Yeah, my brother and I used to love to watch that movie. But this isn't about the movie. It's about the time trial this past weekend.
I debated with myself a lot about going to do this 40km TT in Carlisle, PA on Saturday morning, but I finally signed up for it on Friday morning. Friday evening, they sent out the start times, then sent them again, starting everyone 10 minutes earlier! 10 minutes doesn't sound like much, but it's a lot when you have a 2.5 hour drive and you need to get there enough ahead to have at least an hour before your start time. I started to email the promoter asking for the Chief Referee's contact info so I could bitch accordingly...and that was when I figured out that it wasn't a sanctioned race. This did not make me particularly happy, but so be it.
I was focused on Friday evening. Lot to do and a need to go to bed early. Step one was get the bikes ready. Drove myself crazy looking for the 'crack pipe' adapter for airing up my disc wheel. Eventually I realized I'd put it some place I could find it - not in my gear bag as I'd thought but right in the pump! Getting better at the wheel swap on the horizontal drops, but since I have a car plenty big enough, no reason not to take a 2nd bike to warmup on the trainer with and have the Ordu ready to race. I decided to take the Ruby because it's also 10-speed that way if I thought the conditions were such (ie rainy) that I didn't want to race the disc I'd have a rear wheel I could swap in relatively quickly. So I packed the car up with bikes and gear and went to bed relatively speaking early. My alarm clock was set for 4am.
I awoke at 2:30 and rolled over, telling myself to enjoy another hour and a half of sleep. Maybe I drifted off for a little bit, I'm not sure. But 3am and I was awake again and it seemed unlikely that I'd fall back to sleep. So I read for a bit, checked the radar imaging for possible rain, did my morning stretch routine. Finished packing up and headed out. Is a bad night's sleep better than no sleep? I wasn't sure, I'm still not.
The upside to driving at 4am is that there's almost no traffic. Unfortunately, my car - now 11 years old with 183000+ miles on it - is slowly dying. One of the big annoyances now is that the cruise control no longer works. I don't know if it's the switch or something else, but it's probably not worth the money to have it fixed. I don't notice it much because traffic is too heavy around here to use it. Around Frederick, I started encountering pockets of fog. This was the kind of fog that I tend to refer to as "ground fog" as it seems to be in the low-lying areas, like it's coming up out of the ground rather than down from above. In spots it was thick enough to require cutting back on speed a bit.
I stopped in Thurmont to pick up a breakfast sandwich and use the restroom. Back on the road and more fog. But as sunrise approached, conditions began to improve. I'm always happy for an uneventful drive. Arrived about 630, tail end of my target window, but acceptable. Got unpacked, set up, picked up my number, signed off on their waiver and started to warm up. Already I know I'm not in a good place for a TT. I don't want to put on my music, this is not a good sign.
A woman from Sturdy Girl racing parked next to me. I helped her out with the loan of a trainer skewer when she discovered that hers wasnt in the car as she had thought. Ken Johnson was the next car over. He didn't know the course at all. Lots of DC racers - Ace , Mike & Spencer from Latitude, bunch of NCVC guys.
Dona & Helen are parked across the aisle from me. Half an hour into the warm up they announced that they were going to delay sending the first rider off until 8am, so that more of the fog would burn off. I opted to get off the bike for a little bit to delay the rest of my warm up. Then they pushed first rider off to 830.
By this time, my head was pretty far afield from racing. It had become an expensive, long drive for a training TT. This is very bad as time trials are hugely about mental state. I warmed up some more. Then decided I needed to ride, not be on the trainer. Pack up the Ruby, trainer, etc. Got on the Ordu and tried to get my head into the game. I knew I didn't have any gels but was too distracted to bum any off anyone else. It never even occured to me. Finally it was time to ride to the start - about 1.5 miles away.
I was the next to last of the women to go. Only Kathy Watts was behind me (wildblues). The TT starts out up hill - it's not a big hill and it's sort of a stair-step thing. I take off and wonder how long it'll take me to catch the novice TTers. Margaret Kilby is doing it - I've been faster than Margaret for a couple of years, so I'm confident I'll catch her at some point, she's only got a 1minute head start on me.
I start out strong, looking to get my HR up where we want it to be. It doesn't want to go there. It wants to settle in around 175. I realize shortly after I start off, that I haven't checked the seating of the speed sensor on the fork and it's gotten nudged wide, so I'm not getting any speed data. It only takes a moment out of position to reach down and fix that. Once I clear the initial hill, I can see Candace who started 30seconds ahead of me. I know that I'll catch her eventually. But I can't get in a groove, can't find a rhythm. I pass Candace and tell her to "keep it up."
Tim Barry (Clean Currents/DC Velo) passed me, then some guy from New York. I watch as all the sudden they seem to slow down a lot. I hit the same hill and watch my speed plummet while my legs do the hard work. For once my HR approaches target. But it doesn't stay there. I push on even though my brain already knows that it's not going to be the result I want. After all, DFL is not going to happen now that I've passed Candace, so it could be worse.
I see Helen, Margaret and Dona bunched up together up ahead and know that I'll pass them. I'm clear of them by the 10km painted on the road. Now it's just me against the clock. By 15km, the fog has gotten really dense. More like cycling in a cloud. The temperature drops. I get cold. My riding goes to hell - I can feel my form slipping as my shoulders complain about being crunched up by the bars and the saddle introduces new levels of pain.
I can't see very far ahead of me. I flip up the visor on my TT helmet as it's covered with condensation. That helps some, but now exposed to the fog, my glasses start to accumulate condensation as well. I can't see if the road is going to go up, down or turn - visibility is at most 100yards. I know the turnaround is coming fairly soon - but I worry about missing it because I can't see those who have turned around ahead of me on the other side of the road. Ok, that means visibility is more like 50 feet or something. Yikes!
Kathy catches me at the turn around, which looms out of the fog abruptly. Oh well, it'll be second place. Could be worse. I'd gone into the event hoping for 64minutes. I started out pretty much on that pace - 8minutes for each 5km. But even a few seconds off the pace adds up over 40km. I end up having to push my glasses down my nose a bit to be able to see at all. Good thing I can see ok without my glasses - not great, but well enough, especially with the limited visibility.
