Hi All! E and I had a great trip to NY and VT for Ironman Lake Placid. We were well prepped for the race and had a great trip. The end, with a B&B stay and then wanderings around Burlington, VT, before our flight home even felt like vacation! The vacation extended a few days here in Boulder as I finished my reading from the plane and am trying to get back to "normal," whatever that is. So nice!
So...... After 7 tries at the iron-distance, I set a small PR (49 seconds!), had my highest placing in my age group (5th), and had a well-executed race where I really have no excuses or interesting happenings to report from the swim, bike, or run. I was excited to have a race where I felt like I gave it everything I had to give.
Unfortunately, I did not earn a Kona slot, and I also missed my goal time, by a lot, so my emotions are a strange mix of elation for a race where I felt I went hard, took risks, and used up all my resources, frustration at the missed Kona slot and final time/place, and confusion at what I could have done differently since my prep was awesome and I thought my execution went pretty well. Maybe I'm just not as fast as I want to think I am? Anyways....
We are moving on now after 5 years of ironman racing. No WTC or ironman in our future for now. I am a bit lost on how to cope without a race of this magnitude to prepare and train for. I know I will need a focus soon, but don't feel rushed to find "what's next" just yet.
This was not meant to be a race report, that is still coming, just a quick update to say we had a great vacation, and I had a good race but one that has me searching for something new to chase. Hopefully that something is a good challenge, but also something I can achieve and find some satisfaction in. The road has been fun to travel on so far, let's see what's around the next bend!
-A
Friday, July 30, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Lake Placid Reports Coming Soon...
Sunday was the race.
Monday was packing up, going to the award banquet, and heading out of Lake Placid (to a wonderful bed and breakfast at Point Au Roche).
Yesterday was spent visiting Burlington, VT and flying back to CO.
We finally got back to the Peoples Republic of Boulder this morning at 1:30 am. Sammy the cat was quite happy to see us and kept head butting and licking us as we tried to fall asleep.
It is a strange feeling not being signed up for an Ironman (at this point last year, we were signed up for Canada in August '09, St George in May '10, and Lake Placid). Strange but freeing as well.
Anyways, we'll have our race reports up soon. I hope.
Peace Out,
Eric
Monday was packing up, going to the award banquet, and heading out of Lake Placid (to a wonderful bed and breakfast at Point Au Roche).
Yesterday was spent visiting Burlington, VT and flying back to CO.
We finally got back to the Peoples Republic of Boulder this morning at 1:30 am. Sammy the cat was quite happy to see us and kept head butting and licking us as we tried to fall asleep.
It is a strange feeling not being signed up for an Ironman (at this point last year, we were signed up for Canada in August '09, St George in May '10, and Lake Placid). Strange but freeing as well.
Anyways, we'll have our race reports up soon. I hope.
Peace Out,
Eric
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Canyons
This topic has been stewing in my brain for a few months. In that time, it may have lost some "spicy flavor" but likely also gained a few extra "ingredients." It all started back in March/April as we were preparing for Ironman St. George. One of our scheduled long bike/runs was a ~6 h ride, with climbing, followed by a 60 min run. We decided to drive the 7 miles to Lagerman's Reservoir so we could run right after on the glorious dirt roads that cut through the farm and ranch country up in Boulder County. A quick detour to recover our forgotten helmets (we rarely drive to bike and, well, just forgot to load them into the car) we mounted our tri-bikes and were rolling north to Masonville and the Rist Canyon Loop just beyond.
The trip to Masonville was fairly routine (honestly, I do not remember much of that part after 2.5 months, so I'm just assuming it was routine, E may need to correct me). We rolled up to the 1 stop sign in town, turned right, and began the loop. The first part was familiar as it is part of the Loveland Lake to Lake course, but then we took another left turn onto the first dam for Horsetooth Reservoir and headed into uncharted territories. This started me thinking about all the canyons around us and how many of them we have ridden.
The area around Boulder has many riding opportunities, but we are situated in a place where the plains meet the mountains. That means that, when riding, you can choose flat/rolling, or you can climb a canyon. We have ridden many canyons in the Boulder area. For the first few years, we mostly only rode Lefthand Canyon. I have ridden Lefthand Canyon in all weather, and at all times (I still remember my first solo ride there, it was the day before the Bolder Boulder 10 km run). It has some peacefullness to it, possibly due to the familiarity bred from repetition. The grade changes some here and there, but it is all mild until the last mile before Ward. There you turn right and start to CLIMB! Lately, we have continued on, climbing past the Peak-to-Peak Highway to the fee station for Brainard Lake. And we have been doing time trials from Highway 36 to Ward for the past few years, too (not yet this year, but we'll see what July brings). My first year here, I also roller skied this canyon at least once a week (sometimes twice) all fall. We have even run on this road now, too (though we turned at Olde Stage to get steeper climbing).
Sometimes we'd take the spur off Lefthand Canyon up to Jamestown, but only a few times have we been past the general store in town, and only twice have we ridden Super Jamestown in its entirety. Lately, the Jamestown route has been our after-work-during-the-week time trial (though again, not yet this year). From 36 it is 8 miles and a good gauge of fitness. This last Saturday was our second trip up past town all the way onto the dirt and beyond and it was much easier than I remembered, likely a combination of better fitness and better bikes (and bigger rear chain rings with 27 teeth).
We also tend to ride up St. Vrain Canyon, Golden Gate Canyon, and Big Thompson Canyon (sometimes with the turn at Drake to include Glenhaven, sometimes without.... mmmmm, cinnimon rolls in Glenhaven, mmmmmm....). Golden Gate is often only once a year (pain to ride to the start from Boulder), but the others are common additions to our riding menu. We only descend Boulder Canyon, and only ~once a year (too much traffic, limited shoulder, traffic is FAST), though we do use a few miles of it to get to the start of Sugarloaf and Magnolia roads.
