Tulsa Tough 2009

Got to Tulsa, OK late on Friday night with my teammate Teresa. We headed straight to the Blue Dome crit in hopes of seeing the final laps of the pro women's race - no dice. The air was electric through the "Blue Dome district". People lined the figure 8 course cheering and having a great time; sounds of cowbells were plentyful. There were many bars and restaurants along the course and a double decker party bus that was statigically parked at the start/finish. We quickly found Chris and Carrie right after and got the low down. Sounded like a tough race and they both did great! Had some food, met some other pro women and watched the end of the pro mens race. Wow! Talk about fast! St. Louis native, Brad Huff took the win! What an amazing sprint he has!


Saturday 5/30/09: Main & Brady Crit
Woke up after tossing and turning all night. Nerves were plentyful. I knew there were going to be at least 35 racers in the womens 3/4. This was the biggest womens field that I have raced in since Superweek last year. The money was good, so I knew the competition would be high. I had NO idea how well I would hang with this group. New racers and I didnt know the good wheels from the bad ones. This would be a learning process.
The course was an L shape with 6 corners and had a long false flat on the back side. It was also about 30 degrees warmer than just the day before. At the start I was a ball of nerves as I realized there were actually 44 racers in the pack! Wow! Once the whistle was blown, I was quickly focused on the task at hand and forgot about being nervous. There were some squirley bike handlers in the pack and so I tried to stay as close to the front as possible. Still, I almost got taken out in a corner at least 3 times. Our front group lapped three different groups on the course some were lapped 3 times! We averaged 23 mph - not too shabby! There were some great primes offered, but I opted to save my legs for the final sprint. Then, someone got off of the front (Kelli Mente - Punk Rock Cycling). She was strong and not enough people would work to bring her back, so it stuck and she finished a good 15 seconds in front of the pack. The final three laps were brutal with the pace driving higher and higher. I started to fade back into rear of the pack. This is NOT where I wanted and needed to be. I made up a lot of spots on the final gradual downhill before the last corner. I took the inside corner hoping to jump on a wheel, but couldn't find one to save my life. I stood up and sprinted from the final corner. It was about 300 meters, but it felt like 3 times that. All I could do was try to stay ahead of anyone else behind me. I managed 13th place out of 44 riders. Im happy with that, but that sprint set up really needs some work! I tell myself this will be my goal tomorrow.
http://www.tulsatough.com/site/tulsatough/download/144?disposition=inline

Sunday 5/31/09: 13th and Riverside Crit
Our race was early and so I woke at 7am after a great night of sleep (thank goodness). The nerves were there much more subdude today. Everyone kept saying that this was the course that deems Tulsa Tough well, Tough. I quickly learn why. There only 4 corners, but you assend a steep hill into the first corner that is a block long (at least 10-12% grade), the top of the course is rolling, and then you basically descend the same sized hill on the other side into a sharp 90 degree turn to a flat straight away start/finish.

I did not get a chance to ride the course first, so the first time up the hill I was trying to figure out my gearing. Everyone seemed to be setting up for the small ring, so I follow suit. With the right amount of momentum and the right gearing, it wasn't a bad hill. Get on the wrong wheel, and you could be killing your legs each lap. My legs surprisingly felt really good! Ok, I can do this. Down the steep hill you have to break if you want to make it around the hair pin turn on two wheels, the first girl into the corner slides out and into the curb and someone uses the distraction as a great time to attack. She is quickly caught. I stay in the top 5-7 riders and often times Im the first one up the hill. Im feeling great! I look at the lap counter and much to my demise, we still have 9 more times up that hill. I hate it when I look too soon. Ok, put it out of you mind. Some really good primes come, but Im feeling so good, I feel like I could win this thing and the pay out is $325! Im saving my legs. 3 to go - Im perfectly positioned 5th wheel. 2 to go - Im 3rd wheel but as we go through the 90 degree turn into the start/finish, I give up 3 spots. Darn it. I pull myself out of the draft and make up my spots on the straight away. This must have burned up my legs just a little too much b/c that last time up the hill someone attacked hard and I DIED! NOOOOOOO, this is MY race. I put my head down and try to catch them on the back of the course but my heart rate is maxed out and I cant get enough air. Im starting to get tunnel vision. I tell myself, breathe. Ill make up some spots on the final downhill. Nope. They were hammering. I end up in the back of the group into the final corner and my legs are totally burned up for the sprint. I look back to make sure there is no one else there to pass me, nope, Im it. I sit down and cross the line in 12th out of 37. Im not happy about my placement and my final lap, but I feel really good about my fitness. This was a great learning experience and a lot of fun. I cant wait until Superweek!
http://www.tulsatough.com/site/tulsatough/download/130?disposition=inline

