The Adventuring Heidi

Flexibility

April 17, 2015 The Adventuring Heidi

10952467_10155448270645442_9039915827607528173_n — Drink up, little flowers!

Flexibility. The new way to describe my 2015 race season thus far!

I’m very detail oriented and a huge planner. I like everything minutely figured out, usually months in advance in the case of bike races. I like a schedule, and sticking to that schedule.

Ways 2015 is teaching me to just go with the flow:

I got into the Leadville 100 on my first try ever. Goodbye Pierre’s Hole 50 race in Grand Targhee, goodbye considering the Steamboat Stinger, and goodbye for training just around cross country events and racing.
My “A” cross country race, the Nordic Valley ProXCT in Ogden, UT in May, was cancelled a month out. Suddenly I was without the need to ever be in super fast XC race shape this year. But I also felt relief of not having to be in super fast XC shape, surprisingly. I quickly shrugged off negative feelings, and registered for a 60 mile gravel grinder up in Casper, the Rattlesnake Rally. Lemons, lemonades, something to that effect.
I decided against Rumble at 18 Road for the first time in my very short XC racing “career” just a couple of weeks ago. Which was an awesome decision as this crazy winter storm going on closed I-70 and the promoters postponed the race due to mud today (taking a hint from last year’s mudfest, apparently). That all worked out in the best way possible.
I was all excited to give another road race a go after my surprisingly awesome results at last weekend’s Boulder Roubaix. Naturally, Mother Nature this week has gone psycho, and the gravel portion of the Clasica de Rio Grande is unrideable (to most of roadie persuasion I’m guessing, I’d still try it 😛 ) so my race was canceled 24 hours out this morning.

Not so long ago, I’m pretty sure I’d be crying over all these changes to my race season and normal “routine.” Now I just laugh. I feel like I’m doomed when it comes to racing a mountain bike this year, as the 10 day forecast is saying rain for next weekend’s Ridgeline Rampage. HAHAHAHA. Just laugh, Heidi, just laugh! After all, it’s just racing bikes!

So I’m sitting here with a rare weekend to have this time of year: no races. I considered the Denver Fed Center crit, but decided to plan a long road ride with some teammates in Fort Collins. If it ever stops raining. This storm is just about the most bizarre storm I’ve seen… 6″ of snow in my lawn with heavy rain, thunder, and lightning going on in the present moment. I’m literally confused when I look at the window and see rain with all the snow piled around. However, I am LOVING this moisture… my lawn and berry garden really needed it, and naturally so does the mountains, reservoirs, etc. Gowdy has been scary dry, so I’m hoping this helps calm down the dusty trails a bit!

But yes, rare weekend. I’m almost lost at what to do… and of course unfortunately the weather puts a damper on just long fun rides until Sunday. But it’s also refreshing knowing I can sleep in, get stuff around the house done, hang out, relax, and be off the roads, which are quite frightening right now (or closed). Whew, this going with the flow and having the flexibility to adapt and change is nice. I think I’ll stick with it 🙂

Race Report

Race Report: 2015 Boulder Roubaix

April 12, 2015 The Adventuring Heidi

Well that was a surprise!

I have a lot of self doubt when it comes to pavement and I. I’ve quite settled into the “I’m not a fast roadie” label for the last two years since my first road race. My mind has been boggled at how everyone else is so fast, but I didn’t really care I was in the back, as once again, I’m not a fast roadie. Being fast is for the girls who ride insane hours and miles every week. Not I, as I am (beats chest) mountain biker! (Never mind the fact I’ve been training 8-9 hours a week, ahem…) So at the Boulder Roubaix when I crossed the finish line in 5th place out of 30 entrants, it was surreal. Maybe I need a new title: I’m working on becoming the fastest roadie I can be, and diversity of racing skills is important!?

11072819_10103498726136603_7054716513675303825_n — A few of the Naked Women’s Racing ladies that braved the Boulder Roubaix!

The Boulder Roubaix is a 37 mile, two lap race for the cat 4 women on just about a 50/50 split of pavement and relatively smooth and extremely fast rolling dirt roads – just my kind of road race! I really like riding gravel and dirt on skinny wheels, as it’s part ridiculous and part insanely fun! Mountain bike and cyclocross handling skills come in handy, and sometimes it’s really obvious during races who falls into those two categories. Plus hey, I’d rather crash on dirt any day over pavement if I really had to choose.

I was front row at the start, learning from experience in past races where I either got shoved to the back by hordes of gals on large teams, or didn’t get there early enough to be in the front. The start was incredibly painful, my legs burned and I wondered how long I could keep up the pace, though I found myself warming up quite quickly and after the first 5 minutes I didn’t even remember how painful the start was. I stayed in the front pack, and we sped along at quite a fast pace. For once I felt comfortable in a peloton, and didn’t mind being in the middle with racers on all sides of me. The hardest thing for me was on the punchy climbing when the pace would lurch suddenly to a slow grind. I’m very accustomed to maintaining momentum on climbing (the mountain biker in me for sure) so several times I had to remind myself not to run into the racer in front of me in when the pace dropped. This lead to me moving through the pack on several of the climbs to gain a few more spots.

I was having a lot of fun as we cruised between dirt, pavement, dirt, pavement, and so on. My teammate Natalia was up front a lot, and Helen, Wendy, and I about mid pack in the front group. Wendy had asked me before the race started what our tactics could be and I had no idea. I’m not use to having teammates in a road race, and since I’m usually quickly dropped road races are mostly time trial efforts for me. I think I told her we’d just wing it!