We have never ridden Coal Creek Canyon (hmmm...).
And until this year, we had never ridden Rist Canyon. The closest we got included use riding up Stove Prairie Road, not knowing where we were, and turning around right at the Junction to Rist Canyon Road.
I like new things. Very much. Especially new experiences. Needless to say, I was EXCITED to ride up Rist Canyon. When the day arrived, however, it was less than ideal. I was up before 2 am to go in to work and assist in a critical process step on the production floor. I thought I might be home by 3 or 4 am and get some more sleep, but it was after 5 am before I did get home, so we decided to eat and get rolling (this low sleep may have contributed to the forgotten helmets....). Then the wind started howling. By the time we dropped off the last Horsetooth dam and hit Bellvue it was whipping out of the West. Which meant a headwind as we climbed up the canyon. The canyon starts pretty narrow and twisty. And you climb up. After a while you think you might be nearing the top as you pass a side road on the left with ~50,000 mailboxes at its mouth. And you keep climbing up. Up a bit further the road shifts left and the surface changes and it rougher (chip seal?). Still not the top. Still climbing up. Then you pass the Christmas tree farm, a U-cut place. And keep climbing. Then it seems to open up a tad, you start to go down hill (what the heck?), and if you are lucky, the gale-force winds are now drifting snow across the road in drifts that extend past the centerline. Then it actually starts snowing! Still you climb up, past fancy ranches, past hand-hewn log fences, up through steep swichback. Onward you climb. I gave up multiple times (there were too many false tops for my wind-frazzled, sleep deprived psyche) and was a pile of mush when we did crest the top. A quick pee in the bushes and well-earned Snickers bar (Almond, yum!) righted my spirits and we remounted our bikes for the fun descent down Stove Prairie Road to finish the loop back to Masonville. Then we retraced our path from the morning, battling the wind the whole way back. Once at the car we skipped the planned run in favor of sleep. The run was only an hour and the wind had extended our bike more than that amount of time past what we intended, anyways (all for a mere 102 miles!).
Then a few weeks ago (June 19th, to be exact), we met our friend Karl to ride this route again. This time we climbed up Stove Prairie Road and descended Rist Canyon. My whole mood towards this place changed (Stove Prairie has been my favorite road to ride from home ever since the first time on it, but Rist Canyon was too brutal for me to do much more than shudder each time I thought of it). It was so green up there! We intended a 6 h ride, but had a beautiful, tail-wind assisted ride up Stove Prairie that got us up to our turnaround point much faster than anticipated, and it was cool and green and we did not want to leave, so we continued on to Rist Canyon to make a loop out of it. Going down was FUN and very fast (20 minutes, not the 2+ hours we climbed in April). The whole ride was grand, simply grand. I will conceed that that may be partly due to the Karl-supertrain that pulled us back to Longmont from the Conoco station on Highway 34 in ~1 h. I just tucked in behind in my aerobars (I never draft in the aerobars, but...) and Karl was so smooth, steady, and straight that I felt safe and fast. I like going 23-25 mph with ~ 120 watts of effort!
The canyons here are beautiful and challenging, and make for some great biking.
-A
The trip to Masonville was fairly routine (honestly, I do not remember much of that part after 2.5 months, so I'm just assuming it was routine, E may need to correct me). We rolled up to the 1 stop sign in town, turned right, and began the loop. The first part was familiar as it is part of the Loveland Lake to Lake course, but then we took another left turn onto the first dam for Horsetooth Reservoir and headed into uncharted territories. This started me thinking about all the canyons around us and how many of them we have ridden.
The area around Boulder has many riding opportunities, but we are situated in a place where the plains meet the mountains. That means that, when riding, you can choose flat/rolling, or you can climb a canyon. We have ridden many canyons in the Boulder area. For the first few years, we mostly only rode Lefthand Canyon. I have ridden Lefthand Canyon in all weather, and at all times (I still remember my first solo ride there, it was the day before the Bolder Boulder 10 km run). It has some peacefullness to it, possibly due to the familiarity bred from repetition. The grade changes some here and there, but it is all mild until the last mile before Ward. There you turn right and start to CLIMB! Lately, we have continued on, climbing past the Peak-to-Peak Highway to the fee station for Brainard Lake. And we have been doing time trials from Highway 36 to Ward for the past few years, too (not yet this year, but we'll see what July brings). My first year here, I also roller skied this canyon at least once a week (sometimes twice) all fall. We have even run on this road now, too (though we turned at Olde Stage to get steeper climbing).
Sometimes we'd take the spur off Lefthand Canyon up to Jamestown, but only a few times have we been past the general store in town, and only twice have we ridden Super Jamestown in its entirety. Lately, the Jamestown route has been our after-work-during-the-week time trial (though again, not yet this year). From 36 it is 8 miles and a good gauge of fitness. This last Saturday was our second trip up past town all the way onto the dirt and beyond and it was much easier than I remembered, likely a combination of better fitness and better bikes (and bigger rear chain rings with 27 teeth).
We also tend to ride up St. Vrain Canyon, Golden Gate Canyon, and Big Thompson Canyon (sometimes with the turn at Drake to include Glenhaven, sometimes without.... mmmmm, cinnimon rolls in Glenhaven, mmmmmm....). Golden Gate is often only once a year (pain to ride to the start from Boulder), but the others are common additions to our riding menu. We only descend Boulder Canyon, and only ~once a year (too much traffic, limited shoulder, traffic is FAST), though we do use a few miles of it to get to the start of Sugarloaf and Magnolia roads.
We have never ridden Coal Creek Canyon (hmmm...).
And until this year, we had never ridden Rist Canyon. The closest we got included use riding up Stove Prairie Road, not knowing where we were, and turning around right at the Junction to Rist Canyon Road.
