An anniversary, small successes & things to work on

(Photo courtesy of the Glinka's)

Saturday was Tom & I's ninth wedding anniversary. We had planned to do a small trip -- in part, to satisfy Christopher's constant requests for a trip with the RV. And, what could be better than doing a cross race for your anniversary? = ) We had figured on doing Saturday's Wisconsin race, coming back part of the way and then racing the ABD CX race in Bartlett on Sunday. The cancelled race changed that. I ended up getting a lot of work done while Tom and Christopher hung out. Then, we visited Tastee-Freeze, hung out with his aunt and cousins and stuffed our faces.

Sunday was the ABD cross race. Even though my club puts on the race, I was not looking forward to it. It's a fast course and I'm not fast. My goal was to not be last for either the women's race or the Men's 4A (I'd rather do 4B but it was full). I did accomplish both goals. I was 10th out of 12 (with 13 starters) for the Women's race and 62 out of 73 finishers in the men's 4A race. I lost a lot of spaces in the men's race right after the first set of barriers. As I went to hop on, someone hit my right leg causing me to somehow make it on my bike seat while my right leg was wrapped around the left side of the seat post and then over the rear tire. I have a nice scrape on my shin from the tire but nothing else. I did have to stop and untangle myself from my contortionist pose though. Other than that, I picked off guys one by one and was mostly pleased with my race.

Except -- there was a slight downhill and then right turn into a single barrier. I had no real issues with it in my first race. For my second race, I crashed/tipped over two out of the three times. Second lap, I went to hop back on, didn't hop high enough, got my shorts caught on the seat, fell back on the tire tipped over. What a dork.
Third lap, I went to get off my bike for the barrier, slid in the mud, tipped over. Dork.
So, obiviously, I need to work on still being smooth and keeping good technique when I'm fatigued.

Woo hoo!

(Photo from Russ)

I did three cross races this weekend in a little more than 12 hours. = )
On Saturday, I went up and did the cross race in Verona, WI. Last year, I was dead last -- in part, due to still having the Shimano brake levers on my bike and in part because there was a lot of climbing and a run-up. This year, the log was not there meaning the run-up was rideable but really tough. I was 9th out of 12 Cat. 3 women. I had a horrible start, passed a few girls with one not sticking. Not a great race but not terrible either.

I was a little nervous as to how all the climbing at Verona would do to my racing on Sunday. But, the course in Carpentersville was excellent for me. It had lots of turns, a spiral which I'm starting to get good at and a pump track! I was a little hesitant on the pump track at first but by the race I was sprinting towards it and not braking. It was so much fun! The sand pit seemed shallower. You actually had to do a U-turn. My first race, I rode it most of the time but did tip over one lap. The photo shows my determination to ride it as I suck at running.

My race went awesome. I was was 5th out of 10 girls. My best finish for a Cat. 3 or Womens 123 race. I beat a couple girls I never beat. I went back and forth with a girl. It was great.

I did the Men's 4B. I cut my warmup short to snag a prime starting spot in the first row. I really was feeling all the racing. I would make it through the U-turn in the sandpit and then wouldn't have enough energy to power through the last little bit. It was really frustrating and cost me spots. But, I still had loads of fun -- even when there was a crash that caused me to put a foot down, which immediately got ran over by a bike. I rode a little slower than the morning but still pretty strong and was getting better about picking spots to pass people. I actually got 26th out of 67. Being in the top 30, I actually got series points! So, I'm currently 7th in the women's 123 and 68th for the Men's 4B. = )

Next weekend is the ABD race and I'm hoping to do the Wisconsin cross race on Saturday but we'll have to see. It's Tom and mine wedding anniversary -- nine years. While I can think of nothing better than racing cross for our anniversary, I'm not sure if he'll agree. = )

Still a rock star but not as rockin'

(Photos from EWWhite of the Dan Ryan Woods CX. First is run-up for 4A race. Second is the singletrack to the left of the run-up. I'm so jealous of the guys who were able to ride up!)