Tour of STL and Slyvan Springs Crit

(Velo Force: Alane Carder, Jamie V, Teresa Sedlacek)

The Tour of STL was a lot of fun at the TT above). We had windy but warm weather and great courses! We only had 8 in the womens open group - I always wish there were more. It was a weekend of learning. Working on team dynamics and trying to remember how to sprint again!

The Saturday morning crit went really well. We had a couple of new racers to mix it up and Vanessa McKenize (Peoria Bicycle Club) really laid it out there and went off the front very early in the race. It took is a while to pull her back, she is a strong racer. Our group wasn't organizing well and no one wanted to work. This is my least favorite thing about the open races. On most of the the Cat4 races I did last year there were a larger group of people willing to do some work on the front. But, we got her back. Right after we caught her, I attacked but it did not stick. Even Vanessa was right there! Wow. Kudos to her! My positioning on the final lap was poor to say the least. I had a terrible sprint setup and sort of fell off around the last corner and barely got 6th. Ok, better work on that sprint!

The Saturday afternoon TT was SO windy. We were getting 20-25 mph wind gusts! Out of the gate it felt like I was shot out of a canon! There was a massive tail wind and I was easily hitting over 30 mph. The sad and spirit breaking part was when I turned into the cross and then head wind. It was really hard to stay arero and focused. Had to do a lot of gear shifting and a TT bike sure would have helped out. But, I finished. I was a little disenheartened by my time and place, but when I looked at how I would have placed as a Cat 4, I was a little more happy. I was still placing better in the 4's than I did last year, so an improvement I should be excited about!

The Sunday circuit race was fun as well. My legs strangely enough felt great eventhough they felt like total crap on Saturday. I attacked 3-4 times as I really wanted to work on this. It was fun, though nothing stuck - it would have been hard in the wind. A few other women attacked at various times and overall it was a good race. The final jump came a lot earlier than I expected and I had a hard time staying with it as I was AGAIN not on the right wheel. Darn it. But, I managed 6th....again...still lots to work on...

Slyvan Springs Crit was a really fun course. Flat stretch to the start/finish, long gradual downhill, sharp 90 degree left, down some more, small climb to a false flat, and then another short gradual climb. Would have been more fun if I had fresh legs. I decided to go on a really long training ride on Sat and my legs were cooked. I counter attacked once, but knew that it wouldn't last. Just wanted to tire some folks out! In the end, I had a really hard time staying with the front group. I knew I woulnt have anything left for the final sprint, but if I hung on I would have 4th (pay out to 5) so I was happy with that. Forget sprinting on that one! Good race though!

I was kickin' it in the tall socks - they are damn cool!

Tour of Hermann - Stage Race

Welcome to race season, and what a great (ahem, rainy) weekend to get it going! I just finished the Tour of Hermann which included a time trial Sat morning, a crit Sat afternoon and then a road race on Sun at noon. All races only offered me a Women's Open category, which meant I had to race w/ the 'big girls'. I wasn't sure how my leg would do as this was the first race after the injections. Actually it felt really good on Sat but my hip was pretty upset with all that hill climbing on Sunday, however, I survived and actually did better than survive, I managed to place in the GC! How did that happen?? I guess I just embraced the pain!

TT: 10 miles
Well, not much to say here. It was half raining/sprinkling for part of the race. Not bad really. At least it was 55-60F all weeekend and not a cold rain! There was a headwind going out, which meant a nice tailwind on the way back. I used this as a good opportunity to test my lactate threshold as I have not done that in a while. (It really didnt change much.) The small hill up to the bridge on the way back to the finish was a total buzz kill. Manged a 21.8 mph average and finished in 27:31 which was approx 30 sec faster than last year. Though, I think there was more wind last year, but Ill take it. Finished as I always do in TTs, middle of the pack.

