CSC/Lancaster

Boy, do I have a lot of catching up to do!

I have a lot to tell about the weekend. I had two good races, but failed to convert in the end both days.... I'm knocking on the door, I can feel it....

CSC

FAST. HARD. My favorite crit. a short 1K course with 6 corners and a 250 meter finish straight out of the last corner. Oh, and thousands of screaming spectators! I have to find the balance of being active and sitting in. I decided to conserve and sit in and wait for the finish. I did too much last year and spent myself for the finish. Only a few laps in, Laura Van Guilder and Rebecca Larson got off the front and the field seemed content with that - the chase wasn't organized, much to the dismay of Colavita and Brenda Lyons of Lipton, who was racing with no teammates. I was right up there top 10 with 3 to go and 2 to go.... pack swarmed around from the left, I didn't defend my position well enough, and it was so fast it was too hard to move back up in the last lap. I ended up 25th (not Rebecca Much, as the results list on BikeReg - I guess they confused us - I was 25th, at least that's what they told me when I checked posted results) and disappointed, since I had a lot more in my legs. I'm trying to feel out how much to do in a race. Last year I did too much and then was spent for the finish, I'm trying to sit in more and work on my positioning every race.

Lancaster

This was the first of the Triple Crown series which includes another crit in Reading Thursday afternoon and the big circuit race in Philly on Sunday. The field was a little smaller than last year, with the World Cup in Montreal conflicting. Ina Teutenberg was there, though, so it was going to be FAST. The course is a basic rectangle, but with a hill on the third side, and the pavement was so bumpy it was almost dangerous. I lost both water bottles and even rebroke my cage that I had epoxied back together after Somerville. (Some of you saw it snap.) So I had nothing to drink in the race! Anyways, I started too far back, and played the miserable "closing gaps" game for the first few laps because it started out wikkid fast and moving up was excruicatingly hard, especially when I had to close gaps before I could move up all while dodging ripped up pavement and flying water bottles. The pack let up momentarily, after the inital several-lap flurry of attacks, and I moved up all the way to the front. I decided that I was going to race with my gut today - to try and be smart, but also not tell myself I couldn't chase or bridge or be active. Laura VG attacked on the back side and got a gap immediately. I jumped to her wheel. She looked over her shoulder and looked a little confused -- who the heck was this? I'm sure she was expecting Ina. Although this may not have been tactically correct, she wanted me to take a pull, and I did. A short one, leading into the start of the hill. Then Ina caught us and attacked up the left side on the hill, and I followed. Laura and I were right on her wheel. We had a gap (I could't believe I was with Ina and Laura and we had a gap on the field!! My heart was pounding, and not just from the hard effort!) Then single riders from other teams joined us. Yes! Cat Powers (Aarons), Sarah Tillotson (Colavita), someone from Targetraining (Robin?), Theresa Cliff-Ryan (Verducci, national crit champion), maybe one more I'm not sure. I couldn't believe it. I was pretty certain the break would stick because Aarons & Cheerwine would control the field. I was unsure what Colavita would do because Tina Pic was not there (at world cup), Mackenze was their sprinter for the day, and she didn't get into the break. I later heard that the HUB team chased like mad.

I couldn't believe it. I was so excited and having so much fun riding with those women. I could ride hard and smooth through the corners, and Richard Fries was announcing, so you know I got some mic time. ;-) It was a very exciting moment for me. But they clearly did not want me there. I felt like Ina did not want me there. (But why would she care?) I was nervous being at the back of the 7 riders because I felt any one of the riders could gap me off the back to get rid of me. I wanted to actually rotate through so I could stay in the mix, but I didn't want to take any hard pulls. I was on Laura's wheel and she pulled off and flicked her wrist for me to pull through. I did, trying to maintain pace but not expend much energy, we turned left into the hill, and I swung just a little wide so that I could get off the front. Big mistake. Ina attacked from a couple of riders back and went up the left side, away from me, just as I was allowing the rider behind to pass me. I tried so hard, with everything I had to hold onto the break. She passed me going quite a bit faster, and I just couldn't hold onto the last wheel. Maybe she was trying to get away from Laura, but the timing right after my pull made it feel like it was to get rid of me. The break strung out for a minute. I dangled just seconds behind them for the whole next lap, but i just popped, couldn't catch the wheel. I couldn't believe it. I was going to finish top 6!!!! (Targetraining flatted so 6 were left) I was going to get to try to sprint it out with the best!!! And it was all slipping away! No!! I rode another lap in no-man's land, with the pack only 5-10 seconds or so behind me, so I had no choice to let them catch me and and try for the sprint, but it was speeding up, and I was dead. I stayed top 5ish for the next 2 laps, but with one to go, I simply didn't have the juice to defend my position as it got ugly in the corners and the rough pavement, and I slipped back. I finished 21st in the pack, and naturally, the money went 20 deep. From the highest high to low in one race. I wanted to stick my head in the sand. I got dropped from that break - I felt I had failed. But then something even more important happened, and put it all back into perspective for me.

