2013 Races

Here is a rundown of my 2013 races. A mileage update will come soon.

• Endeavor Performance Indoor Time Trial
  2/23/13
  TT: 10K, 16:45, 239W, 3.4w/kg
  1/2 P/1/2; 2/9 women
• Hell of the South
  3/23/13
  10/25 overall, 5/5 P/1/2
• Cedar Hill Circuit Race
  4/07/13
  14/20 overall, 8/8 P/1/2
• Team Camp
  4/12-4/14/13
• Sunny King Criterium
  4/20/13
  32/40 Cat P/1/2
  16/22 Cat 2s
• Foothills Road Race
  4/21/13
  31/50 Cat P/1/2/3/4
  13/16 Cat 2s
• Joe Martin Stage Race
  4/25: TT: 50/52 P/1/2; 12:53
  4/26: RR: 46/52 P/1/2
  4/27: RR: DNF
  4/28: Crit: DNS
• Girls on the Run 5K
  5/04/13
  Kaiya: 4th in AG, 26:30
• TN State TT
  5/05/13
  5/5 Cat P/1/2: 55:22
• Berry Peddler RR/TT
  5/11: 16 of 24 o'all; 8/8 P/1/2
• US Pro Nat'l Championship
  5/27: Road Race, DNF
• Rockabilly Gran Prix
  6/01: RR: 14/22 P/1/2/3/4
  6/01: TT: 12/17 P/1/2/3/4
  6/02: Crit: 1/21 P/1/2/3/4
• Tour of America's Dairyland
  6/20: Shorewood, 52/59 P/1/2
  6/21: East Troy, 57/71 P/1/2
  6/22: Grafton, 68/76 P/1/2
• Cookeville State RR
  6/29: 11/14 o'all; 8/9 Cat 1/2
• Firecracker 5K
  7/04: 23:22, 4/56 in AG
  21/369 females
  102/734 overall
• MOAB Criterium
  7-21: 2/12 Cat 1/2/3
• NashvilleCyclist.com Crits
  5/22: 4 of 14 Cat 1/2/3/4
  5/29: 2 of 18 Cat 1/2/3/4
  6/12: 2 of 18 Cat 1/2/3/4
  6/19: 5 of 19 Cat 1/2/3/4
  6/26: 6 of 23 Cat 1/2/3/4
  7/03: 1 of 18 Cat 1/2/3/4
  7/20: 1 of 12 Cat 1/2/3
  7/24: 3 of 21 Cat 1/2/3/4
  8/04: 1 of 7 Cat 1/2/3
• US Pro Crit Nat'l Championships
  7/27: 35/44 P/1/2
  4/4 Cat 2s
• I AM Racing Crit
  8/03: 3/9 Cat 1/2
• IM Louisville
  8/25/13: 13:13:14
  33/110 AG
  1:13:01 swim
  5:48:22 bike
  5:52:35 run
• Franklin Classic, 9-2-13
  10K: 50:41
  5K: 26:21
• The PATH 10K, 10-6-13
  10K: 50:48
  5/21 AG, 93/261 OA
• Team Mango, 10-13-13
  Sprint tri: no time or place
  800m swim, 14mi ride, 5K run
• Harvest Half, 11-02-13
  Half Marathon: 1:50:15
  1/14 AG, 9/118 female
  38/226 OA
• Girls on the Run 5K
  12/8/13: XC race w/Anslee
  35:15 in 25* temps!
  

NC.Com Crit #9 and I AM Criterium

Sunday Podium

I have been too busy to keep up with daily blogs, and now I hardly have enough time to recap the weekend’s races much less the rest of the week! But I’ll do what I can with the time I have!

After Saturday’s hard race, I took Sunday off and got back to training Monday. I did a few workouts, rode some, and mainly planned for my epic run on Friday: 18.5 miles in to work. I had been thinking about this for at least 3 weeks and knew that regardless, I was going to make it happen. Whether I felt good, ran slow, didn’t want to start, didn’t want to finish, I had to do it. It helped that I had a destination. Thursday night I rode home from work and left two water bottles, one at mile 12 and another at mile 6. Both stops were within a quarter mile of gas stations, though, so I knew that if I needed more or someone had taken my bottles, I’d be set.

