Bellbrook TT

My time to beat was 37:55- todays time was 35:07! Whoo-hoo!!!

The route was the same as it was last spring and the road conditions were pretty much the same. The only difference was the temperature- today it was about 20 degrees warmer than last time. I had also taken my Aero bars off my bike since I did not have them last spring. I wanted to try to duplicate the race conditions as close as possible - hoping to eliminate any outside advantages.

Overall, I felt much better today than I did last spring. I felt A LOT better on the climb -- it still "hurt", and my heart-rate was pegged, but it just felt like I made it to the top faster. I feel like I gained some time there. My nose also did A LOT better today too! I had shot a couple of squirts of Nasalcrom about 30 minutes before my start time. I walked out of the house this morning and forgot the nose strips, but I'm sure that would have helped too. My nose got a little "moist" and I had to dab it a couple of times, but at least it was not pouring like last time. Not having to deal with a runny nose had to have helped my time too.

AND, I even came home with a 1st place trophy!!!



Yep, I was the only lady in the 40-49 class -- but heck, I guess I can't help that!!!

Last Colavita TT

My time to beat was 44:10... Todays time....45:11! Dang it! 1 Minute and 1 second slower than my best time.

Today was tough... I just could not turn the pedals over. The wind was not too bad and the temperature was great (low 50's and sunny) but I just could not find my groove. And, of course, my nose was running like a faucet!

It seems if the temp is under 75 degrees, and my heart-rate is over 130, my nose fills up runs like crazy. So, several times during the race, I had to blow my nose ( either that or drown). Also, breathing through my nose is completely out of the question. This "exercise" nose drives me crazy! Most times it just an annoyance but having to fiddle around with blowing my nose is costing me time-- time I can't make up. If anyone out there has any suggestions on what I can do to get my nose under control I will really appreciate it.

My last race of the year will be next Sunday in Bellbrook OH. I started this season with a Time Trial in Bellbrook, so it is great that I'll get to finish the season there too. Hopefully, I'll see an improvement from my first race. My time to beat will be 37:55. We'll see....

12 hours of Dauset

I've always liked the trails at Dauset, but what a difference not riding there for over a year can make.

I had worried that the hilly terrain and the heat/humidity would be a challenge for me. The weather, for the most part cooperated, but the terrain-- spanked me like a 4 year old in K-mart!

The day started out a little wet, which made the trail pretty slick with several muddy spots. I haven't rode much in the way of hills and certainly no "rooty" sections since coming up here. So, I was sucking wind on climbs and getting a tad bit nervous riding over the wet roots. But, luckily, no crashes- just a couple of near misses. I skidded out a couple of times in the mud and I somehow rammed my handlebars into a tree once. But, I managed to "keep the rubber side down".

I did make a couple of stupid mistakes though... First, I failed to change my shorts in between laps which caused me considerable discomfort on my second lap. This "discomfort" caused me to constantly "adjust" my sitting position in hopes of finding a "comfortable" (ie. less painful) position on the bike. But, no position really worked, so by the time I finished the lap, my lower back was also hurting pretty bad. My second mistake was that I did not eat enough throughout the day. By the end of the evening, I was feeling pretty sick, so once we had the car packed, I just needed to head on home. This, unfortunately, cause us to miss the the awards. What really ticks me off, is that I know better than to make those stupid mistakes. I was just careless, and did not adhere to my common sense.

The BEST part of the race weekend was seeing our bike friends again and getting to catch up with each other. Hopefully, we'll get to trek back next year and make the "12 hours of Dauset" an annual event. Sounds good to me!

Oh, and the "Homecoming Queens" took 8th Place!

John Bryan Fast Lap

The final "Fast Lap" of the Fall Series was last night.

So, for the series my times are:

1st race: 36:29
2nd race: DNF (crashed out)
3rd race: 35:28

I managed to shave 1 minute and 1 second from my previous time-- I'm pretty happy with that!

The "Fast Lap" series has been both challenging and fun. I started doing this series to become a better rider. I think I've met that goal. I've overcome some "mental issues" I had with obstacles and I feel a little more confidant pushing myself to kick my speed up a little.

Next up- The "12 hours of Dauset" on the 22nd. I'm really getting excited about this race. It will really be good to see and ride with the "chit-chat" girls and to hang out with our bike friends again. Can't wait!!!

John Bryan Fast Lap (Race 2) - DNF

It was bound to happen-- a race crash! Whoo-hoo- I'm in the club!

I was the lead off rider for my class and I hadn't been on the course 2 minutes when BAM, I'm down. I'm still not sure what happened. All I know is I was rounding a corner, then all of the sudden- I was on the ground.