Richard Fries congratulated me after the race, said I rode an awesome race, and then said, "There's someone I'd like to meet.... come here." So I did. He introduced me to a 12-year-old girl and her father. She had just been diagnosed wtih Colitis (often accompanies Crohn's). She was so excited to meet me. She was so excited to see that someone with Crohn's/Colitis could race like that. So was her father. Her dad was also a middle school teacher like me, and the girl, Molly, had a bike. They wanted to know how I dealt with some symptoms of the disease and still competed at such a high level. Her dad took a picture of the two of us together. I hope that seeing the race inspired her to pursue sports and physical activity (maybe even cycling) to keep strong and that if she has hard times and feels sick in the future, she can look at that picture of us and know that she can get through it and be strong. I go through day to day thinking of myself as an ordinary person. I hadn't imagined that I might inspire others in this way. I learned lessons during the race, but I think talking with Molly was the most important part of my day.

***

On Saturday night, Ward's team and I stayed at our friend Greg's place in Pennsylvania. I really enjoy staying at Greg's! He's working on remodeling his house, and I can't believe how cool his bathroom is going to be!!! Check out this tile job he designed and finished himself!! Greg is also quite the bicycle lover... he's got a bike from about 1897, in amazing condition, and he plans to ride it 100 miles someday soon.















To top it all off, I got to sleep and wake to the birds chirping and the fresh air of the beautiful Pennsylvania countryside.

Much Needed Rest Week

It was so clear to me at Jiminy that I was in need of rest. I probably shouldn't have been racing. Well, I don't know if I'd call what I did "racing." It was more like lethargic self-preservation. Earlier in the week, all I could think about was riding aggressively and attacking the hill hard at the end of the first lap to try and instigate a break. But Wednesday I had a hard workout that I didn't recover well from, so by Friday I couldn't even do my sprint workout. (And yes, I've been doing sprint workouts on Friday, I'm still in base training, not race mode yet.) So by the time I got to the race Saturday, my legs felt so heavy and my resting pulse was pretty elevated, so I was unsure if I should even be there. With my whole team there, I would have been more aggressive, since if I didn't finish well, it wouldn't have mattered if I had teammates feeling good that day. It's a hard time of the year! I'm just finishing my second base cycle, have done no vomax-type interval workouts yet, but of course I want to finish well every weekend. Should I have just attacked and tried to instigate more "racing" in our race Sunday, or did I do the right thing by sitting in and hedging my bets for the finish? I don't know.
Well, I was second after KL up the climb after the first lap, but unless my perception fails me, I don't think we were climbing very hard at all. At least it didn't feel hard to me. Nobody even attacked except KL gave a good surge at the top. But the second time up (our finish) things felt different to me. The climbing didn't feel hard or fast, but my legs were very heavy. I was in good position coming up through the feed zone, probably 5th or 6th wheel, and still, it didn't feel like we were riding that fast. I even believed I could win. Then came the final sprint, and I was yelling at my legs, "go! go! now!! SPRINT!!! HARD!!!!" and well, that just seemed to get no response from my waist down. I just had nothing in the legs. So, 10th for me as I watched the winners so close in front of me but oh so far away and I just rolled over the line. In my last moments before the finish, I did think, "You have to pass her to get a mug, get there, get there!!" But even desire for the coveted mug elicited no response from my legs. Honestly, I was tired and I don't think my heart was in it. The "racing" was less than inspired that day, and when I felt I had no real legs to attack or make something happen, I got disheartened and just rolled around with everyone else, all the way to the line.

Sunday I had a great ride with my teammate Tami. We went out with no real aganda planned, and ended up heading out to the hills in Harvard to enjoy the countryside and the gorgeous blossing apple trees. 4.5 hours of riding without looking at my heart rate monitor felt great. Just out for the pure enjoyment of being on two wheels in the fresh spring air.