The way back, my HR is way low and nothing I do gets it up. I stop worrying about it and just do what I can to keep my speed up. Some NCVC guys pass me. I ride back out of the fog and start to warm up again. Strangely, Mahler 8 comes into my head. When I ride TTs it's usually a pop song in my head, something with a good rhythm for the effort. But this ride, nothing is there. TTs are about suffering, a lot of suffering, but this day, the suffering is getting in my way. Maybe that's why the Mahler got in my head.
In the end, I had a good time - only 90seconds off my target - and that was good enough for 2nd place, but it sure was ugly.
Even though my body is still adapting to the new bike, and a new saddle is a definite must before any more competitive efforts, I like the bike very much.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
Last night was a great training session. I checked in to make sure that sprints were still a good idea two days before a 40km TT. Coach said yeah so I met Lesley for sprints. We were both behind schedule. The difference is that she rode to Hains Point and I drove. So I got 8 minutes of warm up before the first sprint. She won that one easily. Her suggestion was to sprint on both sides. I've done it before so I agreed, knowing how tough it is. 2nd sprint I won, no sweat. 3rd sprint went to her again - that side was into the wind, so not surprising really. 4th sprint got just a tad dicey because the bunch came up on us and the first guy was not the best of bike handlers. It was a photo finish and 33mph! Then we sat up and did a single sprint a full lap later - last one for the night. I botched it - should have eased back one gear instead of going one gear harder. It was Lance and Jan... she jumped and I was on too big a gear to respond quickly. Then Lesley headed home and I continued to ride as I only had 45minutes in and the plan was for 90. I was just relaxing in Z2 when the bunch came around me again - big bunch last night 40 riders or more. One of the Rt 1 guys yelled "Come on, Mimi!" and I took the bait, though by the time I got up to their speed I was at the back of the group. Still it was good to respond and at least know I could jump on as the wind up took us up toward 30mph. I was happy that I could do that and not be redlining. I stayed with them around the recovery side - turning 23/24 in Z2 with the help of the pack, which was way cool for me (usually my HR runs a lot higher). But I decided I wasn't going to do any more so when they ramped it up, I sat up. Finished up my 90 minutes in Z2. I'm still amazed at the new numbers and how they translate on the bike.
I'd been hoping to get out for a run all week. Monday was too nasty with the rain, Tuesday and Wednesday it just didn't happen, so I hatched the plan to run after my ride last night. That way I'd avoid running in the middle of the day when it is hot and I'd see if I could do a "brick" more comfortably than the last time. So I put the bike away, changed from cycling shorts to running shorts and dumped the cycling jersey. Doron was just finishing up her ride so I walked over to talk to her briefly. She's going to do the National Du Championship on Sunday without having ever done a Du competitively before. I tried to talk her into running with me, but she decided not to. Oh well. I ran on my own, nothing major, nothing brutal. Just 25 minutes with an average pace of 8:55 minutes. The important thing was feeling pretty good in the run. Of course in a Du I wouldn't be standing around for 10-15 minutes between getting off the bike and heading out for the run. I'll work on trimming down the transition time in due course. Think I'll have to spend money on one more bit of non-team clothing and that's at least a pair of tri-style-bike shorts, the type that one can run in without being hampered by a large chamois.
One thing I did notice, getting on the Serotta after two consecutive days on the Ordu. The saddle is a lot lower on the Serotta. When I first got on it, I felt like I was sitting in a hole. I'll have to talk to Pierre about that and see if maybe I should drift the Serotta saddle up just a little bit.
I kept debating with myself about tomorrow's TT. I'm gonna have to get up really early. But I really feel the need for doing a competitive event. So I went ahead and signed up and I'll just suck it up and get up at 4am. The nice thing is the drive should be pretty easy that time of the day. And I'll be done with the TT plenty early to get to Lisa's in Cherry Hill with lots of time for a shower and time to chill before we head into the city for dinner and the concert. Can't wait for that - Sibelius and Bruckner, yeeha!
I'd been hoping to get out for a run all week. Monday was too nasty with the rain, Tuesday and Wednesday it just didn't happen, so I hatched the plan to run after my ride last night. That way I'd avoid running in the middle of the day when it is hot and I'd see if I could do a "brick" more comfortably than the last time. So I put the bike away, changed from cycling shorts to running shorts and dumped the cycling jersey. Doron was just finishing up her ride so I walked over to talk to her briefly. She's going to do the National Du Championship on Sunday without having ever done a Du competitively before. I tried to talk her into running with me, but she decided not to. Oh well. I ran on my own, nothing major, nothing brutal. Just 25 minutes with an average pace of 8:55 minutes. The important thing was feeling pretty good in the run. Of course in a Du I wouldn't be standing around for 10-15 minutes between getting off the bike and heading out for the run. I'll work on trimming down the transition time in due course. Think I'll have to spend money on one more bit of non-team clothing and that's at least a pair of tri-style-bike shorts, the type that one can run in without being hampered by a large chamois.
One thing I did notice, getting on the Serotta after two consecutive days on the Ordu. The saddle is a lot lower on the Serotta. When I first got on it, I felt like I was sitting in a hole. I'll have to talk to Pierre about that and see if maybe I should drift the Serotta saddle up just a little bit.
I kept debating with myself about tomorrow's TT. I'm gonna have to get up really early. But I really feel the need for doing a competitive event. So I went ahead and signed up and I'll just suck it up and get up at 4am. The nice thing is the drive should be pretty easy that time of the day. And I'll be done with the TT plenty early to get to Lisa's in Cherry Hill with lots of time for a shower and time to chill before we head into the city for dinner and the concert. Can't wait for that - Sibelius and Bruckner, yeeha!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Yesterday's training was the evil, dreaded, hated Zone 2. Yeah, I'm strange that way. Other people love Zone 2. I hate it. I can tolerate it if I have distraction - like some one to ride & chat with - but it really takes a toll on me. It makes me tired, really tired. Being Wednesday, I was on my usual routine. Drive from work to the chiropractor - get my hips stretched and adjusted and my mid-spine realigned - then ride out the W&OD trail to train...or in the case of last night - suffer Zone 2.
