Photos from Manzanita

Well, first we had to get there. On I-5 around Kent we saw this awful sight:


Then closer:


And the gutted double-bus:


But we finally made it to the Oregon coast, and Jamie, Claire, and Tai cozied up on the couch to watch some Olympics:


Then Jamie and I did some riding - Saturday it was north to Canon Beach, and Sunday it was south to Tillamook:





What a great break from everything!

(Photos courtesy of my new iPhone!)

Manzanita Adventure

This weekend Jamie, Claire, and I drove the scenic route to Manzanita, Oregon. It was gorgeous, and Jamie and I did some great riding. But there was a bit of traffic on the way out, and now we're stuck in a really frustrating traffic jam between Olympia and Tacoma. Teh sux0r! Pics to come.

So much to write about!

There's the FSA Grand Prix, the State TTT, all the hubub about Critical Mass, and my awesome boyfriend. I'm too tired to write a comprehensive report about everything, so I'll do the best I can with the time and energy I've got...

Chronologically:

The FSA Grand Prix was amazingly fun. I was able to compare myself to some of the strongest women in US track racing, plus some from around the world. Like I said in last Friday's report, I bettered my Individual Pursuit time, we placed in my first ever Team Pursuit despite a flub on the last lap where we passed the other team on the track, and I helped out Jen in the points race just a li'l bit. Saturday was even better, with a fun and fast scratch race (where I did WAY too much work), a miss and out (where I'm always learning - this time it was learning to pay more attention, and learning that I still need more fitness), and my first ever Women's Madison!

Let me tell you about the Madison: it consists of teams of 2 racers each, competing in a points race (every X number of laps there are sprints for points across the start-finish line). One rider on each team is racing at a time, while the other rider is "on relief," rolling along slowly at the top of the track. To relieve the rider who is racing, the relief rider accelerates as the racing rider is approaching, they link hands, and the racing rider transfers her momentum to the relief rider via an arm sling, and then the relief rider becomes the racer. See a photo of Jen relieving me here. It's hard to understand without someone showing you in person, or just watching the race, but I think you get the general idea - a relay race. This race is FAST, as you can see by the pain on ALL the riders' faces if you flip through Amara's photos. It's basically one and a half HOT laps, and then you do an exchange and your partner is up, while you try to recover as quickly as possible before you're thrown into the melee again.

The women's Madison had 9 teams participate, which I think is an incredible turnout. In the late evening, it was shortened to a 5x8, which means a 40-lap race with sprints every 8 laps (on our 400m track). We managed to pull off 4th place (with prize money of $100!), even contesting 3rd for a short while, and losing to 3 extremely strong teams of women who'd been winning all weekend.

Also exciting was watching Jamie in his 40 lap scratch race. LAST year at this same extravaganza he won that race in a spectacular showing, where he was in a 2-man break for the majority of the race, then completed the final laps solo as the pack surely gained on him. In the final lap, coming down the home straight towards the finish line, he was so nearly caught, but held off the sprinters by mere meters for the win. THIS year, there were constant attacks and various breakaways, with the pack chasing when it wanted, and letting up as it saw fit. Jamie, lacking teammates, had to choose which attacks to chase, when to bridge, and all that stuff. He was in a break for a while that kept growing with people bridging across, and was finally swallowed up by the pack again. Later in the race, he got into really good break with some strong guys, that you just knew would stay away. They rang the bell for a prime with 4 laps to go, and Jamie took it - wohoo! $40 richer! There was a weird crash, in which only Emile went down, and he managed to get back in, but it was too close to the end. On the final lap, the break came out of turn 2, and Jamie was in perfect position. Out of turn 4, he was coming around the leaders, and it was a nose-to-nose sprint for the line, where he beat Adrian by a small but certain margin! I was so excited, and screaming my head off as I spun on my trainer to warm up for my Madison. YAY JAMIE!!!

We got home late, after stopping for Taco Truck (dinner), and I managed to get into bed by 1:15am. But with the racing still running through my head, I couldn't fall asleep till after 2. I had to set my alarm for a 5:45am wake-up, so that I could make it to the Team Time Trial (TTT) on time, down in Elma (ugh!). I managed to get a front flat on the 0.5-mi ride to the starting line, had to sprint back to the car to get another wheel that I had luckily stuck in there at the last minute, got some help throwing it on and pumped it up, then sprinted back to the start with about 3 seconds to turn my bike in the right direction and clip in -- NO exaggeration. My exhausted legs got me dropped from the paceline a few miles after the turn-around halfway, but I did my part, and we had a good time.

I was going to put something in here about the Critical Mass incident, but I'm running out of time, and this is getting long, so suffice it to say that BOTH the riders and the driver seem to be at fault, and I really wish people who know nothing about those kinds of rides, or the situation, would stop passing judgment on it.

As for my awesome boyfriend -- well, I already wrote about his incredible win on Saturday night in the scratch race. Then he and his teammates pulled of 2nd place in the State TTT, after a team of the strongest time trialists in the Pacific Northwest. Plus, he brought me a slice of CHOCOLATE cake from his office party on Monday morning, helps me out with all my bike issues, and is an all-around great guy. I just thought he deserved some blog-time in the form of a big thank-you. I don't think he knows how appreciative I am of all that he does for me - including putting up with me on Monday mornings when I don't want to go back to work (or really any morning when I'd rather stay in bed and sleep than wake up and do anything). Thanks, baby, you're the best.

On that note, it's time to get psyched up for Friday night, the schedule for which looks meager compared to last week's racing. Let's rock!

Monday Morning

Coming off such a crazy weekend of racing is difficult, especially when all I want to do is eat, sleep, and ride my bike, but I still have to get up and go to work to earn a paycheck. (Yes, I hear you: at least I have a paycheck to earn. Blah.) I hope this gets better once I have something meaningful to do at work. Here's to Friday (when I not only start my new position, but also get back to the racing).

Weekend report is forthcoming. I'm trying to actually accomplish something - anything - at work today, despite how it may appear.

In the meantime, you can appreciate this crazy photo of me in the Madison.

Quick Post for Friday

Exhausted. Realized I already am up on last year's performance. I set a new PR for the individual pursuit by 11 seconds. I won $10 in the Team Pursuit (with Ms. T and Ms. N). And I was actually something of a factor in the points race, which my teammate took 3rd in - SWEET. Tomorrow: 20 lap scratch, miss and out, and MADISON!

Jumping Jitterbugs!!

I'm having pre-race jitters and it's only Wednesday! Racing starts at 1pm Friday with the Individual and Team Pursuits. At least they start us off nice and easy with the non-mass-start events.

I spoke with Coach yesterday and have been trying to become more mentally prepared since our talk. I know my body is ready. I am more on form than I have ever been. All I can do now is focus; channel my (nervous) energy towards concentration, speed, and racing smart.

I was looking at last year's results, largely to figure out how many international names were there, and how many girls did well whom I normally race with. I realized I actually did better than I thought (in the mass start events, at least -- the individual events were a disaster). But I was still a long ways from qualifying for Nationals. I know I need to believe that I can do it in order to even get anywhere near the ADT center, ergo the mental preparation. Building on my lesson(s) learned from last weekend, I am reminding myself over and over to never give up. I watched Jennie Reed's World Championship-winning Keirin about 10 times this morning: she never relinquishes her position, and even when she has to take the long way around for an entire lap, she doesn't give up; she JUST KEEPS FIGHTING. And then she wins the rainbow jersey. It's so inspiring to watch.

So, there's my midweek rant. I'm nervous. I pictured myself heading towards the line with Jen and Liz for the finish of the Team Pursuit and I could feel my heart in my throat. But I will focus on my fitness, which is great. I will focus on eating right, which I can control. I will focus on getting more sleep (which I really need to do). And I will focus.

Alpenrose

Skipped Friday Night Racing at Marymoor because my body was saying, "NO!" I slept for hours when I got home (early) from work. I guess my body needed a break.

Saturday I drove down to Portland for the final day of their AVC on Sunday.

First up: Keirin heats. In both the first one and the repechage I felt stronger than I performed, and learned a lot. Going around that track at race speed is a LOT different than rolling around it with 1 other person. And you have to start thinking about your final sprint WAY earlier than on Marymoor. Oops.

Next: Miss and Out. Wanted to try the technique that's been working for me recently, and when I missed my first chance, I kind of lost motivation and just gave up on the race. I know, looking back on it, that was totally the wrong attitude, but now I've learned that lesson. I should have relentlessly tried to regain my desired position in the pack, but oh well. Next time... Also frustrating was missing the initial instructions when they told us they'd be pulling every other lap because I was being asked by another official if I was really not a Cat 1/2. Grrrr!

