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.