Crit: 7 laps (only approx 8 miles)
This course was fun/challenging. was flat out of the start/finish until you rounded to a 12% bumppy downhill, which gradually leveled out before a few quick 90 degree turns. Short flat/false flat for 2 blocks and then 2 more 90's to a 7% grade hill which was probably 400-500 meters long (to the start/finish). Add rain to the mix and you have a strung out field! The downhill could make or break your race. If you got freaked out going 40 mph down a bumpy wet hill, forget it! I just decided that no amount of breaking on that surface was going to do any good and might actually cause me more problems, so I just held on, tucked and flew down that hill. It was actually quite fun! The uphill was more troublsome to me! Ouch! Im not the best hill climber. Not bad, but not great either. If I lost a wheel on the hill, I was able to make it up on the flat or downhill. But I knew It would hurt my finish. I manage to get in a group of about 4-5 women. We were the 2nd group behind the leaders. I managed to stay until the last lap when a couple of them attacked hard on the hill. I was smoked, but still managed to hang on to 8th place! I can live with that! Here is a great pic of me finishing the final hill. I obviouslly cant really breathe!


Road Race: 30 miles, 7 hills of Hermann
Well, from a short 1 mile neutral start, we end up at the bottom of a giant hill and the Mercy team attacks hard. I knew it was coming, but as my HR spiked, all I could do was try to breathe and hold a wheel as best I could. The first hill kind of leveled off a bit and then continued up again, maybe 2-3 times. I think on the 3 time I managed to hold the wheel of a Punk Rock Racing girl and there was a Big Shark girl w/ us too and we stuck and manged to catch another Big Shark racer. The 4 of us had a strong break from the rest of the pack and held them off the whole race. Every hill hurt and it was a struggle for me to hold their wheels all 3 of them were great climbers. After the first hour, I started to get pretty fatigued. I wanted to work more for them, but my pulls got slower and slower. I knew that if I pulled too much, I would eventually not be able to hold on for the last big hill. I somehow managed. The Punk Rock Racer girl attacked very early as we approached the first turn going into the finish. There was still 3 corners and a long sprint, but she stayed out there. I had little to nothing left and had hoped to hold off one Big Shark racer, but she got me close to the line. Oh well. I was very happy to finish with this group and hold off the field. Wow, that was a kicker! We averaged 18.4 mph (in the hills) for 30 miles! I manged to get 9th place!

General Classification (GC):
With my crappy TT finish, I wasn't sure Id get anything for GC. But, not everyone raced all 3 races. So, I manged to get 8th overall! I was very excited and happy about that!

My Velo Force teammates also performed awesome this weekend. Teresa ended up with 10th in the GC and Suzanne kicked butt in the TT and crit, if only she had done the RR too! Great rainy weekend!

PRP Therapy

Yep, Im doing it. Had major pain last November in my right knee while running and found out that its tendonosis - not a good thing. Tried rest - didnt work, physical therapy, yoga, stretching, massage - nope, not those either. Then I found out about platelet-rich plasma therapy (PRP) injections from a friend of mine. Went to see his Dr., Dr. Crane (Crane Clinic in Chesterfield, MO) and had my first injections don on May 2nd. Ouch for a few days! Then it felt like it did when I first injured it. Doing the yo-yo thing right now (good day/bad day) but waiting and hoping to see good results! Still training as long as it doesnt hurt any more than it did normally. 2nd set of injections yet to come - June 2nd. See interesting article published in the NY Times!
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A new medical procedure might be the cure for stubborn cycling injuries such as knee and Achilles tendinitis. Called platelet-rich plasma therapy, it's already being used successfully for pro athletes. The New York Times reports, "The method, which is strikingly straightforward and easy to perform, centers on injecting portions of a patient's blood directly into the injured area, which catalyzes the body's instincts to repair muscle, bone and other tissue. Most enticing, many doctors said, is that the technique appears to help regenerate ligament and tendon fibers, which could shorten rehabilitation time and possibly obviate surgery." The procedure costs around $2,000, or about 8 times less than surgery, with virtually no risk of infection. The NYT article concludes that "its largest effects would be on the amateur, weekend-warrior athletes for whom sports is recreation and healthy lifestyle." Read the details at http://tinyurl.com/c2zw57

Married in Costa Rica! Feb 17th

Yep, I tied the knot! My biking friends are amazed that Jason proposed in August (7th), in the middle of racing season! He IS a very amazing and understanding guy! He actually had a hard time finding an opportunity to propose with my crazy schedule.

