They don't make barriers like they used to...

Race #18: Rubber-side to Heaven for Baby Jesus

I can't keep two wheels on the ground lately! My body looks like it belongs in a morgue! I have been generously offered a Trek XO1 cyclocross frame to race but I am worried I would return it battered.

I love the first race of the season. You get to see how your training has paid off and just where do you place. Bridget and I drove back from Pittsburgh the night before, only getting a few hours sleep. I felt okay and I am kind of used to it. But not preregistering and ending up on the back line of almost 120 starters was a bitter pill to swallow! Plus it was raining and muddy to boot.

I immediately used the starting drills from Harbin to my advantage. I think I quickly passed almost half the field, or at least it felt like it. First lap is always hairy, so I dimounted and ran along with the crazy traffic through technical sections. It paid off and riders were dropping and I could easily get past.

My Vittoria tubeless tires have been a great addition to the ride-ability of my bike, but their lack of tread proved to be disastrous! In the middle of the race there was not a turn I could confidently master — often slipping or falling!

I kept passing people and I really felt I did well. But I was sad to discover my name was 15th. After so much practice! Have I gotten any better? But I have, last year I would have been a DNF. But to add insult to my many injuries was my name getting bumped to 18th. Perhaps some muddy riders weren't counted. 

Overall I had a fun race, but my fun and glee was wiped away when Bridget had slid out and crashed on her head. Playing in mud puddles suddenly seemed very dangerous — taking away all the fun of running with scissors.

Suckage

I did my best, as they say, to get the rough & tough stuff out of the way early.

It was a challenge to make it to the race to begin with. We were up in Leechburg, PA for the wedding of a a good friend from college. With a limited budget we decided to head for home after the wedding. The drive was long and tiring and I was doing all I could to stay awake on sugar and caffeine. It certainly is not the type of drive I will attempt in the near future.

James, my husband a bike crasher extraordinaire, aka Road Rash Billiter headed up for his Cat 4 race at 10:30 am while I caught up on my zzzzsss after about 12+ hours of driving in 2 days. I woke up to the horrible sound of the rain. Without my spare wheels which were waiting for a 10 speed spacer I was SOL for some mud tires. I had to run my "all conditions" (which should really be marketed as "all conditions DRY" tubulars). Things were already not looking so hot.

I arrived @ 11am with plenty of time to pre-ride and to track down my crazy husband which can sometimes be more challenging than a cyclocross race. Road Rash had a pretty good race finishing in the top 15 out of like 80 something guys. He knows when to throw the hammer down and he has worked really hard to get faster at cyclocross. I am really proud of my hubby.

James stuck around to keep his bike in the pit for me. I was riding okay, perhaps a bit off from the day before when I flew around a corner and skidded out on my head.The only good thing was that there were no spectators on that side of the course.

I sat there for a little while in a daze and assessing my ability to finish. I'd have to rank that doozy of a wreck in the top 3 all time bad ass wrecks. I finally decided that I was okay enough to finish but I had hit the ground so hard I knocked my handlebars out of place. So, after about 5 minutes of fumbling around I got back into the swing of things. I fumbled like a gazillion times after that slipping and sliding my way around the course. My hip was hurting, my knee was cut open and bleeding, and my body shut down like a little baby. I was hurting but I didn't quit, I don't know why because it was pretty silly at that point to continue. I finished like 2nd from last; not DFL but pretty close. I'm hurting today; physically and mentally but I know I couldn't have had a worse race. Phew, as one of my cycling buds says "when you suck completely, you will/can only get better from there."

Saddle Soars!

I've always enjoyed pushing myself to see what my limits are. It was not that long ago that my weight and lack of fitness really limited what I could do.

09/03/2007 Newtown to Lebanon
52.63 mi.
03:13:00
16.36 avg mi/hr
175 lbs/ 2,895 calories burned
149 avg Heart Rate

05/31/2008 Loudenville—Wooster—Shreve—Nashville Loop
56.90 mi.
04:20:00
13.13 avg mi/hr (with about 2000-3000 ft of climbing)
160 lbs/ 2,469

06/15/2008 71 Miles on the Little Miami Scenic Trail
71.50 mi.
04:11:00
17.09 avg mi/hr
160 lbs/ 3,562
149 avg Heart Rate

07/03/2009 Beer Bottle Loop with Jadin, Joe and Scott
83.75 mi.
04:31:00
18.54 (mi/hr) (avg)
148.0 lbs./ 3,662 (kcal)
Not really apples to apples because I was drafting, but it was hillier.

