Lessons learned

Competition provides the ultimate moment of truth. It will make it apparently clear if you've done everything within your control to align the planets: have you been doing your homework; completing preparatory efforts; making conscious decision regarding nutrition; resting and recovering; and training your weaknesses as well as sharpening your strengths.

The physical aspect of training and racing is only a fraction of the equation. I believe that mental training is just as, if not more, important then the heart-pounding, leg-busting efforts and that for as much time as you spend on the bike, you should be working on the brain too.

While rolling around Magnolia yesterday with Jennie, we talked about this very notion in great detail. I can't tell you how blessed I am to have her in my life - she is an incredible mentor, coach and friend.

One of the things we talked about are impressions people leave on you. She said she remembered riding around Magnolia in her first few years of sprinting with a hot dog sprinter back in the day, a guys second to Marty. (Wish I could remember his name!) What he said to her back then struck a cord - he told her that she had such an amazing ability that one day she will be world champion. He could tell back then even though she had just started. At the time she was bashful, unbelieving - yet that comment stuck with her through the years. And slowly over time, she started to believe it herself.

We both chuckled that sometimes the things other people say to you about your ability or strengths doesn't really sink in. You think they're just being kind or tooting your horn - but the reality? If you believe in yourself then anything is possible. And sometimes those comments resonate with more truth then you ever thought possible.

I had this funny dream last night that I finally won a miss and out by doing the crab walk across the finish line in front of Mary. No bike, just Mary and I doing some ridiculous movements. After they went to the photo finish, which indeed showed that I maneuvered ahead of Mary, I stood up and celebrated and everyone around (including Kendi) had zero reaction - like it was no big deal.

Just goes to show I'm probably the only one who really cares about the outcome of a race. Ha! And maybe I have a future as a crab walker. :)

Anticipation

The car is packed: rollers, time trial bike, chairs, tent, wheels, 45 skin suits, racing paraphernalia, water bottles, cooler, pump, shoes, kitchen sink. I think you get the idea. I'm taking Maggie East so I can sleep in her if I get a chance between sessions. First up at 1pm is the 500m, followed by Keirin heats at 4:30 and then the finals, Scratch and Points race after 7pm. A crazy busy schedule - with two solid days of racing... an event and time of year I look forward to all year. The friends, the sweat, the tears and throw downs - if you know what's good for you you'll come out to Marymoor park this Friday and Saturday after 7 to watch...

And tomorrow? The Sprint rounds, miss and out and Ryan Triplett Memorial Madison.

Ready? You bet.

Do you ever have those days when those funny spam emails from family or friends hit home a little more than other days? Today is one of those days.

I am so excited for this weekend! Another amazing opportunity to demonstrate 100% of my ability. Thanks to sponsors, friends, family, coaches, masseuses, smarties, etc - as the saying goes, it takes a village! Things are lined up and I'm feeling prepared and ready.

Wish you were here Ryan to see it all go down.

"Embrace the joy in your pursuit."

Fresh off the press!

OK, I admit it, some of you are sick of me and are free to hit the delete button. But I promise - this is the last hit from me for 2010. For the rest of you bike racing fans, please read on and make your weekend plans..



This is seriously as good as it gets on the local scene for watching bike racing. Unless we get some freak and unexpected rain, I can promise you the 2010 FSA Grand Prix is going to be a great way to watch bike racing for you and for your family and friends. We have a LOT of great bike racing in Washington, but this is different - this is a unique way to show off bike racing at its best. We have two time Olympians Jame Carney and Jennie Reed (of course also the 2009 World Keirin Champion and from Kirkand!!), we have reigning USA national Madison and Omnium champion Cody O'Reilly, we have world champ, multiple world cup champ and New Zealand national champ Jason
Allen. We have U.S. pros Cari Higgins, Shelby Reynolds, Adrian Hegyvary and others. We have the Canadian National team. We have that wild Tazzy, two time FSA Grand Prix Omnium and Oceana and Australia champion Laura McCaughey. should I go on? We also have local up and coming superstars Grant Boursaw, Tela Crane, Jen Triplett, James Stangeland, Adrian Hegyvary taking them all on. Really, do you want me to go on? I could. The fields will be full! (yes, that means up to 40 on the track at once).
Bottom line - the Men and Women are racing for $7000.00 purse each (yes equal!!!) and the masters go for another $1500.00. We have it all. Sprints, Keirin, Madison, Scratch, Points and Miss and Out over two awesome nights.



When: Friday Night, July 23

Saturday Night, July 24

7:00 p.m.



Where: Marymoor Velodrome



Bring: Yourself, your friends, your family, your neighbors and a picnic. We'll supply a beer garden (courtesy of our best friends New Belgium Brewery and Patterson Cellars); sausages from Mojo Market, treats from CaraMia.

Also Bring: Your kids with helmets for the "kiddie kilo" both nights.


Come support Northwest Cycling - show the rest of North America what we are all about!!!



Thanks



Dave Mann

Highlight/lowlight

It's Monday and I'm exhausted. As the clock strikes noon I start to perk up and start reliving the events of the weekend. The highs, the lows, the laughs, and more laughs. All in all - the circus show that's also known as the Alpenrose Velodrome Challenge is over and I am now counting down handful of days before FSA Grand Prix.

How about a little game of highlight/lowlight?

Highlight: A HUGE women field this weekend. We had on average 27 women signed up for each event - a record number! And the depth of the fields were amazing. Only a few people were missing from the sprint field outside of Nationals - so this sprint tournament was a who's who of USA National caliber women track racers.

Highlight: Not just one, not two - but several of the existing track records were broken this year. If you break a record then the promoters pay $200 - and I'm pretty sure between the men's and women's field at least 5 records were broken. A new generation of track racers is demonstrating their phenomenal ability - and out of this crop I'm sure you'll see some world class contenders!

Highlight: Catching up with out of town friends. There's a lot of down time between sessions - but not enough to leave the velodrome. So what do you do? Tell stories and laugh with friends! We had a gaggle of girls hanging out - Cari, Liz, Tela, Kendi, Shelby, Heather, Beth, Val, Ros, Lindsay, Amara, Hanan and myself - talk about some X chromosomes! We had a blast.

Highlight: Watching Tela ride her ass off. Wow. She rode 100% to her ability this weekend and it was fantastic watching her kick so much bootie! 2nd in the sprint tournament, 4th (I think?) in the 500m, and 4th in the Keirin - placing her 5th in the overall omnium!



Highlight: Having good, hard positive racing. It's so much fun when the ladies come out to race their bikes and throw it down.

Okay, just a brief mention of the lowlight.....
I battle asthma. I've had it since I was a little girl and growing up in the Willamette valley had me in the doctor's office more times than my mom could count to get shots as a kid. That explains my phobia of needles - and also explains my breathing problems this weekend. I have a serious allergy to grass pollens and had too big of a dose of them this weekend. In the points race, I couldn't get my legs to kick over - and didn't figure out until today that I had the lack of oxygen to my lungs was what held me back from getting blood to my legs. You'd think I'd be keyed into it - but it hasn't been a problem up in Seattle. But down south in Portland? Oh boy. I had a serious case. Last night I was wheezing so bad that I had trouble sleeping. Hack, hack, hack.

When you can't perform to your ability it can trample your confidence. And motivation. But I've found the best thing you can do when things aren't going your way - throw yourself at it. What have you got to lose? If anything it's a great learning opportunity. As frustrating as it can be that your body is fighting your mind to push it beyond its limits - it's also good to practice letting things go. I smile at myself when I think this - and am thankful for the opportunity to learn.

