As I sat on a wooden bench in the shade after the Chantilly Crit yesterday, bag of ice on my back, drenched in sweat and making a very conscious effort to keep my pre-race lunch down, I took a second to reflect on the events that brought me to this exact moment. It wasn't just the frustrating race with what felt like a dozen attempts to get away, it wasn't the extreme heat (over 110 on the tarmac before the start), it wasn't the chase to bridge a 3-girl breakaway or the final 3 lap smackdown that peaked my heart rate at 206bpm (!). The event that brought me here, girls and boys, was cycling - racing to be precise.
My entire vocabulary has changed in the 8 years since I first pinned on a number. Breaks, drafting, vO2, threshold, skinsuits, sponsorships and ominums - none of these terms held meaning back when I was a young whippersnapper - only falling short of official "fred" status because I managed to take off the visor that came with my styrofoam helmet and I didn't know yet what a camelback was. Bridging must've been a made up verb about building one. Recovery was what you did after you found yourself dancing on the bar the night before. The concept of going out in the dead of winter with hand warmers, toe warmers, fleece tights and a balaclava was nowhere in my universe.
These days, I have to tread carefully through daily conversations with laymen - a story about how I had to change in the parking lot again (do you know how hard it is to shimmy into a skinsuit when you're already sweating?!?!) doesn't go over well and the declaration that I need to DRINK before my race doesn't hold the same connotation with the general public.
As for yesterday, that was the day I learned to appreciate the IceSock- it kept me cool for at least a handful of the opening laps, dripping cool water from melting ice down my back. I also re-learned the value of a cold, wet towel after a hot race. A few of us, trying to keep cool under a strategically placed tent provided by the Fuentii, laughed about how we've learned to prep for these events - at least two coolers, more chairs than you think you need, extra ice, extra jugs of water, sunscreen, sunglasses and, if you are looking for real style, a big, floppy hat. Yesterday was definitely a sundress day - not just because we look cute in them but because they make it easier to change in parking lots. Oh, and I keep saying "we" ... even when you're not wearing the same kit, cycling is usually a social sport. We root for each other when we're not out-sprinting or out-climbing each other. Most of us have a kind word or two for solid competitors - nice pull, good run, awesome race for you and the biggest compliment anyone can give me (personally) - I love racing with you! We stand out in fields to give a hand up to our significant others, our teammates and sometimes their teammates (bring your own bottle, I can feed you but I'm not your supplier!). If we're lucky, we become good friends with other cyclists that we may never have met if not for the sport.
All the training, all the equipment (rollers - who knew they weren't just for long hair?), all the time, money, heart and effort we put into this sport - it's what brings us to 100+ degree race days where we share stories while we shimmy into lycra and wait for the whistle to blow so that we can throw it all down for ourselves, our friends, our teammates, our significant others and anyone else willing to sit on the sidelines and cheer for a good show. After the madness of the final lap, we find our exit from the course and sometimes only make it to the first friendly face with a bottle of water or some ice or simply a kind word. It's all a blur at that point - it's over but the effort cost everything we had to give. That is the moment where I found myself on Sunday. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Well, That Coulda Gone Better
Yes, I know - it's been almost a month. And today is not Friday, it's Saturday so I'm even too late to do TGIF. In my defense, I wanted to do a post yesterday, I really did. But with the new job comes new personnel to break in so I thought I probably shouldn't start my second day at the new gig with a blog post. Anyway.
The title of this post refers to my Hagerstown race this morning. I've never raced the "classic" course; I've always done the course a block over - you know, the one with the sharp left into a hill and the sweet 120-degree turn on the backside. On second thought, I think even that course had changed since I've done it (2008). This one was fun and pretty fast when we got going, which didn't happen until we completed a couple of parade laps to feel out the course and acclimate to the heat. Everything was going smooth like buttah until a pair of pedestrians nonchalantly started to cross at turn two - right as the field picked up speed to turn into the hill. There was a lot of yelling and some screeching of brakes; one rider says she actually ran over the pedestrian's toes. At the same time, the front of the pack charged the hill and suddenly there was a split in the field. Of course, that's the lap I had drifted to the back - the absolute worst place to be. I silently cursed myself as I commenced to chase and managed to get my friend about 3/4 of the way across before I was spent.