09/04/2009 FIRST CENTURY up Loveland trail
100.20 mi.
05:28:52
148 lbs / 4,443 (kcal)
18.28 (mi/hr) (avg)
129
153 (watts) (avg) 645 (watts) (max)
30 min interval = 216 watts 1 hour wattage = 189 Did another 30 minute interval on return.

I think this effort will really help for cross season. Pushing 200+ for half an hour!

6 Hours Riding like a Mom on a Hybrid

I thought I would take it a bit easy after my last race where I flew off into the woods and landed on my back as well as headbutted a tree. As a 32 year old rookie I always create a goal so that each effort feels like a success. So for the 2009 6 Hours of John Bryan I decided to get acquainted with endurance events as well as work on my bike handling.

Unfortunately the night before did not afford me much sleep. I think I only got three and a half hours... I nearly decided against racing worried that the tight trails may cause me to make mistakes and get hurt. But you don't know what will happen unless you try, right?

I had a secret weapon though. Bridget made an initial run of some of her BJET Bars, homemade energy bars. I had a big batch of banana walnut and a smaller potent batch of chocolate coffee.

LAP 1: 1:07:05
Really shaky handling, getting used to the coarse.
Approx 5 min break
checked air pressure as back was washing out a little
LAP 2: Approx 59:56 (2:13:01)
LAP 3: 58:37 (3:11:38)
Really tried to crush it...
Hands began to kill me!
Approx 36 min break
I was kind of drained and was searching for second wind
LAP 4: Approx 1:02:53 (4:50:31)
Really rode like a mom on a hybrid trying to get feeling back in my hands.
LAP 5: 1:01:26 (5:52:05)
Dialing it in, trying to teach myself skills.
LAP 6: 59:55 (6:52:00)
Tried to bring together what I learned that day with more speed, but bonked a bit in the middle due to running out of food and water.

I'm pretty happy with my performance — I was 11th out of 28 solo male riders.

I was so impressed watching some of the elite riders pass me in technical sections. They make it look so easy. I wonder if I lack quick hand-eye coordination. Will working out my upper body help my handling? Maybe Bridget can teach me a few things. I also feel like I could use a fit on my Paragon. Even though I dropped the stem I still feel a bit on top of it. That thing is huge, and I look like a kid on top of it. But when those wheels start spinning that bike really zooms!

Things I learned:
— Need to continue working bike handling skills
— Use brakes less and conserve energy through handling
— Make more efficient pitstops in Endurance events
— Please stop making poop face

Pedal. Crash. Repeat.

I had a lot of fun at Caesar Creek on Sunday, but it also opened my eyes too! I really need to work on my bike handling! I was going along pretty well on my first lap. I got to a section where I felt a good flow and I started hammering a bit more. I felt great, like a downhill skier slaloming through the flags. OUT OF NOWHERE a sapling caught my right handlebar, I punched myself in the mouth and flew off backwards through the woods. Train of thought as follows: oh shit my tooth, I'm flying, ow!, I'm paralyzed, get up!, can't breath... I looked like an Ewok flying off a Speeder on Endor... I tried to keep riding but I pulled off and moaned in the woods for a minute while six guys passed.

After that the adrenalin was pumping and I got a bit too frantic. I started hurrying too much and got caught up in the race, but when I hurry I make mistakes and crash even more. I just kept crashing or falling. I ended up landing on my seat pushing it into an uncomfortable position, slamming headfirst into a tree, pulling my rear cable and losing the ability to use my rear derailluer. I didn't want to stop for fear of losing the places I fought to regain after my initial crash.

I limped in with only three gears, a headache and a backache. I didn't eat and was cramping... But I got tenth, two laps in two hours and nineteen minutes. I feel I can improve but I felt I did my best.

The picture says it all. I look like I am holding back a turd. This time I was lucky I wasn't hurt and didn't destroy my bike.

Anorexia in my future?

I am still battling to get that household record up Kuglar Mill. I still haven't beaten my best time since returning from the DL.

Although it seems that I trounce Bridget on rides, both in sustained efforts and sprints, she insists that her time of 7:15 is real and that "it is easier for [her] to climb since she is 12 lbs lighter" than me. She will drive me to starvation! She does have a point. My power numbers are only 20-30 watts greater than hers, but I tip the scales at 147 or so lately.

My only other option is to bribe my employer into sending me to our Geneva office for a few weeks so I can get some training in the Alps!

I do like some of the efforts and I hope they help me in cross. One ascent nearly made me puke the other day!