Time to sit back, relax, and figure out all the pluses and whoops of the season and if there's a way to mend them into becoming an all around rider next season.

Lesson 1: Avoid injury. Pulling a hamstring in February is not recommended.
Lesson 2: Postponing Healing. Racing on a lame hammy does wonders for it not healing.
Lesson 3: Align yourself with people who have the same drive.

More to come later - after some beer reflection time of course....

Killing time

Gone are the days when I exercise to hard that all I can do is sit in a heap on the couch and hope my legs recover enough to do it the following day. Hello off season! (Which only lasts a few weeks before it's back to the heavy training through the winter in prep for the following race season.)

I like to be an over achiever in all aspects in life. And when not training and focusing all my energy on going in circles, I have to occupy my mind and body.

Here's a list of the million things I did yesterday:
1. Took the disposable cameras into Freddy's that have been sitting in my drawer for 3 years.
2. Finished making curtains for our cabin.
3. Replaced all the batteries in our smoke detectors. (They've been sitting without them for months.)
4. Organized and cleaned off my bike catch all area.
5. Cleaned off the window sill from all the junk that's collected in the kitchen.
6. Made a list of goodwill items before dropping them off. (Tax deduction!)
7. Caught up on emails including updating the series points on the MVA website.
8. Took my front wheel in I ran over in my car to be fixed. (It's been sitting in my living room since early August.)
9. Took Makiah on a walk. (This unfortunately only happens in the fall.)
10. Picked up the dry cleaning.
11. Went to Miller and Molly's wedding shower.

During training this little list would have taken me months, if not years to complete. Don't worry I have plenty of other things to fill my time with the next week or so.... I bet you can't wait to hear about those!

Thanks Wes for taking this cool photo at Nationals.

The calm before the storm

Rumor has it the Seattle area is going to be hit by a wind storm in the next couple hours. Batten down the hatches! 60mph winds with rain - sounds like a typical winter day. So why all the hype? Media loves to blow storms out of control when they have nothing else to report on.


I spent some time out in the yard - filling my yard waste can and it still didn't start raining or gusting yet. It was nice out though - 60 degrees and calm. Something is definitely brewing...

I'm taking the next few weeks /days? off the bike and I'm starting to go stir crazy. The rest I put in now though will pay huge dividends later though... and reduce injury.

I decided against trying for the talent pool time this winter. If Nationals had gone better and I had some good placements, then I would feel confident going for it. But as it sits, I need to get some more experience under my belt and then be a contender instead of an observer.

So instead, it's back to the slow long training days and big fat base for the winter. My motivation is super high - and I'm not burnt out at all going into the next big training block. All the more reason to take a good rest, mentally and physically.

By the way - I just checked wunderground.com and it has no mention of any wind storm or rain whatsoever! ALL HYPE!

Sunburnt Cruisin'

My mom and I decided to take full advantage of our last full day in the warm sunshine and rented Cruiser Bikes. It was a slow morning - those Bud's were not good for the old head, especially when your not used to putting much alcohol in the system. Three and a half hours later, we returned our bikes and ensured a complete deep sunburn. The kind where you still feel it the following day. Darn, he he. :)

Other than the head being in a fog, the body feels pretty amazing. I think it's safe to say I'm in the best shape of my life and it's only going to get better...

We head home this morning to the beautiful liquid sunshine. And my BUBBA.

It's Sunday, already?

Let's see - highlights. The points race came and went. I doubted my body and having the confidence in it that it was ready for the challenge. Result = 2 points. I should have lapped the field. The track is short, I have the endurance. Instead I sat and followed and didn't gain any additional points. I felt great afterward, which definitely means I had more to give. But I put a valuable tool in my toolbox.

My biggest regret though, and it's something I have no control over, is how quickly things flew by. All of that build up, all of that training and putting in the hours to the track leading up to nationals is over in a few minutes. You have to give it your all and express yourself out there - a national championship is about who wants it the most.

I tried getting on a team pursuit but they were not accepting late registration. Basically everyone who competed got a medal. Two Queens and a Fred (Hammer, Reed and Baush) rolled a 3:34. Baush had a little trouble keeping the Queen's pace but they still rocked it. Nice work ladies!

All in all a great week - I'm still digesting everything that happened and will write more soon....

Seeded with a Watermelon

I had a PR today - but no where near where I wanted to be and calculated my time for the pursuit today. I rode a 4:02.9 and had to pass the other competitor not once, not twice, but three times. And estimates are you lose about 3 seconds off your time every time you pass someone. Damn. That means I would have rolled a much better time. As Phil Miller put it - you were seeded with a watermelon.

The scratch race was fast and furious. Unfortunately I geared down and now know that I will not be riding a smaller gear for tomorrow's highlighted points race.

I'm in good spirits - this is all still a learning experience and I look forward to getting another opportunity to show my ability.

Mass start test = Puke

Well I confirmed that I have not been focusing on the mass start test for my event. I'm over it. :)

Got a ways to go before I make that time standard but I do think it's in me. I also think there's only so many of those efforts that you can do in a lifetime. They certainly take their toll. I could barely walk down the stairs afterward and was starting to see spots. Bottom line - not enough oxygen was being carried to my legs and I had a hard time keeping the pace up.

That's cool though - tomorrow is my main focus with the pursuit. Should be interesting!

Oh and on a side note - NO ONE made the time standard. Just goes to show that test is friggin' hard!!!

Wes did awesome - top 10 in his first 250m standing start. Way to rock it buddy!

Kenny, Dan, Jamie and Tom (Team Rubicon) got third in the team pursuit. Way to go guys.

Third times' a charm

It's funny - I don't remember having any apprehension of getting on the track down here before. And yet, yesterday my heart couldn't help but take a couple bigger beats when I first rolled up to speed. Coming from Merrymoor that track is steep! So I spent the evening getting reacquainted with its boards. It took me a while to get comfortable being up at the rail. My first attempt at a flying 500 was 1.5 seconds slower from my second one. Between efforts I spent my time just getting familiar with being super high up on the drome and getting out of the saddle. Mission accomplished.

The weather here rules. No wonder so many people flock to this area like it's going out of style. We're supposed to have heat wave thanks to the Santa Ana winds blowing in from the desert. Good thing I brought my shorts!

One more day of getting familiar and then show time tomorrow!

Groovy dancing girl

This will be my victory dance.

Mr. Pee Pee Pants

This was just way too good of a story to pass up...

Ryan's been working a lot this week trying to make a deadline and putting in some extra hours. Needless to say, come Friday night he needed to release some steam with some mindless entertainment so we went to play some pool at the Ballard Alehouse. Our buddy Dave met us there and we had a good time.

Until Mr. Pee Pee Pants came up and asked us if he could "throw down some skrilla" and play with us. He was alone - about 24 years old, tats all over his arms (he was wearing a black tank top), baggy jeans, a chrome belt, short, blond military like haircut and straight out of Ballard's finest. We figured, why not - we had been monopolizing the table all night and the dude seemed harmless, at first. Lucky for us he didn't shark the table and provided some much needed entertainment.

By this point, Ryan's fatigue from the week and lack of eating dinner plus several IPA's started to kick in. He partnered up with Mr. Pee Pee Pants who did several wacko dances whenever he would sink a shot. At one point he stood behind some guy, impatiently waiting his turn to go (the tables are pretty close to one another) and then when it was his turn, he shot the cue ball off the table. HILARIOUS! Every time a woman would walk by he would stick his overly long tongue out of his mouth and keep it out for 10 seconds. Gross! Maybe you had to be there....

Anyhoo - at one point, Dave and I trying to figure out what drugs he was on (we figured it was meth) and that he had actually peed his pants. He didn't smell like it mind you, thankfully the residue of the Ballard Alehouse funk was too strong to smell it, but his pants were definitely dark and stained in that area.

He left to have a smoke outside, which by the way he kept begging for one from us, big shocker - buddy, we don't smoke. And when he was outside, we ditched him. I know, kick a brother when he's down. But the dude was a fruit cake and we had had enough.

So if you're ever in Ballard and find yourself involved with a Pee pee pants person, don't say I didn't warn you.

