Mt. Tam Hill Climb September 27, 2008

We woke up at 5:50 AM and left the house around 7:15 for the drive to Stinson Beach. The Golden Gate Bridge was beautiful in the fog and then almost like magic, Sausalito was sitting in brilliant sunshine. There wasn't much traffic on the windy mountainous road to Stinson Beach. There was plenty of parking and we rode bikes over to the registration area. We ran into Pete from Bikeforums who was his usual ebullient self. He was racing with RFA in the 55+ category. We also saw Ron L. who was already warming up on the trainer. Phyllis was walking over with pancakes from the cafe - she wasn't up for racing up Mt. Tam and elected to ride her mountain bike on her own. While it would have been nice to have P. race to spur me on, she would have been riding with the Cat 1/2/3s, while I was racing with the Cat 4s. The 4 mile flat lead out in the peloton would have rendered our times disparate by at least one minute (the W Cat 1/2/3 peloton being that much faster on the flat lead out). I did have 2 WebCor teammates in the W Cat 4 -Alison C. (a non-racr but good hill climber) and Jamii N. who had a great time in the 2007 Mt. Tam Hill Climb. RFA and I warmed up on the trainer and headed out to the start line. RFA's group started 5 minutes ahead of the W Cat 4s. There was a chance that I might pass RFA, but it was far from a sure thing. The temperatures were perfect and the sun was shining. There were aout 23 pre-registered in the W Cat 4, but only 16 women showed up at the start line.

The Course: The hill climb is 12.5 miles with about 2000 feet of climbing. The first leg is a flat 4 1/2 miles along the lagoon. Right turn to Bolinas-Fairfax Road through the woods with some steep parts exceeding a 10% grade for 4 miles, followed by the 4 mile "Seven Sisters" stair-step climb to the finish.

The W Cat4 peloton were led out by a race official vehicle and started out at a sane pace (maybe about 25 mph but it felt easy with the draft and tail wind effect). We all behaved and rode in a double pace line. I was well-positioned about 4 riders back. We took the right turn to Fairfax-Bolinas cautiously and crossed the open cattle grate safely. We then started climbing and the group splintered. There were about ten women ahead of me at this point. I passed one women a few minutes later and was hoping that I might make some gains along the way. Soon some of the Men's Elite Cat 4 (this group started 5 minuted behind us) passed me and gave me some words of encouragement. I just climbed steadily and fell into a rhythm, trying to keep my HR up at 150-152. Soon I broke out onto the ridge and took on the Seven Sisters. The sun was hot on my face at this point and I poured some water down my back. I was taking sips along the way to keep hydrated. I passed a couple of the men's 55+ racers. I finished in 58:41, well off my goal of 55-56 minutes. I just didn't have the drive to psuh myself to the limits for this race. RFA and I have been in "active rest" for the month of September and have not been doing any sustained threshold hill climbing to train for this race. Not an "A" race in Dmitriy's eyes. I met RFA at the top - he had a good time of 1:01:57 - never had the pleasure of passing him!

The race was well-organized, and I look forward to doing it again next year and shaving minutes from my time!

Recap of 2008 Racing Season and 2009 Goals

The 2008 racing season is essentially over. Today was the last “Beat the Clock” Canada time trial, and next Saturday is the Mt. Tam Hill Climb – and that is it. The Russians have us in “active rest” for the month of September, so we haven’t been doing any special preparation for these events. Even the Sunday Russian rides for September are shorter distances, no serious hill climbing and medium-paced. We get chastised if we ride too fast (Vladmir at the side of the road motioning “down, down”). Our workouts are designed to maintain our current level and provide a rest period so that we are mentally and physically ready to start hard training in October. Except that RFA and I are heading off to Mallorca on Oct. 8 for ten days on a Santana tandem tour. The cycling in Mallorca will include some good climbs, and although it will be social, just by riding every day, we should be ready to jump right into the Russian’s October training schedule. It will back to the weight workouts in the cycling gym immediately followed by the trainer workouts. Nasty stuff. We have been duly warned that we will be doing repeats up Old La Honda with the lead water bottle and long (70 mile plus) hard training rides on the road in November, more intense weight workouts, and 1 ½ hour trainer workouts. We also need to work in training at the Hellyer velodrome on the track bikes 1-2 times a month. While I have been regularly doing weight workouts (5 times a week) on my own at Equinox, I haven’t done any leg strength training since the end of last January.