I left the house at 4:50am with my bright Ragnar-approved flashing-light vest and headlamp, all my stuff (keys, ID, cash, phone) I’d packed the night before and attached to my race belt, and fuel (shot blocks, Gu, Larabar, and luna bar). I knew the Luna bar would be extra and only if I needed it, and I didn’t. I did eat the others, though—Gu at mile 6, Larabar between miles 9 and 10, and shot blocks every few minutes between miles 14 and 18. I also drank all my water and Gatorade but didn’t have too much to eat or drink (nor too little). I was pleased that I planned that so well. I also made it the 18.5 miles in 2:44 (~8:55), honestly nearly 20 minutes quicker than I’d expected. That even included frequent walks (uphill) during the final 4 miles.

The one thing I failed on, however, was remembering my car keys. Thursday I left my car at work with the expectation that I would run in on Friday morning and drive home on Friday afternoon. Somehow, though, I left my car key at home and thus my only way back home was to run. Or rely on a friend. I chose the latter :-) Anna S came and picked me up so we could hang out for the afternoon, and then I rode my bike back to work to get my car. The spin back actually felt good, and I needed it for Saturday and Sunday!

Saturday, Cali and Shannon were racing downtown at noon, so I went there to cheer them on and watch them go 1-2 in their race. AJ, Kat, Cath, and I were racing at 5, and I stuck around until our race. We lined up with Jes, Liz, Tricia, Pam, and Nichole; small field, but some of the strongest 1/2s around. I was hoping more would show up (there was a huge payout), but we still had a good race. AJ and Liz ended up off the front and the non-Team-Bd ladies couldn’t catch them, and the Team Bd ladies sat in for the sprint for 3rd (I won it with a little help from Kat). Kat was 5th, Catherine was 7th, and we were all a little happy having earned some money. Cath and I went for ice cream after and then I came home and crashed; I think I was in the most pain I’ve ever been in before a race and took an entire hour’s warmup (I usually get in about 5 minutes because that’s all I need). Plus we had to race again on Sunday!

Saturday. Top left: podium; Right: team
Bottom left: AJ and Liz; Right: Field sprint
(Don took the bottom two pics)

AJ, Cali, Kat, Shannon, and I lined up with only Jes and Kathy for our race Sunday. This was the last of our series. I won the race, Kat was 2nd, and AJ-Cali-Shannon were 3-4-5. Fun to take the top 5, but we would have liked to have had a bigger field as well. Then we hung around for hamburgers and awards. It was a beautiful day, and I got my tiara back (from AJ, a worth competitor and good friend).

Sunday. Top left: AJ and me; Right: off the front
Middle: sprint with Kat
Bottom left: getting my crown; Right: race podium
Bottom left and middle pics are from Time

Run Stats: 02:35:43, 17.42 miles, 8:56 pace, 2800’ ascent, 2172’ descent
(including a 0.4-mile walk to the dumpster to take out my trash)
Run Stats: 00:09:10, 0.92 miles, 9:50 pace, 86’ ascent, 179’ descent
(I thought I’d walk the final mile but was still feeling good)
I AM Racing Crit Stats: 49:06, 19.33 miles, 23.6 mph, 624’ ascent, 626’ descent, 1/9 Cat 1/2