Natz Schedule

Here's a tentative schedule for next week's ass kicking:

Wed - Mass Start Test (session starts at noon - I'm guess 1?)
Thursday - Pursuit Qualifier, Scratch Heats (we'll see about that. As of today only 18 women are signed up for the Scratch race), Pursuit Final, Scratch Final.
Friday - Points Race Heats 30 laps, Points Final
Saturday - Team Pursuit - must find team....

Squeezing (or should I say wheezing?) in one last effort

Maybe it will happen on Saturday - maybe it won't. The weather man is threatening rain from tonight until March. Good thing the fog burned off yesterday and I was able to get in one last effort at the track. And guess what? I hit 33.6 mph in a 90". Sweetness.

The additional 2 laps hurt like a mutha though - this fall weather is for the birds. It's been kicking up the asthma yo.

I was just warming up on the track listening to my dog whine from the infield, when a Colavita rider rolled up. Guess who just moved to the area? Iona Wynter Park. And she's prepping for a Sydney world cup. Sweet! More training partners. :)

All of this anticipation is madness. I'm really looking forward to the adventure. We leave Monday.

On a side note - I realized today I'm getting old. I was driving up the 5 to Kenmore, talking with Ryan on the phone, when we both realized I was blaring the Smooth Jazz station. The sad thing? I didn't turn it down. We chuckled. Last night we had a banter going back and forth and he made some comment about how I was getting kooky in my old age. And then - the topper - I was chatting with my hair dresser about Ken Burn's WWII documentary on PBS and how fascinating it is! (I brought up the subject!) What's up Juice??? Did you drink your prune juice today? You now have to listen to some mandatory hip hop 3 times daily.

I suppose the moral of the story - all this training and focus has left me a little lost.

Fall Daze

It misted all day today - with the exception of the sunset. That means no track workout - but instead I had a nice spin down Lake Washington Blvd and got to really enjoy the fall colors. The autumn hues are just starting to come out - some trees are really vibrant and others are turning shades of yellow. My favorite are the brilliant reds on maple trees.

The weather has certainly changed. I'm looking forward to getting some yard work done in a couple weeks in preparation for the winter.

Registered

ok - my heart just returned to normal beats per minute and my palms stopped sweating. I just laid down $160 buckaroos to compete in this years nationals. $40 per event - and I'm doing all of the endurance events.

My workout was a little hosed yesterday due to a longer than expected road ride on Saturday. I couldn't quite turn the pedals around fast enough and keep the speed moving. All of this training and coaching has definitely taught me when to call it a day and when you should continue to push it. It's taken a while to get there - and I'm sure I still have a ton of learning left to do - but at least I'm making forward progress.

I've been visualizing several times a day - practicing in my head what a start will feel like and how it will burn during the pursuit. It's already paying dividends - yesterday my standing starts felt super duper fluid.

Oh - and I figured out why I hit 34 the other day. I was supposed to be in a 88" and I was in a 94" instead. Whoops! Funny, at the time it didn't feel like a super hard gear.

One week... one week!!!

The Boulder Analogy

You never know when or where you'll run across a good nugget of information. I remember watching Starcross last year, thinking to myself I couldn't wait to get nationals over with. What a comparison to this year!

Anyhoo - I ran into Woody and told him about my last blog entry and the "suicide mission." He commented that last Friday, between corner two and three during the Kierin, he saw something that he hadn't seen before in my racing - a rocket, we'll call it. I figured out how to thrust myself forward and now that I know it's there, I just need to learn how to tap into that energy.

But the main goody I took away from tonight - and I hope I do his analogy justice - is that everyone starts racing with a boulder. Each time you put a move in, each time you dig to bridge, or dig to hang on, you shave a little off your boulder. Some people get to the end of the race and have a small pebble. But some people get to the end of the race and still have a boulder. Guess who's rock makes a bigger impact?

Moral of the story - make a bigger splash with your boulder.

The catch though - being the one to watch, being the one who always makes a move, will make you a marked target. You can only be dominant for a few years before others figure out your tricks. I love Woody - he's a wise sage who is always willing to give me advice.

As they say, it takes a village.


MAD PROPS to all of you cyclocross racers who demonstrated your passion at Marymoor today. You are all an inspiration! My favorite move, among many, was watching Kristi Berg put in a monster attack on the last lap and hearing her parents enthusiastically cheer for her. Sounds like she has quite a support network! And the other favorite move - Kabush flatted early in the first lap - and had to walk a long way to the pits, blowing his chance for a nice finish. Instead, he walked his rim rolled tubular and bike past the beer garden and chugged a bunch of beer. Cross rules. He just made some more people's hero list, for sure.

Hmmmm... interesting

I was surfing the "radar" and came across Shelley Olds Proman team blog. She went down to LA and did the SoCal Elite Track Championships a week or two ago. Anyway, on the comment page, someone wrote the following:

NorCal said...

Unleash the fury- I like it! I was a spectator at the Marymoor velodrome on Friday night. Who is Kelly Murdin? Not sure I spelled that correctly, she had the national team kit on, raced with the threes along with Jennifer Triplett. Jennifer seems to make suicide early moves hoping it will stick. Nothing did. Murdin waits and seems a little cautious for someone who is on the national team. That is one loooong track- 400 meters. The straights are flat so for standing starts the racers get a push or they would fall over.

Kelly B.


Too bad I raced with my head up my ass that night! Oh well. Everyone's entitled to an off night, right? And I'd rather make an early move and die trying then never to have tried at all....

Let the Countdown begin...

Yesterday I almost turned my car around, thinking a nap would be better than putting some time in at the track. My eyelids were almost shut on the drive over to Marymoor - but once I pulled up, chamoised up, and started warming up - my body felt amazing. Hmmmm... maybe coach Kenny does know what he's talking about. Just kidding - he totally knows. Those motor pace efforts have done wonders for my endurance - and I'm rapidly approaching top form.

On the agenda last night - 3 x 500's flying, in an 88", 3-4 x 200 from a crawl, focusing on power and form, 3-4 standing starts, rocking the hips forward and concentrating on form. Done. I felt really good - hit my 500s in high speed and feel like I'm ready and confident for early October. Sweet. I remember thinking, if only I saw 34mph when I do my sprints - then I'll know I"m ready. Well guess what? 34 baby!

One more kick ass track session to polish my fast twitch muscles and then taper taper taper.

Putered Out

Spent all morning staring at the computer and putting in some time for the MVA. Looking forward to getting on the bike, in the sun I must add, and pedaling in circles for the afternoon.

Only a few more hard sessions left out at the track and then I'm tapering for Nats. Sweetness!

ULtimate Websurfing

For all of you that don't have a blog, whenever you sign in to post something you are taken to the dashboard, a navigational page. From there you can moderate comments, edit posts, add posts, customize your blog, etc. Well today on the front page, Blogger Blog people just boasted a new product they've introduced to the site.

http://play.blogger.com/

This cool little tool shows all of the photos that are downloaded to blogger in real time. You can set it to play at different speeds, pause it, click on the photo to take you to the blog, etc. It could definitely mean hours upon hours of time gobbled up by cyberspace. Be careful, I just got hooked after 10 minutes.

My hunka hunk of burning love

Yes, that is a devil in hockey skates and tightie whities tattooed on his arm. This is Ryan climbing his newly bolted route at the Fire Wall in Mazama.

Fixin' Up a Fixie

I've been trying to line up a single speed for training on the road and think I might have found what I'm looking for.....

2005 Novara Trionfo Frame with headset, bars, front wheel, etc. $500 - I'm not sure sure if that's worth it yet, I have to go see it today hopefully.

I also will need to add a BB, cranks, rear hub and wheel, etc. That will add on at least another $200. I might hold out to see if I can find something cheaper...

2 weeks from the day and we head down south. 2 WEEKS!

MVA 2007 Season DUN

We had a great turnout for the final Friday Night Track Racing last night. The Cat 4's had 30 men show, 9 women and the 1/2s had a solid 22+ person field. I wish I could say how many 3's showed, but I was mainly sucking wind all night and didn't bother to look around and find out. All in all it was a great way to put the season behind us - and now only 2.5 more weeks and it's time to turn the heat on down in LA. Have I mentioned before that I'm really looking forward to it? Well I am!

Last Night of Friday Night Track Racing!

Come one, come all to the very last Friday Night track racing for the 2007 season! Racing starts at 7:30 and the MVA is providing FREE beer and pizza afterward. And who knows, maybe you'll get to see Dan Harm's naked butt running around the track. Good times.

