Race Report: MO State Time Trial and Criterium

It had been a rough few days last week.  I was mentally and physically exhausted and wasn't in the frame of mind to race two courses that I really don't love.  Plus, I hadn't raced since early July in Indy.  I did not have high expectations for my performance.

Missouri State Time Trial

I wasn't focused on this race like I like to be focused on a race.  I haven't ridden a 40k on the time trial bike since August 2011.  That being said, I knew I would regret not doing it.  Plus, the ride to Jeff City was a hoot.  Kate was hyped on her Double Big Gulp and Phil's sense of humor always makes me laugh.  Add in that Adam was a little loopy from sleep deprivation and it made for great laughs.

I got on my bike and warmed up on the outer road near the start.  The weather was beautiful, sunny, light breeze and cooler than it's been in two months.  I took my Gu and headed to the line.  It was quickly my turn to go to the line.  Ron took hold of my seat post and I clicked in.  Mark gave me the countdown and I took off.  I felt like I didn't have a great powerful start.  I was in my 54/23 so it should have been fine.  I added a gear, settled in and kept telling myself to tap it out, tap it out, find a rhythm. I found a good cadence and started singing a montage of songs to myself.  I never did get the melody to Fighter right in my head.  I hit the 10K mark and had originally planned on adding a gear.  While I wasn't fatigued, I didn't think I could sustain anything further.  About 20 minutes in I was passed by the guy who started a minute back.  I had expected that to happen at some point.  I also had to tell myself to hold back and not to try to chase him down, knowing that would cause me to blow up later on.  At 30 minutes I knew I should be getting close to the turn.  I got passed again by the rider who had started further back.  I kept telling myself that was okay.

I got to the at 30:03:30ish.  I didn't handle it well.  I haven't done a tt this year with a cone turn, so I was skiddish on speed and ended up sliding my rear wheel a bit.  I took off a gear stood up and got back up to speed.  I added my gear back and put my head down to pedal.  I had hoped for a more significant tail wind on the way back, but that never happened.  At 40 minutes I got passed for a third time.  UGH!  I kept this one in sight a lot longer and was still feeling really strong.  It was about that time that I started getting more and more uncomfortable in my saddle.  I knew I needed a new one on my tt bike, but with only doing shorter races this year, it hasn't bothered me.  There were a few times I had to stand on the way back to ease the discomfort.  I got to the 30k mark and knew I just needed to keep my effort hard and consistent.  I worked to maintain a cadence around 100 and didn't focus on speed.  Overall I felt really good the entire race.  My legs worked, but never felt like I couldn't keep going.  My effort was consistent throughout.  My official time was 1:05:31.  That's two seconds off my best time on this course.  Perhaps a better turn or not standing on the way back could have given me those few seconds--wouldn't have made a difference in how I finished, just a PR for me.  My place was 2nd for Cat 3 Women.  1st for MO licensed racers.

Missouri State Criterium

In spite of the results on Saturday, I still wasn't anymore ready to race Sunday.  I got there and registered and there were three others on the roster.  I was surprised and hoped we'd get more ladies.  I watched part of the Cat 5 race and then got dressed.  I was able to ride a couple of laps on the course before the Master's race started.  Kelly (Momentum) and I rode around for a while after that to warm up.  I attacked a few hills to get my heart rate up and then found Amy.  She and I spun for the last 10 minutes talking about who to watch in the race.  We ended up with 14 girls on the line at the start.  It was a good field, with some strong ladies in it.

The clouds had cleared and it was sunny, warm and humid for us.  The race started pretty quickly.  The first lap was hot.  The second lap eased and we rode about 20 minutes before the first prime.  Several small attacks were attempted, but nothing stuck.  The prime bell sounded and the positioning began.  I felt good and decided to give it a go.  We hit the back side of the course and the hill and Britta took off on us.  She got a great jump on the field.  I wasn't ready to let her have it though.  I went after her hard.  I rounded the last turn on the course and was out of my saddle sprinting as hard.  I think she assumed it was a given and sat up.  We went to the line and it was so close I didn't know what had gotten it until the next lap when I looked at Mark and he shook his head No to me.  I was disappointed, but was happy with my efforts.

