NOR CAL NEVADA TT CHAMPIONSHIP - Sunday June 12, 2016
Oh what a beautiful day! Loyalton is the new site for the masters NorCal Nevada Championship TTs - and the valley is just beautiful - I breathe in sage as I recon the new course and look out on a valley that just goes on forever - 4900’ elevation of crisp clear air, and I’ve enjoyed a full week of training and tapering at altitude following the Lake Tahoe Century, so I breathe in fully and ride the new roads in preparation for my Least Trained For Event Ever. Although time trials are my speciality - I just love the intensity and the full on concentration to do just one thing (RIDE HARD, THEN RIDE HARDER) - I am undertrained for this year’s championship, as there have been no weekly TTs to train on. I’ve had success at both the previous 40k and the current 20k that us “older gals” are assigned, but I’d prefer to still ride the 40k, which I could do successfully at 22 mph, versus the 20k, which will likely be won at 24mph. I've ridden hard on training rides, and tried to simulate a TT, but I've never gone into a championship so unprepared. I tell myself I’ve done plenty of these, and I know how to hurt, so I will have to rely on that. The Wednesday recon is not as productive as I’d hoped, as the wind has picked up so much that my rear disc is causing me to blow across the road. And I tell myself, no worries - my race start is 8:25 and the wind wont be a factor that early. The afternoon is sunny and sweet, and a young buck with the cutest little antlers walks right thru this tiny town as we pedal through. I fumble unsuccessfully for my camera and get just one picture of him in the shade. Rats!
As race day approaches, my friends are riding Donner Pass and I am practicing my u-turns in the flat neighborhood where we are staying (near Truckee), feeling left out of a good 50 miler. My heart wants the long ride; my legs and head, say be smart and prepare. And so I do some jumps and practice my turns. I wonder, as I drive to the race site on Saturday to pick up my numbers the day before the event, if I truly want to do short TTs in the future, or sell the bike and get an aero road frame for the endurance road races I so enjoy. I tell myself I’ll know later and I refocus on Tomorrow. I pick up my race packet, again ride the course in the afternoon wind, and drive to Portola to spend the night a mere 15 minutes from the start line. I have a simple Subway dinner with an old racer friend and turn in early to pin my numbers (it takes several tries!) and remove my saddle pack and cage. I wish my RAW and RAAM friends The Best and long to be at their start line in Oceanside right now. RAW - Race Across the West (924 miles Oceanside to Durango CO), and RAAM - Race Across America (3000 miles Oceanside to Annapolois. Yes, you read that right - 3000 miles!) Their race starts in two days and I have three good friends entered, each of whom I’d love to watch at the start….if I weren't here in Loyalton doing a teeny little 20k race!! But I am here and I am racing, and this is also where I want to be.
Sunday morning -RACE DAY!! I LOVE Race Day!! I’m awake before the alarm goes off at 5, and excited to pack up and head to the start. Loyalton Middle School is a much more welcoming site than the gravel shoulder of years’ past; parking is a breeze. Two hours to start time, which allows me to see plenty of racing buddies that I haven't seen in a whole year. So fun!! Cool, calm air, touch of sage, and I head out on the course to warm up, back and forth along the first two miles, feeling just right! I get eleven miles, add turns and jumps, and overhear the volunteers wondering if they are going to be ok at their task of holding riders for their starts. I volunteer to be their guina pig and thus I now know what to expect when my number comes up! Cool! They did great; I finish warming up and head to the start. In moments, my race is ON! We have 30 second starts, and I focus on the gal in front of me, reeling her just as the rider behind me goes by. There are only four of us in the 65-69 race, and two are not only multiple-time national champions, but also national record holders! My work is cut out for me - Laura Lundgren is from LA, and altho she can race, she cannot claim a Nor Cal Championship podium spot. My goal on this undertrained-for race is to take third, which would result in a silver medal. I ride with focus - breathing is crucial and powering smoothly is essential, so I study these two aspects and think of nothing else. The course is a straight line for 5 1/4 miles, left turn with the turn-around 3/4 mile later. I grind through to the turn around, grab a few extra breaths, and hit the power coming back. An occasional glance at my computer tells me I’ve hit 25 mph a few times (not as much as I’d hoped!), and I soon hear my lap alarm, which means I have just 2.4 miles left. This is where TTs get difficult - go as fast as you can, and then go harder at the end! My quads want to cramp, my head is exploding, and I pedal on. There is still a mile to go! Forever goes by, and I finally cross the line and coast down the road into town, dizzy, but only for a moment. The past two years I’ve also the 50-54 category 40k after my event (mainly out of stubbornness!), but this year there is just 33 minutes between the two. I