So Alive

Some days make you feel more alive than others.

Yesterday I felt alive, but tired. I couldn't seem to wake myself up all day. I actually considered drinking some coffee. Don't worry - I didn't do it. :)

I've been hitting the track hard with Kenny. We've been doing multiple motor pace sessions. I didn't admit it to him, but my body was a little tired from climbing Goat Wall on Saturday. Bruises cover my body with a few scrapes here and there. But I'm so glad we climbed it - that will make you feel alive, for sure. Ryan said a friend of his climbed the same route the following day and they ran into bears. Oh my!

So when Kenny said I'd be doing 2k efforts behind the motor in my aero bars, I thought, oh crap. Here we go. But amazingly - my body was ready for the challenge and I was able to dial in my efforts. We did three total - and the last one was by far the strongest. I love thinking about how bad it hurts when it hurts so good - how smooth to make it - how to make sure everything in my body is relaxed and unless you can read my mind, you can't tell if I'm hurting or not. It's a catch 22 with that ability - Kenny has a hard time knowing if he needs to increase the speed or if I'll crack. All I think about is smooth movements, staying straight on the black line, relaxing my upper body and concentrating on spinning. It's as though my body goes into auto mode - taking me around and around as fast as can be. We aimed for 33mph and got it. Solid.

Day two - more 2k efforts. This time in a smaller gear so my rpms would be higher. It's so important to stay relaxed. My shins have a tendency to flare up - and I just have to calm them down mentally and tell them to relax. Once they do, my legs are flying and I'm thinking about how much closer I can get to the motors rear wheel without actually hitting it. My body only allowed two of those efforts - the last was much stronger. Just goes to show how important it will be for me to adequately warm up to make my pursuit the best it can be. We were able to hit 33 on the final lap of my effort - a hard thing to do in an 88".

I went to bed at 10 I was so tired. Alive, but tired.

This morning I woke up early (9 hours of sleep, yes!) and hit the gym up. It was hard to throw weights around -but mental training is part of the game. And it's supposed to hurt. I'm starting to think I was born to do this - I love it so much. It definitely makes me feel alive.

Pictures

Before Laurel was born, George and Jaimie didn't want to share what her name was going to be. Instead they nicknamed her ladybug so Coleman wouldn't accidentally slip and tell the world her name before she entered it.

Fortunately, some things you never grow out of. Here's Ladybug.















Coleman and I had a great day of picking strawberries out at a farm in Fall City area. Then we headed to Bybee Farms in North Bend to pick blueberries. Here's a picture of him standing in front of Mt. Si, where he hopes Uncle Ryan will take him climbing next year once he turns four.


















George and family also brought up their boat and we went out on Lake Washington one evening to try and find food. Here's a picture of Ryan, Coleman and I having fun as the sun sets and we realize all the places to eat on the lake have either closed or were too full! Oh well, next time we'll bring our own picnic.
















Now that they've returned home, my brother is building Coleman his very own treeless tree house in their back yard. They had to dig a big hole for the foundation - and Coleman of course wanted to show how big he is.

















And lastly, as big brother and dad were slaving away on digging in the dirt and making a mess, Laurel was perfectly content on watching them. She's so adorable!

Found: The perfect Skyline in Lost River

Ah - there's nothing like 10 days out in the wilderness to rejuvenate your soul, body and mind! Throw in the fact that the love of your life is joining you in this venture - and you have one kick ass time.

Our cabin rules. It's rustic - meaning no running water but we do have water. Never mind that it took us 6 days to get the water running at our outdoor faucet and I didn't take a shower for at least a week. It's perfect. (So what that we have a 5 foot hole underground that took us 1.5 days to dig through the dirt? We have water!)

Don't worry - after three days of hiking around in dusty dirt and battling a million different species of flies - you stop noticing how dirty you are when you crawl into your sleeping bag. I'm sure Ryan didn't notice - he was just as smelly and dirty. :)

And having the same pancake breakfast every morning while listening to the quails and woodpeckers playing in the forest? Amazing. Oh and I can't forget about the stars - a gazillion of them poked out every night. Not to mention how quiet it is in the North Cascades out Lost River Airport area. Looking at Makiah and seeing a huge smile on her happy little face - while basking in the sun. Priceless.

We also biked up the Hwy 20 - to Washington Pass. Truly an amazing climb. It's steep and grueling - especially when you do it at mach ten like Ryan did. Then we really celebrated our anniversary in style by doing a multi-pitch route up Goat Wall. It was rated 11c - which of course Ryan climbing like a champ. I on the other hand got to pull on some draws and aid my sorry biking ass up. The view was stellar. We almost had an epic - thanks to some poorly placed belays. But all in all we made it home safe and sound before the sun went down.

Then during our last day Ryan wanted to hike up to Fire Wall one last time and put in a new route. We spent the entire day in our harnesses while he jack hammered some pins into the rock and set up quite possibly one of the harder sport routes in the area. He's headed back next weekend while I put some time in on the bike and get down to business for nationals.

The best part? Not worrying about the bike - thinking I had to ride it at all. I totally relaxed and had an amazing time. So did Makiah - it might take her a couple of days to recover from all that activity!

Now... time to get down to business and back to the gym....

We're out

For a week or so to our cabin in Mazama. Should be fun - with absolutely zero internet access and little to no cell reception. Gotta love it.

Check ya when we return.

Heat effects

Yesterday was one of the hotter days of the year in Seattle - right around 82. I know, I know - for all you out of town readers, 82 isn't that hot at all - but for around here, that's hot enough to get your basement to finally dry out after a long winter of rain!

Ryan headed up to North Bend to do some bouldering with some buddies - a perfect excuse for me to ride out East and meet them. This photo shows Mt Si - and little Si, the bump of a mountain to the South of the rocks. The hike to the crag takes about 30 minutes, and the summit to the top of Si takes anywhere from 3-6 hours.















Thankfully I decided to just hang out at the car for an hour waiting for Ryan and his crew to show back up. My tummy wasn't feeling well and for the first time in forever, I didn't feel the need to eat while riding. Strange. We headed to NBBG afterward (a local pub) to get some grub and by then I was hungry enough to eat. But at about 4am, my body let me know that eating a hamburger wasn't the smartest choice and next thing I know, I'm running laps back and forth between our bed and the bathroom. I know, too much information.

So I'm thinking either a) dehydration from the heat or b) food poisoning. Maybe a little bit of both? Either way, I think my gym workout has been canceled for the day and a little R&R is what's needed before I do any kind of exertion. Yep, I'm being a big baby.

Methow Bound

Things to do before heading out of town:

Grueling Track workout - Check
Ride to North Bend and meet Ryan tonight -
Locate a luggable Loo -
Gather up all the things we thought we'd take to the good will, that are now worthy for the cabin - check.

Should be a nice week of relaxation, biking, hiking and enjoying our new property!

Again - mad props to Donna and Annette who duked it out for the sprint final with Donna prevailing for the national title. It's so cool to see that the two top ladies are from Washington State!

Some hardware

Way to go Annette who has brought home two master national jerseys so far on the first day of competition in both the 500m and 2k pursuit!










And nice job Heather for posting the fastest 500m TT for the day and winning her age bracket. Excellent work.













And to Donna Smith who rocketed her TT and with the 4th fastest time of the day - you go girl! I can just imagine you doing a celebratory dance in circles with Heather.




And of course, I can't forget Christiane and Jane who both placed 6th in their age categories for their 500m TT. Nice work ladies.

Office Drama

The nightly patrol crew found some stuff strewn across the parking lot last week. Items include several Navy papers, diving gear, camping gear and some random Video Isle DVD cases. I called Video Isle to see if we could figure out who's stuff this is - and the strange thing - both videos were returned without the cases and were rented by two different people.

The mystery deepens.

I looked deeper into the garbage bag of belongings and found some naval papers - including Matthew's phone number and gave him a call. Apparently he's out to sea right now. The video people live on Queen Anne - and were at work so I left more messages.

