If you know me, you know that I like criteriums. Not sure what really appeals to me. I think it is the speed, the corners, and the excitement of this race style. I’m not a sprinter at all – I simply like the tight fast racing of criteriums. So I was pretty happy to be traveling to Brossard today to race a crit.

I find the women in Quebec are typically strong crit racers. Like here, they have an opportunity to do a lot of training crits so the confidence and experience level is quite high. Not to mention that Quebec is home to the some of the top women’s teams in Canada.

I raced at 11:00 and Marc raced at 4:30, so it didn’t really make sense for us to travel to this race together. Luckily I was able to catch a ride with Jon and Derrick Gee. Even better was the door-to-door service. Jon and Derrick went out of their way to pick me up at the crack of dawn. Thanks guys – much appreciated. We had an easy drive down with lots of laughs and stories. Jon was up first joining the rest of the Masters B Ride with Rendall crew for a fast and challenging race. I took in most of the race, thanks to Jon’s trainer – I was able to use Jon’s trainer to warm-up and get focused. I find it makes such a difference to have a trainer to warm-up on before a race – takes the stress out of finding good roads and dodging cars – and I find the quality of the warm-up is higher.

I’ve written a race report and posted it here. So go check that out to get the nitty-gritty details on my race. I wasn’t sure what to expect today. The race started out pretty hard and at one point (actually a couple of times) I was on the ropes. Exactly what I want from a race. There were lots of breaks that would get away but nothing solid that would stick. I was able to bridge up to the winning break and was third. So definitely a good day on the bike. So much fun riding in a break – the effort is super hard, but it is so worth it when you realize the gap that has been created and can taste success. I had a super fun time on my bike today.

Derrick was up next racing with the 11 year olds. He raced a super hard race and spent two hard laps working to bridge to the break. His cheeks turned a funny color of purple during this effort! An excellent ride for Derrick and I believe his first experience racing a crit.

We stopped at Boston Pizza for a relaxing lunch and enjoyed the sunny day on the patio. One of the benefits of racing early in the day is that you don’t have the crazy rush to get in the car and get home before it is too late.

All in all a most excellent day. Got to see some friendly faces and share some good times. It felt like half of Ottawa was at the race today. So that was super cool. One funny moment before our race: we were standing around waiting for the Masters B sprint, when one of the girls asked in a panicked voice “Is it Mother’s Day today?”, lucky for us it is not until next Sunday… Thanks to Ingrid Coney for the cheering during the race and the kind words before and after the race – much appreciated. Huge shout out again to Jon and Derrick for putting up with me and my endless chatter to and from the race.

I don’t have a confirmed result on how Marc did, so I’ll post that later. I sent him some fast pedaling vibes – I’m sure they helped…

As I was riding to work this morning, I realized that it has been a while since my last post on this little site. Sorry about this. I guess I’m in a phase where I’m not sure if I have anything really to say here. I’m not in the thick of racing. Training is rolling along. Ticking off the boxes and making progress. So what is there really to say?

Sure, I could rant and rave about the positive drug tests. But why bother? Frankly I’m not surprised and I’m pretty sure you aren’t either. Honestly, I thought more athletes would be caught. I could go on and on about Lance and Co. doing the Tour of Gilla. But why? Rules are being bent, followed, etc. You know so long as North American bike racing comes out on top and for the better, this is what really matters. I heard that Lance’s participation has resulted in the race being televised in Spain – this is a good thing. Cycling has also made it into the NY Times for two days in a row. Again a good thing. (No matter your opinion on the veracity of the articles.) I could write about the upcoming Giro. But really, I have nothing to say about this race. I’ll leave this to the people on the ground who really know what is going on. In fact be sure to keep your eyes on Canadian Cyclist as word on the street has it that one of my pals will be posting live from the Giro.

So, then what it is left for me to write about? Nutrition – not feeling it right now. Not to say my nutrition isn’t on track and going well. I just don’t feel like telling you what I think about it right now. Nutrition and cyclists is a touchy subject – in my opinion, nutrition is an individual thing – what works for me, may not work for you. This being said, I did have a super tasty breakfast – 1/2 cup of canned pumpkin (not canned pumpkin pie mix), 1/2 cup of non-fat cottage cheese, two tablespoons of ground flax seed, a dollop of cinnamon – dump all in a bowl and give it a good stir. Tasty, chock full of fiber and will keep you going for a little bit. I’m a big fan of canned pumpkin these days.

