I felt tired all week and low on energy. I skipped my Tuesday workout to sleep. So Friday I raced more conservatively than normal.
We raced an unknown distance, point-a-lap, and a points race. The unknown distance stayed together most of the race. I went off for a lap around lap 5 but was caught before any bells. I recovered enough to get 4th I think on the final lap.
On the point a lap I went for the first sprint but was edged out by Christine, then Christine and Cammie got away and were taking points. As they were getting caught I figured everybody was pretty tired so took the opportunity to attack hard. It was fun and I stayed away for three laps but then was really tired. I saw them coming but just didn't have it to contest the final two sprints. I think I got 4th again with my three points.
The last race was a points race. I tried a move that Mark taught me but I botched it. I will have to try it again next week so no descriptions yet. Other than that I tried to keep an eye on Christine who ended up winning for the night but we had some close sprints. I sprinted later than I usually do to save energy. It helped and I actually felt better after the night's racing.
I rested Saturday and then went out to the track early Sunday. I had the whole track to myself. It was great! I don't think I've ever ridden on it when no one was there. It felt very peaceful, just me and the track and some birds. I had to yell at some Canadian geese though because they came and tried to poop on the track. I did three sets of 10 all-out sprints. I felt clumsy at first and unbalanced but got smoother the more I did. I got a good feel for that last corner too. I was sore afterwards but it felt good. I seem to have my energy back now.
At the end of my workout there was another guy on the track on a road bike. I chatted with him and he said he was there because of a bet he had with a buddy. They had a contest to lose weight but they also had to make a certain speed on the track to prove that they weren't starving themselves and wasting away. He had lost 20 lbs! The bet was for a steak dinner for 4!
I went over to the parking lot in time to meet the ride for Glen Erickson. He is diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and was having a ride to benefit parkinson's research. I was glad to see they had a really good turnout. I didn't do the ride just hung out and chatted with everybody and then went back to the track to warmdown in the sunshine.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Friday Night Racing at Marymoor Velodrome
I had a good time racing last night.
We had a scratch race, a snowball, and a points race. The Starbucks team showed up with four riders and there were four riders without teammates. I didn't want Starbucks to control the tactics so I attacked early in the first race. Amara, Jane, and I got a gap and started working together. The only problem was that Amara and Jane are really good sprinters. We stayed away until the finish and I tried to come around 1/2 way through the last lap but didn't jump as hard as I thought I was going to. They both surged away from me and I got third.
The next race was a snowball. I was near the front so I went just hard enough to get the first set of points. I didn't realize until too late that I had a gap with a couple of riders. Jane was yelling go! go! but by the time I went the others had caught up. I got some points near the end of the race and it was good enough for second. I tried to ride from the front on the last lap but it backfired when the group came around at full speed.
On the next race everyone was watching for me to attack early. This time I rode around the track high for a couple of laps and kept on eye on the others. Amara was glued to my wheel. I knew if I attacked she'd be right there so I faked. I dropped down hard to the sprinters lane and then went back up track and dropped back into the draft. It was fun. I was in good position for the first set of points and just barely won a very close sprint. I got a few more points in the later sprints and it was good enough for 2nd overall for the night.
I really need to work on my power for those sprints! Mark had a good night and got 6th in the last points race.
Today I went for a recovery ride with some of the track racers. My legs were sure tired. I went for a swim in the lake afterwards and the cool water really felt good on the hot muscles.
We had a scratch race, a snowball, and a points race. The Starbucks team showed up with four riders and there were four riders without teammates. I didn't want Starbucks to control the tactics so I attacked early in the first race. Amara, Jane, and I got a gap and started working together. The only problem was that Amara and Jane are really good sprinters. We stayed away until the finish and I tried to come around 1/2 way through the last lap but didn't jump as hard as I thought I was going to. They both surged away from me and I got third.
The next race was a snowball. I was near the front so I went just hard enough to get the first set of points. I didn't realize until too late that I had a gap with a couple of riders. Jane was yelling go! go! but by the time I went the others had caught up. I got some points near the end of the race and it was good enough for second. I tried to ride from the front on the last lap but it backfired when the group came around at full speed.
On the next race everyone was watching for me to attack early. This time I rode around the track high for a couple of laps and kept on eye on the others. Amara was glued to my wheel. I knew if I attacked she'd be right there so I faked. I dropped down hard to the sprinters lane and then went back up track and dropped back into the draft. It was fun. I was in good position for the first set of points and just barely won a very close sprint. I got a few more points in the later sprints and it was good enough for 2nd overall for the night.
I really need to work on my power for those sprints! Mark had a good night and got 6th in the last points race.
Today I went for a recovery ride with some of the track racers. My legs were sure tired. I went for a swim in the lake afterwards and the cool water really felt good on the hot muscles.
New Rider Thursday Races
On thursday I helped out with the training races at the velodrome. It was fun to see all the new track riders out there. Lots of new women riders too.
To race on thursdays you have to have taken a track class then you are ready to race. After thursdays the riders go to the cat 4 races and then after that there are the Friday night races.
