(L to R): Jen G. (2nd Place) Jen S. (1st place) and Jen T. (3rd place) ALL Jens!!! supa cool! this was after the TT on saturday. First race sporting the new Dales Pale Ale Jersey on the podium! Woohooo!
Monday, May 04, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
first race of the season!!!
wow so it started- the chaos of the season. again. its crazy how fast the seasons go by- i feel like i just finished racing cross a month or so ago- i suppose i am starting later than a lot of other racers- some have been racing since February. but, i am planning for a long season so i would rather wait for the weather to be a little better before digging too deep on the training aspect:)
the mountain states cup #1 was this past weekend in Fruita, CO. i have set my goals on local races this year since i am flat broke from years past of paying for airfare, hotel, car rental, entry fees, etc etc. la la la. and, since the local races are becoming just as expensive, i figured i would just save some cash and drive to all of them- after winning some decent prize money this past weekend, i am gonna try to have a goal of at least making part of my entry fees back at each race weekend- not saying that $70 is a lot, but it is something, and way more than expected for 3rd place in a 19 minute TT. i will take it!!!
so yeah- i got 3rd place on saturday- on a wicked hard TT course that included a steep climb that i thought i might puke at the top of, then some good techy type riding that weeded out the roadies from going too fast. i was way off of jenny smith's time, but still managed to pull off 3rd place behind her and jen gersbach, my new teammate. it made for a pretty funny podium of 3 jens... we got a few pics so hopefully i can post one if i can get a hold if any...
so i suppose i should insert a little blurb about my change of teams for the mountain bike season-i have decided to ride with the dale's pale ale/spot team this year( http://oskarbluesbrewsbikes.blogspot.com/2009/03/dales-pale-ale-spot-brand-bikes-team.html )
its gonna be a fun year if nothing else- i traveled with jen g, chad, megan and the rest of the crew for a few races last year and had a blast. this year i am taking a different approach- its called having fun and not taking anything too seriously- just racing my butt off and having a good time in between. thats the plan, and im sticking to it....
as far as sunday's race went, well it was quite a different story. i had my usual not so great start- but i didn't get too frustrated since i knew the race was 30 miles and it was long. i didn't preride it, but there were a few parts i had ridden during the co-motion training camp that i tagged along at. as the girls i should have been racing with disappeared in the distance, i started realizing that they were getting too far away. i needed to turn it on. but for some reason there was no gas in the tank. nope, i pressed on the gas, even drank and ate something, waited for my legs to power up, and nothing. i was totally flat. i have no idea what was going on. was it that i wasted myself in the week before riding too much? the TT the day before? who knows. i know! maybe my tire is flat! ha! actually it was pretty low, so i stopped and put a co2 in it. now i was way OTB. sweetness. riding alone, in no mans land, no motivation and flat legs. you can guess where this is going... yep, had a terrible finish, but i did finish. limping in, i went straight past everyone and spun around alone. dang. first xc race with the new team and didn't do so hot. perhaps its because i have forgotten how painful xc racing is- i have gotten spoiled by all these short cross races. i can't tell you the last time i did a 3 hour hard effort. prolly last xc race in the fall. ouch. i got done and wanted to puke so bad. i had to just sit there and not move too much- had to get out of the sun since my skin felt like it was burning in the 70F heat. ha! so sad- i better get used to this racing and sweating thing- perhaps my body went into shock from not being bundled up and inhaling 30F air during my training rideS. i suppose going from snow to heat is a shocker for the system...it was great seeing everyone again, although the turnout was kinda lame- i think a lot of peeps are boycotting these expensive msc races...
now its time to rest and recover a bit before enjoying the nice weather in boulder- FINALLY! its gonna be in the 70's this week- goodbye stupid snow! goodbye heavy tights and lobster gloves! until next year!!! nathrop is in 2 weeks- another flat power course- im planning on getting through it and looking forward to the climbing races :) hopefully my legs start coming around... perhaps i need to drink more of that beer... it obviously works for jen and chad who rocked the races all weekend...
the mountain states cup #1 was this past weekend in Fruita, CO. i have set my goals on local races this year since i am flat broke from years past of paying for airfare, hotel, car rental, entry fees, etc etc. la la la. and, since the local races are becoming just as expensive, i figured i would just save some cash and drive to all of them- after winning some decent prize money this past weekend, i am gonna try to have a goal of at least making part of my entry fees back at each race weekend- not saying that $70 is a lot, but it is something, and way more than expected for 3rd place in a 19 minute TT. i will take it!!!