The peloton continued to spit people off the back as we surged out of corners and confidently sped along on the dirt roads. About 3-4 miles from the completion of the first lap I dropped ever so slightly off the back of the lead group, maybe about a 30 foot gap, which I managed to close. I tried to eat a gel and ended up with it everywhere but my mouth, so I learned I should probably stick to chews during road races, especially when trying to eat on the roughest dirt section! We rolled through for the second lap as a group of 11 (Michelle would quickly rejoin us). Errin, LeeAnn, and I – the three cross nuts, were the caboose and were having fun chatting. I almost crashed myself out in the excitement of seeing Shawn, my favorite race photographer, but survived that mishap – whoops! LeeAnn and I both commented in amazement about how we were still in the lead pack. I never expected this would happen and now I began to set the Top 10 as my goal, but was worried about the pace longer the race was going.

This is where I know training and longer rides have helped, so whereas in the past where a 20 mile road race ran me ragged, I am now more capable of handling 2+ hour long efforts and the longer miles. The peloton wasn’t too feisty, and we were all sticking together still quite well. On one downhill dirt corner some sort of mishap occurred and several racers went down. Luckily I was behind the crash and had enough time to brake and swerve around the bodies and bikes. It shook the peloton, and I found myself in a group of 5 or 6 once I put forth a big effort to latch back onto the racers who were in front of the crash. This put a bit more fire under me, though more and more racers were able to rejoin the group.

Then came my moment! The biggest climb of the day is a decent little hill with a turn. I just surged past everyone! I guess if there’s one thing I can do, it’s climb relatively well, especially on dirt where I just stay seating for best traction and just pedal pedal pedal. I crested the hill in front of everyone and I had the biggest grin on my face. At that point, I won the race for myself. I was in front of a road race. A ROAD RACE. Who would’ve imagined?! Natalia joined me in front, and we lead the peloton for a little while, though there was grumblings about our “slow” pace. Wendy was thankful we slowed things a bit, as it gave her a chance to recover, and I didn’t want to burn all my matches pulling everyone else around. Natalia asked if we wanted to go for a break, but I was nervous as we were still 4 miles out from the finish, and I didn’t know how much I could hold onto something and keep it over that distance. I can sprint and lay down some power when I have to, but have never done it over 4 miles. So we finally pulled back and let others pull out front.

Once we turned onto dirt for the final stretch, it was pretty much on and the pack broke. The final straight stretch, which is a mile or so (maybe longer), I found to be the roughest part of dirt. Rough enough I had trouble pushing a harder gear and keeping the power steady. I was in a group of 5 or so, and on the final punchy climb I went past everyone and decided this was the time. Errin and two others were way out front, with Wendy and Natalia behind them. I wanted to latch onto my “Naked Train” so I tried, switching from line to line trying to find a spot that was smooth. I kept glancing over my shoulder, knowing I still had a long way to go until the finish and the pack would have the advantage of aerodynamics (maybe?) and some strong power riders. I caught Natalia, who had fallen off of Wendy’s wheel. The finish line arch was nearing and damn it was painful, but I knew I didn’t want to get caught.

I crossed the line at 1:52:48, ten seconds back from Wendy who was four seconds back from the sprint finish, for 5th place! 5TH PLACE!!!!! In a road race!!! ROAD RACE!!! Like, I get upgrade points now and stuff. UPGRADE POINTS… in a ROAD RACE!!!

LOL!

Natalia would finish 7th, and Helen for 14th, so we had a strong Naked Women’s Racing showing in SW 4, and also our SW 3 gals did well, with Marissa on the podium in 2nd and Brittany in 4th. It was surreal, and for the first time I realized I should find out how deep the podium went (some races are 3 places, some are 5) as it actually mattered. I’m so use to finishing mid to bottom pack in road stuff it was something I didn’t have to worry about until now (it was a 3 place podium, for what it’s worth). Malcolm congratulated me with a hug and of course some sips of his beer, bringing back the cyclocross vibe I do love. Yay for dirt road races, staying upright, and surprising the crap out of myself!!

11139787_10103498726535803_737200675916591885_n — One of my bestest cycling friends and teammate, Wendy, and I after the race! Yay for the mountain biker chicks kicking some bootay!

So I learned a few things… I’m better on the road bike than I probably give myself credit for and don’t try to eat gels on rough roads (or maybe at all unless standing still). I think the best thing I’m seeing is my progression on the road – I think it’s easier to see my gains in fitness on the road than on the mountain bike, actually. I feel like I’ve plateaued with mountain biking (or the changes are more subtle, and sometimes I need the big obvious changes to keep me excited for me), so it’s exciting to be experiencing new things on a road bike in races! I was debating doing the Clasica de Rio Grande next weekend (the new name of the Weld Country RR, which was my first road race two years ago!), and now I think I’ll definitely do it. My 2015 race season is shaping up to one of semi-spontaneity and one of extreme flexibility and going with the flow (more on that on another blog post perhaps – let’s just say my “A” XC race of the year was canceled), and I’m curious to explore more of this roadie that is shaping up inside of me!

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Not Too Pro To Wave

April 8, 2015 The Adventuring Heidi

So this is, and always will be, an interesting debate in the cycling community… waving or acknowledging other cyclists when you’re out riding.

One of my favorite moments to this day on a bike was back in 2012 when I was struggling up LCR38 to Horsetooth Reservoir, some 50-odd miles into a torturous “A” pace group ride that was advertised as beginner friendly and no drop, and Georgia Gould passed me with a friendly “Hi!!” as she zoomed off by me. I think my eyeballs about popped out of my head and I was almost too shocked to respond. An Olympic medalist and mountain biking royalty took the time to acknowledge little me in a collection of random REI clothing wearing a helmet with a visor (gasp!) pushing 7mph up a road!

I’ve always been the waving or acknowledging type, and I think this is partly based on when I was a newbie and how cool it was to feel like I was part of “something.” Like, whoa, they waved at me-type of something. Everybody on a bike I make a point of waving at, or if I’m descending at a decent speed or otherwise need to keep my hands where they are I still nod, smile, or lift a few fingers. My latest thing is waving to vehicles who take the time to wait out the 5 seconds or so for me to clear an intersection before they proceed. I usually get smiles and waves back, and hey, maybe I changed the “cyclists are evil” perception a bit along the way.