So it's rest week. I have two concerts and lots of private lesson students and a music boosters meeting and MCAS practice tests to score and.... so much for rest. I rode to school today - what awesome weather! I'm really looking forward to this weekend. After Sterling, I'm off to to NY to race Bear Mtn! I love that course. Looking forward to it! I hope to bring my legs this time. :)
Packing list:
jersey
helmet
shoes
shorts
license
LEGS

Sturbridge RR

Sorry this has taken me so long to post, life's been a bit hectic. Here we go...
In retrospect, I shouldn't have raced Saturday. I had a crazy week with ups and downs. Medical testing on Tuesday meant 36 hours without food (don't worry - just a check up - and the results turned out very positive!) then Tuesady, Wednesday, Thurs, Fri, and Saturday nights I had rehearsals and performances for the musical 42nd Street, in which I performed on FOUR instruments. Yes, four: flute, clarinet, soprano and alto saxes. It was lots of fun, especially because I played beside some of my former students who are awesome girls getting ready to graduate and head off to college. :) I really wanted to get a picture at the last performance to post on my blog, but when I went to take the pic, I discovered I had left the memory card at home!! Oh, I hate when I do that. So, I'm left with a Kodak moment in my mind and none to share. (Sorry, Dad, I know you hate those Kodak references, since you've worked for Polaroid for as long as I've been alive.) Anyways, so crazy me, in the midst of all this and working, I did not miss a workout on the bike. Even while in calorie defecit from the fasting for medical testing. Ok, I didn't complete all my sprints that day, the anesthesia still had me a little loopy, so I went easy and just did some jumps and spinners. But I rode. Friday night I had only 6 hours of sleep, then I headed off to the race with my awesome temamate Susanne for a 10:15 am start in Sturbridge.

It was only my third race this year, but so far all three times lining up at the start has seemed so surreal. Like I'm on Mars. I feel like I hardly know anybody! There are so many new faces, new kits, new bikes. There's a lot of new blood in the pack. This is a great thing, except when some of these new riders are very strong but wild on a bike. There were some super sketchy bike handling maneuvers during this race. I was truly frightened a couple of times. One girl LITERALLY went across the entire field from the right to the left side on a decent (when we were spaced a little more liberally) without even looking over her shoulder! The majority of the pack was left hitting our brakes while dropping our jaws in astonishment. The same girl locked it up in the 270-degree right hand turn and almost took herself out, and she also took me out of contention in the final sprint with a crazy swerving and slowing up move in the final 150 meters. I was left with no choice but to let up on the pedals and veer to the side, almost crashing and taking out others behind me, like one of my favorite girls, Marianne, who had quite a lot to say after that fiasco. Look, if it's not common sense to hold a reasonably straight line when you're accelerating to 30+ mph on bikes with bodies all around you and nothing separating the skin on your ass from the asphalt except a thin layer of stretchy fabric then you could do us all a favor and at least READ the USCF rulebook, which spells it out for you! Grr.
Under "General Racing Rules" page 35, articles 106 & 107:
1O6. No rider may make an abrupt motion so as to
interfere with the forward progress of another rider, either
intentionally or by accident [relegation or disqualification;
possible 20 days suspension if a crash results].
1O7. Dangerous Rider. Any rider who appears to present a
danger to the other competitors may be disqualified by the
Chief Referee, either before or during a race.
This is from section 4 of the rulebook, which refers to stage racing, but same concept:
4H8 Sprints
(a) Failure to maintain line during a sprint or other
irregularities
First offense: $35 fine and relegated to
back of group
Second offense: $70 fine, relegated to back of
group, and 1 minute
penalty
Third offense: $140 fine and
disqualification
(b) Extremely dangerous behavior in a sprint
$140 fine and disqualification

I finally just looked at the results for that race... turns out her teammate won! Ha! What do you bet she was trying to BLOCK me in the final sprint, since I had outsprinted said teammate for the win last weekend, and I was in good position to win again!?!?! Yes, you've made me mad. Intentionally threatening my safety and that of all the women around me over the finish of the Sturbridge RR? Really sad.
Like I said, lots of new blood this year....

(more to post on Sunday's race, coming soon)

New Team, New Season

Meet my awesome new team for this summer! I'm racing for the new NEBC Elite Women's Team. (Dave Chiu's doing an awesome job with the website!) I'm very happy to have such wonderful teammates this year. And thanks to Dave and Roy from the men's squad for your cheers and support, especially on Saturday. Congrats, Roy, on your win!