Race #9, 8-04-13: 41:30, 15.7 miles, ~22.5 mph, 1/7 Cat 1/2/3
Race #8, 7-24-13: 29:29, 11.38 miles, 23.1 mph, 180 bpm, 3/21 and 3/5 Cat 1/2s
Race #7, 7-20-13: 49:57, 18.92 miles, 22.2 mph, 182 bpm, 1/12 and 1/5 Cat 2s
Race #6, 7-03-13: 31:05, 11.98 miles, 23.1 mph, 184 bpm, 1/18 and 1/5 Cat 2s
Race #5, 6-26-13: 29:26, 10.92 miles, 22.3 mph, 183 bpm, 6/23 and 4/5 Cat 2s
Race #4, 6-19-13: 29:48, 11.89 miles, 23.9 mph, 186 bpm, 5/19 and 3/4 Cat 2s
Race #3, 6-12-13: 28:48, 10.73 miles, 22.3 mph, 189 bpm, 2/18 and 1/3 Cat 2s
Race #2, 5-29-13: 30:39, 11.31 miles, 22.1 mph, 2/18 and 2/4 Cat 2s
Race #1, 5-22-13: 35:36, 12.88 miles, 21.7 mph, 4/14 and 2/3 Cat 2s (incorrect time and mileage)

What I work on and eat on my rest days
That and hike (Monday at Radnor)

US Pro National Criterium Championships

Beautiful drive through the Smoky Mountains...

...in my nice big borrowed SUV

This weekend was another professional race: The US Pro Criterium National Championships in High Point, North Carolina (we raced the US Pro RR and TT National Championships back in May). I drove over solo on Friday to get there in time for number pick up. During that time, I chatted with some refs, met the race director (who offered me help in the feed zone if I needed it on Saturday), and checked out the venue, wandering around a few of the turns. Then I headed to Alex’s House for some local eats.

Eating local

They had been setting up fencing already on Friday, so I knew that by Saturday morning they’d have most if not all of the roads closed. I got up early and rode over to the course, stopped at the Shimano neutral support tent for the use of their pump, chatted with the Swiftwick guys (they always spot their socks), and then rode multiple laps of the course. I wanted to get an idea of what it was like, imagine what line the ladies would take around each of the corners, and generally prepare for the race. Then it was time for the kids’ races, for which a few Optum ladies and I, along with some pro men and parents, escorted the racers.

Escorting the kids' race

And we thought the numbers were big on us!

Because my race wasn’t until 4:50 pm, I also walked over there later to watch the Women 2/3/4 race, and they raced in a downpour. We were dry watching, but it was a sign of what was to come…rain in the later races as well. That would be the reason I found myself warming up in my hotel room an hour later.

For our race, we had to sign in at the main stage. They announced our names and team names and everything, and it was a pretty cool experience. I hung around the stage for a while and was approached by the cutest 5-ish-year-old there. Little Frank was fascinated by everything, I really enjoyed interacting with him. He wanted to know about everything and try on my gloves and sunglasses and he even wanted to ride my bike. It was fun to see his enthusiasm, and it was kind of the perfect interaction for before my race. One of my focuses for the weekend was being willing to meet and chat with new people…which for me means being open and looking approachable. It’s not always a challenge, but because I was also focusing on racing, it was more of a challenging this weekend but also more rewarding. I wanted to be a light in the darkness, and this was one way I could be that.

For our race, 44 women lined up. These are 44 of the best of the best, pro women from around the entire country, all Americans, mostly professional (four of us were Cat 2s/part of Elite Teams). I am one of those four Cat 2s, and it was truly an honor and humbling to line up with these amazing ladies. We started out at a fast but reasonable pace, and we had to contend with rain and slippery corners for a while. That meant braking a lot in every corner and staying off the painted lines, but I managed. Around minute 16, a duo from two different teams attacked, and at minute 17 I fell of the back of the group as the field reacted. I rode another at least two laps by myself and was pulled from the course at minute 26.

You can't see me, but I promise I'm in a decent position
on the left side (outside through the first turn)
Source

I was hurting when I fell off…like at that point where you just want to stop and throw up. But I kept going—this was the professional championships, after all, and I wanted to give 100% for the entire time I was allowed to be out there. One girl had fallen off just after me, so I could see a solo rider in front of me. This was motivation for me to keep going, and I did. Around minute 22, although I wasn’t getting any closer to the field and perhaps not even making up any ground on that Kenda girl, I didn’t just want to throw up—I wanted to quit all together. At this point, I should have taken a drink, but I didn’t even think about it. I was focused on going hard for as long as I could that I forgot to take a drink. It wouldn’t have kept me in the race any longer, but it probably would have kept me from feeling like I was going to die by the time I got pulled.