I like new things. Very much. Especially new experiences. Needless to say, I was EXCITED to ride up Rist Canyon. When the day arrived, however, it was less than ideal. I was up before 2 am to go in to work and assist in a critical process step on the production floor. I thought I might be home by 3 or 4 am and get some more sleep, but it was after 5 am before I did get home, so we decided to eat and get rolling (this low sleep may have contributed to the forgotten helmets....). Then the wind started howling. By the time we dropped off the last Horsetooth dam and hit Bellvue it was whipping out of the West. Which meant a headwind as we climbed up the canyon. The canyon starts pretty narrow and twisty. And you climb up. After a while you think you might be nearing the top as you pass a side road on the left with ~50,000 mailboxes at its mouth. And you keep climbing up. Up a bit further the road shifts left and the surface changes and it rougher (chip seal?). Still not the top. Still climbing up. Then you pass the Christmas tree farm, a U-cut place. And keep climbing. Then it seems to open up a tad, you start to go down hill (what the heck?), and if you are lucky, the gale-force winds are now drifting snow across the road in drifts that extend past the centerline. Then it actually starts snowing! Still you climb up, past fancy ranches, past hand-hewn log fences, up through steep swichback. Onward you climb. I gave up multiple times (there were too many false tops for my wind-frazzled, sleep deprived psyche) and was a pile of mush when we did crest the top. A quick pee in the bushes and well-earned Snickers bar (Almond, yum!) righted my spirits and we remounted our bikes for the fun descent down Stove Prairie Road to finish the loop back to Masonville. Then we retraced our path from the morning, battling the wind the whole way back. Once at the car we skipped the planned run in favor of sleep. The run was only an hour and the wind had extended our bike more than that amount of time past what we intended, anyways (all for a mere 102 miles!).
Then a few weeks ago (June 19th, to be exact), we met our friend Karl to ride this route again. This time we climbed up Stove Prairie Road and descended Rist Canyon. My whole mood towards this place changed (Stove Prairie has been my favorite road to ride from home ever since the first time on it, but Rist Canyon was too brutal for me to do much more than shudder each time I thought of it). It was so green up there! We intended a 6 h ride, but had a beautiful, tail-wind assisted ride up Stove Prairie that got us up to our turnaround point much faster than anticipated, and it was cool and green and we did not want to leave, so we continued on to Rist Canyon to make a loop out of it. Going down was FUN and very fast (20 minutes, not the 2+ hours we climbed in April). The whole ride was grand, simply grand. I will conceed that that may be partly due to the Karl-supertrain that pulled us back to Longmont from the Conoco station on Highway 34 in ~1 h. I just tucked in behind in my aerobars (I never draft in the aerobars, but...) and Karl was so smooth, steady, and straight that I felt safe and fast. I like going 23-25 mph with ~ 120 watts of effort!
The canyons here are beautiful and challenging, and make for some great biking.
-A
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
E's Quick Update
Over the weekend, our plans changed as biking the Flagstaff, S
ugarloaf, and Magnola route again didn't seem like the best idea in the rain. Instead, we got a run, shorter bike, and a swim in. A and I sharing the wall lane while swimming wasn't the best idea as we clobbered each other, but only once. The run and the bike weren't too bad in the light rain.
until Sunshine when it finally stopped for good (still no sunshine though). At one point, I commented on how I felt like I belonged on a poster like one of those soaked kittens with a cute saying...
After the ride, A and I went for a little run and then the infamous all you can eat pasta at Gondo. It had been years since we had gone there for it (first time at latest location) and although it is good pasta, we won't be back until we forget again the pain afterwards. Actually, I wasn't too bad as I couldn't put down as many rounds as A.
The weather turned for the better after all of our workouts were done and by the work week it was pretty nice. We got in a nice little ride last night that was a bit rough on the lungs and legs. It was a new one to us and I'm guessing Jared had fun dreaming it up.
Looking forward, we've got a bit of a long run this evening on tap and nice looking weather for the weekend. After that, a weekend in Wyoming for a bike race. And then more Ironman training. And more Ironman training. And more... sorry, you get the idea.
Peace Out,
E
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
We are alive ..... just very busy
It has been awhile, sorry! Here is a quick recap:
Hugo (bicycle) Road Race: Hot, windy, and not such a great day for either Rydholm. We both got dropped from our race packs before the first water stop at mile 40 and got to solo the rest of the race (78 mi total). I rarely use the word, but this race, this year, was Epic. Definitely a character builder and fitness enhancer, though.
Superior Morgul Classic (bicycle omnium): this was 3 days of racing over Memorial Day Weekend. It was interesting. The first day was the street sprints. I advanced to the seeding heats, then pulled a rookie mistake and started that heat in my small chain ring and was under powered. In the consolation round (final heat) I finished last for 10th place (2 no-shows, point went 12 deep). E had even worse luck and broke his chain in the first few pedal strokes. He never even got to cross the finish line, which was a huge bummer. Saturday was the crit. I had an OK race and got to play around with riding around in circles in the pack. I did some things well, some things less well, and learned a lot, ending 9th at the tail of the pack sprint finish. There were some strong, fast women racing! E had a bigger field to contend with, and ended up getting lapped by the leaders about half way through, which ended his race. Sunday was the return of the Morgul-Bismark road race after a long hiatus. I raced 2 loops of the 13 mi course, E raced 3 loops. I made a move the first of 3 times up The Wall and got away with 2 other racers, but could not hold their pace on the backside of the loop and was soon riding solo in 3rd. Then the chase pack caught me with ~1/2 lap to go, and I ended up at the back of the sprint pack up The Wall the final time for the finish, ending in 8th. Each race earned us points in the omnium, where I placed 7th. E laid down a solid effort, but lost the pack in there somewhere and ended up tired and cold. Our planned 1:20 hill run was delayed waiting over 2 h for results (and protest period) and was eventually postponed until early on Monday (Memorial Day) morning.