so yeah- i got 3rd place on saturday- on a wicked hard TT course that included a steep climb that i thought i might puke at the top of, then some good techy type riding that weeded out the roadies from going too fast. i was way off of jenny smith's time, but still managed to pull off 3rd place behind her and jen gersbach, my new teammate. it made for a pretty funny podium of 3 jens... we got a few pics so hopefully i can post one if i can get a hold if any...
so i suppose i should insert a little blurb about my change of teams for the mountain bike season-i have decided to ride with the dale's pale ale/spot team this year( http://oskarbluesbrewsbikes.blogspot.com/2009/03/dales-pale-ale-spot-brand-bikes-team.html )
its gonna be a fun year if nothing else- i traveled with jen g, chad, megan and the rest of the crew for a few races last year and had a blast. this year i am taking a different approach- its called having fun and not taking anything too seriously- just racing my butt off and having a good time in between. thats the plan, and im sticking to it....
as far as sunday's race went, well it was quite a different story. i had my usual not so great start- but i didn't get too frustrated since i knew the race was 30 miles and it was long. i didn't preride it, but there were a few parts i had ridden during the co-motion training camp that i tagged along at. as the girls i should have been racing with disappeared in the distance, i started realizing that they were getting too far away. i needed to turn it on. but for some reason there was no gas in the tank. nope, i pressed on the gas, even drank and ate something, waited for my legs to power up, and nothing. i was totally flat. i have no idea what was going on. was it that i wasted myself in the week before riding too much? the TT the day before? who knows. i know! maybe my tire is flat! ha! actually it was pretty low, so i stopped and put a co2 in it. now i was way OTB. sweetness. riding alone, in no mans land, no motivation and flat legs. you can guess where this is going... yep, had a terrible finish, but i did finish. limping in, i went straight past everyone and spun around alone. dang. first xc race with the new team and didn't do so hot. perhaps its because i have forgotten how painful xc racing is- i have gotten spoiled by all these short cross races. i can't tell you the last time i did a 3 hour hard effort. prolly last xc race in the fall. ouch. i got done and wanted to puke so bad. i had to just sit there and not move too much- had to get out of the sun since my skin felt like it was burning in the 70F heat. ha! so sad- i better get used to this racing and sweating thing- perhaps my body went into shock from not being bundled up and inhaling 30F air during my training rideS. i suppose going from snow to heat is a shocker for the system...it was great seeing everyone again, although the turnout was kinda lame- i think a lot of peeps are boycotting these expensive msc races...
now its time to rest and recover a bit before enjoying the nice weather in boulder- FINALLY! its gonna be in the 70's this week- goodbye stupid snow! goodbye heavy tights and lobster gloves! until next year!!! nathrop is in 2 weeks- another flat power course- im planning on getting through it and looking forward to the climbing races :) hopefully my legs start coming around... perhaps i need to drink more of that beer... it obviously works for jen and chad who rocked the races all weekend...
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
what the heck have i been doing lately? well....
a few weekends ago, chris and i and a bunch of friends headed up towards aspen to stay at the lindley hut. our group consisted of nick and cara, kris lathrop, ed and linda, jess, and chris and i. an awesome group! everyone we went with had been on hut trips before- i was the newbie! and i made plenty of mistakes- and i have learned the hard way that less is more- especially when you're carrying it on your back for 4 hours uphill...i also got a 20 minute cram session on avalanche knowledge- first time wearing a beacon and we were in some crazy back country skiing- safety first! luckily no avalanches on our side of the mountain, and everyone in the group didn't mess around with the safety factor. i think i will take a class next time before going out again- its good to know that kinda stuff.
on saturday, the group skinned up to star peak (about a 2.5 hr hike up from the hut) for a crazy decent down. i had a few difficulties on the snowboard, getting stuck when the terrain flattened out- but Chris was awesome and was always there to help me out-and very patient with me!the weather was awesome- sunny and warm! no new snow, but there was plenty of it, and i had a great first hut trip- i am sure there will be many more- but i will probably ski next time... the split board was awesome, but skiing in back country with lots of crazy terrain is better when you have poles...
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