The first part of the ride was ok - a fellow from the British Embassy rode up next to me to admire the Ordu. He was riding a 3-year-old Orbea (road not TT). So we chatted about is 33-mile each way commute that he does only twice a week because of the distance. He was from Liverpool - raced when he was a young man then got into rugby which meant he needed to bulk up a bit. We talked about the relative obscurity of cycling in England as well - not like football. He said soccer just to make sure we were talking about the same thing. And we talked about riding in the winter. I don't have much of a sense of the winter weather in England so that made for easy talk. Much colder in Liverpool in the winter than here, but they don't get snow like we do (well, some years we get snow). So he has his winter cycling gear shipped over from England and stays suitably warm. Just before he split off to finish his ride home he observed that the Ordu would probably fit him. I just laughed and told him I had no doubt I could out sprint him if he made a move for the bike. Made the first 30 minutes of Zone 2 perfectly bearable - ok I wasn't watching my HR that much, so I'm sure there was some Zone 1 in there too, we were taking it easy.
On my own after that and with the traffic on the trail thinning out nicely, I got into the TT bars and picked up the pace. I got into a groove on it. Really love the bike. The old, oversized Jett saddle is a definite improvement for comfort on the bike. No need for an ice pack between the legs. Could do better still. And I'm anxious to see if the saddle is far enough back to pass the TT jig.
I was still heading out to Leesburg when Alvin passed going the other way. Turned around at Leesburg and headed back to Reston. Kate was headed out when I passed her. I turned around to see if I could catch up with her but she was in an effort and I wasn't going to do a genuine TT effort to catch up with her, so I turned around again and finished the ride back to the car.
I was curious so I got on the scale with the Ordu with the Aksium's on - 2lbs heavier than with the race wheels on. I'll have to put the Ascents on to see how that configuration weighs in.
Tonight is sprints so I swapped out which bike I have. One thing I noticed is that the rear wheel to top of saddle is taller on the Ordu. This is evident when I put the bike in the trunk. The Ordu wedges in tightly. The Serotta has a little bit of room to spare. This will be a very important dimension to look at when it comes time to replace the car.
The first part of the ride was ok - a fellow from the British Embassy rode up next to me to admire the Ordu. He was riding a 3-year-old Orbea (road not TT). So we chatted about is 33-mile each way commute that he does only twice a week because of the distance. He was from Liverpool - raced when he was a young man then got into rugby which meant he needed to bulk up a bit. We talked about the relative obscurity of cycling in England as well - not like football. He said soccer just to make sure we were talking about the same thing. And we talked about riding in the winter. I don't have much of a sense of the winter weather in England so that made for easy talk. Much colder in Liverpool in the winter than here, but they don't get snow like we do (well, some years we get snow). So he has his winter cycling gear shipped over from England and stays suitably warm. Just before he split off to finish his ride home he observed that the Ordu would probably fit him. I just laughed and told him I had no doubt I could out sprint him if he made a move for the bike. Made the first 30 minutes of Zone 2 perfectly bearable - ok I wasn't watching my HR that much, so I'm sure there was some Zone 1 in there too, we were taking it easy.
On my own after that and with the traffic on the trail thinning out nicely, I got into the TT bars and picked up the pace. I got into a groove on it. Really love the bike. The old, oversized Jett saddle is a definite improvement for comfort on the bike. No need for an ice pack between the legs. Could do better still. And I'm anxious to see if the saddle is far enough back to pass the TT jig.
I was still heading out to Leesburg when Alvin passed going the other way. Turned around at Leesburg and headed back to Reston. Kate was headed out when I passed her. I turned around to see if I could catch up with her but she was in an effort and I wasn't going to do a genuine TT effort to catch up with her, so I turned around again and finished the ride back to the car.
I was curious so I got on the scale with the Ordu with the Aksium's on - 2lbs heavier than with the race wheels on. I'll have to put the Ascents on to see how that configuration weighs in.
Tonight is sprints so I swapped out which bike I have. One thing I noticed is that the rear wheel to top of saddle is taller on the Ordu. This is evident when I put the bike in the trunk. The Ordu wedges in tightly. The Serotta has a little bit of room to spare. This will be a very important dimension to look at when it comes time to replace the car.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Adapting
I was all set to register for Saturday's short TT in Cape May when I got up this morning. But when I went to the BikeReg page, I discovered that the event had been canceled. I really wanted to do that one. Short, fast and furious. Oh well. Change to the back up plan of doing the 40km TT in Carlisle PA instead. Makes for a lot of driving on Saturday but it'll be ok. Now that the leaky radiator hose has been replaced the car is running great.
I'll still get to Lisa's in Cherry Hill in plenty of time to enjoy the evening. We've got tickets for the Philadelphia Orchestra. Really looking forward to the Sibelius Violin Concerto and Bruckner 6. Eschenbach is conducting so it'll be an excellent interpretation. We've got reservations at Tir na Nog - great beer list there and I'm sure the food will be fine. Lisa's bummed she won't get to see me race yet, but at least she'll get to see the new bike. :-)
Last night was the first time on the Ordu with the Aksiums on it. The difference in rolling resistance is noticeable but that's ok. Working a little harder to move the bike in training isn't a bad thing. Warmed up with Ellen, Mona and Diane. Always good to see them. Ellen seems to be really stoked about racing this year.
And Mona really wants to buy one of Lisa's paintings, which is way cool. This will be the 3rd piece she's sold this month with the guy who bought Slava, Sonja & Christina buying one and now Mona. The cellist is hanging in my office - looks good up there.
Hard workout - seven efforts: 1 min, 2 min, 3 min, 4 min, 5 min, 1 min, 5 min. Equal rest on the 1 minute efforts, half rest for the rese (rounded up to the nearest minute). Got up to the top of Z4 no problem. The old jett saddle is an improvement over the selle italia that came with the bike, but it's still not ideal because it's the wrong size. The fun came in blowing past the tris on their TT bikes when I did my efforts.
Stopped and chatted with a couple of the speed skaters (Ron, who I've gotten to know over the past couple of years and a new guy Aubry) then pulled them around for a lap. The sound of their skates behind me sort of simulated the sound of the disc wheel. Aubry asked me to take him up to 19mph, so I did, actually settled in right around 19.5, which kept me at the top end of Z2. We took it easy through the 2-way section until we got back to where they'd park then chatted some more about skating, training, and racing. Turns out Aubry was right on the same HR I was give or take a beat, but for me it was Z2 and for him it was a hard effort.