This is a good time to evaluate my cycling over the past nine months and contemplate what lies ahead for 2009.

A look back at 2008 racing season:
We have been training with the Russians for a little over 9 months. We have been very dedicated, not missing a workout and following the program. I must admit that I am very pleased with my improvement. I have a LONG way to go, but have made measurable progress.
By far, the highlight of the year was winning the Masters Track National Championship in the 2k individual pursuit with a time of 2:59. Along with that, being named “Rider of the Month” for that feat by my Alto Velo WebCor Racing Team and my first place finish at the Esparto Time Trial (that elusive victory).
My biggest disappointment: missing the podium at the Northern California Nevada State Time Trial Championships (Sattley)

A review of the statistics with some short commentary:
# crashes: 0
# falls: 0
# cycling-related injuries: 0
# friends made through cycling: Many
# new bikes: 2 (Orbea Ordu TT bike and Cervelo P3C Track frame)
# pounds lost: 9 (117 down to 108)
% body fat change: 5 % (13.8% down to 8.8%)

# Races this year: 26 (updated for Mt. Tam)
4 hill climbs
11 time trials (3 tandem TTs (one unsanctioned)), 8 ITT (5 unsanctioned)
6 road races (1 circuit race)
0 crits
5 track events (3 unsanctioned)
# DNFs: 0
# first place finishes: 7 (2 sanctioned/5 unsanctioned)

Details
Hill Climbs: (updated for Mt. Tam)
San Bruno Hill Climb - 10/20
WebCor King of the Mountain - 5/16
Mt. Diablo Hill Climb – 4/8
Mt. Tam - 10/16


Time Trials:
Berkeley Hills TTT (tandem) – 4/5 – happy we knocked 3:36 off our 2007 time
Bay Area Senior Games – 1/2 (non-sanctioned/on road bike)
Dunlop TT – 8/23
Northern CA/Nevada ITT State Championship – 4/4 – only 7 seconds out of second place; disappointing results because I know I am better than my results show.
Northern CA/Nevada Tandem TT State Championship – 2/2 – knocked 4:22 off our 2007 time and I had just done the 20k ITT
Esparto TT – First place (1/10) – My first victory!
Canada Beat Beat the Clock TTs
ITT 27:11 (7/19); Tandem 27:54 (2/2) (both RFA and I did ITT beforehand)
26:30 (6/11) – a Personal Best
26:51 (4/11)
26:37 (1/7)

Road Races/Circuit Races:
· Brisbane Circuit Race (24/40) – my first road race; happy that I didn’t crash, and made up time on the climbs and caught my team mate
· Wente Road Race (7/19) – in a breakaway and lead peloton until the end; dehydrated and neuroma foot pain
· Berkeley Hills Road Race (13/38) – in the lead peloton until the end
· Spring Hill Road Race – (11/16) – dropped by the lead peloton on the first climb, poor results
· Diamond Valley State Championship Road Race (4/6) – dropped by first and second place finishers on the first climb; almost dropped out due to extreme neuroma foot pain
· University Road Race (10/10) – finished last of the finishers – lapped – disappointing but acknowledged as the hardest RR.

Track:
Beat the Clock: won the 2K, 3K and 4K pursuits on my Orbea Ordu TT road bike
Track Masters National Championship: 4/5 in the 500 meter; 1/3 in the 2K individual pursuit with a time of 2:59.

The Year Ahead:
On Thursday, Dmitriy shared his goals for me for next year.
20’ OLH time (I am currently at 23:30 with a hard but not full out effort)
2:45 2K pursuit time at the track (my National Championship time was 2:59). I will need to do this in order to have a chance to win at Nats or Worlds.
Upgrade from Cat 4 to Cat 3 by the end of the year
I embrace these goals and I will definitely be working hard to achieve them.