Finally, the Points Race. I had a renewed sense of purpose, had finally started to learn this track, and felt strong and ready. I contested the majority of the sprints (if not all of them? memory is fuzzy), and held 2nd for a while, but I think I lost placement in the final sprint, which, unbeknownst to me, was for double points. Darn it. Oh well, still pulled off 4th, and got some kudos from friends and teammates.

It was encouraging, also, to have Jane come up to me after the Keirin and say that she took comfort in being on my wheel. And it was also a confidence booster to have Steph tell me she thought I should be a cat 2, and that I raced like a 1 on the track! Wow...talk about ego padding...

So, although I was disappointed with my overall performance, I took a lot of learning away from this weekend. I need to remind myself to never give up, especially in the middle of a race, and also to not hesitate (as in a sprint). It could cost you the race (or at least the $$$!). And then I'll know I tried my hardest.

Team pursuit practice is tomorrow with my wonderful lady teammates, and I have FSA to look forward to all week...and taking Friday off of work to race - w00t!

Why?

I have no reason to be, but I'm nervous for tonight at the track.

The only thing I can think of is that I feel I have quite a bit to live up to after last weekend's performance.

What is wrong with me?? : p

It's a gorgeous day. Hopefully not too windy at the track. Should be a fun night!

4th of July Weekend Highlights (and not-so-highlights)

July 4th morning - Women's Open crit. Got gapped in the first 10 minutes, then pulled from the race.

July 4th evening - Friday Night Track. 3 races:
1) Win-and-Out. Beth (Cat 1 roadie, new cat 3 trackie) takes the win with a late flyer, Amara takes second, I take 3rd.
2) Keirin. I draw the obligation. While attempting to take the motor, my wheel slips and the chain falls off. They restart the race, but as I'm clipping in, I realize my crank arm is loose. No Keirin points for me. At least I get to race the repechage.
3) 20-lap scratch. People take primes. I chill. I take some pulls. I end up at the front on the last lap. I slow. Amara jumps between turns 3 and 4. I chase. I sprint around. I win!!

July 5th morning - Omnium Road Race. The hill shatters the field. Two teammates and I end up in a breakaway with one other gal. We are tired. We do not attack. Other gal almost wins. Uphill sprint for the finish and I overtake her for the win!!

July 6th morning - TT. 10 miles. 1-mile hill. I use Heidi ahead to pace me up the hill. I take second!!

July 6th afternoon - Crit. More teammates show up. I lose my head, and get stuck on the inside for the last corner of the last lap. Whoops. Pull off 7th. 2nd or 3rd in Omnium!!!

GREAT weekend. VERY happy. Feeling quite on form for FSA in 2 weeks. More good things to come.

Excitement

BY THE WAY -- Jamie won the state circuit race championships, motoring in solo off the breakaway he and 2 teammates beat up on all day!

Ice Cream

I won the scratch race last Friday! It was a nice combination of skill, fitness, and luck that got me across that line first, and it felt wonderful.

We're in the process of introducing the women's (or possibly co-ed) Madison to Friday nights. How exciting!! Check out what the Madison is.

Racing in the Methow Valley was great fun, and I mostly enjoyed the very tasty milkshakes. Oh, and leading out my teammate for her to take 2nd in the road race, and 2nd in GC.

Now I'm trying to set myself up for a successful July...we'll see how that pans out. Unfortunately, I think it involves fewer milkshakes, and more intervals that make me want to puke. Too bad the new ice cream shoppe just opened 3 blocks away. At least summer is finally here!

Whoa, June is flying by!

So I failed at reporting on the Minnesota Fixed Gear Classic. It was an amazingly organized event, with free dorm housing just yards from the track, a beautiful racing surface, and great competition - plus simply amazing hosts. I learned quite a bit from racing there, but most of all I learned that I'm often better than I think I am. I need to give myself some more credit, and race like I'm worth it! Plus I had some good times with my teammates Adrian, Dan, and Jen (see photo).

Last weekend I drove out to the Methow Valley for the crit and road race part of the omnium. Heather raced all 3 omnium stages, and I rode in support of her. It was great!! I managed to give her a lead-out in the road race, and she took 2nd, moving up to 2nd in the GC! The scenery was gorgeous, and we even got to hang out in the river in Winthrop on Sunday afternoon.

Yesterday evening I went on my first truly structured training ride in a while (mostly it's been just race and recovery recently). As I rode home through Madrona, I caught a whiff of cool water trickling down the rock surface off the side of the shaded road -- it reminded me of Ithaca and the gorges; brought back some fond memories. It was also a great workout: I really put my heart into the interval efforts, climbed Madrona hill on the way home, and found my way back to the normal route all on my own. Felt so good!

This weekend will be another @ss-kicker: Friday Night Racing, the State Championship Criterium on Saturday, and the State circuit race on Sunday. I think I'll be due for some rest after that... (: We shall see!

Training, New Friends, and a Great Conversation

This weekend was amazing for my training. I raced the track Friday, which totally trashed my legs for the remainder of the weekend. The crit on Saturday started off great for a few laps, then I found myself at the back of the pack for the rest of the race. But I did still manage to hang on. Today was the hill road race, and I got popped off the main group 3/4 of the way up the hill. That's ok, because I ended up working with an amazing group of gals who kept me strong, positive, and having fun every single minute of that race! Plus I reached my goal of working my butt off for 3 days in a row.

And tonight ended with a great conversation that will lead me in a brand new direction from now on.

I love progress. And this weekend was full of progress, on all fronts.

Next weekend: the Minnesota Fixed Gear Classic!!! (Full schedule here.)

$20

But really, it's not at all about the $20.

It was about remembering how much track hack sets in.

It was about almost puking in the first race of the night.

It was about not being able to wipe the smile off my face during warmup.

It was about getting used to a new track, a new field, and a new climate.

It was about having spectators for once.

And it was about just getting out there and racing. And having a gal teammate to give me advice!

Three races. 10 lap tempo (points to the first 2 across the line each lap). Miss-and-out (last person each lap gets pulled). 20-lap scratch (race 20 laps to the finish). Managed 5 points in the tempo, and pulled off 4th in the scratch. So it was a 9-gal field...that's ok, because it still rocked. Now to bed. Tomorrow (and Sunday): Enumclaw.

Like I said -- busy. But still...

Went to Hood 2-ish weeks ago. Had an amazing time. Played soigneur for a team of 6 gals that shrank down to 4. (One of my favorite quotes from the week: "That's a SEVERE whittle!") It was humbling yet encouraging at the same time watching 3 of my strongest teammates kick their own butts in a UCI field. I even got to do some riding along the Columbia River Gorge, and up "Seven Mile Hill Road." Yes, it was a seven-mile hill. I have a photo somewhere of me at the summit. Maybe I'll post that soon. Met the HealthNet soigneur, watched the Pro-1 men's crit, (wo)manned the feed zones, got lost with Team TIBCO trying to find the feed zones, drank beer with the mechanic, and had an all-around great experience.

Raced the road bike leg in Ski to Sea last weekend. Also had an amazing time. Pushed harder than I ever have for 38 miles before. Kicked my own butt. It's crazy what drafting can do for you. Yes, it makes it easier, but it also forces me to push myself just that much harder to stay on the wheel in front of me. Wow. Finished 8th in my division, out of 64, and 96th out of all 440-some participants. I'm satisfied for now, but hungry for next year.

Mountain-biked at Galbraith on Monday. We spent 4 hours in the saddle, on largely technical singletrack. Crazy-fun, muddy-dirty, wet, tough, and at times very frustrating. But my friends were patient and encouraging. I'm SO glad I got a mountain bike before moving out here -- I just hope I find more time to use it! Maybe I'll do more MTBing next fall/winter.

This weekend: the first night of the real Friday Night Track Racing season! Then the Enumclaw Omnium - 3 stages in 2 days. Let's hope my legs are ready for this, eh? If nothing else, it's great training. Patience...I know it's a necessity, but sometimes that's really hard to remember.

Busy-ness

Tonight I finally get to head out to the track and test the legs. Old bike still, but that's ok. Putting off the sweetness of the new machine for at least another week until components come in.

Tomorrow is another race in the cat 4 series, and we will have minimal team support. Should be interesting. Following that are some nighttime festivities.

Sunday is Mothers' Day brunch and relay team meeting.

Monday is volunteer meeting all night.

Tuesday is prep for Hood, and hopefully some PR action.

Wednesday I head to Hood River, Oregon, to volunteer at the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic stage race with an awesome women's team. Will be there working my butt off till the following Sunday.

I guess I'll stop there. But you get the gist of it. Phew!

And on top of that I'm spending ridiculous amounts of cash on all sorts of bike-related things - components, accessories, race food, and other consumables...and I wonder where all the money goes. (:

I'll check back in when I get a chance. Should be some good posts about my stage race soigneur experience at least.