Once the remainder of the field swallowed me up, I commenced to organizing a chase. It soon became clear that I was the only one motivated to do so - the others would take the ride if I wanted to give it to them but there was no help. I jumped more than a few times but always wound up with people sitting on but not willing to pull through. The second I pulled off, everything slowed back down. I rolled up to one of my favorite riders and asked if she was interested in catching - she was blissfully honest to say she had no interest due to a teammate in the front split but she wouldn't mess things up and might even take a token pull here and there. You know who you are - as always, a class act!
As the race wound down and riders dropped out, my little group consisted of 3 riders with teammates up the road in the 8 rider split and one other rider that didn't have teammates. I roll up to her, introduce myself and say that we're the only two with a reason to try to catch the leaders. She says - ok - charge at the hill. Assuming that she meant to follow and chase with me, I fling myself up the hill on the next lap. Look behind me and ... she was nowhere to be found. At one point I tried to talk myself off the ledge with the theory that at least *I* was getting in a decent workout - my coach should be thrilled with the intervals! With 3 to go, another rider tried to take a flyer and I thought - THANK YOU, at least now we can play a little. She had a nice jump on the hill and I chased to catch her wheel. We had a gap coming into 2-to-go. I was, admittedly, sitting on - I had done a ton of work and knew I wouldn't have the jump for the finish if I did much more. We made the turn into the hill ... where she sat up - the remainder of the riders caught on and we made the turn into the bell lap.
Here's where my mind was - I have no idea how many are up the road and, honestly, my race was done when I missed the split. The rest of the event was experimenting with my jump, how long I could hold the field off and how much recovery I needed in between. Yeah, I tried to motivate a chase but I kind of knew it was a wasted effort. We could see the front group had slowed way down but still - no interest from the other girls to catch them. I knew I could hold a lap at speed but with no jump. So I decided I would charge the hill and take a half-lap-flyer for the finish. It worked beautifully. Both for the finish and the experiment. I held it to the end for a solo finish. That was my consolation prize - I did a ton of work, took a final risk and held it.
Later, one of my very good friends went to collect her prize $$ and came back with cold-hard-cash. She tries to hand me some and I refuse - she had already mentioned she'd share some of her winnings b/c I helped her bridge to the break. Then she forces me to take it by informing me that I finished in the $$ - my response? "NO (insert expletive)!!". Payout was to 8 and I finished 8th - the flyer was well worth it!
So, that could have gone better. I could have made the split and contested the finish, or helped my friend contest the finish. But, in the end, my success for the day was making my entry fee back. So I guess it coulda gone worse.
An aside: people talk to me. I don't know why, but they do. So I hear all kinds of issues and reports about various happenings in the race. For example, one rider apparently went off course - outside the cones- to make her way to the front to attack. Poor form. Also reported in this race, another rider seemed to disappear for a lap or so, only to reappear on the course when the front group caught her - as in, the story goes, she may have sat out a lap or so. Very poor form.
I did not witness either of these instances so the most I can say is
1. If you see it, report it. If people are too scared of the repercussions or too PC to call a spade, a spade, it's not going to stop. Waiting for someone else to say something means you are complicit in the behavior.
2. If you are the one cheating like this, shame on you. It's AMATEUR racing. Yes, it's competition but isn't cheating kind of defeating the spirit of the game? This is only one step down from doping to win the masters races. How do you look at yourself in the mirror?
That's what I've got for the day - more racing tomorrow at Chantilly.
The title of this post refers to my Hagerstown race this morning. I've never raced the "classic" course; I've always done the course a block over - you know, the one with the sharp left into a hill and the sweet 120-degree turn on the backside. On second thought, I think even that course had changed since I've done it (2008). This one was fun and pretty fast when we got going, which didn't happen until we completed a couple of parade laps to feel out the course and acclimate to the heat. Everything was going smooth like buttah until a pair of pedestrians nonchalantly started to cross at turn two - right as the field picked up speed to turn into the hill. There was a lot of yelling and some screeching of brakes; one rider says she actually ran over the pedestrian's toes. At the same time, the front of the pack charged the hill and suddenly there was a split in the field. Of course, that's the lap I had drifted to the back - the absolute worst place to be. I silently cursed myself as I commenced to chase and managed to get my friend about 3/4 of the way across before I was spent.
