working on my pop

Today I did 10 minute intervals but this time I went at a slower pace and did a spin up for 10 seconds every 2 minutes. The idea was to keep in the same gear but spin really fast and work on muscle coordination. I was hitting about 430 to 450 watts on the 10 second efforts the first time through. Then I took a break and did another 10 minutes and was able to go over 500 watts on the last one. 500 watts was the peak but I was still in my saddle. I hope this helps for accelerations on the track.

On Sunday I did 3x8 minute intervals at about 230 watts with 300 watt surges every two minutes.

Today's workout was much more fun but now my legs feel bloated - in a good way. :)

Three more races and a track class

I've been really busy this week. I raced three times; last Sunday, Monday, and yesterday (Friday), and today I helped teach a track class.

Sunday was a road race in Boston Harbor. It's a bit frustrating racing on the road after the track because sometimes the racing is limited by how wide the road is. Some of the riders blocked the whole road off to keep people from chasing. This doesn't happen on the track. Except for that, the race was fun and eventually we hit a hill and things strung out and we were able to really race again. I made a hard bridge 1/2 way through the race and then did too much work and found myself sailing off the back. Oops. It was a good workout for the legs though. I felt I needed to do some longer distance, and racing is more fun than training. I did get a medal for third in the masters.

On Monday I raced the Madison again. This time we did two scratch races and one points race, all in the Madison format. It was really fun. I love the feeling of being slung into a race and getting the rush of speed. My partner and I really gained confidence with the racing and we were able to go into the exchanges at much greater speed. The faster you go, the more speed you can transfer to your partner, and the more you can slow yourself down. As I was waiting to go into the race again, I was high on the bank and this couple had baby puppies that were only 6" long. I was trying to concentrate on the race, to drop down to my partner at the right time, but they were so cute!

Friday was our regular racing again. Some of the women were out of town to race in California so I thought the pace would be easy. No such luck! It was harder than usual! Kele was out there and very strong and HB had four riders so it was very fast. I wasn't riding that great and was just hanging on to finish. I got on the wrong wheel in the first race and was careful on the last race to not make the same mistake. I was being more careful to ride at the front and did fine at first but then the legs gave out.

I think I must have been dehydrated or just not rested. On the last race my contact lens fell out which means I'm blind except for very big objects. Luckily I wasn't near any riders and I just eased carefully into the finish line. Next time I will drink more or wear a fresh lens.

Afterwards we went out with the group and swapped racing stories. It's always fun to hear stories from other's perspectives. It also makes you realize that everybody has good and bad days.

Today I helped teach the track class. The track class is always a good time for me because the new riders are so excited about racing and have lots of questions. The class had 22 riders and at least 5 women. One of them was my teammate and I didn't even know she was going to be there! I was so happy to see her! I can't wait to see all of the new riders out racing.

Rain Out

No racing at Marymoor tonight. We got out there and everybody signed up and was warming up when the rain started and they had to call us in. Even the kiddie kilo competitors were disappointed. Some of the kids went out on their tricycles to ride on the apron anyway.

I was ready to race. I had a great workout last Tuesday doing street sprints. I decided that I had been racing flat footed and was really going to focus on reacting quickly. Maybe next week. We had a great group of women too.

We all went out for food instead of racing. The track racers are a fun bunch.

Saturday Flying Wheels Challenge Track Races at Marymoor

Yesterday we had a special event - the Flying Wheels Challenge at the Marymoor Velodrome. The event was timed to coincide with the finishing of the Flying Wheels bike ride put on by the Cascade Bicycle Club so we had a huge audience of bike enthusiasts. It was great. The weather was perfect too. I forgot what it is like to race in the heat of the sun instead of the evening.

My teammate Annette raced with me instead of doing the men's races like she usually does. It was great to have someone to do teamwork with. We strategized before each race and came up with plans of attack. Sometimes things worked and sometimes we had to improvise but overall we were successful because Annette took first place! I got fourth place which I was very happy with.

There is a good picture of me on the "Wheels in Focus" site. The group didn't seem to notice me sneaking up the banking just before my attack in the points race. I managed to stay off the front for about 5 laps.
http://www.wheelsinfocus.com/2009/MVA/FlyingW/W/pages/94AD0458mva6.htm

I could hear lots of people in the crowd cheering for me. I'm not sure who they all were but I was really happy to hear them.

I was so hot afterwards. I'm just not used to so much sun. I let some of the kids who were watching pour water over my head. It felt really good. When I got home I went for a swim in the lake and then ate fresh peas from my garden. It was a fun day.

Friday Night Marymoor

I used Mark's fast Cane Creek wheels again on Friday but this time I used the front one too. It really scared me and I almost switched back to the normal wheel after warm up because I was having a hard time controlling it. Then Annette gave me the advice to put less pressure on it. It made sense. I was trying to muscle the wheel into place but that actually made it harder to control. After a while I got more used to it and calmed down.

Since I was worried about the wind I compensated in warm-up by riding extra fast. I forgot that on the neutral lap we would be going slow though!

I liked my new bike position but felt I had to get used to handling the bike again. So Friday was more like a chance to get used to my bike again.

Madison Racing at Marymoor

Every other Monday night we now have Madison racing at Marymoor! Yesterday was the first one so it was a shakedown. The cat 4's and Juniors also race on Mondays.

Our first two "races" were really just practice sessions with Kenny riding along with us to give us helpful hints. I paired up with my Madison partner from FSA last year, Michele from the Wines team. Madison racers have to have a jersey that matches their partner so Michele had these bumble bee jerseys so we could match. They were really cute!

