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!

False Peak?

Last Friday I raced for the first time in over a month. I was at the track, and glad to be there, but not expecting anything spectacular since (a) I hadn't been training and (b) I had hardly even ridden my bike in over a week. Well, I'll keep this post short, but the news is basically that I think I performed better than I have all year. I even lapped the main field a few times. I was the last one pulled in the miss-and-out because the field got disintegrated by some antsy juniors. I had a decent showing in the 6-lap scratch. And I took all the 4th place points in the 18-lap points race. I felt strong, and Cyndi even complimented me on my tactics in the miss-and-out, then complimented me to Doc after the races (he had to work and just showed up to pick up Ethan). I talked to Jamie for a while afterwards, too - haven't seen her in months. It was nice to chat, plus she commented on my new muscles. : D I feel good, and I'm hoping that I can keep that up for this Friday, as well, since it's the last track race of the season.

I'm looking forward to buying my own track bike, trying out racing at the Superdrome (in Frisco, near Dallas), and maybe even cat-ing up one of these days...

Psyched Out or Psyched Up?

Yesterday was my second day back on my bike after my trip, and I was only able to ride for half an hour due to time constraints. It gets dark so early now, plus I didn't get off of work until late. So I wanted to make the most of the short time I had. I was riding up the closest stoplight-free stretch of road (Space Center Blvd., for those who know it), and crankin' it pretty hard. All of the sudden I noticed another rider behind me. He soon passed me. After he was far enough ahead that I couldn't draft, I picked up speed and just tried to keep pace with him. I don't know how he felt about it, but I felt great! All I needed was someone to pace me, and I no longer thought about how my legs or lungs were feeling -- I thought about my front wheel's distance from his back wheel. It's amazing what a psychological battle it is to tell myself that I really CAN push that much harder for that much longer. But when there's someone else there, I work so much more, without thinking twice about it. It's so easy to psych myself out when it's just me on the road trying to do one more Power Interval or Climbing Repeat. When I've got competition, there's nothing I won't try. So I've found that the difference between being psyched out or psyched up is simply the presence of another individual - some competition, whether they know it or not. (; Just a thought - a realization, if you will. I guess I really am a competitor at heart.

And no wonder the TT doesn't seem like my strong suit... : p

Back in Houston

Home, sweet home. At least for now. (: I'm back from one of the best trips I've ever taken. I wish I could keep riding for another 3 months (or more)! So much to say, but I won't leave it in the blog. I'm safe and sound and back with my friends. Elisa, my roommate, even made me a welcome back cake, and Bryan put together a little shindig for tonight! I love my friends. I sure did miss 'em.

But I sure do like Seattle. : p

Newport, Oregon

Just a quick update. We rode approximately 30 miles to South Beach State Park, just south of Newport, OR, today. We'll catch the 6am bus from Newport to Albany, and catch the train there. That is, as long as we can get our bikes on the bus! We'll figure it out somehow.

It's quite warm here today - I'd say it's up into the 80's even! When we got to the top of a hill called Cape Foulweather, the temperature there was 76 degrees. It's been beautifully sunny, and is supposed to stay that way for a while now.

On to San Diego!!

Lincoln City, Oregon

We made it to Lincoln City today! We knew we had a big hill to conquer before we got into town, and I was a little scared, knowing that I had to tow all of our gear to the top of it. But it turned out to be a nice gradual climb, albeit long, and it had a nice rewarding descent, all through Siuslaw (sp?) National Forest. It was a beautiful day to boot, and we are a bit sunkissed now, finally, after covering up all week long to stay warm! We set up our tent at Devils Lake State Park, and went to grab some grub at the local brewpub. We filled a 4-person table with appetizer, entree, drink, and dessert, and proceeded to finish it all! Yum! (:

We are now at the library looking up bus and train schedules to get us inland and southward. We will either ride a bit farther south tomorrow to Newport (South Beach State Park), take the bus to Albany on Monday, and catch the train Monday night; or stay in Lincoln City tomorrow night and bus it to Albany from here on Monday, and then catch the train Tuesday.

Once we're done here, we'll head over to the laundromat to do some MUCH needed laundry, and maybe tour around town for a bit.