It's good to start getting into the summer routine of riding outside and enjoying going to Hains Point. By August it'll all be old, but for now it feels good to adapt back into this mode. Though it takes some time - lots to do, training takes more time in ways and less in others. Usually more time on the bike but it takes a lot less time to get to the Point, so I'm usually home between 8 and 8:30 instead of just leaving f'ing Vienna at that time, which is the case when we do computrainer class out there in the winter.
I'll still get to Lisa's in Cherry Hill in plenty of time to enjoy the evening. We've got tickets for the Philadelphia Orchestra. Really looking forward to the Sibelius Violin Concerto and Bruckner 6. Eschenbach is conducting so it'll be an excellent interpretation. We've got reservations at Tir na Nog - great beer list there and I'm sure the food will be fine. Lisa's bummed she won't get to see me race yet, but at least she'll get to see the new bike. :-)
Last night was the first time on the Ordu with the Aksiums on it. The difference in rolling resistance is noticeable but that's ok. Working a little harder to move the bike in training isn't a bad thing. Warmed up with Ellen, Mona and Diane. Always good to see them. Ellen seems to be really stoked about racing this year.
And Mona really wants to buy one of Lisa's paintings, which is way cool. This will be the 3rd piece she's sold this month with the guy who bought Slava, Sonja & Christina buying one and now Mona. The cellist is hanging in my office - looks good up there.
Hard workout - seven efforts: 1 min, 2 min, 3 min, 4 min, 5 min, 1 min, 5 min. Equal rest on the 1 minute efforts, half rest for the rese (rounded up to the nearest minute). Got up to the top of Z4 no problem. The old jett saddle is an improvement over the selle italia that came with the bike, but it's still not ideal because it's the wrong size. The fun came in blowing past the tris on their TT bikes when I did my efforts.
Stopped and chatted with a couple of the speed skaters (Ron, who I've gotten to know over the past couple of years and a new guy Aubry) then pulled them around for a lap. The sound of their skates behind me sort of simulated the sound of the disc wheel. Aubry asked me to take him up to 19mph, so I did, actually settled in right around 19.5, which kept me at the top end of Z2. We took it easy through the 2-way section until we got back to where they'd park then chatted some more about skating, training, and racing. Turns out Aubry was right on the same HR I was give or take a beat, but for me it was Z2 and for him it was a hard effort.
It's good to start getting into the summer routine of riding outside and enjoying going to Hains Point. By August it'll all be old, but for now it feels good to adapt back into this mode. Though it takes some time - lots to do, training takes more time in ways and less in others. Usually more time on the bike but it takes a lot less time to get to the Point, so I'm usually home between 8 and 8:30 instead of just leaving f'ing Vienna at that time, which is the case when we do computrainer class out there in the winter.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
The weather really sucked today. Heavy rain, light rain, t-storms. Grey and dreary. Totally unmotivating. Add to that the depression of not racing today and the fact that it's the end of a rest week (which means sore throat and runny nose as a general rule) and, well, I was anything but productive today.
I changed the wheels out on the TT bike for training purposes. New adventure that horizontal drop out and the extreme slack in 39x12 to make it all work right. Better that than the alternative, which could lead to blowing the derailleur off the bike if I were to lose track of where I was on the 53. Not like I'll ever use 39x12 as a riding gear. Seems to shift fine, so no worries about adjustments other than opening up the brakes a bit to accommodate the thicker brake pads. Now that I have the Mavic Aksiums that came with the Ordu, I can have the Ascents checked over and worked on as needed. Put an old Terry saddle on the Ruby and consigned it to the trainer for now so I don't have to keep swapping wheels around. Cleaned up a little bit around my bike area. Sorted through some stuff and bagged up stuff that needs to go out in the trash.
Finally got on the trainer for a little while. It's so hard to get on the trainer once consistent outside riding starts, even on a bad weather day. After spending so many hours on the trainer all winter, the last thing I want to do is get on it now! But I did it for a little while, figured something was better than nothing. Nice to know that I can sit on more watts now and still be in Zone 2. Not what Susan wanted me to do, but I just didn't have it in me to simulate a 20k TT. If I'd been able to ride outside, it would have happened. But not inside. Just couldn't go there. Spin stupid zone 2 for a bit and call it good enough.
Jeff emailed - they finished first in the tandems at the TT and it didn't rain but was very windy. I still believe that it all happened for a reason. Just like listening to your body and learning when to say 'enough' and when to push through, I had to make a judgement call with the car and firmly believe that I made the right call.
I'm debating getting up early tomorrow and going to the gym for a change. Haven't been in a few weeks and I miss it. It's not far, shouldn't be a problem with the car. Just have to check the coolant level before I go. I'll take the car in tomorrow and tell them where the leak seemed to be and see if they can fix it. The car is so old that hoses are starting to fail from dry rot. It's starting to cost too much to keep the car going, time to start shopping for a new car, it'll be a summer filled with driving and I don't want to have a problem on the way to Nationals or something like that.
Listening to Mahler 8 right now, getting it back into my head in detail for the concert on May 3. Maybe I should be focusing on Bruckner 6 for Saturday night. It's not a Bruckner I know well. Sunday I'll drive back and pick up mom then head into the city to hear Choral Arts do an a capella concert at National Presbyterian Church. Joe Holt is conducting. Hope I get a chance to say 'hi' to him. Haven't seen him since the series at the Holocaust Museum.
Cape May is flat and fast so I think I'll put the 11-23 on the disc for Saturday morning. Tempting to do Carlisle instead because it's a 40k where Cape May is only 12km, but Cape May is better so far as all the driving goes. And the short TT will let me really crank it out. Never done one so short so it'll be an interesting challenge. What do I ramp it up to and try to hold? Betty Tyrell did it in 18:43, so that's about 24 mph. I will have to try to hold 25 or better, if there isn't a brutal headwind. If I have a headwind/tailwind situation, I'll play it by ear, try to really crank it up with the tailwind to compensate for headwind.