purposely left this decision until after my Real Race was done, and I roll around wondering whether to race again, or not. As I roll to the line and look down the loooong road, I realize that this time, my heart is not in it. The training benefit would be minimal on legs this tight, and so I sign out, and turn back to enjoy a warm down ride with friends. Oddly, my garmin says on this ride that my recovery is only fair, so I’m off the hook and enjoy time with friends! As I’d hoped, I take the second spot on the podium in a non-stellar time, enjoy a quick picnic with another good racer friend, and pack up my car….only to find I have a dead battery!! Hmmmmmm, I’m nearly the last one to leave, but a Reno Wheelman in a pick-up truck has jumper cables (I think all men in trucks have jumper cables!), and thankfully I can hit the road for the 5-hour drive home. I’m feeling Happy (and hungry!) as I play all my fave race tunes, and realize that Heck Yea, I’ll be back next year - cuz I LOVE to TT! I learn later from my friends that they didn't like the new course due to expansion cracks, and I realize I never noticed; same with the apparent wind. The intensity is so complete that everything (including expansion cracks, wind, traffic) just dissolves away - and that is what I love ! My world becomes just me and my bike for that bit of time - and I love that!
Photographer Craig Huffman was there and I was really looking forward to some great race photos (finally!) — only to find that I had my helmet on crooked the whole time !! Cheeze - I look like a dork! But here they are anyway…my pilot friends tell me to just say, “the wind did it” so I’m going with that!
I am now free to focus entirely on steep climbs and long rides, and still maintain basic speed, as I prepare for HooDoo 500 2x (August), and Silver State 508 2x (September) and a return to defend my 12-hour women's title (not just the old ladies title!) (November).
My Hammer program has been doing very well for me, and today i went with the No Breakfast since the race was only 12.5 miles, and very intense. It worked beautifully - no stomach issues, no hunger! I had a Hammer Espresso Gel 10 minutes before take-off, and Recoverite shortly after. Legs were fried, and I drove home in compression tights, which is a definite help.
Oh what a beautiful day! Loyalton is the new site for the masters NorCal Nevada Championship TTs - and the valley is just beautiful - I breathe in sage as I recon the new course and look out on a valley that just goes on forever - 4900’ elevation of crisp clear air, and I’ve enjoyed a full week of training and tapering at altitude following the Lake Tahoe Century, so I breathe in fully and ride the new roads in preparation for my Least Trained For Event Ever. Although time trials are my speciality - I just love the intensity and the full on concentration to do just one thing (RIDE HARD, THEN RIDE HARDER) - I am undertrained for this year’s championship, as there have been no weekly TTs to train on. I’ve had success at both the previous 40k and the current 20k that us “older gals” are assigned, but I’d prefer to still ride the 40k, which I could do successfully at 22 mph, versus the 20k, which will likely be won at 24mph. I've ridden hard on training rides, and tried to simulate a TT, but I've never gone into a championship so unprepared. I tell myself I’ve done plenty of these, and I know how to hurt, so I will have to rely on that. The Wednesday recon is not as productive as I’d hoped, as the wind has picked up so much that my rear disc is causing me to blow across the road. And I tell myself, no worries - my race start is 8:25 and the wind wont be a factor that early. The afternoon is sunny and sweet, and a young buck with the cutest little antlers walks right thru this tiny town as we pedal through. I fumble unsuccessfully for my camera and get just one picture of him in the shade. Rats!
As race day approaches, my friends are riding Donner Pass and I am practicing my u-turns in the flat neighborhood where we are staying (near Truckee), feeling left out of a good 50 miler. My heart wants the long ride; my legs and head, say be smart and prepare. And so I do some jumps and practice my turns. I wonder, as I drive to the race site on Saturday to pick up my numbers the day before the event, if I truly want to do short TTs in the future, or sell the bike and get an aero road frame for the endurance road races I so enjoy. I tell myself I’ll know later and I refocus on Tomorrow. I pick up my race packet, again ride the course in the afternoon wind, and drive to Portola to spend the night a mere 15 minutes from the start line. I have a simple Subway dinner with an old racer friend and turn in early to pin my numbers (it takes several tries!) and remove my saddle pack and cage. I wish my RAW and RAAM friends The Best and long to be at their start line in Oceanside right now. RAW - Race Across the West (924 miles Oceanside to Durango CO), and RAAM - Race Across America (3000 miles Oceanside to Annapolois. Yes, you read that right - 3000 miles!) Their race starts in two days and I have three good friends entered, each of whom I’d love to watch at the start….if I weren't here in Loyalton doing a teeny little 20k race!! But I am here and I am racing, and this is also where I want to be.