The past 3 days have brought us some great weather, and for that we are extremely thankful. I was almost complaining about the heat today! Luckily, riding in Houston has made me accustomed to warmer temps, so I just reminded myself of that... One thing I can say is that this entire trip has taught me a lot, not only about my physical capabilities, but also my mental strength. There were a few times where I believe it was only my will to continue which pushed me up the last bit of a hill, or made me keep going when all I wanted to do was pull over and quit (or just turn around). This afternoon, we had to walk up a very steep path to get to our campsite, and as I was pushing my bike with the trailer still attached, I couldn't even walk it up the hill! I had to change into my regular shoes just to get enough grip. I don't know HOW I towed all of that up those hills just by pedaling...

Well, I should get back to helping Kathryn figure out our travel plans. The next time I post we will either be in Newport, Oregon, or San Diego, California!!

Manzanita, Oregon

Wow, 2 days of a library/computer in a row! I'm getting spoiled... Today held dry skies, and we made it approximately 40 miles from Astoria down to Manzanita. This is a cute little beachfront town, and it's on the other side of 2 very trying hills. Since I'm currently towing Kathryn's trailer AND my panniers, the climbs were particularly interesting. (: We even got to go through a tunnel! There's a button you press to light up a flashing sign, which then warns motorists that there are cyclists in the tunnel - pretty cool. Oregon is SO beautiful. The views from the tops of the cliffs overlooking the ocean made the ridiculous climbs worthwhile. We've set up our tent for tonight already, and we can hear the ocean from our campsite. It will be so unreal to listen to the ocean as we drift off to sleep.

Per some combined advice we've received in the past day or so, we're likely going to head inland a bit sooner than originally planned, and catch the Amtrak in Albany, Oregon. That may even give us a few more days in southern California, with warmer temperatures and sunnier skies! But so far the trip has been great - and an amazing learning experience. I know that it will be over before I know it, and Kathryn and I are already saying how we don't want to go back to work. (; I'm already considering options for where my next touring trip will be. Perhaps I'll make it an annual journey, and go different places every year. At lunch today in town, I was looking at some Arizona Highways magazines, and that sure looks like a beautiful place to visit...

Well, enough for now. I'm sure I'll post again soon. Keep your fingers crossed for more dry days for us!

Astoria, Oregon

We made it to Astoria - finally across the border! I'm 10 minutes overdue on my computer usage here at the library, but I figured I'd post a quick update. This was our 4th day of riding, and our 3rd day of rain. We've camped 2 nights, hostelled 1 night, and tonight we're staying at a motel to stay try (or rather, to dry out). We've met a lot of other cyclists, and a bunch of kind people.

Our plan now is to head south on 101 to Waldport, then take Rte 34 inland to Peoria Rd to Eugene, where we'll catch the train southward. I might even get to meet my coach in Santa Barbara!! I sure hope that works out in our plans...

I'd better get off the computer now. Hope to post again soon! (:

I can hardly believe it's really going to happen...

Tomorrow morning I leave town with my bags packed full of cycling and camping equipment. I will make a quick stop in Massachusetts to visit the fam, then I'm heading to Seattle to pedal down the coasts of Washington and Oregon. I've been wanting to do this for years, and now it's finally happening! It's hard to believe, and I don't think it will really sink in until I'm actually on my bike, on the road, without a care in the world except where I might sleep that night.

I'll try to post updates if I come upon an internet cafe, but no guarantees. (: I'll be thinking about all my loyal blog readers, nonetheless, and I appreciate the words of encouragement I've already gotten from quite a few people.

Catch you on the flip side!

Back at the track!

Friday saw me back at the velodrome. I couldn't WAIT to go back and race! They don't have races in the middle of the summer (too hot, perhaps). Last week was the beginning of the Fall season, but I was at the HHH. So this Friday I'd race the 6-lap handicap, a miss-and-out, and an 18-lap points race. I knew the points race would be my best, and I'd just do the best I could on the other two.

For the handicap race, I was surprisingly NOT given the largest handicap - one junior was ahead of me - wohoo! I had another Spincycle rider hold me for the start, and we were OFF! Except he didn't let go of me! "GO! GO! GO!" I yelled. He finally let go, and as I tried to accelerate, Shelby zoomed past me. I caught her wheel, and was feeling pretty good. She pulled off, and I pulled for half a lap, and pulled off. Then I realized we were all there in the paceline. Eek! At this point there were about 3 laps left. Where was I supposed to go?? I didn't want to get caught at the back for the sprint, but I didn't want to be out in the wind for the rest of the race... I stayed to the right for a while, but eventually rolled to the back. I came in second to last, sprinting pretty hard to try to beat out Shelby, but I just couldn't make it.

