Bell Lap

I have a new season goal - two consecutive positive race weekends. And I only have one chance left here to get it right.

I had a great time racing the second-to-last NEPCX race down in Warwick on Saturday. Not the best legs, but an overall decent race that I'm feeling good about. The last race of my season is this Saturday and I am absolutely determined to make it a good one and to finish my 2011 cross season off strong.

The course in Warwick was super fun. We were right down by the water (it was COLD by the water!) on Narragansett Bay, which you can kind of see in the picture up there. The course started with a paved climb, had a bunch of woodsy rooty fast stuff, some fun sandy corners, a nice flat set of barriers, a steep little kicker climb, and a sadistic beach run, not in that order. I had a super slow first lap and couldn't hang on with the group that included most of the people I'm usually racing against, but when we got into the rooty stuff and loose corners my bike handling and the fact that I wasn't following wheels and getting bogged down helped me catch the group as it started to fragment. I caught a number of people, and was right on one girl's wheel going by the pit when someone from the LadiesFirst camp suggested that I "pass that girl now!" me: "OK". I powered around her, but then took a stupid line into a tight turn and had to scrub a ton of speed and was super over-geared coming out of it and she passed me back. I was totally gassed and the next section was pavement into a headwind so really no good way to recover and I couldn't hold her wheel. I never caught back up but I was able to rally enough to not get caught by anyone else, so I didn't feel too bad about it. In retrospect I shouldn't have passed her right before a big headwind stretch, and instead waited for some technical section that I felt strong on. That's racing.

The super rad news of the weekend is that my uber-teammate Andrea Smith won both days. On Saturday it was a fantastic team effort (of which my only contribution was the post-race high five) that culminated in her outsprinting Laura Van Gilder - no small feat. And from what I've read of Sunday's race she just outrode everyone else, including LVG.

Anyway, the only part of me that is happy that my season is ending after this Saturday is the one that cares about paying bills in a timely fashion. Otherwise I'm super psyched on racing, and would be happy to keep going for a couple more months. I'm holding off on post-season analysis and next seasons plans until we're actually in the post-season. I'm actually really excited for some 5 hour rides in the cold this winter, which I find slightly disturbing. But more on that after next weekend!

Anyway, while I didn't race on Sunday I did have a fantastic day helping Cody take down a tree for some friends up in Maine, followed by a MTB ride on some trails I'd never ridden up in Exeter, NH. It's kind of funny, but out west you'd never wake up in one state, do some work in another, and finish your day with a bike ride in a third unless you owned your own plane. Oh New England, you amuse me.

Two to go . . .

Day 2.

One of the best parts of racing and riding bikes is getting to travel to places that you normally wouldn't. I feel like in the last three months I've seen more of Massachusetts than a lot of people I've met around here who have lived in Gloucester their whole lives (although Gloucester is known as being a bit of a black hole - some people never really get off the island). It was the same way when I lived in Reno and travelled all over California, Oregon, Nevada, and Utah. And it's not the same old touristy places most people go on vacation - you can't put on a bike race at Disneyland, and rarely do you get a downtown crit in a big city (although it happens - SF, Boston, etc).

The weekend after Thanksgiving I went to Sterling, MA for a couple 'cross races. My races weren't super great by virtually any measure, but it was neat to see the new roads and get familiar with a new area. It seems like there are a lot of races out around there, both road, CX and MTB, so it's good to be able to say, "oh, I know where that is, it's only an hour away" rather than having to consult a map every time I want to go to a race.

Anyway, the races. I don't want to get into course description but suffice to say that they were Tom Stevens designed courses and super fun. On Saturday I got a second row call up which I utterly squandered by missing my pedal and generally sucking. Second row!!! I'd like to trade that second row call up for a race that I have great legs for, OK? Can I do that? Anyway. Like I said, kind of crappy start, kind of mediocre legs. And then I flatted. It was really, really stupid. I pinched it on something, and I thought I felt my tire going flat. There was a little set of stairs right before the pit, so at the top I stopped to feel my rear tire, which felt firm to me. So I hopped back on and just on the other side of the pit I realized that I most definitely had a flat tire. So I had to run half a lap. Half a lap is probably just over a mile. Not far by running terms, but pretty damn far when you're carrying a bike and in the middle of a race. Anyway, by the time I got straightened out I was about to be lapped, so I just rode pretty easy for the rest of the race hoping I'd have something left in the tank for Sunday.

On Saturday night I stayed with the lovely family who owns Milton CAT - our biggest sponsor. It was fantastic to stay with my teammates and get to just relax after the race, rather than driving home or staying in a hotel.

I woke up on Sunday feeling kind of crappy. Mostly just tired, I think, as I didn't sleep too well on Saturday night. The house was comfortable and great, I was just awake. Sometimes it happens, you know? Anyway, the course on Sunday was a little more technical, and super fun. I felt lousy until I really started warming up on my trainer, and then started feeling a little more lively. I had ANOTHER second row start! What the hell? I guess it was a small field and I pulled a low number in the call-up lottery for those of us who don't hold UCI points. But still! I started right next to Rebecca Wellons. That's so cool! Anyway, I didn't have great legs and made some kind of critical technical errors in the first lap, so I didn't have a particularly spectacular race. But I managed to have fun anyway, which, when it comes down to it, is the most important part.

Anyway, my does-not-meet-expectations result for the weekend was fully in keeping with my rather unfortunate patter of good weekend/bad weekend/good weekend/bad weekend. Which means! That I should have a good race this Saturday in Warwick. Right? Right?! I sure hope so. I was really hoping to have two consecutive good weekends this year, and I'll have a chance when racing my last race of the season in two weeks, Ice Weasels.

