Ahhh, another pic of me running on sunday- yeah getting pretty good at that...
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
USGP #2
ahh, finally got my chance to race a gp, since last year i spent every one of them on the sidelines. i was really excited to get on the start line with everyone- i have been doing other cross races but this series is the one that matters- and since i was sick for the first gp in KY, i was definitely looking forward to this set of races.
we arrived in the philly airport thursday night (barb, amy d., and kathy sherwin) and headed towards trenton NJ. luckily we found a whole foods near by and ate some tasty salad bar stuff that night. the next morning we headed to the course to check it out- it was cloudy, windy and cold. the course was pretty flat and grassy with plenty of twists and turns. There was a long sand pit, which i almost made it through once, and a fly over which had really steep stairs on one side, a short platform to remount, and a steep ride on the backside. it was a little freaky to ride it the first time, especially since at the bottom the transition was not good, and 100% of the time i wasnt clipped in so it was sort of sketchy.
before saturdays race, i did a easy prelap to check out how the legs were feeling and make sure there were no changes in the course. i was pedaling around chatting with katerina nash behind me, and came up to the barriers- i guess i forgot how tall they were, and i carelessly tripped over the first barrier and fell flat on my face. i was so embarrassed, and katerina picked up my bike for me- i guess i was so concerned with whether or not someone saw me that i didn't realize how much i had hurt myself. i finished warming up and got lined up. it was really cold, and my body didn't feel like going hard in the beginning- i was also having pedal issues which prevented me from clipping in- the candies don't work well with wet sand i found. i got so frustrated with it that i basically stopped racing, and just rode around until the end of the race. needless to say i finished horribly. i was determined to have a better race on sunday.
i woke up sunday and i could hardly move. i had gotten some tape from the drug store and taped up my ribs which felt better. my dad was driving from hershey, PA to see me race, so i wanted to do well- but i was hurting pretty bad. the rain had started during the night, and soaked the course. the temps dropped and the wind was howling. perfect cross weather- the course turned out to be way better than the day before- only i couldn't breathe deep due to my stupid crash. i was determined to race anyway- i had more fun riding (yes, i said riding, not racing) on sunday- even though i did horribly, i got to see my dad, and play around in the mud. i did crash once on the last lap onto my bad side which knocked the wind out of me- that hurt. i think my teammate melonie thought i was dying- i was gasping for air and she kept looking back to see if i got up. i finished the race, and went back to the hotel to get warm. we all went out for dinner that night to celebrate the team's good work (amy d. rocked it sunday, getting most aggressive rider) and everyone else did really well. its always nice to have teammates around to get you through the rough patches of racing- it can be tough sometimes, especially when you're frustrated with mechanicals or injuries- and in my case i had both... overall it was not the weekend i was expecting, but i made the best of it, and now i am trying to heal up before portland. its nothing that a little percocet can't help...
we arrived in the philly airport thursday night (barb, amy d., and kathy sherwin) and headed towards trenton NJ. luckily we found a whole foods near by and ate some tasty salad bar stuff that night. the next morning we headed to the course to check it out- it was cloudy, windy and cold. the course was pretty flat and grassy with plenty of twists and turns. There was a long sand pit, which i almost made it through once, and a fly over which had really steep stairs on one side, a short platform to remount, and a steep ride on the backside. it was a little freaky to ride it the first time, especially since at the bottom the transition was not good, and 100% of the time i wasnt clipped in so it was sort of sketchy.
before saturdays race, i did a easy prelap to check out how the legs were feeling and make sure there were no changes in the course. i was pedaling around chatting with katerina nash behind me, and came up to the barriers- i guess i forgot how tall they were, and i carelessly tripped over the first barrier and fell flat on my face. i was so embarrassed, and katerina picked up my bike for me- i guess i was so concerned with whether or not someone saw me that i didn't realize how much i had hurt myself. i finished warming up and got lined up. it was really cold, and my body didn't feel like going hard in the beginning- i was also having pedal issues which prevented me from clipping in- the candies don't work well with wet sand i found. i got so frustrated with it that i basically stopped racing, and just rode around until the end of the race. needless to say i finished horribly. i was determined to have a better race on sunday.
i woke up sunday and i could hardly move. i had gotten some tape from the drug store and taped up my ribs which felt better. my dad was driving from hershey, PA to see me race, so i wanted to do well- but i was hurting pretty bad. the rain had started during the night, and soaked the course. the temps dropped and the wind was howling. perfect cross weather- the course turned out to be way better than the day before- only i couldn't breathe deep due to my stupid crash. i was determined to race anyway- i had more fun riding (yes, i said riding, not racing) on sunday- even though i did horribly, i got to see my dad, and play around in the mud. i did crash once on the last lap onto my bad side which knocked the wind out of me- that hurt. i think my teammate melonie thought i was dying- i was gasping for air and she kept looking back to see if i got up. i finished the race, and went back to the hotel to get warm. we all went out for dinner that night to celebrate the team's good work (amy d. rocked it sunday, getting most aggressive rider) and everyone else did really well. its always nice to have teammates around to get you through the rough patches of racing- it can be tough sometimes, especially when you're frustrated with mechanicals or injuries- and in my case i had both... overall it was not the weekend i was expecting, but i made the best of it, and now i am trying to heal up before portland. its nothing that a little percocet can't help...
Monday, November 05, 2007
boulder- the windy city...