However, apparently I am a minority. Getting waves in Colorado is almost like pulling teeth sometimes, and it’s spreading to Cheyenne, where we’re already a pretty tiny cycling community (I will not even mention Seattle… not a single wave, just these weird deathly glares every time). Heck, yesterday I got a blank stare back from someone I know and have ridden with. I’ll admit, it irked me. Seriously, just wave! Yell hi! Smile! Cuss me out, throw something, do something! We’re a small group, we should stick together… (maybe I just need to buy a motorcycle??)

Aside from the horror of everyone failing to acknowledge me, I think it’s just part of being a welcoming member of the cycling community and being a good ambassador (along with not riding like a jackass, and you know, making an effort at those stop signs). You could make a newbie’s day, as Georgia did in my case back in 2012. People in full on team kits can be intimidating whether they’re a cat 5 or a pro – it all looks the same to people who aren’t in the know, so sometimes that mean mug look isn’t the most welcoming. I use the Greenway here in Cheyenne a lot to connect to different roads, or on days when I just don’t want to deal with cars, so naturally I run into a lot of recreational cyclists, and I always make sure to slow and say hi. I slow and ask people if they’re alright if they’re off on the side fiddling with their bikes, especially out mountain biking since it’s remote a lot of the times (I “rescued” a mom on a cruiser bike a few weeks ago who couldn’t get her chain back on and was getting ready to push the bike and trailer back home on the Greenway.. .made me feel happy that I could get her on her way again and that she could finish her ride with her family!). Yeah, sure, there’s intervals and steady states and blah blah blah for training, but a couple of minutes isn’t going to kill anyone. Neither does lifting up a hand for a wave, regardless of how many darn cyclists there are nowadays on the Front Range.

Being a good ambassador of the sport is something I’ve been acutely more in touch with since joining a bigger team with a rather pronounce logo stating NAKED on my kits that makes me, well, more rememberable. So maybe my waving and smiles and hellos are in hyper mode, but at least no one can accuse me of being too pro to wave, right?

So what’s everyone’s thoughts… am I overboard with the waving expectations? Do you wave or acknowledge other cyclists in some manner?

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March Wrap Up

April 1, 2015 The Adventuring Heidi

Three months down!

I missed this being my highest mileage month by 6 miles, whoops! Which is kind of impressive, since my week in Seattle wasn’t high mileage and the week following I was knocked on my butt by some severe respiratory virus. Of course, you see the difference in the amount of time, which hey, still isn’t too shabby at 31+ hours.

March was a struggle for me, I won’t lie. I did have two good early starts to my “road race” season (I’ve never considered myself to have a road race season before this year… I’m doing a significant amount of road stuff this spring, however, when compared to previous years), and am super proud of my effort during the Oredigger Classic Hill Climb up Lookout Mountain. Otherwise, my training wasn’t exactly on target. I think I ended up feeling more tired than usual, and then I picked up that virus during my Seattle trip and that was the fork stuck into me saying, “you’re done!”

I managed to get out to Hewlett Gulch last weekend for a short mountain bike ride to test the lungs. I had a good time, minus the one crash, and realized my technical skills aren’t as rusty as I thought. Then Sunday, Jim and I climbed up to Estes Park – a ride we’ve been talking about foreverrrrr. So fun to finally get it done! I took it easy in order to not stress my body, and we battled a headwind descending which is always a buzzkill. I followed up with a decent after work ride on Monday, and an amazing evening yesterday at Gowdy on the mountain bike. Rode some trails that I haven’t done in a long time, and after about 10 miles run into some of my buddies so I chatted it up for awhile, and then did another 2.6 miles with them.

I’m struggling with mountain bike fitness. The short punches of power and climbing just seem to do me in… but luckily there’s starva to compare my results and I’m actually kinda kicking butt. I guess it’s true… it never gets easy, you just start going faster!

Unfortunately today I’m back to feeling really crappy and have developed a cough, so I wonder if I overdid the past few days. My mental status isn’t the best… I’m feeling worn out and burned out. A lot of little things that shouldn’t bother me have started pissing me off, and I’m finding myself really irritable. And I’m looking at my race schedule and seeing what I can subtract… something that never really happens in March! I already nixed Rumble at 18 Road for this year. The cost + lack of exciting course + really no reason to do it did that race in. Which is fine, because it opened up to two local options for me… the road race in Johnstown and the following weekend Ridgeline Rampage, which I’ve decided I will race the “marathon” 50 mile distance… in… wait for it… the pro category. I’ve come to the realization that I’m racing pro/open in everything this year except the two USAC races I’ve entered due to my cat 1 license (and of course the races like Leadville where there are no categories, just age groupings), so I might as well just make it pro/open across the board in non-sanctioned races. Screw it, go big! At least I can’t bitch about sandbaggers when I’m in pro/open, ha!

But yeah… I’m trying to reign in some of my negative feelings. I just don’t want to look back on 2015 and regret the things I missed out on because I was so married to a training schedule I couldn’t “cheat” a bit. I want to climb a 14er by using my feet (I’ll do it on road bike in July), I want to go fishing in Flaming Gorge, I want to have some fun adventures. One of the things that adds insult to injury to last year’s cyclocross season is how many fun fall mountain bike adventures I missed out on because I was dragging myself to races when the people who invited me were off for epic 30-50 mile adventures off in the mountains. I don’t want to repeat that! I don’t like how I’m feeling so burned out before I’ve even started racing, so I’m partially in panic mode and partially in a “I give up mode.” I want the bike to be a happy place, not another job I go to after my day job. I want to smile and whoop and holler at races at the joy of just being able to race my bike.

So here’s to April is a happier place for me on and off the bike. Flowers are blooming, the sun is shining, and the trails are scary dry, so there’s hope!

