Friday's D1 Workout

Today's workout was another fun one, this time focused on legs, and maybe the hardest of the week.

• Warmup with plyos and laps
• Sled push/pull 10yds, lunges 10yds, 1 lap, repeat all 3 times
• 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest of the following:
• Squat (45-65-75)
• Squat jumps
• Rest
• Repeat all three 3 times
• 1 lap
• 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest of the following:
• Hamstring RDL (55-65-75)
• Kettle-bell swings (25lb)
• Rest
• Repeat all three 3 times
• 1 lap
• 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest of the following:
• Barbell step-ups
• Split-leg squat jumps
• Rest
• Repeat all three 3 times
• 1 lap
• 20 seconds work, 20 seconds rest biceps curls (25lb)
• Planks w/25lb
• Crunches w/25lb

This might be the first workout this week I couldn't have repeated immediately. For whatever reason, my shoulders were the most fatigued of all my muscles, and that make the planks and crunches that much harder!

I also met Anna for a run at Granny White Park in the early afternoon.

Thursday's D1 Workout

Today's workout was movie-themed, and I really enjoyed it. It varied a lot and was hard but fun.

Warmup jog and plyos
50-yd shuffle/50-yd jog/50-yd shuffle/50-yd back-pedal - 5 burpees with push up - repeat 3 times
Hoosiers: 5-yd shuffle, drop-step, repeat for 50 yds - 20 side leg lifts each side - repeat 3 times
X-Men: 2-minute X-sprints, something else - repeat 3 times
Rocky 4: 6 hill climbs (or stairs if you're me--I couldn't get my left leg to work as hard as my right leg, even if I started with opposite legs each time, so I went with the stairs, which forced me to make each leg work the same), 10 hip-thrusters - repeat 3 times
Miracle: 30-second wall sit with team 25-lb plate pass, 45-second wall sit with team 25-lb plate pass
Glute/ham/abductor/adductor cooldown exercises

The Miracle one was by far my favorite, but I can do a 5-minute wall sit so it was kind of like a rest for me :-)

Wednesday's D1 Workout

Today was hard. I think the previous two days might be catching up with me!

Warmup laps and dynamic stretches
7 kettle-bell swings - 50-yd dash - 6 get-ups - 50-yd dash - 5 kettle-bell swings - 50-yd dash - 4 get-ups - 50-yd dash - 3 kettle-bell swings - 50-yd dash - 2 get-ups - 50-yd dash - 1 kettle-bell swing

Then we did two sets of 15-minute team workouts (you could choose from any of the following, couldn't repeat anything back-to-back, and accrued points for your team upon completion of a exercise; the more things you did, the more points your team got; I did the bold ones multiple times and didn't do the others):

• 5 Points
• 50 lunges (25 each leg)
• 50 crunches
• 20 push ups
• 50 squat jumps
• 10 points
• 1 lap around the building
• 100-yd farmer carry
• 40 renegade rows (20 each side)
• 20 burpees with push up
• 15 points
• 100 body-weight squats
• 500-yd sprint
• 50 squat-thrusts
• 50 box dips

In the morning, my team lost the first round and I left before Dan tallied the second round. In the afternoon, my team lost both rounds and I did more different exercises (plus the rules had changed a little, so that helped). Now my legs are tired!

4 Reasons I Like D1

Tonight was my fourth time at D1 in 2 days. I earned a free week of training at the Josh Byers Memorial Day 5K back in May that was expiring this week, so I am taking advantage of it.

In honor of the 4 workouts, here are 4 things I like about D1:

1. Even though you are inside, it feels like you are outside because it is so hot in there and the doors/windows are all open the whole time.
2. I sweat, a lot, and it feels like I am getting a good workout. And the shower area is air-conditioned.
3. I met Will, my current coach, there. I would not be where I am today were it not for his coaching.
4. The harder you work, the more little black pellets get everywhere, including all over you and in your shoes and hair and really everywhere. But then you know you’ve worked super hard!

So far, the coach this week has been Dan, and we have done two hard workouts.

Monday’s workouts:

• Laps around the field and warm-ups
• 3 times through the following:
  
  • 1×10 front raise (5lb plates)
  • 1×10 lateral raise (5lb plates)
  • 1×10 bentover triceps extension
  • 1 half-lap with stairs
• 8×4 bench press (65lb)
• 8×4 flye (25lb)
• 8×4 shoulder press
• 8×4 overhead triceps extension
• 30 each of the following:
• sit-ups
• leg lifts
• side crunches
• Olympic crunches
• bicycle kicks

Tuesday’s workouts (in no particular order):

• Laps around the field and warm-ups
• 1-minute cross-cone shuffles
• 1-minute side throws with 8-lb medicine ball
• 1-minute lunges
• 1-minute side throws with 8-lb med ball
• 4×100 on 1 minute
• 1-minute rest
• 1-minute box jumps
• 1-minute square skips/shuffles/back-pedals/shuffles
• 1-minute leg lifts
• 1-minute square skips/shuffles/back-pedals/shuffles
• 4×100 on 1 minute
• 1-minute rest
• 1-minute med ball toss-ups
• 1-minute med ball throw-downs
• 1-minute sit-ups
• 1-minute of something else
• 1-minute rest
• 1-minute planks
• 1-minute side planks
• 1-minute mountain-climbers
• 1-minute side planks
• 4×100 on 1 minute

Tuesday morning, we did 6×100 and I missed the final set. Tuesday afternoon, we did 4×100 and finished 5 minutes early. Both were equally hard, but the sets of 4 seemed so much more manageable than the sets of 6. Now I am exhausted and ready for some foam roller action and dinner!