Alright, so calling boulder the windy city doesn't seem quite right, but after my weekend of racing here thats what i am going to call it, at least until my wounds heal...
so this past weekend here in boulder held two UCI races- the redline cup and boulder cup, both within 10 minutes from my house- and that is something great- no bikes to pack, no airports/shuttles to deal with- fabulous.
after being really really sick from food poisoning and missing out on last weekends usgp, i really wanted to do well and grab some points. at least that was the goal. saturdays course wasn't my favorite, but ended up flowing better than i expected- more sand than i have ever ridden/ran through (more running than riding most of the time) which made it much harder. i was the last one called up (hence the reason to nab some points) and went aggro on the start, moving up to top 15 by the first part of the lap. i felt really good, and continued to reel in more spots throughout the race. i was happy since i didn't fade, which has been my problem since the beginning of the season. i was closing in on 10th, but as i was rounding the corner towards the last set of barriers and the last few minutes of the race, a barricade along my right side which held a banner decided to fall on top of me. a gust of wind had caused it to blow over right as i came by...talk about bad luck- it pinned me to the ground and spectators had to pry it off of me, while another guy straightened my bike out- i thought i broke my wrist, and was pretty pissed off. i finished the race in 11th place, right out of the points, again.
the next day i was determined to be top 10- i was really excited about the course too, since last year i had to watch everyone race it on the sidelines. the wind was strong, and i made a point to be no where close to the barricades this time... but alas, the wind would be the fall of me at this race too- and a bad cleat/pedal combo. Being called up at the back i had a plan to sprint crazy hard behind my teammate barb at the start. well, after pulling out of my pedal 3 times within the first minute, i knew i had to go through the pit to change bikes. i had decided to ride the new bike that i had put old pedals on. not a good decision on my part. but before getting to the pit, and trying to improve on my horrible start i was sprinting around some girls on the back side of the course, and as i was pulling up on the bars my wheel caught a bit of air (i was wearing my carbons) and a gust of wind got my wheel and threw me to the ground- hard. i laid there for a while, wondering if i should get up. now i really needed to go to the pit, since my bike was slightly off to one side from the crash. so, i cruised down, wandered around in the pit for a while looking for my second bike, and then decided to keep riding, since i needed a workout for the day anyway... i was way off the pace, a good 5 minutes. i did end up catching a few girls by the end, but my head wasn't into it- i mentally gave up after the crash. i knew i didn' t belong back there in 25th place. i thought about quiting the whole time, but thats not me. having a DNF next to my name is something i absolutely hate seeing. its only happened after major mechanicals in 2 races the past couple years at norbas, and i was very upset about it even though there was nothing i could have done to finish the race. so, since i had a working bike i was determined to cross the finish line. i did, but very far back in 17th. not one that i am proud of. there is always another race, and this coming weekend in durango i hope to get my revenge...
so this past weekend here in boulder held two UCI races- the redline cup and boulder cup, both within 10 minutes from my house- and that is something great- no bikes to pack, no airports/shuttles to deal with- fabulous.
after being really really sick from food poisoning and missing out on last weekends usgp, i really wanted to do well and grab some points. at least that was the goal. saturdays course wasn't my favorite, but ended up flowing better than i expected- more sand than i have ever ridden/ran through (more running than riding most of the time) which made it much harder. i was the last one called up (hence the reason to nab some points) and went aggro on the start, moving up to top 15 by the first part of the lap. i felt really good, and continued to reel in more spots throughout the race. i was happy since i didn't fade, which has been my problem since the beginning of the season. i was closing in on 10th, but as i was rounding the corner towards the last set of barriers and the last few minutes of the race, a barricade along my right side which held a banner decided to fall on top of me. a gust of wind had caused it to blow over right as i came by...talk about bad luck- it pinned me to the ground and spectators had to pry it off of me, while another guy straightened my bike out- i thought i broke my wrist, and was pretty pissed off. i finished the race in 11th place, right out of the points, again.
the next day i was determined to be top 10- i was really excited about the course too, since last year i had to watch everyone race it on the sidelines. the wind was strong, and i made a point to be no where close to the barricades this time... but alas, the wind would be the fall of me at this race too- and a bad cleat/pedal combo. Being called up at the back i had a plan to sprint crazy hard behind my teammate barb at the start. well, after pulling out of my pedal 3 times within the first minute, i knew i had to go through the pit to change bikes. i had decided to ride the new bike that i had put old pedals on. not a good decision on my part. but before getting to the pit, and trying to improve on my horrible start i was sprinting around some girls on the back side of the course, and as i was pulling up on the bars my wheel caught a bit of air (i was wearing my carbons) and a gust of wind got my wheel and threw me to the ground- hard. i laid there for a while, wondering if i should get up. now i really needed to go to the pit, since my bike was slightly off to one side from the crash. so, i cruised down, wandered around in the pit for a while looking for my second bike, and then decided to keep riding, since i needed a workout for the day anyway... i was way off the pace, a good 5 minutes. i did end up catching a few girls by the end, but my head wasn't into it- i mentally gave up after the crash. i knew i didn' t belong back there in 25th place. i thought about quiting the whole time, but thats not me. having a DNF next to my name is something i absolutely hate seeing. its only happened after major mechanicals in 2 races the past couple years at norbas, and i was very upset about it even though there was nothing i could have done to finish the race. so, since i had a working bike i was determined to cross the finish line. i did, but very far back in 17th. not one that i am proud of. there is always another race, and this coming weekend in durango i hope to get my revenge...
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