It took me a good 10 minutes to relax after that, and I just sat on a bench near the start line trying to breathe. I watched a few more laps, and then I went back to my hotel to shower and change before going back down to watch the finish. That tells you just how long a 90-minute race is! The finish was super exciting as the duo who attacked at minute ~16 stayed away until the end but was very close to being caught by the field.

I really wanted to finish this race, but I also wanted to give 100% for the entire time I was in the race. I achieved the second goal, and the first will come the more of these I do. Todd agrees that I need to do way more of these to get to the level where I can finish and then begin to compete against these crazy strong ladies. I’m pleased with this performance but definitely have some work to do before this same race next year!

Stats: 26:10, 9.78 miles, 22.4 mph, 165 bpm, 1382’ ascent, 1467’ descent

As shown by the stats, this was not a flat course and it was fast. It was a long (1.3-mile) figure-eight course going clockwise (1 left, 3 right, 1 left, 3 right turns). The finish stretch was ~400m and uphill; the stretch after turn 4 was ~300m and uphill. These weren’t necessarily hills though, at least not in terms of road races. In a road race, we’d probably call them false flats. In a crit where you do 30 laps (or in my case, 7), they become hills.

Sunday I got up early and went to Oak Ridge to watch Catherine race. I debated doing the race, discussed the pros and cons, and decided to not race given how mentally exhausted I was from Saturday’s race. I didn’t want to make a mistake, and with the way I felt I thought I’d be putting myself into the position of possibly making a mistake and thus putting everyone else at risk. It was not a risk I wanted to take, and although I felt terrible about leaving Catherine with no teammates (this happened to me last year at the same race), it was the right decision for me. I will make it up to her next weekend!

Cat 4 omnium

Cat 1/2/3 omnium

NC.com Crit #8

Start line

Wednesday was the 8th race in the NashvilleCyclist.com crit series. There were 20 of us on the line, and the race started fast. I was ready to go and jumped on the wheel of a pro racer (who I will see again on Saturday) for the first few laps. With the wind, we didn't stay away, but she kept attacking. I'd react a few times and I'd wait for Catherine and Kat to react other times. Sometimes we did well, when it mattered we didn't.

Mary (pro) and Jes got a little gap maybe 12-15 minutes in. Cath and Kat were in the perfect position to bridge up, and I was in the perfect position to hold the field. (I didn't feel like I was in position to bridge up solo: Jess was watching every move I made, and if I went I'd do all the work for her, which I didn't want to do.) Unfortunately, Cath and Kat weren't able to bridge up, and at that point we were racing for 3rd place. I don't mind racing for third when I have a teammate up the road. I wouldn't have minded racing for 5th with two teammates up the road. But this time no teammates were up the road, and I wasn't too pleased. Oh, well, it is what it is.

Field sprint. I'm the butt and wheel you see on the far right.

We continued our race, Cath set me up perfectly with a great leadout, and I finished 3rd to win the field sprint. I am happy with how I raced and had fun. I would have liked to be in the lead group, though. Maybe next week.

Jes, Mary, and me on the podium

Race #8, 7-24-13: 29:29, 11.38 miles, 23.1 mph, 180 bpm, 3/21 and 3/5 Cat 1/2s
Race #7, 7-20-13: 49:57, 18.92 miles, 22.2 mph, 182 bpm, 1/12 and 1/5 Cat 2s
Race #6, 7-03-13: 31:05, 11.98 miles, 23.1 mph, 184 bpm, 1/18 and 1/5 Cat 2s
Race #5, 6-26-13: 29:26, 10.92 miles, 22.3 mph, 183 bpm, 6/23 and 4/5 Cat 2s
Race #4, 6-19-13: 29:48, 11.89 miles, 23.9 mph, 186 bpm, 5/19 and 3/4 Cat 2s
Race #3, 6-12-13: 28:48, 10.73 miles, 22.3 mph, 189 bpm, 2/18 and 1/3 Cat 2s
Race #2, 5-29-13: 30:39, 11.31 miles, 22.1 mph, 2/18 and 2/4 Cat 2s
Race #1, 5-22-13: 35:36, 12.88 miles, 21.7 mph, 4/14 and 2/3 Cat 2s (incorrect time and mileage)

