Monday, October 24, 2011

No CX

I feel bad that I did not go to the CX race yesterday to help out with registration, heckle people & ring a cowbell. But, I had a feeling it would just depress me so Tom volunteered at registration & I stayed home.
It was a beautiful day & I was dying to go ride. I asked Christopher if he wanted to go ride some trails. Nope (which was probably good since I'm not supposed to be riding outside). So, instead, we looked through a booklet I have with all of the village parks in it & I let him pick one to go to. The park had a boat, a castle, a compass on the ground, a net thing to climb up with alligators in the sand, swings & this type of log/tight-rope type thing. I'm pretty sure they did not have parks like this when I was a kid.

Afterwards, we came home & watched "Megamind," which we had borrowed from the library and was pretty good. Tom came home, we ate & then I did a short interval work out on the trainer.

Today is mine & Tom's 11-year anniversary. Nothing exciting planned. The toilet downstairs sprung some type of leak, which Tom will have to look at when he gets home & I'm hoping to go do running hill intervals at Palos.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Unplanned training block

(The photos from Amy Dykema are post-break at Saturday's race.)

The week sucked. Tom's grandmother passed away, which was hard on all of us; but especially Tom obviously. He decided he wanted to come with on Friday evening, make a mini trip out of it, race Saturday, come home, and then he & Christopher would go to a birthday party on Sunday & I would race.

We got to the race on Friday night about 15 minutes before my race. I warmed up on the course & actually had a really good race. It was basically turn,turn, turn, flyover, turn, turn, turn in dark spot & try not to fall in the pond & repeat. I was third. I won $. Woo hoo!

Saturday was the opposite. I had a hard time sleeping, the girls that normally babysit weren't there, etc. Scott Sanda agreed to keep an eye on Christopher while he course marshalled but I was a little afraid Christopher might be in demon mode & run out on the course. I pulled myself out of the 30+ race.

For the W123 race, my legs felt like lead going over the barrier and I was struggling. But, it looked like Becky was struggling too. I went through the area they tried to make berms and was trying to catch Becky when BAM. My front wheel must have hit the berm wrong. I got up, finally got my chain back on & started again. My right hand started hurting, which lead to the interesting stairs technique above and soon lead to my riding most of the course with only one hand.

The best guess of an EMT was that it wasn't broken but get an x-ray. Tom had to help with tear down so we stuck around. We got home kind of late. Tom didn't think the primary care center did x-rays & I figured I'd rather not spend the entire Saturday night in the ER, so I just went to bed. It didn't hurt too bad so I figured it was probably not broke & I'd try to race on Sunday.

Not my best move. It didn't help when I hit a plastic pole and then one of the guys in the 50+ or 60+ decided to ride over me. He kind of got stuck on top of me, but instead of getting off, pushed his way over me leaving some nice chain ring marks on my back. Totally not cool.

Rob Curtis helped me get my bikes to and in the car, which was not easy after his crash on Saturday, and Leah was nice enough to fetch my bottle from the start line.

I showered and then Tom dropped me off at the primary care center on the way to the party. When they told me it was broke, I wanted to cry and then go on a drinking binge. Instead, I walked over to the bowling alley, getting there as the part was winding up.

However, I saw the ortho yesterday afternoon & NO CAST! I have a splint and can't race for six weeks. I can run and he told me I could ride on the trainer. Man, I hate the trainer. But, I guess I have a good six-week training block to be back in shape for the end of CX season. = )

I'll have my bling, light & awesome PSIMET wheels by then. I'm hoping to finally have my new Crux frame by then as well.

Jingle CX is pretty much exactly six weeks from when I broke it. I wrote an article years ago about a woman's research that cats' purring could help mend broken bones (along with quotes from some experts saying nicely that she was off her rocker). I think I'll have to go cuddle with Freedy a lot more in the upcoming weeks, just in case. = )

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

CX & Life

Saturday I went to the CX race in Grafton. Tom's grandmother had been in the hospital but seemed to be doing better on Friday so we decided kind of last minute that I would go. Christopher got us up before my alarm could; so, I got there early enough to get a couple of laps in before my race. I had forgotten the hill until I started preriding. It is a monster that makes you wonder whether you will make it up or not, rideable sand, lots of turns and one small muddy section that made my bike covered with mud. I wasn't sure how I would do but felt pretty good.

There was a slightly smaller group than last week, with about a dozen starters. I ended up 8th. A few girls got past me that I couldn't reel back in but I did manage to keep Heather Curnutt behind me -- who beats me somewhat frequently so was a small victory. I also ended ahead of Melissa Putzer, who I tend to go back and forth with and who was having an off day.

While cooling down, I called Tom and heard that his grandmother was doing much worse. I got home as soon as I could so he could get to the hospital and hurried up and got cleaned up and changed so Christopher & I could go to a family wedding -- which is where the above photo was taken.