You biznatches are in trouble this next weekend!

I like heat.

As the temps go up, the times go down.

And apparently the speed work we've been doing out at the track is paying off.... this past Friday I accomplished one of my "mini" goals and won the Category 3 men's omnium. You read that right.

Two stellar moves sealed the deal. The first was a bridge from the field to the breakaway that had a quarter lap on the field in the unknown distance. I caught them within a lap. We held off the field for the top three podium spots, with teammate Jordan Louie getting the win.




http://www.mikecostales.com/velodrome20100709/h3a2b952b#h30c30897

The second move was winning a point sprint midway through the 6x5 points race and then - somehow, some way, in the final sprint - kept the entire field at bay by sitting in the front of the pack, like a match sprint and as I entered corner two, hit the gas full bore and held off all but one guy to the line. It was an incredible night.





This photo pretty much says it all:
http://www.mikecostales.com/velodrome20100709/h3a2b952b#h22c5ff4e

Next up? Big HUGE track race down in Portland and then FSA Grand Prix the following. Come on out and support your local track scene!

Hitting the reset button

Last week the weather was dreadful. And it should have been. Summer never hits the Seattle area until July 5th. I mean really, who are we to think we'll get a taste of warmth prior to Independence Day?

Not one, but two heavy training sessions were foiled due to rain. First a kilo effort on Thursday and then racing Friday. Chris and I made the most of it though and headed out of the city earlier than expected Friday evening - with our mountain bikes mounted on the roof and trunk full of climbing gear. Our destination? 98833.

We arrived pretty late that night - seeing about 20 deer and a cougar along Highway 20 on our drive East. The next morning we had a hearty breakfast of pancakes and java - then grabbed a bite to eat at the country store before obtaining beta on Angel's Staircase. Turns out summer hasn't hit the east side either so the route was definitely snowed in. We were directed to do Starvation Mountain instead - 25 miles and 4,800 feet of elevation gain.

We hit the trail head at 3pm. Thoughts of maybe descending in the dark crossed both our minds - but we were determined to get an ass burner of a ride in. Up and up we climbed - crossing several creeks and climbing for 10 miles on single track. The final portion was on fire roads through the remnants of a huge fire in 2006. A couple of quick stops confirmed that bugs pose a major problem this year. We would stop, do a quick check of the map, then keep riding as the mosquitoes would cloud up whenever you diddled for too long.

Unfortunately the views were nothing to write home about. And after climbing for roughly 4 hours, the summit of Starvation mountain was anti-climatic. Not to mention the swarm of bugs. What we thought would be an ass kicking time down some single track revealed a mix use trail that motor cross bikes had torn up. Bummer! But eventually, about 10 miles from the end, the single track improved and I found a huge smile spread across my face.

And every time we came across a creek crossing it was like playing Russian Roulette - you never knew how deep they would be and if you'd be swimming or make it across. I was carrying the camera so I had to make sure I made it. Chris was the guinea pig and at first he would throttle through them but toward the end when we were getting tired from being on the bikes for 5 hours - showed some hesitation.

We did make it back to the car a little before dark and headed straight to the Twisp River Pub for brews and food and caught a little bit of Le Tour on the big screen. They also had white guy live reggae band playing so we did a little seated butt scooting while chowing down. Yet oddly enough, the three IPA beers I drank did nothing to me. It wasn't until later that I figured they were near beer. Somebody forgot to add the alcohol! They tasted good, regardless.

The rest of the weekend slowed to nearly a stand still pace. Just what the doctor ordered. As the sun came out and dried the pine needle forest, sweet aroma filled my senses and the frantic pace of city life melted away. A trip up Hart's Pass into hill alpine sealed the deal with a nap in a meadow and watching Makiah chase down marmots and well fed ground squirrels. Pictures to come....

TURN IT UP!!!

I can't get this song out of my head....



or this one for that matter. I've been listening to them non-stop for 72 hours. Animal.

I take my time getting ready for the ride today, as this is the first road ride I've been on since the weekend. I wait until the very last minute to pull on my spandex and load my back pockets full of the essentials - tire pump, spare tube, multi-tool, hammer bar, cell phone, and I.D. I remember to grab my shuffle, making sure I have enough batteries for the ride and then continue pulling on my "office" clothing. I say that because I've been putting as much if not more time into the bike lately than actually sitting behind a desk. Lucky me.

As I go through the get ready ritual, I concoct my route to Marymoor in my head. Do I follow the sleepy, bumpy Burke Gilman north? Or head over via I-90, a lap around Mercer and then follow the east side of Lake Sammamish? I'm headed south toward the bridge without a second thought. All of this track training has made me miss my regular routes - mostly, yet I still don't miss the Burke.

Lots of cyclists are out today. However I only see one woman to about 10 men. The Seattle to Portland annual ride is coming up mid-July and everyone is putting in some miles to lessen the saddle sore sting during the long 204 southbound miles.

I cruise along the arboretum, picking off commuters and joy riders without hesitation, listening to a mix of Built to Spill and Common Theory. I can feel my pace quicken depending on the tempo and Fujiya Miagi has me soaring down the bridge averaging 29mph. What's this? When did road riding become so effortless?

I decide that taking a lap around Mercer Island is necessary and enjoy the rolling hills and hidden driveways. Not to mention the other joy riders and when one passes me, I decide my pace is too easy and hop on his wheel. I know the slight riser coming up in 3 miles will tax him a little too much so at that point, I take over and provide a steady fast draft. The windy turns come up, I pedal through the corners and glance down to see speeds in the mid-twenties. It feels so good to be out on my bike - free of going around in circles and with specific training in mind. I'm enjoying the ride and forget about the guy sitting on my wheel until I come to the stop light and hear him huffing beside me and utter, "nice night for a ride," as sweat pours down his face.

We part ways as I continue East, thinking of Ryan and how much he used to love sailing by Fred's and dropping racers when ever he could. It's funny how racing so much can condition you to compete with everyone - regardless of the scenario. I chuckle at myself as I pass two guys laboring up the hill by T-Mobile corporate burdened with back packs.

I honestly miss riding my road bike and adventuring out. Traveling into the unknown - reliant on myself for survival and doing so without hesitation. In my head I start planning more adventures - San Juans, Canada, and then as I crest a hill and see the Cascades lit up in late afternoon/early evening sun I know that they are calling my name. My heart soars with the thought that I'll be visiting them this weekend.

Yesterday I was told I crossed a barrier. Or better put, achieved a milestone, in training. But at the time it just felt like another ordinary daily training day.

There was a stiff headwind on the home straight - so strong that our warm up was blown apart with 10 laps to go. The pace for some reason was high after only 10 laps in and we just continued to drill it, with the head wind taxing the mind and body with each pedal stroke into it. First Tela popped, and Jennie shortly thereafter. And my endurance butt got to continue alone for the remaining 5 laps. I only made it three. Often our warm up is the hardest continuous effort of the day. It makes the efforts seem easy.

On tap for today (after an early morning weight training session) - four flying 250m efforts. I've been working on the wind up - getting slightly better with each one, but not quite where I want to be yet. Yet today was a break through - I pushed and grunted up corner one, flying into corner two, out of the saddle and driving it all the way to the line and was rewarded with a 3/10ths improvement. I received a few comments from Jennie and Tela about how it actually looked like a sprinter wind up.