Tuesday's "recovery" ride

After some fun (but hard) races on Saturday and Sunday, I thought I'd need a recovery ride Tuesday so I decided to ride solo rather than join the group for the Harpeth ride through Cool Springs. Turns out my legs felt great and I had fun doing one of my usual routes a little faster than normal.

While riding up McEwen (both times) I even thought maybe I'd want to join Strava just for those segments. So, I did a little digging. Currently, there is one segment, up from Wilson Pike going west to the top, and the QoM is Marsha. Now I'm even more motivated, because I can add a new segment!

Are you on Strava? If so, what is the best segment?

MOAB State Criterium

Shannon, Cali, me, Kiki, Kat, and Catherine

Today was another good day for Team B! Kiki won her race to become the TN Cat 4 champ. Our race had 11 of us: me, Kat, Jes, and Catherine were the 4 Cat 1/2s; Cali, Kathy, Jess, Martha, Shannon, Leah, and Marsha were the Cat 4s. We all raced together, but it was essentially two races.

Kat, Cali, and Kiki -- jersey winners!

In the first few laps there were a few attacks but none stuck. At one point Shannon and Jes and I were of the front and I thought it could stick. However, we got caught but Cali countered immediately and at the perfect time. Kathy went with her as did Jes and me. This was the break that would stick. Catherine and Kat bridged up to us, and the six of us remained together for the rest of the race. Belladiun did a lot of work (our four to SVMIC's two meant wet had to), and we also communicated really well.

When it came down to the last lap, SVMIC was on the front and we let them stay there until Catherine started the leadout. We knew we wanted Cali to beat Kathy and anything among us 1/2s was fair game. I went around Cath pretty early because I wanted to keep the gap she'd created to Jes. I went into leadout mode and almost started letting up just after the final corner. But both Cali and Kat yelled at me to keep going and I did. It hurt! Kat came around me but forced me into one of the hardest sprints yet. She won by about 5 inches and Cali came in 3rd -- Another podium sweep for Team Belladium!

Stats: 47:37, ~17.6 miles, ~23mph (approximate stats because I forgot to press the lap button), 2 of 11 overall, 1 of 4 Cat 1/2s

Silver medal...woot!

Cat 1/2 podium -- me, Kath and Jes

Cat 3 podium -- Kathy, Cali, and Jess

Cat 4 podium -- Kristi, Kiki, and Rachel

NC.com Crit #7

W 1/2/3 Start Line

We had our 7th race in the NashvilleCyclist.com crit series today. It was slightly different in that it was on a Saturday and it was only a 1/2/3 race (the 4s had their own race). And we raced for longer than normal (50 minutes vs. 30 minutes). But it was a good race. 12 of us lined up, 6 being Belladium (me, Catherine, Shannon, Shelly, Cali, and Katherine), 2 were SVMIC (Jes and Leah), 2 were I AM Racing, and the other 2 were Gear Up and Treehouse. Kat and I had some fun for the first 20 minutes, with Leah and Jes doing some chasing. After that, for the next 15 minutes, there were a few attacks and responses by Lisa and Jess. The final 15 minutes contained the least amount of action, but we still tried to make a few things happen. By 7 to go, I knew it would come down to a field sprint, so I did a lot of nothing.

Shannon and Catherine both put in a couple good, hard attacks in the final two laps, and then Katherine and Cali led me out for the final sprint. We timed it about as perfectly as we could have and finished 1-2-3!