She's here!!!

My new frameset is here!!! Wohoo! Now I just have to wait for all my other components to come in... (: Might cannibalize my T1 just so that I can race the new machine on Friday. We shall see. SUPER SWEET!!!

Sick.

sick = no racing = no exciting updates
Missed the first night of pre-season track racing, and today I'm missing the state road race championships.

Rousing game of bike polo yesterday took a ton out of me, but was also tons of fun.

Today is a gorgeous Seattle spring day and I don't have the energy to do anything. I've been making scattered attempts at cleaning the house and yard, but none seem to have a large enough impact to make me feel much better about the condition of either.

Time for lunch and rest, I guess.

Holy tamales, is it really MAY?

Well, tomorrow it is... it's amazing how fast time flies when every weekend is chock full of racing, riding, and recovering...

Just a thought.

(In other words, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Or something like that.)

Highlights in the Half-week

It's halfway through the week. Time for some highlights. And some not-so's.

(+) Coming in 2nd in Sunday's race, all in all a great team performance once again.
(-) Listening to the intern blab way too loudly to his mentor about how thankful he is (we GET it already).
(+) Completing my workout yesterday in spite of the rain, Spring coldness, and a great desire to just sit on my ass and watch Scrubs and Gray's Anatomy.
(-) Waking up this morning with a sore throat that has yet to go away.
(+) Finding a cheap fare to Minneapolis for the Fixed Gear Classic.
(-) Listening to static-y elevator music while waiting 20 minutes for the airline agent to get back to me about fare promo deadline.

To end on a high note, at least I got to work early today so I can go home a little after 3. Perhaps the weather will hold and I can do a dry recovery ride. Let's just hope Friday doesn't get rained out... Keep your fingers crossed.

Walla Walla -- Crazy Crazy

So....my legs are still totally wiped from last weekend. Racing the Thursday night series last night validated that. But first...last weekend's race report:

TT: Uphill out, downhill back, WINDY out, but kinda windy both ways. Felt strong, and did better than I thought I would (15th out of a field of 48 gals). Rode my new (to me) front Zipp 303, but kept my Mavic powertap wheel on the rear (there's no way I can do a TT on perceived exertion, at least not yet). Thinking about lacing up another PT hub into the rear 303. Glad the wind wasn't strong enough to knock me over in my aerobars.

RR: Later that same day. Legs tired from the hard TT effort. Since I had 3 strong teammates ahead of me in GC, I was a workhorse for them. Went out on a big attack up a sizable climb, and stayed off the front in a 3-woman breakaway for a fair amount of time. It was rough. The wind made it harder, and my legs were yelling at me from wanting so much out of them still after the morning's performance. They finally caught us, but I'm hoping they shed a lot of riders in the process. The race shattered on all the rollers on the back side, and then I found myself at the back of the lead group. Clawed back on a few times. I eventually got dropped up a hill, and had coughing fits the rest of the way back to the finish line. A few times I tried to start working with other dropped riders, but my legs wouldn't go. So frustrating. But those 3 teammates all moved up in GC so the effort was totally worth it.

My mind then turned to refueling and resting for the crit Sunday morning. It was an awesome 6-corner L-shaped course, flat and perfect for me. Great course. It was cold, and actually snowing at the end of our race. Got in a good warmup and pre-rode the course a bit. Stayed with the pack the whole race, and took it as my responsibility to make sure this one girl didn't get away without me (if she won, she'd knock Heather out of 2nd in the GC). I stuck on her wheel consistently with 5 laps to go, and made it into the top 10 at the finish by the skin of my teeth. The pace was pretty high the whole time, and I was happy with my ability to change my pack position when I wanted to. I also kept an eye on the lap cards - something I've had issues with this season so far. Good practice for track, too, I think.

It was an exhausting weekend, and poor Jamie who's been training towards this course all season got sick last week and had to bail after the first stage (they had a RR Friday evening as well). I'm just trying not to get sick now too!

My legs still feel like toast. Last night I raced the Thursday night crit series, and got dropped on lap 2. There's a hill on the course, and my legs just weren't happy with that. Bummer. I hope I'm recovered by Sunday for another race in the Cat4 Women's Series. My teammate Heidi is in 1st (I'm in 6th!), so we could be in for a tough ride. It's only 26 miles or something, but I hear there's a doozy of a hill ("The Wall") at the end and in the middle (it's a loop we do twice).

My track teammate Jen and I are thinking about going to Minneapolis for the NSC Fixed Gear Classic at their velodrome in Blaine. They're putting that on in conjunction with the Nature Valley Grand Prix, and trying to attract some good women racers...hopefully they'll do that and it'll be a fun experience. Can't wait for track pre-season to start -- ONE WEEK to go!

Kids on Stage

When I was little, my brother, our neighbors, and I used to play this board game called "Kids on Stage." I don't completely remember how the game went, but it was a sort of charades game.

Saturday begins the first stage race of the season - and my second stage race ever. I'll have to be on top of warmup, cooldown, and most of all recovery.

Two days of racing, three tough races, and 42 strong competitors.

There will definitely be some charades going on this weekend - when your body is being that beaten up, you have to put on a strong face and just muscle through it.

Time to be another Kid on Stage again...

Weekends Like This

It's weekends like this last one that remind me how much I wish I could get paid to train and race my bike, and how much I hate getting up for work (especially on Monday mornings). So much so, in fact, that I just stood in the women's restroom for a good 2 minutes, playing with my hair, and staring at my face, just to avoid going back to my desk and sitting at a computer.

[The great thing about my job is that it pays for my bike and allows me to train and race more or less when I want (sure, I'd like to be able to sleep till 8 or 9am, and not have to train at night on my indoor trainer in the middle of winter, but it's not a bad compromise). But I digress...]

Really the fun started on Tuesday at PR. The first race in the Women's series was last week, and I showed up along with a handful of my teammates and a bunch of other women. It's basically a training race for W4's, and the W1/2/3's show up to give us coaching advice during the race. They're not competing with us, and they're not there to lead us out or anything great like that. Just to make us be smart or work harder.

So the first ~2-mile lap is pretty neutral, getting everyone used to the course, and then we're racing. Some attacks go off, they get chased down, then the bell rings for a prime, and coming around what I've labeled "Turn 2," I decide to launch an attack. In reality, I totally forgot that this was a prime lap, and just wanted to attack. I've got some distance, and manage to keep it going all the way around Turn 3 and coming into the line. Most of the way around Turn 3 I remember that it's a prime lap, and think, "Man, now I HAVE to keep this going at least to the line!" I totally thought I had it, but neglected to look back one more time, and one girl caught me right at the line!!! DANGIT! THAT was frustrating. So the pack catches me immediately after that, and Gina (a Cat1/2, who happens to be on my team, but the 1/2's are have no loyalties for this race) yells, "You've got someone who just blew her wad!! What do you do?!?!" And some smart girl says, "You attack!" So they do that, but luckily I've still got enough to jump on someone's wheel and I sit in and rest for a bit. Attacks keep going and getting caught, my teammate Heather and I try for an attack, but our communication is sucky, and we get caught. Lap cards go up for 2 to go, and we're kinda just rolling around at a steady pace, not really slow, but nothing that intense either. Well, we are approaching Turn 2 again, and I think, "What I did last time almost worked...maybe I can make it work this time." So I sneak up on the outside and attack around Turn 2. I give it what I've got, and see that I've got a gap on the field, and glance at my PowerTap. I think to myself: "Ok, I've got a little over 2 miles to go (once around the track, plus a little bit more). In the TT on Sunday, I was able to hold 210W avg for 12.5 miles. I'm guessing I can hold ~235W for the rest of the way." So I get into a groove to try to hold that while still trying to gain distance on the pack. It was awesome. Snot flying out of my face, breathing so freaking hard.... I stayed away all down the first straightaway, into Turn 1, down the other straightaway into the wind, around Turn 2....and I'm glancing behind me, seeing them get closer. So I try to go harder. Around Turn 3, still away. I can see the finish line, and I'm coming into it, but I hear the spectators screaming, "Get on her wheel!!" and I know that the girls are close. There are 2 of them. They're gaining on me, and the finish line isn't as close as it seemed a second ago. But they still don't come around. I'm pushing harder and harder, but I know they're not far. Then we're almost at the line, and one girl comes left around me. DANGIT AGAIN. She's going to beat me to the line - I've got no sprint left - but the girl on HER wheel...maybe I can beat her. I give it EVERYTHING I have, and I can hear her moaning, and I beat her over the line! I go 2 more pedal strokes, and start retching... I totally threw up. Not a ton, but definitely a little. That's the first time I've thrown up in a race. It was crazy. I turned my body inside out for this thing! What a training session. Second in the prime AND the overall. Pretty frustrating, but a great effort, evidenced by my power numbers. I was PSYCHED.