To give the riders more experience they had them race with a "pacer". They have to stay with the pacer until there is a bell and then they can sprint for points. This forced them to ride in a pack instead of having the strongest rider break away and miss out on the group riding skills. Mark and Brian traded off being pacer. There were 7 fields all together so they got a good workout in doing the pacing.
To race on thursdays you have to have taken a track class then you are ready to race. After thursdays the riders go to the cat 4 races and then after that there are the Friday night races.
To give the riders more experience they had them race with a "pacer". They have to stay with the pacer until there is a bell and then they can sprint for points. This forced them to ride in a pack instead of having the strongest rider break away and miss out on the group riding skills. Mark and Brian traded off being pacer. There were 7 fields all together so they got a good workout in doing the pacing.
More intervals
I did the intervals again on Tuesday. I knew I would be still tired from Sunday but I wanted to get in another hard workout with time to recover before Friday. They were better this time but 4 was enough. On the last one I could barely hold 300 watts for the first minute. Hold the next three minutes at 230 was a little easier though.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
4 Minute intervals with a power start
I took yesterday off after friday's track racing and today did some more 4 minute efforts. But this time I followed Mark's idea of doing a hard first minute followed by a sustained effort for the next 3 minutes. The plan was to go over 300 watts for the first minute and then hold 230 for three minutes. This was a tortuous workout! I think it even approached how much I hurt during the race on Friday.
The 300 watts part was easy. But then the next three minutes were really hard on the legs. After the second interval my stomach hurt and I had to lay on the swiss ball for a few minutes until it stopped hurting. I'm glad no one saw me. I managed to do two more intervals but it was tough. Glad to have that workout over! I think that might have exposed a weakness of mine!
The 300 watts part was easy. But then the next three minutes were really hard on the legs. After the second interval my stomach hurt and I had to lay on the swiss ball for a few minutes until it stopped hurting. I'm glad no one saw me. I managed to do two more intervals but it was tough. Glad to have that workout over! I think that might have exposed a weakness of mine!
Track is back! - Marymoor Preseason
The first night of preseason racing at Marymoor was Friday! I was so happy! I love racing on the track!
I had butterflies because I was excited to race again and I've spent all winter thinking about it! Now it is finally here. We will be racing every Friday except rain outs until September! Woohoo!
I made myself do some all out efforts during warm up to get the feel of really going hard again. The preseason races at Marymoor are a good shakedown to get ready for the regular season (two more weeks). It's a shake down for the officials too so they can run the races smoothly.
I forgot a few things. I forgot to get properly hydrated, I forgot the folding chair that we bring to sit on, and I forgot to pay attention when the field before you is coming at full speed into the warmup circle! After I realized I was dehydrated I tried to make up for it by drinking a bunch of water but that didn't work so well when we started racing! I can tell I'm dehydrated when my contact lens starts to fall out which is a big problem if you are racing. I think I'll get that worked out for next time.
I raced in a 49x15. Although it was a smaller gear than I ended up at last year it did not feel too big.
The first race gave me a scare. We rolled off of the rail for the neutral lap and I heard a big bang and saw Michele from Wines go down right in front of me. She blew out her rear tire. I had to steer quickly uptrack to avoid hitting her. I thought we'd restart but since she got up OK they let us start as usual after the neutral lap. I felt pretty frazzled! My plan was to attack right away for the scratch race but I was in the back due to the mishap and then Christine used the same strategy and attacked. I was glad to get things going right away. I think I ended up third in that race.
We had a new race called a "wheel race" which is a handicap race. They put all of the cat 2 riders in the race and then had riders from other fields stagger around the track for a "lead". I was in the very front with three other riders. We started from standing starts all at the same time. It felt like total chaos. I was aimed at the rider in front of me and had to avoid the holder so had a slow start. Before I made it off of the apron I was already passed by riders behind going all out. I went uptrack and rode hard and watched the show. Crazy! Annette got a much better start than me and took 7th. I wouldn't mind trying that one again though.
Next was a tempo race. I took the first set of points and then rested and went for some more before the end. I don't know for sure what place I got.
The last race of the night was the usual 4x4. I was happy to rest in between the sprints. I went early for the sprints to try and foil Amara's strong sprint. I don't have the power right now to let it get close to the line. I came close to losing my lunch in the middle of that race. It is hard to do anything in training that can simulate how hard you work in a race. I didn't win but took some of the points.
I wish I knew how I did for the night but the results weren't posted when I left and they are not on the web yet either.
It was a fun night. I was happy to see the track crew again. I can't wait for the next Friday.
I had butterflies because I was excited to race again and I've spent all winter thinking about it! Now it is finally here. We will be racing every Friday except rain outs until September! Woohoo!
I made myself do some all out efforts during warm up to get the feel of really going hard again. The preseason races at Marymoor are a good shakedown to get ready for the regular season (two more weeks). It's a shake down for the officials too so they can run the races smoothly.