Memorial Day: Awesome run up and down Left Hand Canyon, Olde Stage, and Red Hills Drive. Awesome breakfast of homemade yeasted waffles, awesome massage with Katie, and fun BBQ at Tate and Paola's.
Last weekend: A Boulder cycling tradition on Saturday: Flagstaff, Sugarloaf, and Magnolia. Mountains-1, A-0 (E beat the mountains, I did not. Ouch.) Then yard work, and a yummy home made dinner of hand made (homemade) pasta and shrimp. Sunday was a run, bike, swim and another yummy home made dinner.
Garden: Holy lettuce! I was a bit ambitious this spring during planting, I guess. We are eating well now.... lots of yummy salad. EVERY NIGHT. We have spinach, chard, a spicy blend, and black sampson (like a green leaf, this one is very prolific). I thought we could not get lettuce to grow in our beds, boy was I wrong.
Cottonwoods: it is time. They (seeds/fluff) are everywhere. It looks like it snowed in our yard. And the car gets dripped on with a watery sap, then the fluff sticks to that, making for a furry car. Classy. I may give up on vacuuming for a while, but I'm not sure I can stomach the results.
Roof: needs new shingles. Let the bidding begin! We are currently getting quotes, and then we'll get to see what happens when we pick a contractor.
Anniversary: Yeah! 9 years as Rydholms, ~13.5 as the A & E show. Wow! and yipee!
Hugo (bicycle) Road Race: Hot, windy, and not such a great day for either Rydholm. We both got dropped from our race packs before the first water stop at mile 40 and got to solo the rest of the race (78 mi total). I rarely use the word, but this race, this year, was Epic. Definitely a character builder and fitness enhancer, though.
Superior Morgul Classic (bicycle omnium): this was 3 days of racing over Memorial Day Weekend. It was interesting. The first day was the street sprints. I advanced to the seeding heats, then pulled a rookie mistake and started that heat in my small chain ring and was under powered. In the consolation round (final heat) I finished last for 10th place (2 no-shows, point went 12 deep). E had even worse luck and broke his chain in the first few pedal strokes. He never even got to cross the finish line, which was a huge bummer. Saturday was the crit. I had an OK race and got to play around with riding around in circles in the pack. I did some things well, some things less well, and learned a lot, ending 9th at the tail of the pack sprint finish. There were some strong, fast women racing! E had a bigger field to contend with, and ended up getting lapped by the leaders about half way through, which ended his race. Sunday was the return of the Morgul-Bismark road race after a long hiatus. I raced 2 loops of the 13 mi course, E raced 3 loops. I made a move the first of 3 times up The Wall and got away with 2 other racers, but could not hold their pace on the backside of the loop and was soon riding solo in 3rd. Then the chase pack caught me with ~1/2 lap to go, and I ended up at the back of the sprint pack up The Wall the final time for the finish, ending in 8th. Each race earned us points in the omnium, where I placed 7th. E laid down a solid effort, but lost the pack in there somewhere and ended up tired and cold. Our planned 1:20 hill run was delayed waiting over 2 h for results (and protest period) and was eventually postponed until early on Monday (Memorial Day) morning.
Memorial Day: Awesome run up and down Left Hand Canyon, Olde Stage, and Red Hills Drive. Awesome breakfast of homemade yeasted waffles, awesome massage with Katie, and fun BBQ at Tate and Paola's.
Last weekend: A Boulder cycling tradition on Saturday: Flagstaff, Sugarloaf, and Magnolia. Mountains-1, A-0 (E beat the mountains, I did not. Ouch.) Then yard work, and a yummy home made dinner of hand made (homemade) pasta and shrimp. Sunday was a run, bike, swim and another yummy home made dinner.
Garden: Holy lettuce! I was a bit ambitious this spring during planting, I guess. We are eating well now.... lots of yummy salad. EVERY NIGHT. We have spinach, chard, a spicy blend, and black sampson (like a green leaf, this one is very prolific). I thought we could not get lettuce to grow in our beds, boy was I wrong.
Cottonwoods: it is time. They (seeds/fluff) are everywhere. It looks like it snowed in our yard. And the car gets dripped on with a watery sap, then the fluff sticks to that, making for a furry car. Classy. I may give up on vacuuming for a while, but I'm not sure I can stomach the results.
Roof: needs new shingles. Let the bidding begin! We are currently getting quotes, and then we'll get to see what happens when we pick a contractor.
Anniversary: Yeah! 9 years as Rydholms, ~13.5 as the A & E show. Wow! and yipee!
Friday, May 21, 2010
Return of the Hugo
Bike Wars and The Hub Strikes Back were other considerations for the title. Tomorrow will be the second time that A and I head out east and do the Hugo Road Race.
The first time was back in 2005 and it our first road bike race. Back then, we had these silly notions that a long road race (~65 miles (The course is longer this time at 78 miles. )) would be easy, since we were triathletes. This was even before we started doing Ironmans, so our longest time spent on a bike while racing was 56 miles. We didn't really know that a strong sustained output means very little when you are in the middle of a pack. Fortunately, we were used to riding with packs, but not packs that go very slow for a while and very fast the next moment. Anyways, getting ahead of myself.
So, we drove to Hugo, get our numbers, warmed up a bit and headed our separate ways (don't remember who started first). Since we weren't on a bike team, I felt a bit surrounded by all the team kits.
The race started and everyone settled in for the first bit at a pretty mellow pace. I at least knew to ride in the first part of the pack in case it split. What I didn't know is how easy it is to move from the front of the pack to the back of the pack, if you're not paying attention. I swear I went from 20th place (good) to 85th place (not good) in about 5 minutes. 85th wouldn't be all that bad if the pace was steady, but we had a nice accordion effect going on over every little rise. At one point we went by a crash that had occurred in the one of the groups in front of us.