Uncategorized

(Not So) Bikeless in Seattle

March 25, 2015 The Adventuring Heidi

No way I could take an 8 day work trip to Seattle and not ride, right? I mean, middle of training, beginning of race season, eating out for every meal, and my mental health… all depends on riding a darn bike!

Pretty crazy storm greeted me in Seattle. One of those descent on a plane that everyone applauds at the end and thanks the pilot for not crashing us out of the sky.

So I rounded up a rental road bike from the Bicycle Repair Shop in downtown, and made some rough route plans using Strava and Google. I kinda freaked out once I arrived in Seattle and was walking down to the shop and realized downtown Seattle was a lot like… any major city downtown. Crazy traffic with murderous drivers. Eek.

I picked up “my” 2015 Giant Defy 1, added my pedals and Garmin mount and nervously headed out into the scary streets of Seattle. The shop is located on Alaskan Way, so I made my way north and ended up on the bike path. Whew. Still alive. The weather was sunny and I saw a nice view of Mt. Rainier. I rode up a bit and then turned around and then nervously entered downtown traffic. I struggled because I had a bag with my street clothes and shoes in it (from my walk to the bike shop) and it kept swinging around in front of me. But wouldn’t you know, I survived and made it back to my hotel in one piece!

Volcano and a road bike :) — Volcano and a road bike 🙂

Mt. Rainier... the only day it was really clear enough to see it well! — Mt. Rainier… the only day it was really clear enough to see it well!

Selfie with a volcano. My life is complete!

Spring is definitely happening in Seattle! Got a few months more to wait in Wyoming for blooming stuff... — Spring is definitely happening in Seattle! Got a few months more to wait in Wyoming for blooming stuff…

Elliot Bay from the Elliot Bay Bike Trail

Tuesday was rainy so I donned my new Showers Pass rain jacket and threw on my Columbia capris which are water repellent over my bibs and headed north on the bike path to Magnolia and Discovery Park. Took a wrong turn at a marina and realized that all I really needed to do was follow the signage that they have set up bikes. I eventually made my way to Discovery Park, which I found kinda creepy as it’s quiet and abandoned looking, and I’m sure I did one of the fastest uphill sprints ever to get out of the creepy trees I found my way into. Rode my way back down Magnolia and back via the bike path.

Discovery Park... pretty, but eery. And by eery I mean creepy — Discovery Park… pretty, but eery. And by eery I mean creepy

My random trees I found... and this turned into dirt single track, which yes, I rode on the road bike! — My random trees I found… and this turned into dirt single track, which yes, I rode on the road bike!

Wednesday was my big day to conquer my fear of bridges over water and ride the I-90 floating bridge over to Mercer Island. After conquering Chinatown at the start of rush hour (an experience in its own right), I found my way to the bike path that heads to the bridge. I made it across the bridge with some fierce concentration on the road in front of my tire to avoid the water of Lake Washington to my left and found myself safely on Mercer Island. Mercer Way is a pretty enjoyable ride, about 10.5 miles of curves and punchy climbs without any stop signs or stop lights. It winds it’s way through the temperate rainforest and big lakefront homes. Once I looped around once I turned around and went back the way I came, to make it about a 33 mile ride once I got back to my hotel. It was a gorgeous day which made it that much better!

I-90 floating bridge across Lake Washington

Tree lined Mercer Way on, you guessed it, Mercer Island

Just pedalin' along in the sunshine! — Just pedalin’ along in the sunshine!

Made it across twice! Oh, and I named this bike Bert.

I took Thursday off from the bike to explore downtown a bit with some newfound friends. After walking through Pike Place Market, I made my way to the Gum Wall in Post Alley, which was my top thing to do in Seattle aside from riding across the I-90 floating bridge. Nothing like an alley filled with chewed gum, right?

OK, lobsters look like big crusty worms to me. Yuck.

I swear there's a flying fish in this photo! — I swear there’s a flying fish in this photo!

Adding my piece in the grossest way an infection preventionist can scheme up

An example of the bike signage found in the Seattle area... very easy to navigate around! — An example of the bike signage found in the Seattle area… very easy to navigate around!

Friday was rainy and dreary. Not a good day on the bike… I was forced off the street by a car and chose to hit the pavement on the curb side (alternative was a car… I’ll take the curb!). The wreck shook me up, and after several days of dealing with the horrid drivers of Seattle, I was broke. Done and done. After checking out my wounds – skinned knee and ankle, cut palms (stupidly didn’t have gloves on), torn rain pants, and a hole in my favorite “Fat Fish Racing” socks – I climbed on the bike and still continued on to Alki Beach, which was my final choice of a bike destination. Yes, I still rode another hour, ha! After getting some photos of the Seattle skyline, I turned around and decided to return the bike a day early. I was just done with the whole cycling in Seattle thing. Dripped blood on the bike shop floor, swapped stories, and bought some cleat covers for my carbon soled S-Works shoes I’d be walking a mile back to the hotel in, and I officially said goodbye to riding a bike in Seattle. For forever.

Overall, glad I got to get in some miles in Washington, which means another state checked off the list! I vow to never ride a bicycle in Seattle ever again, though. Painting some lines on a road and making bike paths does not make a place cyclist friendly in the definition I think of when I hear “cyclist friendly.” Plus I miss cyclists who at least nod, smile, or goodness, even wave when you pass them! I got stoney glares the entire time. Eek. Nope. I ride a bike with a smile on my face, and with cars at least a good 3 feet away from me, thanks!

Race Report

Race Report: Oredigger Classic Hill Climb

March 20, 2015 The Adventuring Heidi

11024643_811420528907048_6936868663810118962_o — Photo by John Westergard

Second year of giving the Oredigger Classic Hill Climb up Lookout Mountain in Golden a try. I really just wanted to beat my time from last year, and otherwise didn’t really care.