River Gorge Race Report

I have done this omnium once before (2011) and ridden the road race course three times (2011 recon, 2011 race, and 2012 recon). It does not get any easier. The 38-mile course ends with a 3.5-mile climb up Raccoon Mountain, which from the direction we climb is about a 6-––8% the entire time besides a little descent around mile 2.5.

The weekend started with the 4-mile time trial, and my goals were to finish in the top 10, beat my time from last year (9:58), and beat Amanda. (There's an overall award for the state, and I started the weekend 25 points behind Amy [who couldn't earn any more points] and 7 points ahead of Amanda [who could earn more points]; I figured if I beat her, then I'd end up the overall winner, so my goal was to beat her.) I finished 9th in a time of 9:53, so I achieved my first two goals. However, Amanda beat me by 5 seconds and 1 position, so I was now only 5 points ahead of her...more pressure for the crit!

Our crit was at 6:05pm (my TT had started at 9:14am), so I had enough time to relax and prepare, but I was definitely nervous going into the race. There were 19 of us 1/2/3 women, and I knew I had to do well. It was a hard race, but I hung on to the lead group and finished 6th overall, 1st Cat 3, and earned 40 points to put me a slightly-more-comfortable-but-by-no-means-cushy distance ahead of Amanda.

Going into the race on Sunday I knew that I’d probably have to finish within the top 5 Cat 3s, and that was going to be a major challenge. However, as we started the race, I realized that I would just have to finish this race because Amanda wasn’t racing (she had been hurt in the crit the night before and wasn’t able to race). Then there was a lot less pressure on me and I was able to just enjoy the race—I definitely enjoyed it!

There is a climb around mile 7 that split the group up for a few miles, and I made it up that climb with the lead group—hooray! I was hoping that this break would stay away, but we (and there were maybe 20 of us) couldn’t get organized and got caught just before the QOM climb around mile 14. I did not make it up this climb with the lead group but was with a few people, and we were able to work together on the descent to catch others and eventually catch the lead group. So this meant that I started the stair-step climb around mile 20 with the lead group! Considering the strength of the women in that group (like my teammates Catherine and Parri; Jackie, who is a pro; Pam, who won the Cat 1/2 TBAR jersey; Amy, who won the Cat 3/4 overall at ToAD; and others), I was thrilled to be in that position. I would’ve been even happier had I been able to stay with them, but I wasn’t and just had to watch them ride away.

At this point, I knew I had about 20 women ahead of me, and there were at least 2 in that group who could score Cat 3 TBRA points; I imagined AJ in that group, which put me in 4th, and I HAD to stay there. So I rode the next 12 or so miles by myself, doing my best to make up time on the group ahead of me and not look back to see whether anyone was gaining on me. Eventually I started the final climb, and I still had not been passed by anyone. But 1:26 into my climb, Todd and Valerie drove up beside me. I was surprised to see Val since she’d started the race with us, but she said she’d flatted and cramped and sagged at the feed zone. Val said there were some girls on their way to me, and it ended up being Anna and Kiki (with 1 other) who caught me 6 minutes into the climb. Sadly, I wasn’t able to stay with them or with the other 2 girls who passed me eventually as well, but no one else passed me and I could see those 5 for most of the rest of the climb. I ended up finished 26th overall and maybe the 8th Cat 3 (4th or 5th TN girl), which was just under where I’d wanted to finish.

However, because AJ didn’t race, I won the TBAR points race and earned a jersey. Definitely couldn’t have done it without Anna’s and Valerie’s help this weekend and throughout the rest of the season! Catherine also won the jersey for her Cat 4 category. Success for Team B!

Since I didn’t have my Garmin, I don’t have stats for the first 2 climbs and I have only time from the final climb. But here are the stats from the previous times I’ve ridden the course:

1. Queen of the Mountain (QoM)
• Begins around mile 10.2 and lasts approximately 1.8 miles
• 8-14-11: ~9:40 (~1.8mi)
• 8-28-11: ~9:20 (~1.9mi)
• 8-12-12: ~8:50 (~1.7mi)
2. Stair-step
   • Begins around mile 20 and lasts approximately 2.1 miles
   • 8-14-11: 11:06 (2mi)
   • 8-28-11: 11:13 (2.1mi)
   • 8-12-12: 11:22 (2.41mi)
3. Final climb
• Begins around mile 33.3 and lasts approximately 3.4 miles
• 8-14-11: 29:50 (3.4mi)
• 8-28-11: 25:12 (3.4mi)
• 8-12-12: 24:58 (3.34mi)
• 8-26-12: 26:33

This is a picture of the race route, including elevation.

River Gorge RR and Profile

River Gorge in Pictures

Chattanooga from the top of
Raccoon Mountain--3.5-miles of climbing!

Kiki, Catherine, me, Amy, Jackie, and some random
guy before the TT on Saturday morning.
Result: 9 of 30, 9:53

Cat 4 Crit start Saturday
My result: 6 of 19, 1st Cat 3, 40-minute crit

Road race start: Catherine, me, Valerie, Kiki, Parri, Anna
Result: 26 of 42, 2:05

Catherine and me celebrating our wins!