I think I was able to move up a bit before the first turn, but it didn't matter much as I was not ready for the sudden acceleration up the first decent sized hill that occurred there. Instantly, I was losing ground. By the top, I was able to get up to better speed and started gaining on the main group. A few riders were able to get on my wheel and after a bit we started working together towards the group.
And then, the back of my bike started making bad sounds with lots of friction. I stopped and tried to figure out if I had broken a spoke. Nope, the spokes were fine, but three of them had come out of the cracked hub. I looked at my computer and realize I was half way into the race course, lovely. I also hadn't seen the follow car (which had stopped for the earlier crash). So, I started walking. About 10 to 15 minutes later, the follow car came up and I was able to get another wheel. With the new wheel, I headed back by myself, getting passed occasionally by other groups. Felt pretty lonely. I ended up 90th out of 92nd, so much for being a studly triathlete.
A ended up 10th out of 20 or so. She dropped chain at the first corner and lost the main group on the climb.
Now (five years later), we're headed back to Hugo. A little bit faster and a little bit wiser. Still expect to suffer, but hopefully no broken hubs this time.
Peace Out,
E
The first time was back in 2005 and it our first road bike race. Back then, we had these silly notions that a long road race (~65 miles (The course is longer this time at 78 miles. )) would be easy, since we were triathletes. This was even before we started doing Ironmans, so our longest time spent on a bike while racing was 56 miles. We didn't really know that a strong sustained output means very little when you are in the middle of a pack. Fortunately, we were used to riding with packs, but not packs that go very slow for a while and very fast the next moment. Anyways, getting ahead of myself.
So, we drove to Hugo, get our numbers, warmed up a bit and headed our separate ways (don't remember who started first). Since we weren't on a bike team, I felt a bit surrounded by all the team kits.
The race started and everyone settled in for the first bit at a pretty mellow pace. I at least knew to ride in the first part of the pack in case it split. What I didn't know is how easy it is to move from the front of the pack to the back of the pack, if you're not paying attention. I swear I went from 20th place (good) to 85th place (not good) in about 5 minutes. 85th wouldn't be all that bad if the pace was steady, but we had a nice accordion effect going on over every little rise. At one point we went by a crash that had occurred in the one of the groups in front of us.
I think I was able to move up a bit before the first turn, but it didn't matter much as I was not ready for the sudden acceleration up the first decent sized hill that occurred there. Instantly, I was losing ground. By the top, I was able to get up to better speed and started gaining on the main group. A few riders were able to get on my wheel and after a bit we started working together towards the group.
And then, the back of my bike started making bad sounds with lots of friction. I stopped and tried to figure out if I had broken a spoke. Nope, the spokes were fine, but three of them had come out of the cracked hub. I looked at my computer and realize I was half way into the race course, lovely. I also hadn't seen the follow car (which had stopped for the earlier crash). So, I started walking. About 10 to 15 minutes later, the follow car came up and I was able to get another wheel. With the new wheel, I headed back by myself, getting passed occasionally by other groups. Felt pretty lonely. I ended up 90th out of 92nd, so much for being a studly triathlete.
A ended up 10th out of 20 or so. She dropped chain at the first corner and lost the main group on the climb.
Now (five years later), we're headed back to Hugo. A little bit faster and a little bit wiser. Still expect to suffer, but hopefully no broken hubs this time.
Peace Out,
E
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Deer Trail Road Race report
This last Sunday, I did something a little crazy: I did a bike race only 2 weeks after an ironman. In my defense, the plan was to get in about a 2 hour ride of moderate intensity anyways, I figured I could sign up for the race, ride in the pack, and work for my team mates as needed, either pulling, attacking, or blocking.
There were 6 of us SW4 (senior women, category 4, beginners) racing for GS Boulder Trek. Four of us live in Boulder. I have a station wagon that fits 4 people and a rack on top that can take 4 bikes, so I volunteered to drive. The plan was for the other 3 to all meet at Tasha's house, I would pick them up there, and we would roll out at 6 am since we had ~1.5 h to drive and an early start time. I have been avoiding coffee to try and fix any potential problems with not sleeping after my IM St. George race week was so out of whack, but decided to have a travel-mug's worth today since it was a race. Good call! E makes the BEST coffee, it was perfect. It made the early timing of our plan seem very manageable.
The plan got a little interesting when I was ~5 min late (still the first to Tasha's house), then discovered that the 4th bike tray on the roof rack was stuck and didn't want to secure latch onto the last bike we were loading. We had just gotten a new tool kit for the car, but it was still so new it was zip-tied shut. Then as Tasha was getting me the kitchen sheers to work on the zip-tie removal, Ninety, the cat, escaped from the house and hid under the neighbor's car. The three of them coaxed Ninety out with some string and a few cat toys while I "persuaded" the skewer lever to turn and tighten with a crescent wrench. Then we loaded up and rolled out, only ~10 min later than planned.
As we left Boulder, Tasha called Jacqui, who we were meeting at the next exit. She was driving solo to the race and we figured we could send one of us over to ride with her to enliven the ride. Soon were were pulling into the Conoco station, our meeting place. Jacqui was not there yet, so I topped off the gas (I had this weird sensation that we were driving way out into the boonies and should have a full tank of gas to start the trip). Still no Jacqui. Virg ran in to use the restroom. Still no Jacqui. I went to use the restroom. Still no Jacqui. Shortly after that, though, she rolled up, we redistributed passengers, and we were off. The rest of the drive was uneventful.