We had fun and our slings got much better. Kenny showed us how to stretch out the sling to get more power transfer to your partner. Michele and I still need to get used to doing slings with other riders nearby but we progressed a lot during the course of the night.

The last race was a points race. Mark was racing too with his teammate Jerry. We were in the same race since there weren't enough riders for a seperate women's group.

The Madison is like doing a continuous relay with one person. You go as hard as you can and then sling in your partner. Then all too soon it's your turn again. It is a recipe for throwing up but very fun! We were toasted afterwards! I'm taking tonight off from training to rest my tired legs.

Madison Training

I did 500 meter intervals at the track Sunday morning.

My original plan was to race Ballard on Sunday but when Kenny was adjusting my bike he found that the steer tube was cracked on the inside. So my road bike is in the shop to get a new fork.

So Sunday morning I did sprints where you drop down from the rail and do 500 meters hard. You rest until for 3/4 of a lap and then do it again. It felt great to sprint in my new position but I was careful not to overdo it.

It's funny when you train at the track people always stop by and spectate. Sometimes they take pictures too. At one point I saw someone had a stopwatch out. It made me laugh. I wanted to know my time but didn't want to ask.

I did a couple of more laps hard and then warmed down while the Broakmark team was just starting their workout.

Bike Fit with Kenny!

I finally got a bike fit with Kenny Williams. I should have done it long ago! He adjusted my bike position on my road and track bikes so I will get more power out of my legs and hips. He also put some wedges in my cleats to get even power delivery from my feet to my pedals. He uses the Bike Fit wedges by Paul Swift. Mark also got a fit. You can see the wedges in the picture below. I needed three purple ones and Mark needed two yellow ones.

I can't wait to race on them. I could see Mark's pedal stroke get smoother as Kenny made the adjustments. I had a weird bobble in my right knee that we was able to get rid of also. I think I will have less pain in that knee now.

Last Friday Marymoor

Last Friday was really windy. Mark decided to let me use his Cane Creek wheels but when I put them both on I couldn't control the front one in the wind so I used just the back one. The wheels are deep dished to be more aerodynamic but are also harder to control in a side wind. The back one made me feel faster and I was eager to take it up to speed.

On the Tempo race I was anticipating a split after the 2nd sprint and went really hard but then the split happened after the third sprint just when my legs were dead. So I missed the split again.

The next race was the miss-and-out. I tried my "stay at the front strategy" but got swamped on the third lap and didn't get out of trouble fast enough. As we came around the last corner I was behind Amara who is the strongest sprinter right now. I didn't make it past her.

On the last race I really wanted to be in any break that happened to make up for the tempo race. I anticipated the first strong attack and got away with Jaydeen on a prime sprint. But then she pulled up track and I should have just kept going because she would have followed, but we were caught by the group.

Nothing much happened and we were on the second to last lap when I heard Jennie (Tela's coach) yell "rest!". This was the first that Tela has raced with us and I knew that she was super strong so I attacked hard, not wanting her to get any rest. I got a good gap and held it for about a lap but on the last 200 meters Tela caught me with the group in tow. I ended up getting last last but it was fun! I found out later that Jennie also coaches one of the other women in the group and was telling her to rest, not Tela.

I really want to work on my power and one of these days my attack is going to stick.

8 minute intervals

I did 8 minute intervals on Tuesday. I did them last Tuesday too. I do 220-230 watts with a 15 second surge every two minutes. Last week I went higher power but really died at the end. This week I did 220 watts and felt better as the workout progressed. The surges are 280-300 watts. I felt like my pedal stroke was getting better and I concentrated on the recovery part of the pedal stroke.

Enumclaw Omnium

After racing at the track Friday night I got up at 4:45 am to drive down to Enumclaw to work the stage race that my club was putting on all weekend. I worked at registration, was a spotter for the time trial, posted results, helped pick winners in the kids race, went to the hospital in Auburn to check on a fallen rider, collected primes for the criterium from the crowd, and corner marshaled for 8 hours at the road race. The race was a success though and the weather was awesome! It was unfortunate though that someone blew up a porta-potty with a pipe bomb. They want $1000 to cover the damage. That will cut into our profits and the money we were donating to the Special Olympics.

Friday Night Racing - first miss and out

It was a fast women's field last Friday. Beth, Jen, Carol, and Karen were there to add speed to our field. I got psyched out on the point-a-lap race. After just losing a sprint to Beth I missed an important break and was not able to catch back up to the leaders. I need to watch for the break after the sprint!



The next race was the miss-and-out. I went straight to the front and rode tempo. That worked for a couple of laps and then Christine and Jen came around me. I squeezed through and rode next to them and then came around again on the next lap into the lead. That kept me safe for another lap. After that they came by but this time I got trapped in the back and had to back out and around to the side quickly. I was close but couldn't quite make it by the last person. I was happy to have lasted half way and to have followed my strategy of riding in the front.




The last race was a points race. Everybody was tired. I got a few points by being near the front and I closed a gap to a small break. But then after the third set of points Beth and Christine went off the front. At first I thought it was someone else and didn't chase. Too late I realized the mistake. They stayed off and I didn't get points on the last lap. It was a fun night though. I think I got 6th but it was out of a faster group than the previous weeks. It was a nice night for racing too with warmer than normal temperatures.

Marymoor Crawl

So this is the Marymoor Crawl - three minutes on the track without crossing the start line followed by 1 lap all out sprint. Mark got 3rd! He was blown away by how fast Grant came by. The funny part is when the Counterbalance rider takes an extra hand off his bike just for fun (on the left side during the 3-min balancing part). It's even better in person!