Amy doing the work! *photo credit: Don McKinney

I found my smile! *Photo credit: Don McKinney

It was a close finish.  *Photo credit: Don McKinney

We came through with one to go and Britta took off.  She surprised everyone and got a sizable gap.  Emilie, Jamie, Ashley, Renee and I were all up front working to close the gap.  On the back hill Emilie drilled it and Ashley was on her wheel. I followed along.  As we hit the second hill Ashley faded and I tried to jump up on Emilie.  I couldn't grab her wheel and she was off.  I put my head down and knew I needed maintain my gap.  I turned onto the finishing straight and tried to stand on the little rise and my legs yelled at me to sit down.  I did and put my head down.  I could feel someone alongside of me and looked over to see Renee pull even. Shut up legs, we're goin' now.  I got up again and added gear and pushed.  I could see my tire move past hers and looked down to see the line on the road.  I snatched third!  It was a good hard fought race.  Amy worked very hard launching a some attacks and covering others to help me stay near the front and ready.  I was really happy that I was able to focus my mind and shut down the outside noise and get in a race frame of mind and stay there when it mattered.  And lots of friends cheering along the race course was an added bonus.  My surprise came when I went to check results.  Mark said he felt so bad that I didn't win the prime, but I was the Cat 3 state champ so that really mattered more.  It didn't hit me what he meant until Sara said something about getting my medal and jersey when results were final.  I think I squealed.

Race Report: State Time Trial

No jersey, not even a podium for me today.  I'm still trying to figure out what's going on with me.  I don't feel like I've been racing well for the last month or so. 

The weather was sunny, humid and windy.  The temp was in the high 70s/low 80s.  I got about a 35 minute warm up in, raised my heart rate in the 160s twice.  I pulled to the line and felt great.  I was good off the start and settled into my rhythm quickly.  I was passed 7:23 in, but was expecting because Chris Harre was starting behind me.  I had a slight cross tail during the first 10K.  I did that section in 14:54.  

Moving into the 2^nd quarter, I could see a rider in front of me, so I set out to catch her.  The wind direction became more a true cross or a diagonal head wind in some spots.  I went 16:08 to the turn around.  Eduardo started four minutes back of me, he passed right after the turn passed me.  I had expected that as well.  I began having trouble holding the gear I was in.  My cadence would drop sub-100 and I would take gear off, then I would be able to get it back to 107/108 so I would add gear.  It would drop to 104, I would hold it for 30 seconds to a minute and not sustain it.  I did the 3^rd quarter of the course 16:49.  I kept getting slower.  

It was at the 30K mark when the wind became awful.  My cadence dropped to the low 90s at one point and I was working hard to keep it there.  My heart rate also popped to 191.  I really struggled and pushed to finish the last 10K.  My last quarter was 18:13.  My overall time was 1:06:04 which put me in 4^th and slower than last year. Maureen, the winning women, came in at 1:02 and some change.  My heart rate average was pretty high for the race 181, and I maintained a 104 cadence, which is normal for me in a tt.  

I'll work tonight to get my head in the game for tomorrow.  We'll have a tough field, a lot of the same ladies that raced last Sunday.  Good news is the high temp for tomorrow is supposed to be 83.

Gaining Perspective

I've trained hard this season. My focus in life has been family and racing. I get up early on weekend mornings and spend long hours in the saddle. I've raced in rain and blistering heat. I watch what I eat and drink so that I can perform well. I schedule social events around my racing and workout schedule. None of this is because anyone is making me. I don't want people to admire me because of my passion for my sport. It's the lifestyle I have chosen because I love to race my bike.

Last season was a challenge. I didn't see a lot of success in racing in terms of results. I learned from my races, my mistakes, and I grew as bike racer. I hated crit and road racing. I struggled through them because I wanted to get better at them. I loved time trialing because it was me against a clock and I didn't have to worry about anyone else. Still, my results were weak. I decided to take up cyclocross so that I could maintain fitness over the winter. I didn't want to lose the physical gains I had made. Something changed during the fall. While cx races are similar to crits, they're very different as well. I fell in love with cyclocross. My results in cx were no better than my results in crits, but I was having fun. I looked forward to Sunday at noon. I had withdrawals when the season ended in December. It propelled me enough to keep riding, it kept me going in 12 degree weather. I trained through the cold. I was ready for Froze Toes. I actually made the break on that race. The first crit of the season arrived and something was very different. I was competitive and I was having fun. All season I've built on my successes. I still don't like road races, but have grown to love the fast-paced tempo of the crit.