Once the remainder of the field swallowed me up, I commenced to organizing a chase. It soon became clear that I was the only one motivated to do so - the others would take the ride if I wanted to give it to them but there was no help. I jumped more than a few times but always wound up with people sitting on but not willing to pull through. The second I pulled off, everything slowed back down. I rolled up to one of my favorite riders and asked if she was interested in catching - she was blissfully honest to say she had no interest due to a teammate in the front split but she wouldn't mess things up and might even take a token pull here and there. You know who you are - as always, a class act!
As the race wound down and riders dropped out, my little group consisted of 3 riders with teammates up the road in the 8 rider split and one other rider that didn't have teammates. I roll up to her, introduce myself and say that we're the only two with a reason to try to catch the leaders. She says - ok - charge at the hill. Assuming that she meant to follow and chase with me, I fling myself up the hill on the next lap. Look behind me and ... she was nowhere to be found. At one point I tried to talk myself off the ledge with the theory that at least *I* was getting in a decent workout - my coach should be thrilled with the intervals! With 3 to go, another rider tried to take a flyer and I thought - THANK YOU, at least now we can play a little. She had a nice jump on the hill and I chased to catch her wheel. We had a gap coming into 2-to-go. I was, admittedly, sitting on - I had done a ton of work and knew I wouldn't have the jump for the finish if I did much more. We made the turn into the hill ... where she sat up - the remainder of the riders caught on and we made the turn into the bell lap.
Here's where my mind was - I have no idea how many are up the road and, honestly, my race was done when I missed the split. The rest of the event was experimenting with my jump, how long I could hold the field off and how much recovery I needed in between. Yeah, I tried to motivate a chase but I kind of knew it was a wasted effort. We could see the front group had slowed way down but still - no interest from the other girls to catch them. I knew I could hold a lap at speed but with no jump. So I decided I would charge the hill and take a half-lap-flyer for the finish. It worked beautifully. Both for the finish and the experiment. I held it to the end for a solo finish. That was my consolation prize - I did a ton of work, took a final risk and held it.
Later, one of my very good friends went to collect her prize $$ and came back with cold-hard-cash. She tries to hand me some and I refuse - she had already mentioned she'd share some of her winnings b/c I helped her bridge to the break. Then she forces me to take it by informing me that I finished in the $$ - my response? "NO (insert expletive)!!". Payout was to 8 and I finished 8th - the flyer was well worth it!
So, that could have gone better. I could have made the split and contested the finish, or helped my friend contest the finish. But, in the end, my success for the day was making my entry fee back. So I guess it coulda gone worse.
An aside: people talk to me. I don't know why, but they do. So I hear all kinds of issues and reports about various happenings in the race. For example, one rider apparently went off course - outside the cones- to make her way to the front to attack. Poor form. Also reported in this race, another rider seemed to disappear for a lap or so, only to reappear on the course when the front group caught her - as in, the story goes, she may have sat out a lap or so. Very poor form.
I did not witness either of these instances so the most I can say is
1. If you see it, report it. If people are too scared of the repercussions or too PC to call a spade, a spade, it's not going to stop. Waiting for someone else to say something means you are complicit in the behavior.
2. If you are the one cheating like this, shame on you. It's AMATEUR racing. Yes, it's competition but isn't cheating kind of defeating the spirit of the game? This is only one step down from doping to win the masters races. How do you look at yourself in the mirror?
That's what I've got for the day - more racing tomorrow at Chantilly.
Monday, June 18, 2012
TGI ... Oh, wait - it's friggin MONDAY.
I would have written a blog on Friday when I arrived at the hotel prior to the Tour of Washington County Kick-off Criterium. Would have, if I would have had any semblance of a decent internet/gps/phone connection. Hagerstown and it's outlying areas are apparently unworthy of Verizon cell towers so I was walking around the hotel trying to find one bar of signal to even send a text. So instead of a TGIF, this is a CIM - Crap, It's Monday.
