So it's been quite a while since my last blog. After looking, it's been 2 weeks. Luckily for me, I've been slacking on writing and not on cycling.
I've still managed to get in the saddle every day the past two weeks after my race at UCI. Since then I've raced again, placing fairly well for the race being a duathlon, and I've had a few hard rides, and that's actually what I have to look forward to.
Because I haven't really kept a day to day writing habit, I've lost some of the words I wanted to put down. My first is fairly upsetting: I heard about yet another local cycling fatality, and that's always terribly upsetting to hear. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Britel family, even if I wasn't lucky enough to meet Amine, I was still upset to hear of his passing.
On a lighter side, I've been pretty happy with my past riding days, I've felt fairly strong with plenty of endurance. I'm hoping I don't eat those words on Wednesday when I go for my first century ride. Hopefully during that multi-hour ride I'll be able to find more to write about.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Race Day!
I mean, RACE DAY!!! Oh wow I had a blast today at UCI Zot Trot!! I don't know how to even start talking about it, but there will definitely be plenty of shout outs to this blog.
Before I get going on the race, I will say that I've still been spending plenty of time on the bike, even though I haven't been writing about it everyday: Saturday just a little test riding during/after my tune up at Irvine Bikes by Ethan Yotter, Friday was a freezing but successful bike ride at El Dorado, Thursday was a quick spin indoors, and Wednesday was a SOLID solo ride at El Dorado(and I mean SOLID because not even the wind was able to slow me down). Now, onto the race this morning!
Just had a moment because I couldn't say "early morning wake up" since 5am is now the rule rather than the exception. Spent a lot of that time sitting around waiting for Mom, considering I only got dressed and had a couple of bites of food to eat. Finally got rolling in the truck by about 5:30, grabbed Becca and headed out for UCI's campus. Got into the lot just before sunrise, chatted with team mates and did a few last minute check ups on the bike and shoes. Got to see plenty of smiling faces in transition, might as well shout out all of them now: Nelson Prieto, Veronica Gonzalez, Cheyenne Hayes, Kari Szentesi, Yeshua Farfan, Ben De La Torre, Mark Vishnnevsky, Wes Andreason, Robbie Grant, George Rivas, Ethan Machado, Torry Mendoza, Carleigh Smith, Sean Sommerville, Mark Donovan and his wife, and some competitors like Miles Sonnenfeld, Sean Davis, and Sean Butler. Also, wanted to mention Alex Freitas for making the ride down from Long Beach to join us for a little post race banter.
So to get started: Set up the bike next to Robbie, started unpacking a few things, towel for the feet, flats, glasses, hat, got the other shoes stuck on the pedals, did one last look over the bike, set the helmet in my aerobars, packed up all the loose stuff, grabbed my goggles. Walked Becca and Mom to a corner to set up with a camera, found a bathroom, and hopped in the pool for a warm up. The pool felt a lot like a jacuzzi, but felt good with a little 150 warm up (time got short). Pushed from that wall as #11 and took off!
Felt pretty good through the swim, caught two competitors in front of me, hopped out of the pool and took off for transition. Of course the transition was a ways away from the pool, but once I got there, grabbed the bike, helmet, shades, and took off. Initially, felt a little cold, which I thought was great, got the feet in, and started pounding up the first hill. The bike course went well, felt decent on the turns(could have felt a little more comfortable with the speed), and the U-turns were a pain, but had a lot of fun cranking through the course. Turned in after the 4th lap, still feeling strong and grabbed the flats.
First problem: not adjusting my laces last night. Had to spend a little more time in transition than I initially wanted, but got going pretty quick. Felt sluggish the first mile or so, which wasn't surprising. What was surprising was the fact that after that, I felt GREAT. Not FAST, but GREAT, which is an okay trade off. I think with a couple bricks and a little more running I should be set for the next few races. The run course was way more forgiving than last year, and was actually fun to run. Still waiting on a final race time, but felt pretty darn good, and like I said, T2 and the run probably were the only places I really could have improved by a whole lot. Of course I'll continue my riding to keep getting stronger and hopefully drop more time from it.
The last thing I want to talk about is my team mates. I've got to say, we've got a solid crew. Everyone was out there looking out for each other and everyone was exited to have friends out there at the race. Also, Cheyenne took a spill on one of the downhills with another cyclist, but like a BADASS, she got back on her bike (after being cleared) and finished the race. A final thought is that I'm really happy to have such a great crew to work with. Hopefully more blogging and definitely more riding soon!
So to get started: Set up the bike next to Robbie, started unpacking a few things, towel for the feet, flats, glasses, hat, got the other shoes stuck on the pedals, did one last look over the bike, set the helmet in my aerobars, packed up all the loose stuff, grabbed my goggles. Walked Becca and Mom to a corner to set up with a camera, found a bathroom, and hopped in the pool for a warm up. The pool felt a lot like a jacuzzi, but felt good with a little 150 warm up (time got short). Pushed from that wall as #11 and took off!