I've planned this season with the end in mind. I had two goals: win the mobra competition and take home a state jersey. I didn't care which of the three state jerseys I took, I would be happy with any of them. The state road race was first, and I bonked terribly. That was okay because there was still two to go. Then I crashed last week. I have put pressure on myself to rehab and recover from it so that I could be my best. I skipped no workout and took more acetomeniphin and ibuprofen than I have in the past year. I raced the time trial yesterday and did the best I could. I knew going into the race I hadn't focused on training for time trialing, so my goal was to be strong. I was. But I didn't win.

It all came down to today. I felt great this morning, nervous, but great. I got to the course, registered, dropped off my wheels and got ready. I got a great warm up and pulled to the line. There were only four of us: Britta, Kate, Nicole and me. Instructions, whistle, go. Kate and I sat on the front for about half a lap and Britta pushed passed. She wanted to work, fine with me. She pulled three laps before she sat up. I moved in line and took a lap. Kate took her turn. Somewhere Nicole fell off. And that's how it went. We took our turns, did our work and went round and round. Six to go, five, four, three, two and I took my pull. We came around the last turn on the course and I sat up to let Kate take her pull. I moved in behind Britta. We went past the start finish, around turn one and into turn two and Kate took off. I stayed on Britta's wheel and she reacted well to Kate. She was back on Kate's wheel by the bottom of the hill. The pace stayed high as we climbed and did the small descent before the steep climb. On the climb, Britta went around Kate. I stayed on her wheel. I was going to let her lead me out. We zigged through the parking lot portion and made the final turn. I went close on the inside. Scraped, slide, fear. My pedal hit the curb. My back tire fishtailed. I held onto the bike and recovered. I went wide and came close to the curb on the other side but straightened out. Britta was riding away with it. I was up and working. Spin and gear, spin and gear. I was gaining. Spin and gear. I was driving that bike as hard as I could. I was on her wheel. Up to her pedal. There's her fork. There's the finish. I didn't make it.

I dropped my head in disbelief. All of this for second; no jersey. My spirit dropped. I congratulated Britta and Kate for good racing. I smiled as I talked to teammates who told me I raced well. But it wasn't what I wanted. I text and emailed the people who needed to know my result and headed up for a medal. I pushed Kate to check about the jersey from yesterday and she won it. I'm so happy for her because she'd focused on the tt all season and her work paid off. I'm glad she and I rode to the race together, because it would have been a long two hour drive home alone in the mood I was in. I put my bag down when I got home and pouted. Klucker tried to boost me. He and Steph had already reminded me that I have a strong, solid lead in Mobra and that's more impressive than one race. Yeah, whatever. I was still down. I wanted the win. I wanted the jersey. (Maybe I should have listened better to that "Thou shall not covet" message in Sunday school.)

I finally went to shower and put my wet clothes away. As I was cleaning out my bag, I grabbed my medal to show the kids. They love any bling I bring home and are always happy for me. Then I went to hang my medal on the mirror where I keep them. Wow, so that's what I've done this season. And oh my, those are all from this season. Ok, so today didn't end how I would have liked. I wanted the jersey. I may never win one, I realize this. For me, this seemed like my best chance. What I did do today, was race well. I held a wheel and worked how I wanted to work. I positioned myself where I wanted to be. I answered the attacked. I held through a skid and recovered. I sprinted like I stole the bike. I will be ok. I will race Gateway Cup and finish my season strong. And, barring something unforeseen, I will win Mobra. It's a good perspective to have.

Race Report: Tour de Ste. Genevieve--AKA the Big Bonk!

I wish I could pinpoint what happened to make the race fall apart for me. In reality, I think it was a combination of issues. We got there in plenty of time and headed out for a warm up. My rear derailleur was out of whack and I was having trouble getting into my mid gears. I found Klucker (he was officiating) and he gave me a quick adjustment. That helped out there but what I couldn't tell from the warm up was that I it was still out at the top of the rear cog--that comes later. (And let me get this rant out here--Klucker switched out my wheels and cog on me last night. I didn't know he was doing it until it was done and I got the "I checked it on the stand and it's fine" response when I asked if it was shifting right).