Sunday morning -RACE DAY!! I LOVE Race Day!! I’m awake before the alarm goes off at 5, and excited to pack up and head to the start. Loyalton Middle School is a much more welcoming site than the gravel shoulder of years’ past; parking is a breeze. Two hours to start time, which allows me to see plenty of racing buddies that I haven't seen in a whole year. So fun!! Cool, calm air, touch of sage, and I head out on the course to warm up, back and forth along the first two miles, feeling just right! I get eleven miles, add turns and jumps, and overhear the volunteers wondering if they are going to be ok at their task of holding riders for their starts. I volunteer to be their guina pig and thus I now know what to expect when my number comes up! Cool! They did great; I finish warming up and head to the start. In moments, my race is ON! We have 30 second starts, and I focus on the gal in front of me, reeling her just as the rider behind me goes by. There are only four of us in the 65-69 race, and two are not only multiple-time national champions, but also national record holders! My work is cut out for me - Laura Lundgren is from LA, and altho she can race, she cannot claim a Nor Cal Championship podium spot. My goal on this undertrained-for race is to take third, which would result in a silver medal. I ride with focus - breathing is crucial and powering smoothly is essential, so I study these two aspects and think of nothing else. The course is a straight line for 5 1/4 miles, left turn with the turn-around 3/4 mile later. I grind through to the turn around, grab a few extra breaths, and hit the power coming back. An occasional glance at my computer tells me I’ve hit 25 mph a few times (not as much as I’d hoped!), and I soon hear my lap alarm, which means I have just 2.4 miles left. This is where TTs get difficult - go as fast as you can, and then go harder at the end! My quads want to cramp, my head is exploding, and I pedal on. There is still a mile to go! Forever goes by, and I finally cross the line and coast down the road into town, dizzy, but only for a moment. The past two years I’ve also the 50-54 category 40k after my event (mainly out of stubbornness!), but this year there is just 33 minutes between the two. I purposely left this decision until after my Real Race was done, and I roll around wondering whether to race again, or not. As I roll to the line and look down the loooong road, I realize that this time, my heart is not in it. The training benefit would be minimal on legs this tight, and so I sign out, and turn back to enjoy a warm down ride with friends. Oddly, my garmin says on this ride that my recovery is only fair, so I’m off the hook and enjoy time with friends! As I’d hoped, I take the second spot on the podium in a non-stellar time, enjoy a quick picnic with another good racer friend, and pack up my car….only to find I have a dead battery!! Hmmmmmm, I’m nearly the last one to leave, but a Reno Wheelman in a pick-up truck has jumper cables (I think all men in trucks have jumper cables!), and thankfully I can hit the road for the 5-hour drive home. I’m feeling Happy (and hungry!) as I play all my fave race tunes, and realize that Heck Yea, I’ll be back next year - cuz I LOVE to TT! I learn later from my friends that they didn't like the new course due to expansion cracks, and I realize I never noticed; same with the apparent wind. The intensity is so complete that everything (including expansion cracks, wind, traffic) just dissolves away - and that is what I love ! My world becomes just me and my bike for that bit of time - and I love that!
Photographer Craig Huffman was there and I was really looking forward to some great race photos (finally!) — only to find that I had my helmet on crooked the whole time !! Cheeze - I look like a dork! But here they are anyway…my pilot friends tell me to just say, “the wind did it” so I’m going with that!
I am now free to focus entirely on steep climbs and long rides, and still maintain basic speed, as I prepare for HooDoo 500 2x (August), and Silver State 508 2x (September) and a return to defend my 12-hour women's title (not just the old ladies title!) (November).
My Hammer program has been doing very well for me, and today i went with the No Breakfast since the race was only 12.5 miles, and very intense. It worked beautifully - no stomach issues, no hunger! I had a Hammer Espresso Gel 10 minutes before take-off, and Recoverite shortly after. Legs were fried, and I drove home in compression tights, which is a definite help.