A Crit Clinic for the Fort Follies

Just over a week ago, before the CSU Circuit race and crit, I co-hosted a crit clinic with Amanda Miller (Tibco) and retired pro Rebecca Much for the Fort Follies before the first crit of the year in Colorado for the Fort Follies, the local women's group I've co-founded in Fort Collins to get more women on the bike. Although the attendees were small in numbers on that Friday afternoon, the clinic was quite a success! We had a couple of lovely ladies who had never raced among the attendees and were planning on trying it out at the Oval crit on Sunday.

I love getting the opportunity to do clinics like that. It always makes me think back to all the super amazing ladies and dudes who went out of their way to teach me all those essential racing skills on group rides and in races. Getting to share that knowledge, watch a person gain confidence in a few turns, and help make that first race a little less scary is the best reward. 

To get off my soapbox, it was a blast and I'm so happy that both those ladies who are new to racing did race that Sunday and are excited to race again. We'll definitely have to have some more crit clinics later this spring. Crit racing is too fun not to share!

A Colorado Win!

This past weekend was the first weekend of racing in Colorado...well, there was a time trial a couple weekends ago, but, no offense to time trials, I'm not counting it! Saturday was the Cobb Circuit Race, a speedy 8 miles loop Northeast of Fort Collins with a big 'ol hill top finish. Oh and a brain-rattling dirt section. It was chilly and wiiinnnddyyyyyy.

Right before the first time through the dirt section, I launched a super hard attack to separate myself and hopefully gain a huge gap through the dirt. By the end of the dirt section, Kimberly from Naked Juice was bridging close by and three others were bit back. By the time we reached the top o the hill the first time through, we were pretty much a group of five. The rest of the race was pretty uneventful as we put a lot of time in on the remainder of the shattered field. I tried unsuccessfully to get away on the last lap and ended up sprinting for third.

Pic from the circuit from http://deanwarrenphotography.com/ 

Sunday was the infamous Oval Crit at the CSU campus. The day was so gorgeous...until it was our turn to race at 4:45pm. Then it rained/snowed/hailed a bit and stayed cold. Annoying. Having consumed only the best pre-race nutrition of Choice City club sandwich and a killer homemade french press, I was feel rock solid. What our women's field lacked in numbers, made up for in depth with half of the field competing regularly on the national circuit. Thanks to Source Endurance our race started out with a first lap prime. Ouch! Gwen from Kenda launched an attack...I decided to try to bridge and sprint around but could quite catch her- bummer!

Focusing in on the whole patience thing and accepting I was at a disadvantage with the other single racers against Kenda's two super ladies, I focused in on the whole waiting thing and decided to go for the other two primes. After the second prime, which I won by attacking a half lap out, the lead group was whittled down to two Kenda, Vanderkitten, and myself. Kenda launched several attacks but nothing quite stuck as Vanderkitten and I weren't ready to be left behind. The third prime, I did the same, but attacked on the Oval and barely got the second Source Endurance prime on the line...the prime that also meant we were down to 5 laps to go.

Going for a prime  http://deanwarrenphotography.com/

 The primes had definitely boosted my confidence and I decided to try to contest the sprint (I lack confidence here). I entered the final 350m around the Oval dead last in our group of four and then hit the throttle full speed, coming around my competitors closely but with a lot of speed. I won the field sprint! A first. It sounds like I need to work on my sprinting and tactics more now :) Here's to a kicking start to the season!

Sprinting http://deanwarrenphotography.com/

Side note: my boyfriend, Zack (below with me), won the P1/2 race right after...we may or may not have a fun competition going!

A First Lactate Threshold Test

Last week I had the pleasure(?) of heading to CSU's labs at 6am on a Wednesday. Why you ask? I got some Source Endurance testing done through who I am coached. I've never done an LT test before, so I'll admit I was a little apprehensive and just ready to get it over with. After a bit of a warm up on a computrainer sort of set up, the bike was adjusted to a tempo sort of zone. Each zone I held for `10 minutes, while getting my blood taken through a finger prick every 4 minutes or so. It wasn't so bad and definitely helped there was a lot going on in the room to keep from boredom :)

Eventually, my body wasn't able to flush the lactate as well and my threshold was found before I was even suffering too bad. I guess that's why it's called threshold ;-) I'm really excited to have the ability to get tested so close to home (affordable too!) and am eager for it to help really dial in my training this year and to re-test at the peak of my season.