After a few races to rest, I had the miss-and-out. My initial goal was to not be first out. Then I thought maybe I was setting my goals too low - maybe I should try not to be the first 2 out! Well, I made the first goal, but fell short of the second...nothing too surprising, but better than I've ever done before in that race!

Like I said, I knew that the 18-lap points race would be my best. We lined up, and I found myself a pretty good position after the neutral lap. But the quick juniors quickly picked up the pace, and I found myself struggling to hang on. As the points laps came and went, the pace quickened and slowed accordingly. I was able to work my way back to them so that I was never lapped, and sucked one kid's wheel quite a bit. Sometimes he would drag me back up to them, sometimes I would drag him, and sometimes we were too spread out to work together a lot. But I felt pretty good, and even lapped 2 other people. Definitely a good race.

The racing that night was sponsored by NWCC (Northwest Cyclery Club), which supports the Alkek Junior team, so Kathy made a big speech about how well the juniors had done at nationals this year. After she rattled off all the medals they'd won, I felt a LOT better about them beating me all the time. (: They're even sending 3 of their juniors to worlds!!

So I guess I learned that I've improved my fitness enough to not get lapped by the jr's in an 18-lap points race, and I'm getting better at the miss-and-outs. Other than that, still just working on fitness. But MAN I love racing the track!!!

By the way, if you didn't know, the City of Houston has decided to hand over track management to a newly formed non-profit organization, the Greater Houston Cycling Foundation (GHCF). We currently need to raise a lot of money just to keep the track alive. If you are interested in learning more, and/or donating money or items for an auction we'll be holding, visit http://www.houstontx.gov/alkekvelodrome/GHCF.htm. Thanks!!

Who's ever heard of Wichita Falls, Texas???

It was finally here - my goal event for the year: the Hotter 'n Hell Road Race and Criterium. The Hotter 'n Hell Hundred is a rally ride and 2-day race all in one. For a lot of people, it's just an awesome place to do a century (if you like the challenge of 100+ temps and LOTS of wind), and for some, it's a great weekend of racing. I went for the competition!

On Friday I left work at noon, and began my drive to Wichita Falls, a small town about 100 miles northwest of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. I drove into the parking lot of the events center where I'd pick up my packet, parked my car *in the shade*, and got out. WHOA. It was HOT! And it was already 7pm! The wind was blowing -- and the WIND was HOT! I was already starting to get psyched out. I had talked to my coach on the drive up, and he said I just needed to remember to hydrate. Man, would I ever! Laughing out loud (alone, mind you), I went to collect my race number and timing chip.

After that I drove to my hosts' house. (Side story: I ended up staying with a couple (Steve and Camille) whom I met on an airplane from Houston to Denver. We sat next to each other, and I inevitably ended up talking about cycling. They mentioned this famous ride that takes place annually in their town, and offered me their place to stay if I ever decided to go. Of course I took them up on the offer, since hotels are impossible to get, and expensive to boot -- there were 12,000 riders this year!) When I arrived, they were making a wonderful spaghetti dinner, "so that I could carb-load," according to them. They were also hosting one of Steve's friends, Scott, who was racing the Masters 35+ category. We had dinner, and I went to bed early because I had to wake up at 5am.

Saturday morning I followed my routine, ate my oatmeal and instant breakfast, got dressed, aired up my tires...the usual. Scott and I had decided to ride from the house to the starting line, and leave our spare wheels behind. (Luckily I never flatted or had any mechanical problems, so that was a good choice.) I filled 4 water bottles - 2 for my cages and 2 for my jersey pockets. There was only going to be 1 neutral feed, about 25 miles into the 62 mile race. That didn't make much sense to me, so I knew to not rely on that at all. As we rolled down to the race, it was still pitch black, but we saw more and more cyclists as we got closer. I was starting to get excited!