Cat 3 TBAR Jersey Winner!

Post-race smiles! Parri, me, Catherine, Kiki, Anna

I will write a blog soon!

NC.Com Crits #17, 18: Final Night

Feeling better post-race than during-race!
It was a hard night full of fast racing.

Tonight might be the first time I thought I was going to die in a race. Well, it wasn't that bad, but it was crazy hard and hurt! It was the final NashvilleCyclist.com crit of the 2012 series, and the first was one of the hardest races I can remember.

Men's Cat IV--brutal!

On the positive side (I guess), it didn't hurt for just me. The guys rode fast from the whistle, and I talked to Don (who took the photos) and he said it was a very hard race and hurt for him too. He finished in the top 10 of the overall omnium, so he is strong and not a back-of-the-pack rider. On the negative side, I did not finish the race. See that picture above? The kid in front of me is a kid (maybe 14), and the pack is long gone. Plus my head is down, never a good sign. I think at this moment I wanted to throw up. Instead, I got off, recovered, and got back on for the women's race that was soon to follow.

We started out fast and pretty much kept that pace up. This race was different than last week's in that we had fewer women (17 today) and different women, but it was super fun. Everyone was pretty aggressive, and the pace was high. Eventually, Katie got away and neither Catherine nor I was able to go with her. Then Jes attacked, and Marsha and Catherine went with her. I really wanted too--I did not want both Katie and Jes up the road from me. But I could not get to that little group without taking Leah and Kathy with me, and I did not like those odds (4 SVMIC vs. 2 Belladium).

Instead, I sat back with Valerie, Jess, Leah, and Kathy until we could see Cali (we were lapping her). Then I bridged up and separated me, Leah, and Kathy from Val and Jess. When we were down to 4 laps to go Leah pulled the entire rest of the race; that is, the rest until half a lap to go when I attacked again and stayed away to take 5th place. Catherine's group never caught Katie, but Cath outsprinted the other girls and finished 2nd. Val outsprinted Jess and was 8th; Cali outsprinted Kristi and was 10th; Anna didn't have anyone to outsprint and was 12th. So even though we didn't win the race, we all won from the groups we were in. Success!

Catherine, Leah, and Valerie post-race,
overall Women 4 omnium

We had a post-race celebration that included Whitt's barbecue and cupcakes and involved podium presentations. Catherine was 2nd and Valerie was 3rd overall for the 4s races.

Katie, AJ, and me post-race,
overall Women 1/2/3 omnium

I finished 3rd overall for the 1/2/3 races. If I had beaten Katie tonight, I'd have finished 2nd (only 1 point separated us coming into this race), and AJ pretty much dominated and couldn't be caught, despite missing the final two races.

Crit Stats (since I started racing the men's races first)

7-21-12 Crit 1M stats: 16.85 miles, 38:41, 26.1 mph, 183 bpm (Sat)
7-21-12 Crit 2W stats: 14.24 miles, 37:58, 22.5 mph, 178 bpm (Sat)
7-25-12 Crit 1M stats: 7.94 miles, 20:11, 23.2 mph, 181 bpm (Wed)
7-25-12 Crit 2W stats: 10.72 miles, 28:09, 22.9 mph, 187 bpm (Wed)
7-28-12 Crit 1M stats: 16.18 miles, 39:11, 24.8 mph, 180 bpm (Sat)
7-28-12 Crit 2W stats: 14.21 miles, 39:16, 21.6 mph, 174 bpm (Sat)
8-08-12 Crit 1M stats: 10.34 miles, 24:22, 25.5 mph, 183 bpm (Wed)
8-08-12 Crit 2W stats: 9.73 miles, 24:29, 23.8 mph, 184 bpm (Wed)
8-15-12 Crit 1M stats: 10.42 miles, 24:37, 25.4 mph, 185 bpm (Wed)
8-15-12 Crit 2W stats: 9.70 miles, 25:07, 23.2 mph, 187 bpm (Wed)
8-22-12 Crit 1M stats: don't have any, broken Garmin, lasted 6 laps (Wed)
8-22-12 Crit 2W stats: don't have any, Kathy said we averaged 22.5 mph

Women's Crit Stats

8-22-12 Stats: don't have them; ~22.5 mph, 5th of 17
8-15-12 Stats: 25:07, 9.70 miles, 23.2 mph, 187 bpm, 3rd of 14
8-08-12 Stats: 24:29, 9.73 miles, 23.8 mph, 184 bpm, 3rd of 22
7-28-12 Stats: 39:16, 14.21 miles, 21.6 mph, 174 bpm, 8th of 11
7-25-12 Stats: 28:09, 10.72 miles, 22.9 mph, 187 bpm, 2nd of 11
7-21-12 Stats: 37:58, 14.24 miles, 22.5 mph, 178 bpm, 3rd of 11
7-18-12 Stats: 30:04, 11.29 miles, 22.5 mph, 179 bpm; 5th of 15
6-20-12 Stats: 30:06, 11.21 miles, 22.3 mph, 185 bpm; 6th of 16 (no post)
6-16-12 Stats: 40:18, 15.36 miles, 22.9 mph, 186 bpm; 1st of 14
6-13-12 Stats: 29:40, 11.37 miles, 23.0 mph, 187 bpm; 4th of 23
5-30-12 Stats: don't have them; 3rd of 21
5-23-12 Stats:  31:08, 11.63 miles, 22.4 mph (31.1 max); 3rd of 12

Litespeed BMW Crit and Grant Park Crit

Me, Val, T, Anna, and Shelly at
Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta

Valerie, Anna, Todd, Shelly, Catherine, Ashly, Madison, and I were all in Atlanta this weekend for the Litespeed BMW Crit (LBC) and the Grant Park Crit (GPC). Anna, Val, and I had raced the GPC last year (2011 report) and wanted to go back to give a better showing that we had. And since we were already going to be there, we found another race and did it as well.