I met up with a teammate and rode about 9 miles to the start. Pretty hard warmup for me, and I was at 170-180 heart rate the whole way there which worried me as I’m not use to running myself ragged on a warm up. They had a great guy as a holder who I utilized so I wouldn’t have to fiddle to clip in (I’ve suddenly lost the ability to clip into my Look Keo pedals quickly and easily, not sure what’s up with me). I sprinted off the start and settled down. I love Lookout as it’s a pretty “gradual” climb that is 1200 feet over 4.5 miles. “Gradual,” ha! Meaning that it just never gets crazy steep. Fairly quickly I passed 3 other girls in my category, which is not something I’m use to happening in a time trial. I was caught by Rachel Joyce, a professional triathlete, about a mile in, and otherwise wasn’t passed, which was strange. The wind was OK, just a headwind on some westerly sections. I found myself thinking that I wasn’t going out as hard as I should, but my power numbers were telling a different story.

I ended up with a 28:07 time, which was 4 minutes faster than last year! And this was good enough for 9th place in SW4 out of 20… my first top ten road finish with a field that big! Whoop whoop! Kinda crazy to do that well, I wasn’t expecting it. I spend so much time telling everyone I’m a slow roadie that can’t climb… but maybe I’m ok at climbing kinda? I also set a new 20 minute power record at 230, which bumped my FTP to 218. Sigh, the days of “easy” rides on the trainer are done for!

10848000_829043503833697_3540164584446182250_n — Photo by Ryan Muncy

So I declare this race a success! Always nice to be able to see myself improve over the previous year!

Race Report

Race Report: 2015 Frostbite TT

March 9, 2015 The Adventuring Heidi

58805620-IMG_9880 — Just smile! (Photo by Shawn Curry / Green Curry Photography)

Whelp, it’s that time of year again! After a snowed-out hiatus in 2014, I kicked off my race season with the Frostbite Time Trial. It’s the closest USAC road event to Cheyenne, just about 25 minutes from my house so I figure it’s a no brainer for attending! Since I sold my time trial bike last year, I knew I wouldn’t win the equipment contest, but I did make a “small” effort and took off my tool bag and one bottle cage on my road bike… ha!

The weather was… well, AMAZING! My race had no wind. NO WIND. What?! Which can actually be a bad thing as there’s nothing giving you a boost (the wind would pick up later in the day for the later categories). The day before the race I did the south-north leg of the course and hauled some butt thanks to a stiff tailwind, and was slightly banking on it for the race. Ohhh well.

I can now say I’ve warmed up on a trainer in a ditch alongside the interstate… and with the sun beating down I ended up stripping off my thermal base layer and warmed up in my sports bra. It works, right? I did about 20 minutes and then got in line for the bathrooms (seriously, 3 ports-potties just isn’t enough for this race!) and headed to the start.

The start. UGH. What a cluster! First girl called didn’t show up. So Nicole Callan went off in her spectacularly fast fashion (she would win SW4). The next girl couldn’t get clipped in and didn’t roll up to the line. They get her to the line and she falls over (literally…. OUCH! Looked like it hurt). So Tim the USAC Official calls me up and then immediately goes “2…1… go” before I’m even on my bike or have the holder holding me *angry face* I went WTF and proceeded to clip in as the holder held me as a peculiar sideways angle and then the holder counted down and I went off. I have NO idea if that whole debacle affected my time, but it definitely sent my heart rate sky high. I sprinted like crazy off the start, feeling my front wheel lifting as I cranked on the bars for some power, and then settled down into my drops.

Time trialing with a power meter is ah-maze-ing! It’s a good way to make sure I don’t drop off, even though I’m maintaining the same speed. I averaged 212 watts, and set a 20 minute power PR since getting the meter at 220 (which then in turn I calculated a new FTP as apparently I can do way better outside than on a trainer any day). I settled down and just waited for the hordes of people to pass me. Never happened, only the women who would go on to get 2nd place would pass me. So that’s always a pleasant feeling! I passed the cutest junior boy who was pedaling merrily along the course. I made sure to yell out a “good job!” to him as I went past. Just too cute!

58809871-IMG_9943 — Time for a serious face (and awkwardly straight elbows) (Photo by Shawn Curry / Green Curry Photo)

When I rounded the turnaround I was expecting a tailwind as I swore I had a headwind, and it never happened. Ugh. So I really hammered that last “smidge under 6” miles. It’s a false flat/climb back to the start and knew my climbing power helps. Just kept an eye on the power numbers and pushed through the burn in my legs. Once I crested the final hill I downshifted one or two gears and pushed towards the finish. My face distorted in pain but I spun those pedals faster and faster. Ouch, that push to the final hurt!

My final time was 32:05.982…. 4.5 minutes faster than my 2013 time! Woohoo! This was good enough for 8th Place in SW4 out of 13 competitors. I joked with my teammates that I won the nonexistent “SW4 Non Aero” category as I was the only one in the category without aero bars or a TT bike. Ha! Granted I did have my TT helmet on, but I did it because it looks so cool and matches my bike 😛 Or I just looked like a collegiate racer since they’re not allowed aero bars. I can deal with looking like a college kid!

Overall I was pleased. I was happy to see my power output and how I kept pushing. I think this was a good way to test out my training and to get a new FTP test done without fighting myself on the trainer. The race did trash my legs… I was going to ride 20-30 miles afterwards, but the wind picked up and I just was dead and hungry, so I opted for taking myself on a date for Mexican food after I chatted up with my teammates and other friends who I haven’t seen since cross season. The following day on Sunday I did 55 miles on a group ride in Fort Collins and ended up with some strong efforts thanks to Thomas egging me on so my legs are done for! Where are those Elevated Legs when I need them like we had at 24HOP?!

And that’s that… the season is now officially underway (24HOP was like a prelude). This weekend I’m giving the Oredigger Hill Climb up Lookout Mountain another go since last year I did it while sick so I’m curious to see how it goes this year. Then I do have a pause until April, so I can get in some long rides and hopefully the weather stays good! I’m really enjoying Daylight Savings this year as now I have 3-4 hours of daylight after work to get in rides!