Once we got into Deer Trail, we followed the signs to race parking, then snagged two spots on the street, right up-road from the start line. A foot race for the two porta-potties ensued between Tasha and Virg, but neither won as both potties were occupied. I was the last of our group over to the toilets and by the time I got there, there was quite a line. It was moving slowly, so I ended up standing there for about 20 minutes. A query of the other racers informed us that there were more toilets a few blocks away at registration, but only another 2, so I hung out in line. I was getting ancy though, I still had to register, pin my jersey, dress, spin out the legs some and try to warm-up, and get to the start line early.
I eventually made it to the toilet, was quite productive thanks to the long wait, threw on my kit, quickly got through registration, pinned both my numbers on with ease, and discovered I had no race socks, just pre- and post-race socks (long, wool). Our parking neighbor lent me a pair (what a sweety, thanks Jen, you are a great stranger-turned-new friend). Then I threw on some sunscreen and headed to the start area, there had not been time to warm up! Ugg.
At the start, we rolled through town (about 3 bocks, including one 90 degree turn), bopped under the interstate, then headed out to the course. The course is a big L-shape and we were riding the bottom line of the L first heading East, then turn back and do the back of the L heading North, then turn back and repeat the bottom of the L, ending about 4 miles from the corner of the L after a third 180 degree turn around. All of it is pretty good road surface, but filled with rolling hills. And it is open prairie, so there can be great wind out there too.
E raced here last year and told me that his group still was in a big pack at the first 180 degree turn, causing him to have to slow enough for the turn that he had to unclip from a pedal. He warned us to try and be at the front for that first turn to avoid the same thing from happening. Jacqui and Lorna took that to heart and made a small break from the pack once we got out on the main roads. The pack let them go for a bit. I was sitting dead center from front to back and tucked away on the right. Soon I was ancy to get closer to the front so I could cover any attacks and see how everyone was riding. I had no thought of getting to the front of the pack with my girls up there off the front, but I also wanted to be up closer to the front and where it was more open and safer. Soon a small gap appeared on my left and I merged into the middle line, then again out to the left when a slot opened. With a bit more work, I was sitting 3rd row back on the left - perfect. We had a slight tailwind and were rolling along nicely.
There was a solo attack that we let go. She was soon absorbed back into the pack, and Jacqui and Lorna remained in front. Then a girl from Pro Design moved and the leaders moved to cover. Before long, we caught the two GS Boulder girls out front, but they seamlessly swung into our group. We rolled along. Somewhere before the first turn the pack split and I was in a group of 10-15 (we had a field of 53 starters) at the front. Our group would change leaders, some of the taller and bigger girls were naturally coming forward on the down hills and the better climbers would lead the uphills. I took a few pulls at the front to do my share, but was not in the mood to do too much work yet. Then when the first turn came in sight, I put in a bit more effort and made it to the turn first for a nice, clean swing around the orange traffic cone.
I looked over my shoulder and realized I had intentionally dropped the pack coming out of the turn. We were now going down hill so I soft pedaled and let them catch me. I did not want to do too much work yet, and we had a bit of a headwind in front of us. As we rolled onward, I tried to pull, then back off. I found myself working on the front more than I wanted, but the legs felt pretty good, so I went with it. After one of the harder uphills, Jacqui rolled up on my left and asked how I was doing. I felt pretty toasted at that exact moment from the small climb we had just summitted, but I panted out "I'm doing OK" and we rolled on.
The bit right before the corner of the L is a false flat that is actually downhill. I was pulling here and very aware of the fact that we were going pretty slow. I felt good, and no one wanted to come around as the wind was shifting to the north and I was providing a great block to anyone wanting to echelon off my rear wheel. To minimize this, I was riding right in the very middle of the road, but there was chatter of feeling great and not having to work going on behind me. I figured I'd pull to the corner, get through that cleanly, then let the others take their turns (I had just been in front for my "turn").
We made the turn and I tried to fall back. This sort of worked, but I was always near the front somehow. I was good at finding excellent draft pockets, though, even off of the tiny girls, and I used them fully. Then, as we rolled along with no-one really committed to working and trying to keep the pace up, I glanced over my shoulder and saw that the follow car was right behind us, and behind them was a chase pack of another 10-15 girls. We were about to get caught. Virg was in this group and it sounds like she had then echeloning and working together as champs. She soon rolled to the front of our group and tried to get the same system working, but either no one got it, or no one cared enough to take their turn and the front and use the power of the group to battle the leftish headwind (NNW) that was slowing us down. It was a bit unorganized.
I took a self evaluation and realized I felt good, I was riding strong, and I might have a shot at placing well by the finish. So much for helping out a team mate for this race! Sorry guys. I began to plot where/when I should make my move to try and drop the field. I knew my advantage would be in a longer lead out rather than a field sprint, so I figured I should go somewhere before the last 90 degree turn and last out-n-back, so with about 13-15 miles to go or so.
As I mused on this more, we rolled up to the second (of 3) 180 degree turns and I executed it the same way as before, only this time I put my head down, stood up, and made a small surge before the turn to get some clean space on the road to do the turn.
A glance over the shoulder after the turn told me I had a gap, and in a split second I decided to go for it and see if I could hold this all the way to the finish. A few things told me this might just work: 1) I felt really, really, good and had been able to cover any moves made already by the girls in the race, 2) we now had a tailwind, so riding in the pack became a smaller advantage to me being out front solo, 3) they were NOT organized, 4) I had Jacqui and Virg in the pack and knew they would not work to catch me, 5) I had 20-22 miles to go, that is about an hour of hard riding, I can do that! I was also testing them to see if they would try and work together and chase or let me go. If they caught me, then the game would change, but if they didn't, I was free to ride hard, stomp the hills, use my weight on the downhills, corner cleanly, and hope to high heaven that I did not blow up.
