Keirin!

Here is me in the Keirin:

FSA GP

Quick report. IT WAS AWESOME. I had so much fun. Met a bunch of Jamie's teammates. Learned a buttload and then some. Raced faster than I've ever raced before in fields of 20+ women - amazing. I was so high on adrenaline at the end of both nights, Fri and Sat. My legs were toast, and then I went and raced (kind of) a crit on Sun. I blew up immediately, but got $30 for showing up anyways. : p

In the 5-mi scratch I actually led a few laps, and was in the first few riders leading the group for a fair amount of time. I felt great, responded to accelerations and attacks, and was totally wiped at the end. The Keirins were FAST and awesome and I feel like with a little more practice, I could be pretty good at them...

My individual times sucked (pursuit, 500mTT, and 200m qualifier for the sprints), but I have never done any of those before, so what did I expect? Now I know what I need to practice. (:

It was an amazing week(end), and I can't wait to go back and race it again next year. There were racers from all over the US, plus Canada, Australia, New Zealand... And I got to meet Jen Triplett, a racer local to Seattle, super fast, and also super nice.

Racing rocks! And the track is just plain SWEET. Oh! And at Marymoor, when you come down the homestraight, you're looking right at Mount Rainier. How much more can you ask for??

One last note - Jamie ended up in the paper - check him out!

Gearing up for the FSA Grand Prix

So I really just wanted to post because I found this awesome pic on a website:

But I also thought I'd just post a quick update. I've been training my butt off in preparation for the FSA Grand Prix on July 27 & 28, and the Whale of a Crit on the 29th. Both are up in the Seattle area, so I'll be shipping my track bike, and either checking my road bike on the plane, or borrowing one from someone up there. My legs are definitely feeling the workouts, but I can see the results, too, when I look down at my computer and see my power numbers sustained higher than they've ever been. It's a pretty neat feeling to know that the training is working. It's so gradual, but there's a point where you realize what's happening, and it's wonderful.

Now I'm just nervous about the specific races I'll be doing at Marymoor Velodrome. I've never raced a pursuit before, and I've never really done a 500m or 200m TT either. It should all be very interesting, and I'm sure I'll learn quite a bit while I'm there. Jamie also told me that Jennie Reed may show up!

I've got another week-and-a-half or so of training, and then I'll be put to the test...wish me luck... (:

Now I know how that works...

"USA Cycling announced the events that will serve as 2008 Track Talent Pool qualifiers. Competitors will have three opportunities to gain entry into the Talent Pool. The first event will be held Aug. 21-22. The second event will be the USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships, Oct. 3-7. The final event will be held Dec. 11-12. All three events will be held at the ADT Event Center velodrome in Carson, Calif. In order to be eligible for the 2008 Olympic Games and other major international competitions such as the world championships, world cups and Pan American championships, all athletes must be a member of the USA Cycling Talent Pool."

Food for thought.