And for this scrawny, chicken legged endurance rider - that is huge.

As the countdown toward Nationals continues, my anxiety of placing eggs all in one basket rises up and bubbles out with mention of going for the Madison, the team pursuit, etc.... and Jennie comments on how I have A.D.D.. Do I want to get a bunch of 5th place finishes or actually win a title?

Oh, right. Settle down, Jen. Settle down, I tell myself. Enjoy the practice. Don't get overly excited or rough around the edges, take each effort as a means to practice. Focus, drive, give it 110%. Trust. Patience. Hard work.

Reading Steph's blog hit home today. She quoted an excerpt from a Zen master that was very well suited to what I'm talking about.

“It is necessary for us to keep the constant way. Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual daily routine. If you become too busy and too excited, your mind becomes rough and ragged. This is not good. If possible, try to be always calm and joyful and keep yourself from excitement.

Usually when you do something, you want to achieve something, you attach to some result. From achievement to non-achievement means to be rid of the unnecessary and bad results of effort. If you do something in the spirit of non-achievement, there is a good quality in it. So just to do something without any particular effort is enough. When you make some special effort to achieve something, some excessive quality, some extra element is involved in it. You should get rid of excessive things. If your practice is good, without being aware of it you will become proud of your practice. That pride is extra. What you do is good, but something more is added to it. So you should get rid of that something which is extra.”

I would call 3/10ths a prideful extra. Yet it's hard not to get excited when you see a marked improvement on something you've been working on for days/weeks/months and years.

Ah grasshopper, so much to learn. So much to learn!

Just spent the end of a great weekend teaching a woman's track clinic with Tela out in Redmond. 25 ladies showed up! Yay to woman's cycling!

Here's to growing the sport and giving back....

MJ

A year ago, Tela, Kendi and I were cruising south in Maggie, my VW van, on our journey down to San Jose to compete in the American Velodrome Challenge. Just outside of Oakland, Kendi in the back seat said, "Oh. My. God." Tela and I both responded in unison, "WHAT?"

Michael Jackson just died.

We kept driving - in disbelief and then listened to a marathon of MJ's range of music. What an influence that man had on the world through his music. Amazing that it's been a year to the day. But his legacy continues on...

When's the last time you watched this video?

Cruising around the interwebs - and came across the super talented and extreme athlete Steph Davis. For those who aren't familiar with her - Steph is a world class climber and base jumper. Her talents are many. She lives life to the fullest and is an inspiration for sure.

The following is an excerpt she posted on her blog recently about taking risks and living life:

"personally i am very hard on myself if i get hurt, because i see it as a result of having made a mistake while doing something high risk. although i don’t see it that way for others, i am always very critical of my own mistakes, especially when it matters a lot. though of course, this is the way to learn and improve.

the only way to gain experience is to do things, so we all have to struggle with the learning phase, and partly hope we are lucky as we gain skills and judgment. i guess this is just like life, for everyone who grows from a baby, having to learn to survive. one thing i really enjoy is learning how to push my limits in intelligent, conservative style. freedom is a complex thing, and not easily earned…

i decided early on that freedom, for me, means taking on risk in this style and living all the way, rather than locking myself in a bubble and trying to reduce all risk from my world. but i do work hard to be competent, intelligent and conservative, to preserve that freedom….hence, the spot device, heli insurance, and the parachute ;)

you can certainly climb, base jump, hike, ultrarun, ski, surf, paddle or do anything in a less conservative style, and plenty of people do, as you only have to watch the youtube extreme sports channel to observe, but that’s not for me. it seems like if you can make it through the baby/discovery years with some luck, then competence and good judgment will keep you generally pretty safe after that. you can’t continually do things in a yahoo style, without your luck running out. you can push the boundaries of what you think is possible, and you can do it carefully. to me, this is really living."

Amen, sister. Amen.

Eiger Birds from steph davis on Vimeo.

musings....

I fumble with my rear wheel and try like hell to get the rear nuts to loosen so I can flip my hub around into the right gear combo. A couple of profane words slip through my teeth in hopes that my cursing will get it to magically work. It creaks in protest and when it remains stuck, I threaten to throw my training wheels in the garbage. They are meant to turn in circles, not be adjusted as much as I've asked of them. It's a love hate relationship, that's for certain. And someone overheard me in my moment of furry and offered to take them off my hands for me.

But the root of my frustration? I'm tired. I've been asking a lot of my body lately and pushing it to new extremes. And today is no exception. On tap for this evenings workout - a thirty lap warm up with regular increased intensity, two jumps (accelerations) in the warm up gear and then four "balls to the wall" 500m efforts in a large gear. One from a stand still and three using the banking to get my speed up and hold it.

To those unfamiliar with track racing, which to be honest, is pretty much everybody, only four efforts for a 500m distance sounds doable. And in the grand scheme of things - it really isn't that far. But the trick, and this is wear practice pays off, is to will your body, equipment, and mind into one singular focus - going fast as humanly possible. Where every ounce of energy, every muscle in your body, every cell in your brain is focused on rotating your pedals forward.

The wind up for the flying efforts (which just means you can use the banking to get going) is supposed to be hard. It's as nearly as hard as the effort itself. You glide along the rail at the top of the track and when entering into corner three, you start increasing your speed to come up off the banking. Between three and four, you start pushing the pedals to slowly accelerate, upping your speed as you use the easy speed on the banking between corner four and one. You then hit the gas to accelerate up corner one, the legs start screaming but you have to keep on the throttle before corner two as your whole body contracts and then out of the saddle as you exit corner two down the banking into the sprinters lane by corner three, like a rocket at 100%.

If you did the wind up correctly - the out of the saddle portion can only last a short while before your body forces you to sit back down. In a flash you're coming out of corner four, driving your knees up as you swiftly travel the long straight away, into the wind, wanting to stop, wanting so badly to quit, but driving it anyway. You feel your momentum slowing, but you keep willing your body to push on. Tunnel vision ensues, things start to narrow and a black tunnel tunes out external noise. As you push the final few meters to the line, you feel like you're detached to your body, floating above and cheering for it to come across the line. Immediately afterward the rush of being in the moment comes crashing back in and you gasp for air, ready to pass out from the sheer exertion of what just happened. The next lap is coming back down from the pain oasis you just visited, coming back into consciousness. The endorphins don't even do it for you any more. The pain has taken over. And as you roll out a few more laps before collapsing on the infield in attempt to recover and do it all again - you think how good it feels to be alive. How fortunate you are able to make your body push so hard and let it respond. How ultimately fulfilling it is to be in the here and now and doing what you love.

It's actually hard to relay this kind of thing to other people. I realize how single minded and focused this sport has made me - partly because if you don't you'll never know if you really gave it everything you had - and partly because I really enjoy what I do. I've sacrificed a lot - living a certain lifestyle that compliments my focus, surrounding myself by an army of people who support me, sought out the best experts, opinions and continue a disciplined approach toward my goal.

I am devoted to this sport as some people are religious. My pursuit is one of high performance and doing everything within my power to get there. It can be overwhelming at times, exhausting at others, exhilarating, giddy, and come to think of it, I've experienced every single range of emotions. It makes me feel alive and I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing.

Early Summer Harvest

Just opened my last jar of jam this morning... which is just in time for the berry season! Since we've been having an unusual spring/early summer, only u-pick strawberries are available for $1/lb. If we get some more sun the raspberries will be right behind... and then blueberries! YUM! Bring on the summer fruit.