Lining up for the 7am start of the 100km race, I looked around and sized everyone up. There were apparently about 50 Women 4 racers, some first-timers and some racing veterans. Soon the head official gave us our pre-race schpiel and we were racing! It was starting to get light out, and definitely not too hot yet. We kept a relatively leisurely pace for quite a while, and then people would start to pick it up a bit as they alternated leading. I tried to at least stay in the front half of the pack. When I found myself drifting back, I'd work my way up again and find a good spot. The wind started to pick up, and it got harder to find a nice place in the draft. All in all, the race wasn't too interesting - a few times a girl or 2 would attempt a breakaway, but the pack chased them down immediately, and no one got away. The wind was the worst part of the whole race -- it felt like we only had a tailwind for about 5-10 miles. The rest of the time it was a stiff headwind or a brutal crosswind. This race was a great lesson in finding a good draft, and figuring out how to save your energy. At a fork in the road, some volunteers told us to go one direction, which turned out to be the wrong one. Luckily we were corrected less than half a mile later. I hear that some other categories weren't as lucky. About 15 miles from the finish, I looked behind me, expecting to see the second half of the pack, and no one was there!! Whoa. Two thoughts went through my head: (1) I need to work my way back to the middle, and (2) Where did everyone go??? I did a quick helmet-count, and came up with about 21. Crazy... Once we got closer to the finish line, the pace picked up more and more. I was at the back, and was having a hard time working my way up to the front, partially because I wasn't sure *when* I should make that move. The sprint seemed to start way too soon, and I came in 13th, inches ahead of someone else whom I caught just as we crossed the line. As I stumbled out of my pedals, a volunteer ran up to me to take off my timing chip from my ankle. I knew I hadn't done spectacularly, but I had stayed with the lead group the whole time - definitely an achievement.

Sunday was the criterium. Now, the race flyer said our race was at 1:45, with the W123 at 2:45. The race "bible" that they handed to us at check-in said that all women were racing at 2:45. When I got to the race around 10:30am, I went straight to the registration area to double-check -- they told me the time was indeed 2:45, according the race book. I have worked out a good timeline that I follow for all my races, so knowing how much time I have before the race (much less just knowing when to be at the start/finish line!) is important. About 2 hours before my race, I noticed other girls in my category already starting to get warmed up - did they know something I didn't?? I went up to an official who was obviously on break, and bothered him for an answer. According to his schedule, we raced at 1:45!!! AAAAHHH!!! Ok, no need to panic, just get changed and warmed up ASAP! Stupid registration people! So anyways, after all that, I went through my warmup routine as best as possible, and rolled over to the starting area. The head official seemed to know there had been a schedule mix-up, but all except for 1 of the registered women were there, so we started on (scheduled) time. There were about 10 of us, and we were dropping people left and right until there were only 5 of us left. We pacelined for the rest of the race, and in keeping with my lessons, I didn't sprint for any primes. The problem was that towards the end, I was starting to get mighty tired trying to catch up to the other 4 after the prime sprints. Luckily, Shelby's mom was there cheering my name, and that gave me a surprising amount of temporary energy to get back up and hang on. They were wearing me out! The final lap, everyone slowed down and we fell apart. Everyone was just looking around, and then one girl just took off. We tried to catch her, but it was too late - she had enough in her to keep her position, and came in first. I ended up in 5th. Afterwards, I was talking to the girl who came in 2nd, and she said that they were purposely trying to wear me out. She had pinpointed me, along with 2 other girls, as ones who could outsprint her, so she did her best to get rid of that possibility. I still feel like I should have beaten the woman who came in 4th, but I think I have some sort of psychological barrier that makes me feel like I can't beat her. I know how long she's been riding, and I know the way she acts and talks...and I guess I just still get psyched out by her.

What I learned:

(1) I can stay with the lead groups now. I've got the fitness. Now I just need to work on pack placement and sprinting. (Hahaha, "just" those things...probably the most difficult ones!)

(2) Apparently I've got the respect of my peers, if they think I can outsprint them. Now I need to work on being on the offensive instead of the defensive.

(3) Get rid of baseless psychological barriers!

What a GREAT race weekend. My host couple was AMAZING, I met a whole bunch of other women races from Texas and Oklahoma, and I learned what I've gotten good at and what I need work in. Definitely a success! (:

One-Year Racing Anniversary!

This past Sunday, I raced in the Bear Creek Criterium for the second year. Last year this race was my very first USCF race ever! I actually met Aimee Cormier at this race last year, and it was the first race for both of us. She was there again, and we greeted each other accordingly.

I got to the race in plenty of time to register, change, and, most importantly, WARM UP SUFFICIENTLY! I really tried hard to warm up better than I have been, by doing my prescribed intervals and all that good stuff. I had made sure to eat a good breakfast, and had a Clif bar 2 hours before the race. Then I just kept drinking water.