Here's my prediction - the navy guy got totally wasted, broke into the video cases homes, stole their video cases, decided he was leaving on duty at 6 am and dumped all of his belongings in the parking lot a 3:45am. No wonder that guy isn't calling me back. :)

Long weekend recap

I love playing hooky, it's the best. :)

Friday I babysat my nephew Coleman (he's three, and turning four in October). Since we had a good time picking blackberries between our house and grandma's, I decided he needed a big dose of North Bend and I wanted to make some more jam. We headed out to Fall City and picked roughly $18 worth of strawberries. Some how in the process, Coleman managed to lose his sunglasses. But we sure had fun and his mouth was definitely stained red by the time we left. I wasn't satisfied with only strawberries so we headed up to Bybee Farms in North Bend again and picked a lot of delicious blueberries. Coleman went into orbit, and so did his auntie!

He slept during the car ride back down to Magnuson Park, where I did the kid hand off with my brother. He brought his power boat up and Ryan and I were fortunate enough to have a Thursday evening free from volunteering and climbing and got to enjoy the nice weather. It was my first time to swim in Lake Washington this year! I have to make a point of going out in the water more often - we had a blast.

Anyways, I came home, busted out a lot of jam batches, which unfortunately turned into syrup (screwed up the jam equation somehow) and then got ready for Friday Night Track racing. I could tell during warm up my body was feeling good and ready to go. We started off with a 10 lap scratch race - a warm up really. I placed 9th - not bad considering we had 25 starters. The Cat 3 men's field has gotten large. Then we had a Miss N' Out - I played it smart and patient and it paid off! I made it down to 4 guys to go - gave the last effort too much juice and didn't have anything left for the final sprint. Oh well - much better on my behalf. And I forgot to mention - since the Cat 3 men's field is large - it's sketchy. Several guys are freshly upgraded 4's and don't know how to handle their bikes. I almost had two of them collide right in front of me - thankfully they kept the rubber side down and pulled out of that one. No one needs a late season crash.

Our last race was a 5x5 points race. The tempo was fast - and I had a hard time getting into position. I was playing it patient - but didn't have the gumption to contest the sprints, until the final go and was pipped at the line. But my big HUGE accomplishment for the night? I got my first Omnium point of the season! YAHOO!!!! Why did it take me so stinking long? The important thing - I got one and am now put in the Friday Night print out. Sweet!

My bro and family came out to watch and Bilko made a comment about me "being available for autographs after the race as she's one of the top endurance riders in the country." Ha! I just laughed. Thanks Bilko, you're my biggest fan!

Saturday we woke up to a slight drizzle and got to go to Ryan's company picnic. He works for Pacific Ridge homes and they are so generous to their employees - it's great. We walked away with a new blender, which we made fresh blackberry smoothies with this morning. I only had 1.5 hours available to get a ride in with but relished every minute of it.

Then this morning we slept in till 10 am and had Coleman over again for smoothies before heading out for a late afternoon workout. My pursuit efforts went really well - even though some kid almost crashed me out. A little yelling and they were off the track in no time. I ran into Jeff Pyatt and did a warmup/cool down with one another. He's a cheerful soul and has done a lot for the local cycling scene.

All in all - a great weekend. I'm headed upstairs right now to eat our freshly harvested onion soup - should be amazing and watch season three of Deadwood. Hope you had a good weekend too!

sore toosh!

3 + hours of riding in the saddle - I haven't put those kind of long slow, steady miles in for quite some time! The body felt good though and I was able to make the south end and Mercer Island in under 3 hours.

I ran into Liz on my ride - she shouldn't be riding her bike right now because she injured herself again this past weekend. It's hard to call it quits but her body is going to force her if she doesn't back off and let it heal. I know, I know. I'm one to talk - but if I could've done it again I would have stopped sooner to let the healing begin. But I guess she'll have to come to that conclusion on her own.

It's absolutely gorgeous outside right now. Not a single cloud in the sky. Time to go for a spin!

Points race training and geeked out analysis

Hit up the track yesterday afternoon after a dreary moist morning. Luckily the sun poked out from the clouds and dried up the moisture from the track so Kenny and I could do some points race training. I love motor pacing - racing is the only thing funner! We swap driving so we both get a killer workout.

We started off with a 15 minute warm up - ramping up the speed to 33 or so. The legs were feeling good - despite how sore they felt after the TTT. After warm up Kenny had me do two 20 lap efforts with sprints every five. The goal is to sling shot around the motor with 200m to go and stay seated while surging. Top speed is usually around 34/35 mph. I soooo badly want to see 36! Maybe a bigger gear? Maybe more weights at the gym? Maybe no chocolate chip cookies right before workout? Nah. :) If I see 36mph then I will be well on my way...

I have a tendency to point my right foot - which may be to prevent my low back from tweaking. But the real question - does it effect my power? I was feeling a little taxed after the efforts and slightly numb in that area. My upper body form is coming around - during the sprint I definitely utilize my biceps and get the "bulldog" stance, with a slight tilt of the head. Grrr. It seems like it's all about the power game and getting the most out of how your body interacts with the bike - making it efficient and smooth as possible. I love it!

Other than a slight nag by my back I was able to dig deep and get right back on the motor (which was cruising steady at 28 mph) for the next efforts. You can really get into a rhythm with these efforts - and with two laps to go, you start to feel recovered from the last big hit and can relax about a lap before focusing on the next sprint. The overall goal is to go hard enough where they don't break the bank but just hard enough where you feel like racing is getting easier. The sprints are hard as you can go - but the recovery is what you really need to be concerned with. And I must say, other than my tactical idiosyncrasies, racing with the men is getting easier (solely from an engine standpoint).

Kenny did his efforts behind the moto - averaging around 30mph between sprints. The last sprint effort we ramped it up to about 33. He's an animal. Some fan came onto the track and asked if that was Kenny the cash machine? Ha! I laughed. Oh, you mean the cash register? Yes. That's him.

Today is a LSD (long slow day) ride - 3 hours in the saddle and then a baby shower for the evening. Should be fun!

The Family Visit

My bro and his family are in town for a week of playing in the sunshine (hopefully it comes out!) and water play. They brought their stink pot up and we're planning on getting some water time in this week once the weather warms.

Here's a picture of my niece Ellie and bro George. She's adorable, even when she's crying. ;)

TTT

Friday night I raced track, as usual. The chariot race was a joke - I don't know why I couldn't pull it together for a standing start one lap effort. Instead, I pedaled in behind the guys, shaking my head at how silly that was. No final for me - and I was happy to sit that one out.

Next on the agenda - a 10 lap snowball. These races really make your lungs bleed. Especially if you have poor positioning and have to chase chase chase back on to the right wheels. No points for old Juicey but I did get my lungs to feel like they would collapse.

But the beauty of track racing - 15 minutes later you'll have another chance to redeem your self. Our finale was a 5x5 Progressive race. This is similar to a points race, except the points are handed out slower. The first sprint is for one point, second for 2 to the first person, one to the second, third sprint - 3, 2, 1; fourth - 5, 3, 2, 1 and fifth 7, 5, 3, 2, 1. Brian Duvall from Recycled joined us and a few other fast roadies thrown in the mix, along with the usual suspects, meant fast and action packed racing. I was able to hang on no problem, but had lame positioning for any of the sprints, getting pipped each time. Had I had a little more patience and craftiness, then perhaps I would have placed better. Regardless though, it was an awesome workout. Fred from Wines told me he couldn't let me beat him - and I thanked him for that. Next time I will try harder and I appreciate people pushing me to the limit. It's all part of the process. ;)

Saturday morning I woke up and didn't feel too bad. We were scheduled for a track workout in the mid morning and Kenny said to bag it since I raced like garbage the night before. He's the coach - so I listened and didn't touch my bike at all on Saturday. Instead, I went blackberry picking with my neighbor (the same one who helped pick 53 pounds of blueberries a couple weeks ago) and my friend Theresa from Ti. Poor Theresa's legs were torn up from wadding through bushels of prickles - but it was so worth it! We ended up with 3 cases of jam. Yum!

But that also meant I was on my feet and not resting enough for the following day at the State TTT.