I forgot a few things. I forgot to get properly hydrated, I forgot the folding chair that we bring to sit on, and I forgot to pay attention when the field before you is coming at full speed into the warmup circle! After I realized I was dehydrated I tried to make up for it by drinking a bunch of water but that didn't work so well when we started racing! I can tell I'm dehydrated when my contact lens starts to fall out which is a big problem if you are racing. I think I'll get that worked out for next time.
I raced in a 49x15. Although it was a smaller gear than I ended up at last year it did not feel too big.
The first race gave me a scare. We rolled off of the rail for the neutral lap and I heard a big bang and saw Michele from Wines go down right in front of me. She blew out her rear tire. I had to steer quickly uptrack to avoid hitting her. I thought we'd restart but since she got up OK they let us start as usual after the neutral lap. I felt pretty frazzled! My plan was to attack right away for the scratch race but I was in the back due to the mishap and then Christine used the same strategy and attacked. I was glad to get things going right away. I think I ended up third in that race.
We had a new race called a "wheel race" which is a handicap race. They put all of the cat 2 riders in the race and then had riders from other fields stagger around the track for a "lead". I was in the very front with three other riders. We started from standing starts all at the same time. It felt like total chaos. I was aimed at the rider in front of me and had to avoid the holder so had a slow start. Before I made it off of the apron I was already passed by riders behind going all out. I went uptrack and rode hard and watched the show. Crazy! Annette got a much better start than me and took 7th. I wouldn't mind trying that one again though.
Next was a tempo race. I took the first set of points and then rested and went for some more before the end. I don't know for sure what place I got.
The last race of the night was the usual 4x4. I was happy to rest in between the sprints. I went early for the sprints to try and foil Amara's strong sprint. I don't have the power right now to let it get close to the line. I came close to losing my lunch in the middle of that race. It is hard to do anything in training that can simulate how hard you work in a race. I didn't win but took some of the points.
I wish I knew how I did for the night but the results weren't posted when I left and they are not on the web yet either.
It was a fun night. I was happy to see the track crew again. I can't wait for the next Friday.
More 4 minute intervals
Last Tuesday I did the 4 min intervals again. I got in 5 this time before my legs blew up. Held them at 250-260. I listened to a great song by the Elks that made me think of trying to hold on to the field when they are really punching it.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Glendale Road Race
The Glenwood Road Race was very rainy but not that cold. Annette, Cheryl, Michele, and I went down but Michele didn't feel well when we got there and decided it was best to sit it out.
Josh, Michele and I had driven part of the course looking for the steep hill which we though was at the finish but it turned out to be the first corner after the neutral roll out. It wasn't that bad but I managed to mess up my shifting the second time around and got gapped off. I chased for a bit but didn't feel strong enough to catch back on. Our race was 70 miles so I didn't finish on my own. I had fun while I was in there though and moved around to the front to try and shelter Cheryl and Annette when I could. The finish was really weird, it was 10 miles from the start so if you finished the race you actually did 80 miles.
Later in the race Cheryl wiped out on a corner. She wasn't sure what happened but there were some slick areas so maybe she hit a spot of oil. She suffered some road rash on her elbow and hit the ground hard. She hopped back on the bike and could see the group ahead and made a big effort to rejoin but it was too late to catch back on.
There was a girl in the group who obviously used too much soap when washing her kit because it all foamed up when it started raining. Her rear end was totally sudsy and there were little puffs of foam flying from her bike the whole time I was in the race. Maybe Cheryl wiped out on the suds?
I liked the course and would do it again. We took the ferry home which reduced the driving quite a bit. And we got popcorn on the ferry!
Josh, Michele and I had driven part of the course looking for the steep hill which we though was at the finish but it turned out to be the first corner after the neutral roll out. It wasn't that bad but I managed to mess up my shifting the second time around and got gapped off. I chased for a bit but didn't feel strong enough to catch back on. Our race was 70 miles so I didn't finish on my own. I had fun while I was in there though and moved around to the front to try and shelter Cheryl and Annette when I could. The finish was really weird, it was 10 miles from the start so if you finished the race you actually did 80 miles.
Later in the race Cheryl wiped out on a corner. She wasn't sure what happened but there were some slick areas so maybe she hit a spot of oil. She suffered some road rash on her elbow and hit the ground hard. She hopped back on the bike and could see the group ahead and made a big effort to rejoin but it was too late to catch back on.
There was a girl in the group who obviously used too much soap when washing her kit because it all foamed up when it started raining. Her rear end was totally sudsy and there were little puffs of foam flying from her bike the whole time I was in the race. Maybe Cheryl wiped out on the suds?
I liked the course and would do it again. We took the ferry home which reduced the driving quite a bit. And we got popcorn on the ferry!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
4 minute intervals
I did some 4 minute intervals last tuesday. When I did my last 5 minutes intervals I was at 220-230 watts but I know I need to get the watts up higher so I did a slightly shorter interval. I was able to hold 4x4 minutes at 250-260 watts. I was totally wiped out on the last one. Mark came in and asked me if I was on my 6th one yet. I about fell off the trainer. There was no chance of making it to 6.
Maybe next week!
Maybe next week!
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