I'll be sad to have the season end - cross season feels so short when you're not carrying it into January! But I decided that since I didn't manage a UCI point this year, and I'd undoubtedly be starting near the back at nationals, to just skip it this time around. I'm heading out west in two weeks to visit family and I doubt the prospect of coming in "top 70!" at nationals is enough to keep me motivated to train through travels and the holidays.

I did have a good talk with my coach/team director about road season and the lead up to NEXT cross season, though, and I'm excited to start the 2012 planning! I've learned so much in the last couple months, and I can't wait to combine it with a whole year of good preparation.

Oh yes, and I guess I should say something about Thanksgiving. It was nice. Is that enough? No? Okay, I made two vegan gluten free pies. One was a traditional pumpkin, the other was a pumpkin cheesecake (didn't have any cream cheese, of course) with a homemade, GF graham cracker crust. I made my own gluten free graham crackers. They were amazing. Anyway, both pies were fantastic and well received by even the staunchest meat eaters in attendance. Yay!

Sh(r)edd Park

Climbing. Maybe I should try breathing while racing. The oxygen might help my judgement.

Yesterday I went to a race the Boston Road Club Cyclocross @ Shedd Park, in Lowell. It was rad. Well, mostly.

The course was pretty fun. I like courses where we can get the climbing out of the way fast. Whether it's a run up or a steep little kicker, I like getting the climb over and done with and then having a lot of twisty descending stuff. Or at least, that's how I feel this week. Ask me about it next Monday and I may have a different outlook.

Anyway, the course in Lowell started with a big parade lap around a field, then went into this little up-and-down u-turn around a tree, followed by some muddy-ish rough stuff. Then you had a fast descent into the barriers, another turn, and a super steep little climb. Twisty kind of loose stuff, then a cool series of switchbacks to get down the hill. Then you went back up it. The second climb was a little looser (originally I wrote "loser", which is funny) but it got a little less steep halfway through so you could really power up the last part, unlike the first climb that wasn't as loose but stayed steep the whole way up. Anyway, then you had another fast descent, followed by a little berm that you could kind of air-out if you caught it just right, before entering the woodsy section, then a little pavement, then more woods, finally onto the finishing stretch that was long and windy. As for the climbs, I rode them both in my pre-ride, but some people were running them and I was a little worried that when I got tired I was going to have to run.

I was feeling kind of yucky and super unmotivated as I got ready and "warmed up". Mostly I just rode the trainer for a few minutes, did some dynamic stretching, then decided riding the trainer sucks and went out and did some super half-assed openers on the road. I had a third row start, which isn't really that bad, but the start was super fast and I got sketched out by all the sketchy people. Or maybe it was just me. So I wasn't super aggressive. The result being that when we hit the u-turn around the tree I was pretty far back. I had this really bright idea that if I stayed on my bike a little longer and took the inside line that I could get around people. Um, that was kind of dumb. I ended up getting knocked over and trampled as I was getting off my bike. Seriously, I have a MTB shoe-shaped bruise on the inside of my elbow where I got stepped on. (AND I ripped my nice Fox gloves - but I'd almost not worn any gloves so in retrospect I'll take the ripped gloves over the missing pinky finger.) Anyway, I was Dead. Last. By a long shot. And my chain was off. Again. I was still feeling yucky and crashing and hurting my elbow and my pinky were a really good excuse to quit, right? Even after I got rolling again and passing people I was thinking that I had a good reason to quit, and I should probably just call it a day. But I didn't!

So I guess it can only get better from there, right? It was a 1/2/3 field, and there were 37 of us. So after my mishap I was in 37th. In the end I passed enough girls to end up 14th. That's pretty cool, right? I rode both of those steep climbs every time, except on the last lap when a lapped rider got off right in front of me. It's cool, it happens. Anyway, I was actually riding pretty strong, catching group after group, and feeling like when I went around people I had really good power and could distance myself from them pretty easily.

My coach/team director was standing around the start/finish area yelling at me, which actually was really helpful. It was windy through there and a couple of times when I was a few seconds back from a group or a rider, feeling ouchy and unwilling to dig too deep lest I not be able to claw my way out of the dark pit of pain, he yelled at me "GET UP THERE, NOW! GO NOW!" And I did and it worked out for me every time. Which just goes to show you that our biggest limitations are our heads, not our legs. I really would appreciate it if someone wants to just follow me around at races and tell me to go harder and quit whining. Although, Cody's tried this to no effect in the past, so maybe the difference is I had the fitness to back it up yesterday, for what really felt like the first time this season. Why? Beats the hell out of me.

Anyway, Lowell, Shedd Park, and BRC - kudos, rad race.

Oh, Vermont.

Last weekend I went to Vermont for a couple of regional races. I was staying with Cody's sister-in-law and his wee little nephew, as he and his brother were up in Northern New Hampshire doing a man-retreat (ed. note: how manly is it to bring your iPhone backpacking? Yeah, that's what I thought too). Anyway, I'd decided to go to these races rather than down to those in Plymouth because they had almost $1000 women's prize purse between the two of them. I like to support events that support women's racing.

The course on Saturday was in Windsor, VT, and went all around the Harpoon Brewery (it's kind of like Sierra Nevada Brewery, but in Massachusetts, and not as big). The course wasn't overly technical, but it had some fun sections. There was what felt like a lot of climbing, which hurt. Anyway, I had a great start (for once! yay!) then got passed by a couple ladies. Basically I was in a group racing for 4th for a majority of the race, but I was sucking on the run-up and eventually got dropped there. Hella uncool. So I wound up 7th. The picture at the top is from that race. I also almost wrecked myself on the barriers, but held it together somehow. Oh yeah, and my teammate won!

