thehappycat.net

Current Mood: Bouncy

I completed my first stage race this past weekend. So this makes my second cycling race. It was pretty awesome.

It took place near Phoenix, AZ. Originally when I signed up for this I had hoped Brandon would be able to join me. I had a hotel lined up  (which I later found out was very inconveniently located to 2 of the 3 races) which had a promo of $90 a night… I pre-routed all my locations in my TomTom… and was ready for a LONG weekend of racing and two 6 hour drives. Unfortunately Brandon ended up not being able to join me and I started debating whether I wanted to do the race, I had never driven more than 3 hours by myself and this seemed like a long distance, especially the drive back after all the racing. Then scarier thoughts started going through my head like “what if I crash?”… “will I be too hurt to drive myself home?”…

Like magic I got an email from another SDBC member informing me that he had a friend that was looking for a ride to the race who could exchange free room and board! So I emailed this random dude and we decided that we would ride together after we verified with our respective peoples that they were cool with it. This set my mind at ease about the traveling. The drive out was fairly painless and quick due to the fact I had someone I had never met before riding with me, all kinds of new conversation. It was nice.

This guy is named Steven and he is a Cat3 racer which means he has lots of experience doing this. He was incredibly helpful and nice the entire trip, giving me pointers on food, strategies, etc. While I would have loved Brandon to come with me on this trip I think my race would have been very different. I credit Steven a lot for how I did…

So, how did I do?:

Stage 1 – Time Trial

A time trial is a predetermined distance in which you race against yourself for as fast a time as possible. They staggered the start times for everyone by 30 seconds. I’ve never time trialed in my life and I do not own a time trial bike so I used my road bike and my friend Alison was kind enough to loan me her TT helmet (the weird curvy helmets that look like the thing from Alien). It was a new experience. You take your bike up to a little ramp, clip both feet in and someone holds you upright while another person counts down from 5. Then you start to pedal, they let go of you, and you’re off! I wasn’t sure the best way to approach the TT… I don’t know my breaking point yet so I wanted to make sure I could finish strong by the end of 14.2 miles (7 out and 7 back)… so I started to ease myself into a speed and RPE that I could maintain. Then after a few minutes it dawned on me that I was riding into a headwind so I started to push myself harder with the thinking that I’ll get the tailwind on the way back. On the way out I passed the rider that started 30 seconds before me… then a bit later I passed the rider that started 1 minute before me! That had me feeling pretty good, both those girls were on TT bikes too!

As I got to the turn-around point I took a quick pedaling break while I slowed into the turn and then punched it as hard as I could on the way back. I started to catch up to another girl! I was never able to catch her (also on a TT bike) but I was able to pace myself off her at the very least. Towards the last little bit some super strong girl blew by me, she was damn fast! All in all I finished 14/29 in 41:27 and was 5:29 off the first person! As far as I saw, every girl ahead of me had a TT bike… So now I want a TT bike, LOL. I am most definitely sure I could have placed higher with that. I am very happy with my performance all things considered.

Stage 2 – Road Race

I was pretty comfortable going into the road race since that is basically how the Saturday group rides I do are formatted. It was 41 miles, 2.5 laps around a course, ending on a hill. The roads were fairly well maintained with the only sketchy part being some crazy bumps/holes on the 2nd turn. The race started off pretty mellow I even found two girls from San Diego to chat with during the easy parts of the ride. However since this is a more pack oriented race you really get to see some of these girls personalities. Most of them were super nice but like anything in life there’s a bitch or two! Everything was going good for the most part, you could figure out early on who was a hazard and such. The wind started to pick up a lot through the mid-part of the race and I did get blown over to the girl on my right. She rightfully yelled but we managed to regain control pretty quick. I’m still not used to gusts of wind like that… she actually apologized which as far as I’m concerned she didn’t need to.

Anyways, back to the race… it ends on a hill and since there are 2.5 laps the course makes you climb this hill 3 times. It’s not a very hard hill but nevertheless it’s still a hill. There were some strong girls who could really power up it pretty fast but I was able to stay in the lead group nearly the entire race. There was one section that I started to fall back with a few other girls, then we worked together to catch back up. Once we caught back up we were on a straight with a HUGE headwind. I was struggling to stay on the group but managed. As we took to final turn that leads into the last hill climb a few girls started to sprint off the front. I increased my speed but didn’t sprint since I was pretty sure I’d gas out by the top. I did enough to at least pass people and no one passed me on that final climb.

I ended up 8/27 in 2:07:03 and was 1:43 from the first person. This ended up putting me in 10th place overall and 7:22 behind the leader.

Stage 3 – Crit

If I was nervous for anything it was most definitely the crit. I mean if you don’t know what a crit is, go look up criterium on YouTube and all you’ll find are crashes, LOL. Makes ya feel good inside, doesn’t it? My race was supposed to start at 10am. It got pushed until like 11:15… So not only did I get there early to make sure I had enough warm-up time… I had to sit around nearly another 90 minutes worrying about potential death! It was harsh. Our crit was only 20 minutes long, which is pretty short but that was one of the things that attracted me to this race… I thought it would be nice to have such a short race for my first time… Little did I realize that meant it would be all out speed from the get-go since it was so short! Also, this apparently is a slightly more technical course with 8 turns per lap.