So that was Tuesday, and my legs were pretty dead all week from that. I had a workout on Thursday that I completed, but could feel Tuesday yelling at me. (:

Then came the weekend, with back-to-back crits Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday was Volunteer Park, on Capitol Hill only a few miles from home. The non-technical course had a few nice round "corners," if you could call them that, and a small climb immediately before the sharpest, but still safe, corner. We arrived early to pre-ride the course before the first race went off, and then got warmed up and fueled for our race. At 9:45 we lined up at the front (I was particularly excited to see that Jamie and Riain both came to watch us race!), and we were off. I got clipped in quickly, and managed to stay quite near the front for the majority of the race. We could hear Gina screaming at us each time we reached the top of the climb, and it was great encouragement. I made a breakaway attempt, and managed to stay off the front for a few laps, attempting to work with a few different girls, but eventually not succeeding and getting swallowed by the pack again. But I was able to get back in and keep a good position up until a few laps to go. Then somehow the back kind of came around me and I found myself a lot closer to the back than I wanted to be. I knew I needed to get towards the front coming around the last corner, and tried to work my way back on the descent and the climb. Unfortunately, that was somewhat unsuccessful. As I came around the last corner, I could see a girl already sprinting for the finish line, and she was strong -- there was no way anyone would catch her. I tried to find a good wheel to follow for a bit of a leadout, but in the end, saw a nice open stretch of road in front of me and drilled it to the line. I ended up 4th overall -- a fair placement for my efforts, I think.

Afterwards, Dana even told me she was shouting at her girls to catch me: "There goes the race! That IS the race, girls!" which made me feel pretty good...

The weather for Volunteer Park was gorgeous, and I ended up hanging out at the park most of the day (and getting a sunburn). Jamie's race was exciting, with a one-man break for quite a while, and Jamie ending up taking 4th. Afterwards, there was a barbecue at Tom and Joannie's house, where we got to hang out and eat good food. Then we headed home to get ready for the next day...

Sunday I pre-rode the course for the Boat Street/Brad Lewis Memorial Crit, and the sun was even peeking through. But as I rode home (about 0.5 miles from the course) after the pre-ride, the sky was darkening, and rain clouds could be seen to the west. I ate, got my coffee, then rode down with my trainer to get warmed up and register. The temperature seemed to already be dropping from earlier that morning! As we rode to the starting line, Gina told me and Heidi that this was to be Heidi's race, as she was the team leader in W4 series points.

The race was a great team effort. I made a few attacks, with one long one where I bridged up to a girl from Western, I think. We tried to work together, but the pack dragged us back in. Heather eventually got into a break with 2 GH's. They kept the break going the rest of the race, and at 2 laps to go, Heidi started a successful bridge attempt. Heather ended up with a podium spot (3rd), Heidi took 6th, I was 8th, and Sara rounded out the top 10. I ended up in a pretty bad position at the back for about 1/3 of the race, and was saved by my sprint in the end. The corners were easier than I thought they'd be, and I was told that I looked comfortable, but should have been in front so I could have kept up my speed. I really wanted the race to be longer, just so we had time to DO more.

So in the end, I had some great races, wonderful team experiences, good placing, and a nice refresher on crits for next weekend's Tour of Walla Walla. My legs feel like they're getting stronger, as well as my overall fitness and endurance. Waking up this morning, my whole body felt sore, but I think that's actually a good thing. I love this feeling, I love racing, and I can't wait until the next race, until I can see how much better I'm getting, until I can see my training pay off, until I can help my teammates succeed...it's amazing.

Now, back to work...

Not So Stellar

Saturday was Sequim #2. I had high hopes, with my good showing from Sequim #1. We did alright, but my legs felt tired the whole race, and I didn't have anything for the sprint. Then my number got obscured somehow and they didn't even post me in the results, although I know I'm in the top 12. (What confuses me is that they had my name listed as 11th, then I protested higher, and when the final results got posted online, I'm not even on there...huh???) Heather's not listed either, even though she came in right behind me. Whatever...guess that just gives me motivation to do well at the upcoming crits. My teammates did well, with Jackie finishing despite a crash, Vanessa riding most of the race on her own but still finishing too, Christi staying with the pack, and Heather riding strong as always.

Sunday we had a cornering clinic and my legs were just toast. Saturday I'd had a hard time fueling up and hydrating, and recovery was just shot because of that. So I guess I paid for it Sunday. At least next weekend is only a TT.

It's going to be a busy week again, but hopefully the weekend will bring some rest and recovery. What, it's already Tuesday?! It's already APRIL??? Less than four months until FSA...

Coffee

I'm starting to REALLY enjoy coffee. I like sitting at my desk with a nice, warm, tasty drink. I like driving to races with a calming pick-me-up. I like following a good meal with a smooth cup of sweet bitterness. I don't know what it is. But I really like it. I might have to buy a coffeemaker.

P.S. It snowed again this morning. REALLY not looking forward to freezing tomorrow in Sequim.

Isn't it Spring?

It SNOWED last night.

Yes, those frozen flakes that fall from the sky.

I'm cold just thinking of the possibilities for this weekend's racing conditions. I wish I were in Hawaii like Tom and Joannie.

Pacific Raceways #2

In response to Jackie's request for details on last night's race, here's what I gave her:

I'll start at the beginning.

Jamie and his teammate Chad RODE down there (yes, Jamie rode from Wallingford). When Jamie left at 4:15pm, it was pretty nice and sunny in Seattle. Tricia and I drove down together (bringing Jamie's race wheels, etc.), leaving around 5. Well, as we got into South Seattle and beyond, the rain picked up and up and up, until we arrived at PR and it was POURING. Tricia decided she wasn't racing. I stepped out of the car, realized how cold it was (on top of all the rain), and decided not to race either. We called Jamie's and Chad's cell phones to see if they wanted us to pick them up somewhere, but no answer. So we sat and waited. Everyone who was there was totally ready - except they were all in their cars staying warm instead of warming up on the track! It was so miserable out that no one wanted to be outside! Anyways, then Tricia saw a woman who's been dominating the W1/2 field, went and talked to her, then came back to the car and said, "We're racing." Hmm. Ok. So we had like 3 minutes to register, and 10 minutes to get all changed, pin on our numbers, and get our bikes together. No warmup. But then again, not many other people had warmed up either. : p

So, yeah, I got out there and raced for 20-30 minutes with the 4/5's again. It was WET WET WET and I even attacked a few times. Those guys are all sketch-cases, but whatever. We didn't know what the officials were saying at the end -- if we were done, if we had 2 laps to go, or just 1 lap or what. I think I could have placed well in the field sprint if I'd known when the finish was. Maybe next time. But it was chaos, especially when we kept yo-yoing with the Master's field (which is what Tricia raced in with that other gal). Anyways, our race ended (officially or unofficially I'll never know for sure), and I did a cool-down 1/4-lap (~1/2 mile), then headed back to the car. Well, in the 5 minutes that it took between the end of my race and the end of Tricia's, I became extremely cold and shivering and could hardly think straight. It was awful. I don't remember the last time I was so cold. All my muscles were tensing up and all I wanted to do was get into warm clothes, but Tricia had the car key. Well, obviously she eventually finished and unlocked the car and all, but it took me a good hour and a half to be totally back to normal again. (So you can see why I'm hesitant to come out tonight if it's raining.)

A cold race yesterday, and it's not promising to be much nicer tonight for TT practice. Plus coach has me scheduled for some recovery miles anyways. We'll see...

Sprung?

Yesterday = First Day of Spring
Today = Coldest Morning in a While
Yesterday = Email from Teammate with Queen's Bicycle Race
Today = No Headphones or iPod
Yesterday = Thought I'd be Relieved that Today is Friday
Today = Not as Relieved as I Should Be

At least my teammates rock:


And what about this guy?

Working My Way Up...

Saturday was Mason Lake #3, and I was determined to build on what I learned the week before, particularly the comments in the post-race clinic by Tricia and Suz. Unfortunately, those lessons didn't do me a whole lot of good. Three women from the SAME TEAM (First Rate Mortgage) got away up the road, so I tried to get the pack to organize in order to chase them down. As it turns out, few people in the Women's 4 field know what a rotating paceline is. So we just fell farther and farther behind as people didn't want to work, slowed down, and people behind them didn't do any work either. SO FRUSTRATING to watch places 1, 2, and 3 just roll away up the road, ALL on the SAME team, and me not being able to do a THING about it. After quite a few miles of unsuccessfully trying to explain a rotating paceline, I decided to take my 2 teammates to the front of the pack and just pull everyone along with us as we rotated amongst ourselves. But one of my teammates got stuck behind some people on our way up, and since you can't really demo a rotating paceline with 2 people, that turned out to be unsuccessful as well. GAAAhhhh!!!!! So we all ended up sprinting it out for 4th. I ended up 6th overall, using much the same technique as last week. I guess I just need to line myself up closer to the front in situations like that. Positioning is key (but I knew that).