Uncategorized

February Wrap Up

February 28, 2015 The Adventuring Heidi

The second month of 2015 has come and gone!

1) Training continued on

2) The weather was way wonky, going from summer to frozen over winter in a matter of a week

3) I had a great pre-season taste of mountain bike racing

Still on my kick with making charts, so here’s my February stats and comparison to years earlier. Once again, a big month, though the return of winter did kill my miles and time slightly the past two weeks, along with having a solid week of recovery after returning from Arizona. Still, over 30 hours of training/racing/riding is nothing to sneeze at! Not to mentioned I had my highest time duration week ever February 9th – 15th 🙂

I had some bad days on the bike, and plenty of days where I dreaded doing my intervals only to kick their ass in an awesome fashion. Today I struggled with high heart rates and dead legs, so I promised myself I’d bundle up and get outside on the cross bike for a road ride to get a change of scenery and breathe in some fresh air. I did move my bike/trainer set up out of the “bike room” in the basement to the living room so I can watch TV. My new favorite thing is catching “Jeopardy” at 6:30pm and breathlessly muttering out answers in the middle of intervals.

sportograf-56925152 — 24 Hour Town – Photo by Sportigraf

The highlight of February was of course getting in a teaser of mountain bike race season at 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo. The race exceeded my expectations and goals in so many ways and set me on a positive path for the rest of the season. And it introduced me to 24 hour endurance racing, and makes me want to try more of them!

A week from now road racing season starts, so effectively my off season has only 7 days ;eft. Whew… always seems like it goes by way too fast. Most years I’m chomping at the bit to start racing, but I’m a bit more reserved this year. Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited but I know I have a longggggggg season ahead of me. Luckily it’s broken into two peaks – XC “A” race at Nordic Valley ProXCT in May and endurance “A” at Leadville 100 in August. I’m already critically looking at my race calendar and am thinking of cutting a race or two, or substituting races that are closer to home and offer something more helpful (like perhaps 9000′ of climbing in 40 miles…). Road season is nothing I take too seriously since I’m still not a roadie racer in any shape or form, but they’re nice for getting in some tough road miles and changing up the scenery (and a chance to see some of my cyclocross buddies and teammates). Frostbite TT is next weekend, which I missed last year due to a weather reschedule. I sold my TT bike last spring, but I’m still going to rock the alien helmet on the road bike (and plan on riding a good 20-30+ miles after the race, as 11 miles is not long enough for me anymore!). Then it’s the Lookout Mtn TT, where I just want to set a PR over last year’s time the following weekend. And – BIG NEWS – the weather is suppose to get nice, so next weekend I hope to get in a long ride on Sunday outside. Whew. I love me some good weather 🙂

February… you were kind to me in so many ways… from the 70 degree outdoor rides to my first win of the season in my first 24 hour race to pushing me to break through mental barriers and do silly things like “enjoy” a CritFit Two/Twenty workout.

sportograf-56934810 — Enjoying the sun and fun of racing my mountain bike… time for the final push before mountain bike race season begins for real in April – Photo by Sportigraf

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The return to “real life”

February 23, 2015 The Adventuring Heidi

There’s always bit of a let down after coming home from a big race, and even more so after doing well at a big race. Life goes on, work continues on without a beat, but my mind thinks “oh man, it’s been 3 days since this… a week since I left…” etc.

Katey and I arrived back from Tucson to be greeted by a good foot of snow in Denver. So much for our non-existent winter. I returned back to work like nothing happened, and I must admit I was quite down the entire week after coming back from 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo. I had a hard time balancing my “real life” – work as an infection preventionist, bills, cleaning the house, laundry, and my “wanna be bike racer life” where I’m just off riding my bike super fast and living a life in a town of RVs and campers in the desert. It also didn’t help that my beloved cat was still at my parents’ house. And oddly enough, I missed my routine of hard workouts on the bike since I was slated for a week of recovery. Everything just seemed out of whack and I was crying at a moment’s notice over the silliest of things.

And winter continued to happen all week into the weekend so I was effectively snowed in at my parents’ house with my cat in Laramie. Lots of cake and napping on the couch, and ignoring my bike on the trainer that I convinced my parents to let me set up (there is usually a strict “no bikes in the house” rule at their place). The winter blues struck hard.

Bam! Order was restored today with a return to hard training. Coach T has a busy three weeks planned for me leading up to a work trip that I’ll be taking which will take me away from a bike for a good 8 days (gasp, I might ride one of those exercise spin bikes at the hotel… you can’t keep me from pedaling, it’s a sickness!). It hurt and was tough, but it felt good. I am back on track. Some probably think that I should be happy I had a recovery week to celebrate my great race and to just be lazy, but it just irked me. I don’t know why, as it’s silly and my body truly needed a recovery. I’m just a bit OCD and routine oriented. Ha!

Awesome things in my life at the moment:

I finally bought a roller massage stick while snowed in this weekend. I have a foam roller, but I find it so awkward to use and bulky to tote around. I’m in love with the massage stick! It was marked $15 at Walmart and rang up $9, which makes it that much better. My right hamstring has been sore for some random reason and it’s been awesome to be able to easily roll it out. Here’s to happy muscles!
I got a new Pedal House tee shirt thanks to Dewey this weekend. Even better, it’s brown and gold and has “We still hang bike thieves in Wyoming” BIG on the back. My old shirt from the Pedal House from when I bought my first mountain bike in 2012 has been worn enough the lettering wore off, so this excited me to have a new one!
Sammie is back at home with me. Yay… I love my cat. My house feels way too empty without her.
Despite going off track with diet and then of course eating like crap during 24HOP, my weight has reached it’s lowest point so far of 146.2lb. Woohoo!
I registered for the Laramie Enduro in the open women class. Say what?
The days are getting longer!!!
I’ve already ridden 750 miles this year! 😀

Some not great things:

Ugh, snow and cold. Dammit, I was really starting to enjoying long road rides! HATE THIS.
I have to have a minor procedure to take biopsies on Wednesday. My biggest concern is if I’ll feel good enough to nail my billats workout on the trainer. Priorities, clearly.
My Fate is still in pieces from my trip and I realized it would be a hell of a lot easier to build if I had a work stand. I might have to buy one… At least the bike is all clean!

