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!
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