Cap City #2

Well it was another sweet event put on by my own team, per usual my buddy Andy Johnson made it happen. Chris, the guy who sponsors my sorry behind was also there, of course he arrived in style in a giant green monster truck. It looks like a blast to drive.

It was also my hubby, James' first race ever! He crushed it coming in 9/out of 20 something. He was out there riding his little behind off every lap. He looked solid on the hurdles and he was riding nice & aggressive. He is hooked on racing now - awesome!

I had a good race trading places with a few other women & making it to the last sprint finish where I made the horrible mistake of trying to shift my Sram equipped cyclocross bike like my shimano equipped road bike. DUH! Ah well, I'll get it next time. I did score a few points for my cx upgrade. I'm a point short of halfway. The next few races it looks like I'll be focusing mearly on not getting lapped as some super fast women will be coming into town.

On a side note; USA cycling announced some new cats for MTB racing. I'll be a C1. No more semi-pro limbo land category for the men.

Cap City #2

Well it was another sweet event put on by my own team, per usual my buddy Andy Johnson made it happen. Chris, the guy who sponsors my sorry behind was also there, of course he arrived in style in a giant green monster truck. It looks like a blast to drive.

It was also my hubby, James' first race ever! He crushed it coming in 9/out of 20 something. He was out there riding his little behind off every lap. He looked solid on the hurdles and he was riding nice & aggressive. He is hooked on racing now - awesome!

I had a good race trading places with a few other women & making it to the last sprint finish where I made the horrible mistake of trying to shift my Sram equipped cyclocross bike like my shimano equipped road bike. DUH! Ah well, I'll get it next time. I did score a few points for my cx upgrade. I'm a point short of halfway. The next few races it looks like I'll be focusing mearly on not getting lapped as some super fast women will be coming into town.

On a side note; USA cycling announced some new cats for MTB racing. I'll be a C1. No more semi-pro limbo land category for the men.

My Life as Pack-Fill

Why did I do it? "Today in the middle of Ohio twenty-eight adult men wear spandex and line up for the start of a C race. It means nothing..." my mind would repeat as a mantra to soothe the nerves. But there I was at the Alum Creek cross race, feeling a bit between Christmas morning and a visit to the dentist.

I've never raced before. I usually ride alone out of caution (since I find myself often enough on the pavement I am guessing my company doesn't prefer misery) and haven't had many group rides. Days before my mind would rattle off nightmare scenarios — sometimes involving public humiliation and a set of barriers sometimes and accident where someone else would be injured.

So the gun went off and away we went and suddenly on a narrow grassy race course I was ride three abreast approaching a sand barrier. It was insane. The grass was so bumpy and everything was happening so fast. The sand came. Everyone jumped off their bikes (no one tried to ride, or maybe they did and failed causing a traffic jam). After the sand I was courteous and gave this guy "the hole shot" to some single track along the beach. Later in the first lap I was still courteous and let a guy ahead of me. About thirty seconds later it happened...

I realized I could ride faster. Perhaps it was the adrenaline. The novelty wore off and I began to feel comfortable. My legs began to pump and I maniacly advanced through the field. All the fears about less-than-flawless bike handling and lack of technique were pushed aside as my nervous caution became a near hazardous quest for places. There were times I was barely on the bike — the mud and sand clogging my cleats as I charged through obstacles. At one point I shifted to the big ring to hammer through the pavement to make up time and I had pedaled the entire lap in that ring. I felt like I would puke.

And then after a few laps I settled in. I was surrounded by riders who's lap times were similar to mine although we had particular strengths that would make the gaps between us ebb and flow. The adrenaline wore off a bit and I paced myself so I would not "pop". At the end of the day I placed ninth out of the twenty-eight riders. I was lucky.

Here are the results!

Pass the saddle cream please...

I am trying to organize a picnic for my friends so they can come out and watch Bridget and I race. There will be a race the second of November on the Gatch Family Farm. It is called the Gun Club Cross Race and it is part of the Ohio Valley series. This will be really fun and hopefully entertaining for our friends. I created the poster seen above as a fun promotional device to intrigue my friends. I will post directions here when I get them.