Sunday was Ravensdale (Market Street). Three laps on a 9-mile course with a few nice climbs, but nothing that bad. I did get into my small chainring on one of the hills each time, but it wasn't really a doozy. I could definitely feel my legs' fatigue from the day before, and every time I attacked I thought, "Hm, maybe that wasn't the *best* idea...." We had a team of 8 gals total, and a FULL field of 50 women 4's! It was great - I think my biggest starting field ever! Anyways, a fair amount of attacks, and finally one FRM girl went off again and somehow I wasn't paying enough attention. Before I knew it, she was a fair way up the road, but still in sight, and close enough that I thought I might be able to bridge. And no one seemed to be chasing... So I attacked the field in an effort to bridge up, and was definitely pushing my limits. I knew I didn't want to burn myself out totally, because regardless of what happened (whether I got caught by the pack, caught her, or whatever), I would want something left for the finish. Well, I was still out there in no man's land, starting to wish the pack would just catch me already, when 2 girls from 2 other teams came up behind me, and Suzy said, "Grab my wheel!" So it was 3 of us, riding away from the pack, and trying to catch FRM girl! I was in my first real break that might actually be a success! So we got organized and did a GREAT job working together, each pulling for a good time, encouraging each other, and gaining time on the pack. We eventually lost FRM girl from sight, but also lost the pack behind us. We knew they couldn't be far behind, so kept encouraging each other to keep on pedaling on the downhills (where the pack kept braking and slowing), and pushing it on the flats. We had a sharp turn and a hill before the finish, at about 1.5k to go, where I kinda got freaked out, and our little breakaway kind of broke up, but we regrouped. We could see the pack about 1/2km behind us, but they never caught us, and I outsprinted both other girls for 2nd place overall!!!!

It was awesome. My first breakaway ever, and it was near-perfect (only perfect if we had caught the 1st girl). I am ecstatic, and can't wait for next weekend. : D And MAD props to the spectacular team I'm on! (I have to keep an eye on my head, though, lest it get too big for my helmet. But I think I'm allowed to be excited over my highest placing in a road race ever, in the biggest field I've ever raced in!) Time for a celebration cupcake and decaf nonfat latte...

First Road Races of the Season!

Quick summary...

Saturday, Mason Lake #2
-2 teammates in the breakaway, took 2nd and 3rd.
-I took 3rd in the pack sprint, for an 8th place finish.
-Lots of attacks (by us and other teams) made for a decent pace, but nothing too bad.

Sunday, Tour de Dung #1 (a.k.a. "Sequim")
-Attacks by everyone, but none stayed away.
-I took 3rd over in the sprint for the finish!


So it turns out I'm actually using some of the stuff I've learned by racing for 2 seasons. Listening to what my teammates have to say and building on my experience is working. It feels good, and now I finally have a podium finish in a road race!

On to next weekend...the last Mason Lake and the Market Street road race in Ravensdale. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the weather...

Funny.

http://www.dothetest.co.uk/

Yes, I owe a race report (2 actually). They're on their way, but check out the link above in the meantime.

Reaching Inside

Yesterday was the Icebreaker TT. It was my first race of the season. To quickly summarize, I set a power goal and reached it. I hit a good HR. And placed 14th out of 37.

All of this means that even though I worked my butt off, I am just not strong enough yet. I will get there. My fitness continues to improve. I'm loads stronger than I was at this time last year. And I know I'm only getting better.

I am still learning how to reach inside myself to find new levels of self-induced pain. Self-induced pain is much more difficult than externally-induced pain. When I am sprinting against someone on the track, I can think beyond the pain; ignore the pain; I don't even realize it was there until it's over. But in a TT, it's just me and my pain. My bike and my pain. On the road. Alone. And I am thinking today that, although I thought I pushed as hard as I could, in truth it's tough to say. Could I have pushed harder? I'll say, "Probably." How do I know how long I can sustain a certain level of pain? If I push just a bit more, will my body explode? No. Will I blow up too early and end up wobbling back to the finish humbled and slow? Perhaps. But there truly is no way to know until it happens, right? Do I have to have this happen to me before I can really know my limit? Hard to say.

I hear we do this course again later in the season. It will be good to compare.

For now, I will work on exploring more pain; looking past the pain. Should be fun.

Next up: Mason Lake #2 and/or Tour de Dung.

On quitting.

Yesterday I felt like quitting.

Tuesday's field test apparently didn't go as well as it should have. After feedback from Coach on my power file, I'm not pushing hard enough. And now I have to do it again, harder, and I can't find anyone who will do it with me outside (like Coach suggests). They all just have their own 2 cents about how another way is better.

Thursday's workout was tough to just get started, much less complete. I couldn't find my iPod, so for the first half of the workout all I had were the thoughts in my head: "This is too hard." "You're not good enough." "Push harder." "It hurts." I finally turned on the stereo, when everyone else left the house.

I just couldn't get rid of the awfully negative thoughts in my head.

Wednesday night I went to a meeting of women track racers. We're trying to figure out how to encourage more women to show up for races. I looked around the room. I thought about the elite women on my team. I remembered how much it hurt to do intervals behind Morgan on Saturday.

And thinking about all those things, I know I have a long way to go.

With these thoughts, it feels like I'll never be as strong as Tricia, Gina, or Suz, not to mention someone like Sarah Hammer or Kristen Armstrong. So why bother? Why waste my time? When I'm struggling to just make myself put on the clothes and get on the bike, is it really worth it? Am I more stressed out than I need to be?

Lots of questions hanging out there, and I don't really know what the answers are.

My dreams seem so unrealistic. Maybe they are. Lots of people would think so. I don't even tell most people because I know they'd make fun of me (or just laugh). They make fun of me when I tell them how I use visualization techniques on the trainer (when I'm not as negative as I felt last night), so who knows what they'd say about wanting much bigger things than just winning a sprint at the track.

And this morning seemed like just another test.

I was out late last night, riding with the .83 kiddos, tearing around Seattle with Christmas trees, and ending up at Golden Gardens, where there are bonfire pits on the beach. It was so much fun. And we weren't competing. I was actually with the last few folks to arrive because I was helping tie and bungee pieces of wood to people's bikes, but I had a blast.

But then this morning I got up after ~4 hours of sleep, dragged myself to work, and ended up going on an hour-long trek because I forgot my badge, and no one had told me yet how to get a temporary badge. I'll leave out the details, but suffice it to say that it was a very frustrating way to start the day. I really just wanted to quit and go home.

So there is my rant on quitting. I'm still figuring out what I'm supposed to do with all the questions I have. There are lots -- more than I've written here. What would I do if I didn't race? Would I still ride? Would I get fat? Would I get depressed?

Questions feel urgent. Remind me of a song - "No Time." I got - got - got - got no time...

Quick post

Thursday I got adventurous and went out night-riding with Jamie, Tricia, and Amy - all of whom are elite racers. We met up at Speedy Reedy's, rode with Amy back to West Seattle, and then Tricia, Jamie, and I rode out on Alki. We got a great view of the city from across the water, and I got a great workout...more of a workout than I'd planned on, but I felt stronger than normal, and felt like the training was still doing its thing.

To accommodate Thursday's ride, I swapped a rest day for Friday. Apparently, one rest day wasn't enough. Today, Saturday, I went out with the team, and felt like my legs were pedaling in mud. It was awful. We headed down south to Renton and practiced rotating pacelines on Jones Road - I was likely the slowest one out there. And we were on the devo ride. Ugh. I ended up heading back on the west side of the lake with Michele, and felt like my legs were going to fall off. We were both ready to be home before we hit Leschi. And now I'm debating riding tomorrow. We shall see...

Ups and downs...all part of the training, I suppose.

Good things that happened today: we got a Christmas tree, bought tree decorations, had pork sandwiches from Paseo and super-burrito from Gordito's, and the best hot chocolates (ones I imagine are served on the Polar Express) from Chocolati. And I wrapped Xmas gifts!

Since it's just been a while...

It's been brought to my attention that I haven't posted in quite a while, so here is a post to satiate my fans. (;

The overview: I'm loving the Northwest, riding more than I think I did last winter, stocking up on warmer cycling clothes, making lots of plans, and STILL searching for a place to live.