We woke up to rain at 5:45am and I headed down to Liz's house in Seward park to carpool. Once we got to Elma, the rain had stopped but the roads were super slick. We were only racing against Wines - they had a team of three with Suz, Trish and Gina. Initially we thought sweet! We have a team of four and should be able to give them a run for the money! About 1/2 way through the course, Liz dropped because she couldn't feel her leg anymore and knew she had injured her hammy more. Annette wasn't feeling well either due to working long weeks at her job without adequate rest. So the remainder of the work fell on Michelle and I. Michele rocked it - she would do monster 2 minute pulls, then Annette would pull through for 5-10 seconds and then I would pull for about a minute. All I remember is counting and setting mini goals to get there. At one point Annette had to tell me to slow down when I pulled through or we would lose her. I have never been so happy to be a mile from the finish - and we drilled it in the rest of the way. As soon as we crossed the line, I felt like I was going to fall off my bike. My inner quads and groin were screaming at me. They're still screaming at me, as a matter of fact.

Wines rolled a 1:15:20 and we rolled a 1:15:55. Not bad considering our four woman team whittled down to two and one hanging on for dear life! I felt super happy about my performance and know my body did as much as it could judging by how sore it is today.

Later that night we headed up to Stanwood for Jimmy and Alynda's wedding. The ceremony was special - and the reception afterwards back down in Burien. It was fun seeing them so happy and all of their families come together to celebrate their love. I even got some dancing in! Congrats to the two newlyweds.

Booked!

Just booked our tickets for Elite track nats in LA. Super cheap deals right now - $89 one way fares and $224 for a mini van for a week!

I'm getting super stoked!

Taught the last ladies track session of the year last night. It was good - a whole new crop of ladies showed up (as they do every week). Yeah! I get my Thursday nights back and don't have to be at Marymoor Tuesday through Friday and again on Sunday. Yippee!

No mouse....

It's been four days now and no sign of the mouse or Jazzmine even coming close to finding it. I wonder if the furry little rodent escaped already. I left Makiah's dog food out to see if it'll take it as bait and will wait and see.

I picked 12 cups of blackberries from my neighbors yard yesterday and didn't even come close to denting their supply. Yeah! That means tons of jam to be had this weekend. :)

I got some more sleep yesterday and think that may have been why I felt run down.

We have a TTT this weekend - should be a blast! Let's just hope it doesn't rain.

Feeling it

The weekend certainly caught up with me last night. Since Kenny couldn't make our motorpace session I decided to try Wednesday night track racing with the master men. With a combination of high speeds and lack of food in my system, I ended up calling it a night early during our final 25 lap scratch race. Some nights you're just not feeling it, you know?

Only a month and a half before track nats. I should be feeling tired right now - and I am. This is the last big build push before a rest and then some fine tuning. I'm getting excited!

On another note - we hired my mom's cat Jazzmine to patrol the house for mice. I saw one scurry underneath our pantry the other day and then saw it again two nights ago book it under our stove. Makiah isn't that interested in rooting around for mice - she just sits by her dog bowl and growls at them. Ryan doesn't think Jazzmine will do it - but I have faith. Every day I come home thinking I might see a mouse hanging between her jowls and everyday I find the cat fast asleep on her back, paws askew on our bed.

Cucumbers

I just harvested my first cucumbers of the season and boy are they tasty!

Things really haven't slowed since the weekend. I woke up Monday morning and dragged myself to the gym. The body felt pretty tired but I was still able to push the weights around. Work as usual followed by a short spin afterward to flush the legs. I ran into Liz and Jeff on the trail and we headed to Zoka's. Then I booked it home to cook a salmon dinner for Gary and Anita (Ryan's dad and step-mom). My mom showed up too and we laughed the night away. It's nice to see Ryan's folks.

In the morning I woke up and took the van in for a standard oil change. Unfortunately they discovered our transmission is leaking fluid all over and will need to be replaced. (Can you say 2-3k? OUCH! That's going to take a while to fix...) I headed out to Kenny's house by 9 am and picked up his bike and while he got ready I watched Makiah chase their kitties. (Don't worry Annette, she didn't get one!) We headed to the track and did some motor pace efforts. The legs were feeling heavy - so we kept the gear light. Oddly, I sprint better seated then when I stand up. Hopefully we'll get that figured out before too long.

Gary and Anita came out to watch and caught the tail end of our session. Afterward I headed to eat lunch at Ray's with them while Ryan slaved away at work. Mmm... smoke salmon salad while watching the eagles dive bomb the Puget Sound for lunch. Rough life I'm telling you! We met up again once Ryan got off work for a canoe and kayak ride around Lake Union. Gary quickly found some low hanging blackberries and we carefully picked them from the boat. The lighting was amazing and the temps were just right - one of the moments that you etch in your brain forever. Luckily Gary had his camera ready to capture it.

We paddled our way between the house boats and under some piers to I Love Sushi and dined on some sashimi. Lake Union was filled with about 200 sail boats for the Tuesday regatta. The multi-colored spinnakers were amazing to watch as the sun danced along the water. Gary enjoyed it a lot - reliving his sailing days via kayak. After dinner we paddled home and caught the tail end of the sunset illuminating the Aurora bridge. It was so relaxing and peaceful. Just one of those days that you know you couldn't have spent any wiser.

Don't blink!

This past weekend flew by - it's hard to believe I'm sitting back at my desk in recovery mode from it all. Here's a quick little recap...

Friday night racing with the Cat 3 men. The pace was high. We have some horsepower that needs to upgrade to the 1/2 field soon so it keeps things interesting. I attacked and won a preme in the scratch race with three laps to go. But couldn't climb back on the fella that made the move with me and ended up getting swallowed by the field in the last lap. Had I looked around a little more, I might have been able to jump back on his wheel and brought in a top placement. Lesson learned - look around more!

The Keirin was interesting. I got a little too aggressive too early and attacked when the motor pulled with 500m to go. The field again swallowed me with 150m to go - and I ended up last. Apparently my super human sprinting and endro power wasn't turned on - and I came back to the infield discouraged, wondering what's wrong with me?! Both Kenny and Woody told me to be more patient and wait it out - let the guys do the work and race smart. At one point Woody told me to approach racing with the attitude of being a racer, not a woman in the men's field. To which I responded, that's how I always think Woody.

Then Matt came up to me and said that my attack was perfectly time and everyone was looking at one another and he said something about not chasing a chick down. Um, excuse me? Maybe you haven't noticed but I always go for the sprint and try my hardest to win time and time again only to get pipped by the guys at the line. I don't think they ever think, I shouldn't chase a chick down. You're full of shit and just got beat by a girl! How you like them apples?

(Sorry - just a little drama... but come on! He asked for it.)

The points race was hard - the majority of the field dropped out by mid way through the race. I managed one point, which placed me in 8th. I was happy with my performance but frustrated by the way the men were unwilling to work together to chase back the lead group. Oh well. Lesson learned - attack them and leave them behind if they're unwilling to work.

We got into Bellingham at 12:30am and had to get up the following morning at 6:30am for the TT at Lake Padden. I felt solid on the bike - made one wrong move by not being in the aero bars for one downhill section, but felt pretty good. I ended up 5th - not bad!



The crit was hard. It was definitely a climbers crit and technical. It had 8 corners and a really fun fast descent. Ryan's entire family showed up to cheer me on - it was fantastic! (We had a Triplett family reunion on Saturday between the races. I'm really really good at burning the candle at both ends!) Wines dominated the race with Trish and Lise off the front from the gun. With about 5 laps to go Suz hit it and secured third place. The rest of us got to race for 4th. Annette gave me a killer lead out and I delivered the goods. It felt great to have teammates working for you and to be able to deliver it back to them.


The following morning was the final day - a 40 mile road race on a hilly course. It was gorgeous out. Unfortunately we were delayed by an hour because some poor soul from Ti broke his collar bone about 300m from the finish line. Ouch. During our race the same Wines ladies took off right away and probably had 5 minutes on the field. They're in a league of their own. Nice work ladies!

The rest of us were fighting for 4th in the GC. Carrie managed 4th and the rest of the team in 10th, 11th, and 13th. It didn't go as we had planned - but oh well. I'm surprised I can walk today to be honest with you! My legs were exhausted from the weekend. Did that stop me from going to the gym this morning? Absolutely not! Nationals are coming....

Hot off the presses...

http://lavelodrome.org/Races/TalentPool20070821.htm

Talent pool opportunity in 11 days down in LA. California here I come!

My man is THE man!

This past week Ryan's been the wife of our relationship and I've come home late 3 nights in a row to a hot dinner waiting on the table. It's so nice not having to come home and figure out what to eat. The best part? No grudges or control issues associated - he does it out of pure love. (Did I mention we have a kick ass relationship?) Last night he surprised me with a sausage, onion, mushroom, sweet potato stuffed pepper and caprese salad that was to die for.