Ever wondered?

I have been looking online for the past few months for some other female cyclists powerfiles. Needless to say, I could not find much. So, I got a spam mail from Saris which I sometimes read, sometimes just delete. Well, in there is an article and some powerfiles posted by a female road pro:

http://www.saris.com/athletes/PermaLink,guid,2a6ff413-a939-4a3e-bf64-0d1422602f4f.aspx

Sorry, blogger is screwed up today or I'd make it a real link.

Ever wondered?

I have been looking online for the past few months for some other female cyclists powerfiles. Needless to say, I could not find much. So, I got a spam mail from Saris which I sometimes read, sometimes just delete. Well, in there is an article and some powerfiles posted by a female road pro:

http://www.saris.com/athletes/PermaLink,guid,2a6ff413-a939-4a3e-bf64-0d1422602f4f.aspx

Sorry, blogger is screwed up today or I'd make it a real link.

My Cyclocross Weekend

OH man am I whipped today! I did the double; with two days of kick ass cyclocross racing in Ohio. My husband James joined me for the fun in Columbus, starting with the Cap City Cyclocross Series, and then Loveland for the Ohio Valley Cyclocross Series.

The Cap City race was nearly 2 hours away but well worth the drive. The course was tough, real tough. The temps hit well around 80, the ground was still tacky, and of course there was like 100% humidity. I'm not a big sweaty person but just warming up I was sweating buckets. We lined up with 7 women, which is a good turnout for us ladies. My teammate Amanda crushed the start, just totally hammering into the singletrack section. She was off the front fast with 2 other ladies not far behind. I rode as hard as I could but my legs felt flat and I think I was underfueled. I bonked pretty hard about halfway and was pretty miserable for the rest of the race. Leah and I traded places a bunch of times but I could never manage to crank it up a notch. I finished 4/7 and my teammate Amanda rode strong into 1st. Yeah A!

The next day I was hurtin when I woke up. I couldn't eat, I was really dehydrated and just lacked energy. My husband was going to try to make the C4 race so we ran around in the morning but ended up getting there pretty late. Some snags at the registration made him even later. So, he decided not to race. He will however, make his debut at the Alum Creek race. That left me with plenty of time to warm up. So I cruised around on the loveland bike trail at like 10 mph just warming up ever so slow. I still felt crappy though and I almost sat the race out. I figured I'd try to get in a few laps and if I didn't feel good I'd just DNF...well, all the sudden I felt really good. I hit some of the hurdles and made some gaps and then made some more gaps on the big monster hill. I found myself in 2nd for a lap or two. Wow, it was really surreal. Amanda and I rode together a lot with the Biowheels Amanda not far back and Leah not far back either. Bio Amanda made a move in the last lap and my energy went from high to bonk and I was lucky to finish 3rd. Amanda, my teammate came in 4th. Sweet. Actually, I thought we had snagged 2nd & 3rd but someone had gone off the front early on. I thought we had passed her. Oh well, I was happy with 3rd.

The mens 1/2 race was totally insane - a windstorm whipped through and the poor guys were spending 99% of the time just trying to stay upright. We are without power in our house still since some trees ripped out the power lines. Insane.

My Cyclocross Weekend

OH man am I whipped today! I did the double; with two days of kick ass cyclocross racing in Ohio. My husband James joined me for the fun in Columbus, starting with the Cap City Cyclocross Series, and then Loveland for the Ohio Valley Cyclocross Series.

The Cap City race was nearly 2 hours away but well worth the drive. The course was tough, real tough. The temps hit well around 80, the ground was still tacky, and of course there was like 100% humidity. I'm not a big sweaty person but just warming up I was sweating buckets. We lined up with 7 women, which is a good turnout for us ladies. My teammate Amanda crushed the start, just totally hammering into the singletrack section. She was off the front fast with 2 other ladies not far behind. I rode as hard as I could but my legs felt flat and I think I was underfueled. I bonked pretty hard about halfway and was pretty miserable for the rest of the race. Leah and I traded places a bunch of times but I could never manage to crank it up a notch. I finished 4/7 and my teammate Amanda rode strong into 1st. Yeah A!