The first race was the LBC. Anna, Val, Shelly, and I lined up with 18 other Cat 3/4 women on a slight uphill start. The course was fairly fast, and the roads were quite nasty--lots of potholes and rocks/junk and narrow. We went clockwise around 5 turns with the start/finish stretch all uphill (turn 5 to turn 1) and the back stretch all downhill (turn 2 to turn 4); from turn 5 to turn 5 it was flat but short.

Litespeed Start Line

About 4 laps in (guessing from what I recall and what my Garmin's HR and speed data look like), Elizabeth (LG team; she had raced with us in Oak Ridge) attacked on the backside and I went with her. A lady named Debbie came with me, and the three of us built a little gap on the field quickly. I glanced back once or twice and could see that one person (Tina I think) was trying to bridge up, but we kept the speed high enough that she didn't catch us. The 3 of us worked together pretty well and started getting splits when we were 35 seconds from the back of the field. We caught them with about 8 laps to go.

The short flat stretch between turns 4 and 5

When we caught the field, I stayed toward the back for about a lap until Todd said move up. I wasn't sure what my best move was because I wanted a rest but I also wanted to stay close enough to Liz and Debbie that, if they attacked, I was ready. Eventually all 3 of us were at the front again. They called primes with 3 and 2 laps to go and then rang the bell with 1 to go. I made a move just before turn 5 and sprinted up the hill for the win!

LBC podium: Debbie, me, Elizabeth

Earlier (like with 7 to go) I had asked Todd to send Valerie up. I wanted a familiar face, but I also wanted her to be in a position to finish well (I didn't know Anna was also with us). Val tried and Anna succeeded, so they were both in a fairly good place for the field sprint--Anna was 5th (2nd from the field) and Val was 11th (there were probably 15 total in the field, including us 3 leaders).

After that race we cleaned up and went to Azio (music alert if you click the link) for dinner a few blocks from our hotel. Val's friend Kathy lives in Atlanta, had watched the race, and joined up for dinner at the place she'd chosen. It was good Italian food and within walking distance. We then walked over to Centennial Olympic Park to wander and take a few pictures.

Vision-building (for Will's benefit)

Then we headed back to the hotel (Courtyard) for dessert in the dining area there. They had tons of cakes and cheesecakes, and we tried a dark chocolate one, a peanut butter one, and a pineapple/coconut one, all of which were delicious. We rarely do more than race, shower, eat, sleep, and drive when we travel, so this was a nice change from the norm.

Sunday morning we met Catherine, Ashly, and Madison and walked to the Starbucks for breakfast. Then it was off to race #2, the GPC. Last year Val and I went to support Anna, and this year all 5 of us were there as a team to get the win. By about 10 minutes in, I was ready to throw in the towel. My legs were so tired from yesterday's race and I felt like I couldn't stay with the group. Again, it was a big field of 23 Cat 3/4 women, and there were a lot of the same ones from yesterday so I knew who to watch, but I was really having trouble getting my legs to react to attacks. This course is an open, 4-turn, counter-clockwise course with a downhill between turns 1 and 2, a long flat stretch after turn 2 until turn 3, an uphill until turn 4, and then a slight uphill/false flat for the entire start/finish stretch between turns 4 and 1.

GPC Start Line: Catherine, Shelly, Debbie, Anna, me, Valerie

Right around when we started getting lap cards (5 to go), Elizabeth (same LG girl from yesterday) went for a prime and had a tiny gap. I told Catherine to go with her, and she did. One other girl quickly went up, so once again there was a little break of 3. I didn't know whether I'd even be able to stay on the next person who came by, but it happened to be Jenny (Mystique) and I know her, so I got on her wheel with Debbie and Jenny pulled us up to Catherine's group. I kept feeling like I was never really attached to that group, and Todd said I was maybe 5 or 6 bike lengths back. It felt like WAY MORE because it seemed to take forever to close that gap.

Finally on the last lap I felt like maybe I was going to finish with and not behind this group of 6. But I never got to a place where I could even tell Catherine that I was with her. She led up the hill and around the final turn where we could see the finish line. I could see her waning slightly and eventually came around to sprint it out. I knew that Debbie and Elizabeth knew who I was, and I didn't want them to get the jump on me for the finish, so I had to go. Catherine had hoped to win it and I know she didn't want to have to lead me out, but she did a beautiful job and I don't know that I could've won it without her in that group.