Felt pretty good through the swim, caught two competitors in front of me, hopped out of the pool and took off for transition. Of course the transition was a ways away from the pool, but once I got there, grabbed the bike, helmet, shades, and took off. Initially, felt a little cold, which I thought was great, got the feet in, and started pounding up the first hill. The bike course went well, felt decent on the turns(could have felt a little more comfortable with the speed), and the U-turns were a pain, but had a lot of fun cranking through the course. Turned in after the 4th lap, still feeling strong and grabbed the flats.
First problem: not adjusting my laces last night. Had to spend a little more time in transition than I initially wanted, but got going pretty quick. Felt sluggish the first mile or so, which wasn't surprising. What was surprising was the fact that after that, I felt GREAT. Not FAST, but GREAT, which is an okay trade off. I think with a couple bricks and a little more running I should be set for the next few races. The run course was way more forgiving than last year, and was actually fun to run. Still waiting on a final race time, but felt pretty darn good, and like I said, T2 and the run probably were the only places I really could have improved by a whole lot. Of course I'll continue my riding to keep getting stronger and hopefully drop more time from it.
The last thing I want to talk about is my team mates. I've got to say, we've got a solid crew. Everyone was out there looking out for each other and everyone was exited to have friends out there at the race. Also, Cheyenne took a spill on one of the downhills with another cyclist, but like a BADASS, she got back on her bike (after being cleared) and finished the race. A final thought is that I'm really happy to have such a great crew to work with. Hopefully more blogging and definitely more riding soon!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
One Week
Just starting to think that my first race is only a week away. I can definitely feel a little nervous, a little worried, but plenty of excited. Had a pretty good ride today, headed out to the UCI Zot Trot bike course with plenty of friends and team mates. Felt pretty good on the downhills, a little slow on the turns, but I think the race is going to be very fun.
Yesterday was pretty calm, just a small group ride for about thirty miles. Not really too much to say, just a fun ride along the coast. Actually looking forward to a little spin tomorrow. My thinking is to not really slow down the training this week, maybe relax a bit Friday and Saturday, maybe a little Thursday. Just looking to get back in the saddle tomorrow.
Yesterday was pretty calm, just a small group ride for about thirty miles. Not really too much to say, just a fun ride along the coast. Actually looking forward to a little spin tomorrow. My thinking is to not really slow down the training this week, maybe relax a bit Friday and Saturday, maybe a little Thursday. Just looking to get back in the saddle tomorrow.
Friday, February 4, 2011
8 Days Away
As the title refers to, my collegiate season starts in 8 days. It's crazy to think how quick it came up and I'm surprised at how relaxed about it I am. I just got out of the water after just a grand of swimming, but if the race was this Sunday instead of next Sunday, I think I would have pretty similar results. My swimming has been on the back burner for a while, but that will change this coming week. I would definitely like to have run a bunch more, but I've surprised myself. I feel pretty strong for the most of my runs, better than I've ever felt, and I'm looking to start upping the distance in my running to get ready for the Oceanside Rohto 70.3.
What I'm really looking forward to is the cycling course at UCI. Now I've been complaining to just about everyone that will listen to me about cycling, but with the amount of time I've spent in the saddle I feel like UCI is going to be a good race for me. It would be nice to see if UCI has splits this year, they definitely didn't last year, especially to see how I match up against my teammates. What I'm looking for is not so much if they destroyed me or I them on the bike, but I want to compare. I've always thought of myself as average when it comes to comparing my cycling to the likes of Yeshua Farfan, Ben de La Torre, Joel Fitzpatrick, and Dustin Clow (not to mention a couple of our current and past females like Kari Szentesi, Gena Mckeown, and Michelle Voelker).
Feeling pretty good after the teams solid El Dorado ride this morning, despite the fantastically freezing 41 degree temperature. Looking forward to a couple solid rides this weekend, probably will end up riding the UCI course one more time before the big day. Hopefully I'll be able to write a little more consistently.
What I'm really looking forward to is the cycling course at UCI. Now I've been complaining to just about everyone that will listen to me about cycling, but with the amount of time I've spent in the saddle I feel like UCI is going to be a good race for me. It would be nice to see if UCI has splits this year, they definitely didn't last year, especially to see how I match up against my teammates. What I'm looking for is not so much if they destroyed me or I them on the bike, but I want to compare. I've always thought of myself as average when it comes to comparing my cycling to the likes of Yeshua Farfan, Ben de La Torre, Joel Fitzpatrick, and Dustin Clow (not to mention a couple of our current and past females like Kari Szentesi, Gena Mckeown, and Michelle Voelker).
Feeling pretty good after the teams solid El Dorado ride this morning, despite the fantastically freezing 41 degree temperature. Looking forward to a couple solid rides this weekend, probably will end up riding the UCI course one more time before the big day. Hopefully I'll be able to write a little more consistently.
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