Podium shot! Cali, me, and Kat

Race #7, 7-20-13: 49:57, 18.92 miles, 22.2 mph, 182 bpm, 1/12 and 1/5 Cat 2s
Race #6, 7-03-13: 31:05, 11.98 miles, 23.1 mph, 184 bpm, 1/18 and 1/5 Cat 2s
Race #5, 6-26-13: 29:26, 10.92 miles, 22.3 mph, 183 bpm, 6/23 and 4/5 Cat 2s
Race #4, 6-19-13: 29:48, 11.89 miles, 23.9 mph, 186 bpm, 5/19 and 3/4 Cat 2s
Race #3, 6-12-13: 28:48, 10.73 miles, 22.3 mph, 189 bpm, 2/18 and 1/3 Cat 2s
Race #2, 5-29-13: 30:39, 11.31 miles, 22.1 mph, 2/18 and 2/4 Cat 2s
Race #1, 5-22-13: 35:36, 12.88 miles, 21.7 mph, 4/14 and 2/3 Cat 2s (incorrect time and mileage)

W4 Podium shot! Kiki, Caitlin, and Jena

NC.Com Crit #6

Tuesday's recovery ride

Monday was a rest day; I walked 2 miles at lunch and 4 miles in the afternoon but did nothing else besides a few push ups. Tuesday was a recovery day. I walked 3 miles at lunch and then rode for 93 minutes what turned out to be a GREAT ride. The weather was perfect, my legs felt great, and I went exploring. Turns out Pleasant Hill Road really is pleasant :-) Also, Sunset Road and Ragsdale Road are two of my favorite roads on the east side of I-65. Considering I rode on all 3, it had to be a good ride!

Shannon, me, and AJ. We wore the stripes today for the holiday

Wednesday I hit the True treadmill for 5K in the morning, and my legs felt really good. This is always my indicator for the evening race, and I was encouraged. We had a fairly large field (18 ladies) for our race that night, but it was only Shannon, AJ, and me from Team Belladium. Usually we are very aggressive because we have the numbers; tonight we played a very different game.

SVMIC, I AM Racing, and Belladium were the three main teams, and our lead group was Jes/Katie (SVMIC), Jess/Rachel (IAR), and AJ/Shannon/me (Bd). Shannon covered the first attack while AJ and I sat back to see what else would happen. When we caught them, AJ covered the next attack. We caught her and either Jes or Katie (I forget who), and I countered. That wasn't necessarily the plan, but I felt like Jes, Katie, and Jess were all significantly compromised that it would be worth it. I got caught, but it still felt like a good attack.

At some point (from my Garmin it looks like 18:30 in to the 30-minute race), I realized that Jess C was no longer with us. She is one of the top 3 overall, so it would have benefited us immensely if we had been able to create separation between her and us. I went to the front for a couple laps to drive the pace and never saw Jess. Then, with 6 to go (min 22), I saw her coming out of the wheel pit to join us. I should have known where she was and didn't, and I definitely should have known she was in the pit. Had I known, I wouldn't have done so much work. But it is what it is. I continued hard but started thinking about the finish.

I could tell that the other girls were getting tired, and I knew Shannon could attack and force the hand of at least one SVMIC girls and possibly Jess. However, the message didn't get to her as clearly as I'd hoped, and she didn't attack. Instead, she waited until just before the bell and started to pick up the pace for a leadout. I had found AJ's wheel when 3 to go and stayed there, and when she moved around Shannon I was right where I needed to be. Just after the 6th of 8 turns I came around her for the sprint finish. I knew at the bell that we'd have it, but it seemed afterward that she was more concerned than I was :-)

I finished in 1st, Jess 2nd, Jes 3rd, Katie 4th, AJ 5th, and Shannon 6th. It was a pretty leadout and exactly as hard as it should have been, so I was happy. I know the girls would have hoped for higher placing, but sometimes after you do your job (lead out) it's hard to do someone else's job too (sprint). I'm proud of them for a good hard effort, and I'm especially happy with a win!