On Sunday I went to Putney, VT, which is a neat little town on the Connecticut River that has one of the most fun co-op groceries I've been to in a long time. Loved that place. They also have a shop that puts on weekly Wednesday night 'cross races. How rad is that? Yeah, hella rad. Anyway, the course had a lot of fun stuff, including a super steep descent into a big rutted mud section that was kind of sketchy. Unfortunately it also had a big flat section virtually free from turns that went around this field. Boring. And really painful. And as it turned out, the course was super short, so they could definitely have added some turns in there to make it more fun and so that we didn't have to do 8 laps. 8 laps, you ask? Yes. 8. And there was a really hard run-up. That we had to do. 8 times. Anyway, I didn't have as good of a start, but I got with a good group and I was doing pretty well. Then I dropped my chain. It was so stupid, it was on this little stairs run up part, and as I was running my knee pushed my pedal backward and as it backpedaled the chain came off my inner ring. Ok, no biggie, chain back on, get with some other riders, keep moving. Then, on the next lap, it did the Same Thing. Put it back on, but then apparently I hadn't done a very good job and it came off again immediately. This was pretty much where my race ended. I got my chain back on and kept going, but I was so far back from everyone that, well, my motivator broke. I rode around for a few more laps (and dropped my chain AGAIN!) but I was about to get lapped by the leaders and the officials weren't pulling me, so I pulled myself. AKA DNF. But whatever. At some point that whole "stick it out, quitting is for losers" stuff just doesn't apply. There was nothing to be proved. So, yeah. But my teammate won again!

Anyway, I rode way too long and hard today for a tuesday following a race weekend, but it was 60+ degrees out and you gotta get it in while you can. Carpe diem, or something like that.

NoHo

I have a little confession to make. The last couple weeks, since I skipped Downeast, I've been struggling to stay motivated. It might be the colder weather, it might be a little bit of fatigue, it might be all the warm fuzzy fall fun going on around me the last couple weeks - with harvest parties, halloween parties, fires, pumpkin EVERYTHING. Seriously, fall in New England is pretty special.

Whatever the reason, my motivation to go out and suffer on the bike by myself has been low. Generally when I'm feeling unmovitated I enter this cycle of low motivation > feel bad about being unmotivated > don't do anything at all to keep motivated > feel bad and eat ice cream > low motivation. But these last two weeks, even though I skipped a couple days on the bike, I got out and ran and did some strength training at the gym instead. Staying active and fit and strong > not eating ice cream > increased chances of return to motivated state. And what better way to increase motivation than to have a surprisingly good result at a UCI race? And maybe, the next day, spend 3 hours riding MTBs in short sleeves?

So, on Saturday Cody drove me out to Northampton for the Cycle-Smart International. It was COLD. I broke out my fleece lined long sleeved skin suit for the first time. I probably didn't need to, but it was awfully cozy.

The course was super fun. Started on grass, did a little S turn after the starting stretch then went into this "run" up. It was pretty short, but super gnar. Steep with loose dirt, rocks, and roots. I wasn't running. And the bottleneck it created stopped traffic so entirely that you could pretty much have soft pedalled at the start and still had to wait in line. Even though I wasn't running, my legs are pretty long and I have a lot of practice scrambling up stuff I can't ride when MTBing out here, so I actually passed a few people the first time up. Plus I was swinging my leg over the bike in the rooty descent that led into the run up and coasting in on one foot so I could hop off and get moving as soon as I started to decelerate. Some people were getting off before the little descent and some were waiting until they hit the hill, but my way was totally faster. Anyway, then the course twisted through some trees on some rooty uneven terrain, then there was a fast descent, then the big sand pit. I was really digging the sand pit. From there you twisted around through some grassy turns and some power straightaways, then hit the second "run" up. This one is in quotes because really, you could ride it if you didn't suck. I didn't manage to make it up a single time. Either because there was someone in front of me who screwed me up or because I just couldn't. At any rate, then you had more twisty rooty stuff through the woods, another little descent, barriers, and power grassy stuff before going through the finish. Fun fun fun.

Anyway, I had a pretty good start, made some passes, got passed and ended up with a varying group of 2-3 girls for the majority of the race. I felt really dialed and was railing corners and hammering over the roots with no regard for flat tires, and my fitness was better than I deserved. Overall I felt like my power output was pretty steady, although I lacked the high end to match big accelerations. I felt like someone would accelerate around me and I couldn't match them, but then they'd just kind of hover in front of me, or I could close the gaps by being fast through the corners, which has pretty much never happened to me before. Anyway, I was with two girls in the last lap with a pretty decent gap on anyone behind us when I bobbled the run/ride up and almost fell down the hill. I scrambled up it without too much damage but then I realized I'd dropped my chain and had to stop and put it back on. Rats! The gap that grew between myself and the two I'd been racing against grew too big for me to close in the last half lap, and the girl behind us caught me through the barriers. I dug nice and deep to stick on her wheel, then jumped around her on the finishing straight. Sprinting for 30th. Rad. Or kind of sad, depending on how you look at it. I'm going to go with rad.

We decided to come home afterward rather than stay and race another day. I've been feeling a little throaty and want to stay healthy, and Cody really wanted to ride on Sunday, which turned out to be a great idea. It was 60 degrees and sunny on Sunday and we got in a great 3 hour ride on our favorite trails with some good friends. Killer way to end the weekend.