GPC podium: Debbie, me, Ajesha

Valerie afterward didn't realize that I was even in the lead group, and her perspective of the race was very amusing for that minute until we told her I'd won. She had seen me early in the race toward the back and knew I was tired, but then she didn't see me ride back up toward the front. Cath was 5th, Anna 8th, Val 10th, and Shelly 17th. We were all smiles at the end!

Anna, Valerie, me, Catherine, and Shelly

I wish I had stats from these races, but my Garmin's buttons broke after the first race so I can't view the history from the LBC and I couldn't record anything from the GPC. Sad day.

Music City Mile Race Report

My Belladium teammate Kat is a race director in her other life, and today she put on the Music City Mile. Because I love Kat and love racing, I decided to do it. Even though I haven't been running AT ALL and am definitely not a miler. But it was a good course (a loop around Titans Stadium) and had a good promoter, so I did it.

Run counter-clockwise
Not a lot of elevation change here :-)

All 35 women started together at 6pm, and my goal was to finish under 7 minutes. My previous fastest mile time was 6:30 (my blog says 6:20; my head has been telling me 6:30 for the last 2 years, and I don't know whether that's a typo or a bad memory, but I am going with typo) as the first mile of a 5K on an all downhill mile (Tricia's wedding weekend, July 2010). I was aiming for faster today but really didn't know what I'd be able to do.

When we started, I felt like I was in the Olympics. It was a sweet feeling, for about 10 seconds. Then I realized that it was a really fast pace...like 4:49/mile! Needless to say, I did not stay with that group for long. I did stay mostly with the front group. I could still see them the whole time and I couldn't hear or see anyone behind me, so I was where I normally am--at the back of the front (better than at the front of the back, I suppose).

I finished a mile at 6:27 on my Garmin and crossed the line at 6:30 on the clock. I am going with a new PR of 6:27 for a mile. Woohoo!

This race was well-organized and fun. Short, too, much shorter than a 5K would've been. I mean, everyone was done within 15 minutes of starting, so even though we had two waves 15 minutes apart, the races were over before 6:30 and I was home by 7:30 after the awards. The post-race foods were bananas, pizza, garlic-bread knots, and beer, and there was plenty of water and gatorade as well. The s2f crew did a good job of setting up the course, and no cars drove at us on the course so the police who were on the corners did a good job too.

NC.com Crits #15, 16: Beautiful Night

Start Line

Tonight was an absolutely beautiful night for racing. So race I did! The men's Cat 4 race was first and I lined up with 32 others. My goal was to stay near the front of the pack and see everything that happened. I was in the front 15 or so the entire time until the final 2 laps, when I moved to the back and stayed there.

Moving up...I'm the one with the white stitching on my
shorts--evidently Todd likes that style
source

This is not my category and I don't need to get mixed up in any sprints or possible crashes, so I don't. Plus I have to race again 5 minutes after this race ends, so it's hard enough just hanging on!

Surrounded by Treehouse guys

But I managed to stay with the field again, same as last week, and we averaged just about as fast (25.4 mph, which would probably have been 25.5 mph if I hadn't moved to the back on those last two laps).

In the middle, right where I wanted to be

The next race was the women's race, and this was a super fun race tonight. Everyone was riding and racing well, and having someone off the front (Leah) just seems to make everything so different. Kiki and I were the only two from Team Belladium, and we did our best to stay with the other big players tonight (Katie, Jess, Kathy, and Marsha, among others).

Morganne, me, Kathy, Marsha, Katie, and Kiki

Leah went for a prime and stayed away, and although we chased for a while we weren't really committed to catching her. I tried to bridge up once but Katie was with me on my wheel, and I didn't want to pull her up to her teammate. So I sat up and stayed with the group the rest of the time. With one lap to go Katie and I attacked at the same time and created a little gap between us and field, so we got to sprint it out. She was in the front most of that last lap; there were at least 2 times where I knew I could pass her, but I decided I wanted to wait it out until the final straight (maybe 200m?) and sprint it out that way.

Jess, Morganne, me, Katie, Marsha, Kiki, and Stephanie

She was ahead of me around the last corner and I couldn't catch her, but it was fun to try! She finished less than a bike length ahead of me, so I did make up some ground on her in that last stretch. Leah stayed away the whole time, so I finished 3rd of 14 and surprisingly not as exhausted as I'd expected. However, now that I am home and getting ready for bed I realize just how tired my legs and mind are!

Crit Stats (since I started racing the men's races first)

7-21-12 Crit 1M stats: 16.85 miles, 38:41, 26.1 mph, 183 bpm (Sat)
7-21-12 Crit 2W stats: 14.24 miles, 37:58, 22.5 mph, 178 bpm (Sat)
7-25-12 Crit 1M stats: 7.94 miles, 20:11, 23.2 mph, 181 bpm (Wed)
7-25-12 Crit 2W stats: 10.72 miles, 28:09, 22.9 mph, 187 bpm (Wed)
7-28-12 Crit 1M stats: 16.18 miles, 39:11, 24.8 mph, 180 bpm (Sat)
7-28-12 Crit 2W stats: 14.21 miles, 39:16, 21.6 mph, 174 bpm (Sat)
8-08-12 Crit 1M stats: 10.34 miles, 24:22, 25.5 mph, 183 bpm (Wed)
8-08-12 Crit 2W stats: 9.73 miles, 24:29, 23.8 mph, 184 bpm (Wed)
8-15-12 Crit 1M stats: 10.42 miles, 24:37, 25.4 mph, 185 bpm (Wed)
8-15-12 Crit 2W stats: 9.70 miles, 25:07, 23.2 mph, 187 bpm