The details: As of tomorrow, the 29th, I will have been here for 2 full months! I can't decide whether it seems like longer or shorter. I've done quite a bit since I've gotten here, so I guess it seems like longer, but on the flip side, it's only been 2 months! I've joined 2 teams (Wines of Washington/Union Bay Cycling for road racing and Broadmark for track racing), and am riding with Wines every weekend, and during the week on my trusty trainer (well, really Jamie's trainer). I had to get my stuff out of the Boeing-paid-for storage by last week, so I took a Friday off and had them deliver almost everything to my new storage unit. So now I get a little more time to find a more semi-permanent place for myself to live. But I did have them bring some boxes to the house, so now I have my rain jacket for riding (BIG yay), my skis, and some other random items that are nice to have around.

Last weekend I spent Thanksgiving at Jamie's dad's house, then drove up to Lummi Island with them to spend 3 days in a nice house with no cable TV and stoves to heat each room. It was a nice break from the city, and this coming weekend we're headed up to San Juan Island to visit Jamie's mom. I'm expecting another relaxing mini-vacation. We even get to stay for free at this SWEET cabin/house with amazing views of the islands and Canada and water and mountains and...

Work is busy, as I'm working on the 787 program, and I'm sure if you've been keeping up with the news, you've heard we're behind. I'm right in the thick of it, helping to get things done as quickly as possible. I work overtime just about every day, and I'm taking a new-hires class 2 days/week. The class is a nice break in the routine, and I'm even making some friends of my own, rather than borrowing them from Jamie. : p

I went to my first EWB-Puget Sound Professionals meeting last night - even rode my bike downtown to get there. It was a nice short ride, and easier than I thought it would be. The meeting was of the Executive Committee, of which I am apparently now a part. I'll be taking care of membership issues, introducing new members to EWB, and matching them up with suitable projects and tasks. How is it that I always end up taking on more than I planned??

Well, that's probably enough of an update for now. I can't believe we're gearing up for Christmas already. I'm looking forward to celebrating the holiday in Seattle, and getting up to Whistler for some New Year's skiing. The snow is already accumulating, and I'm anxious to get out on the slopes as soon as we can.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

(Oh, by the way, I can't WAIT to start RACING!!! Too bad it won't be for MONTHS. And I have a great Women's 4 team, and a sweet Women's track team to boot - wahoo!!)

Wenatchee MTBing

What an amazing experience for my first ever mountain biking adventure. I took out my brand new 29er hardtail (Gary Fisher Cobia), despite the fact that FedEx totally banged it up - yes, I plan on filing a claim. Jamie was wonderful and fixed it all up for me the night before we left, even removed a sheared off bolt that I was sure we couldn't salvage.

So anyways, I've never done anything like this before. We were out for 6 hours on Saturday, and 3 hours on Sunday. Saturday's route was Devil's Gulch, a grueling 13 miles uphill, through mud and mudpuddles and rivers and over tree roots and rocks, on a narrow singletrack that wound up and up and up with a dizzying dropoff and scary, DIFFICULT switchbacks and stellar views (which I mostly missed because I was so focused on the trail). The switchbacks ended right before a perfect lunch spot, where we all regrouped and ate our sandwiches together. Despite the fact that I didn't feel at all like eating, I forced down the first few bites of my sandwich, and then realized how hungry I really was and how good the food tasted. Jamie made us his famous "recovery sandwiches," which include avocado, sprouts, tomato, turkey, amazing bread, and great spreads (whatever yumminess he has on hand), plus probably other things that I can't remember. Coming up that part of the mountain, I definitely had some moments where I just felt like quitting right there. I felt totally weak and incapable. But then I thought about all I had done, and how much determination I really had in me, and got back on the bike and kept going. After lunch, it really wasn't that much farther to the top, where we again reconvened and decided which groups would take which routes back to the cabin (there were something like 19 of us in all). My group of 4 girls headed back down the same trail, and it was the best reward ever to go down the seemingly neverending downhill. I had a few small wipeouts, the worst of which gave me a tiny thumb injury and a nice big bruise on my hip, and smaller ones on my shin.

I think I pushed myself harder than I ever have before, at least in that way. I was in so much pain, but it was so much fun. My legs ached and my arms ached and my lungs felt like they would burst and I fell countless times (inevitable in mountain biking, I know), but it hurts so good. I breathed so hard for such a long time, it's amazing I can still feel my throat (though it is a little sore today). (: We climbed almost 4000 feet, and I think that's an accomplishment to be proud of. I spent all of Saturday night in disbelief of what I'd just done. I just couldn't fathom that I was actually capable of what I did. I could handle many of the technical aspects, I wasn't completely overcome by the steep dropoffs or wet roots or slick rocks, and I kept improving throughout the day.

By the end of the day, I wasn't too keen on going out again on Sunday, but I woke up Sunday morning, didn't feel as sore as I expected, and Katie proposed a nice short route, so I couldn't say no. I was the first one with my gear on and ready to go! We headed out about an hour before the boys to get a good head start, and took a ~2-hour trip uphill in a different direction from Saturday. We could all feel the fatigue in our legs from the day before, but I was getting better and I could feel it. At some really steep sections I did get off and walk, but I feel no shame in that, and know that I have plenty of room for improvement - I think I will build one of my goals next year around being better on these rides. The downhill was SWEET on that one, too, and so smooth, with some great banking that reminded me of the velodrome in spots. (: We were back from that ride in about 3 hours, and had time to shower and relax and EAT a bit before the rest of the gang arrived.

It was great that Matt's friend's cabin was so close to the trailheads! The house is right on the fire road that you can take to the different trails, only one or 2 miles away, and a great cooldown once you're off the trails. The weather treated us wonderfully, with absolutely no rain, and brisk mornings turning into comfortable afternoons. The views were spectacular, especially with the fall colors, and the smell of the forests is something that just makes you feel more alive.

Today I'm sore and I have a boo-boo on my thumb and quite a few bruises, but nothing major, no broken bones, and all my teeth. I am still somewhat shocked that I actually accomplished what I did, and trying to process it all. I have to admit that I'm rather proud, and know that this was GREAT training for climbing all the hills they've got here. I just hope I can get in a few more rides before the snow hits the mountains!

I live in Seattle?

Well, I know I do, but it's still hard to believe. Reality should kick in once I get a routine down, start work, find a team, etc... But for now, this all seems so unreal.

Tuesday I went out for my first bike ride as a Seattlite, and towards the end, a guy actually gave me a thumbs up out his truck window, and yelled, "I love cyclists!" as he nodded his head with a big smile. Crazy. In Houston, a guy would have given me the finger as he yelled curse words out his window. What a contrast already. And what a great welcome to Seattle.

Yesterday, Tricia took me on a ride to Seward Park. Despite the fact that it was probably an easy ride for her, I was gasping for air the entire time just trying to stay on her wheel. She said I could pull through if I wanted, or just stay and draft, and I told her I didn't think there would be any pulling through. There wasn't. (: But it was a great ride, even though we got a little rained on towards the end. The days have been spectacular so far, with mostly sun (the only really rainy day so far was Sunday), and some threatening clouds in the distance most of the time. It's been cold (well, cold for someone who's lived in Houston for 4.5 years), but I just throw on another sweater and I'm fine. Then last night I went and did yoga. That was a disaster. My body was already exhausted, so I just got frustrated at myself for not being able to hold the poses.

Since Jamie's been off at Elite Track Nationals, it's given me some time to settle myself in, and get to know his roommates (and Tricia) without him around. Although it'd be great if he was here, it's kind of nice to have that time to bond with them alone. Riain and I share bad TV shows at night, and Paul even gave me ride back from the airport after I dropped of my rental car today, after which we went and had some great pizza in the U-district. And of course Tricia is amazing, letting me borrow her car (AUDI) to pick up my stuff from storage, taking me on rides, and inviting me to yoga (and Monday night dinner). How awesome is she?!

Speaking of Jamie at Elite Nat's, his team took 3rd in the Team Pursuit yesterday - pretty freakin' awesome, considering this is NATIONALS. We're all so happy for him. I wish I could have seen it, but I think I definitely plan on being there next year - to RACE.

I've been having a hard time finding a place to live, especially since I want to be in Wallingford, and not pay out the *%! for a room. I'm picky, what can I say? And it's difficult to find the motivation to look any harder when I am currently living with some awesome people in a great location.

Well, that's all for the update. Riain should get home soon, show me how to feed the cat, and then I'm off on a short, easy ride for today. (: I love Seattle.

Germany tomorrow!

I leave tomorrow for Germany. The movers came today and took all my stuff. Well, most of it. I couldn't get the pedals off my mountain bike, put a huge gash in my arm trying to undo them, and ended up at Sun & Ski because they have a big sale going on. Then I ended up buying an entire Yakima rack system. But at least it was all 15% off!!! But enough about that...

I get on the plane tomorrow, and meet up with Dad in Frankfurt! And if I'm lucky, I'll catch the Elite Men's Time Trial of the UCI Road World Championships in Stuttgart on the 27th! How SWEET would that be?! We'll have to wait and see, though. The timing could be off.