Other goals for 2009:
First place in the State Masters TT championship (or at least close in on "she who cannot be named's" time and take second)
Improve my time at Dunlop TT by at least 30 seconds
First place at Nats Masters TT
Defend Esparto TT first-place victory
First place at State Masters Track Championship – 2k individual pursuit
Defend National Championship at Nats Masters Track Championship – 2k individual pursuit
First place Worlds Masters Track Championship – 2k individual pursuit

Beat the Clock Time Trial Report - Sat. Sept. 20, 2008

This was the last Beat the Clock Time Trial of the season. RFA and I debated whether to participate, and if we did, as individuals or perhaps as a team. The racing season is over and we are in "active rest" for the month of September, so it was hard to get excited about this event. On the other hand, it is for such a good cause, always fun, and there are so few TTs. We decided not to do the team time trial (TTT) since we haven't practiced and didn't want to crash just before our Mallorca trip. When my friend (and competitor) registered, that was enough to solidify my decision to do the individual time trial (ITT) event. In an attempt to do some preparation, the week before, I rode my TT bike at the cycling gym two days and on Thursday did another speed workout (110 cadence) on the trainer on my road bike. I was also hoping that some of the track workouts would carry over. We got up at 5:15 AM and left the house at 6:15. It was still dark when we arrived at Canada and Edgewood. We used flashlights to put the bikes on the trainers. At least the air was moderate (low 60's) and almost no wind. The air however felt heavy with moisture so it would be difficult to set any new personal bests. The important thing is that the pavement was dry. RFA had a 7:30 start time and I was scheduled to start at 7:31. So it appeared that the start times were purposely set so that RFA would be my one-minute "rabbit." RFA used the Easton tubulars on his Cervelo TT bike and I was set up with the disc and the tri-spoke. In theory, the disk and the tri-spoke are definitely more aero. I felt that my top speeds were faster, but the wheels didn't seem as responsive on the climbs compared to my Eastons. My goal was to beat PD and LH but PD decided to scrap the ITT and only do the TTT, and LH was a no show. So now my goal was to pass RFA. We both had good starts. Nearing the turn around, I saw RFA already heading back. I guessed that there was a 30 second gap to close to pass him. I passed the guy who started ahead of RFA after the backside of the water temple but still no RFA. I started my Garmin before the start and guessed my time to be around 27 minutes. I was not real happy - but happy that RFA had a good time. If the starting times were correct, that would put him in the neighborhood of 27:30 which would be phenomenal given that his personal best for BTC was 27:54. Results were posted today and we are trying to make sense of them. I have a time of 26:37 and RFA's time is 27:56. If the start times are correct, that means I would have passed him - which I didn't. (BTW, RFA's electronics weren't set, so he has no personal data.) We surmise that his time is correct, the start times were one and one-half minutes apart and my time is about 23 seconds too fast. We'll see if they post corrected times. Regardless, I was the fastest woman! Even with a corrected time! The #2 woman was 27:24. Sweet!

Proud Owner of Cervelo P3C Track Bike

I rode my friend's Cervelo P3C track bike to victory in the 2K pursuit Masters National Track Championship a couple weeks ago. I am committed to track racing (Worlds next year in Sydney??) and bought the same frame. Cupertino Bike Shop had a small (51 cm) in stock and had a special where $300 of the sales price is donated to the local Hellyer Velodrome in San Jose, CA. We are having Gebhard at Cyclepath San Mateo built it up. I am happy to be part of the Cervelo family! More photos to follow.

Webcor Rider of the Month

Last night was the monthly Alto Velo (AV) WebCor racing club meeting in Mountainview, CA. RFA and I met a team mate who is the track guru to get some advice on track bikes and components at a local cafe before the meeting and then walked over. The AV president awarded the race reimbursements and I received $74.00 for winning Esparto time trial and the National Masters Track 2K pursuit. Very cool. Every month a male and female "rider of the month" award is bestowed. And, yes, my "fairy tale" of winning the track National Championship with a sub-3 minute time on a borrowed track bike just two weeks after my first time on a Velodrome on a TT bike at Beat-the-Clock gained me the honor. And an honor it was! The AV WebCor racing club has over 400 members and many many extremely talented cyclists. This meant a lot to me to be acknowledged by my peers. I won a gift certificate for Voler leg warmers (I need them!), a case of PowerGels and a huge jar of electrolyte replacement powder.