Women's Crit Stats

8-15-12 Stats: 25:07, 9.70 miles, 23.2 mph, 187 bpm, 3rd of 14
8-08-12 Stats: 24:29, 9.73 miles, 23.8 mph, 184 bpm, 3rd of 22
7-28-12 Stats: 39:16, 14.21 miles, 21.6 mph, 174 bpm, 8th of 11
7-25-12 Stats: 28:09, 10.72 miles, 22.9 mph, 187 bpm, 2nd of 11
7-21-12 Stats: 37:58, 14.24 miles, 22.5 mph, 178 bpm, 3rd of 11
7-18-12 Stats: 30:04, 11.29 miles, 22.5 mph, 179 bpm; 5th of 15
6-20-12 Stats: 30:06, 11.21 miles, 22.3 mph, 185 bpm; 6th of 16 (no post)
6-16-12 Stats: 40:18, 15.36 miles, 22.9 mph, 186 bpm; 1st of 14
6-13-12 Stats: 29:40, 11.37 miles, 23.0 mph, 187 bpm; 4th of 23
5-30-12 Stats: don't have them; 3rd of 21
5-23-12 Stats:  31:08, 11.63 miles, 22.4 mph (31.1 max); 3rd of 12

Publix Trip

Got all this for 13.06!

After work and a workout at Centennial Park with Kathy, I went to Publix because today is the last day of this week's sale. There were a few things I wanted that were on sale, so I got the following:

Publix

Item (Quantity)	Regular Price  (multiplied)	Sale Price	Coupons	Final Price
Publix deli meat (16oz)	4.99	3.99	--	$3.99
Kraft cheese slices (7oz)	2.99	2.49	$1/1 PQ	$1.49
Cheerios (14oz)	3.69	1.85	$1/1 MQ	$0.85
Chocolate Frosted Flakes	4.29	2.49	$0.50/1 MQ (doubled)	$1.49
Odwalla Smoothies (2)	2.50 (5.00)	2.00 (4.00)	2 x $0.55/1 MQ	$2.90
SoBe Life Water (4)	1.49 (5.96)	1.00 (4.00)	2 x $1/2 MQ	$2.00
Coke 20-oz (3)	1.59 (4.77)	--	3 x $1.59/1 MQ	--
Totals: 13 items	$31.69	--	10.87 in Qs (+1.44 somewhere)	+$1.77 tax $13.06 total (saved $18.63, or 59%)

Basically, I paid for the meat, cheese, and Cheerios and got the rest of the stuff for free.

Basically paid for only this!

Since I will eat and need that food and will enjoy the rest, I'm pretty happy with this trip.

Then I came home and made supper with the Colavita noodles that I'd won as a prime in the East Troy Crit back in June. Hooray for free food :-)

River Gorge Recon

Lee, Catherine, Valerie, Parri, Anna, and me near the
top of Racoon Mountain (on our way down)

Today we went to Chattanooga to ride the River Gorge Road Race course. I have done this at least twice before: August 14, 2011 (recon), and August 28, 2011 (race), and I pretty much remembered everything about it just as it was. But today seemed to go better than every other time I did it. I wish I knew why I felt so good, but I felt amazing. I had told Will on Friday that my legs felt so good that I felt like I needed to race this weekend, but there weren't any races. So I had to settle with riding with my girls (and others) and riding well.

Parri, Lee, Catherine, Jeremy, me, Anna, Val, Modo, Bill, and Todd all rode the 38-mile course plus 5 miles back to our cars. So I rode 43 miles, 2:35, 16.6 miles (49.5 max), 155 bpm (190 max), 4316' ascent, 4435' descent.

This race has 3 major climbs:

1. Queen of the Mountain (QoM)
• Begins around mile 10.2 and lasts approximately 1.8 miles
• 8-14-11: ~9:40 (~1.8mi)
• 8-28-11: ~9:20 (~1.9mi)
• 8-12-12: ~8:50 (~1.7mi)
2. Stair-step
   • Begins around mile 20 and lasts approximately 2.1 miles
   • 8-14-11: 11:06 (2mi)
   • 8-28-11: 11:13 (2.1mi)
   • 8-12-12: 11:22 (2.41mi)
3. Final climb
• Begins around mile 33.3 and lasts approximately 3.4 miles
• 8-14-11: 29:50 (3.4mi)
• 8-28-11: 25:12 (3.4mi)
• 8-12-12: 24:58 (3.34mi)

Most of these are estimations, and my times aren't significantly better, but I felt significantly better, and that stair-step climb was by far the best. I started up it first and had to work hard to stay with Parri, J, Lee, and Cath, but I did and almost couldn't believe it. Woohoo!

This picture is from August 28, 2011. The elevation and route are pretty similar, but I'm not sure about speed and HR.

This picture is from August 14, 2011. Same with similar elevation and route, not sure about speed.

River Gorge Profile: RR and TT, including HR, elevation, and speed

This is a picture of the race route, including elevation.