I could write about training. But you all pretty much know what is going on with me and training these days. I’m learning to balance riding, commuting by bike, weight lifting, yoga, and stretching. Squeezing everything in takes some learning and focus. Soon enough I’ll be adding in trail riding and technical skill work. Yep, the plate will be full. But you know me, I like it that way. Speaking of lifting weights, I had a super session at the gym this morning. Day 3 of the new program from John Zahab. Geez, this program looks innocent on paper, but looks are deceiving. Loving the back squats. Big fan of lat pull-down (only because this is my path to the elusive and tempting chin-ups). Big fan of the Bosu ball – one minute you think you’ve got this thing conquered and the next you’re wobbling all over the place. Gee, can you tell that I like spending time in the gym? In another life I think I could have been a bodybuilder.

I could write about racing. But I think I did this earlier in the week.. I’ve got a race on deck this Sunday. Brossard criterium. Should be good. No expectations. Plan is to go, warm-up, line-up, pedal and see what happens. One thing is for sure I’m stoked to watch the young Gee race at 12:40. I never stick around for the kids races so this will be a treat. Yes, I’ll write a race report – check back on Sunday for the details.

Huh, seems like for someone who didn’t think she had much to say, I did a pretty darn good job. You know quickly reviewing this post, one things come to mind: balance. This is the trickiest part of being a full-time worker/wannabe-full-time bike racer. Finding the balance so that one doesn’t consume the other. It is funny, my career as a technical writer I think really makes my bike racing so much better. Sitting here in this chair really makes me value the time I spend on my bike, traveling to races, my time in Europe, etc. Everything is just that much more sweeter. This is not to say that if someone offered me a “package” that would allow me to focus solely on training, racing, and recovery that I wouldn’t be all over it. I would be on it fast! I think one problem these days, is too many athletes expect to get the full-ride. This is sad. We are lucky to race our bikes. We are lucky to be able to afford to travel to races. No one makes us do this. We want to do it. So when I see bike racers/athletes griping about lack of funding, no sponsors, etc. I really am tempted to speak up and point out that no one is making them race their bikes – they chose to do it. Okay, I better stop, I feel some dangerous words creeping into these fingers.

But I think you get my drift. Enjoy it. Savor it. Find balance. Remember what is truly important. Ultimately, most of us do this for fun. And if you’re living in North America, chances are you have a pretty solid education to back you up for the time when you don’t want to race anymore.

Well the bike racing season is in full swing here now. I suppose for those of you in the U.S. it started a bit earlier, but for us northerners here in Canada, we are now fully getting into bike racing mode. This is the fun time. The time when all the hard work from the winter (or so-called off season) comes to fruition.

You get to take your bike out and play. Have a little fun with your friends. Race around in circles chasing one another. Then tell stories about it. I know pretty simplistic view of bike racing, but in essence this is what it comes down to.

For me, I’ve had a relatively slow start to the season. I’ve raced once at Calabogie. Feels like ages ago now. I’m racing again this weekend at Brossard. I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to the race. I’m really looking forward to the positive energy that comes during a race – that rush of attacking, counter-attacking, leg aching, break-away, sprinting, crossing the finish line feeling.

This season is a different one for me. I’m taking a lighter approach to road racing this season. I’m not racing every opportunity I have. This is hard for me. I love to race. But I’ve got some big goals again this season for cyclo-cross so we’re trying something a bit different this summer. Primarily to give my body time to adapt to training stresses so that I’ll be really ready for the ‘cross season. I’m juggling training crits, with intensity work-outs, with weight work-outs and with the odd bike race thrown in. So obviously the body and brain need to time to recover and grow.

It was kind of hard this past weekend not to race. But when I got up Sunday morning, I was quite happy to have time to putter around the house and then go out for a solid three hour ride. I put some ache into my legs and had some fun. It wasn’t racing. But it was the next best thing – simply being out on my bike. I think this summer is really going to teach me this – to appreciate the bike more. So often in the past I’ve been focused on the next race and then the race after that. But this summer I’ve got more going on – I’ve got to really focus on my training and balance all the different avenues of this training. Did I mention that in June I’ll be getting on my mountain bike and ‘cross bike to do some trail riding and build up some technical riding skills?