Part of me wishes I was racing more in May and the rest of me likes the fact that it's a gradual build up to racing both days every weekend in June except the last one. Couple of TTs, couple of crits... no RRs in May. Even though there have been some headaches, I'm enjoying being Chief Ref for the RR at the end of May. That'll be a busy weekend as I'm also working CSC - I'm totally stoked (and totally terrified) about that. I know I'll learn tons from Judy Miller. And I'm looking forward to being Chief Judge at the Ft Ritchie Crit in Cascade. I know I won't race forever but I don't want to lose my connection to the sport and officiating and coaching will keep me connected for ever.
Already heard from the Rt 1 Velo folks about what I can do to help out as a CR for the Greenbelt Series. I know I can cover them after Nationals. But June is up in the air. May isn't an option. I'm not going to take off from work early to officiate up there. But after that I have Wednesdays off so it's easier. But if Susan wants me out on Skyline or something like that to prep for Nats in June enough driving is enough! We'll see how it comes together.
I changed the wheels out on the TT bike for training purposes. New adventure that horizontal drop out and the extreme slack in 39x12 to make it all work right. Better that than the alternative, which could lead to blowing the derailleur off the bike if I were to lose track of where I was on the 53. Not like I'll ever use 39x12 as a riding gear. Seems to shift fine, so no worries about adjustments other than opening up the brakes a bit to accommodate the thicker brake pads. Now that I have the Mavic Aksiums that came with the Ordu, I can have the Ascents checked over and worked on as needed. Put an old Terry saddle on the Ruby and consigned it to the trainer for now so I don't have to keep swapping wheels around. Cleaned up a little bit around my bike area. Sorted through some stuff and bagged up stuff that needs to go out in the trash.
Finally got on the trainer for a little while. It's so hard to get on the trainer once consistent outside riding starts, even on a bad weather day. After spending so many hours on the trainer all winter, the last thing I want to do is get on it now! But I did it for a little while, figured something was better than nothing. Nice to know that I can sit on more watts now and still be in Zone 2. Not what Susan wanted me to do, but I just didn't have it in me to simulate a 20k TT. If I'd been able to ride outside, it would have happened. But not inside. Just couldn't go there. Spin stupid zone 2 for a bit and call it good enough.
Jeff emailed - they finished first in the tandems at the TT and it didn't rain but was very windy. I still believe that it all happened for a reason. Just like listening to your body and learning when to say 'enough' and when to push through, I had to make a judgement call with the car and firmly believe that I made the right call.
I'm debating getting up early tomorrow and going to the gym for a change. Haven't been in a few weeks and I miss it. It's not far, shouldn't be a problem with the car. Just have to check the coolant level before I go. I'll take the car in tomorrow and tell them where the leak seemed to be and see if they can fix it. The car is so old that hoses are starting to fail from dry rot. It's starting to cost too much to keep the car going, time to start shopping for a new car, it'll be a summer filled with driving and I don't want to have a problem on the way to Nationals or something like that.
Listening to Mahler 8 right now, getting it back into my head in detail for the concert on May 3. Maybe I should be focusing on Bruckner 6 for Saturday night. It's not a Bruckner I know well. Sunday I'll drive back and pick up mom then head into the city to hear Choral Arts do an a capella concert at National Presbyterian Church. Joe Holt is conducting. Hope I get a chance to say 'hi' to him. Haven't seen him since the series at the Holocaust Museum.
Cape May is flat and fast so I think I'll put the 11-23 on the disc for Saturday morning. Tempting to do Carlisle instead because it's a 40k where Cape May is only 12km, but Cape May is better so far as all the driving goes. And the short TT will let me really crank it out. Never done one so short so it'll be an interesting challenge. What do I ramp it up to and try to hold? Betty Tyrell did it in 18:43, so that's about 24 mph. I will have to try to hold 25 or better, if there isn't a brutal headwind. If I have a headwind/tailwind situation, I'll play it by ear, try to really crank it up with the tailwind to compensate for headwind.
Part of me wishes I was racing more in May and the rest of me likes the fact that it's a gradual build up to racing both days every weekend in June except the last one. Couple of TTs, couple of crits... no RRs in May. Even though there have been some headaches, I'm enjoying being Chief Ref for the RR at the end of May. That'll be a busy weekend as I'm also working CSC - I'm totally stoked (and totally terrified) about that. I know I'll learn tons from Judy Miller. And I'm looking forward to being Chief Judge at the Ft Ritchie Crit in Cascade. I know I won't race forever but I don't want to lose my connection to the sport and officiating and coaching will keep me connected for ever.
Already heard from the Rt 1 Velo folks about what I can do to help out as a CR for the Greenbelt Series. I know I can cover them after Nationals. But June is up in the air. May isn't an option. I'm not going to take off from work early to officiate up there. But after that I have Wednesdays off so it's easier. But if Susan wants me out on Skyline or something like that to prep for Nats in June enough driving is enough! We'll see how it comes together.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Getting Philosophical
I'm trying to be philosophical right now. Things happen for a reason. First it was the headache of getting the bike. Resolved that faster than I thought was possible. Had a great test ride and signed up for a TT right away to put it and myself to the test.
Had an awesome training ride today. Went out for a ride with mostly strangers, but I knew the ride leader - Carole - and it was just the right type of ride. It was a simple out and back, 45 miles and a fast course - only a couple of small hills - pure big ring route. Little more uphill on the way back than on the way out. Excellent prep for the TT.
Out was a little sketchy. Some of the people didn't know how to ride a paceline. So we were slowing and surging with changeovers at the front. Other than that, I felt good. I was relaxed and turning a good cadence. The one hill that split the group up a little bit was a quarter mile 6%. I eased back a bit to wait for the couple of folks (including my friend Carole!) who came off the back on the hill. Then we did our best to catch up with the rest of the group. When we got close, I went to the front once more to finish up the catch. I got to the group, looked over my shoulder and the others weren't there! Oh well, we were almost to the turnaround.
We stood around by the water and chatted for a bit before heading back.
I decided I'd take the front initially when we got back to the main road, I didn't want someone to set too fast a pace initially after standing around for a while. So I set a comfortable pace. Eventually I passed on the front and was surprised to find that the line was short several riders. The guy on the back of the group was out of his league. He was throwing everything he had into trying to hold pace and couldn't do it, gaps kept opening up. And he was throwing himself around so much that he wasn't keeping his bike steady. When the next rider came off the front, I let him get in behind the squirrel.