Mt. Tam Hill Climb Pre-Ride Sept. 14, 2008

RFA and I are signed up to do the Mt. Tam Hill Climb on Sept. 27. The climb is 12.5 miles with about 2000 feet of climbing. We don't do much riding in Marin and have never climbed Mt. Tam. We wanted to do a reconnaisance ride in advance of the race and met up with our friend Geoff who would lead the way. The drive on Highway 1 from Sausalito to Stinson Beach (the start of the race) was winding and spectacular but no bike lanes. The weather was in the high 50's but only a light overcast - no dense fog. This was our first time to Stinson Beach since we moved here 2 1/2 years ago. It would be a tough commute to South San Francisco (where I work). The first leg was a flat 4 1/2 miles along the lagoon and Geoff led a strong pace - we were going over 20 miles an hour with a tailwind and I was just sitting back in the draft - sweet. We turned right to Bolinas-Fairfax Road. We stopped to take off our windvest and arm warmers before the climb. Since we stopped, I had to walk my bike over the cattle grate and am not looking foward to riding over this on race day. I took this next leg pretty easy - there were some steep parts exceeding 10% grade but some gentle grades to allow for recovery. I had a close call with a skateboarder who came careening right at me - I think he sort of lost it after that - he went off the road but was OK. Total elevation gain along this section is about 1500 ft. Next the Seven Sisters - we had to go through a wooded area with wet pavement and wet leaves - another thing to watch out for on race day. Took the Seven Sisters at an easy pace and finished in about 1:06. My goal on race day is 55 minutes. The ride down was uneventful; going down Bolinas-Fairfax was bumpy and my hands were sore from braking. The three of us had a nice lunch in the Stinson Beach picnic area.

Met Max Testa and Eric Heiden Today

RFA and I cycled to Peet's in Los Altos (CA) today and decided to cycle with some Webcor teammates to Bicycle Outfitter where Max Testa and Eric Heiden were doing a book signing. Their new book is Faster Better Stronger. There were quite a few Webcor and Protech cyclists there. We bought the book and had Max and Eric autograph it. Max was very congenial and was very interested in everyone's cycling stories and successes. Both Eric and Max looked very fit! I even learned some Italian - at the start of a race in Italy the racers don't wish each other "good luck" but say "In bocca al lupo" which literally means "in the mouth of the wolf." The appropriate response is "crepi." (This is a fast way to impress your competitors the next time you are racing in Europe! ) The book is very basic, but sometimes it is a good thing to go back and revisit those basics.

Russian Massage - August 24, 2008

I figured that a massage would be in order after the mountainous University Road Race. I decided to give the Russian masseuse a try. Elena is affiliated with the Russians and is married to one of the Russian pro cyclists. She is this cute petite platinum blonde and shows up in her Skins. We met at Five Rings Cycling Centre where she often sets up on the second level. I arrive at 6:30 PM and Dmitrij is there - he was very disappointed when I told him about my race results. He suggests that Elena set up in the front ante-room on the first floor since the second floor would be too hot. So we lock the doors and pull the shades. Elena apologizes that her English is not too good - I say don't worry, I will just sleep through the massage. Ha! Was I wrong! Elena's is incredible - her hands are strong and feel huge for a little girl. She does long long strokes with just the perfect amount of pressure. She does my butt and torso. This is truly a sports cycling massage. Ambience is poor - no incense or music - we have bright lights and traffic noise. But the price is right and it felt great. I am sure that it helped my recovery.

