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?!?!?

Photo Credit: Gwenn Afton - Cool shot!

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.

(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. 

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.

TGIF- 6/8/12

It's been a couple weeks ... but there are good reasons!!  First, I was sick after BikeJam and didn't really recover until the following weekend.  While I was recovering, the boy succumbed to the germs I stealthily left around the house for him.  Kidding - of course.  I wouldn't wish whatever it is that I had on anyone, much less someone I actually kinda like.  His symptoms weren't as severe as mine but his lasted almost a week longer.  My new kleenex record: 4 boxes.  Seriously.  I had to replenish our supply in anticipation of the boy getting to that phase of things.  Sigh. We had plans to use our "race-free" memorial weekend to visit some good friends in NC but wisely postponed the trip given that our household turned into an infirmary. 

The weather was too nice not to get on the bike during the holiday weekend and both of us were bitter when we'd see emails and facebook postings about these massive rides everyone got in.  I got in a couple of easy hours each day and the boy posted up 2 of the days but ... still.


As a side note, I was sad to miss Somerville - even if I wasn't sick, I'm just not ready for that level of racing yet.  I'll get back there - it's a fun race when people aren't trying to run over you.  Congrats to some of the locals who made a great showing.  More props to the girls and guys who posted up at Liberty ... I have yet to make that race but I've seen it and it ain't pretty.  I noted some solid finishes for our local stars. 

Health Note:  For the past month or so, I've been fighting to keep up with races and just feeling kinda run down with no known reason. There was much frustration and a few tears as I wondered where my power went. All of a sudden, right around BikeJam, things started lighting back up.  I had no trouble with races, decent jump ... THERE I am!!  I assumed it was because I had been fighting something (see above) and once I got it out of my system, I was ok.

Makes logical sense, right?  Well, this past weekend I was talking to my super-smart friend who,upon hearing my sob story, informed me that it was probably the allergy meds I put myself on - OTC Zyrtec. I've never experienced allergies and had no idea what to do about them so I started taking Zyrtec at the advice of another allergy sufferer.  Unbeknownst to me, the antihistamine in these meds absolutely KILL your performance.  I had been on them about a month and stopped a week or so before BikeJam.  Coinky-dink?  I think not.   Allergy sufferers (and drug-takers) beware: research the meds you're taking as they could be holding you back for no good reason.

Ride Sally Ride was this past weekend.  It was a decent turn out for the women's field, despite a lot of the rock-stars being up at Liberty to play with the big-girls on the Wall.  As with Somerville above- I'd love to do it but I'm just not there yet.  So, Ride Sally Ride it was.

It's a closed triangle-shaped course in an industrial park with wide, sweeping turns.  This didn't stop some from bombing the inside.  We all know how well I deal with that.  Nevertheless, we kept it fairly fast with attacks and primes scattered throughout the 32 lap race.  At one point, NCVC went off with NorthTek and I thought to myself - self, if something is going to stick, this is probably it.  So I jumped.  And chased.  For a good lap and a half, I chased.  I gained ground and just as I was about to catch, I glanced behind me to see the field closing.  On one hand, it was a wasted effort.  On the other, it was an awesome chase and a great confidence builder.  I sat on the field for a lap or two and, as we came into the final lap, I was sitting SECOND WHEEL.  We were cruising, no one was coming around.  Make the first turn, all good.  Make the second turn, even better - flying! About half way to the last turn, the girl in front of me SAT UP.  Seriously.  I almost ran over her.  Then had to jockey wheels (probably didn't make any friends in that frenzy) for the finish.  I stood on the pedals and sprinted for all I was worth to make up spots.  End result: 5th in the 1/2s.  The day is a success if you get paid and even moreso if it at least covers the entry fee.  Not the result I wanted but I'm getting there.  All I need is progress and I'll keep on keeping on.

Kudos to the rest of the girls in the race who kept it relatively safe and congrats to Sonja for the big "W"!

Because I haven't had a good rant in a few weeks, I submit the following:

I recently heard about how I was a menace in a race ...oddly enough, I wasn't even in the same STATE that weekend. I drove several hours for an out-of-state race only to run into someone who, when I introduced myself, informed me about my supposed nefarious nature. I have heard more than one new acquaintance comment "oh, you're not the terrible person I heard you were".

I admit, at first it hurt my feelings. At this point, it's turned comical. I'm castigated if I even mention prior race lives -no names, no critique, simply reference points - and yet these baseless rumors continue. I'll spare my readers my normal rambling and leave it at this: if you are so shallow and closed-minded that you make judgements about people based on someone else's opinion without finding out for yourself, you deserve the reputation you gain when you publicly display the aforementioned character flaws.

I used to think adults were so mature but I've learned we're just bigger kids, with bigger, more expensive toys and bigger egos.Try as we might, we won't stop the middle-school-lunch-table mentality. What we can do is lead by example. Do you stand up for and stand by friends? Do you treat others the way you wish them to treat you?  We can't be perfect and we all make mistakes but that's not an excuse for ignorance and childish behavior. We look at ourselves every day in the mirror - can you honestly be proud of your words and actions?