Race #6, 7-03-13: 31:05, 11.98 miles, 23.1 mph, 184 bpm, 1/18 and 1/5 Cat 2s
Race #5, 6-26-13: 29:26, 10.92 miles, 22.3 mph, 183 bpm, 6/23 and 4/5 Cat 2s
Race #4, 6-19-13: 29:48, 11.89 miles, 23.9 mph, 186 bpm, 5/19 and 3/4 Cat 2s
Race #3, 6-12-13: 28:48, 10.73 miles, 22.3 mph, 189 bpm, 2/18 and 1/3 Cat 2s
Race #2, 5-29-13: 30:39, 11.31 miles, 22.1 mph, 2/18 and 2/4 Cat 2s
Race #1, 5-22-13: 35:36, 12.88 miles, 21.7 mph, 4/14 and 2/3 Cat 2s (incorrect time and mileage)

NC.com Crit #5 (Tired Legs!)

Start line from the front

Start line from the back

On the move!

Tonight's race was hard. My legs were quite tired, more so than I was expecting. I'd done a step mill workout in the morning, which is my typical pre-crit workout, and it was only a little rough, so I was expecting an OK race, but it wasn't quite that. The course was slightly different tonight, where instead of turns 2 and 3 being left-hand turns and turns 4 and 5 being a quick left-right turn, turn 2 was a sweeping 180 and turns 3, 4, and 5 were eliminated.

I had a couple good attacks, but I didn't have much after them. This means that I missed the break (AJ, Katie, Cath, Cali, and Jess) and couldn't bridge up to Leah, so I was behind all them in a group with Kristi, Kathy, Shannon, and Jes. We all worked together pretty well, but we couldn't do too much because we all had teammates up the road. However, we should have done much more than we did, because we knew we were going to get lapped and I didn't want to get lapped! The officials couldn't figure out whether (or when) we were going to get lapped, so we saw 5 to go twice and didn't ever see 2 to go (we got caught on AJ's last lap). I had been hoping to A) get away from my group, B) bridge up to Leah, C) not get caught, and D) out-sprint the others in my group.

Early in the race, we were all together

Belladium all together

Kristi and me

Turn 2 -- sweeping 180

When I finally knew getting caught was inevitable, I just attacked. I knew AJ couldn't work with me, but she could go at my speed, so I picked up the pace at the line with 1 to go. AJ also went on the attack, and once I realized that I had enough separation between me and everyone else, I let AJ and Katie sprint it out (while I watched and stayed out of the way) and came across the line shortly behind them. Although I crossed the line 3rd, I actually finished 6th due to having been lapped and because Jess ended up not finishing.

It was still a fast and hard race (everyone agreed with that after!), but I had been hoping for slightly better and less tired legs than what I got. Time to rest up for the state RR on Saturday!

Race #5, 6-26-13: 29:26, 10.92 miles, 22.3 mph, 183 bpm, 6/23 and 4/5 Cat 2sRace #4, 6-19-13: 29:48, 11.89 miles, 23.9 mph, 186 bpm, 5/19 and 3/4 Cat 2s
Race #3, 6-12-13: 28:48, 10.73 miles, 22.3 mph, 189 bpm, 2/18 and 1/3 Cat 2s
Race #2, 5-29-13: 30:39, 11.31 miles, 22.1 mph, 2/18 and 2/4 Cat 2s
Race #1, 5-22-13: 35:36, 12.88 miles, 21.7 mph, 4/14 and 2/3 Cat 2s (incorrect time and mileage)

Photo source

Tour of America's Dairyland III: Grafton

Today's race in Grafton was very hard and short for me. My goal was to stay in better position than I'd been in the previous races, and I succeeded for about 14 minutes. In the 60-minute race. After that, I got dropped from the field and rode another 8 minutes with someone else before we were pulled.

The one course with a hill...not too long or high, but definitely tiring!

Women Cat 3/4

3 pages of results...that's how you know there were a lot of women!