University Road Race - Sunday, August 24

University Road Race is part of the CalCup series. I signed up because it was held on the Santa Cruz campus with beautiful ocean vistas. It was still a long drive from San Mateo, but a pleasant one and no bridges to cross. The good news and the bad news - my start time was around 12:30 which meant I didn;t have to get up at an ungodly hour, but the temps were going to be quite warm. The course was billed as "mountainous" (not simply hilly) and I was warned that this is the hardest road race of the season. This is more like a circuit race - 14 laps of 3 miles with 400 feet of climbing per lap. No flat areas on the course - you are either climbing or descending. I am a good climber but an uncanny ability to recover, so I (and my coach) thought that I would do well. Wrong - what was missing from that analysis is that only the strongest and lightest racers entered. I dropped RFA at 8:45 at Canada and 92 for the Russian ride and headed out to Santa Cruz on my own (after a stop at Starbucks). I didn't have a chance to pre-ride the course but got a glimpse of the steep part of the climb while driving to the parking lot. I had a good warm-up on the trainer. It was foggy when I arrived, but soon the sun was shining and the afternoon temps were in the low 80's - hot for this kind of racing. The Cat 4 women's field was pretty small - I finished tenth - dead last if you don't count the DNP person. It seems that two other folks either dropped out or didn't get captured in the standings (that happens, I know!) because we had 13 at the start line. The race started with a climb and my heart rate was at 160. I stayed with the peleton for three laps and I was the first to drop off. There was one heart-stopping moment on the fast descent when someone braked and I came way too close to hitting Janet Martinez' wheel. After I got dropped, I simply decided to do my own training ride. I lost a lot of time on the descents since I didn't have anyone to draft (except for one Webcor guy who told me to grab his wheel on one of the descents - that made a difference of 32 mph v. 28 mph which is huge over 14 laps. Eventually I got lapped which really sucked. The feed station was well-manned and I was able to drink plenty of water and pour water down my back to cool off. I was glad when it was over. Not sure if I will do this again. The Cat 1/2 women were really fast. I am not a big person (5' 41/2" tall and less than 110#) but the women's field was full of these little midgets!!

Roses for National Championship Win at Masters Track

I never received so many roses in my life! Red, white and blue roses (or close to it) from my husband (and my soigneur – he has been upgraded from bike slave) Hermes and yellow roses from my coaches Dmitriy and Vladimir. If it is possible, my coaches were even more excited than me! I owe so much to my husband, coaches, Webcor teammates and training mates for their inspiration and encouragement. They have more faith in my ability than I do – I am just glad that I did not disappoint them.