River Gorge RR and Profile

Percy Warner and Edwin Warner Parks

This little guy wanted to join me for dinner

Today I spent most of the morning at church for a volunteer orientation. Who knew that volunteering to be in the nursery 2 nights a month would require 4 hours of orientation?!? At least they fed us breakfast :-)

And I made breakfast for dinner and had breakfast before I left this morning, so it was a breakfast kind of day!

Dinner and the Olympics...great night!

After the orientation was over, I headed to Edwin Warner Park (EW). Yesterday I went to Percy Warner Park (PW) and run/hiked the Red Trail (PW; 4.5 miles) and the Candy-Cane Connector Trail (PW to EW; 1 mile). I did 8 miles total with an out-and-back on the CCC Trail, a little around the Nature Center in EW, and a little on the road in PW. I wanted to explore a little more today, so I drove to EW. I'd only ever been on the Red Trail and the roads but I knew there were more miles of trails, so I had to check them out. I found the Blue Trail (EW; 2.5 miles) after a little time on the road and hiked that. Then I walked back to the car and finished with just under 4 miles. I'd have loved to have hiked more but I didn't want to carry water and I was tired, so I left. That just means that I'll have to go back to explore again!

So far, the Red Trail is by far my favorite. It is a challenging hike (though it is labeled "Moderate" on the park literature) and typically takes me around 1:20 or 1:30 with a friend. Two weeks ago I managed to complete it in 1:02 by running all the downhills. Today I finished 4.5 miles in about 00:58 by running most of the CCC Trail, which is basically flat. Nothing else on that hike is flat, and it gives me a new appreciation for trail runners.

The Blue Trail was through the woods too but not nearly as challenging: It is shorter, and it is not as hilly or steep as the Red Trail. Obviously mileage was less, but the overall ascent/descent for the two days were this:

Red Trail Plus: 2467' ascent/2570' descent (8.01 miles, 308' per mile ascent/321' per mile descent)
Blue Trail Plus: 1318' ascent/1455' descent (3.78 miles, 348' per mile ascent/385' per mile descent)
Red Trail: 2164' ascent, 2183' descent (4.5 miles, 480' per mile ascent/485' per mile descent) (counter-clockwise)

Tomorrow I will be riding a few miles, so having two days of no riding and good hiking and training makes me happy. Plus I've been able to watch the Olympics this weekend so that makes me happy too.

Pretty Nails!

My cousin is starting 8th grade tomorrow, so today we went out for a nice dinner (Macaroni Grill) and dessert (Sweet CeCe's) and then back to her house to watch the Olympics. She is an artsy one, and I let her do my nails. They turned out well:

I did get in a short workout this morning and an even shorter one this afternoon, but that is worth sacrificing for time with the family. It is also a VERY good thing that I do not have the opportunity to watch the Olympics every night. I would be completely sleep deprived (but also very motivated!).

NC.Com Crits #13, 14: Crazy Fast!

Fighting for position

Tonight's races were crazy hard and fast. The first race was the Men's Cat 4 race, and 39 people were registered (it looks like 33 finished). When I last did this course with the guys, I got dropped 10 minutes in and pulled 20 minutes in. Today I stayed with the field (and the winners) the entire time, even with us averaging 25.5 mph. Success! I tried to move up a little every lap, but all that did was keep me from getting dropped--it didn't put me in any better position for the finish.

Not exactly the ideal position

The field was 23 people and I finished 20th, so I really was in a poor position. Next week I will have to work on positioning.

I'm way in the background in this shot, but we all
regrouped shortly after this pic

Emily and me getting caught

The women's race was next, and I didn't know how I'd do. In fact, I was pretty sure I wouldn't do well, wouldn't be able to stay with anyone. So when Emily took off on the first lap, I went with her and thought, If this is all I have, at least I'll make it look good at the start! We stayed away for a few laps, but I'm sure that's just because the field let us tire ourselves out. Everyone was out to race today, and it shows in our average pace: 23.8 mph! We typically average in the 22s, so this was flying for us.

The lead group

Before long, we had a little separation among the 22 women, and Jes, AJ, me, Jess, Katie, Leah, Catherine, and Kathy were off the front. It wasn't that easy, though, because I felt like I had to work to bridge up a few times and sit in and let Leah bridge up a few times; Jes, AJ, and Katie were by far the strongest and didn't let any of us have a break the entire 25 minutes. We ended up in a field sprint with AJ taking the win, Jes second, and me third. Considering what I had just raced the previous 20 minutes, I was pretty happy in 3rd.

Finishing sprint

Basically I did a 50-minute crit, which is what our last race is going to be, but I doubt it will be an average of 24.5 miles per hour, which is what these two races together were! I really focused today in both races on keeping a higher cadence and shifting more often. If I'm not too sore or tired tomorrow I will know it paid off.