Yes, there is method to this madness. I just need to remind myself of it. When I start to falter or bend to peer pressure to race, I have to remind myself of the ultimate goal and the big prize. I made great strides last year, this season I need to find that extra edge and take that next big leap.

Like I said, nothing quite like bike racing.

Did a critical power test today. Long time coming. Don’t know if you’ve ever done a critical power test before. It is a super efficient and easy way to get your wattage zones defined. You can do it in the comfort of your own home. It takes maximum two hours (depends on how much warm-up and cooldown you want). Anyway, I’m sure you can google “critical power test” and find out all the details. So I did one.

I learned something incredibly valuable today (besides my new wattage zones)… Fear of failure. This is my limiter. I held back during the first part of the 20 minute interval block. I was afraid of cracking and not finishing the interval. But what this did was prevented me from riding to my potential.

I had a long talk with Marc afterwards about the critical power test and what he saw. He started to point out some of the things I do when I train. I tend to pay too much attention to my SRM. Worried that I’m training too hard or not hard enough. When Marc points out, what really matters is the average number for the interval/training session. I need to learn to train with power as opposed to training against power. Does this make sense?

A similar trend happens when I race. I’m afraid of taking a risk. Taking the flier. Attempting to bridge to the group up the road. Or to really rip through a sandy corner. Limiters. Holding me back from my potential. This is a tough lock to unlock. Guess really it comes down to committing to taking chances. Taking a risk here and there will inevitably lead to success and failure. A bit of both is better than mediocrity.

I suppose it would be different if I was 17 years old – I’d have some years in the sport to try things slowly and surely and learn the bike racing game slowly. But I’m not 17. I’m 37. I don’t really have time to take the slow and easy approach. I’ve got to take the chances and race now like I’m not going to have a chance to race next year.

So time for some risk taking. There is no room for limits in my training and racing. This isn’t limited to the bike – same approach needs to be applied in the weight room and on my mental training.

Wow, I’m fired up now!!! How about you?

(Good luck to the hard-men and strong-women of Ottawa/Chelsea/Gatineau who are toeing the line tomorrow in Almonte for Paris Roubaix. I’ll be thinking of you while I’m out riding on nice smooth paved roads!)

Took a little break this morning and was scanning the New York Times. Came across an excellent article on training and coaching. Here are a couple excerpts from the article:

“Any great athlete who accomplishes anything, anywhere, loves to train,” said Tom Fleming, my coach and a former elite distance runner who twice won the New York City Marathon.
….
“What’s peak condition?” asked Dr. Pivarnik, the exercise physiologist. “It’s one step from falling off a cliff.”

Thought these were interesting quotes that could lead to some consideration and evaluation of your training and true desires as an athlete.

I’ve stated it here before but I’ll repeat it – I love training. Sometimes I think I love training more than racing. I enjoy long 4 hour rides. I like 2 hour tempo sessions. I thrive on threshold work-outs. Even the dreaded 1 minute max intervals get my blood flowing. I’ve always been like this – thriving on the training. When I used to compete in Taekwon-Do I would design some pretty intense training sessions and was always the first to show up for the extra “tournament” training sessions. Same with hockey – I loved practice time.

Maybe it is because during training, you can really take some risks. Play around a little and really test the body and the brain. Go a little too hard on that last interval? Okay well dial it back a bit for the next one. Not hard enough? Perfect – give it more gas. Want to play around with turning in loose terrain – go for it, falling in practice is
better than during a race. Training gives me a chance to fully free my brain and just get in the groove with the bike and the road. I have my iPod on (last night was a bunch of CBC podcasts to distract me from the rain), I’m focused on my bike and what I have to do.

I’m not stressed. I’m not worried about missing the move. Or attacking too late. I have no concerns over where I’m putting my front wheel or reminding myself to lay off the brakes. There are no fans cheering/jeering.

Out training it is just me. I’m accountable to me. There is nothing to prove and no one to impress.

Hmm, seeing these words on the screen, makes me consider that I might need to work some more on my race day mental game?

Anyway, just some words for thought on this Thursday.