Fortunately we soon hit the hill going the other way and that shelled off the squirrel and a few others, bringing the lead group down to five of us. We all knew what to do and the ride wa smooth sailing from there. One of the guys was tired, so his pulls were short, but that's cool. Better that than staying up front and letting the pace drop. The rest of us were feeling pretty good and taking reasonably long pulls.
I decided to dial it back for the last 2 miles, as a short cool down. Everyone else seemed to think that it was a good idea because they dialed it back too. The end result was a Zone 2 average heart rate and a 20.1mph average. Perfect for tomorrow's TT.
So I sit here at home now, when I should be in Harrisburg, chilling before going to dinner and then getting a good night's rest for the TT. This is where I have to get philosophical. My 11 year old car with 182,000+ miles on it decided to develop a coolant leak. I was about 20 miles from home when the low coolant warning lit. I got off the Beltway quickly and stopped an an auto parts store to get a gallon of coolant. The car was dripping coolant. A hose with a leak. The only sensible decision was to return home. So that's what I did.
And I tell myself this happened for a reason. That I'm not meant to race the TT tomorrow. And happily my car didn't over heat and I'll get it fixed on Monday. It's time to start looking for a new car though, can't have this continuing. I'm bummed. I am so ready to race. But hey there's always next weekend. Do I do Cape May or Carlisle?
Had an awesome training ride today. Went out for a ride with mostly strangers, but I knew the ride leader - Carole - and it was just the right type of ride. It was a simple out and back, 45 miles and a fast course - only a couple of small hills - pure big ring route. Little more uphill on the way back than on the way out. Excellent prep for the TT.
Out was a little sketchy. Some of the people didn't know how to ride a paceline. So we were slowing and surging with changeovers at the front. Other than that, I felt good. I was relaxed and turning a good cadence. The one hill that split the group up a little bit was a quarter mile 6%. I eased back a bit to wait for the couple of folks (including my friend Carole!) who came off the back on the hill. Then we did our best to catch up with the rest of the group. When we got close, I went to the front once more to finish up the catch. I got to the group, looked over my shoulder and the others weren't there! Oh well, we were almost to the turnaround.
We stood around by the water and chatted for a bit before heading back.
I decided I'd take the front initially when we got back to the main road, I didn't want someone to set too fast a pace initially after standing around for a while. So I set a comfortable pace. Eventually I passed on the front and was surprised to find that the line was short several riders. The guy on the back of the group was out of his league. He was throwing everything he had into trying to hold pace and couldn't do it, gaps kept opening up. And he was throwing himself around so much that he wasn't keeping his bike steady. When the next rider came off the front, I let him get in behind the squirrel.
Fortunately we soon hit the hill going the other way and that shelled off the squirrel and a few others, bringing the lead group down to five of us. We all knew what to do and the ride wa smooth sailing from there. One of the guys was tired, so his pulls were short, but that's cool. Better that than staying up front and letting the pace drop. The rest of us were feeling pretty good and taking reasonably long pulls.
I decided to dial it back for the last 2 miles, as a short cool down. Everyone else seemed to think that it was a good idea because they dialed it back too. The end result was a Zone 2 average heart rate and a 20.1mph average. Perfect for tomorrow's TT.
So I sit here at home now, when I should be in Harrisburg, chilling before going to dinner and then getting a good night's rest for the TT. This is where I have to get philosophical. My 11 year old car with 182,000+ miles on it decided to develop a coolant leak. I was about 20 miles from home when the low coolant warning lit. I got off the Beltway quickly and stopped an an auto parts store to get a gallon of coolant. The car was dripping coolant. A hose with a leak. The only sensible decision was to return home. So that's what I did.
And I tell myself this happened for a reason. That I'm not meant to race the TT tomorrow. And happily my car didn't over heat and I'll get it fixed on Monday. It's time to start looking for a new car though, can't have this continuing. I'm bummed. I am so ready to race. But hey there's always next weekend. Do I do Cape May or Carlisle?
Thursday, April 17, 2008
First Test Ride
Happily the workday went by quickly today. Traffic was cooperative too, so I got to Hains Point promptly. Wanted to do the full deal so I even wore my skin suit. Gotta do something about the front wheel - still having issues with the valve extender leaking too much air, but I got it up to an acceptable pressure.
I guess I was a bit hyped about the new bike, at first my heart rate was running high, especially when I got down on the aerobars. So I watched the speed and gearing to stay in Zone 2 for my warm up laps. I'm still getting used to the new numbers from last week's VO2max test.
Don't have the cadence sensor working yet, but I think I know why it's not, so I'll get that taken care of before Sunday. Since I don't quite have the resources to add a power meter yet, I compete looking at heart rate, speed and cadence, so I know what I'm getting in return for my efforts.
Then it was time to see what there was to see. I did a couple of one minute efforts, one on each side. On the channel side it was 50 seconds to go from 15 to 25. On the airport side it was 45 seconds to go from 15.6 to 27.7. After opening up my legs, my Heart Rate was a lot more cooperative.
I took care to make sure I didn't get tangled up with the sprint bunch. It was a good sized group and they tend to ride stupid too much of the time. One of the worst habits racers seem to have is cutting over in front of folks they've passed quickly. Not too bright. It'll scare rookies and some of us who are on a training schedule could be about to jump....
Then I moved up to a 2.5 minute effort and then a pair of longer efforts, one 5.5 minutes long and the final effort 6 minutes long. Even when I was cranking out 25mph and sitting on my target HR of 180, I didn't feel like I was killing myself. Ramped up some extra at the end of the last effort..first had to slow down to deal with auto traffic and cyclist/runner/walker traffic. Once I cleared the Tourmobile, I ramped it back up to finish strong...jumped up 5.5 mph in 15 seconds....seated.
The bike is sooo smooth and repsonsive. The bars are really comfortable. But I think we may want to take another spacer out from under the stem....we'll see. And there's nothing like the sound of a Zipp disc.
What has to go is the saddle. Definitely need one with a cut out to relieve the pressure being put on some rather sensitive tissues. I'll put the old jett on for Sunday and go from there.
There are a couple of women who may give me competition on Sunday. Barb Grabowski si good, but I think I'm better. But it's early in the season so f she does beat me, I'm ok with that. My goals are later in the season... Nationals in July and the MABRA championship in August.