We're also going crabbing this weekend and giving fishing a go.... hopefully we'll catch some salmon or something to smoke at Danielle's. One thing's for sure - this weekend will involve lots of good season eats. That's a big W in my book.

A Gem....

Oh my goodness. This is way too good.

Oh - and I'm still thinking about boxing.... check out this promo for a new book Mary Ann Lurie Owen made on woman's boxing.

Ketchup

Yesterday was a rest day. A complete and total rest day. I actually got bored but now am wishing it were still here. Actually, I thought I would take this time and do a little bit of catch up since the entries have been low the last couple of weeks....

Racing and training is in full swing. I am doing double days pretty much every day from now until Nationals. The goal is to make me as tired as possible so that I can perform under exhausting conditions and still do well. As I train my body to take the punishment, I am also focusing on the mental aspect and pushing beyond preconceived notions and expectations.... and instead am focusing on preferences. So far that's resulted in multiple podium finishes but not quite the big W. It is making me hungry for it, that's for sure. I am definitely stoked on the consistent podium placements but that top step alludes me for some reason....

What's on tap? Well crabbing season opened up June 18, which means this weekend Chris and I are dropping some pots in area 13 for the weekend. YUM- Crab!!! And maybe some salmon fishing this weekend?!?

It's almost July and Seattle has yet to have several nice days in a row - and the weather is what's on everyone's mind. Usually we Northwesterners put up with the 9 months of raining for the 3 amazing months of summer - so when we don't get it, well we feel cheated.

I sold Ryan's motorcycle. This is pretty big. It's been sitting in the garage for almost two years and I am trying to downsize my personal belongings. Some nice ladies out of Vancouver BC bought it and paid $200 above blue book value.

Maggie is still running like a rock star and boy am I glad I didn't sell her! She's the ultimate van - and although she can barely cruise at 70mph she certainly has saved me a ton of money by letting me sleep inside and cook up some meals. VW Westies are the best!

Next on tap? More Friday night race action. Come on out and watch me beat up some boys! And in July there's the Alpenrose Velodrome Challenge in Portland shortly followed by the FSA GP. And for the first time in 5 years I should be around for Redmond Derby days....

And what's this? I see blue sky poking its way out of the clouds.... maybe summer will show up today after all. Good thing as I'm headed out to the track for an ass kicking by Jennie, Tela and Mary. Look out!

Chicked

Some Friday Night action...

Headed out to the track in what felt like the first day of summer racing this year. It wasn't unusually warm - but it was dry. Since I was going to head over to Cheney that night (a four hour drive), I raced the first and last women race and the Cat 3 men's point race.

This first photo taken by wheelsinfocus.com is evidence of how hard I'm pushing... notice the body language? I'm giving it everything I've got to get some points. And it looks like Annette is too!



In the 6x5 points race, Annette and I both contested as many sprints as possible. But in a field of about 30 guys, our work was cut out for us! After the second to last sprint coming into corner two, I motioned to Annette for an attack and thankfully she was game. We put 1/2 lap into the guys before they even knew what hit them.



Bilko, being the wonderful announcer that his is in never giving the race away to the racers, didn't mention it to the racers. So Annette and I swapped leads for the next 5 laps, digging super deep and keeping the fellas at bay. Why didn't they chase?



Looks like they were thinking about it....



But alas, no one caught us. I had to dig DEEP. Check out this rare photo of my pain face. Winning the final sprint put me into 3rd for the Cat 3's! Not bad, not bad! But I did feel it the next day, that's for sure.



I had to lay down for a while after that one. The sky was spinning. Those are the kind of races and efforts I live for.

Next up? The woman's points race. With sprint every four laps. We had a really small turnout - ladies where are you??!!!??? But everyone came ready to race so although our field was small, it was competitive. Amara always comes ready to play and she pipped me at the line for a sprint...



No worries though - as I put her to work for the final couple of sprints. After that move we had a sizable gap over the field, so we kept the pace up and put some time into the field. Not only did Diana Boursaw catch my pain face in the cat 3 race - but she also caught Amara's!



At one point Amara said, "I'm not going to sprint Jen!" or at least I think she said that? Too funny. She did really well though - and I'm stoked to have done some two up team pursuit with her!

That night, Chris and I drove to Cheney, a town about 15 miles outside of Spokane for the Senior State Crit Championships. We got in at 2am and were up at 8:30 so Chris could race in the Cat 5's. The fields were small - with only 8 guys in his field. But he finished! And beat one guy! Not bad, not bad at all!

My field was bigger than expected with 12 super fast ladies ready to throw down for a state title. Bikesale.com had the best representation with 4 ladies, followed by Group Health with 3. Then there were several solo riders - including one girl from Montana who was ready to throw down and collect all the primes. The course was selective - requiring not only semi-sustained climbing ability but downhill cornering and a headwind, power section. I have to be honest - my legs felt terrible. Track racing the night before and a four hour drive? Not the ideal prep - but I gave it a go and suffered with the best of them.

Bikesale kept the pace high - with Lise being on great form - leading the pack for over a lap and shattering the field. Lise can also corner like a madwoman - and it was super fun following her amazing line down through the turns - she is so steady. The hill was interesting - shallow then steep, then shallow but taxing on the legs. By the finishing laps my mind had to will my body to keep pushing. We did about 20 laps? And each time up the hill someone would push the pace. It was brutal. And awesome! Late into the race, with 5 laps to go, a $50 prime was announced and all I could think of was gas money! Plus I had great positioning - third wheel with Lise leading, Alison second and then myself. I sprinted 100% to the line and barely pipped Lise. That time up the hill I was in a dark, dark hole. I was breathing hard, mouth open, legs exploding, foaming at the mouth - and somehow managed to hang on. Going into the bell lap, it was everything I could do to latch on the to bikesale train - but was positioned too many wheels back (5th I think?) so coming out of the final corner, I sprinted to the line to get third, silver in the state. Morgan won - great job for her! It's great to see team tactics come into play and pull off the win - congrats to them. It took me near two hours to feel normal again. Icing on the cake, for sure!

Miss and Out & Scratch

The Miss and Out is my favorite race. It requires power, positioning, endurance and agility. We started the race with 24 women, and after two neutral laps, the officials pull the last person across the line every lap until the field narrows down to three. This is a race that can catch you off guard - so it's important to go in confident and ready to throw down. I sat mid-field for the first several laps, and then made a move up and over the top to guarantee a podium spot. I would up the pace after corner two, drill it into four and then repeat, lap after lap, after lap. Even though I was breaking wind in the front, I don't have to worry about playing the devil and taking massive sprint hits out of the legs. My big move to ensure the top three cost me though - as Hannan sat up in corner three and I just kept drilling it through the finish line. When Beth jumped with a lap to go, I watched her and Laura pull away while my screaming legs rolled in across the finish for third. I'll take it.

And last, but certainly not least was the scratch race. I made a pack with several ladies after the points race that we were going to race our bikes this time. There were wine primes every 5 laps, which definitely helped keep the pace high. Instead of averaging 17mph, we probably averaged 28. That helped shell at least half the field. The final sprint came down between Laura, Beth and I again - this time I was bound and determined to not just sit in. With legs and lungs screaming, I was able to follow Laura in for 2nd. Not bad! But dang it - a win is alluding me this year....

Tela had a fantastic race too! She won a prime and placed 5th! Not a bad day for the two Broadmark ladies....

Points race

This one deserves it's own special post.