I think I'll be driving down to Plymouth for a race or two this weekend (Cody's going to Man Weekend with his brothers/friends. They're doing a weekend backpacking trip in Northern New Hampshire. In mid-November. With whiskey. I am, obviously, not invited.) My motivation has returned full force for the second part of the season, and I've got plans to increase that acceleration so I can keep up with those surges that hurt so much in NoHo. But I'm also feeling good about the result I had after mixing up my training a little bit the last couple weeks, and am planning on keeping up the running and strength training in the coming weeks too. It makes me feel more strong and balanced, and we could all use more strenght and balance, right?

There's a pretty OK picture of me racing here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.269774206400337.70560.132987496745676&type=1#!/photo.php?fbid=270248683019556&set=a.270247473019677.70709.132987496745676&type=3&theater

Casco Bay

After three consecutive weekends of UCI races I went to a regional race up in Portland, ME on Saturday. It was nice to feel that regional race vibe, and ride a course that didn't have to adhere to UCI guidelines. This means - Singletrack! Especially refreshing after the big wide dusty thing that was Providence.

It had rained all week pretty much but ended up being super nice for the weekend. Breezy and cool but sunny, with mud leftover from all the rain. Perfect 'cross, in my opinion. I got in a lap on the course and had a really good warmup. Now, as you know, I've really been focusing on having better starts to my races (I love starts!) so I was determined to get it right. Erm . . . didn't happen. I think I'm thrown off by how I've been starting in too hard a gear, so when I started in a gear I could really accelerate in (for me it was like a 36x19) my upper body was still ready to muscle a big gear, so on the whistle I immediately lifted my front wheel off the ground and almost hit the girl next to me. Crap! There goes the race! Then, I missed my pedal. Now, at UCI race, my day would be done. I mean, I might be able to pass a couple girls here and there, but I would never come close to a podium, or even a top 20. Fortunately this was a 1/2/3/4 race, and it started with a long paved section, followed by a 180 degree turn, more pavement, then some wide stuff before dropping onto singletrack. Big ring, accelerate, pass. I passed all but two girls in the first section of pavement, then one other before the singletrack. That left one girl ahead of me (little 15 year old Ellen Noble), and she was zippy and had a great start. Clawed my way up to her and decided to sit on her wheel a little bit, even though the pace felt a little easy to me (not super easy, it was just a bit of recovery).

Now, there was a big run up on this course. Not super steep, but long, and slippery after the rain. It was followed by some twisty turns, another off camber running section, a few more turns and a fun little singletrack section, then a shorter but equally slippery run up. Right after that you came into the barriers, which were in a super spongy grassy section and directly into a strong headwind. Slooooow. What I'm saying is that it would help to bring your running legs. It would seem that mine forgot to get packed, because even though I was riding strong I was struggling in the runs, and 1st place trotted away from me. I would close the gap down to about 5 seconds during the running-free portion of the course, but it would open back up on that big ol' run up. So I got 2nd.

The lesson is (other than "don't start like an idiot") to not sit in when the pace feels to easy. That's not to say if I'd made a move I would have been able to hold it to the finish, but it would be better than sitting around waiting for her to run away from me. Lesson learned.

Anyway, I drove down to York, ME after the race (after spending about 45 minutes wandering around the Portland Whole Foods with race-brain - not a good idea) whereI met up with Cody for a big camping cookout/potluck/party thing. There were probably 40 people and 20 dogs. Seriously - they all ran around the woods in this big, uncontrolled pack. I only made it until about 9 PM, but fun nonetheless. Then yesterday (sunday) we got out on mountain bikes and took advantage of the wind with a gorgeous sail under sunny skies. Lovely.

Providence

I'm writing an immediate race report from the races in Providence this weekend so I can move on. Yeah, it was that bad.

Basically, I really, really sucked. I mean, a lot. Which was kind of disappointing after having such great races in Gloucester. I think that was the kicker - such good races the weekend before, and then to find myself off the back again. Blech. But, as my coach reminded me, it's coming at the end of a hard block of training and racing, and I got a bit of late start on my high intensity training for CX. So, I should be going pretty good by December! . . . Anyway, it was hot and dry and a very roadie friendly course. So while I'm glad I went, I wouldn't go so far as to say that it was fun.

But, as whenever we have this lousy races, I've spent a good deal of time thinking about what I could have done different in the leadup to the race (I mean, going back a week or so, not 3 months), and while I think my prep was pretty good, it's easy to pick out things I can do to make it better. You know, rest, nutrition, just little ways to improve. And, while it's too early in the season to start saying "next season . . ." sometimes it's these lousy races that sharpen my determination in the long run. Must. Get. Redemption. Next year. Providence.

Anyway, Cody skipped about a thousand awesome things to come down to Providence with me and work the pits and put up with my whiny "why do I suck so much?" conversation on the way home. You know, the endless rehashing and justifying. Poor guy. So pretty much he's awesome, and I wish I could have had a decent race to justify it.

Okay, subject closed.

Gloucester - keepin' it classy.*

Nearly the first thing I did when we arrived in Gloucester last year was race the Gran Prix of Gloucester, and now we've come back to that point. Full circle, or something . . .

If I were to look exclusively at my placing - 35th and 33rd - I'd think that I was slower than last year. But when I look at the talent of the field I think I'm actually doing better. Certainly there are things that need improvement (like 20 more watts) but by and large I'd say I'm getting faster.