One girl did bridge up to me, but the pack seemed to let us go. I pulled her for a while, then she took a pull, then I went to pull again and dropped her. She was breathing very, very hard, so I let her go. The draft had been nice, but waiting for her would only get me caught. I used the hills and tailwind fully and tried to find a line with less bumps (this was the only bumpy section of the course). I also knew that the finish would be into a cross-head wind, so I tried to save something back for that section, where the pack would have an advantage on a solo rider.
All was well until about 2 miles before the last 180 degree turn when I saw another solo rider approaching. She caught me quickly and then just kept going. I was fading slightly , missed her wheel, and she was gone. She did re-light my fire, though, and I stepped on the gas and tore it up to the finish. In then end, I was ~1.5 minutes back from the winner and another ~1 minute in front of third. Two more small packs (4th through 7th, then 8th through 11th) rolled in about 1.5 minutes later. Virg ended 8th, Jacqui was 13th, and Tasha, Lorna, and Janey were back a bit further. All in all, it was a great day for GS Boulder SW4s and GS Boulder overall (another 2nd and 8th in the SW1-2 and a win in the SM4).
We rolled back into town, changed into dry clothes, checked results, picked up awards (3 random bottles of beer and a single Lara Bar), and tried to get milkshakes at the Dairy Hut, but they were closed. We wanted to support the town for hosting the race, but weren't up for waiting for Brick Oven Pizza, so we hit the grocery section at the gas station then headed back to Boulder.
Once I dropped everyone off, it was time to start thinking about our second, easy ride for the day. E and I spun up to Niwot and then out onto 95th. It was a great evening ride, the mountains were gorgeous and from up there you get a great view, and the legs needed an easy spin.
We had been planning an easy spin into town to check out a new pizza restaurant, Basta, but decided to BBQ some chicken at home instead and then go out on Monday night. This was a good call since Basta is currently closed on Sunday's, according to their website. In the end it was a great idea, though, very, very yummy! We'll be back, and next time it will likely be by bike.
-A
There were 6 of us SW4 (senior women, category 4, beginners) racing for GS Boulder Trek. Four of us live in Boulder. I have a station wagon that fits 4 people and a rack on top that can take 4 bikes, so I volunteered to drive. The plan was for the other 3 to all meet at Tasha's house, I would pick them up there, and we would roll out at 6 am since we had ~1.5 h to drive and an early start time. I have been avoiding coffee to try and fix any potential problems with not sleeping after my IM St. George race week was so out of whack, but decided to have a travel-mug's worth today since it was a race. Good call! E makes the BEST coffee, it was perfect. It made the early timing of our plan seem very manageable.
The plan got a little interesting when I was ~5 min late (still the first to Tasha's house), then discovered that the 4th bike tray on the roof rack was stuck and didn't want to secure latch onto the last bike we were loading. We had just gotten a new tool kit for the car, but it was still so new it was zip-tied shut. Then as Tasha was getting me the kitchen sheers to work on the zip-tie removal, Ninety, the cat, escaped from the house and hid under the neighbor's car. The three of them coaxed Ninety out with some string and a few cat toys while I "persuaded" the skewer lever to turn and tighten with a crescent wrench. Then we loaded up and rolled out, only ~10 min later than planned.
As we left Boulder, Tasha called Jacqui, who we were meeting at the next exit. She was driving solo to the race and we figured we could send one of us over to ride with her to enliven the ride. Soon were were pulling into the Conoco station, our meeting place. Jacqui was not there yet, so I topped off the gas (I had this weird sensation that we were driving way out into the boonies and should have a full tank of gas to start the trip). Still no Jacqui. Virg ran in to use the restroom. Still no Jacqui. I went to use the restroom. Still no Jacqui. Shortly after that, though, she rolled up, we redistributed passengers, and we were off. The rest of the drive was uneventful.
Once we got into Deer Trail, we followed the signs to race parking, then snagged two spots on the street, right up-road from the start line. A foot race for the two porta-potties ensued between Tasha and Virg, but neither won as both potties were occupied. I was the last of our group over to the toilets and by the time I got there, there was quite a line. It was moving slowly, so I ended up standing there for about 20 minutes. A query of the other racers informed us that there were more toilets a few blocks away at registration, but only another 2, so I hung out in line. I was getting ancy though, I still had to register, pin my jersey, dress, spin out the legs some and try to warm-up, and get to the start line early.
I eventually made it to the toilet, was quite productive thanks to the long wait, threw on my kit, quickly got through registration, pinned both my numbers on with ease, and discovered I had no race socks, just pre- and post-race socks (long, wool). Our parking neighbor lent me a pair (what a sweety, thanks Jen, you are a great stranger-turned-new friend). Then I threw on some sunscreen and headed to the start area, there had not been time to warm up! Ugg.
At the start, we rolled through town (about 3 bocks, including one 90 degree turn), bopped under the interstate, then headed out to the course. The course is a big L-shape and we were riding the bottom line of the L first heading East, then turn back and do the back of the L heading North, then turn back and repeat the bottom of the L, ending about 4 miles from the corner of the L after a third 180 degree turn around. All of it is pretty good road surface, but filled with rolling hills. And it is open prairie, so there can be great wind out there too.
E raced here last year and told me that his group still was in a big pack at the first 180 degree turn, causing him to have to slow enough for the turn that he had to unclip from a pedal. He warned us to try and be at the front for that first turn to avoid the same thing from happening. Jacqui and Lorna took that to heart and made a small break from the pack once we got out on the main roads. The pack let them go for a bit. I was sitting dead center from front to back and tucked away on the right. Soon I was ancy to get closer to the front so I could cover any attacks and see how everyone was riding. I had no thought of getting to the front of the pack with my girls up there off the front, but I also wanted to be up closer to the front and where it was more open and safer. Soon a small gap appeared on my left and I merged into the middle line, then again out to the left when a slot opened. With a bit more work, I was sitting 3rd row back on the left - perfect. We had a slight tailwind and were rolling along nicely.
