curtis. Curtis lent me his rear wheel so I could finish my race. These two men deserve a special home made desert! I got on my bike and Curtis' wheel and finished the race. I was a full lap down and came in last, but what an experience to be out there. No sour grapes. My team mates were great, cheering me and supporting me through the 5 laps. My friend Whitney was at the top of Barret Hill, the one place in the course I find has no energy at all and she cheered and said some of the nicest things as I passed by.
It's not always about the outcome. Most of the time it's about the journey.
I have one more race, the criterium tomorrow. I'll post up about it after and then more on the journey once all of these races are behind me.
Here's a photo that is on the USACYCLING.ORG web site taken By: Keri Kahn
Anyway, I stayed with the pack all the way to Cochran hill. Not an easy hill to climb. As we got to the last part of the ascent I started being gapped and the harder I pedaled the slower I went. My rear wheel felt like I was going over stress cracks n the pavement. I approached Lexington Road and my rear wheel fishtailed which made me a little nervous but as I was going down towards Ledge Rd I looked down and back at my rear tire, it was flat. I walked my bike up Dog Hill to the feed zone. One Wheel truck passed me and I tried waving it down but it kept on going. Once to my team mates I was ready to give in, but they encouraged and cajoled me to continue and try for the next wheel truck. I reached the top of the hill and waved and waved but he just kept going though he did acknowledge me and pointed forward down the race course. Brian had walked up with me and was just as perplexed as me, but he kept a cool head and found Curtis. Curtis lent me his rear wheel so I could finish my race. These two men deserve a special home made desert! I got on my bike and Curtis' wheel and finished the race. I was a full lap down and came in last, but what an experience to be out there. No sour grapes. My team mates were great, cheering me and supporting me through the 5 laps. My friend Whitney was at the top of Barret Hill, the one place in the course I find has no energy at all and she cheered and said some of the nicest things as I passed by.
It's not always about the outcome. Most of the time it's about the journey.
I have one more race, the criterium tomorrow. I'll post up about it after and then more on the journey once all of these races are behind me.
Here's a photo that is on the USACYCLING.ORG web site taken By: Keri Kahn
03 August, 2010
TT is in the books
and someone has to be DFL, right?
It's all good except that I was slower this year than last year. Makes me want to find a reason, an excuse. But no excuses count. It was a good experience, the course is tough, but I'd hoped my training would improve my time. One thing I can say is that I was able to use a cassette with a 27 cog and stayed in my big ring the entire course. Didn't do that last year.
So, I've been rehydrating to try to get back to a normal hydration level. Think I'm finally there. Tomorrow I am providing support in the feed zone for team mate and all around great friend Brian. I hate that he doesn't get a day between races like I do. His race time is like 3:00. Considering the temperatures we have been having I hope everyone is taking care of themselves. Especially those from cooler climates.
So, tomorrow I will spectate and do my workout as planned before my road race on Thursday. We'll see how that one goes...
It's all good except that I was slower this year than last year. Makes me want to find a reason, an excuse. But no excuses count. It was a good experience, the course is tough, but I'd hoped my training would improve my time. One thing I can say is that I was able to use a cassette with a 27 cog and stayed in my big ring the entire course. Didn't do that last year.
So, I've been rehydrating to try to get back to a normal hydration level. Think I'm finally there. Tomorrow I am providing support in the feed zone for team mate and all around great friend Brian. I hate that he doesn't get a day between races like I do. His race time is like 3:00. Considering the temperatures we have been having I hope everyone is taking care of themselves. Especially those from cooler climates.
So, tomorrow I will spectate and do my workout as planned before my road race on Thursday. We'll see how that one goes...
02 August, 2010
Time to test the training plan
Tomorrow begins Master's National Road Race Championships. This is what I've trained toward since late February. I'm anxious, nervous, excited and believe I'm ready. Ready as I'll ever be. I'm also looking forward to having some time off to just ride my bike for pleasure for a couple of weeks before starting CX training and then that racing season. I might even go kayaking soon.
Put a deposit on a mountain bike, but I can't bring it home til this week's races are done. Mostly because I'd be out riding it and don't need to do anything dumb and mess up these races. :-)
I'm on staycation and will try to post up after each race.
Can you believe it's already August?
Put a deposit on a mountain bike, but I can't bring it home til this week's races are done. Mostly because I'd be out riding it and don't need to do anything dumb and mess up these races. :-)
I'm on staycation and will try to post up after each race.
Can you believe it's already August?
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