Day 1

I love my team. I've yet to belong to a team that I didn't love, and this group of ladies is no exception. While I was back in the field duking it out for 35th my teammate Andrea Smith was battling with Helen Wyman, the British national champ. That's pretty darn cool. But anyway.

I have this tendency to think I'm doing really well at the start only to find I'm in last place. Day 1 at Gloucester was one of these. Rats. Must. Improve. Starts. I've said it before and I'll say it again - the start is definitely my least favorite part. Not a sprinter. Intensely dislike the feeling of digging myself into such a deep, dark hole in the first 30 seconds of racing. But either I figure it out and get it done, or resign myself to never breaking the top 10. Starts. Will practice. Anyway, Saturday's course was FUN! They built this sweet flyover, and there was some weird sketchy mud leading into it, and those tight off camber turns they put in every year. It was a little hot, in my opinion, and I was pretty parched by the end. Anyway, the big news for my CX racing this year is that I'm totally killing the run ups! I know, right?!?! I've always kind of floundered during the running parts, but this weekend I was PASSING PEOPLE on the gnar Gloucester run up. On the last lap I passed Vicki Thomas, only to have her get back on her bike faster on top of the flyover (d'oh!) and beat me by 10 seconds or so. I ran more this year than I've ever run before. And I trained it, doing track workouts, and plyometrics. And it worked!!! In an effort to not let people think I'd gone over to the dark side and become a "runner" I kept saying that I was just training my run for CX, and as it turned out, I was! Okay, I'll shut up about it, but the truth is I'm really psyched.

Day 2

The course on Sunday was a little less technical, no flyover and it was dry, but super fun, lots of turns, and a beach run/ride that lead to a big ol' set of stairs. Now, I was kind of dreading the stairs, but since it turns out I'm like the Usain Bolt of cyclocross, it actually worked to my advantage.

Anyway, determined as I was to have a good start, I didn't. I lined up on Lyne Bessette's wheel - bad idea? I dunno, but right after the whistle the girl to my right promptly ran into me and then moved into my line. Bitch. But then I popped out of my pedal. Uh, yeah. I'd sprayed some lube on my cleats to keep them from mudding up and then I kept popping out of my pedals. And I think they still mudded up. I just. Can't. Win.

I passed a bunch of girls on the first lap, then gave up a couple places. My legs weren't as snappy as on Saturday (well, no duh), but I had a good race. I kept it together and stayed upright as people fell over all around me in the corners and the sand. One girl passed me at the beginning of the last lap, then fell over on the beach and I darted around her and totally dropped her going up the stairs. I know, I know, I'm awesome (kidding!). Of course then someone else passed me and out-cornered me to such a degree that she opened up 15 seconds in in the last half lap. So starts and cornering. Yes, I will work on these things.

Anyway, big big thanks to all the friends who came out to cheer and tell me I'm awesome! And to Cody for pitting for me and telling me to "go faster", "dig", and "get on that wheel" so many times that I wanted to throw my bike at him.

Oh, and if you missed it on facebook, I made Cyclingnews:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/nepcx-gran-prix-of-gloucester-2-2011/elite-women/photos/192802

Or at least, part of me did.

*Note on the title:

On day 2 the course had to be re-routed due to a backed up septic system and pools of veryverybad water on course. Then later I heard that some bikes were stolen out of the parking lot? And it just left me with the feeling that Gloucester is like Reno - everyone who visits it thinks that is kind of quaint, somewhat delinquent, a decent place to visit but why the hell would you want to live there anyway? It gave me that warm feeling that I felt towards Reno - that which you'd feel for your slightly unstable second-cousin with a police record on unemployment. Sure, you wouldn't want to lend them your car, or money, but they're family so, like, you've gotta love them a little bit, right?

Nor'easter - from High to Low

I showed Cody this picture and all he could do was make fun of my Alfalfa hair . . .

Ahhh, Nor'easter Cross. What can I possibly have to say about my first DFL at a UCI race? I know, I'm as surprised as the next person to realize that I've never come in last at a UCI race before! But that streak is, alas, over.

I think the cosmos were trying to warn me not to go - I'd felt wiped out the whole week, not really training at all, then, at 10 the night before the girl I was going to carpool with texted me that she was bailing. Not to be deterred, I got up nice and early on race day (did I mention it's a 4 hour drive to Burlington, VT?) to take a shower, and when I was toweling off my hair I heard a crunch and my neck got all out of whack. Again, I persevered, loading up the car, eating breakfast, etc. The drive up wasn't too bad, all in all. Got out for a couple laps on course and, erm, it was really muddy. I mean, look at the pictures on Cyclingnews or wherever, it was muddy. And it was the kind of mud that is really, really hard to ride through. You keep turning the pedals but you're pretty much not moving. And there were two long sandpits. Of the running variety. I mean, it was a fun course and all, but at this point my perspective has been distorted by what a dreadful race I had. Anyway, got on my trainer for a little warm up, and when I climbed down to get ready to race my head started throbbing. Like, instant onset headache. At this point I'm thinking, "God damnit, I drove 4 hours to get up here and I'm going to race and finish in the money!" Which, props to Adam Myerson, the Verge series, and the race promotor, was equal for the men and women for the 15 places it ran in the women's race.