Once in a while, woman's racing goes backwards. Instead of demonstrating our ability to ride our bikes hard and fast, we sit up, hang out and wait for the race to happen instead of making it happen.

If you want to see what I'm talking about then view this video:

SportVelo Women Points TVC 2010 from Rick Adams on Vimeo.

So what happened? A whole lot of sitting on, cruising around at 17mph, back pedaling and paddy cake. Any attempts to bridge, chase, or change the race in any way were shut down. I was pretty disappointed with the race - usually we shell quite a few ladies from the field. But this year, every single person stayed in. Oh well. I hope I never experience another race like that again.

That night I tossed and turned in bed, replaying my frustrations over and over. Unfortunately my brain wasn't ready to let me rest despite the early morning wake up call for the sprint tournament. Since I've decided to give the International Omnium a go this year, the more fatigue and punishment I can get out at the track, the better! After vowing off doing the sprint tournaments I was back in the mix, throwing down a 200m TT.

Like clockwork the winds started gusting right at the start of the time trials. I did the 7th fastest time of the morning with a 13.02 and Tela rocked the house in 2nd with 12.7. It was so cool seeing her Darth Vader helmet it up and rock that time!

I was seeded with the 8th fastest time of the day and was a little nervous, yet too relaxed against my unknown competitor. She jumped with 3/4 lap to go, and I had to fumble around a bit too much to come around her and couldn't close it. Doh! No worries though, I could still make it into the semi's by winning a three up rep against Camile and another girl (sorry I can't find the results with names!). Going into the bell lap, Camile nearly took herself out by running into the boards at the top of the track, at which point I decided to get out of there and take a long sprint to the line. That put me up against Dana Fiess, the fastest lady of the weekend. Was I intimidated? Um, yes. And being inexperienced, felt like she completely schooled me on how to put your opponent exactly where you want them - behind you at the finish line.

That loss put me into the 5th-8th round - against three other girls. While they were sitting up, looking at who was going to go first, I made a move from behind and threaded the needle through them and hauled ass to put a substantial gap between me and 6th place. I was definitely happy to get on the podium once again!

Some things I learned - don't over think anything. If you feel the urge to go - then GO! Don't underestimate your opponent or yourself. Anything is possible.

That day temps reached 85 degrees and to kill time between sessions we headed to a salad food bar for some A/C and downtime. Saturday was definitely a busier day - with my all time favorite race, the Miss and Out, and scratch race....

Unleash the Amazon...

Boy, oh boy. Where to let the long story begin? I suppose I'll pick up where I last left off.... a soggy day, one of many, crying the blues as Ryan's presence was sorely missed.

And then, out of no where, a text from Dave (who's like a brother to me), announcing the arrival of Audrey Ryann Downing West. Such a beautiful baby and what an honor to have her named after Ryan. I'm very excited to meet and greet the little one - but had to delay in doing so as a track racing trip to San Jose filled the horizon.

The Wednesday before we (Tela, Mary and myself) left for sunny skies and better weather I scrambled to find a cardboard bike box and last minute race stuff. Thankfully the weather forecast was spot on as I packed a light as possible - sans arm, leg and knee warmers. The one item I will start packing though, especially to out of town races, is a blanket.

We arrived to sunny skies in San Jose on Thursday and after a short fiasco with Fox Rental Car, we headed over to Rick Adam's house to assemble our bikes after a quick bite to eat at Epi (the best deli in Palo Alto!). A couple of rotations around the track and the legs felt good!

The next morning we woke up to sunny skies (a recurring theme, how nice!) and helped sort through some last minute tasks for Rick. Speaking of Rick - for those of you who don't know him, he is the godfather of the American Velodrome Challenge. Simply put - this event would not happen without him. His tireless efforts and amazing fund raising skills as well as focus on putting on a show for spectators and making the most out of volunteers, donations, etc make this one of the best regional track events in the nation, four years in a row. Each year the event runs smoother and smoother - not to mention, he's an excellent cook!

The AVC was renamed this year to reflect the title sponsor's name - Testarossa Velodrome Challenge. Rob and Diana Jensen fully support the NorCal cycling scene and went above and beyond the call of duty to support this event. A few weeks ago during the Tour of California, the Testarossa Vineyard hosted an auction benefiting the Hellyer Velodrome Community by donating wine, a venue and an amazing list of auction items (signed pro tour jerseys!) to raise the final amount needed to pull off the TVC as well as the junior program. They also donated wine for the VIP sponsor appreciation tent held in the infield and gave away bottles of their wine as primes in both the men and women scratch races. And their wine is AMAZING! Check it out here.

Back to the racing though. First up for us ladies - the Keirin. We had three heats, the first two places advance to the final, 3rd and 4th go into the rep to have another crack. Tela and I both easily advanced into the final and Mary made it into the rep ride to have another go. The field was certainly stacked with sprinters - Dana Fiess, Jen Featheringill, Laura McCaughey, Shelley Evans, Tela, Shelby "scrappy" Reynolds, Beth Newell and myself. Young Dana drilled the pace once the motor pulled off and other than my attempt to move forward with a lap and a quarter to go, nothing really changed. We stayed in the order we started for the most part: 1. Dana 2. Laura 3. Jen F. 4. Shelby 5. Me 6. Shelley 7. Beth Newell 8. Tela.

Check out this video for all the action....

Veritas Women Keirin, 2010 Testarossa Challenge from Rick Adams on Vimeo.

These race reports take some time! More to come...

If you can't have summer in Seattle - then you can create it in your house. I turned on some Shaggy and turned my heater back on. Never mind I'm leaving the house in a wool sweater and socks and it's over half way through June....

I know, I've been really bad about updating lately. The short story - racing, podiums, training hard, babies being born, celebrating life and death and everything in between. The long story is coming soon...

It's hard to believe there was a sunny day in Seattle - and not too long ago! Check out the cool Redline I gave my nephew Coleman. Adorable!

Ryan's 33rd birthday was Saturday. I had my dates all mixed up, thinking it was Friday but came to the realization that it was in fact Saturday after I had baked a carrot cake Thursday night in his honor. It's hard to believe how much time, and yet so little has passed since he passed away. It's an understatement to say I miss so many things about him.

Dave and Kristin had a little baby girl on the 2nd - and named her middle name after him, which is so touching. I can bet when ever she starts acting like the dickens - they'll be channeling Ryan's playful nature through her.



And another memory of a dear friend Brad - at the Brad Lewis memorial crit. Miss you too.

Soooooo close!

Nearly got Jadine with a bike throw. Next time!

"Flow with whatever is happening and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.” - Chuang Tzu

Birthday!

Welcome little one! Congrats to Dave and Kristin on their bundle of joy.

Ski to Sea 2010

Every year over Memorial Weekend, the town of Bellingham bursts at the seams with visitors for the annual Ski to Sea race. This 7 leg, 8 person relay race is the coolest 90 mile race that goes from the top of Mt. Baker ski area down to the shores of Bellingham Bay. Cross country and down hill skiing, running, road cycling, canoeing, mountain biking and finally kayaking make this race a kick for all kinds of athletes. Not to mention there are about 10+ categories - from the open competitive to Whatcom County recreational teams and everything in between.

This year 475 teams competed with the top team of Boss Construction ringing the finishing bell around 5 hours and 45 minutes and the last teams finishing around 12 hours.

Together with a group of friends, Ryan and I have been doing this race for the past 4 years. The racers have changed from year to year - last year I missed the race (due to a broken heart of losing Ryan) but this year was back and ready to represent.