Sunday was the first HOT day we've had this spring. It was 90 degrees when we pulled to the line with high humidity and a strong breeze. I had hydrated well Friday and Saturday and was conscious of my nutrition. There were 16 women who went to the line in Women's 4 and we were combined with the 3 Women's Masters 40+ and told we could work together. The whistle went off and we rolled out for our neutral start. About half way to the start Madeline started taking off. Allison and Amy called her back and we regrouped. We hit the start line and started racing. The first climb was a big ring climb about five miles into the race. I was watching my field position and made it up with no problem. I kept reminding myself to drink as we went through. Leaders changed throughout the next several miles. I tried to avoid some of the woman as much as possible because they were all over the place. We got to the climb at mile 10. I had looked at the course profile but I guess I misjudged this one. I thought we were done and the group was sitting up so I looked at Amy, Master's teammate, and said hold 'em back. Off I went. I got up near our pace truck and looked back and had gone alone. Ok can I make this stick? My heartrate was at 193 and I was in the wind alone. That's when I realized this climb was still going. Oye! I got in the small ring, then started working my way up on the rear. One from the top, I started slipping. It would stay in gear. I was really starting to fatigue but didn't want to sit up just yet. I shifted down and kept climbing. I was out about 7 minutes when I saw the green of the Hub girls at my side. I let up and got in and rested.

The next seven miles or so were hot and calm. There were some rollers, but no killers. I Gu'd at mile 17 and tossed my empty bottle. We then got to the climb at mile 21. I knew this one would be tough. It was long with a steep pitch at the end. I tried one more time to get in those top gears but it wouldn't lock in. I got out of the saddle and started to climb. I stayed up and we fractured the group. Our lead group had two Master's women--Amy and Alison and four Cat4 women--Britta, Laura, Ashley and me. Amy looked back and yelled that we had a gap and to haul. The girls at the front ramped up the pace. Amy kept trying to get a pace line organized but it was struggling. It was about then that I realized that I was done. I had stopped sweating and didn't have enough saliva in my mouth to spit. At mile 23, we turned onto the frontage road along the highway and I fell off. Ashley was on my wheel and offered to pull me up, but I didn't have it to go with her. I rode by myself, head down and exhausted. DNFing was sounding pretty good about then. I kept trying to talk myself through. I looked up and saw that the group had caught the Womens 1/2/3 and there was some confusion with the our lead vehicle and their wheel truck. It slowed them up. I tried to go harder to catch them but couldn't.

Mile 27 hit and I knew KOM was looming. When I studied the course map, the only thing I wrote about this climb was UGLY! and it was. I saw the 1K to KOM sign and reminded myself that it was only .6 miles. I dropped into my small ring and worked on spinning. I was slow but steady at the point. I hit the 500M mark and my body stopped. I honestly thought I may fall trying to get out of my pedals. I got off my bike. To quit or not to quit...I started telling myself your first DNF makes it an option for every race here on out. One foot in front of the other. Keep walking. Stand up straight to get oxygen. Don't cry. This is demoralizing. Cat passed me about that time and asked what happen. Dehydration, heat stroke, I don't know. I kept walking 100M to go and Tricia passed me. I saw the line and was almost there when Bethany passed me. I hopped on the bike at that point and made a half-hearted attempt to catch them but they had started working together and there was another little rise. I got back in my small ring and started counting down miles and doing crazy mental math problems to distract myself. (Being an English major, math really makes me concentrate. It's a trick I've used for a while to get through it when it hurts.)

I made it to mile 30 when I heard a voice behind me, "Suzanne, what happened?" It was Alice, our other Master's racer. I told her I bonked and she offered her wheel. I graciously accepted but was secretly worried for the first 3-5 minutes that I couldn't hold on. My salvation was the Ste. Genevieve sign. We made it to the city limits, I can make it to the line. I pulled alongside Alice and we chatted and we rolled through. I saw our turn to finish straightaway and was relieved. I would finish this race.

I ended up in 8th, not quite the race I had envisioned. I learned a few things (attacking early in a RR is not smart, probably should have had three bottles with me on the bike) and I'm a stronger racer for having done it.