And when I head back to the States, it'll be to Seattle. I'm becoming so drained, though, that the anticipation is wearing off. I just want to get my last box of stuff shipped off to FedEx and my luggage loaded on the plane to Germany, and I'll be off daydreaming and relaxing. This stress is starting to get to me. Being on edge 24/7 is not always the best policy. Plus I haven't ridden my bike in days (Don't tell Steve!) and I miss it. Can't wait to go riding in my new 'hood...

Catch y'all lata!

Oh and...

...apparently my name is on this. Still not sure how it got there, really.

Alkek Elite Regionals

Yesterday and today. Lots of racing. 200mTT, 15k Points race, Keirin, Team Sprint, Sprint, Pursuit, 500mTT, 7k Scratch race, and a MADISON! I am toast. Again - much like FSA. Anyways, the usual suspects showed up: Shelby, Cristin, Cyndy, and even Maureen. Unfortunately Julia crashed hard on a ride 2 weeks ago, and though her broken nose and face are healing, her concussion is worse, so she was not racing. I took 3rd in the points race, pursuit, Keirin, and scratch race. Cyndy raced the team sprint with me, so that was a really fun new experience. And of course the Madison! Now, I wasn't *planning* on doing the Madison, but only 3 or 4 teams had signed up, and they needed 5 to actually make it worth running. So at the beginning of tonight, Jameson came up and asked if I'd be his teammate, so they'd have enough teams. For some reason, I said yes. So there I was, racing a 60-lap Madison after I'd already raced 9 times this weekend, and had JUST finished my 7k scratch race. Well, it was a BLAST. Jamison and I agreed to just do the hand-tap exchange, but halfway through we decided to try a sling, and it ROCKED. He slinged me, and it was so much fun! We tried it again the next time, with me slinging him, and it didn't work so well, but I've never done this before, so I was rather happy with our performace (and no crashes). All in all a great race weekend. I came home with a few extra bucks, and some hardware to boot. I actually took Cyndy and the finish a few times, which was a little encouraging since I was off the bike for essentially a month for Africa. It's nice to know I haven't lost as much fitness as I thought. And this whole thing just reminded me how much I LOVE racing. It just makes me feel so awesome.

I said goodbye to everyone at the track tonight, and it was a little hard. I almost started crying when I said bye to Leigh. And he told me he'd introduce me to some really awesome racers in Seattle (whose names I actually recognize from FSA), which simply ROCKS. I'm definitely taking him up on that offer.

Well, now I have to get ready for Andy to arrive, finish organizing my stuff, finish my last day of work, get ready to move, and pack for my trip to Germany - all in the next 5-and-a-half days. Aaaa! Wish me luck...

Moving to Seattle!

So, on the 19th or 20th of September, the movers are coming to take my things. On the 21st I travel to Germany for a week. When I return, it's to Seattle! I'm starting a job with Boeing, to live in a place where I can ride my bike on hills and mountains, and compete in bigger and stronger women's fields. I can NOT wait! This is a dream come true.

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.

Weekend Update

It's been a little while since I've posted, so I'll write a short update...

At the end of May, Evan drove up to Dallas/Fort Worth with me so I could do a crit in Frisco and the state crit in FW. Frisco was less-than-stellar, but I placed 8th in the state championship, so that was cool.

Since then I've been racing FNR at the velodrome and I did the first 2 crits in the Memorial Park series. I have my on-days and off-days, but steady improvement shows through.

Two Fridays ago I had a great performance in the 3-lap handicap, coming in 2nd. Leigh said he's going to have to give me less of a handicap next time..."Bring it on!" I say. Earlier that night, I'd attacked on the backstraight with 2 laps to go, and got lots of kudos from all sorts of people. I lost, anyways, but you don't know if you don't try, right? This past Friday I attacked in the 8-lap scratch and managed to break away. I almost had it until Shelby caught me on the homestraight. I'm getting stronger, though, and they're figuring out that they can't let me go much longer -- they'll have to chase me, and sooner rather than later. (:

Then immediately after races were over this Friday, I drove the 2.5 more hours out to Austin to race the AT&T Downtown Crit sponsored by USA Crits. I spent the night at a wonderful Hampton Inn (they are GREAT hotels), ate a wholesome complimentary breakfast, and headed downtown. Our race, a W3/4, was at 10:40am. It had rained the night before, but the roads were drying out. The clouds were lingering, and threatening more rain, but were kind throughout the race and left us "cool" (or at least shaded) and dry (except for the copious amounts of sweat). It was a great race, with lots of attacks, and I stayed with the pack the whole time, and even tried attacking once just for kicks. But I had a lot of trouble staying in the front half of the pack, and ended up at the back most of the time. In the final sprint, I gave enough to come in 10th, so I got $10 back for my efforts. I think I got in a good warmup, and I played it pretty smart, so I just need to learn how to stay up front so I can start getting real results.

There's just one more Friday night of racing left for the Alkek season, then a Texas Cup track race in July, then on July 27th and 28th I'll be at Marymoor Velodrome in Redmond, Washington, racing the FSA Grand Prix! Should be exciting...!

Maybe I'll have something fun to write about after FNR next week, when Paul and Evan are planning on coming out to watch. That's all for now, though. Thanks for checking in. (: (So much for the *short* update...)

When do you know when to go?

Well, I can't answer that question, except to say that you just DO. Short story is:

Final BMW Crit was Sunday. I raced the 25-minute W4 category. 35 racers in all, 6 of them women. Three of us ended up in the lead, trading places, making the new girl pull a lot. Sugar Cycles' Amy Taylor didn't feel like pulling very hard and we played leapfrog for a while. After it seemed like more than half the race must be over, we came around the turn where her teammate outsprinted me in the final lap last time. I was behind Amy, but in front of new-girl Melissa. I knew this was my chance. I jumped inside, and gave it everything I had. I pushed like hell and tried not to look back for about 10 pedal strokes, stomping those things down as hard as I could, pulling up with my entire body. The next chance I had, I glanced behind me, and they were waaay back there! I'd done it! I'd dropped em! But they were definitely trying to catch back up, and I sure didn't want to let them. Pushing harder and harder, I thought about my track racing the night before, and the week before that, and how my insides wanted to come out but I didn't let them and just kept on pushing. I wanted to stop, let my heart rate fall back down, let my stomach stop churning, but I reminded myself that I am stronger than that! And then I dropped them for good. It was amazing. Turned out we had about 7 or 8 laps to go when I jumped, and I kept my lead until the end. Awesome. The win felt so pure and wonderful. (:

A Good Night Tonight

Tonight turned out pretty well - a good confidence-boosting night. I knew it would be a good night because I was well-rested from this week, and there was NO wind out at the track tonight, plus I got in a great warm-up because traffic wasn't too bad and I actually got there early. (:

We started out with a Masters/Women 5-lap scratch, which wasn't too eventful. We just rolled around in a paceline at a pretty good pace until the last lap, where I came in a few bike lengths behind the women. Poop. That's ok, cuz it was a great warm-up at a good speed, and got me ready for the upcoming 20-lap scratch.

We started out the first few laps about the same as the 5-lap, and then 2 guys take off and I'm all of the sudden the one pulling the rest of the group up to them. I take a hard, half-lap pull, then pull off and let the rest of them do the work. After a bit, it's just me, Shelby and Julia again. With about 8 to go, we ALMOST catch the leaders, but then they went and sprinted again, and we didn't make it. We never got lapped, and we worked our butts off, though. A good race.

Then we had the 3-lap handicap. Julia decided to leave before this race, and I'm not sure why - she didn't say. A little odd, but whatever. So it was me, Shelby, Cristin, and Michele. Cristin was at scratch (0), Shelby was at the 50, I was at the 70, and Michele was at the 200. The whistle blew, Robert gave me a nice push, and off I went. I could feel how strong my legs were as I pedaled my way onto the track. It felt awesome, and I was still standing up as I came into turn 3. I pushed as hard as I could through the start-finish line, and had a huge mental lapse where I thought that this would be my last lap. So I gave it my ALL on that lap, and as I approached the start-finish line, I saw the lap card showing a big 1, and heard the bell ringing, telling me that THIS was in fact the last lap! Oh no! I felt like I didn't have much left! But I kicked it up again, and finally caught Michele along the backstraight, just after Cristin passed us both. I figured Shelby must be right behind me, so I used every ounce of energy I had in me, and ended up crossing the line in 2nd!!! Amazing! My teammates told me that Shelby almost caught me on lap 2, but I took off and she couldn't catch up. I left her in my dust. Unbelievable. This is how I know I'm improving. Not only does my coach tell me my power levels are increasing, but compared to all the other girls, I'm doing better than I was before. It's a great feeling.