I am proud to say High Country Hoodlums placed 41st overall and 22nd in our category.

A little breakdown of our team:

Cam Charles - Skate skier extraordinaire. The first year we participated, Cam was living in SLC, and flew in to crush the field with a top 20 result. This year he broke out the full body skin suit and did an excellent job - 41st overall and 20th in his category.




Cam charged to the finish line to hand of to Brian Dorr, who's house we invaded for the weekend. Brian is becoming the uphill/downhill specialist as he has done every downhill portion of the race since the team first formed 4 years ago. The hike gains 1,000 feet of elevation and you can only carry your downhill equipment - no packs or ipods are allowed.



After pushing people out of his way and getting sweaty, he handed the timing chip to Emily Rimas, a first time participant and recent Boston Marathon finisher. Emily is an amazing athlete and pounded down the 8 mile run with ease.





After crushing the downhill section, Emily had to run 1/4 mile up hill to the road bike hand off where yours truly got to aero out and fly down Mt. Baker Highway at speeds in excess of 40 mph.



Things were going great and we were in the top 30 teams to start the competition. Unfortunately fate had another idea. Roughly 15 miles from the finish of the road portion, I discovered a flat. And rather than stop to change it, I rode the rim in to the finish. Only to discover my canoeist - Andrew Berger - was no where to be found.

33! Number 33!!!! ANDREW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



The Bellingham Herald was all over that action. And about 5 minutes of yelling, cursing, wondering if he was hurt - he comes jogging up from the river!



Meet Andrew Berger. One of Ryan's childhood buddies and an avid canoeist and rock climber. He roped his co-worker Justin in to do the grueling 2 hour 18 mile river leg. In years past, Andrew and Ryan used our recreational canoe and were complaining about getting passed by racing boats. The next year, Andrew spent $600 on a carbon fiber boat that was super tippy - but fast and light. They crushed their previous time and showed off their guns in style.



Next up - the mountain bike leg. Fras Charles, Cam's younger brother and all around bad ass athlete was stoked to partake. He ROCKED the mud and pavement - placing 14th overall! He showed up to the finish line muddy and happy.



And last, but certainly not least, was Ben Hermil, Emily's boyfriend who rocked the kayak portion. He had borrowed Jess's (Brian's wife) dad's rec kayak and brought home the team to the finish line.



And the final shot - Ben cruising along in Bellingham Bay.



Some photos I wish I could have gotten are of our amazing support crew. Jess, Roanne, Abby and Chris - we couldn't have done it without you! Thanks for putting up with a bunch of smelly stinky athletes and sharing the memories with us!



We'll be back in 2011 and ready to crush again....

Lots of life happening right now. Birthdays, anniversaries, races, cavities, hospitals, emotions, ups and downs. Life certainly passes in a whirl wind if you let it. Most important thing for today? Make sure those you love know it.

I love you Gary and Anita and am thinking and praying for you both constantly.

Killing some time today and did some research on Denali aka Mt. McKinley. Considered one of the seven summits of the world, Denali reaches 20,321 feet above sea level. The first recorded climb was back in 1913 and the most popular route up the West Buttress saw its first ascent in 1951.

According to Wikipedia, Denali has a larger bulk and rise than Everest. The base of Denali sits at 2,000 feet and gains 18,000 feet in rise. It's sort of cold up there. The average temps are as low as -75.5 degrees Fahrenheit coupled with windchill as low as -118.1. The mountain houses five glaciers and has two summits.

Despite being one of the colder places on the planet, the biggest challenges mountaineers face is altitude sickness due to Denali's high latitude. Three people had to be evacuated from the mountain in the past couple of days as a result of various altitude complications.

Alpine Ascents International offers a 21 day Denali trip for those who are itching to get some big mountain experience. Prior to heading up to the Alaska range, they advise clients to prepare six months in advance. You have to be able to sustain 8 hours of climbing up hill with 50 pounds on your back and able to carry a 40 pound sled. You should be able to fully recover in an 8-12 hour time period and sustain this activity for 21 days straight. This is not for the faint of heart.

Interesting in going? http://www.alpineascents.com/default.htm

I'm not sure what sounds more intriguing - freezing on an enormous mountain or doing some liquid mountaineering?

You know your an ahtlete when...

You mow your lawn at random hours. Like 7:45pm last night. Between rain showers and before lawn pick up day.

Your dining room looks like a bike staging area. Yesterday I had 4 bikes surrounding my dining table - no room to eat dinner but plenty of eye candy to drool over. The table was covered in track gears, bike bags, chains, scrabble, gels, sunglasses, and other random bike stuff.

Your kitchen looks like a hurricane hit it. Seriously, who has time for dishes?

Your washer and dryer run non-stop in attempt to keep up with the flux of dirty chamois.

My rollers are in the living room - ready to hop on in a moment's notice. And they haven't moved all week.

When you turn on the tele - the only station that matters comes up - Universal Sports. The television gods are smiling on me since I don't have cable but I get this station for free through my bunny ears.

Any attempts to take the four bikes to the basement, where they belong, is met with bringing more gear upstairs. Along with the 4 bikes, I also have 2 extra sets of wheels. One for track, one for road.

Thank goodness my housemate doesn't come home from Denali for another week. I'm having my own expedition in my house!

Liquid WHAT?

I think I found my new sport after cycling and boxing has run its course...



Ha ha! Dorks!

Among all of the RSS feeds I subscribe to, I also keep tabs on the local mountain guiding scene through American Alpine Institute (AAI). I don't read the posts everyday but definitely browse through them before hitting the "mark as read" button on my google reader. The site is really good on keeping tabs on what's going on within the climbing community - first ascents, accidents, weather and trip reports, etc. etc. It's a good wake up call to following your passion and doing what you want to do... and just thinking about having the choice between sitting in an office chair for a living or being in the mountains puts my mind at ease that I could do either one.

My housemate, David, is doing just that. He moved into my basement in March and has been home maybe 15 nights since. Between guiding on Rainer, traveling to Kauai, ski touring in the North Cascades for a week on end, and now guiding an expedition up Denali in Alaska for 3 weeks straight - it appears he lives the charmed life. But I'm sure it's not completely glamorous. What about the sub freezing temps, the day upon day of being stuck in a tent thanks to the weather, the limited food options and lack of showers? Thankfully it's usually too cold to smell body odor - but I'm sure that shower back at home feels amazing once he's back.

Reading David's dispatches from Denali makes me miss Ryan.

Check out David's photography here: http://www.alpinephotograph.com/

Will race for beef.

The radar was looking spotty with the East side engulfed by a complete down pour. Jennie called me up and we contemplated plan B - mountain biking at St. Edward's park but since my heart was set on racing at Pacific Raceways, we stuck to our original game plan. We met at the Mercer Island park and ride and downed some yummy homemade oatmeal raisin cookies on our venture south. The skies were gray, but not dripping yet so we kept our fingers crossed of having a dry race.

We had a quick warm up on the tarmac and eavesdropped on the change of plans for the race course - instead of pancake flat we were going to do the escape route with points given out every lap to the first and second person across the line. Jennie, Jessica and I lined up with the Masters men, which had a solid mix of ability and fitness. These weekly races, put on by BuDu Racing, are a great way to get some mid week interval and above threshold work. It only costs $10 for us ladies and is a great source of entertainment.