I guess I was a bit hyped about the new bike, at first my heart rate was running high, especially when I got down on the aerobars. So I watched the speed and gearing to stay in Zone 2 for my warm up laps. I'm still getting used to the new numbers from last week's VO2max test.
Don't have the cadence sensor working yet, but I think I know why it's not, so I'll get that taken care of before Sunday. Since I don't quite have the resources to add a power meter yet, I compete looking at heart rate, speed and cadence, so I know what I'm getting in return for my efforts.
Then it was time to see what there was to see. I did a couple of one minute efforts, one on each side. On the channel side it was 50 seconds to go from 15 to 25. On the airport side it was 45 seconds to go from 15.6 to 27.7. After opening up my legs, my Heart Rate was a lot more cooperative.
I took care to make sure I didn't get tangled up with the sprint bunch. It was a good sized group and they tend to ride stupid too much of the time. One of the worst habits racers seem to have is cutting over in front of folks they've passed quickly. Not too bright. It'll scare rookies and some of us who are on a training schedule could be about to jump....
Then I moved up to a 2.5 minute effort and then a pair of longer efforts, one 5.5 minutes long and the final effort 6 minutes long. Even when I was cranking out 25mph and sitting on my target HR of 180, I didn't feel like I was killing myself. Ramped up some extra at the end of the last effort..first had to slow down to deal with auto traffic and cyclist/runner/walker traffic. Once I cleared the Tourmobile, I ramped it back up to finish strong...jumped up 5.5 mph in 15 seconds....seated.
The bike is sooo smooth and repsonsive. The bars are really comfortable. But I think we may want to take another spacer out from under the stem....we'll see. And there's nothing like the sound of a Zipp disc.
What has to go is the saddle. Definitely need one with a cut out to relieve the pressure being put on some rather sensitive tissues. I'll put the old jett on for Sunday and go from there.
There are a couple of women who may give me competition on Sunday. Barb Grabowski si good, but I think I'm better. But it's early in the season so f she does beat me, I'm ok with that. My goals are later in the season... Nationals in July and the MABRA championship in August.
It's a TT Bike!
Of course there was the last minute stuff at work in the final half hour of the day. Why is it that happens any time you have something you really want to do right after work? So I leave about 10 minutes late which means that by the time I get to my end of the subway and take the bus to the commuter lot, it's already 6:30pm. Traffic was thick and slow most of the way to the shop. Happily I was only a couple of minutes behind the scheduled 7pm and Chris was finishing up with a couple of triathletes when I arrived.They already have the bike in the fit area loaded into a trainer and I admire it for a few moments before using the changing room to put on my bike shorts. When I come out the triathletes are standing there admiring my bike. Fortunately they were standing far enough back that the drool didn't get on the bike.
I got on the bike and started pedaling. The first thing I had to learn was that the front derailleur is a friction shift. So I can totally adjust the position of it, but have to watch out not to over shift if I'm going from ring to ring, as I can readily generate chain rub by swinging it all the way out. Chris had the bike set up from the numbers we'd generated the previous week. I wasn't sure about the spacer stack on the steer tube, it felt a little high.
He finished up and came over. We fixed up the cadence sensor and topped off the tubulars then I pedaled again. He checked all the angles and was satisfied. I pedaled some more and he suggested that we get a little crazy. I was pretty sure what he had in mind and I said "yeah, let's go for it." So off came the stem and out came a spacer, moving me lower. It felt great.
There was just enough daylight left for a quick little test ride. It's the only bad thing about the location of his shop - no handy test-ride type roads at hand. I did a quick loop around the parking lot then went across the road (the very busy Leonardtown Rd) to a short straight road that led to some industr
ial type places. The takeoff was smooth and I got up to speed happened quickly. I ran the drive train all the way out, 53x12 turned smoothly. The bars are awesome and the fit feels great. When I got home, I checked the weight - 17.5lbs with the disc wheel. That's a couple pounds lighter than the Serotta was in TT configuration.
As you can see, the frontal area is very minimal. It's going to be fast. I'm anxious for the end of the day today so I can go ride this new bike and see how it really feels. Even with only the short bit of time on it last night, I think I'll be looking for a new saddle right away.
I can't wait to race it on Sunday. Don't know the course, but from the times from last year it looks like it must be fairly flat. It'll just be good to do a TT again, since the last one was back in September.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Plan B
Plan A for my new TT bike seemed like a good one. Sure I had decided to buy without a test ride, but I was ok with that decision. I ordered the bike in mid-November through our sponsor shop. And I was excited about the cool design of the bike and the prospects a genuine TT bike promised. After all, last year I made it to the podium at Masters Nationals using a road bike with TT bars and wheels. How much faster would I be with a bike meant for TTs? Hopefully enough to get a Gold at Nationals.
Unfortunately, at the beginning of April, the bike still hadn't arrived. Specialized can't tell me when they will come through with the bike - sometime between May and July. Unacceptable as the Masters National Championships are at the beginning of July. Maybe folks who were just buying a new TT bike are ok with the incredible delays, but I can't wait any longer. I've already changed the road bike I was using for TTs back to road configuration (put the drop bars back on, etc) and plan on using it as my pack race bike. I needed a Plan B
This is nothing against our sponsor shop. Not their fault that Specialized sold bikes they couldn't deliver. Not their fault they don't carry another brand of TT bike that would fit and could be delivered promptly (Trek's estimated delivery was mid-June and besides, the geometry of the bike is wrong for my body).
Plan B. Different bike, different bike shop. I went on Tuesday last (8 April) to see Chris Richardson down at BikeDoctor Waldorf. If I stay in Maryland, it's the closest bike shop to home and I do go down there from time to time to get stuff when I'm down that way. But it's not like I'm a regular customer. None the less, Chris has always been sociable and one time even offered to loan me his cyclocross bike if I wanted to give that part of the sport a try. When I explained my situation to Chris, he was more than willing to help out. Ok, so that's what a bike shop does, sell bikes, but he was willing to do everything quickly and he really knows his stuff. We went through the whole process of looking at how my body is designed and how I have my fit set up on my road bike and then how I fit on a TT bike he happened to have in the shop. That bike wasn't the right fit, but it helped us narrow the choices down to two bikes that would fit the best - Cannondale and Orbea. The phone call to Cannondale was not good news - they'd just shipped the last of their stock in the approriate size the previous Friday and didn't expect more for at least 3 weeks. They could check around with shops to see if someone had one in their shop, but couldn't give us an idea on how quickly an answer would come (and the answer could be no). Next phone call. Orbea. They had the right size Ordu frame in stock. Decision made. Place the order. We set a tentative appointment for final fit for April 16.
