Infinion and Beyond...
Kelly, OTF at LafayetteAfter about a month and a half off of racing, I was ready (or nagged by my racing-obsessed husband) to jump back in. Might as well dive in head first and start with Infinion on July 7th – an NRC, a strong pro field, a lovely power hill – what fun! I told myself to make it to lap 3, then I could decide if I wanted to drop out, which I know is usually not an option for me at lap 3, but setting my expectations low was all part of my psychology. Christine T. of Webcor attacked on the second climb and although the pace accelerated, it was actually nice with her off the front, as the rest of Webcor just got into blocking and drafting mode. Cat Carroll was quite active, but being the lone Aaron’s rider, had her work cut out for her. Teammate Pat got some PR as she tried to help Cheerwine pull Christine in, but that proved a lofty goal. I admired her ambition as I shamelessly sucked wheel in the pack. Christine stayed away for about 40 min. - hmm, what a nice TT workout with Nationals around the corner. When she rejoined the group, the fun began. As I was holding on for dear life and basically performing my longest ever lactic acid interval (somewhere around 45min, I’m guessing), I lost track of the sequence of events. There was another break, Webcor was in it, need I say more. I got in trouble on the second to last lap and fell off the back on the last climb, but Teammate Janeen was awesome and hung in there to finish with the pack in 18th – her first NRC race - brilliant! I slugged in for a 20th position finish, but made it past my 5 lap minimum, didn’t get pulled, went to the wine country for food and beverage with Pat and my husband afterwards, so overall a happy day! Congrats to Amber Rais for her win and thanks to Katherine Kuri for her hug.
Next up were the Mt. Diablo Hill Climb and Layfayette Crit (July 14/15) sponsored in part by my favorite team, Touchstone! I love Diablo and really wanted to do well at this race, but unfortunately I also love wine and Tofutti and in my little hiatus indulged in a little bit too much of both. Nonetheless, I had a great warm-up and felt ready to go. And boy did I go – WAY too hard in the first mile or two. I passed a few riders and found myself suffering quite a bit for the rest of the climb. I wanted to win, but didn’t’, I wanted to break 30 min, but didn’t, I wanted a burrito and Pete’s coffee afterwards and was wildly successful in finding both!! Pat finished 5th, I was 7th and Janeen was 8th. The top 8 riders all finished within about 45-50 seconds, so despite our failure to podium, we had some good efforts with some impressive competition. Congrats to Flavia for her win.
Last, but not least – Layfayette Crit. Although crits are not my thing, I decided I would be very aggressive and get in a great workout. It was hard to keep myself psyched up when I could barely get into my medium endurance zone on my trainer and then had two other riders say to me, “what are you doing here – you do know this is a crit, right?” I decided I was going to make them pay for that! Although my legs were a little slow to warm up, I held true to my plan. I tried to attacked, tried to bridge to some breaks, tried to chased down some breaks, then attacked again. Finally, my efforts paid off and when I least expected it, I looked back and had a small gap. I stood and went as hard as I could and managed to get myself away. As I continued, I was encouraged by the supportive group of spectators lining the course giving me time gaps…5 sec, 8 sec, 14 sec…where are the damn lap cards??? Soon, they appeared and I had 5 to go. Unfortunately, with 2 laps to go, the time gaps were narrowing and I looked back to see 3 riders, with Flavia on the front. With 1 lap to go, I was caught, but hoped the 4 of us could work together to stay away on the last lap. Heck, I’ll take 4th. Then the 3 went by me a little fast (trying to drop me?) and I had to work very hard to chase back on. Then they just sort of sat up. I needed a breather and couldn’t work right away. One by one the other riders started breezing by and I was blown. Pat came around my right side and I tried to finish strong with her, but was back around 15th place at the finish line. I accomplished my goal of riding aggressively and definitely got a great workout, and as an added bonus got one of the primes while out in front. Thanks SO MUCH to Markham and other Touchstoners and Steve for cheering me on and to Carol for her words of encouragement and mostly for sharing her Vegan Ginger Cookie (had to mention food at least once – it’s a genetic thing).
It’s great to be back!
Kelly
Next up were the Mt. Diablo Hill Climb and Layfayette Crit (July 14/15) sponsored in part by my favorite team, Touchstone! I love Diablo and really wanted to do well at this race, but unfortunately I also love wine and Tofutti and in my little hiatus indulged in a little bit too much of both. Nonetheless, I had a great warm-up and felt ready to go. And boy did I go – WAY too hard in the first mile or two. I passed a few riders and found myself suffering quite a bit for the rest of the climb. I wanted to win, but didn’t’, I wanted to break 30 min, but didn’t, I wanted a burrito and Pete’s coffee afterwards and was wildly successful in finding both!! Pat finished 5th, I was 7th and Janeen was 8th. The top 8 riders all finished within about 45-50 seconds, so despite our failure to podium, we had some good efforts with some impressive competition. Congrats to Flavia for her win.
Last, but not least – Layfayette Crit. Although crits are not my thing, I decided I would be very aggressive and get in a great workout. It was hard to keep myself psyched up when I could barely get into my medium endurance zone on my trainer and then had two other riders say to me, “what are you doing here – you do know this is a crit, right?” I decided I was going to make them pay for that! Although my legs were a little slow to warm up, I held true to my plan. I tried to attacked, tried to bridge to some breaks, tried to chased down some breaks, then attacked again. Finally, my efforts paid off and when I least expected it, I looked back and had a small gap. I stood and went as hard as I could and managed to get myself away. As I continued, I was encouraged by the supportive group of spectators lining the course giving me time gaps…5 sec, 8 sec, 14 sec…where are the damn lap cards??? Soon, they appeared and I had 5 to go. Unfortunately, with 2 laps to go, the time gaps were narrowing and I looked back to see 3 riders, with Flavia on the front. With 1 lap to go, I was caught, but hoped the 4 of us could work together to stay away on the last lap. Heck, I’ll take 4th. Then the 3 went by me a little fast (trying to drop me?) and I had to work very hard to chase back on. Then they just sort of sat up. I needed a breather and couldn’t work right away. One by one the other riders started breezing by and I was blown. Pat came around my right side and I tried to finish strong with her, but was back around 15th place at the finish line. I accomplished my goal of riding aggressively and definitely got a great workout, and as an added bonus got one of the primes while out in front. Thanks SO MUCH to Markham and other Touchstoners and Steve for cheering me on and to Carol for her words of encouragement and mostly for sharing her Vegan Ginger Cookie (had to mention food at least once – it’s a genetic thing).
It’s great to be back!
Kelly
posted by Touchstone Climbing/ AB Cycling at 7:14 PM
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