So tonight I got to reciprocate the lovin' and went to town with what's in the kitchen. We're on a budget now since our funds are tied up in the property so I made the most of our pantry and odd sauces leftover in the fridge. He told me he'd be home around 9 - so when the hour came, I couldn't help but call him to find out his status.

Low and behold, I asked him how climbing was and he redpointed Extended Illness AND Black Ice - both rated 5.13c! What a freakin' stud! For those not familiar with the climbing grading scale - that's nearly impossible for mere mortals. Not to mention he did not one 5.13c but TWO! Unbelievable! He said he went in with a beginner's mind - and no expectations. Funny how that works.

Way to go Bubba - you are THE man!

Hot Damn in B'Ham

Traveled up north to the land of Bellingham to preride the Omnium race courses. The road course is hilly - and should be interesting to see if a non-climber wins it. There's some serious hills and for someone with track legs, it's not so friendly. The TT course will be hard too - with a gradual uphill start into a head wind and then mainly downhill with a wicked right hander and some more rolling sections. It's in a beautiful part of the country though and I'm really looking forward to.

This weekend is all about an ass kicking - Friday night out at the track and then Sat and Sun up north. Not to mention the family reunion on Sat. Sweetness!

4 hour Cinnamon Rolls

Tried a new recipe this morning, which ended up dipping into the afternoon. Caprials Deserts is the mecca for anything sweet - and I had a hankering to spend a little domestic time in the kitchen today.

So what took so long? First you have to mix up the dough, and don't forget the mad dash to the store to pick up more eggs and flour. Then you let the dough rise for an hour while domestically cleaning up your house. (I was actually able to dust! That only happens like twice a year.) Then you punch the dough down and roll it out into a 10x14" rectangle, dress it with melted butter, sprinkle a sugar/cinnamon mixture on it and then roll it into a big fatty. Cut it into 2" pieces and then let it rise another hour. For that hour of downtime I decided to work on adding some links to my track chain, which took FOREVER. A little bit of swearing, several tools spread across the dining room table, grease on my clothing and hands... but I got it. And before I knew it, it was time to stick the little buns into the oven. 25 minutes later I whipped up the sugar glaze and was popping the tasty morsels in my mouth with a serious sugar high. Yeah, I danced around my kitchen. That happens every time I put something delectable in my mouth. (My mom said I used to dance when I was little, somethings never change.)

Ryan called me later and asked, how were the buns? To which I responded, they took forever! And they're not that good. Ha! They taste like there's crack in them, they're so good. He's doing double time to get home to taste one.

If your in the neighborhood and low on sugar, stop on by and I'll give you a tasty bun.

Ryan's Weekend

Ryan headed out to Index, WA this weekend to complete his new bolt project on Zeek's Wall. He said it's probably a 5.13 or so and one of the most beautiful lines in Washington. Here's a photo of it.



From my understanding, it goes through the roof and then up a lay-back crack. Bolting a line is not easy and requires hours upon hours of manual labor. The first person to successfully climb the route gets the honor of naming it as well as subjectively grading it. And trust me, Ryan's already working all the moves and should have before summer's end.

Blueberries

53 pounds. Yep, I said 53.

24 cans of blueberry jam, 8 freezer bags full of 6 cups of berries each (the perfect amount for either pie or cobbler) and a lot of them already in my belly!

My neighbor and I drove out to North Bend today at the crack of dawn and picked until we both filled two five gallon buckets worth. Crazy, eh? Then we came back and started the canning process. Oh I can't wait for fresh blueberry pie tomorrow night!

Tomorrow's a track morning, followed by a baby shower and then a board meeting. Phew, what a weekend!

Nutsack Omnium

Yay! Nothing says August more than doing my first stage race of the year. Yep, you heard me right. I had to bypass every weekend of down-right torture in the nice soggy months of spring and wait until the summer to do some stage racing. Darn!

Not only am I excited - but the race is being held in Bellingham, the coolest city in Washington. And we're going to our Triplett family reunion that same weekend - meaning I should have a cheering section out there. Yippee!

Seriously though - it's only as good as the people who show up. So dust off your tt bike, pump up those race tires and head up North for some kick ass racing.

http://www.norkarecreation.com/omniumindex.htm

Glue. Ew.

Some how I managed to get glue not only all over my hands, but also on the top of my feet.

I decided to glue my new Vittoria tires myself - which is no small task. Ryan helped me remove my old tires but unfortunately we managed to rip one of the tires into shreds, meaning I had to remove a lot of residue and build up from my rim before re-gluing it. I used my oyster tool to remove most of the build up - and had several near misses in jabbing myself. And then, when I was almost finished, I put a huge gauge in my left hand. Ouch. Talk about a puncture wound. I'm surprised I didn't seriously injury myself.

The tire itself went on fairly easy - but while I was gluing the rim I had to rest the wheel on my feet so it wouldn't stick to the floor. And now I have tons of glue all over me. Oh well.

Other than that - the tires went on fairly easy. Yay! That means I get to try them out on Friday.

My mom's off in Hawaii visiting my grandmother. I need to get over there and see her - she's 91!

Details, details

On Thursday before the FSA GP, a teammate posted his sweet cruiser bike for sale. I've been looking for one for a while - for the right price, and finally here it was! I contacted him and told him to hold it for me - and if I scored enough cash from the weekend, then I'd buy it.

And although I scored some cash this weekend from the race, I unfortunately had to pass the bike up. 1 - I don't really need another bike and 2 - since I did do well, but not well enough, it's time to reinvest in some expensive track gear to make sure I'm getting the most from my equipment.

I've managed to spend about $600 in the past three days on various gear - it certainly adds up quickly. Sure I didn't need top of the line stuff - but I want to know I used the best I could at the time and have absolutely zero doubts in my gear.

So what could possibly be that expensive? Tires - Vittoria Pista CV (made exclusively for track riding with a supple dimpled black surface = low rolling resistance = FAST) $110/tire. Glue for gluing onto the wheels $3.95/tube x 2 tubes. New saddles (remember my 40k incident?) $99/each x 3 (and I need another for my pursuit bike!). Chain - the Wipperman I bought for my new Naked frame sucks balls. Yep, you heard me right. You can hear that thing across the track on a super windy day! So I coughed up the big bucks (thank goodness Ryan has a full time paycheck!) at $60 for the Izumi Model V. It rides like butta. I highly, highly recommend them. Oh, and then there's the new pedals I had to pick up for the new track bike $130. Ouch. Talk about an expensive week.

Oh, and don't forget about the plane tickets for track races and housing costs. I'm tempted to take David up on teaching some motorcycle classes to help pay for my out of control racing habit.

Check it:

Hot from the meeting - informtion about the 2007 USAC National Championships!

USCF Board of Trustees authorized a Women's Team Pursuit event for the 2007 USAC Elite Track Nationals as emergency legislation (7/30/07). The USA Cycling Coaching staff has been informed by the UCI that a Women's Team Pursuit is being added to the 2007 UCI Track World Championship. Our USA Cycling event will be run under the new UCI rules.

Yay!

I woke up Friday thinking fast thoughts and laid in bed rehearsing a smooth start and even tempo for the pursuit.

The night before, Ryan and I were headed out for a short easy spin to Magnolia and as we were going up the first hill toward Discovery Park, my rear wheel blew a spoke. It immediately threw it out of true - luckily Ryan was game to rush back to the house and pick me up in Ballard. So I walked my bike, slung over my shoulder since the rear wheel was out of commission, and walked barefoot through the locks since I had just replaced my cleats an hour earlier. I definitely got quite a few odd looks from all the tourists. I decided right then and there to take that situation and apply it toward the pursuit the following afternoon.

Anne-brit and Conan arrived at the airport just as I got picked up by Ryan so it was a mad dash to Seatac. We immediately started laughing - and didn't stop the entire time they were here! What great company.

Conan helped me with my splits. I'm such a rookie. I had no idea what real time I could do or should aim for - so when he asked me what time I wanted to do - I hesitantly replied, a 4:10. He did the calculations and told me I should do around a 33 second lap. The gun went off, I had a slower than normal start (21 seconds to the 200m) but then was able to hold 32 second laps - and start having negative splits! The bike felt good - the seat a gem - the gear perfect and the cranks were just right. I was able to wind up the last lap and held it at 30 seconds. Total time - 4:08.44. Not bad! And enough to win gold and qualify for nationals!!!!