OK, the good clearly outweighs the bad 🙂 The routine has been restored and I’ve integrated back into my “real life” after getting to play bike racer for a few days.

Race Report

Race Report: 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo

February 17, 2015 The Adventuring Heidi

Wow.

What an amazing race! It all came together so perfectly for me that I broke down sobbing after my final lap out of relief and happiness that finally I felt like I proved what I was capable of on a bicycle.

So backtrack… I’ve wanted to do this race ever since my coach and his buddy finished 5th in Duo Men at last year’s event. When I saw an email from my very new-to-me bike team at the time asking if anybody was game for the final spot, I immediately jumped on it without really giving anything strong consideration. That’s it, I was doing the 2015 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo on a four women team!

I’ve never done a 24 hour endurance race, and my previous half hearted attempts at endurance mountain bike racing haven’t gone so well (I didn’t even start in the Stone Temple 8 in 2013, and of course my nagging DNF in the Laramie Enduro the same year…). I didn’t really know what to expect, except I wanted to race my bike super fast and see how my early season training panned out. During my pre-ride I actually wasn’t that impressed with the course, and started daydreaming about cheese halfway through and almost felt disappointment. After eating some cheese, I looped the last 3 mile stretch again, which is the most “technical” it gets with some rocky sections and of course the rock drop at the end and felt a bit better about it.

Lap 1 – 2:32pm – 1:14:35
I was super nervous going into my first lap. Being so late in the day I was worried about how my nutrition would be, and the winter heat I’m not use to, and just about what would happen. I didn’t really warm up more than just doing some sprints on the roads in 24 Hour Town, and then staged my bike and took to standing the exchange tent. Katey came through and I grabbed the baton and sprinted out and got on my bike and just hammered off. Damn, the course is FUN at full race speed!

I was in a group of about 5 or 6 leaving the tent which lead to some traffic on the single track. Once to the Bitches I was able to pass them on the climbs. I hammered out the climbs on the Bitches and felt pretty damn good. On the long straightaway I made sure to hydrate and just keep hammering. I’ve always been a “power rider” on the mountain biker, but thought I lost that ability when I began to get really well at technical sections, so this was the first time in a long time I felt powerful on the bike. I attacked a lot of the short punchy climbs out of the saddle, and was consistently passing people I came up upon. I was shocked to see myself flying down the single track sections at 15-20mph, but felt confident the corners – even more so that I FINALLY stopped running 30psi in my tires and went to a bit of a more normal pressure for tubeless.

I settled into a good temp on the single track sections with the headwind and after a few miles of ignoring the headwind I settled in behind two guys who were holding an awesome pace down His and Hers Trails. They kept asking if I wanted to pass, but I just tucked in as I know they were pacing me well. I felt a stinging on the inside of my right ankle and looked down and had some cholla attached to it, so I had to ignore that stinging (it would fall off on its own before the finish). We spit out near a campsite and they pulled off so I was once again on my own and soon was on High Point Trail, which is a decent climb of a few miles until a final descent back to the finish. I was still feeling super strong and didn’t struggle on the climbing, though this is the section where I ran into the most slow moving traffic (and seemed to be where I would run into the most people on all of my laps).

The descent went well, and I let one of the guys from earlier in front of me which helped set a good pace back to the finish. I was nervous coming up to the rock drop as there was a large crowd of spectators and it can be a be hairy… luckily I made it down just fine and then proceeded to get in “trouble” at the exchange tent when I dismounted my bike, shouldered it, and started running all cross style… ha! Crap, was I the only one who thought this was a race?!

I did my first lap in 1:14:35!!!!!!!! HELL YES!!!! That lap ended up being the 47th fastest female lap (out of 951 laps). And I did it with cholla in my ankle 😀

Lap 2 – 7:48pm – 1:18:36
I was super tired before starting this lap and all I wanted to do was sleep. After pumping myself up with some Luke Bryan I headed down to the exchange tent for my first night lap – which would also be my first time racing at night and riding something faster than a fat bike on snow. I fired up my NiteRider MiNewt Pro 770 Enduro on my handlebars and my NiteRider Lumina 750 on my helmet, both on high and took off. I had a speed demon inside of me, and it didn’t feel like I was riding at night at all! My senses with highly focused and I just concentrated on the trail in front of me.

Unfortunately a few Bitches in all racers were ordered to dismount and walk (run) down and up and around an injured rider who Life Flight was working on. We had to go around in the cactus, too. This was frustrating, but definitely understandable, and if anything just lit my fire more to go faster to make up that time. Once again I made sure to hydrate on the flat straightaway and then hit the single track. Once again, I was consistently passing people. I met up with one guy and him and I kinda rode together for a lot of it, with him trailing me a bit. Always nice to have someone to keep me going faster!

My legs still felt powerful and I just flew on the single track, especially since the winds had died slightly. I smashed my toes on some prickly pear cactus here and there, but I kept everything upright and steady and smooth. I was even more nervous to do the rock drop in the dark, as I hadn’t before, but found out that it’s not much different!

I came in at 1:18:36, which was the fastest night lap time in the 4 Person Open Women category! GO ME! I couldn’t believe how fast I ended up riding at night, as I was expecting way slower speeds. It was also the 32nd fastest female night lap out of 377 laps. Whew, I pulled back to back similar laps. Maybe I could be consistent, and not a one lap wonder?!