There was a solo attack that we let go. She was soon absorbed back into the pack, and Jacqui and Lorna remained in front. Then a girl from Pro Design moved and the leaders moved to cover. Before long, we caught the two GS Boulder girls out front, but they seamlessly swung into our group. We rolled along. Somewhere before the first turn the pack split and I was in a group of 10-15 (we had a field of 53 starters) at the front. Our group would change leaders, some of the taller and bigger girls were naturally coming forward on the down hills and the better climbers would lead the uphills. I took a few pulls at the front to do my share, but was not in the mood to do too much work yet. Then when the first turn came in sight, I put in a bit more effort and made it to the turn first for a nice, clean swing around the orange traffic cone.
I looked over my shoulder and realized I had intentionally dropped the pack coming out of the turn. We were now going down hill so I soft pedaled and let them catch me. I did not want to do too much work yet, and we had a bit of a headwind in front of us. As we rolled onward, I tried to pull, then back off. I found myself working on the front more than I wanted, but the legs felt pretty good, so I went with it. After one of the harder uphills, Jacqui rolled up on my left and asked how I was doing. I felt pretty toasted at that exact moment from the small climb we had just summitted, but I panted out "I'm doing OK" and we rolled on.
The bit right before the corner of the L is a false flat that is actually downhill. I was pulling here and very aware of the fact that we were going pretty slow. I felt good, and no one wanted to come around as the wind was shifting to the north and I was providing a great block to anyone wanting to echelon off my rear wheel. To minimize this, I was riding right in the very middle of the road, but there was chatter of feeling great and not having to work going on behind me. I figured I'd pull to the corner, get through that cleanly, then let the others take their turns (I had just been in front for my "turn").
We made the turn and I tried to fall back. This sort of worked, but I was always near the front somehow. I was good at finding excellent draft pockets, though, even off of the tiny girls, and I used them fully. Then, as we rolled along with no-one really committed to working and trying to keep the pace up, I glanced over my shoulder and saw that the follow car was right behind us, and behind them was a chase pack of another 10-15 girls. We were about to get caught. Virg was in this group and it sounds like she had then echeloning and working together as champs. She soon rolled to the front of our group and tried to get the same system working, but either no one got it, or no one cared enough to take their turn and the front and use the power of the group to battle the leftish headwind (NNW) that was slowing us down. It was a bit unorganized.
I took a self evaluation and realized I felt good, I was riding strong, and I might have a shot at placing well by the finish. So much for helping out a team mate for this race! Sorry guys. I began to plot where/when I should make my move to try and drop the field. I knew my advantage would be in a longer lead out rather than a field sprint, so I figured I should go somewhere before the last 90 degree turn and last out-n-back, so with about 13-15 miles to go or so.
As I mused on this more, we rolled up to the second (of 3) 180 degree turns and I executed it the same way as before, only this time I put my head down, stood up, and made a small surge before the turn to get some clean space on the road to do the turn.
A glance over the shoulder after the turn told me I had a gap, and in a split second I decided to go for it and see if I could hold this all the way to the finish. A few things told me this might just work: 1) I felt really, really, good and had been able to cover any moves made already by the girls in the race, 2) we now had a tailwind, so riding in the pack became a smaller advantage to me being out front solo, 3) they were NOT organized, 4) I had Jacqui and Virg in the pack and knew they would not work to catch me, 5) I had 20-22 miles to go, that is about an hour of hard riding, I can do that! I was also testing them to see if they would try and work together and chase or let me go. If they caught me, then the game would change, but if they didn't, I was free to ride hard, stomp the hills, use my weight on the downhills, corner cleanly, and hope to high heaven that I did not blow up.
One girl did bridge up to me, but the pack seemed to let us go. I pulled her for a while, then she took a pull, then I went to pull again and dropped her. She was breathing very, very hard, so I let her go. The draft had been nice, but waiting for her would only get me caught. I used the hills and tailwind fully and tried to find a line with less bumps (this was the only bumpy section of the course). I also knew that the finish would be into a cross-head wind, so I tried to save something back for that section, where the pack would have an advantage on a solo rider.
All was well until about 2 miles before the last 180 degree turn when I saw another solo rider approaching. She caught me quickly and then just kept going. I was fading slightly , missed her wheel, and she was gone. She did re-light my fire, though, and I stepped on the gas and tore it up to the finish. In then end, I was ~1.5 minutes back from the winner and another ~1 minute in front of third. Two more small packs (4th through 7th, then 8th through 11th) rolled in about 1.5 minutes later. Virg ended 8th, Jacqui was 13th, and Tasha, Lorna, and Janey were back a bit further. All in all, it was a great day for GS Boulder SW4s and GS Boulder overall (another 2nd and 8th in the SW1-2 and a win in the SM4).
We rolled back into town, changed into dry clothes, checked results, picked up awards (3 random bottles of beer and a single Lara Bar), and tried to get milkshakes at the Dairy Hut, but they were closed. We wanted to support the town for hosting the race, but weren't up for waiting for Brick Oven Pizza, so we hit the grocery section at the gas station then headed back to Boulder.
Once I dropped everyone off, it was time to start thinking about our second, easy ride for the day. E and I spun up to Niwot and then out onto 95th. It was a great evening ride, the mountains were gorgeous and from up there you get a great view, and the legs needed an easy spin.
We had been planning an easy spin into town to check out a new pizza restaurant, Basta, but decided to BBQ some chicken at home instead and then go out on Monday night. This was a good call since Basta is currently closed on Sunday's, according to their website. In the end it was a great idea, though, very, very yummy! We'll be back, and next time it will likely be by bike.
-A
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