Orbea shipped the bike on Wednesday the 9th. I dropped off my race wheels, the TT bars, brake levers, pedals and other miscellaneous stuff at the shop on Sunday after a three hour ride a bit South of the shop. I called Chris on Monday morning, just to make sure he knew I'd dropped off the stuff. He did and was confident the bike would arrive in Tuesday's shipment and that we would be able to keep our planned appointment for the final fit.
While I was making dinner Monday evening, my phone rang. It was Chris calling from the bike shop. The bike had arrived about half an hour after we talked and they'd checked it over and built it up that afternoon. Now that's what I call service!
So tonight after work, I'll go down there for the final fit and bring the new bike home. It looks totally sick in photos, like a bicycle version of a stealth bomber. Maybe I won't show up on radar. I really hope that this all happened for a reason and that this bike is the right bike for me. Only time will tell.
Unfortunately, at the beginning of April, the bike still hadn't arrived. Specialized can't tell me when they will come through with the bike - sometime between May and July. Unacceptable as the Masters National Championships are at the beginning of July. Maybe folks who were just buying a new TT bike are ok with the incredible delays, but I can't wait any longer. I've already changed the road bike I was using for TTs back to road configuration (put the drop bars back on, etc) and plan on using it as my pack race bike. I needed a Plan B
This is nothing against our sponsor shop. Not their fault that Specialized sold bikes they couldn't deliver. Not their fault they don't carry another brand of TT bike that would fit and could be delivered promptly (Trek's estimated delivery was mid-June and besides, the geometry of the bike is wrong for my body).
Plan B. Different bike, different bike shop. I went on Tuesday last (8 April) to see Chris Richardson down at BikeDoctor Waldorf. If I stay in Maryland, it's the closest bike shop to home and I do go down there from time to time to get stuff when I'm down that way. But it's not like I'm a regular customer. None the less, Chris has always been sociable and one time even offered to loan me his cyclocross bike if I wanted to give that part of the sport a try. When I explained my situation to Chris, he was more than willing to help out. Ok, so that's what a bike shop does, sell bikes, but he was willing to do everything quickly and he really knows his stuff. We went through the whole process of looking at how my body is designed and how I have my fit set up on my road bike and then how I fit on a TT bike he happened to have in the shop. That bike wasn't the right fit, but it helped us narrow the choices down to two bikes that would fit the best - Cannondale and Orbea. The phone call to Cannondale was not good news - they'd just shipped the last of their stock in the approriate size the previous Friday and didn't expect more for at least 3 weeks. They could check around with shops to see if someone had one in their shop, but couldn't give us an idea on how quickly an answer would come (and the answer could be no). Next phone call. Orbea. They had the right size Ordu frame in stock. Decision made. Place the order. We set a tentative appointment for final fit for April 16.
Orbea shipped the bike on Wednesday the 9th. I dropped off my race wheels, the TT bars, brake levers, pedals and other miscellaneous stuff at the shop on Sunday after a three hour ride a bit South of the shop. I called Chris on Monday morning, just to make sure he knew I'd dropped off the stuff. He did and was confident the bike would arrive in Tuesday's shipment and that we would be able to keep our planned appointment for the final fit.
While I was making dinner Monday evening, my phone rang. It was Chris calling from the bike shop. The bike had arrived about half an hour after we talked and they'd checked it over and built it up that afternoon. Now that's what I call service!
So tonight after work, I'll go down there for the final fit and bring the new bike home. It looks totally sick in photos, like a bicycle version of a stealth bomber. Maybe I won't show up on radar. I really hope that this all happened for a reason and that this bike is the right bike for me. Only time will tell.
Never Say Never
Never is too finite a term and seldom applies to the real world. So other than to admonish folks not to say it, best off not using the word never. I'm going to try to adhere to not using it, because I've found myself reversing that decision more often than not.
I told my coach I'd never run as cross training, that I was drawing the line on that one. WRONG! Not only do I run regularly now (once a week or more), I occasionally go out and run a race. I ran a hilly 8k on Saturday in Greenbelt. I didn't post a brilliant time, but it was close to what I expected of myself. And hey, only 3 women older than myself had better times. And the fastest was only about 2 minutes faster. Maybe I'll run it again next year and do better. In the mean time, I'll probably do a couple of other runs during the course of the year and maybe even combine running and cycling and do a duathlon. So much for never running.
After being less than totally satisfied with my team bike in 2006 (don't get me wrong it's a nice bike but not aggressive enough for racing), I swore I'd never buy another bike I couldn't test ride first. WRONG! I decided to throw that idea out when I ordered a bike specifically for time trials in November. I rationalized it away - if I really hate the bike, I can sell it off at the end of the season. Besides, I was ordering the top of the line - a Specialized S-Works Transition - so it should be fast and that's the most important thing in a TT bike. So much for never buying a bike that I hadn't test-ridden first.
I told my coach I'd never run as cross training, that I was drawing the line on that one. WRONG! Not only do I run regularly now (once a week or more), I occasionally go out and run a race. I ran a hilly 8k on Saturday in Greenbelt. I didn't post a brilliant time, but it was close to what I expected of myself. And hey, only 3 women older than myself had better times. And the fastest was only about 2 minutes faster. Maybe I'll run it again next year and do better. In the mean time, I'll probably do a couple of other runs during the course of the year and maybe even combine running and cycling and do a duathlon. So much for never running.
After being less than totally satisfied with my team bike in 2006 (don't get me wrong it's a nice bike but not aggressive enough for racing), I swore I'd never buy another bike I couldn't test ride first. WRONG! I decided to throw that idea out when I ordered a bike specifically for time trials in November. I rationalized it away - if I really hate the bike, I can sell it off at the end of the season. Besides, I was ordering the top of the line - a Specialized S-Works Transition - so it should be fast and that's the most important thing in a TT bike. So much for never buying a bike that I hadn't test-ridden first.
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