I was so elated. Still am, actually.

Later that night we had a points race - 8x5. With two Aussies in the bunch, and several national caliber racers, the pace was high and the sprints an all out slug fest. Miraculously I managed two 1st place sprints, and one second. If only I had contested each sprint - I would have placed higher on the podium. But 3rd? I'll take that no problem! Liz, Annette and Karen all had great races too.

The next day my legs felt like garbage. We didn't get home and in bed until 2am Friday night and luckily I decided not to do the sprints. But instead of being able to sleep in, I was completely amped up. I was able to repay Rick for his incredible host housing duties in San Jose and showed him Pikes market and the Olympic Sculpture park. If you're ever in town - I'm more than happy to be a tour guide! We walked around quite a bit - and then I came home and crashed for two hours.

I rode the moto out to the track since Ab and C took all the gear earlier. The ladies had a miss n' out and scratch race to complete. Ab did awesome - bronze medalist. My legs felt trashed in the miss n' out and to save them, I just motored at the front of the group and held it steady. The surges can kill the legs sometimes! I nearly made the final - but was too tired to give it any more effort and dropped out in 4th place.

The scratch race was fast and fun - a great way to conclude the weekend. I got boxed in at the final lap - and was able to come out enough for a 5th place finish. Annette rocked it into 3rd - not a bad showing for Avanti this weekend!

Now I'm pooped and taking a serious rest week. It feels amazing to relax.

Hope you had a good weekend too!

Time to go Fast

I sat awake in bed this morning thinking about the pursuit and feeling the pain and pushing through it. It's time to go fast today - and no holding back.

More on that later....

Getting Ready

What a whirl wind the past couple days have been. My bro and family are in town to complete a painting project - and brought Coleman and Laurel with them. Coleman is difficult if he's not 100% occupied and has a lot of energy to burn. My mom claims he's worse than my brother was - although I don't know if I believe that. George was a holy terror and cut off my hair when we were kids.

This weekend is the FSA GP - hopefully the weather holds out. We've had the wettest July on record so far - thankfully we missed last weekend's drizzle while down in San Jose.

What's up with the Tour this year? Crazy, yo.

The sun's back

I think I watched that shoe video 5 times yesterday and every time I laughed harder and harder. Ryan and I were talking about it and we both think women understand the humor a little bit more then men, unless you're talking about a metro sexual.

So the 40k TT did some permanent damage to my soft tissue. I won't go into detail but let's just say I can barely ride right now.

We went to another awesome restaurant last night in celebration of my mom's birthday. I'd tell you which one it is but then I'd have to kill you. :) The resturant is small - but they recently expanded. We tried to go there for Ryan's birthday but they were remodeling. The meal started off with some market fresh beets, goat cheese and candied walnut salad drizzled in olive oil over a bed of mixed bitter greens. They accompanied the salad with slices of walnut bread and olive oil with infused carrots, onions and fennel. Each of us ordered a different main course - Mom had ribeye, Ryan had Duck Confit and I had scallops and shrimp. The ribeye was super tasty - with a wine reduction sauce cooked into the steak over a bed of fingerling potatoes and a side of green beans. Ryan's duck came with a cherry reduction on the side and the duck was moist and lip smacking good. My "surf and surf" came with perfectly cooked scallops (cooked on the outside but tender goodness on the inside) with a tomatilla avocado dip and fresh red salsa with huge golf prawns and a side of green beans. Yum. For desert we had a light creme delight - I forget the name. It was marshmallow in texture but light and sweet like creme brulee. They served it with a raspberry, black berry and a raspberry/orange sauce. The perfect way to finish off the meal and stuff us to the gills.

Anyone have a birthday coming up and want to go out to dinner somewhere new and exciting? I'm always game to try new food....

Shoes

http://www.spymac.com/details/?1807065

Good times.

Weekend Warrior

Another kick ass summer weekend in the bag.

It started Thursday - when my flight was delayed by 1/2 hour down to San Jose. Luckily Alaska Airlines only charges $50 for the bike box, and is by far the cheapest way to travel. Rick Adams, the treasurer for the Hellyer track hosted Kenny, Annette, Christie and I in their amazing Palo Alto home. Upon arrival at their house, Rick whipped up a gluten free pasta dish that was super tasty! He's the man of the household - and stayed home with their two teenage girls while his wife worked. He was definitely the host with the most. Thanks Rick and Anne!

Friday morning we woke up and assembled our bikes. We didn't have to be at the track until the later that evening so we relaxed, took naps, did the lazy biker thing in preparation.

Have I mentioned how kick ass it is to have a teammate out on the track? Especially one so experienced and competitive as Annette? She rocked the Keirin. We had some awesome national competition out there - Jennie Reed, Becky Quinn, Cari Higgins, Shelley Olds, etc.



So I worked on being aggressive all weekend - and not thinking about making a move but just doing it. It really didn't come into play until the last race - but we'll get to that.

The points race was good - 15 women signed up. I went for a point in the first sprint and then Annette, Becky and Jennie countered. They were off the front and running from the gun. Unfortunately our race was only 24 laps, with 4 sprints every 6 laps. Shelley Olds bridged the gap immediately to the lead group and contested every sprint, and winning the overall title. She's dynamite! Meanwhile, 4 of us chased and chased to try and bridge together but due to lacking horse power, they stayed away till the very end. In retrospect, I should've attempted a bridge and exerted a lot more energy quickly, versus long term effort. Oh well. Becky was 2nd, Jennie 3rd, Annette 4th, Anna Lang 5th, Mary Maroon 6th, and moi in 7th. We dropped the rest of the field after the first sprint, which made it difficult to navigate around them. Talk about a shattered field.

The following afternoon was the Miss N' Out - and I stupidly boxed myself in. I knew better too - but had bad luck. Oh well. Annette managed 5th or 6th - she was on the podium all weekend with the exception of the scratch race. Which brings me to my break through. I followed the right wheels - Jennie is always a good bet. So is Becky, but Quinny is crafty so you have to watch it and make sure you don't get your wheel taken out by inattention. Jennie on the other hand is sure and steady - and won't waver at all. Proman was drilling the pace at the beginning - shelling some of the field and setting Shelley up for a solo attack. She hammered it off the front to stay away for the win. The field really didn't chase much - and we were somewhat hovering around 3 to 2 laps to go - and which point I put in a solid attack. The timing was good - I put 5 bike lengths on the group quickly. And then I just had to hold it, but my high end got the best of me and I was nipped at the line by jennie, Anna Lang and Becky. I almost had it though! It was a huge breakthrough for me - not thinking about going - just going. I'm grinning from ear to ear.

Somebody, uh hum, Kenny, thought it would be a good idea to take the 6:30am flight the following morning in order to make our 40k state individual TT. We barely made it in time - but with 15 minutes to go, we rolled in and I was off. Not my best effort - especially considering how tracked out I've been lately - but still not bad. I managed 6th - but Michele ROCKED it with a gold medal ride of 1:01:31. What a studette! I'm so proud of her!!!

Ok- time for work.

Muffin Top

I woke up dreaming of muffins.


Then I thought second of it.

Rain Rain go away

It's back - and my plants are surely thankful. No worries though - it's been a while since I did an indoor roller workout and instead of having to watch the Tour on DVD I can now watch it live. Perfect!

Had an awesome track workout last night. Tamara, Christie and I worked on 2x100, 2x200 and 2x400. The last effort, the one that really counts, I poured my heart and soul into and as I approached the finish line, I could barely see straight. I had to chill out afterward and recover - nausea and thin saliva filling my mouth, heading pounding, body ready to pass out in protest. I remember just leaning over my bike and taking a few moments to recollect and convince myself I was going to live. Oh it hurts so good! I am stoked to finally workout hard again without thinking twice about my hamstring. Now it's time to get down to business in prep for nationals. Yay!

I got my new bike yesterday - STOKED!!! It's super simple and classy - one that you could hang on your wall and never lose it's charm. A few tweaks though - like getting rid of the Hairybone Fizik saddle (not so friendly on the lady parts) and some ergo roadie bars and I should be golden. I love the longer crank arms - I feel like I can get some serious leverage out of them. A few minor tweaks at the track with thanks to Woody and John and Kenny and I was up and running. Thanks guys.

