That's (almost) a Wrap!

It was a crazy Saturday night. I cracked open a beer and unearthed my road bike from the basement. The tires had about 20psi and the spokes were laced with cobwebs. After an hour, the bike was clean and ready to go for the 9am shop ride on Sunday. Even though I haven’t been on a road bike in about three months I’ve still been racing CX on the weekends. How difficult could 40 miles be? The answer to that question came at about mile number 14. 

At the onset of this season I knew it was going to be nothing like the last. For starters, I had absolutely no structured training since October 2013. Part of this because my life had changed and I was no longer able to devote countless hours to training on a bike (a two hour ride can eat away close to four hours because I cannot ride from my front door) BUT the other part, the BIGGEST PART is that I wanted to see how well my general fitness could carry me through the season. My plan was to ride my bike as little as possible and most importantly, ONLY WHEN I WANTED TO. 

In 2013, the fewest hours per month I rode was twenty. In 2014 the most hours per month I rode was nineteen. Most of my time has been divided among running, strength training and yoga. On Tuesdays I ride my bike to and from work (about 18 miles roundtrip). Aside from racing, that’s really the only time I’ve spent on a bike for past three months. 

I wasn’t sure how things would go when I lined up for Nittany CX in the beginning of September, but I finished with my best result in a MAC Series Race. The good results kept coming and by the fifth race of the Series, WhirlyBird, I thought that I might actually be able to win my category. With one race remaining, I will finish first in the 3/4 women AND the 3/4 women 35+. 

And, just like this season was not like last season, next season will be different as well. There are decisions that need to be made about training and racing as I move on to face tougher competition. For now I’d like to just enjoy the moment...and maybe a couple beers.

The Tumbleweave Diaries

I'll count it...

Kutztown CX

aka the day I went for a run at the gym after the race and didn’t wash the embrocation off my legs

It’s been called a roadie course...not too technical and fairly flat...there were long straightaways on which you could really hammer. I did well here in the PACX last season, taking the win. The only notable change this year was “the whoops” section (four consecutive dirt humps) which replaced the log overs.

One thing I’ve noticed about embrocation is that it never works when you want it to. I did an initial application before I left and rode with heat on full blast in an attempt to activate it.

The temperature dropped ten degrees by the time I got to Kutztown and there were patches of snow on the course. After two warmup laps, I returned to the car and turned on the heat.

I can’t complain about my start, it was decent. A group of five hung together for a little while, then it went down to four and finally three. I sat in second most of the time. The effort didn’t feel hard...it actually was a fun race, one in which I didn’t really care about winning...and that might sound strange to a lot of people, but that competitive edge is something that I'm lacking. All three of us had a good race and I was content with third.

One beer, a cup of coffee and a peanut butter and banana sandwich later I was headed home. Then, in one of the poorest decisions I’ve made in recent months I went for a run at the gym without washing off the embrocation. The burn was so intense, it lasted hours after the completion of my workout. Lesson learned.

Sometimes it's not about winning every battle...I've been consistently decent in the MAC Series this year.  The final race of the season is Limestone on December 14th. I'll be there, wearing yellow.

Fair Hill CX

aka the day I got the holeshot

aka my first Mac win

As the season has progressed it’s become glaringly obvious that starts are something that I need to work on. I could line up with a bunch of toddlers on tricycles and still not get the holeshot. I spent the past two weeks working on my starts. 

The whistle blew, I took off hard and the holeshot was mine (for the first time, ever). It didn’t take long for a couple people to pass me, one of whom went down on an off camber section, which allowed the lead group to escape. I was able to reel them back in near the end of the first lap and never looked back...literally, I didn’t know how close or far behind second place was...I didn’t want to know. This course “owned” me last year and all I wanted to do was give it 110% until the finish line. 

I won my first MAC race. It was a good day.

Anyone who has never done this race should add it to their schedule
next season. It’s a great course.

Swashbuckler CX

The forecast called for rain. I opted to stay at a hotel close to the race course last night to avoid the long, early morning drive. The rain never came.

I arrived at the grounds of the PA Renaissance Faire around 8am, plenty of time to get a couple of laps in before my race. This was the second year for Swashbuckler and the course was noticeably different...there seemed to be more sketchy gravel sections, a fly-over (with a longer bypass option) had been inserted and a set of barriers had been removed. This was the first race I’d ever done in which there were no barriers.

All of the gravel had me feeling unenthused about racing. There weren’t many participants in this field. When we lined up, it was evident that only a handful would be competing for the top three spots.

I got a decent start and stayed with the lead group. At the fly-over, another rider failed at her attempt and came sliding down into me. The lead group of three got away...far away...and I realized that the race had changed quickly. It’s a place I’ve never been before. Usually, I can find a race within my race, but there was none. It was just me, alone, in fourth, riding my bike around the grounds of the Renaissance Faire. Having no one to chase and no one chasing me, took the wind out of my sails just a bit. 

On the second lap, I went down hard in a gravel section just before the fly-over. Blood was running down my leg and I was covered in dirt...two and a half more laps of torture and I was done...fourth.

I promptly headed to the medical tent to get cleaned up, then devoured an excellent peanut butter and banana sandwich. At least it didn’t rain.