Just as we gathered to begin the race, it started dumping rain. Not a maybe-I'll-get-a-little-wet kind of rain, but a it's-raining-from-the-ground-up kind of rain. During the first lap my eyes stung from all of the road grit and tire spray and from being stuck to Martin's wheel. Thank goodness I was near the front because my vision was seriously compromised and I doubt I would have been able to see in the back of the pack.

I positioned myself well the first couple of laps, being cautious of not getting off the front and putting myself within striking distance of winning a sprint. Midway through I had excellent positioning and the legs were itching to be tested. At 250m out, I opened her up and heard Jess cry "GO JEN!!!!" and got some separation from the guys, nearly holding all of them off for a mid-race prime. Unfortunately I was pipped at the line by a guy but held on for second.

I almost fell off the back of the pack.

I nearly puked in my mouth.

I am sure if I had a power tap the watts would have easily read over 1500.

It took me three laps to of foaming mouth, stringy saliva, near blackout pain to recover and then I was ready to do it again. This time in the final sprint. We soared up the hill, and I found myself on a nice little lead out train chugging its way to the finish. I was eighth wheel, a little too far back for the win but stoked to be in contention for the final sprint and sailed in for 6th.

My mid-race prime was validated by some Oh Boy Oh Berto! Jerky.

Funny how beating some guys has more meaning than going against the ladies. Why is that? Like the first time I won money in the cat 3 men's field out at the track (I still have the prime envelope as evidence) - meant more to me than getting second in the overall woman's series points.

One thing is for sure - in a sport where you sink countless cash and time into equipment, training and racing - sprinting for a bag of beef jerky seems pretty comical.

You'll know it's my car when you see the bumper sticker: Will race for beef.

Morning workout - consisted of gym time and 5 sets of box jumps. I'm up to 32" and stacking more and more height each time.... soon I'll be eating this type of guy for breakfast. Quadzilla is back. :)

I've forgotten what it feels like to ride in warmer weather. I don't mean to complain or anything but it hasn't gotten out of the 50s for the past week now. I'm still wearing winter tights, booties, full fingered gloves and hats to stay warm. The joints are feeling achy and I'm noticing a manic aura enveloping the city... too much gray and not enough Vitamin D!

Enough of that pity party and onto the good news.... Friday was my first track race of the season and it was great! Due to threatening rain, temps in the 40s and a big stage race the following day, the usual turn out was quite low. We had two fields - a cat 4 men's field and everybody else. First up - a 12 lap scratch race. I positioned myself well and found it easy to match the accelerations. Pekke took off with 3 laps to go, and I found myself dangling in no- man's land trying to bridge up. I nearly pulled off second until I got passed at the line by a group of guys. Our last race was a Miss and Out - my favorite! I positioned myself well behind a group of guys who were just riding it tempo. I'd make a move to come around right at the line, then fall back in behind them. Soon we were down to 5 - and I got caught up in a little traffic so when Pekke made another acceleration, I got boxed in. No worries though - the guy I was with was happy to pace me in and I took him for the sprint for 3rd. Then it started dumping.

It felt good to be out there again, despite the cold. I love racing my bike! And am excited with the progress I've made during the off season for my in season fitness. Those boys are in trouble!

Yehaw!

This one is just simply too good to pass up.

On tap for today was a double header. Morning base aerobic and afternoon at the track. The track can be tricky this time of year thanks to Seattle's awesome rainy weather so having a plan b is a must. I spoke with Jennie around 1:30 and we agreed I could either do the efforts on the trainer (YUCK!) or come over to the east side and do them with her. I opted for the second option, though was having second thoughts when at 2:30 I couldn't see downtown Seattle from my house thanks to a drain clogging downpour.

But luckily the rain showers were simply that - rain showers. So by the time we were kitted up and ready to go, the sun was shining and we were starting to doubt our knee and arm warmer apparel.

I brought the Hed wheels today - especially since I pinpointed the noodle movements in the Rolf wheel set I used for my standing starts the previous week with Tela. We were going to be putting some serious stress on the bikes - with 200m and 500m efforts so the stiffer the wheel, the better.

For those not familiar with that type of effort, and to be honest they are new to me as an endurance athlete, 200 meter efforts are balls to the wall the HARDEST freaking effort you can imagine. They make you want to puke, cry, fall over and die. They're awesome. Add doing them with a world champion and two time Olympian - and let's just say I had my work cut out for me.

Jennie had me lead the first one. The wind up is important - it's not like you come into the effort from a stand still. You are pretty much balls to the wall even before you get out of the saddle. We're doing them in a massive gear - (say 108") and as I wind them up and get out of the saddle, pedal not more than 10 revolutions, Jennie comes around me and puts a solid three to four bike lengths into me. Mind you the effort is only 200 meters. This is like putting 5 minutes into a field soloing off the front. It's like lapping the field a couple of times like it ain't no thang.

It's demoralizing.

And as I tell Jennie how it makes me feel, she responds:

"Well you know, Jen, I was the fastest woman in the world at one point."

Oh. Right. I forgot! Because you were ONLY wearing you world champ helmet, and not the rainbow jersey.

Ha ha - I'm a jackass.

And to my last post:

Get the best equipment you can because the margin of victory is so slim....

Just dropped some dollars on some upgrades. But now I can only blame my legs for defeat.

GEEKING out on track parts and information. And what have I found? Not all chain rings are created equal. Or chains for that matter.

Cha-ching! Cha-ching. cha-ching.....

"You train as hard as you can every effort of every session because you know that the margin of victory is so slim"

Chris Hoy

Ironing out the kinks

Last week my road bike (that I ordered in November!) came in - as well as my new track bike (which I ordered the week before). Since then I've been putting in some mileage - after I got a proper bike fit with David at HSP (Thanks David!). He did some adjustments and now I FLY down hills and cruise around with a lot less effort. My new Blue AC1 rides like a dream. Though during my standing start efforts the other day felt a little noodley in the bottom bracket area.... quadzilla strikes again! Apparently the bike wasn't made for that kind of force - and rightfully so! I should be doing those efforts on the track bike - but if it's raining... well road time down at Golden Gardens is where it's at.

I also picked up a new Blue track frame and have been putting it to the test out at the track. Riding a new bike out there is similar to breaking in a horse... you both have to ease into it as the geometry and positioning is entirely different compared to your other steed and it accelerates quite a bit differently. Add that to early season track form - and things aren't quite going as smooth as they used to.

But last night I got to test the legs and road bike at Seward park in the 6pm race. And boy did she perform. I felt like I finally have a race bike beneath my legs that is responsive and eager to perform. I almost had set myself up for a prime - but two guys were a little more eager to do so - so I sat on Derrick's wheel for a couple of laps while we went off the front. FUN! But there's something about doing that 200m kicker hill that grinds the back into oblivion...

This morning I woke up early and headed out to Marymoor. Traffic was a breeze and the sun was out in full force. By the time I got on the bike it was 8:30 - and I was in a short sleeve jersey and shorts. On tap for today? Accelerations. The first 8 out of 9 were good - but not perfect. My form needs some ironing out - and that only comes from practice. But on the last one? The last one was smooth as butter , perfectly straight and fast as hell. It felt good, really really good. It was as though body, mind and bike came together in perfect harmony and delivered the perfect effort. I can't wait to get back out there and do it again! The horse has been broken in. :)

Sarah Hammer Rules!

Once again, Sarah Hammer proved again that she's my super hero.