We decided to run off to Costa Rica with just one other couple and get married on the beach. It was perfect in every way! No stress, just pure bliss and very special! The pictures prove just how amazing it was. The entire trip as also amazing. We spent the first week with our friends and then the 2nd week was just us. We did lots of scuba diving, some hiking, a day of mountain biking, took surfing lessons, and even went white water rafting the morning of our wedding day! It is so awesome that Jason and I enjoying being active together, I feel very lucky. :)
Well, enough gushing, but had to share this very major event in my life. We just had a party back home for the family and friends and it was a blast! That was the way to do it! Loads of fun having all of our favorite people in one place!

Jefferson City State Championship Crit

Shame shame shame on me for not posting about this crit! I just read my last entry again and realized where I left off. The Jeff City crit had a very small turnout, but was a lot of fun. I raced with all of my Team Rev girls and a couple others whom Ive raced with many times before.

The pack held a strong and steady pace the whole race and then with 2 laps to go, I attacked on the small hill leading out of the final corner. (see photo) I made a solo break and stayed away for the last lap and won the race! It was a hard final lap, but Im so glad I really eared the title! check out the cool pics from www.ficksphotos.com!

Superweek (International Cycling Classic) - Wisconsin

Well, there was a lull there in my racing. There wasn't a lot of local races and I was preparing to peak for a series of races in Wisconsin called Superweek. I went up for 5 days of racing and had a great time up there. I was living the good life of a full time bike racer. Wake up, eat, race, eat, watch racing, eat, sleep, repeat! For 5 days in a row! I was also sleeping on an air mattress and co-habitating w/ 7 other people in the basement of a host house! Here are some recaps of the races. All of the races were Cat 3/4, and there were some REALLY strong 3's racing, so it was challenging to say the least. I did learn a LOT and gained tons of fitness. Overall an awesome experience!



7/23/08
Whitnall Park Road Race:
Course was a 2.3 mile circuit – approx a 30 mile race. The back side had two false flats and a hill to the finish. Hill was 5-6% grade. The hill wasn’t too bad if you could get some momentum going into the corner before the hill. I had to work very hard to stay with some of the accelerations, particularly on the hill! And the 30 mile race was definitely longer than I was used to. The last few laps were rough. I stayed with it though and Siobhan helped me get in a good position on the last lap and actually tried to lead me out a little on the hill, but I couldn’t match her acceleration and my legs died. I didn’t even contest the sprint – my legs were spent and the main pack pulled away from me very quickly. I Finished 22nd out of 37.

7/24/08
Racine, WI
Course was a 0.78 mile loop with 4 corners – approx 30 miles. A very flat course and VERY bad pavement section on the back side. Our field was again very strong. Lots of attacks and counter attacks. I actually attacked once and got away from the field on my own for approx ¾ of a lap. I went hard, but Shioban said it was a good attack. I think I caught a lot of people off guard. I attacked going into the 2nd corner. Unfortunately once they caught me they sat on and wouldn’t go around me until I slowed WAY down. Then, someone counter attacked HARD. I fell to the back of the field as I was still recovering, but I managed to hang on. After that effort everyone chilled out a couple of laps and we all got some recovery time. It was a constant struggle for position. Just as I would get to the top 5 -10, it would slow and then everyone would go around the outside and box me in. It was a little frustrating. I need to work on staying up front and stay there. It is SO much easier in the front. Easier to go into the corners and less yo-yo action. Goal tomorrow is to stay closer to the front! Finished 21st out of approx 37.

7/25/08
Chase Food Folks & Spokes
Kenosha, WI
The course was a very flat and fast 0.6 mile loop w/ 4 corners and a headwind into the finish. We raced 50 laps – approx 30 miles. The race was again very aggressive. I tried to position myself closer to the front from the beginning of the race and be very aware of my position and be aggressive about holding it. I actually tried to use Rae’s wheel much of the race and that was helpful. After a couple of attacks I found myself towards the back of the pack and quickly realized that I did not want to be there. The whole race I continued to work on moving up. I got back up toward the front which was good b/c there was a girl off the front and a series of attacks and counter attacks started (probably 5 in a row!). I stayed with it. Then, I was approx 5th wheel at one point and someone attacked hard. I went after them and then ended up on the front. I thought that they were behind me and I was ok doing some work, but I looked back and realized they let me walk away. I found out that they let me go b/c Rae and Siobann told the lead girls that I wouldn’t be a threat – too bad someone couldn’t bridge to me or that there wasn’t 27 laps to go! I looked back and realized I was gapped from the field by 15+ sec. I decided to put my head down and just try to hold a steady pace and see how long I could stay out w/o blowing up completely. I ended up out there on my own for 5-6 laps! It was a crazy feeling w/ that giant field behind me. Eventually they swallowed me up and I tried to recover as I saw them coming b/c I knew the attack would come…and it did. I fell back towards the back of the pack for a couple of laps and recovered, but moved back up. Then, with 2 to go, there was a crash on the back side of the course. I narrowly avoided running over Rhionan and then had to chase hard to get back in the group. The pace picked up and the field strung out and I had a really hard time moving up for the final sprint. I just jumped on someone’s wheel and did my best to sprint around her in the final 100 meters. I had a lot more left in my legs than I expected. I wish I could have been in a better position, b/c I think I would have placed top 10 if it weren’t for that last lap. I should have just put myself out in the wind for a better position. Oh well. I ended up in 20th.