I'd be curious to compare the power and speed outputs from a 165 to a 170 crank arm. Too bad my ibike crapped out on me. I didn't even use it more than a month. Apparently Alpenrose is just too bumpy for something that finicky. Actually, come to think of it, it died in Colorado Springs. Altitude? Who knows. I'm selling it. Anyone want to buy a slightly used iBike that works really really well? Ha!

Tomorrow we're off to San Jose for some more bike racing. Gotta love it! On Sunday we fly back at the butt crack of dawn for a state TT - 40k. Ouch. Should be wicked.

The Colemantor

My nephew Coleman is turning 4 in October. That's my bro, George.

sprinter vs. enduro

for some reason I just can't let this one go yet.


would you rather have this?



OR....

This



(I wouldn't mess with a vinyl clad chicken either.)

Ever now and then you come across a gem of a blog. http://wynterparks.blogspot.com/

She blogged about this You Tube with Mario Cipollini - hopefully you speak Italian. If not, here's wynterparks synopsis:

"check out this video of Mario Cipollini being punked (the Italian version)
His mechanic is the show's accomplice and basically tells him as he is out on a training ride that his house had been broken into and his bikes stolen...including his World Champ ride. As he and his training partner continue to ride a camper van (the show's actors posing as the thieving gypsies) casually drives by and he spots his bikes.....a chase ensues and the showdown begins as Mario tries to beat down the garagey-type building they eventually escape and lock themselves and his bikes into. The show comes out and lets him know he is being punked before he kills the gypsies."


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHUpmWPCMes

Good Morning!

It rained this morning at 4 am - and the whole city seems to be stoked about it. John in the Morning at KEXP was going on and on about how good it smelled. It cracks me up how people can't take the heat. One day of a little warmer temps and people start doing the rain dance. I can't blame them though - my plants are definitely happier. And my poor little mini aussie is much happier with the cooler temps. We had her belly shaved for some relief.



Anyways - completely different topic - lately I've been craving protein. This past weekend put my body into over drive and suddenly I found myself wanting rib eyes. Then I went to the gym on Monday and felt incredible - tempted to up my weights. The morning weigh ins fluctuate but lately they've been showing a few pounds heavier. Maybe my butt's getting bigger and my chicken leg status will disolve. Sweet. No climbing for me!

Tired today

Maybe it was the 100 degree heat from yesterday and then the late night down in Tacoma celebrating Andrew's 30th - but I am pooped today! Nap time for sure.

Rode the moto in today - I forgot for a split second how fun it is.

I'm so tired I can't think of anything good to blog about. :)

Focus

I ran into Jill on the trail today and she said she was looking through Amara's photos and saw this one I posted above. She thought it was cool to see how intense it was before the race. To which I responded, the only thing going through my head "Get behind the motor. Get behind the motor. Get behind the motor."

Then once I did, I thought, now what???

Can you say, Lead out?

Reflection...

Since the weekend seemed to pass by in a blur - I am just now remembering bits and pieces of experience that I will improve me as a rider.

For instance, in the sprints, you should be checking your left shoulder more often and if you do look right, look underneath your armpit. The attacks are always going to come from someone diving down left, to utilize the banking and gain momentum. If you are caught looking right, and that person dives, then you could be wondering how you missed the move and the race. I bet there are some mind tricks you could play to keep your brain sharp - anyone have any suggestions?

Also - if you are in front, make sure you keep the follow person's front wheel pinned, especially if they are close to you, preventing them from diving down track and getting a jump on you. Sprints are interesting - I enjoy the cat and mouse game. Having the ability to make your body instantly react is a gift - and the power that comes behind it to push through the pain and pedal stroke is completely different than endurance races. I like them, I like them a lot.

I have to say I conquered a MAJOR hurdle this past week too - the Keirin. Granted I didn't win a Keirin, but I did figure out positioning much better and my confidence is improving. Miller had a great suggestion for being in the first position - by faking an attack and getting everyone excited, and then really turning on the sprint with a few hundred meters to go. I like that one - sounds like a good bluff to me. :)

I think I hear the neglected dishes calling my name.... and the mounds of laundry pilled up to the ceiling.

Oh - one more thing. I just want to say how inspirational Jimmy was this weekend. His racing is amazing - and you can tell he's digging deep and in the hurt locker, yet amazingly can recover from it and get back in the game and score points. He lapped the field, with a couple other guys, and then continued to get points for 3rd place in the points race. What a stud. And he and Super Steve-o placed 3rd in the Madison. Way to go guys!

What did you call me?

Had a fan-tabulous weekend hanging with Jimmy and Alynda and crew down in Portland. Collected some dough and definitely paid for the trip. But now it's back to the grind stone.

Check out this sweet picture Amara took in Colorado Springs:


Then I had a random compliment today that made me laugh. This guy came into the office to check out the cable in a new tenants space and needed me to let him in. I unlocked the door and he said, "I love your hair by the way. You've got this Meg Ryan look. And Meg Ryan in my standards is a super hottie. I can't believe I just said that. I hope I didn't offend you."

Nope buddy, but you did make me blush. :)

AVC - Day one

Day one, in the bag. Jimmy and Alynda are hosting me at their awesome house in the JOhn's landing area and it's really nice and quiet here. I got in around 8 last night and they had dinner ready to go when I touched down, which was awesome. Then this morning I woke up early and had a pursuit. I went out really hot - and ended up dying in the end. Now I just need to get a better feel for what I'm doing - but my fitness is starting to come back. Yay!

I ended up third in the pursuit - not bad. But that means only $10. Oh well - we still have a nice long weekend of racing ahead of us. Tomorrow brings the Keirin, Miss n Out and Points race. Fun fun and fun!

The 500m went well - 40.86 - which put me in 7th. Good points toward the omnium. :)

It's early -

But I can't sleep anymore. My tummy and burning inferno is working double time - and come to think of it, I didn't eat enough yesterday. Luckily the resort has a kick ass buffet that we're taking full advantage of later this morning.

But right now, it's 6 am and I can't sleep another wink. My head wouldn't stop whirling with thoughts of my racing last night and I thought I'd be productive and jot some of them down.

Position is everything. I keep imagining myself finding the right spot going into a sprint, fighting for it if need be, or coming the long hard way around over the top. But I'd prefer the right position off the bat. I'm working on it -but still need to fine tune and become consistent. Good thing I have another chance this weekend at Alpenrose.

I'm starving! Time to rummage something to eat...

Between thundershowers, hail storms, Tornado warnings...

Somewhere in between all of the mayhem, I actually got to do some racing today! Yesterday we were completely rained out and told to evacuate the track for fear of a severe thunderstorm ripping through the Springs. In a way I was thankful - but that meant putting all of the racing stacked into today.

The keirin went much better for me today - I didn't get DQ'd. Yay! And I pulled the number one position, again, of course, and managed to get on the motor in the first 1/4 lap! Success! I was so concentrated on that I kind of paniced - now what? I lead the entire race out - and Carrie Higgins made a sweet move over the top and advanced to the final. Monique Sullivan, a bad ass Canadian young girl, placed second with the rest of us falling in behind. I like to say I gave the sweetest leadout ever! Thank you very much.:)

We then had a rep round - and I pulled lucky number 2 this time. Kele Murdin was obligated to take the motor but Sarah Uhl jumped on instead. As soon as the motor pulled, Sarah went to the back and then came over the top. Her speed was impressive. She easily won our round. AnaBrit lead it out - and we had some serious wind going. I remember thinking I should have jumped but didn't went I thought it - resulting in lame placement. I should never think about it - I should just do it. Otherwise, I have found out, it happens too fast and your left analyzing what went wrong.

Last we had a 60 lap points race. I got 4 points total - in the beginning. Then I had a couple of grasshopper position placements, which nearly cost me the race. But thankfully the entire group was content with just hanging out and not racing between sprints. So I climbed back on and got nipped at the line a couple times. Oh well. It was incredible to get some amazing competition and have a coach there to help me out. Thanks Kenny.


Time for bed....

Check it out - nice pics from Marcy!

http://www.marcysutton.com/gallery/albums/cycling-062307/062307_0554.jpg