When I came to my senses, I discovered that I was laying on my back, totally off the trail, with my left shin laying across a log that was bordering the trail. To add to my predicament, both feet were still clipped into the pedals and my bike was on top of me. Ouch! After struggling to get my feet un-clipped I was able to stand up. Once up, I immediately noticed that my shin was already swelling. While standing on the side of the trail watching my shin swell, I had a fleeting thought to get back on my bike and continue the race- but, I wisely decided to hobble back to the start/finish area for some ice.

While sitting at the start/finish area icing my leg (and waiting for Pops to finish) two more riders hobbled in with injuries. There was certainly some bad karma at JB last night!

Today, I'm just sore all over and my shin is bruised in the shape of the log. I've also I've got several bruises on my hip and butt and strangely enough on the inside of my leg (I think from the bike landing on me). But luckily, nothing was torn or broken - so that's good.

As my co-worker "Hopmaster Spanky J" pointed out... "Ya can't make an Omelet without cracking a few eggs". Well kids, breakfast is ready!!!

Colavita TT

My time today was 44:18. Eight seconds slower than last month! But, really, I'm not too upset about that-- Todays race was brutal!

As soon as I started- it started raining- but (luckily) the rain only lasted the first couple of miles. The real killer today was the headwind!!! Holy smokes!! All the way out we had a 10mph sustained headwind with gusts of 15-20mph. Oh my gosh! There were times when my heart-rate would be at pegged at 165 but was only managing to push 12-13mph!!! It was really hard to keep my head together when I was "busting butt" and still creeping along.

Since I've been racing against the same 4 ladies the entire series, a couple of months ago I started doing a some trend analysis with our results. (I knew that college degree would paid off!) Since I can not accurately gage my improvement from one race to another (because of different environmental factors- like todays wind), I've been looking at things like the change in the time gaps between me and the other ladies in my category. So, once the official results are posted for todays race, I'll see if I was able to reduce my time gap for this race.

Tomorrow, we'll do the 6 hours race at John Bryan... we'll see how that goes.

Fast Lap at John Bryan

We started the Fall Series of "Fast Laps at John Bryan" last Wednesday. This series will consist of 3 races, 3 weeks in a row. We were actually supposed to start the series a week earlier, but bad weather caused a one week delay.

I really enjoy this series. The course is great and just doing one "fast lap" doesn't take a lot of preparation or time.



At the finish, I felt a little disappointed with myself. I just "knew" I would have a "bad" time. I had felt bad from the start (I took off way too fast) and just couldn't find my rhythm. I felt squirrely and as if I was struggling the whole race.

But, once I got home and checked my times from the last series, I found that I had actually beaten all my previous times! I can't believe it!

My times so far:

Spring Series
Race 1: (did not attend)
Race 2: 39:48
Race 3: 37:28
Race 4: 36:47

Fall Series
Race 1: 36:29

Next week will be a BIG race week for us. On Wednesday, we are planning to do Race #2 of "Fast Lap". Then on Saturday, it will be the August "Colavita TT". Sunday is the "6 Hours of John Bryan" where we'll be trying something new -- competing as a team! (Boy, I sure hope he wants to ride a lot of laps.)

Colavita TT (July)

A cool and foggy race day....in July?!?



Last months time to beat was 44:30 - Today, I did it in 44:10...what a surprise!!

The fact that I was able to beat last months time really surprised me considering my right cleat would not clip-in for the entire race! About 10 minutes before my start time, I decided I needed a "nature break". Since, our starting location does not provide water or restroom, I had no choice but to visit a cornfield. Because it has rained here (pretty much) all last week, the cornfield was very muddy and my cleats got completed packed with mud and small pebbles. I thought I had cleaned them out with some of our drinking water before heading to the start, but there must has been some lingering mud lodged in them. After starting, the left shoe clipped-in (after somewhat of a struggle) but the right shoe stubbornly refused. I piddled around for about the first 3 miles trying to get clipped-in (while trying to ride), but no luck. At that point, feeling totally frustrated, I thought about abandoning the race, but then I thought "it doesn't really matter- just ride the course".

Other than my shoe issues, I felt pretty good during the race- I guess that Cytomax really works! I worked hard and tried to keep my heart-rate at about 162.

And, got some bad hair to prove it!

Paint Creek 6 hr "Race"

I was the only rider to sign up for the Womens Solo category- but that's okay- I really wasn't out there "to race". My focus was to gain experience in a race environment, increase my endurance, and improve my bike skills.

My plan was to take it easy, keep my heart rate under control and try and keep a steady pace. I started at the back of the pack and let the "racers" take off. I stuck to my plan so it took me almost 2 hours (1:59:50- according to my bike computer) to complete my first lap (12 miles). During that time, I didn't see another rider until I was almost to the finish.

The course was not hard technically, just exhausting. Riding on so much grass just wore me out. After my one lap, I bailed. I was "whooped" and there was no sense in pushing it and risking an injury.

Next race-- Colavita TT on the 28th.