The next day I was hurtin when I woke up. I couldn't eat, I was really dehydrated and just lacked energy. My husband was going to try to make the C4 race so we ran around in the morning but ended up getting there pretty late. Some snags at the registration made him even later. So, he decided not to race. He will however, make his debut at the Alum Creek race. That left me with plenty of time to warm up. So I cruised around on the loveland bike trail at like 10 mph just warming up ever so slow. I still felt crappy though and I almost sat the race out. I figured I'd try to get in a few laps and if I didn't feel good I'd just DNF...well, all the sudden I felt really good. I hit some of the hurdles and made some gaps and then made some more gaps on the big monster hill. I found myself in 2nd for a lap or two. Wow, it was really surreal. Amanda and I rode together a lot with the Biowheels Amanda not far back and Leah not far back either. Bio Amanda made a move in the last lap and my energy went from high to bonk and I was lucky to finish 3rd. Amanda, my teammate came in 4th. Sweet. Actually, I thought we had snagged 2nd & 3rd but someone had gone off the front early on. I thought we had passed her. Oh well, I was happy with 3rd.

The mens 1/2 race was totally insane - a windstorm whipped through and the poor guys were spending 99% of the time just trying to stay upright. We are without power in our house still since some trees ripped out the power lines. Insane.

What is there to like about Cyclocross?

I was talking to a friend of mine the other day who is a race promoter and endurance racer. He was scratching his head trying to figure out why someone would choose a cyclocross race over a mountain bike race. Good question. I was scratching my head over that one too. Then I came up with the reasons l do like cyclocross:

1) The races are short therefore you can usually make it home in time to actually get household chores done, or spend time with the family.

2) Our local series requires a lot less driving time. At the most I'll spend 2 hours in the car to get to a race. Not bad; if I want some good MTB competition I have to drive 6-7 hours down south. Otherwise I'm racing the same women I have raced 1,000x's before.

3) Spectator friendly...unlike a MTB race friends or family can see you pass by every ten minutes or so.

4) Skillz - for those of us who after like 4-5 years of cyclocross have mastered the barriers and run-ups it actually starts to get fun when you can make gaps.

5) The Cap City Cyclocross series is super awesome to us women. Discounted entries, awesome paybacks, makes it a series I'll be following for sure. My friend Andy also designed a kick-ass series leader jersey. My sponsor is also the series sponsor and will be raffling away a Trek X01 cyclocross bike at the end of the series. NICE!

Well, that is my little rant. Bring on the cowbell!

PS - I did get my Xo2 and she is sweet. Only 18 lbs. stock. Awesome. Rival = awesome. Race XLite wheels = sweetness.

What is there to like about Cyclocross?

I was talking to a friend of mine the other day who is a race promoter and endurance racer. He was scratching his head trying to figure out why someone would choose a cyclocross race over a mountain bike race. Good question. I was scratching my head over that one too. Then I came up with the reasons l do like cyclocross:

1) The races are short therefore you can usually make it home in time to actually get household chores done, or spend time with the family.

2) Our local series requires a lot less driving time. At the most I'll spend 2 hours in the car to get to a race. Not bad; if I want some good MTB competition I have to drive 6-7 hours down south. Otherwise I'm racing the same women I have raced 1,000x's before.

3) Spectator friendly...unlike a MTB race friends or family can see you pass by every ten minutes or so.

4) Skillz - for those of us who after like 4-5 years of cyclocross have mastered the barriers and run-ups it actually starts to get fun when you can make gaps.

5) The Cap City Cyclocross series is super awesome to us women. Discounted entries, awesome paybacks, makes it a series I'll be following for sure. My friend Andy also designed a kick-ass series leader jersey. My sponsor is also the series sponsor and will be raffling away a Trek X01 cyclocross bike at the end of the series. NICE!

Well, that is my little rant. Bring on the cowbell!