The kick off crit in Hagerstown was a blast. There's just something about twilight crits - a different energy in the air, the crowd seems more amp'd, the blasting music sounds more intense ... add to it the colorful commentary by Joe Jefferson and the dramatic effect of the lights around the technical course and wah-lah! This wasn't a race, it was an EVENT.
I was surprised that the teams didn't attack the race straight off. Things stayed relatively safe until about 3/4 of the way through, when ABRT cooked the first turn. A couple girls went down but everyone was ok and got back into the race. Afterward, I spoke to the ABRT rider to inquire on her condition. She didn't make excuses, didn't place blame - she simply said she was following someone through the corner pretty fast and couldn't cut the same line. "I cooked the corner". Just like that. THANK YOU. Thank you for owning it and moving on. No drama, no issue. How freaking cool is that?!?!?
The race came down to a sprint finish and while I was in great position at various times during the event, I was not for the last corner. I rolled in at the back of the pack, tired and spent - yet relatively happy with the race. Even happier after the Evo girls pointed me to the ice cream shop around the corner (not before I stole a bite or three of their yummy chocolate ice cream!). We rationalized it as the perfect recovery after a hot and fast race.
Saturday brought near-perfect racing weather - bright, sunny skies with fluffy clouds and a slight breeze. Seriously, I'm not exaggerating. I was happy with positioning overall and I found myself in the front group on each climb. Again, I think everyone was waiting for the teams to light something up but aside from a couple of flyers, we pretty much raced defensively. The one bit of excitement was when we were neutralized coming into 2 laps to go. The men's field overtook us as we were getting to "the" hill. I thought - great, we'll just go up this at a reasonable pace and I'll have some time to recover. They kept us neutralized on the downhill leading to the next uphill. This was the one hill you never had to pedal over-the momentum from the downhill always took you 3/4 of the way up. Not this lap - they set us free right at the bottom of that hill so we paid a price for that recovery.
Come into the finish and the girls just seemed to have one more "turbo gear" than I did. As we hit the last hill, I imploded like a 7th grade chemistry experiment. Evo started to pass me and I mustered the breath to say "Go get it!". Later she chastised me for wasting the breath to cheer her on. I promised her that it wouldn't have mattered. A few of us sat in the feedzone for our respective boys, dodging bottles and generally yelling (mostly encouragment) each time a field went by. A nice dip in the pool afterward was on order, along with a fantastic dinner to fuel for the next day's races.
Sunday's start times were in the 0700 hour -ouch. We arrived early, set up camp and the boy went off about 30mins before my start. Nice warm up, plenty of time. Got on the bike, made myself look like an alien to fit in with everyone else (the helmets - they just crack me up).
Rolled out with Evo, who led us to the start listed on the flyer.
And on Bikereg.
And on the flyer included in the tech manual.
And it was wrong. It was the OLD starting spot.
I finally arrived a cool 3 minutes AFTER my start time. Fashionably late does NOT apply in time trials. Needless to say, I was pedaling angry, which probably helped me pull out a decent time of 26:29. Would have been 5th on the TT (I believe) and would have moved me up significantly on the GC. BUT, add 3mins to that and ... well, lets just say things did not work in my favor. YES, I realize it is the rider's responsibility to be on time for the start and I can own that. But when 2.5 of the 3 sources note the wrong address ... how is that fair? If I were the only one, shame on me ... but from the stories I've heard, that was not the case. Poor form and nothing I can do about it but whine- so consider yourself whined upon.
We arrived to the crit early to secure a decent parking spot. I couldn't stand the thought of changing wheels to sit on the trainer so I hopped out on the roads for a few mins and then waited to start the race. Made the mistake of checking TT results and, I won't lie, there were tears when I realized no one was going to do a damn thing about it. So, I started the crit pedaling angry. Which, it appears, does kind of good things for my racing performance. First, a good TT time (sans the 3min penalty) and now, in the final crit, where it was a race of attrition and I did not get attrished. Ok, maybe I made up that word but you know what I mean and, who knows, maybe it'll catch on. Anyway, I apparently finished in the top 20 and in the $$, and you are warned not to make me angry before a race.