Colavita Time Trial

Tomorrow's the Colavita Time Trial. This will be my third time doing this race. Right now, I just want to have a faster time than last month and come home with some good Colavita pasta. The pasta makes it all worth while-- yum-mmy!

Last race--time to beat... 45:12.

Also, I think I'm going to do the "6 hrs of Paint Creek" mountain bike race (solo) on 15 Jul. Pops is planning to race, so rather than spend the day sitting around the camp by myself, I'll just spend it riding. My plan is to not "go fast", or not "go hard", just "go". I've done 6 hour rides before so (I think) if I can just keep a steady pace, I should be able to do ok. Unfortunately, if I ride, that will mean I won't be there to help support Pops during his transitions. But,if we plan ahead, we should be ok.

Ain't nuthin' a little Duct Tape can't fix!

Yes, I was a BLONDE today!! 40 minutes from home and I realize I brought the wrong shoes!!! For some reason, I grabbed my road bike shoes(for Speedplay Zero's)and the tandem has Speedplay Frog Pedals. OH CRAP!!! Needless to say- this pedal/ shoe combination will not be very compatible!

While riding up to the start, GofastPops recommended we just tape me to the bike. Now, that's when the blonde light bulb came on!!! As anyone from Georgia knows-- duct tape can fix anything!!! The race was starting right in front of the Casstown Fire Dept.- so I thought- "Hey, a fire department would have some duct tape!!!" So, I ran in and asked a couple of firemen if they could hook me up. Hallelujah! They had some tape and were gracious enough to loan me a couple of long strips! So, while sitting at the starting line, counting down the seconds to our start time, I was taping my shoes to the pedals!!! Also, about this time, I realized that I was wearing my heartrate monitor strap, but didn't have the monitor. Oh, good grief, this is going to be a wild ride! I guess at this point, I was just lucky to be on the bike!

But, even after all of that, we manged to pull off a first place finish... Duct tape and all!!!

Whoo-hoo!

John Bryan Fast Lap 2nd place

2nd place out of 3. I'm happy with that!

Since this was the final race of the season, I had decided that I was going to "give it my all".

In my opinion, John Bryan is not a "hard course", being that it is relatively flat, but it has all of the other "features" of a challenging trail. It's very TWISTY and you're constantly squeezing in between trees or going over bridges,logs, ramps, roots, mud, slippery pine straw, etc. So, it will definitely keep you on your toes!

I was first out of the chute for the Beginner Women, with 2 Women chasing (1 and 2 minutes back). Now, I really didn't want be the first one out, and I was thinking it wouldn't be too long before they caught me. But, I was a bit surprised when rider #3 caught and passed me about 1/2 way through the first section. She must have been flying! I jumped on her wheel hoping to hang on as long as possible. To my delight, I was able to pass her on the next hill! About that time, a junior rider passed me, so I thought- "There's my rabbit, hang on to him!" I kept the Junior rider within my sight for the remainder of the race, and was not caught or passed again. I was not able to make up all of the time I had lost against Rider #3, but I managed to gained back almost a minute- enough to put me in second place. I was also able to finish 2nd in the series, which earned me some really cool swag. One thing that I've noticed, it sure is A LOT harder to a race a mountain bike than do Time Trials on a road bike!

Saturday, we're going for something a little different... We're doing a Time Trial on the Tandem. Whoo-hoo, that should be exciting!

Colavita TT - 4th

4th out of 4...That doesn't sound so good, and I didn't win any really cool prizes, but actually, I'm pretty happy with my results. Somehow, I managed to shave a whopping 5 minutes and 20 seconds off my results from last month. Whoo-hoo!!!

Now, I myself, have been wondering how I managed to do that. So, I've been thinking about it, and have concluded that it could be any (or all) of the following reasons:

Reason #1. I just felt better today. Last month, I felt like I was going to puke for about half of the race. This time, I didn't have that problem.

Reason #2. Not (AS MUCH!) headwind. Last month, there was a terrible headwind going out, but this time it was not nearly as bad. GofastPops thinks the wind was "non-existent", but apparently his definition of non-existent and mine are somewhat different. I would say, the wind started out light, but seemed to be "picking up" all the way out. By the time I got to the turn-around, I'd say it was blowing pretty good!

Reason #3. Aerobars. Whoo-hoo these rock!!!

But, I think it the real reason for my success today was definitely...

the Dairy Queen (chocolate dipped) Ice Cream Cone I scarfed down last night after walking the dogs. uh... I was "carbo-loading"... yeah, that's it... !!!

Powered by "DQ"... I think I like that!

JB Fast Lap TT 4th

Well, I was 3rd when I left on Wednesday but got past Today. Still, 4th is not bad; I must admit, I'm pretty happy with the results!!!

Next up, Colavita TT.


Sportin' my new CGC kit, I look like a racer girl!

Colavita TT --- 4th

time at finish - 49:35

Bellbrook TT --- 4th

time at finish - 37:55