7-21-12 Crit 1M stats: 16.85 miles, 38:41, 26.1 mph, 183 bpm (Saturday)
7-21-12 Crit 2W stats: 14.24 miles, 37:58, 22.5 mph, 178 bpm (Saturday)
7-25-12 Crit 1M stats: 7.94 miles, 20:11, 23.2 mph, 181 bpm (Wednesday)
7-25-12 Crit 2W stats: 10.72 miles, 28:09, 22.9 mph, 187 bpm (Wednesday)
7-28-12 Crit 1M stats: 16.18 miles, 39:11, 24.8 mph, 180 bpm (Saturday)
7-28-12 Crit 2W stats: 14.21 miles, 39:16, 21.6 mph, 174 bpm (Saturday)
8-08-12 Crit 1M stats: 10.34 miles, 24:22, 25.5 mph, 183 bpm (Wednesday)
8-08-12 Crit 2W stats: 9.73 miles, 24:29, 23.8 mph, 184 bpm (Wednesday)

Women's Crit Stats

8-08-12 Stats: 9.73 miles, 24:29, 23.8 mph, 184 bpm, 3rd of 22
7-28-12 Stats: 39:16, 14.21 miles, 21.6 mph, 174 bpm, 8th of 11
7-25-12 Stats: 28:09, 10.72 miles, 22.9 mph, 187 bpm, 2nd of 11
7-21-12 Stats: 37:58, 14.24 miles, 22.5 mph, 178 bpm, 3rd of 11
7-18-12 Stats: 30:04, 11.29 miles, 22.5 mph, 179 bpm; 5th of 15
6-20-12 Stats: 30:06, 11.21 miles, 22.3 mph, 185 bpm; 6th of 16 (no post)
6-16-12 Stats: 40:18, 15.36 miles, 22.9 mph, 186 bpm; 1st of 14
6-13-12 Stats: 29:40, 11.37 miles, 23.0 mph, 187 bpm; 4th of 23
5-30-12 Stats: don't have them; 3rd of 21
5-23-12 Stats:  31:08, 11.63 miles, 22.4 mph (31.1 max); 3rd of 12

Oak Ridge Velo and State RR

We did this race last year (it was an omnium) and came back this year for more. We like to do TN races because that's where we live, but we also like to do well in our state and pick certain races to focus on. This was one of them, because the road race was our state road race (RR). That means if you win, you get recognized in the state and you earn a jersey. So there's a little incentive. (But it also means very little, if any, payout, because the promoters want to encourage state racers and discourage out-of-state racers.)

Oak Ridge Road Race, short course

The RR was first, and I was ready. Last year I DNF-ed this race, and I told Todd that my goal this year was to finish. Baby steps, I said. Parri, Lee, Anna, and I all started together and had 45 miles/3 laps to complete, and about midway through each lap was a 1-mile climb. Last year I got dropped on the first time through and didn't complete the 3rd lap. This year I stayed with the group on the first time through, got only slightly dropped the second time and caught back up, and got dropped the third time. The first 2 laps were fantastic. We started out with 14 (8 Cat 1/2s and 6 Cat 3s) and ended up as a group of 12 working amazingly well together--I'm talking a beautiful double paceline with everyone doing equal work. There were not any attacks until the lead in to the big climb on the final lap, but it was just as hard as any other races because of the high pace. I loved it, and it reminded me the entire time of Hell of the South (or rather, I kept reminding myself of that race, because I'd done well there and it was similarly paced).

The third and final time up the climb, I got dropped but kept pressing on--I had gotten dropped the previous lap and was able to catch back up, plus this was our state race! I knew that I was currently 3rd in the Cat 3s and that if I could catch Stephanie and Jenny I could beat them on the final climb/sprint, but though I could see them for the final 4or 5 miles, I couldn't ever catch them. Still, I ended up 3rd and on the podium!

Oak Ridge State RR 3s: Steph, Jenny, me

I did a much better job with the heat this year; it was still just as hot (we started at noon Eastern), but I had an ice bottle in my pocket (which I drank later), 2 water bottles with me, 1 bottle at the first feed, and 1 bottle at the second feed. Smarter than last year!

Parri was 2nd overall and the 2nd Cat 1/2. I was 11th overall and the 3rd Cat 3. Catherine won the 4s race, and Kiki was 4th overall but 3rd in the state. So we podiumed in every race and won a state jersey!

Oak Ridge State RR 4s: Catherine, Leah, Kiki

Oak Ridge State RR 1/2s: Katie, Parri, Jes

2012 Stats: 47.79 miles, 19.4 mph (44.8 max), 170 bpm (196 max), 3728' ascent, 3348' descent
2011 Stats: 32.53 miles, 18.3 mph (42.1 max), 172 bpm (198 max), 2503' ascent, 2202' descent

The TT was later that afternoon and it was pitiful for me. This was a slightly longer course than last year, but not 2:30 slower! Last year, the first woman finished in 19:16; this year she did it in 20:00. Last year I finished in 20:55; this year I did it in 22:38. I don't know what to say except that I was tired. I was 11th overall and the 4th Cat 3.

Sunday was the crit. I watched Catherine, Shelly, Kiki, and Valerie dominate early in the morning, and then I raced early in the afternoon. Eight of us started, but no one in the final group of 6 had teammates, so it was quite slow and uneventful. I attached with just under 1 lap to go and 2 others came with me. Katie passed me straight up, and Liz sat on my wheel until just before the finish line, so I ended up 3rd overall and the 1st Cat 3.

This course was WAY different different than last year's. It was in an industrial area and had a 180* turn just after the start. It was shaped like a lollipop, I guess, with a little uphill to the finish and a downhill  on the other side of the road. Counterclockwise, shaped kind of like this; the pipe on the far right is the start/finish, and the bracket is the 180:
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Stats: 54:04, 19.5 miles, 21.1 mph (31.9 max), 170 bpm (193 max)