Last row call up, of course. Did I mention that Helen Wyman was there? Yeah, the British national champion. Yeah. She won. But I digress. The whistle blows and I'm not in a big enough gear but I figured it was going to all bog down in the first turn so I didn't need to panic. Then I find myself in last place going into the first turn. OK, I can move up, look at all those people right there? I passed one girl, got on my teammate's wheel, and hoped for opportunities to move up. Then . . . it just kind of fell apart. I was going as hard as I could but it just wasn't happening. My head felt like it was going to explode, my stomach was exceedingly unhappy with me, and I just wasn't having much fun. With one lap to go the sole person I'd passed at the beginning passed me back, and that was that. During that last lap my train of thinking was along the lines of, "I should really just downgrade, I'd have more fun racing with the amateurs, I suck at this." I know, bad thoughts, but the mental game can be the hardest part when you're rolling in DFL. I suppose the good news is that I actually finished, and didn't get lapped by Helen. In retrospect, perhaps it would have been better if I'd pulled out on lap one, given the 4 hours of misery that were to follow.

I felt like I was about to pass out after I finished, so I immediately rode over to the bike wash to get cleaned up and GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE. I didn't cool down (I told myself that my entire last lap had been a cool down. ha. haha. yeah.), but I hung out with my teammates for a few minutes while they did. I had some recovery drink. Then I hit the road. I talked to my dad on the phone whilst meandering my way through Burlington and probably running over someone's cat/child/foot in my somewhat distracted and unhappy state. Once rolling I started feeling really, really lousy. Head throbbing, stomach seriously unhappy with the state of affairs. And I had 4. Hours. To. Go. I'm not really sure how I made it home. It involved occasional stops for light napping and puking out the car door. It involved a whole lot of silence because every little sound hurt oh, so much. Somehow I made it home by 10, crawled into bed, covered in mud, and failure, and probably vomit. But oh! The joy of stillness and quiet.

Anyway, needless to say I should have listened to the signs and stayed home, and most of my Sunday and Monday involved continued recovery from whatever it is I did to myself on Saturday. I even called in sick yesterday, the first time I've done that since I started my job in January. I'll get out on my bike today and hopefully be able to salvage a little something for the Grand Prix of Gloucester this weekend. I love this race, let's hope it loves me back more than the Nor'easter did.

Finally!

I think . . . yes, I do believe it is - a race report!

QUAD CROSS!


Yesterday I did my first cyclocross race of 2011 (it was, in fact, only my 6th race of the year. period.). Cody earned Awesome Boyfriend points by getting up super early after an extremely late night (more on that later) to drive me out to the Rod 'n' Gun Club in Maynard, MA.
Yada yada yada - driving, arriving, registration.

I got to meet a few more of my awesome and exceedingly speedy teammates, then I headed out to check out the course. It was super fun, with a couple little ups, a long decent, a longish but not overly difficult run-up, a bit of sand, one set of barriers, and some fun loopty turns on a grassy slope. And some fun singletrack through the woods! After a couple tire pressure adjustments and a good warm-up I was ready to go!

There were 76 women racing (compare that to the 30 women I counted in the results from CCCX - hells yeah New England!) - 20 or so in the Elites, a bunch of 3/4s and masters. And we were all on this little 2 km course at the same time, with 20 or so juniors. Cluster. I don't have a better suggestion, and I've put on enough races to know that if you want it different then put on a race and see how hard it is, then you'll quit the bitching. But by lap 3 (for me) there was some serious traffic. Not a big deal as far as my race went (realistically) but I feel bad for the little guys and girls who had to move over for people 3x their size going by at mach 10.

But onto my race . . .

I had an OK start, but made some good passes and ended up sitting in about 9th about halfway through the first lap!!! I could see my teammate, the uber-fast and nice Christina Tamilio up a little ways from me, and I was sitting on Allison Snooks' wheel. Feeling good and maybe, a little cocky, I passed her on the big-ring descent. That may have been a mistake, which I realized as she passed me back before too long and when I came through the finish and saw 4 to go. 4? 4?!?! I was not riding at a 4 laps to go pace. More a last lap kind of kill-myself pace. So I cracked a little, lost Allison's wheel (we'd long since lost sight of Christina) and fell off the pace. Before too long teammate Nancy came by. I tried to stick with her but it was not to be, apparently. Did battle with some NEBC girls, and had kind of found a good rhythm. Then. I dropped my chain. I had gotten a little sloppy with my shifting and didn't downshift before entering the single track. Mistake. Anyway, I got it kind of jammed up and had to get off my bike and pull it out. Got passed by another NEBC girl and caught by Anna Milkowski. At that point I think we had 2 to go, and while I didn't catch anyone, I didn't get caught by anyone else. I rolled in for 14th, with teammates in 3rd, 5th, and 10th.

Weeeeee! Cyclocross is sooooo fun! And I had a REALLY GOOD RACE for 2 laps. Then it fell apart, but if I can just hold things together and not go all in on the first lap I think I can scrape together a couple top 10's this year! And my bike handling felt really good, same with my CX skills. Yay! Come on, UCI point! And my team is awesome, and our director/coach said I can use his bike as a pit bike all season long! It's hard to explain to someone who hasn't been there how one can be totally psyched by 10 minutes of feeling like a fast, competant bike racer, even if your result is only mediocre. For the mere mortal among us, incremental improvement is still improvement, and still reason to feel excited and encouraged.

Moving on, because really, anything that's not cyclocross is pretty much an afterthought at this point. On Saturday we went to a lovely beach wedding and wore fancy dress and danced with lovely friends and family. The wedding was early and I was in bed by 9:30, but Cody went out with his bro's and didn't get back until 2 AM, then got up at 6:30 to drive me to my race and play bike mechanic/cheerleader/chauffeur duty. Here's my "See? Sometimes I wear something other than workout clothes" picture.