Sunday's course was awesome but my head wasn't in it. Tom came and volunteered and opted not to race.
(Photo credit Louis Fernandez)

I started horribly. I didn't necessarily race horribly but felt horrible.

Michael Angus posted a video from my race, which is great in that it shows the technical aspects that I am good at and doesn't showcase my lack of speed or fitness: http://youtu.be/nVDTqzO7zsM

We left very soon after my race so Tom could get back to the hospital. Christopher wanted to visit her too. We were really unsure about it but decided we didn't want to deny him his request. That didn't go great but didn't go horrible either. Tom's grandmother is now home with hospice. She is more comfortable at home but it is obviously a very hard time for us and Tom's family.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

CX Celebration

I decided to handle the one-year anniversary of breaking my ankle in my sixth CX race by racing six CX races in the weekend. = )

Last year, I had my first major broken bone at CX the Domes. This year's race was almost exactly one year later. I decided that I definitely had to race it this year. I'm still trying to get rid of all the emotional crap from breaking my leg, such as being too timid. Finishing the race seemed like a good way to exorcise some demons.

I decided to do the Men's Cat. 4 race, which was immediately before mine, so I could get any nervous jitters out of the way before the women's race.

(Photo courtesy of John Senkerik)

I probably went a little too hard as I was going back and forth with a guy who sprinted past me at the finish and who I almost caught back up to. I started in the last row and ended up 56th out of 63 finishers, with 1 DNF.


For the women's race, I ended up 10th out of 15. It is such an accomplishment, for me, to finish this race. It is also disappointing as I was doing really well at the beginning of last season so placing so much lower is still depressing. I got passed by some girls but did manage to pick a few girls off. I did occasionally start to freak out about a turn or two but should give myself a gold star for the effort as opposed to beating myself up about it.

And, I arrived at DeKalb bright and early on Sunday morning with a small scab on my knee as opposed to a cast. I would finally get to do the flyover. I was so, so excited when I learned there would be one last year. It is definitely fun. But, man, oh man, is it so hard to climb up those stairs with a bike when you are shorter than 5'2".

In previous years, I had rode the course before the first race and then warmed up. Since I now do registration, I did the 30+ race to warm up on the course. But, Tom also is in the 30+.

I had a better start than him but then got stuck behind a minor crash at the first set of turns around the trees and he got by me. I was catching up with him and then I dropped my chain. Got it back on but was in too hard of a gear to pedal. And, away Tom went. I reminded myself this was supposed to be a warm up for the women's race. And, then, is Tom getting closer? Yep, I was gaining on him. I thought he dropped his chain but afterwards he replied that he had dropped/crashed. I went harder and ended up passing him. = )

I, then, changed out of my skin suit because it had really warmed up since we got there at 6:30 a.m. I snagged the last spot in the front row. My start wasn't great but didn't suck. And, then, we got to the first set of trees. I should have been more aggressive. I ended up behind Bev, who is a very fast mountainbiker but somewhat of a CX newb. I was on the brakes for the turns and saw the rest of the group get further and further away.

I actually was able to pass Bev and kept her behind me for probably 1 1/2 to 2 laps. I was pretty sure I would not be able to hold her off, as she is incredibly fast and strong. She got past me and started getting further and further away as she was powering off and my quads were screaming at me and complaining for doing a fourth race in a 24-hour period. My lap times dropped a bit, due to probably both my body as well as knowing I wasn't catching Bev and that there was not any ladies immediately on my tail. And, that's how I finished. 20th. A little better than Jackson Park, much worse than Jackson Park 2010. Of course, I have to keep reminding myself that I finally got to race the flyover!

So, I changed and went back to registration. I was second on the wait list for the 4A race and first on the list for the 4B. So, I decided I would do both. I need more time on the bike and I need more CX practice. I knew two more races would hurt like hell but I also decided that I would then have six races in the weekend. Last year, I didn't get to finish my sixth race so I decided it would be a perfect way for me to "celebrate" the one-year mark.

The course was more firm by the 4A race which allowed me to get both my fastest and slowest laps of the day. Slowest, being the first parade-like lap and my fastest being the second lap. By the 4B race, I wanted to die. I'm pretty sure I ended up 57th but there were glitches with the registration computer and I am not on the results.

I got to cheer on the singlespeeders and then, sadly, had to give Leah back her son's bike. My Trek was not back up and running until Saturday night so Leah kindly let me use the Cannondale again on Sunday since I was used to the geometry. It is a 44cm and fits me almost perfectly. I also got to ride a 46cm Specialized Crux again. I cannot wait to get my new disc frame! And, I cannot wait for Leah's son to outgrow his bike. = )

It is a long season and I plan to get myself back in shape by the end of it. Am I still being too tentative in some of the corners? Yeah, I'm sure I am. But, that's improving as well. I love CX and am so excited that I am back racing. = )

Edit: I have to post a photo Amy Dykema got of me sticking my tongue out on the flyover during the 4B race.