Sunday:
We made our first team appearance Sunday at the Miles Standish Grand Prix in Plymouth, Mass. As we lined up for the start of the P/1/2/3 women's race, the announcer said, "Wow, NEBC has a huge team this year!" There we were, all 7 of us, in our red, white, and blue on the line with Brooke there to direct. (Alie, lucky girl, is off vacationing in California, so we'll have to wait for next weekend to race as a complete squad.) We learned so much as a team on Sunday. Everyone attacked, everyone contributed, and we came away with the win. Learning to race as a team will make this a fun and rewarding season!

Although held in the same Miles Standish State Park as the Adelphia Grand Prix in years past, the course was changed to remove the bumpy descent and left hand turn into the downhill finish. This year, the 5-mile loop went around clockwise (the opposite direction), still included the same hill, but also some roads out by the pond. The finish came past the registration/parking area on the right and had a slight rise to the line. I enjoyed the course, but it was hard to get away in the rolling terrain, bumpy roads, and wind. All of us we were active, Amy attacked first and got the pace high in the first lap, then Natalie went off the front with a great move. Neither move stuck, but every effort kept the other teams working and chasing. Both IBC and the Anthem/Blue Cross teams made attacks, and Tami, Suzanne, Ashley, and Cris worked to reel them in. Two Harvard racers and and IBC racer (Sam for IBC, I think... sorry I don't have names, Anna and maybe Eve for Harvard... I will definitely be learning these names this season!) Got a good gap off the front for a couple of miles. I eventually bridged up, but the break was doomed to fail, since we were neutralized when the junior field passed us. This caused the slowest part of our race. Things settled down, and I sat in to rest for the finish. Sitting in is difficult for me, since I love to attack and chase, but I knew my team was working for me, and I had to come through for them. The pace picked up through the rollers a couple of miles to go to the finish. Our team was well set up near the front of the field, with Cris and Natalie lined up in front of me. Then, a Harvard rider went off the front (maybe Eve?) with a hard attack. Our train "broke" and I surfed different wheels as we caught her and the pace increased. An IBC rider (Sam) started the sprint with a very hard jump, and I jumped to her wheel. It was maybe 400 meters out... I stayed on her wheel until the last 50-75 meters or so, then shot past her for the win. We've got some things to work on as a team, but this was a great beginning. I felt much more relaxed and comfortable racing with teammates around me, knowing that they were there to help me (for that race, anyways). I know this is the start of a great season to come!

Saturday:
Saturday at the Turtle Pond Circuit Race in New Hampshire, I raced with my two teammates, Tami and Natalie. Turtle Pond is an 11-mile rolling circuit with a 1 K climb to the finish line each lap. The climb has a "step" in the middle and then flattens out a bit at the top, with a hard drag to the finish line. I like this hill because it's a sprinters hill! And I know if I can get to the flatter section at the top at the front, I have a good sprint to beat others to the line.

The weather was awesome. Upper 60's and sunny! No leg warmers, no arm warmers. I thought the sudden heat might actually play a factor during the race, I was baking before the start, so I made sure to hydrate well before the start (naturally, this strategy led to a bursting bladder by the time we got to the finish). Tami had a mechanical at the end of the first lap, just at the start of the hill, and was left to chase for most of that lap. She didn't give up, but chased hard and rejoined the pack. The third lap, 4-5 of us had a little gap going up the hill, but any thoughts of a breakaway were squelched when the pace car slowed down and honked at us to neutralize at the top of the climb! Oh, how frustrating!! I felt so good up the hill. But I decided I would certainly feel good again the next lap, and I knew I could rail it to the finish line. Tami did a lot of work keeping the pace high for the last lap, since we were neutralized several times during the race and things got slower each lap. With maybe 2-3 miles to go, an IBC/Wachovia girl (I think it was Sam) launched a very effective attack. IBC was all stacked up at the front. I was up there, too, and so was Tami. Nat was on my wheel. Sam got a big gap, but I didn't have to decide to risk it to go after her so close to the finish climb, because Tami was awesome. She got on front and reeled things back together before the final right hand corner before the climb. Whew! I started the climb in the second row, center, on Suzanna's (UNH) wheel. She accelerated a little just before the first step, and it opened up enough of a gap for me to get out to the front of the group. Anna (Harvard) attacked from behind me at the step and opened up a gap. I had to chase. I caught her near the top, where the road flattens out, shifted up, and sprinted past her for the win. Natalie held on for 7th, and Tami, spent when she hit the climb from all the work she did, rolled in at 18th. Yay!

I would like to add one more comment on the weekend....
Anyone want to guess how much moola the winner of the P/1/2/3 women's field earned for her team at Miles Standish on Sunday?? Just venture a guess....