Sunday, August 05, 2007

timpani, a nice end to an ass kicker of a week.

5 days, 4 races. sounds like a bad idea....i thought that too last night. but i am happy i didn't listen to "reason", cause now i am $55 up! plus this big tub of energy drink powder. i've never used that energy drink stuff - just good ol' tap water for me - but now i can try the rave of "electrolytes".

Let me just say Michiko is a rock-star. She told me I should do this race cause she thought it suits me - four corners, flat, wide roads -- also known as easy. (What is she trying to say?! haha.) Michiko was awesome enough to drive my sorry ass to Mountain View this morning, set up my bike, and then clean my chain. She is officially the best teammate ever, despite us being unattached.

I made sure to warm up long cause I was feeling a bit tired from those match sprints yesterday. I only did 5 or 6 full-on sprints, which probably is only around a mile of exercise...so I don't know why I was so tired last night. Once I got back on the bike, though, I felt good...minus a really sore crotch and a smelly jersey and shorts. I need to buy more shorts. I only have 2 pairs, and I hate one...and one pair of biking shorts is not enough. But I digress - the race.

Race started, I pretty much hung back and sat in. Things were pretty mellow the whole time - no attacks, which was good for me cause I didn't put myself in good position if there was one. The race felt so mellow and easy compared to those track races with the guys where I think my lungs are going to explode. There was a pretty bad crash at one point. Katie, I hope you are okay! We neutralized, then started racing again. Things didn't really pick up until just before the last lap. Here, I was in bad position and kept bridging up to get myself in better position-- I wasted a lot of energy that last lap from being stupid the whole race. I should have been in better pack position so I didn't miss that jump. Christy - from Eastside who I met at Berkeley Hills - jumped early before the turn. I was still a good ways back. Then it was the final straight away and I was on the inside of the turn, then I hit it after the turn for a long sprint ahead. Except I was a real moron and didn't catch anyones wheel and just sprinted up the right side of the road. I passed some people, then I passed Christy. Then I thought I had the win, but just at the line I saw someone on the other side of the road take it just an inch or so ahead of me. Had I seen her earlier, I think I could have kicked it more, but so it goes. Anyway, 2nd was pretty good, but I know I need to work better on my positioning. Mike was officiating - I see him a lot at the track, and he told me I really need to be smarter on my positioning. I really wasn't smart this race and was just pretty lucky. Also, my cornering is slow, and is something I need to work on a lot this winter. Good thing I don't have to turn on the track.

I am glad I did this race, cause it was going to be my last crit/road race this year. I was thinking of not doing it cause of my crazy track racing week, but glad I did - cause $55 is awesome and Michiko and I went out for lunch. I was supposed to win her the prime, but I didn't even go for it. Sorry. I'll get one next year I promise!

I figured cause I raced so much this week I didn't need to cool down. I feel fine today, so I guess that didn't matter much. Cool down, schmool down.

9 comments:

Lorri Lee Lown -- velogirl said...

congratulations, Beth! it was great watching you race yesterday.

place_holder said...

I had so much faith in those 60.5s!! (61.0 by now, perhaps?)

Look how far you have come since the Early Bird...very very proud of you.

Ooooh, I wanna be able to sprint like you!! Take me to the track, and make me a rice rocket!!

Anonymous said...

michiko, come joins us at the track!! it will be hella fun...plus our quads will grow inches...oops i meant cms...

i have my tape measure ready cause I am racing this Weds!

beth, all I can say is all your hard work is paying off and you are on your way...but for now get some celebratory rest!

mattio said...

awesome!

i need more pairs of cycling shorts, too, but i get by handwashing mine in the sink. i soak them with some detergent for a several minutes, then i spend a couple minutes kneading them, and then i rinse them out while kneading them some more. it takes overnight to dry, and sometimes i slip into some clammy shorts, but that usually goes away with body heat in a few minutes.

chatterbox said...

beth - you did great yesterday. Nice job! I knew you would be OK, even hanging about 1/2 way back, because you have an awesome kick at the end. But, like you said, it's good not to rely on that. :)

place_holder said...

flandria - i just don't have the tolerance for the weekday traffic from the city. can we set up a hellyer webcam?

i have 8 bike shorts and 4 tri shorts. happy taint.

Anonymous said...

michiko - bummer! web cam is a good idea...

Grey said...

washing bike clothes in the shower = good excuse to take a long shower.

if you're interested in carpooling with people to hellyer you should check out www.sffixed.com. there's a thread on there devoted to hellyer, and other stuff too. like blogs it's a great way to spend hours and hours on the internet. most of the montano riders are on there...

congratulations on a nice crit. there's that saying: sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. it actually sounds like you're both.

Velo Bella said...

ccol down schmool down is gonna be my new motto!