The high is gone

I went into this weekend on a high from winning the Thursday night race at PR but it didn't last long as I got my butt handed to me all weekend long. I had a blast racing this weekend though, so although I'm a tad disappointed in my results I still had tons of fun! I had two races this weekend, so this might be a long post.

I headed to Redmond for Derby Days on Saturday and barely got into the race. Can you believe the Women's Cat 4 field had 35 riders? Awesome! The course was great and the city even pulled up some turtles for us to make the roads safer. This race was FAST! I felt great and I think I managed to hang somewhere mid-pack for the first 10 minutes or so. The 80+ weather made for a warm race and after the first lap I was taking every opportunity I could to try to quickly sneak water on the straightaways since my throat was practically stuck shut. Drinking during a crit is a bit sketchy I think.

Somewhere about midway through the race we had a small crash involving two women in the field. I'm not entirely sure what happened but a few riders in front of me slowed down and pretty soon I was gapped from the field. Zqwan was at the race cheering me on and said that at one point I was probably 10 feet behind the main pack. He was screaming at me to get my ass up there and I just didn't do it. I chased with about 4 other girls but after a few more laps we got pulled. Damn! I was quite surprised when the official pulled us because I really didn't think we were that far behind. At least I learned from the Enumclaw crit and early in the race I paid attention when someone in front of me was faltering and I made sure to get around them and stick to the pack. Zqwan was convinced that if I had bridged that final gap I would have stuck to the end. One of these days I will learn to bridge a gap -- damn!

The Zoka guys tore it up at Redmond and we got a 2nd place finish and a ton of primes. I hung out and watched the guys race for quite a while and unfortunately witnessed way too many crashes. Man those are brutal. I'm glad most everyone was ok and just had road rash and some minor injuries.

On Sunday I headed to Ravensdale for the Starbucks RR not fully knowing what to expect from my legs since I raced at Redmond. I was surprised the turnout for the Cat 4 field was so small. We had 13 women show...4 from TGH, 2 from Wines, 2 from Byrne, 2 Ti, 1 from WAR, 1 unattached I think, and myself. The race started with a 2-mi neutral rollout and then the pace picked up a tad from there but it was pretty mellow for a while.

We had a great solid pack today and no sketchy riders at all. A few girls up front pushed the pace on some of the rollers but I had no trouble sticking to the pack. Most of the race up until 'The Wall' was pretty uneventful except for a deer that ran across in front of us and a girl from Ti that took a turn way wide and ended up in the gravel. Thankfully she kept her wits about her and managed not to go down and got back into the pack.

A few miles before the big hill climb there was a small attack that ended up stringing out the field. Four of us got blown off the back so we started working together to chase back on and with that hard effort I started to notice that my legs weren't feeling as fresh as I'd hoped. When we finally chased back on we turned the corner for the hill climb so we had no recovery time.

The hill was definitely steep but it wasn't nearly as impossible I had imagined. There was a photographer at the top so what better motivation do you need to make it - haha! I got up the hill and even managed to pass a few girls on the last pitch to the top. The pack really took off once they were over and I just couldn't recover to get going and that was the last time I saw them. I was screaming at myself to get up there and chase back on but my heartrate was pushing 200 and I just couldn't will myself to get moving.

Chris from Byrne hooked up with me and there were two TGH riders about 50 yards ahead of us but we couldn't make up ground to get to them. Both of us raced Redmond and were just popped. We kept trying but weren't making up any ground and then soon the TGH riders disappeared. It's too bad we couldn't reach them because I was told they ended up chasing back on. Chris and I ended up riding the remaining 10 miles or so to the finish together. It was nice to have some company at least! Neither of us have been riding long so maybe one day we'll both have a pack finish in a road race. We reminded each other it takes time and we're both improving.

I hung with the pack 17 miles until 'The Wall' which is longer than I ever have before. I honestly feel like I could have stuck if I hadn't raced in Redmond. I was sooo close to being there today so it motivated me that much more to keep trying. I know I'm making progress and I feel much stronger but I still have a little ways to go yet. I need to get out there and practice pushing up and over hills!

Overall, great weekend of racing! The course at Ravensdale was superb and Redmond was a blast. The Lake Washington Velo Circuit Race series kicks off next Sunday so it looks like I have three more road races to try to get a pack finish. In the meantime I need to regain the use of my legs.

I won my first race!

Yup, that's right! After having a few 2nd place finishes I finally pulled out a win last night -- woo! I have to say, I raced the best race I've ever done so far. It felt great! My legs were strong the entire time, I went with all of the attacks, got myself into great position, and finally timed the final sprint perfectly.