I did a total of three cross races this weekend. Man, I love cross. On Saturday, I trekked up to Grafton. It was a pretty cool course with a wicked climb. I made it up every time which was, in itself, somewhat of an accomplishment. But, I made a lot of stupid mistakes. I didn't give myself enough time to get up there, register, get my bike in the pit, warm-up etc. I had a very brief warmup. I noticed there was too little air in my back tire. I didn't have a pump but, of course, I could have borrowed one and didn't. And, at one point I turned too early into tape. Seventh out of seven. DFL. I did have a freakin' awesome start. I could have been more aggressive a few times and realized I'm getting killed by those climbs. Still fun.

Today was the Beverly Vee Pak race. They did an awesome job. Great course. Free food -- although some vegan options for next year would be appreciated by at least myself and Dave from Flatlandia. But, still, it was awesome (I know I just used that word) to have a course so close to home AND to be such a great course. Lots of turns -- I should be more descriptive but am too spent right now. A relative watched Christopher so Tom and I could both race at the same time so he could do the 3's. We got there early to pre-ride the course, sat in the car to warm ourselves up and then warmed-up.

My start wasn't great but not terrible. That hill run-up though. Man, I need to work on those even more than climbs. Three girls got by me there. I was 10th out of 12. Not horrible and I was pretty pleased with the results.

I had signed up for the Men's 4A race as well since the 4B race was filled. Tom went to pick up Christopher. Turns out I didn't grab enough Gu's. A huge thank you and shout out to Beverly Vee Pak for giving me a gel. Unfortunately, I can't remember who gave it to me at the moment. I forgot about the whole 70+ field thing and lined up later than I should. I think I was about third row. Far enough back that I got held up by the crash that happened immediately after the start. Before the hill run-up, I think there was nearly 5 crashes. I had a lot of fun but my seat got tilted when I hopped back on the bike and got progressively worse so it was pretty much sticking straight up by the end. I lost two places near the end of the race because it is really hard to remount your bike when your seat is like that. I was 63rd out of 68. I was really cranky immediately after the race, because of my seat, but am still pleased with how I raced.

It is so much fun racing with the 4's because I end up with, almost, my own fan club. Besides the people who know me that have stuck around, I also get cheering simply for being a girl. The people at the run-up were actually chanting my name the last lap -- I wish it would've made me speedier! By then, I was dragging. I love cross. = )

(Edit: first photo is not actually the run-up but the incline is similiar.)

Feeling like a rock star

Tom, Christopher and I trekked to DeKalb yesterday for the Half Acre cross race. I was torn between DeKalb and the Wisconsin race which would have been two miles of dirt trails. DeKalb's course was slightly more than two miles, lots of grass, two big stretches of pavement. It did have a lot of turns but, with it being more than 2 miles, it was still a course for fast people.

There were only 11 girls in my race. I had a good start but a few more girls got by me -- particularly as I was trying to get over the barriers, which were up to my knees. I was 9th out of 11. I could see eighth but could never close the gap. On the new tire/wheel front, I had let out too much air in addition to my brakes shuddering. So, I cheered on the Women 4's and decided I wanted to sign up for the Men 4B's if there were any spots left.

There was a great park where we were at and Christopher was more than happy to spend more time there in addition to eating cookies and bananas from the bake sale. There were six spots left when I signed up. I socialized, spent time with Tom and Christopher and tried to eat. The only thing I could get down was a package of Clif blocks and a Gu. I did a lap before the 4A's and spun around a little but didn't really warm-up again. Not a great recipie for success. But, I did get a first row start (lining up early once I saw Bob with Beverly Vee Pak already lined up). And, I had people cheering for me pretty much all over the course. Thus, the feeling like a rock star. (And, Tom had put more air in my tires and adjusted my brakes -- Yea for Tom!) I was in the lower 30's for most of the race but gave up about 4 spots, according to Tom, the last lap. I finished 36 out of 71. There are a bunch of turns before a straight shot to the finish. I heard someone saying something like "You're not going to let a girl beat you, are you" and realized there was a guy right behind me. I sprinted, went to a harder gear, sprinted, went to a harder gear and out-sprinted the guy. Woo hoo!