As I rode over to the start/finish line, I started to get a litle nervous, but after the normal pre-race lecture, we were off, and I had no time to be nervous anymore. Once again, we raced with the juniors, and they took off right from the gun, as usual. I knew I needed to keep up with the fast women in order to even be in the running, so I took off with them. The course wasn't very technical - just one sharp turn, that took a bit of getting used to. At one point, the wheels of the girl ahead of me seemed to slip out from under her, but she somehow stayed upright, and there wasn't an incident.

As the race continued, I was definitely expending energy trying to keep up with the lead group. By this time there were about 4 of us Women 4's riding together, with the occasional 5th person grabbing a wheel. At some point, we were passing a line of juniors on the inside, and someone wobbled, someone else braked, and 2 girls went crashing into the gravel. I screamed as I heard someone get a flat, but I stayed upright, and we kept going. At this point, I think there were just 3 of us in our paceline: me, Joyce, and Michelle. Joyce and Michelle pulled much more than I, but I saw that as their own fault for not pulling off when they got tired. So I just sat in and enjoyed the draft. As they started putting signs up with 5 laps to go, I started getting pretty excited -- I could actually be a factor in the final sprint! With 1 lap to go, 2 or 3 juniors got between me and the 2 other women (I was in the back). This made me a little nervous, because I didn't want the women to jump away from me, in case they knew I wasn't right behind them. But I hung on, and as we came through the final turn, I crept a bit closer. Then the juniors started to sprint. As the 3rd junior passed me, another W4 came out from behind, and I jumped on it. I just KNEW Joyce would be right behind me, but as I passed her, she showed no signs up picking up her pace. The girl who came from behind me was still ahead, but I thought we'd lapped her, so I just dug in, panting like crazy. I crossed the finish line beside 2 juniors, and behind that other W4. As I rolled around the course to cool down, I was having trouble believing I'd just won my first race! I wasn't sure if the girl in front of me was really lapped, but when I spoke to Joyce and Michelle afterwards, they seemed convinced that I'd won (and they'd taken 2nd and 3rd). I waited around for the results, and my name was listed as 2nd. I didn't argue, and took my silver medal. But Mike, who'd come to watch, was also positive I'd been 1st. So today I checked the race results on the TxBRA website, and, sure enough, I came in FIRST!

Wow.

There are 4 main reasons this happened:

1) Committment to my training, along with the fact that I have a coach to guide me.
2) Fueling well.
3) A great warm up.
4) Lessons learned from previous crits:
Lesson 1: Don't bother sprinting for primes if I want to be in the final running. This one I learned at the Houston Grand Criterium.
Lesson 2: Staying with the pack is ESSENTIAL. There's no way I'm catching up if I don't hang on in the first place.
Lesson 3: I have to warm up more than I think I do. I won't wear myself out on a warmup!

I'm sure there's a lot more, but that's what I've got for now. It feels really dang good to be a winner. Now I'm gearing up for the Tour of Columbus crit this Saturday...we'll see how it goes!

In other news, I flew on the "Vomit Comet" today and it was AWESOME. I got to feel weightless. : D

I'll hopefully be posting after the TOC crit.

Short Update

Racing has been uneventful lately. On July 19th I raced the Memorial Park Crit, and stayed with the pack for over 30 minutes - a major improvement for me. Last weekend I did the Texas State Time Trial (40 km), and sucked it up horribly. Out of 14 riders, I was 11th, over 14 minutes behind the winner. But looking back on it, I can really see my improvement over the past year or so. To average 18.98 mph on my own, over a period of 1hr, 18min, 34sec, is something I couldn't have done a year ago. Since my start in the racing scene last August, and especially since starting with CTS, I can tell that my endurance is up, my thresholds are up, and I'm just stronger overall. I know that the road I've chosen is a long one, so I'm learning to get my satisfaction from these small improvements.

I'm also enjoying the challenge of finding a way to do my workouts when I'm on the road. I've gotten to ride around the Cocoa Beach, Florida, area, as well as rural Maryland just this past week. And I even got to bring my bike with me to South Dakota! The places I've gotten to see are ones I wouldn't have if I didn't need to ride my bike all the time.

Now I'm gearing up for a month of 3 crits and a road race, followed by a month of riding down the West Coast!