My legs are so tired at this point. I generally don’t train 2 hard days in a row. As I’m spinning on the trainer, I try to stand and sprint and I just can’t. Everything just feels heavy and sluggish. Ugh… I prayed for adrenaline to get me through this race.

I got up to the line with the other girls and found a sport that felt good. One of the race officials goes through the race rules, etc. A girl behind me mentions I may wanna put my hair in a bun so it doesn’t obscure my race number (/cheer for the nice girls). And then pretty much we’re off. One girl shot out there (the race leader) and made it a pretty high pace from the start. I tried my damnedest to stay in the front group. I pretty much hovered anywhere between 2-5. I took the turns sharper than I felt comfortable with, pedaling through the entire time hoping I didn’t clip the ground. I was cornering shaper than any of the girls in front of me (and I assume behind me) which made it seem pretty easy to pick and choose the wheels I wanted to be on. I also figured out my shifting in and out of the turns pretty quickly. By the 2nd lap I was feeling less nervous and actually pretty relaxed. My legs started to feel good by the 3rd lap. On the 4th lap My throat was so dry it was beginning to annoy me but there was no way I was going to try and mess with a water bottle going 25mph with 8 turns per lap.

Fifth lap started to pick up more speed and you could feel people falling off the back. The last turn before the final straight 3 girls stood and sprinted. I was so tired I didn’t want to risk standing and have my legs give out so I just dug in seated. I felt a girl coming up behind me and I pushed it even harder. I crossed the line 4th, close enough to the lead group to be counted with their time! I wish I had tried to stand and sprint, I think I could have taken 3rd but I’m extremely happy with my results for my first criterium!

So for the overall race results I placed 9/26 with a time of 3:05:30, 7:22 of the leader. So from what I see, this race was pretty much won by the Time Trial. Hence, I want TT bike!

The After

Once our races were done we started the 6 hour drive back to San Diego. That again went very smooth. I love the Jeep, it fit everything really nice and was a comfortable ride. We were both pretty tired, we ended up at his place by about 8:15pm, unpacked the car, and I was home about 9pm.

I didn’t do a damn thing Monday. I chilled out, Brandon and I went out to dinner, ate yummy food and dessert, then went to bed.

It’s now Tuesday… I was going to go to Fiesta Island this morning and do the sprint group but on my way down there I decided I was just too damn tired still. I think this is the point people talked about where you need to listen to your body. I just busted my ass for 3 days, for a style of race I’ve never trained for. If I feel tired, it’s because I am tired. I can put off riding for another day until I feel good. No reason to burn myself out. So I’m chilling again!

Since it’s supposed to rain the rest of the week/weekend I’ll play on the roller and just take an easy and slowly work my way back up to something bigger on Saturday/Sunday. Yup, I deserve a break!

Current Mood: Bouncy

My very first road race is this weekend. It will be in Boulevard, CA. Ever heard of it? I hadn’t…

It’s freaking cold in Boulevard, CA. Like, I had no idea how cold it could be 90 minutes away when it’s 70 here. It’s almost depressing, lol.

Anyways, Saturday morning I will be getting up at the gawd-awful time of 4am. The goal is to be out of the house by 4:45 to make the long trek to the race. My group starts at like 7:10am but I need to get there early enough to park, get my packet, etc. I hope that leaves me enough time…

I did a loop on the course last weekend with another SDBC girl. It didn’t seem bad at all. I just don’t want to be last!

Brandon will be making the trek with me to this event. I told him he didn’t have to, I mean it’s a horrible hour but he wants to support me which is awesome. Hopefully well be home by 1pm and can enjoy the rest of the weekend then. I mean it is Superbowl Sunday… and the Steelers ARE going to massacre the Packers!

I actually signed up for another race the following weekend in Arizona. Brandon won’t be able to drive out with me there unfortunately since I’ll be leaving Thursday afternoon. It’s a stage race so there is a Time Trial on Friday, Road Race on Saturday, and a Crit on Sunday. That should be an interesting experience and a tiring weekend. It’s about a 6 hour drive there from what I see on Google Maps. I already added all the points for the races on my GPS so I can hopefully find them easily. I have a coworker who also races and am hoping he’ll ride with me so I don’t have to make the trip alone… Not to sound lame but I’ve never drove more than 3 hours by myself. There’s a lot of freaking sand between San Diego and Gooodyear Arizona. Company would be welcome.

The title of this post can refer to 2 things really. Cycling and wedding.

Brandon and I are practical… After considering all the options for a wedding and reception(s), figuring out how to include everyone, where to do it, cost… I think we have come to a solid conclusion. We don’t want to spend some 20k+ on a wedding. Most of the people we have asked about it have given us that price range and up (friends and wedding planners alike)! I want a house, a nice house… a house with a nice kitchen and workout room… with a 2+ car garage so I can store the hardtop of my jeep in the summer. I feel good that both me and Brandon were like “Screw that!”… lol.