Now getting ready for 5 days of camping and 168 miles of singletrack up at Kingdom Trails in Northern VT. And no, it didn't get washed away.

I am not a Multisport Athlete

Last weekend I went to Ashland! Uh, Ashland, MA. Oregon would have been way radder. Although it was raining! . . . .

Anyway.

I went to race a duathlon. I'd been practicing at the shooting range, but then I remembered that it's only in a biathlon that you get to pack heat.

That's a joke, by the way.

So this race was pretty short - 2 mile trail run, 6.5 mile MTB, 2 mile trail run. Let's just get this out of the way and say that while I enjoy running very much, I'm not very fast. For the first two miles I did about 7:45 minute miles. For the second two miles, after the bike, I think I did 10 minute miles. It was a pretty cool event, and I won some Hammer Heed and got a pretty cool shirt. I remember thinking, during the second run, that, "oh, okay, now I've got all this running out of my system and I can just ride my bike until it starts snowing again."

Anyway, I've finally made a friend outside of Cody's circle of childhood friends and their girlfriends/wives. She's a runner and triathlete (I know, I know, and she's SUCH a triathlete, too, but whaddya gonna do?). Anyway, I'm helping her with her bike and she's helping me run faster. I think it'll help a lot in cyclocross, since I always look like a small retarded child during the runs struggle with the runs.

I know, that was extremely offensive to small retarded children who probably run much faster than me. (not politically correct)

Moving on. I don't really want to end my post with such an insensitive comment, but to be honest I don't really have anything to add.

Okay, I thought of something.

We took The Boat out night before last. Cody's brother has a little boat with a filthy smoking two stroke on it that I always feel really bad about participating in the running of (not gramatically correct). But being able to go out on the ocean is one of the few things that make not living in the mountains acceptable. We need a sailboat. I can't wait to go sailing this summer. Did I mention how warm it was yesterday? It was warm enough to get muggy. Ah, the humidity. Oh East Coast, you're so messed up.

'Cross and Turkeys

Here are the promised turkeys. They live at our house. They're not mine, and I'm not going to have any part in the murder of consumption of them. They're the ugliest creatures I've ever seen, and they have large talons.

Yeah, this is what I look like when I'm doing really well.

And this is what I look like when I'm stuck in suck. "Why is that girl running around me? I'm hella fast. She'll be sorry when I go around her again." (She wasn't, because I didn't.)

I was doing so well getting caught up here, and then suddenly two weeks have gone by and I’m off the back again (in oh-so-many ways).

Truth is, nothing very interesting has been going on. I’ve been looking for work, and at this point can say that the search has been a success. I am now employed at Masconomet Health Center, which is an assisted living facility in Topsfield, MA, as a diet aide. It’s an OK job, pay’s not so great and I had to get stabbed with numerous needles to get hired on there, but if I ever make the leap back into higher education to finish my dietetics degree and do my internship it will be really helpful to have a little more work experience. If/when, whatever. I also have a few applications out to jobs that could be both more lucrative and more interesting (and not quite as long as a commute – it’s about ½ hr to Topsfield) but those positions don’t close for a little while yet, so it’s good to know that I’ll have a little income coming in one way or another.

Last weekend I raced the third and fourth races in the Verge New England series – Downeast Cyclocross at Pineland Farms in New Gloucester, ME. It’s pretty cool having a regional series that’s UCI, really. Day one was probably the best race I’ve had at any UCI race I’ve done. My start was typically pathetic, even though I’ve been working on them pretty intensively lately. But once I got rolling I had a great race – slowly working myself up into the money. Both my fitness and the bike handling felt totally dialed, and it was a wicked fun course. I had one of those magical moments when I saw 4 laps to go and I thought, “I’ve totally got 4 laps left in my legs, and I need all four of them to pass more people.” Although I was still a few points away from that UCI point I need for a second row start, I finished feeling totally stoked. My goal for the next day was clear – have a good start, so I didn’t have to spend so much time and energy getting around people.

I got to crash at the lovely house of friends in Portland, ME, just 20 minutes away from the race. We cooked a lovely dinner with farm-fresh veggies and I got to sleep nice and early. There’s nothing better than staying with friends at a bike race.

The sky was looking threatening at the start of my race on Sunday, and one girl told me that, “the cows are all laying down, so it’s going to rain.” Luckily for us, it held off for our race. As for the race itself, I had a great start! I got into my pedal nice and quick and made some passes on the pavement, then kamikazi-ed my way around a couple girls as we funneled into the dirt. And then . . . it all kind of fell apart. People started passing me and I thought, “Why are they doing that? I’m going fast, aren’t I? Oh, I’m not? Crap…” Anyway, it was a rough day, but I congratulated myself on my awesome start and for actually finishing the race, even though I was getting a lot of pity-cheering as I limped along MINUTES behind girls I’d smoked the day before. You know, they two people clapping half-heartedly, saying in a tone of voice normally reserved for the terminally ill, “Good effort, keep going.” I mean, I know they mean well, but I still feel like throwing rocks at them because we both know that it is NOT a good effort, and the only reason I’m still keeping going is that I paid my stupid $40 to be there and it would be even stupider to quit.

So, the goal for next time is to combine Sunday’s start with Saturday’s awesome riding. Totally do-able, right? Totally.

Where'd I go? Part 3

More boring bike race photos . . . there are no pictures of you on cycling news when you come in 30th.

East Coast Cyclocross, yo.

On our first day back, first thing I did was swing by the shop, and title sponsor of my new cyclocross team, Seaside Cycle! We’re also sponsored by Antero Resources, which is an oil drilling company, so I’m told, and a very generous sponsor. The new kits are pretty cool looking.