{Steps down from the soapbox}

As for this weekend, I've completely lost my mind because I actually signed up for tomorrow's Airforce race in Clarendon.  I guess I still believe "that which doesn't kill you, makes you stronger".  Or, as Super C-O stated after the Tuesday night Freshbikes ride: "that which doesn't kill you, makes you want to kill your husband".  I can't speak to that but Super Dave laughed nervously when he heard it.

Happy Friday - see you at the races!!

Too sick to race? Do it anyway!

Ok, so I missed my TGIF posting.  Mea culpa.  I woke up Friday morning with a scratchy throat and some minor symptoms of my body fighting something ... the day progressed and I started feeling worse so I pretty much crashed the minute I got home from work.  I slept fitfully and when the boy woke me up to tell me he was heading out for his ride Saturday morning, I barely opened my eyes.  Then the sun started shining in the window, which was open so I heard the birds singing.  Cassius the cat climbed on top of me - he has a talent for parking himself right on my bladder in the mornings.  The trash truck came and created quite a cacophony.  Finally, I just gave up and decided I wasn't sick.  Put on my super-girl suit and headed out to enjoy the sunshine on my bike.  Passed the boy and his crew- they all looked appropriately surprised to see me flying down MacArthur - the last they heard, I was on my deathbed. The operative phrase here is "flying down MacArthur".  When it came to uphill, there was no flying to be done.  I might have set a record with my 16miles in an hour and 45mins.  I was useless when I got home.

Sunday morning, the alarm went off at 5:30 am - the boy came in to get me (he slept on the couch for fear or contracting whatever it was I was suffering from) and we debated on whether I should go race.  Of course I should, I'm constantly prodding women to show up if they want promoters to hold a race for them.  No, I shouldn't, I've been sick for two days.  But it's a double-points race - a championship race!  No, I have a lot planned for Monday.  With no definite answer spoken, the boy started making breakfast (he's good to me) and I slowly got moving.  Breakfast was yummy and I was in a better mood as I hit the road. 

Bonus #1 for being the first race of the day:  excellent parking.   I was parked at the top of the hill, not too far from registration and with a clear view of the dog-leg at the top of the course.  Sweet.  Later in the day I heard people begging to get in - one (unnamed) racer tried to use his pregnant wife as an excuse for race parking! 

Bonus #2 for being the first race of the day: No trainer needed, warm-up is on the closed course. 

Before I knew it, we were lined up and getting our instructions.  The whistle blew and ... I missed my pedal.  Eff.  (sorry CK - new pedals!).  Son-of-a .... ok, thankfully the other girls were feeling their way around the first turns so I could latch on and work my way back up to a better position. The course does get sort of a rhythm to it IF THE RIDERS ARE SMOOTH.  That last part is key, in case the caps lock didn't point that out.  I have often declared that I'd never do BikeJam again - every year someone gets hurt really badly and, lets face it, I have enough trouble without putting myself in a known-to-be-dangerous situation.  But, when the promoters decided to hold a masters field, I knew I had to support the effort.  As expected, the competitors were still competitors but not to the point of taking unnecessary risks.  There were a few -interesting-moves but for the most part, I had fun.  The "hill" to the finish wasn't as hard as I remembered.  I was never in any trouble and I even got to play a little.

After a couple of back-to-back prime laps, the bell rang for the final go-round.  Things got faster and I found myself in a fairly decent position as we approached the finish.  One of the Deep Blue girls jumped up to sprint about halfway up the hill - I hesitated a half-second, thinking - not yet!  I'm not ready yet!  Finally I jumped on the pedals - dare I say, I actually attempted to sprint.  I gained one position so I guess it wasn't completely pathetic.   End result was PODIUM for 35+ and, I think, somewhere around 6th overall. 

Photo credit to Super Dave for this shot:

The boy was coming up later in the day for his afternoon race.  In the meantime, I hung out at the Evo tent (Christine gets major props for setting it up - alone - before the early race), heckling the races with CK, Sue, Gwenn, Phil and Tania, and encountering the likes of Jared and Dave.  I won't even try to explain what was happening here.

Lindsay Bayer, fresh off of her Wilmington Grand Prix win, rolled in and I found out her secret to winning.  If you don't drive like this, folks, you are missing the boat.  Of course it came too late for me to use it in my race but - if you see me pulling up to a race in full bike- gear, watch out.  I'm winning that sh*t.

Nice to run into tons of people I haven't seen in years - including a Kelly club member that I used to train with and Billy, my favorite Baltimore cycling enthusiast. Finally, while watching the boy race, I decided that a smoothie would was in order.  Ah.  Near perfect day, wouldn't you say?

Oh - and remember how I said I was sick going into this?  Yeah.  Despite the smoothie, I lost my voice on my way home.  As in, can't speak above a whisper.  They say this could last a couple of days. 

The things we do to race our bikes.