Also, at the beginning of our 20-lap scratch, we had our neutral lap, then Doc Bing said, "20-lap scratch race! Be safe!" and blew the whistle to send us off. Right then, a HUGE smile spread across my face. I couldn't help it! I just love racing, and it felt so good to be out there, feeling *almost* competetive. (: Of course, after 2 seconds of smiling, I realized I needed to start working, so I wiped the smile off and started concentrating pretty hard... : p

Now hopefully I'm off to Jamaica in the morning (or anywhere else, really...)! : D

Three Days

That's how many days I raced this weekend. And I didn't win once (sorry to ruin the ending, but I figured if you're waiting for me to tell you I won with a flourish, I'd let you down right away).

BUT I had an awesome time, my legs are goo, and I learned a boatload (as always).

Friday night was racing at the velodrome. Three races as usual, and I'm happy with my performance, I can feel I'm getting better, all that good stuff. The highlight of the night was the 24-lap points race where 2 of my male teammates (Women race with the Masters) lapped the field, and I worked with them for a little bit...until I couldn't keep up anymore and dropped back to the pack. But it felt good to bridge up to them from the pack! It was a nice rush, and it was one of those times when you realize the strength you actually have.

Which brings me to Saturday night - more track racing. It was threatening to rain the entire night, and some brief, light sprinkles even came down, but no real rain. I came in last in all three races. But there was one instant, in our 18 lap points race, where I took off on my own from our little group of 4 women (the only ones racing), and I pushed so hard that I don't know where it all came from. I felt like I was pulling the strength from somewhere deep inside of me and working harder than I've ever worked before. I could feel every single muscle in my legs and arms and back contracting perfectly and intensely. It was amazing... I just need to learn to dig like that all the time now... I did realize that racing with the Women 1/2's as a new 3 really tests your abilities to their limit, and I'm pretty pleased that I just kept up with them every time someone made a go for it -- I was right behind. Soon I'll be right there with them, and even making some of the jumps myself - I'm determined!

Today I woke up, stepped outside, and it was hot, VERY humid, and also VERY windy! My legs were jelly last night, and were slightly better this morning - I finally got to sleep in. (: In any case, I was only slightly wanting to race, and once I got there, registered for the W4 25-minute crit, instead of the Women Open 40-minute. We race with the Juniors and Cat 5's, and apparently more than half of the ten or so of us racing were first-timers. Off we went, and of course I lost the wheels I had around the first few turns, and the headwind along the middle half of the course was brutal. There's always a wind on this course, but I think today's was the worst we've had. There were only 2 other W4's on the course, and I caught up to the one who was only a few bike lengths ahead of me pretty quickly. We played with each other a bit, and I kept trying to figure out how I could lose her or wear her out. I made her pull for quite a few laps in a row, hoping that would help me out. Then she ended up making me pull, but I kind of just rode along not trying too hard, but still trying to figure out what to do. I kept trying to pull off, but she just stayed behind me. The lap cards went up for 5 to go, and we just kept at it. At 2 laps to go, I decided to pull to the side and just kick it into high gear to try to shake her, but it didn't work. On the last lap, I tried to get our to the outside on the last 2 turns, but she edged inside on the second-to-last turn, and the last turn was too wide for me to get around her fast enough, and she outsprinted me to the finish. Dangit!! I got some socks, a Clif Shot, and some hair gel as a consolation prize, though...

So, this weekend was a learning weekend. I didn't win, but I feel strong, and I know where I need to work. I got tons of tips from lots of different people at the track both nights. And I have a prospective woman teammate now! An exhausting weekend, but productive. And I can feel it getting better all the time! (:

BMW Crit #4

Not much to say about this except coach looked at my power file and I've apparently improved since the beginning of the season already. It didn't feel like it, since despite me getting a good, quick start, I was promptly dropped around the first few turns, and then lapped countless times by Joyce and Laura M. The last 10 minutes felt like forever, and the 40-minute race was just plain rough. It probably didn't help that I went wakeboarding a few hours prior, and had never been wakeboarding before then, leading to me being extremely sore afterwards. But it certainly was an ego boost to find out that both Evan and Max couldn't even get out of the water, whereas I ended up actually wakeboarding behind the boat.

My real reason for posting is to add this sweet photo to my blog. I think it's pretty cool, and shows me working my a$$ off in the crit. : p Hope y'all like it, too.

Thought

Yesterday I sat in a restaurant working on my presentation for class, and staring out the window (more of the staring, less of the working). It was the second time in about as many months that I'd looked at the sunset and thought about Colorado.

Ah, Colorado.

This weekend should be interesting. Three races back to back to back -- Friday Night Racing at Alkek, then Texas Cup racing at Alkek on Saturday night, and finally the BMW crit on Sunday. Exhausting! Let's hope I have something worth writing about on Monday. : p

Meeting Another C-Squared

Last Thursday I met Chris Carmichael, and then on Friday he came to the velodrome! That's the short story. Longer (somewhat) version: I went to the Bike Barn in Rice Village on Thursday night to hear Chris Carmichael talk about his new book, and brought the copy that I got for Christmas for him to sign. When it came to be my turn in line, I introduced myself and explained that I was a CTS-er, and he came around the table to give me a hug! It was pretty cool, and we chatted for a brief few minutes about stuff. Then I met Ingrid who also trains with CTS and has my same coach! She lives in Dallas and was hanging out with Chris for the weekend. In any case, our conversation ends with him saying he just might come out to the velodrome the next night, where I'd be racing. I tried not to get my hopes up, but the whole drive home from Bike Barn I was ecstatic! Friday night rolled around and I tried not to keep checking to see if Chris had gotten there, and after an hour or so had passed, I gave up hope. Then all of the sudden, Kathy takes the microphone and says she wants to introduce a special guest, and I knew immediately that it was him - so cool! We talked for a little (me, Chris C, and Ingrid), but they had to leave pretty early, probably because the MS150 was starting early the next morning. Anyways, that was a neat experience, and I felt pretty cool to have met him (and Ingrid!). (:

Paperclip Ride

Today's group ride was interesting. It's called the Paperclip Ride because the route takes you down the feeder road of IH-45, then turns around and heads right back up the other direction, so it looks like a paperclip. We start off and I'm barely putting out any watts, and everyone's just spinning along like we're out with the kids or something. : p Then someone kicks it up a notch and I'm working harder...then harder...then even harder and I'm still just drafting! Then I take a pull, and I'm thinking, "eh, this isn't TOO too bad," and when I pull off I'm to the back of the pack in seconds cuz I'm so tired and they're so strong. I somehow work hard enough to cut back into the middle somewhere, and try to stay in the draft as well as possible with the ridiculous headwind, and being in the draft was QUITE noticeable at that point. After a while, they just keep accelerating so much that I can't hold that kind of power anymore, I lose the guy's wheel, and I get spit out the back. That was a little deflating. So now I still am working pretty hard, and putting out pretty decent power on my own, and after I make the turnaround, I notice a few guys way up ahead that got dropped too. I think to myself, "if i can get them at a traffic light, then at least I'll make it back not alone." So I keep cranking away, and every time I catch sight of them again around a bend in the road I get another little boost of energy, and I finally caught them. It felt good, and they laughed with me when they realized I was right behind them, panting like a dog. LOL But I'm proud of myself for working to catch them, and it was then that I realized it was mostly P123's that I was riding with in the first place, so I should expect to get dropped, right? : p All in all a good ride, and I am POOPED. Time for bed. (:

First Crit of the Season

Sunday was the first crit of the year, and the first in a series of 6 that are raced at this awesome BMW test track. See an aerial view of the 1km track here. The two 180-degree turns coming into and out of the wind sucked big-time, but made me realize how far I've come since last year, too.

Unfortunately, there were only 5 gals racing my category, and about 20-25 in the entire race (Cat5, W4, & Jrs). It was a rough race, as I got stuck at the back from the start, and 2 girls (Amy T and Angela) on Sugar got ahead of me. I kept up my pace the whole time, mostly alone, and never got too far behind them. With 4 to go, I finally caught a wheel and caught up to them, but I was too gassed from the effort and didn't even hear the bell, so I came in 3rd. Apparently I did enough work for a water bottle, a pair of socks, and some Gu's and chamois cream. : p

In any case, I know I can do better, and can't WAIT for next week. Plus the first Texas Cup track race is Saturday at Alkek!

There were crashes in the P123 race, and 3 guys from Tilson went down. Slade broke his arm, unfortunately... And Bike Barn's Kremke lapped the field once, and was halfway through lapping it again when he won. I spent the first half of their race admiring Kremke's pedal stroke. It was so beautiful that it was hynotizing... (:

Hopefully I'll have something interesting to say after this weekend!