The one halfway decent result does NOT reflect a pretty decent weekend of racing for me. I've been racing since 2004 and while I've made plenty of mistakes, I've never been late for a race, much less a TT start time. Some will use the argument that it is the rider's responsibility and I'm just whining. That's usually applicable but in this situation, there are mitigating circumstances. Again, nothing I can but suck it up, call it experience and move on.
The kick off crit in Hagerstown was a blast. There's just something about twilight crits - a different energy in the air, the crowd seems more amp'd, the blasting music sounds more intense ... add to it the colorful commentary by Joe Jefferson and the dramatic effect of the lights around the technical course and wah-lah! This wasn't a race, it was an EVENT.
I was surprised that the teams didn't attack the race straight off. Things stayed relatively safe until about 3/4 of the way through, when ABRT cooked the first turn. A couple girls went down but everyone was ok and got back into the race. Afterward, I spoke to the ABRT rider to inquire on her condition. She didn't make excuses, didn't place blame - she simply said she was following someone through the corner pretty fast and couldn't cut the same line. "I cooked the corner". Just like that. THANK YOU. Thank you for owning it and moving on. No drama, no issue. How freaking cool is that?!?!?
 |
| Photo Credit: Gwenn Afton - Cool shot! |
Saturday brought near-perfect racing weather - bright, sunny skies with fluffy clouds and a slight breeze. Seriously, I'm not exaggerating. I was happy with positioning overall and I found myself in the front group on each climb. Again, I think everyone was waiting for the teams to light something up but aside from a couple of flyers, we pretty much raced defensively. The one bit of excitement was when we were neutralized coming into 2 laps to go. The men's field overtook us as we were getting to "the" hill. I thought - great, we'll just go up this at a reasonable pace and I'll have some time to recover. They kept us neutralized on the downhill leading to the next uphill. This was the one hill you never had to pedal over-the momentum from the downhill always took you 3/4 of the way up. Not this lap - they set us free right at the bottom of that hill so we paid a price for that recovery.
Come into the finish and the girls just seemed to have one more "turbo gear" than I did. As we hit the last hill, I imploded like a 7th grade chemistry experiment. Evo started to pass me and I mustered the breath to say "Go get it!". Later she chastised me for wasting the breath to cheer her on. I promised her that it wouldn't have mattered. A few of us sat in the feedzone for our respective boys, dodging bottles and generally yelling (mostly encouragment) each time a field went by. A nice dip in the pool afterward was on order, along with a fantastic dinner to fuel for the next day's races.
Sunday's start times were in the 0700 hour -ouch. We arrived early, set up camp and the boy went off about 30mins before my start. Nice warm up, plenty of time. Got on the bike, made myself look like an alien to fit in with everyone else (the helmets - they just crack me up).
Rolled out with Evo, who led us to the start listed on the flyer.
 |
| (Red and bolded text added for emphasis) |
And on Bikereg.
And on the flyer included in the tech manual.
And it was wrong. It was the OLD starting spot.
I finally arrived a cool 3 minutes AFTER my start time. Fashionably late does NOT apply in time trials. Needless to say, I was pedaling angry, which probably helped me pull out a decent time of 26:29. Would have been 5th on the TT (I believe) and would have moved me up significantly on the GC. BUT, add 3mins to that and ... well, lets just say things did not work in my favor. YES, I realize it is the rider's responsibility to be on time for the start and I can own that. But when 2.5 of the 3 sources note the wrong address ... how is that fair? If I were the only one, shame on me ... but from the stories I've heard, that was not the case. Poor form and nothing I can do about it but whine- so consider yourself whined upon.
 |
| Photo Credit: Jim Wilson. |
The one halfway decent result does NOT reflect a pretty decent weekend of racing for me. I've been racing since 2004 and while I've made plenty of mistakes, I've never been late for a race, much less a TT start time. Some will use the argument that it is the rider's responsibility and I'm just whining. That's usually applicable but in this situation, there are mitigating circumstances. Again, nothing I can but suck it up, call it experience and move on.
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