Just yesterday she set a world record!! WORLD RECORD!!!! in the 3k pursuit in a nearly humanly impossible time of 3:22.269. I am utterly speechless about this amazing effort - the come back from a serious back injury and the non-stop pursuit of her goal is awe-inspiring.

From her Facebook post:

3:22.269 :) Never really felt pain like that before though. wow...my world went silent for that last kilo...

I wonder if she trains in that silent world? Or is it something special she only dips into for competition? Were there white lights? Did she cross over?

Wow.



Photo courtesy of Tekno's Bike photos from Facebook.

U.N.R.E.A.L.

Muffins

Too good not to share with the world. Hilarious!!!

I often wonder if I'm border line type two. I battle keeping my blood sugar levels up and bonk more often than my training partners and competitors. At first I thought it was diet and nutrient timing - which I think might be part of the issue - but the longer I'm in this sport and the more low blood sugar crashes I experience, I'm beginning to seriously wonder.

Yesterday I stocked up on bike nutrition - stuff that will prevent me from bonking out at the track. Last Friday's session was a reminder how different fueling for track is vs. road training and racing. One bad training session can be mentally devastating. I had no spring in the legs, no jump in my giddy up and had to ax the effort short due to extreme bonkage. I recall feeling frustrated at not being able to do another 500m full on effort - but I simply couldn't do it. Last year, with Jennie's help, I kept a crate in the back of my car stocked full of bars and chocolate milks - a sure fire way to prevent the crash. Funny how you forget things come spring...

I'd give you my secret training foods - but then I'd have to kill you. If you're really interested then give me a shout. Let's just say I'm following what diabetics use for low blood sugar and it works really well on the bike, especially during these short hard training sessions.

Today we've got a nice group headed out to Marymoor - should be fun! And hard work.

Fueling

Our Western culture bombards us with hundreds of decisions every day. From the clothes we wear, the products we use - to the food we eat. Walk into any grocery store in the US and you will be overwhelmed at the food choices in front of you. Organic vs. non-organic in the produce section; crackers with and without hydrogenated oils; white bread vs. whole grains; several dozen cheeses; chips, cookies, beer, meat - the list is endless.

And there are as many diets out there to match the myriad of food choices available.

So how do you choose? How do you know that when you go into a store you will come out with food that will properly fuel your body according to your needs? What's your motivation to eat right? Is it to loose weight? Or to feel better? Or perform better? Or longevity?

The good news is that if you fuel yourself to feel better, longevity should go hand in hand.

It's relatively simple to do this - there's just a few "rules" you can follow to apply healthy living. You can feel good. You should feel good.

1. Eat whole foods.

It's that simple. Throw out EVERYTHING in your pantry and cupboards that contain artificial flavors, sweeteners, hydrogenated oils, preservatives, additives you can't pronounce, etc. This includes all packet mixes (salad dressings, cool aid, gravy, taco seasonings, etc.). What might be saving you time in the kitchen now is actually taking time off your life later. We're talking long term health here - not instant gratification.

2. Drink water.

Eliminate calorie drinks. Lemonades, juices, soda, beer - all of those drinks have empty calories in them. If you're drinking anything other than water during the day - you could be adding on 200-300 extra calories that have no direct benefit to fueling your body. Not to mention that most drinks nowadays are using high fructose corn syrup which is like putting low grade gasoline in a high octane sports car.

3. Eat high quality ingredients.

There is a difference between Jennie O's dark meat deli turkey and naturally smoked, oven roasted turkey breast meat. There's also a huge difference between the different pastas available. And breads? You'd be surprised at how many breads contain high fructose corn syrup high up in the ingredient list. Check it out next time your in the grocery store. The best thing you can do is educate yourself on the different food quality options available. Read as much as you can stand on this subject and start applying those practices to everyday.

4. Avoid fast food. Like the plague.

I know, I know. It's cheap and fast. But you don't know what's going into that burger and fries - not to mention where the food was sourced from. And the calorie count? Way higher than the average meal you'd have at home. And if you get cheese on that hamburger your not only increasing the calorie count, you're also increasing the saturated fat content, which could lead to heart disease and other health related illness further down the line.

Growing up I always struggled with my weight. The one way I found to combat it was exercise. But even with exercise I still struggle to keep the weight off. And being a sport where power to weight ratio is directly related to your success - it's just something that can't be ignored. Yet it is rarely talked about amongst my peers. It's almost as if food is a taboo subject and as something you can control in a sport of many unknowns - simply silly not to take a thorough approach toward.

I've decided to take matters into my own hands. To really take a complete approach toward nutrition and fuel. You are what you eat - and your life depends on it. I'm assembling a network of food experts - from schooled nutritionists to cycling professionals to figure out the best way to fuel myself.

I've got another permit for the Enchantments in August. Can't wait for warm weather!!!

Photo courtesy of Kaj Bune.

Doing Time

As I pulled into Marymoor Park for the first of three track workout sessions this week, I realize that yesterday marked the first day of six months of intense left turned ovals. Never mind the white caps blowing across the floating bridge or the aggro acts of daily commuters who are quick to flip the bird before tooting their horns. I was headed to the track for some self inflicted punishment of the fixed gear kind.

The wind was blowing a gale on the home straight and the dark clouds were hovering somewhere over Snohomish. Thirty laps of warm up lasted 29 too long. But on the back straight was a serious tailwind - helping my start efforts get up to speed before the head wall of wind in corner 4. It's day like these when the motivation to kill myself on the road bike wavers - so I was thankful for the track time. And even more thankful I wasn't doing my efforts in a 98" gear.

There's a quiet solitude the track provides in the early hours of the morning. The puddles have yet to dry around the apron and the west bound traffic hums along 520. Cirque is being set up in the adjacent parking lot next to the velodrome and the workers pay no mention to what I'm doing. My hands are greasy and grimy after changing gears and I accidentally spread grease on my face like war paint.

As I rest between standing start intervals, I catch up on some Zen reading and 10 minutes zooms by. I look forward to having company out at the track but I also enjoy the solitude. The next effort makes my entire body shudder and go limp once completed. There's work to be done and goals to strive for.

"One of the things I have come to appreciate most about my own tradition is its down-to-earth, no-nonsense practicality, and its acute sense that the greatest achievements take the deepest patience and the longest time."

- Sogyal Rinpoche

Monday's are hard. Especially after an incredible weekend of chillaxin' in the Methow Valley with friends, dogs and of course- bikes.

My off the couch 5.2 mile first leg of the Sunflower Race (go Team Makiah Blue!) with 8 minute miles - has left me a little sore and with a reminder that jumping into another sport you haven't trained for is not the smartest idea. You should see poor Chris - he can barely walk. But it was so worth it! We got 20th out of 47 teams - not bad for a team that did absolutely ZERO training. But we do have our eyes on the top ten teams next year....

I fell more in love with the Methow this weekend. On Friday Chris and I rode the Buck Mountain loop that starts at Cub Creek. The scenery was unreal and the weather perfect - with sunflowers littering the hill sides and big Simpson clouds floating in the sky. The single track was perfect - and my legs are only slightly scraped up from the prickly bushes lining the trails. I had no idea the area could be any more pretty - and this weekend proved me wrong.

This morning was rough... sitting in the morning commuter traffic to get my track workout in before work made me yearn to move to Mazama even sooner. Going from zero crowds to too many people crammed into a small space with lots of concrete is just a reminder that I want to move out of the city before too long and live life closer to the mountains.

Had a big milestone this past weekend too - and am taking it in stride.