7/26/08
Downer’s Ave Crit
0.8 mile course * 20 laps = 16 miles
The course was very flat, triangle shaped with 4 corners and a long front and back stretch. It was again littered with bad spots in the road, so you had to watch you didn’t get your wheel caught in something bad. The worst part was turn 2 where there was some uneven pavement going right into one of the sharpest turns on the course. Our race was supposed to be 25 laps, but was shortened to 20. I knew it would be aggressive w/ such a short race. I again was trying to stay closer to the front, and I did for a few laps until someone attacked and I ended up too far back. As the counter attacks started, and I was with the sketchy cornering in the back of the pack, I found my self in a very bad position. There were 7 off the front, a chase group up the road of about 4-6, and my group which was basically the rest of the field. The chase group was probably 15 seconds in front of our group and I quickly realized that our group was not going to organize well enough to catch them. I was going to be sprinting for 14th place if I didn’t do something about it. So, on the back stretch I attacked out of the pack for a bridge to the chase group. I pulled WAY out of the pack b/c I didn’t want to pull the whole group w/ me. Only one other girl jumped and followed, we left the rest behind. It was HARD. I sprinted about 200 meters and then sat down and hammered until I caught them – right after turn 4. It took a while to recover from that, but Im SO glad I did it. Our group was able to stay out from the main pack, and ended up lapping the field toward the end of the race, but we never did catch the break away. They were probably 35+ seconds off the front by the end of the race. There were a few accelerations in our group, but nothing too bad. When we lapped the field, Rae jumped back in and offered to help me position myself toward the front. It was a big help. I ended up about 5th or 6th wheel going into the final turn to the finish. I really should have jumped when the DePaw girl did right before turn 3 and stayed on her wheel. She stayed out front and took the pack sprint. I was 7th in the pack sprint and ended up in 14th! I was excited about that. Learning lots and getting more in the Cat 3 mind set!


7/27/08
Whitefish Bay Classic
Whitefish Bay, WI
0.8 mile course * 20 laps = 16 miles (shortened race)
The course was 4 corners and the 3rd corner had a median right in the turn, so you could not swing to the outside too much and then it jogged to the right before the 4th corner. There was a very strong headwind into the start/finish (worse than yesterday). The pavement was ok, not horrible, but not super smooth. The field was much smaller, only 21 riders. Overall the pace was slower than the other races. The strong Cat3's had all gone to Chicago to race for the big money! When attacks came, I chassed or followed the surge, but my legs were not happy about it. They seemed a bit fatigued today. Overall I did not feel fatigued, but my legs just weren’t opening up. A couple of times a single rider got off the front, but I did not feel I had the legs to bridge and work w/ them. They both eventually wore out in the wind and came back to the group. I did not attack the whole race until the final lap. I jumped WAY too early (right before corner 2), but I wanted to go into corner 3 in front. I didn’t jump hard enough, b/c, though strung out, the field was behind me going into corner 3 and I knew my sprint was not going to be what I wanted. I think I kind of slowed up at that point and I should have just kept my head down and pushed as hard as I could. As a few girls went around me after corner 4 for the sprint, I tried to catch a couple different wheels. However, my legs were still dead and I think my gearing was off (too big a gear). Anyway, I should have let someone else do the work that last lap, but its always good to test your body!

Thats about it. After that I drove the 6+ hrs home and was SO glad to finally sleep in my own bed! Next race is the Jeff City State Championship crit!