So we have a nice and sensible plan in the works. One that gears us more in the direction of future than present.

Current Mood: Smitten

Well that’s pretty crazy isn’t it?

I really suck at updating this thing but I think that picture is worth a post.

Saturday, January 29 2011 was an interesting day.

It started with the standard SDBC ride. I’ve recently moved up to the A group which is their fastest Saturday ride. Amazingly I am able to keep up without too much issue. This particular day as the group was going down a hill at around 40mph a rather unnerving “braking” sound was produced and slight mass panic and avoidance occurred. Dude to my right started drifting towards me to avoid imminent crash happening to the right of him. I in turn slide over to the left and was riding knuckle to knuckle with some dude beside me. I held my breath, told myself not to panic, and hoped my bike crash wasn’t going to be at the same speed the cars were going… From what I hear only one person went down and another persons bike was damaged but they managed to stay up. Ah, survival…

Brandon was checking the surf while I was riding.

The A ride is nice and fast. I was back at the bike store by 11:30m and home by noon. Brandon and I had made dinner plans for around 5:30 earlier in the week but our modem/router crapped out so I scheduled AT&T to come between 12pm and 4pm to fix our issue. What is life without internet (and TV with this setup)? Little did I know I was undermining Brandon’s plans.

I didn’t expect the internet dude to come at noon, I mean does that ever happen? Brandon and I decided to shift our dinner plans to a more local restaurant a little later in the evening because we felt it time may get crunched.  By about 1:30pm Brandon said he was going to go check the surf again. He calls me about half an hour later asking if the AT&T guy is there yet. No… Brandon comes home and we start watching “Twilight” on the AppleTV to kill time. Finally at 3:30 the AT&T dude calls, comes over and fixes the internet. He’s done by 4pm.

My first thought is setting the router back up with our SSID and password so all our shit connects back up. I want my damn internet. But Brandon said he wanted to go get Golden Spoon and look at the waves again before dinner. I’m not going to say no to Golden Spoon. We get our obscene amounts of frozen yogurt (they even had coffee flavor!) and head to the cliffs. We get out and walk over to the edge and look down… And of course start reading whatever is written in the sand… takes a few seconds to comprehend… and I was blown away. I didn’t even have an inkling this was going down. Brandon gets down on one knee, pulls out a ring and that’s as perfect as it can get.

I said yes obviously.

Poor guy, sitting around waiting for this damn AT&T dude to show up, hoping the tide or people down ruin his writing in the sand, lol.

iPhone pictures turned out pretty good considering it was later in the day outside and taking perfect pictures wasn’t in the forefront of my mind.

Then we headed off to dinner at West, a steak house type place right down the road from us. The food is so awesome there.

It was a pretty great day.

Current Mood: Smitten & Happy

This is my boyfriend.

Cute, isn’t he?

This is my boyfriend with a bike.

Because I love him… And because I am a self-serving kinda person.

When he runs… I ride… When he swims… I ride… And when he rides… I get to ride more! Muah haha..

See how that works?

pssst… I’m currently faster!

Current Mood: Athletic

I was told I’d either love or hate the trainer. After my first ride on it I think I love it. Good news, hah.

After much contemplating and chatting with friends I went with the CycleOps Fluid2, perhaps I mentioned that in my last post… There were several options out there, some really spiffy. Ones that you could program workouts and resistance into even! But in the end I decided I didn’t want to spend 4 digits in this area. So I grabbed one with a great discount on our bike club night as a local store.

This purchase coincides with starting the Arnie Baker HIT program which I began last night. I actually had an enjoyable time with the first of the 13 week schedule. I just plugged in my iPod and let the Garmin yell me the commands. Setting up the Garmin was a pain in the ass tho and I must admit the Garmin cycling computers really lack some features and support… especially for something that isn’t cheap.

I’ve gave up on the Garmin Training Center software several months back and started using SportTracks. This really is a handy piece of software and becomes incredibly powerful when you start adding on the plugins that users make. I ended up using one of these plugins to help solve an annoyance in the Garmin. Garmin lets you set up rather advanced activities that can be used for interval training… however, they limit the number of steps to 20!!!! 20 freaking steps and I need like 70+ for these HIT workouts. So this nifty little plugin lets me create the entire workout and it splits it up into several files for me. I still need to trigger each file once the previous is completed but I forced the files to split on my 2 minute recoveries so it worked out well. SportTracks even has a “join” function that lets me merge all the files back into one activity. Very awesome.

It even lets me export awesome images of my training!

Looking forward to doing 1B on Thursday evening.

I wanted to ride into work today but I need to pickup my dress for the Marine Corps Ball that’s happening next week. Riding my bike carrying an evening gown seems like a bad idea so I’ll have to get my 30 miles tonight… on the trainer! I’m happy with this purchase.

Ta-ta