PS - I did get my Xo2 and she is sweet. Only 18 lbs. stock. Awesome. Rival = awesome. Race XLite wheels = sweetness.

I hear cowbells in my future

Since I look up to my dear Bridget so much I have decided to begin racing cyclocross too! I just purchased a Redline Conquest and I have only just begun training.

Cyclocross is a sport of technique and fitness. It's a bit mile steeplechase with a bike — a bike that is somewhere between a rod bike and a mountain bike. Because much of the race coarse is on grass it is much more physically taxing than road racing. The race course are much more compact and very spectator friendly. Throw in obstacles that a cyclist must efficiently mount, hurdle and remount his bike along with some mud and you have a killer sport.

Here are some races coming up, in the end I think I will just tag along with Bridget and see what happens!

LOCAL CROSS SERIES
9/13 Cap City #1 - Infirmary Mound Park in Licking County
9/14 OVCX #1 - Loveland, Ohio "Cyclocross at Riverview Park"
9/27 Cap City #2 - Alum Creek State Park Beach Bonanza
9/28 OVCX #2 - Louisville, Kentucky "Tour de Louisville"

10/4 Cap City #3–Lobdell Park Awesome Course
10/10 OVCX #3 - Burlington Kentucky "Darkhorse Cyclo Stampede"
10/11 OVCX #4 Middletown, Ohio "Java Johnny's Lionhearts International"
10/12 OVCX #5 Fairfield, Ohio "Bio-Wheels / United Dairy Farmers Harbin Park International"
10/19 Cap City #4 - Lobdell Frisbee Park in Licking County

11/1 Cap City #5 - Uncle Steve's in Marysville
11/2 OVCX #6 - Cincinnati, Ohio "Gun Club Cross"
11/9 Cap City #6 - John Bryan State Park
11/16 OVCX #8 - Lexington, Kentucky "Promotion Cross"
11/23 Cap City #7 - Lane Rd - State Champs
11/30 OVCX #8 - Louisville, Kentucky "Storm the Greens Cyclocross"

12/7 - Indianapolis, Indiana "Brookside Cyclocross Cup"

Let's get Medical

It's been a bit rough lately. After my trip to Höchst I ended up at a bar in Rödelheim where Stefan, Marcus and I had some beers. There must have been something wrong with the tenth one because I felt very disoriented and sick afterwards. On my ride back to the hotel I didn't see a bump in the sidewalk and I crashed. I messed up my shoulder (it still smarts limited mobility if I raise my arm straight out to the side — but it is slowly getting better) and I really skinned my knee (after I had skinned it in London!). So about a week after I got back to the States I was Mountain biking and I reskinned the knee and packed dirt into it!

So I decided to race Cyclocross this year so I threw my clipless pedals back on my Marin "Palisades Trail" and we went Mountain Biking with Joe and Rachel. I must have had my seat up too high because the front of my knee felt weak and the back of my calf was a little sore. The next day I did a recovery ride and my knee still felt bad. I was silly and all week long kept pushing myself to get prepared for cross. That Thursday Bridget and I rode intervals up Kuglar Mill hill and I thought "hey, it's not going to get any better anytime soon, just suffer through it". So I pushed my bum knee with no fitness up Kuglar three times and I felt horrible the next day. And on Saturday my legs were mush — no energy and my left calf and front of the left knee were killing me!

So Sunday I was silly enough to buy some Old Spinster-style support hosery as a poor man's version of compression tights and decided to take it easy for a while. I also looked up my heart rate zones for future reference:

Recovery: Below 112 BPM
Zone 1: 112 - 122 BPM — Burn the fat
Zone 2: 122 - 140 BPM — Firm low-stress base
Zone 3: 140 - 153 BPM — Aerobic zone good for endurance
Zone 4: 153 - 166 BPM — Anaerobic zone for typical race performances
Zone 5: 166 - 176 BPM — Raising Anaerobic threshold done in time trial
Zone 6: 176 - 187 BPM — Red line zone and Fast-twitch training

I feel I need to work on my fitness and seek workouts that use these zones to improve my race performances. Tootles for now — sorry to rant about my conditions like some gramma...