Anyway, I tried to get the 5 day car ride out of my legs over the course of the week, because just 5 days after arriving here I got to race the New England Nationals – Gloucester Grand Prix. Racing in my hometown is awesome. Seriously, there’s nothing better than sleeping in my own bed the night before a bike race. Plus, there’s a lot more people in the crowd cheering for me! Which can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how the race goes.

Over the course of the week I went on a couple of rides with the guys on the team. One was a relaxed spin, with a little technical skills riding, and checking out of the weekends course in Stage Fort Park. The second day they were heading out for some “threshold intervals”. I figured, oh, I’ll probably get dropped, but whatever. Right before we started I was informed, “340-350 watts for 15 minutes.” Hahahahahahahaha! Even sucking wheel, that was too much for my yet-unrecovered legs. I did my own thing, and spent the rest of the week trying to get my legs reattached.

Anyway, the race ended up being super fun. I had done only one ‘cross race prior to this one, at Folsom Cyclebration, which was several weeks ago. Day 1 of Gloucester was, as a result, incredibly rough. In addition to being LAST after the start and crawling my way through the tight turns, I totally died about halfway through and lost 5-6 places. The good news was that I seemed to work the rest of the yuckiness out of my legs in that solid 45 minutes of pain, and I didn’t get lapped or pulled. Sunday’s race was much, much better. I was solid throughout, and beat one girl who’d tried to ride me into some park benches when I passed her the day before (bitch). Seriously, she did. And then when I cracked she passed me again, so I was pretty determined to not let her beat me again. Hooray! The bad news is I sucked on all things running, despite actually training the run this fall. The good news? Um, I sucked less than the day before at everything else! Hallelujah.

This weekend was the Providence, RI UCI race, which I bailed on at the last minute because I’m unemployed, still, and broke. And really tired, which makes me thing I might be fighting a cold or something. Next weekend I’m heading to a regional race up in Maine, and the following weekend is the second in the Verge series. I’m having a bit of a slow start to the season, but I think things will improve a bit by December.

And now . . . I’m going to go ride my mountain bike.

The first one always hurts the most.

The last REAL race I did was the 4th of July Crit in Davis - since then all I've done is a Geiger Hill Climb and the Cascade prologue. Sure, those things hurt, but not the same. In fact, since the Davis crit sucked so damn much for me, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the last time I really RACED my bike was Nevada City. Pathetic, huh? That was in June and here we are in September. I get the feeling some people think I'm a flake for bailing on the end of road season, and they may be right. However, in light of the impending Big Move, I think my reasons (read: justifications) are sound: 1: Road racing season doesn't really get going until April in New England, therefore if I took a break in the fall I wouldn't be racing my bike for 7-8 months. Ridiculous. B: The next couple months are going to be pretty tough, I think, and there are a lot of new things to adjust to and a lot of missing people. What better way to keep my mind off the things that I'm leaving behind than to do something that I love? And lastly, New England cyclocross is off the hook and I weaseled my way onto a good team, so how could I really say no?

But that wasn't the point of my post, and now I just sound whiney and defensive.

I raced 'cross on Saturday! And it went . . . okay. Maybe it's just not having a coach anymore, but I feel rather compelled to give a detailed race report to SOMEONE, so why not the internets at large?

My starts suck. I'm going to be working on that. Today. I was, if not quite last, almost last after the start. It was women's A's and 35+ A's, and a pretty good turn-out. Oh, did I mention the presence of multiple current national champions? Like, Barb Howe and Gina Hall? Plus some other nationals podium finishers, like Sarah Maile. Owwee. Anyway, the course was a slight uphill pavement start that funneled into a singletrack that got a little technical pretty quick, with a tight left hand turn into a dusty, loose drop in. I was so far away from the hole shot that I was stuck behind the only 2 girls who put there feet down making that tight left. Damn. Made some quick passes when it opened up, but by then the race was so far away from me that I'd never make it up. Sure, I never expected to hold Barb's wheel or anything, but there were a few girls in there who I think I could be competitive with. I think I have the fitness to duke it out with people, but not to close huge gaps and THEN duke it out, know what I mean? I mean, I'm no Katie Compton, and I can't start last row and win nationals. Nope. No way. So starts are going to be critical to me if I want to have a good season. Anyway, it was blazing hot down in Folsom and I suffered heartily in the last two laps and just kind of limped through the last one, content in the knowledge that I would not be getting lapped.

The bad:

1. Starts - must improve dramatically or be stuck in suck.

2. Barriers - OK for the first couple laps, but when I got really cooked I started running like a . . . I dunno, something that sucks at running.

3. Heat tolerance - whatever, I'm moving to New England. ;) Next time I have to race in 90 degree heat I'm putting a waterbottle cage on my bike. F' it.

The good:

1. Technical skills - I was rocking the loose drop-in and the following section of single track that had a loose, sketchy ditch to ride through. Super happy that I've been getting out on my mountain bike lately and feeling good about shredding some mini-gnar.

2. Fitness - good power until the heat sapped my strength through my brain, which it then sucked through my eye balls.

3. I had a ton of fun! Even when I was suffering I was like, "Yeah, cross! This is f'in awesome!!!" And that, really, is the most important part.

On tap for today is a brutal training ride, and more packing. Yeah, the house is starting to look like we're leaving. Sad . . . excited . . . overwhelmed. But that's what brutal training rides are for, they take the edge off all those emotions and replace it with pain and fatigue. I like that.