MEA wins National Championship at Masters Track - 9/4/08

This is my fairy tale and dream come true. My first track event and I won the women’s 2K pursuit ages 55 – 59 in the U.S. National Masters Track Championships. This year the National Masters (defined as 30+) Track championships were held at the Hellyer Velodrome in San Jose, CA. The gold medal is awesome and I get to wear the national championship jersey in races for one year. How in the world did RFA and I get ourselves into this? It started with the Beat the Clock "Day at the Track" event on August 16. We had such a blast riding TT road bikes on the track, with I finished first in the road bike category for the events that I did (2K, 3K and 4K pursuits). I looked at some track pursuit times for both the district and national races and realized that I could at least be competitive. Since the race was local, it was an easy decision to enter. The tougher challenge was to find track bikes, practice on the track with real track bikes, train for National Championships and be race ready in 11 days. It was RFA's job to pull it all together. We shared our plans with our coaches and they were fully supportive and helped us with a “fast track” training plan and equipment. Buying equipment was not feasible. One of the great things about the racing community is the camaraderie and shared goals that motivate one another to compete. Within 24 hours, we had two riders who loaned us track bikes in our size so that we could begin training immediately. The next weekend before the race, we were at the velodrome to take a beginner clinic. We felt very comfortable riding on the track with track bikes. We tweaked our training and went to the track the Saturday before the race with our coach for a practice session to check gearing and to practice starts. We signed up for two events – the 500 meter time trial and the 2K pursuit. Both events are raced on the track in heats with one rider starting at opposite ends of the track and chasing each other. The 500 meters is a full out sprint from a standing start. We used a 51/15 gear. The technical aspect is the ability to accelerate from a standing start and immediately negotiate the curve while standing and sprinting after the first curve. Then you drop to the aerobars and keep accelerating. The 2K pursuit is a sprint at the start and then settle in at an all out maximum effort for 3 minutes. On the track, the 2K pursuit is considered an endurance event.
The bikes: A kind and generous friend from Five Rings Cycling Center where we train loaned me his gorgeous Cervelo P3C track bike – with a few adjustments it was a pretty good fit. Hermes had a Felt track bike. Track bikes are fixed gear with no brakes or free wheel.
The UCI: This event falls under the UCI rules and every bike had to go through UCI inspection for each event. The officials had their UCI jig setup and a scale at the home and back stretch with a commissioner checking bikes. I heard this was the first time that they did this at the track nationals. Well, there was some chaos as racers found their bikes to be too light or seat setback / aerobar setup out of spec. I saw a couple of guys tape allen wrenches to their top tube to meet the weight requirements. Under a strict reading of the rules, the inspector could have rejected that solution because you cannot add weight that can be removed while riding. My goal for the 2K was sub-three minutes, so I was happy with my 2:59.65. I used a 51 x 15 which felt right but it is clear by my splits that I need to really work on the start. First lap was 35:04, with subsequent lap times of 27:53, 28.66, 29.53, 29.34 and 29.32. My pursuit person faded after 3 laps and I easily passed her on the 5th lap. I also did the 500 m the day before for practice and placed 4th (out of 5) with a dismal time of 50:13. (My 500 meter split in the 2K was 49:02 – a bit better). The winner was Allyson Vought with a time of 44.08. That said, it was a "PR" given that I never did or practiced a 500 m before – and I did get a medal and a place on the podium. Doing that event was also a good way to get my nervousness under control, and I was able to put those disappointing results out of my mind for the next day's 2K.
RFA's narrative of his events: My goal for the 500 meters and 2K pursuit was to beat someone. Hopefully, it would a man in my age group. The 55 –59 age group is one of the toughest and is populated by former National Champions and State Champions and generally very experienced track racers. I was pleased with my 500 meter result. - 46.12 seconds beating another racer by 1.56 seconds. This was great experience and the first 500 meter track race of my life was age 59 in the US Nationals and I beat one guy. Life is good. In the 2K pursuit, the goal and situation was the same. However, now I am an experienced track racer. I line up on the home stretch with my competition on the back stretch. As the 5 beeps count down, on the long tone, I am off. Immediately, there is a double gun shot signaling a false start (the other guy). The announcer says it would be great if the riders do a U turn on the track to speed things up. A U turn on the track. Hey, I just learned how to get on and off of this bike 7 days ago. I am going around. I did not see how a U turn was possible and even if it was, not by me. I came around and got back into position. This time, we had good start. My tactical plan was simple. Accelerate up to speed like I did in the 500 meters and then settle in for the first lap. On lap 2, I eased off every so slightly. On lap 3,4,5, and 6, I stepped on the gas increased speed each time. Laps 5 and 6, I was still accelerating and bleeding from the eyeballs. When I heard the bell on the final lap, I gave it everything I had. My time was 3:03.34. I beat my man by 2.74 seconds. Also, beat another guy by 3.31 seconds. I am really happy with my result for my first two track races. It was a great experience and shows it is never too late to try something new. The Worlds in Sydney next year. I mean how can you top winning the Nationals as your first race?

San Bruno Hill Climb - noon ride - Sept. 10, 2008

Today I went on the noon Genentech Bicycling Club San Bruno hill climb. The weather was pleasant - in the 60's and sunny. Windy, but that is normal for South San Francisco. There were only three of us - Alex, Susan and me. I took off on the first leg of the climb and waited for the others at the gate. Alex rode with me up to the radio tower - he is a strong climber. Susan rode part way up and we met her on the descent. It was an invigorating ride and a glorious day. I needed this since I have to get ready for the Mt. Tam hill climb at the end of the month.

New Shimano R300 cycling shoes

I bought a new pair of cycling shoes - Shimano R300. They are custom fit and very light and cool. I love my full carbon white Sidis, but was looking for a shoe with a wider toe box. The Sidis are very narrow. I have neuromas in both feet that cause excruciating pain when it is hot and my feet swell. The Shimano R300 may help that problem. RFA also has a pair and likes them very much. The Shimano R300 definitely is roomier in the toe box and I like the silver color.