Lap 3 – 1:43am – 1:20:22
I had tried to nap after lap 2, but it just wasn’t happening, so I dragged myself to the exchange tent in the wee hours of the morning. I chatted with a girl on the team sitting in third place (we were sitting solidly in first place since the very first lap!), and she told me her teammate was telling her that “the girl in the unicorn socks is so fast!” – whoa! I knew those unicorn socks were good luck 😀

The Bitches stung a bit more on this lap, and I was a bit loopy. The cholla were looking like fuzzy teddy bears to me, though I resisted hugging any. I sung a combo of Toby Keith’s “Made In America” and the theme song to the TV show Weeds aloud… can’t explain that at all… A guy with super bright lights insisted on trying to follow me as he “couldn’t see the trail,” which was annoying to me as his lights cast a big shadow of myself right down the middle of the single track. I ended up mashing the pedals a bit harder to distance myself from him as I didn’t like the shadow. Sorry dude…

I finished out at 1:20:22, which was still the third fastest night lap in our category. I promptly ran to the RV and got in my sleeping bag to scrounge up a few minutes of sleep.

Lap 4 – 7:31am – 1:17:24
When my alarm went off to get ready for this lap I groaned. I love my 8-9 hours of sleep a night, and to think I had to get up after maybe 2, if that, hours of sleep and RACE A MOUNTAIN BIKE seemed INSANE. INSANE. I can’t even remember what I tried to eat (Saturday and Sunday are so fuzzy in my memory already!) and made my way down to the tent. Everyone looked a bit glazed.

Out I went and the Bitches were horrible and I felt like I was crawling up them. But I kept on keeping on. I was getting passed by some faster men, and noticed the passing was not done with as much kindness and courtesy as earlier laps. I also came upon many zombie-like races struggling along. Once I hit the single track I noticed a female voice behind me and I decided I didn’t want a girl passing me so I powered away (and kept her away, yay). Still not a lot of wind, so I cruised along pretty well. My Garmin’s battery died just about 6 miles in, and I felt like I was blind. I could no longer look down and use my speed to judge my effort. I felt like I was going super slow so I just settled in.

When I came out across the road a course marshall announced that it was 8:33 and I did a double take. Did I just ride 13 miles in an hour?! So I kicked it into a higher gear. I figured this was my final lap so I would just burn everything for a good time… came into the exchange tent and there was Rachel. Wait, Rachel? Uh oh… this Heidi had another lap to go!

So this “blind and slow” lap was 1:17:24!! My second fastest lap! I couldn’t believe it! Maybe I didn’t need that fancy Garmin device after all 😀

Lap 5 – 10:03am – 1:22:31
The team decided to change up the order for a bit and send out Rachel and I to bring home the big Win. So after only an hour of downtime and rest I headed back out for my 5th and final lap. This lap hurt. Nothing more I can really describe it as! But I mashed up the Bitches and held an OK pace on the various single track. The hardest part for me was the High Point Trail and final climb. People would offer to let me pass and I struggled to get the power for the surge around them. Hitting that descent was one of the best feelings ever… so much that I started choking up in disbelief that I just race 5 laps in this race with consistent times and in disbelief that finally I was able to keep pushing myself – I broke my mental barrier! I held back tears all the way down the descent, past all the spectators (including one who yelled “Go, Wyoming!” – not sure who that was, but awesome!) and photographers. I almost cried at the sight of the exchange tent but held back to give the baton to Rachel for one final time and made it back to the RV before the flood gates opened. It was over. For all the times someone, including some people I held to close to me in the past, told me I couldn’t do something… no you can’t race, no you shouldn’t be that category, no you’re not strong enough or this… I proved them wrong. And it was awesome.

1:22:31 was my lap time… not the best, but not horrible either. I was done.

And…
Rachel crossed at 1:04pm after a tire blowout on the Bitches, and we had officially won the 24 Hours at the Old Pueblo as a 4 women team! Woohoo! I’d say that’s not too shabby for a mix of people who hadn’t raced in ten years, who just wanted the base miles, who just wanted to have fun, and the crazy girl from Wyoming who wanted to race super hard but had no idea she’d do 3 sub-1:20 laps!

18 laps in 25 hours and 4 minutes. Whew.

Lots of big thanks are in order… thanks to Specialized Bicycles… my S-Works Fate performed flawlessly, and there were several ladies who rode the exact same bike to victory (including a co-ed duo from Wyoming! Yeah, we’re awesome in Wyoming!). Perfect bike for the power course, and still performed well down the rock drop. Yay for NiteRider lights – I saw perfectly and the lights were great even at speed. Osmo kept me hydrate, and Honey Stinger, gummy bears, Kraft Easy Mac, Maruchen ramen, and Lunchables kept me fed. Of course Naked Women’s Racing and all our awesome sponsors – such as Rudy Project (neon yellow helmets are amazing!) and Sidi shoes (carbon soles make me go zoom zoom). John from Tucson who was our sherpa – picked up our rental RV, picked up Katey and I at the airport, built and unbuilt my bike (and even washed it better than it’s ever been washed!), shuttled us all around… amazing guy and a big blessing to have a trip like this! Thanks to Kalan Beisel for setting my tire pressure by his expert pro feel, and for his buddy for providing the Elevated Legs to help us recover in between laps. Katey, Heidi, and Rachel for being awesome teammates and all laying down solid laps for our victory.

Most of all, I gotta thank my coach, Anthony Diede of CritFit. net. He holds me accountable, he pushes me, and I’ve grown to know that I do not want to disappoint him and to trust him with his knowledge and wisdom. He took me from an untrained cat 3 racer with a basket case of a mind and no will power when the legs started burning to a cat 1 racer who just won the largest 24 hour endurance mountain bike race in the country. Seriously, I can’t thank him enough. So many nights I drag myself to the trainer, cussing it out, and get off the bike happy and pleased that I pushed through another torturous workout. It’s going to be an awesome season, Coach T!