Tom has had a cold so he didn't race. They changed the ChiCrossCup schedule but Tom will still have to race the 123's for us to both be able to warmup and race. We'll definitely do Dan Ryan since it's so close and Beverly Vee-Pak is planning an awesome course. We may go up to Grafton and do the Wisconsin cross race on Saturday but we're not sure yet. Hopefully, we can both stay healthy.

addendum

Thanks to Lynne for getting an awesome shot of me at the finish as I'm about to actually outsprint someone.

I forgot to mention that Christopher may have had the most fun this weekend. They redid the park there since last year and it is really, really, really nice. Lots of things to climb on, slides, play race cars and a fire truck, sand box, etc. Unfortunately, it was so much fun that he had quite a few accidents in that he didn't want to leave to use a rest room. We also got to "go on a trip," which made Christopher happy.

Good races & not-so-good races

We went to the USGP cross races in Sun Prairie this weekend. First, a huge, huge thanks to the Poppers for glueing our tires for us. Tom & I are total newbies at the whole tubular tire thing and would probably still be trying to get Christopher unstuck from a wall or something if we tried it ourselves.

I picked up Christopher from preschool in the RV and was able to meet Tom near downtown on Friday afternoon. I was able to get a decent preride in before it started raining on me. Tom rode too and had his crank come off. We went to the packet pick up and Williamson Bikes was awesome and fixed it for us, even though they were officially closed. And, they only charged us about $10. Yea!

My race on Saturday was great. I felt strong. I kept making stupid mistakes, mainly due to not being used to the tires. I know -- never race on something that you're not used to. But, the weight difference is so fricken huge that both Tom and I raced on them anyway. I was 4 out of 7 in Masters but out of all the girls I was somewhere between 10-15 I think out of 29. I was quite a happy girl.

We were able to spend the night in the grass parking area which let me get my number Saturday evening and preride Sunday's course. I knew it would be brutal.

Sunday -- well, it wasn't as good as Saturday. I think four girls I beat on Saturday ended up beating me on Sunday. I was 5 out of 6 in Masters and I think 18 out of 28 for all the girls. Not attrocious but, after Saturday, I was cranky. I was way too wussy in the turns and stuff -- I'm going to spend as much time as possible this week trying to get used to the tires. And, I only made it up the hill one out of three times. The first lap, I was almost up and my tire slipped. The third lap, I think I drifted into the tape, I don't remember. But, a 3/4 girl tried to sprint past me at the end and I got outsprinted her right before the line. Yea!

Tom's races didn't go well. He did the 35+ so we would both have time to warm-up. The announcers kept saying how it was former pros and the second fastest race of the day. But, awesome courses.

My main complaint is they had the little, little kids start before the women. Other racers saw kids crying by the side of the course and I probably scared the crap out of two of them when I slipped in some mud and crashed into the tape when I was passing them.

We still don't know if we're doing DeKalb or the Wisconsin race this weekend. But, hopefully, I'll be totally rockin' my new wheels by then.

No throwing up & not DFL

(photo from NikkiCyp)


The bugs won. I spent nearly 36 hours from Friday night until Sunday morning hoping to be well for Jackson Park. I did two easy warm-up laps and was kind of worried. Then, I did a hard lap and realized this was totally going to suck. It didn't help that everything I ingested made me want to throw up -- including water. I lined up anyway. I figured I paid $30 (on Thursday, when I still felt okay) so I might as well race. I started out okay but didn't have it in me. I also let too much air out of my tires and had some problems cornering because of it. But, like the title says, I didn't throw up and I managed not to be last. There were girls I felt like I could have beaten if I was healthy; but, of course, I'm not healthy. I shocked the people at preschool by actually driving Christopher today, came home and laid down for two hours before picking him back up. My mom's watching Christopher today so I can lay in bed and a relative may watch him briefly tomorrow afternoon for me too. Of course, being self-employed means no sick days so my income is definitely going to take a hit. As long as I don't drink anything, don't eat anything and lay in bed, I feel fine.

I was able to cheer on people after my race and Christopher got to play in the dirt with some new friends. Tom survived the 1,2,3 race. (No results yet though for his or my races. WTF?) And, I was able to give Ben my wheels which should be glued and ready by the cross races in Sun Prairie next weekend. Man, I hope I am.