About 10 girls turned out last night, most in the beginner group. We started pretty easy but then some attacks started. Of course, no one would get too far since Gina and Cheryl were there to tow everyone else up to the breakaway. I took my turn pulling up front but this time took much shorter pulls and spent most of my time in the pack. On the prime lap I waited for the sprint but got a tad over-eager and pulled out into the wind too soon. When the key riders made their move I started to go but just didn't have the position so I sat up and decided to conserve my energy.

I then launched a small attack after the prime and one girl went with me but again, Gina and Cheryl towed everyone up to us. On the last lap an attack was launched off the first corner and onto the back straightaway (pretty typical) and I made sure that I stuck with it. Every week I always get popped off the back coming into the last turn to the finish and for once I stuck right with the pack. I knew the riders to go with for the sprint and I was patient and waited for everything to unfold. Then once they took off I hammered and ended up passing everyone who went early and was surprised at my sprinting ability! I've never sprinted like that in my life! Boy was that exciting!

Now everyone is curious where I'm training....haha. A few of the ladies I've been racing with all season said, "Wow! Where'd you come from?" I think the Headquarters training is really paying off! Now the real test is the upcoming weekend races. I'm definitely doing the Ravensdale RR on Sunday and I'm considering Redmond Derby Days on Saturday. Let's see if I can do back-to-back days...

Long time no blog

Whew has it been a busy two weeks! I've been hitting the gym, running, biking, driving to California, watching the Tour, and putting in excessive hours at work. Who said management would come with extra responsibilities? Geez...

I got to meet up with Dad & Diana at Mt Shasta last weekend to enjoy some hiking and downtime, which was nice! We did some light hiking (nothing over 5 miles) and my knee continued to surprise me by holding up well and not giving me any difficulties. I even managed to do a pretty steep, edgy, rocky trail with little difficulty -- saweet! I'll post some pics of the trip shortly.

I'm off to race at PR tonight - yay! I'm so excited the series is back on for two weeks. It's been really weird not racing for a while. I'm also gearing up for the Ravensdale RR on Sunday, which will be the first road race I've done since the Enumclaw Stage Race. I'm a tad stressed about the 20% grade, but at least my bike team has confirmed that walking up the hill is allowed. I'm betting I can run up it faster than most people can bike. Someone on our team sent me a picture of the pros walking up the Koppenberg. At least this climb isn't on cobblestone.

Alright, I gotta run to PR and hopefully we'll see if my training is paying off.

Running on crack

Last night I decided to go for a run to see if my knee is progressing. I headed down LWB to Seward Park and mixed it up with a combination of light jogging and walking. Once I got to Seward I started running for real and everything felt pretty good, so I kept going...and going...and going. And it felt great! I soon realized I was going to run my first complete lap of Seward Park in what seemed like an eternity and I got this huge smile on my face. I'm all bouncing along, smiling huge, practically screaming, "I can run!". It was a total Nike commercial or something. I'm sure people were wondering what kind of crack I was on. I even kept running all the way home!

At my Wednesday morning workout Joe told me he plans to sponsor a Boston Marathon team next year and wants me to run. Of course I reminded him of my knee problem and that I hadn't run in a long time and he ignored me. He said I should try running again and well, here I am! I ran the Seattle Half Marathon in 2004 and unfortunately never completed another since I had the IT band problem. I've never had the desire to run 26.2 miles, but I think for the first time I've suddenly become interested!

Elation!

Did I mention that I cruised around Mercer Island last night at 20mph? Woo! I guess the real test will be seeing how I perform at my next race, which should be when the Women's series runs again at PR on the 6th. Then there's the Starbucks road race on the 9th. It seems so far away! There's been a lull in racing lately and I'm anxious to get back out there and see how much my training is helping. There's a handful of road races in July, so I'll get my wish soon.

Joe has been away from Headquarters for morning workouts the past two weeks and I've been working with the assistant trainer. He was back today and boy did I get my butt handed to me. Joe upped my weights and my reps and nearly killed my legs this morning. The workout felt great though! I'm a sucker for punishment...

It's gorgeous out but I think I need a rest night tonight. Maybe I'll try a short run, but I'd like to race Seward tomorrow and my legs are feeling pretty hammered from yesterday's ride and this morning's workout. I know when I get home Marcus will try to convince me otherwise. I must stay strong and say no!

It's about time to get back to work on the house. My mom is visiting in August and I'm realizing we still need to finish the bathroom, the media room flooring, and a bunch of other things. Maybe this weekend we can make some progress. Pictures to follow soon!