Shorewood (6-20-13) stats: 52:14, 20.74 miles, 23.8 mph, 183 bpm, 52/59 P/1/2
East Troy (6-21-13) stats: 53:59, 22.67 miles, 25.2 mph, 183 bpm, 57/71 P/1/2
Grafton (6-22-13) stats: 21:52, 8.25 miles, 22.6 mph, 170 bpm, 68/76 P/1/2

2012 ToAD posts:

East Troy (6-22-12) stats: 36:38, 14.4 miles, 23.6 mph, 17/33
Grafton (6-23-12) stats: 42:22, 16.55 miles, 23.4 mph, 7/54
Waukesha (6-24-12) stats: 39:39, 15.05 miles, 22.8 mph, 182 bpm, 12/34
Greenbush (6-25-15) stats: 59:41, 20.01 miles, 20.1 mph, 164 bpm, 2/43
Schlitz Park (6-26-12) stats: 40:32, 13.87 miles, 20.5 mph, 177 bpm, 7/39
Fond du Lac (6-27-12) stats: 1:00:20, 21.3 miles, 21.3 mph, 166 bpm, 4/39
Sheboygan (6-28-12) stats: 36:48, 14.31 miles, 23.3 mph, 184 bpm, 1/37

Tour of America's Dairyland II: East Troy

Me and Isaiah!

Mom and Dad with my nephew Isaiah

Family after the race

On the line and ready to go!

Uncle Ron, me, and Aunt Robin before the race

I felt like today's race was one of the fastest I've ever done. The majority of the race, we were single-file or two-wide. The longer the line (64 women tonight!), the faster the pace. A few times we were bunched up, but it didn't last long. I started at the back and finished at the back, but I had a good conversation with Todd about strategy for tomorrow. I am super thankful for a team director who knows what he's talking about! Hopefully my  results look a little better tomorrow.

The course was slightly different than last year's and not quite as technical. That helped make it fast. And keep it fast. Here's the course:

East Troy course

Shorewood (6-20-13) stats: 52:14, 20.74 miles, 23.8 mph, 183 bpm, 52/59 P/1/2
East Troy (6-21-13) stats: 53:59, 22.67 miles, 25.2 mph, 183 bpm, 58/64 P/1/2

Post-race smiles

Hard to get good position

Tour of America's Dairyland I: Shorewood

This is the first year I've been able to do the 1st of 11 races in the Tour of America's Dairyland: The Shorewood Criterium. It was a fast and busy crit, with 60 women on the start line. There were a few attacks by single riders, but not much action from the teams besides chasing the attackers, so we were all together for much of the race. The announcer called 4 primes in a row, with 8 laps to go, and on the 4th and final one I just could not stay on with the field. I rode two laps mostly solo but passed 3 girls during that time, and then I was pulled with 2 laps to go for a slightly shortened race. It was fun to watch the finish, but I would much rather have been in there with them!

Shorewood course, counterclockwise

Shorewood (6-20-13) stats: 52:14, 20.74 miles, 23.8 mph, 183 bpm, 52/59 P/1/2

Random pictures for the day:

My rental car, a Chevy Captiva

Part of my drive; it wouldn't be a drive up north without a few tolls

Chi-town! And traffic...of course!

2012 ToAD posts:

East Troy (6-22-12) stats: 36:38, 14.4 miles, 23.6 mph, 17/33
Grafton (6-23-12) stats: 42:22, 16.55 miles, 23.4 mph, 7/54
Waukesha (6-24-12) stats: 39:39, 15.05 miles, 22.8 mph, 182 bpm, 12/34
Greenbush (6-25-15) stats: 59:41, 20.01 miles, 20.1 mph, 164 bpm, 2/43
Schlitz Park (6-26-12) stats: 40:32, 13.87 miles, 20.5 mph, 177 bpm, 7/39
Fond du Lac (6-27-12) stats: 1:00:20, 21.3 miles, 21.3 mph, 166 bpm, 4/39
Sheboygan (6-28-12) stats: 36:48, 14.31 miles, 23.3 mph, 184 bpm, 1/37