TGIF - 9/26/08

Summer is officially over. Actually, it was over on Monday but since it is "officially" off-season, I haven't updated my blog since last Friday. These past two days have been a pretty shocking dose of "summer is OVER" and "put away those sandals, break out the sweaters". I actually love this time of year because of the gorgeous colors and the lack of humidity. This past week (until it started raining yesterday) was just about perfect for me.


So, the ING Direct Capital Criterium was last Sunday - Click on that link and see the best finish-line shot ever ... with the US Capital in the background.

Since I've been off the bike for three weeks, I was not disappointed that I couldn't race. I found it kind of novel to be able to enjoy watching/helping out with the race without being stressed about being on my legs, what and when I should be eating and where I need to be for my warmup. Huge props to ING Direct and CycleLife, whose support made it all happen, Mark Sommers, who promoted the race, and the members of DC Velo (especially those guys that were up at 5am to work the race and still gave us something to cheer for during the big-boy race!). Joe Jefferson gave us some great color commentary during the early races and some fun interviews during/after the big-boy race. Everyone I talked to seemed to be having a great time and locals were genuinely impressed and curious about the race, the sport and what the heck was going on in their "backyard".

I had the pleasure and opportunity to have dinner with a few of the pro-guys over the weekend - I wasn't overly thrilled at the prospect as I don't do the star-struck-fan kind of thing but it turned out that they were totally cool, normal, down to earth and personable. Its funny - "real" pros are passionate about the sport but it doesn't define them. The pseudo pros that I have met during my limited career in cycling are completely over the top. Kudos to the real guys - it restored my enthusiasm in the sport.

Thanks to everyone that came out to support the race - It's not every day that you shut down Pennsylvania Avenue for a bunch of lycra-clad cyclists to play for a few hours. I ran into lots of guys and girls that I haven't seen in a while and I got nothing but good feedback ... I am looking forward to doing the race next year because everyone that did the race kept saying how great/fun the course was.

Speaking of restoring enthusiasm, I am happy to report that I got on my bike for the first time in 3 weeks on Saturday. With all the talk about the race and some interaction with some of the racers, I was inspired to get back in the saddle. Saturday was a beautiful day and the ride went well - much better than I thought considering that I've been running so much. I enjoyed it so much that I actually did my pre-work workout tuesday morning on my brand-spankin'-new e-motion rollers ... yes, you read that right - I got on the rollers/on the bike on purpose ! Look out, cycling world ... I'm back !

Well, kind of. I'm still running and doing other things, but I am looking forward to my bike workouts again. Except today because I'm pretty sure I'm coming down with a cold. Dammit. Two friggin' days of fall and I'm already coming down with a cold. At least it waited until it was cool and rainy - I won't feel so bad when I bundle up in bed with a good book and some hot tea tonight. Yeah, I know how to live it up.

Happy Friday !

TGIF - SERIOUSLY (9/19/08)

My, my ... what a week ! Running, rowing, spin-classing, hiking, planning the weekend - a girl's gotta go to work just to get some rest ! Seriously - I ran almost 25miles last week (not at the same time, silly ... longest yet was 7+ miles last Saturday). I am already up to 15 this week, not including the 8+ mile hike at Old Rag.

Jilly and Mitch went with me last Sunday to climb the mountain ... remember, when it was a thousand degrees ? I'm not complaining, it's just a - different - experience when it's 90 degrees versus 60 degrees. It was the first time I've been really hiking in almost two years so I was super excited. We were so busy chatting when the hike started (and distracted by the two guys finishing their "speed hike" by almost running over us) that we missed the turn off ... we wound up doing the hike backwards, which was cool. Kind of like a whole different hike. Highly recommend. However, as Mitch learned, you need to wear your hiking boots a few times before attempting a "real" hike. And if you have blisters from running, they ain't gonna go away while you're climbing a mountain. The rock scramble at the top was super cool - better than I remembered it. Of course, my memory of the rock scramble was attempting to do it while still nursing a broken collarbone. I have no idea how that went down, I think I blocked it out of my memory.

Anyhoo. Updates, updates ... basement is slowly but surely getting fixed. Apologies in advance to any of you who are "contractors" but my experience so far is that contractors suck. I think they suck worse when you're a female trying to accomplish something - it's almost like they think as long as they say something with confidence, you have to believe it. Seriously. Don't even get me started on their surprise that I actually read the insurance estimate and I actually pointed out where they didnt do what they were supposed to. A female who reads. Who'da thunk ? I'm not bitter or anything, can you tell ?

This weekend is the BIG RACE in DC. I've heard info about it on a couple of different radio stations - nice piece on WTOP with Mark Sommers. Since I dont live in the immediate area, I did not get to see the commercial. I'll have to find that on you-tube or something. Anyhoo, all the big boys are flying in over the next day or so ... DC should be the happening place for cyclists this weekend. Hopefully we'll see you there - the CycleLife ladies will be out in force on Sunday to help out at the race. Robin and Z are currently riding with the ING folks - their 3rd day of 50+ miles to do the trek from Wilmington to DC. The weather Gods have smiled upon this whole event - the ride has had some awesome weather and Sunday looks to be picture perfect. Get out there and welcome/cheer on the big boys. Its not every day they close down the streets in front of the Capital !

Good luck to those of you doing the Charm City Cross this weekend - I'm sorry I'll miss it; it's so close to my house but I will, once again, be trekking down to DC. You'd think I lived there, I'm down there so much.

See you on Sunday - TGIF.

Silly Season 2008

Since I've been MIA on the race scene as of late (congrats to all of you who made it to the final couple of races ... I wimped out!), I'm relying on a reprint from a prior "journal" posting I made a couple of years back. Ali (ABRT) just reminded me of it and I thought I'd dredge it up ... despite the fact that it was written two years ago, it still applies. Enjoy. And yes, this counts as a blog update ... we're allowed to reuse and recycle, dammit !