I also opted to conclude the test with a DEXA scan which measures your bone density, lean muscle mass, and is also the most accurate measurement of body fat. From that we were able to determine an optimal race weight for power-to-weight ratio, assuming muscle isn't lost. It turns out, I have some super dense bones...perhaps that's why my shoulder fracture healed so speedily!

Both are definitely a great resource to have and I'd highly recommend it!

So it begins...

We have officially kicked off our 2013 racing season!

Here are some snippets...

Friday:  We actually made it to Tucson!  A combo of planes, vans, shuttles, detours and delays, Whitney and I arrived in Tucson at 3AM Saturday morning.  As I unloaded from the Tucson shuttle, Zack and Whitney screeched into the sandy parking lot less then 2 minutes after me.  How about that for timing?

Saturday *after we got some zzzz's*:  Enjoyed delicious local breakfast.  Pico de gallo breakfast burrito (with surprise bacon.) What a delight to order a veggie breakfast burrito and get a tasty bit of bacon hiding in there!  I'm not being facetious.  I was super pumped about it.  I think Whitney was pretty smitten with her huevos rancheros too.  

Zack, Whitney, and I rode to the race course after getting all of our equipment in order, narrowly avoiding being propelled off the street by a car.  Dumb driving.  It dawned on me I'm no longer protected by the walls of my apartment while riding.  Scary.  

The rain stopped and the sun came out for our ride back from the course.  Remained pretty cold for the rest of the evening but didn't rain on us again.  Thankfully.  

We drove over to the race a couple hours later... 

Picture:  Whitney...totally chill.  I had too much caffeine and its really sinking in that I'm about to race a bike.  I'm going a tad berserk in the back seat, trying to keep my shit together.  Serious nervousness.  And excitement.  All wrapped up into a spandex bundle.  

We line up for the start.  When the gun goes off, I immediately make my way to the front sitting about 5th wheel for the first half of the lap.  And that was the highlight of my race.  Whitney held strong and rode very well all the way to the finish.  Not easy coming from a colder climate to such an early race, so kudos to her for being so kick butt.  We enjoyed the rest of the evening hanging with our awesome Tucson hosts Rodney and Pam and eating savory crepes.

At the start

Although we might have had unspoken hopes (or in my case delusions) of great success at this race ("Maybe all this skiing will directly translate to crushing it on the bike and I'll get on the podium!"), we were entirely realistic with ourselves when we decided to add this race to our schedule.  Our goals?  Get that first race in, remember the pain, deal with the butterflies, and have the opportunity to ride together. Outside. Check.  We nailed it. 

 Okay, so eat delicious food may have been on the list.  It makes us faster. We nailed that one too.

Aaand We're (Almost) Off...Tucson-Bound

It's that time again! Kat and I are kicking off our season early with Old Pueblo Grand Prix in Tucson, AZ, this Saturday. This night crit is also the first on the National Criterium Calendar, which Kat and I are focusing on this season. I can't wait!

Luckily here in Fort Collins we were blessed this past weekend with some sunshine filled 50-something degree days (we'll just look past the 20 mph winds that were roaring all day) which made for some very exciting long rides and our Oval "race ride" Saturday- I love attacking the guys!

There are just a few training rides to prep for this weekend, some State Wheel tubies to glue, and some bags to pack. I'll be driving down to Tucson on Friday where Kat will join by plane. Tick-tock, tick-tock...is it Friday yet?

Here is what our exceptionally cold and snowy winter has looked like here in FoCo for training:

A lot of trainer "wintervals"

A lot of weekend backcountry snowshoeing

See you after Tucson!