(as an aside, obviously my team affiliations have changed but my feelings toward my friends and surrogate teammates on ABRT have not!)

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.... Well, the 2006 road racing season is, to quote my grandfather, all over but the shoutin’. Congratulations to everyone for making it through another year, hopefully with a few new race numbers to keep as souvenirs, maybe a medal or two and some personal bests. Now the time for silly season has begun.

What is silly season, you may ask ? To give credit where credit is due, it is a term I borrow from my childhood in rural Maryland where everyone followed NASCAR. No comments, please! Silly season began as the racing season wound down and drivers, owners, crew chiefs and sponsors were all playing musical chairs to determine where they might land for the following season. There are inevitably rumors; some with foundation and some completely out of the ball park, contradictions and big changes in store. I think this is a great description of the bike racing community during this time of the year.

In my 3rd silly season, I've noticed that each year is a little different, but not much. Several riders are outwardly free agents, several are quietly checking out options, a couple of people are talking about starting new teams and others are talking about folding their teams. Last year, since I raced unattached, I was in the midst of the madness. Thank goodness that this year I get to be on the other side. Despite this, I heard the other day that I was not returning to ABRT. Then I heard that ABRT is not fielding a team next year. Both rumors have absolutely no basis – but hey, it’s silly season.

If you are looking for a new home for the 2007 race season, there are a few things I learned during my limited time racing that might help. I know a bit about the issue as I’ve been on 3 different teams in as many years ! This will be the first year that I am returning to the same team – which is pretty cool because I’m thrilled with ABRT and really excited about the direction that the women's team is going. Okay, enough cheerleading … on to the lesson of the day:

Goals – your goals have to be at least compatible with your potential team/teammates’ goals. If you want to win a MABRA championship but the potential team plans to run an NRC schedule, there are some compatibility issues.

Training- some people train alone, others like to train frequently with teammates. If you’re a loner and you’re joining a team that trains together weekly (or vice versa), there might be issues.

Teammates – if you’ve been racing at all, you know that there are people in the peloton that just rub you wrong. For whatever reason, you can’t see throwing yourself on the sword to help out this person as a teammate, and you’re pretty sure that he/she wouldn’t do it for you either. This is a really important red flag. You don’t have to love everyone on your team, but you probably want to be able to tolerate and work with everyone. If you don’t know your potential teammates well enough to make the call, you should ride with them a few times before making a decision. Usually they will want to ride with you to ensure a good fit anyway.

Since clothing orders usually go in by November, you now have less than two months to play musical chairs. Sounds like you better get to it ….

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Shameless plug: Team CycleLife has been awesome in our inaugural year ... we're looking forward to continuing our team building in 2009 and doing things bigger, better, faster, more ... maybe my next post will be a season recap - just to get myself back into thinking about cycling. Heck, I might even get on my new e-motion rollers soon !

See you all at the DC race this Sunday. It's going to be awesome.

TGIF - 9/5/08

Life outside of cycling ... can there be such a thing ?

I've been struggling as of late with the word "balance". No, I don't mean the fact that I'm not the most graceful thing in the world. I mean having some semblance of balance in life: family, work, school, social life, vacation etc etc. Given that cycling is a haven for OCD-prone people (myself included), balance isn't exactly our ... forte.

We tend to have blinders on, eyes on the prize, pushing to the limits to achieve something that seems worthy at the time. I've heard of cyclists lying to significant others to get to races or having secret bank accounts so they don't have to justify paying more than double a mortgage payment for bike parts and accessories. I've seen kids, wives and husbands being hoodwinked (yeah, I said it) into a nice weekend trip only to find out later that they'll be spending half of it on the side of some godforsaken road in the "feedzone" for the privilege of a glimpse of their loved one about every hour or so. This is not balance. This is insanity !

I am not preaching here - I am guilty of the same. I suppose being a single professional keeps me from getting into too much trouble: no one to lie to, not in danger of going bankrupt for those new e-motion rollers. But I started to find that all the interactions I had with other people had something to do with cycling. I was living, breathing, sleeping - cycling. Any guys with potential for dating had to be as obnoxious about it as I was. I was missing out on weddings, celebrations, family gatherings, vacations ... all for the sake of not missing a race. The last real vacation I took without a bike was before I started racing. 5 years ago. All vacation time at work was reserved for out of town races or training camps.

Lets not even mention the lack of maintenance/upkeep on my house. Luckily my wardrobe consisted of mostly lycra other than dry cleaning items for work, so laundry was done on a regular basis if only to have kits to wear. My poor cat thought he was an orphan. He seemed more surprised when I was home on a weekend than not. My car hadn't been washed in months. My vespa sat idle because you can't carry a bike on a vespa.

The problem is that you get so caught up in training and racing that you don't realize that "real" life is passing by. I have had a couple of "off" weekends as the season winds down. I've caught up on some reading, devouring about 4 books in the last two weeks. (loved the twilight series ... easy, fun, mindless entertainment ... always looking for suggestions for new books. I digress.)

My non-cycling friends and family have been shocked to see me appear at late-summer events. My nieces declared that it must be really special if I'm there, 'cause I'm always racing. My sister kept asking when I had to leave, because she knew I needed to be on the bike somewhere at some point. As some of you probably noticed, I even took a break from blogging/participating in anything bike related. I didn't realize how stressed I was trying to finish out the season. How much I let it take over my every thought. These past few weeks have been eye-opening, at the very least.

The scary thing is that I was just contemplating trying cyclo-cross. I think I'll hold off on that until I can balance out road racing. If there is such a thing.

Have a great weekend !