A cross friend, FatMarc, asked on Facebook "Why do you race your bicycle?"
My answer... "I love finding my limits. Physically, mentally, emotionally. In training and in racing. :)"
But it's more than that. I love expanding those physical limits, becoming smarter tactically, and learning to tough through the hard parts of racing. And training. I love the feeling of sliding my bike around a corner at speed. I love a set of clean barriers. I love that feeling of power on a bike - that I'm driving it. I love sticking it up a tough climb in a long race. Especially when I pass a guy (or three) walking up it (sorry, but we call that getting chicked). I love digging out of that mental cave that comes at some point in every long race. Knowing my body well enough to push hard or harder, force myself to eat, and even pull from a race. I love seeing friends at the start. Cheering for them in their races, seeing them in the pit, talking about bike parts. Surrounding myself most weekends with others who value lifelong health.
But there's more training than racing, despite the way this blog goes. And I love racing because it keeps me training. Keeps me focused (at least somewhat) on eating well and taking care of my body. Lets me feel energetic, healthy, and strong. Lets me feel proud of myself. And these are all the reasons that I encourage other women (and men) to race.
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
getting it back
In June, I was sort of to rather sick for nearly 3 weeks. For three days at the beginning, I just laid on the couch or stared at the wall. Coach said I couldn't ride until I could walk 15 minutes. Lyme test came back negative, after they lost it once. Who knows what I had, but I was struggling to get 1500 calories a day during a time in the year where normally I'm struggling not to inhale everything I see. I lost 10 pounds in two weeks. I DNF'd from two races in one weekend. I didn't get stronger.
I'm keeping my weight down (sometimes, you should look a gift horse in the mouth!) because it feels good. But getting my legs back took longer than I expected and I was pissed about it. Just about two weeks ago, I started to feel pep in my step again. Two weeks ago we said goodbye to my dog, sending him to puppy heaven if there is such a place and if there isn't, letting him rest forever on a farm in Pennsylvania without the pain of a huge tumor in his head.
Sunday, we raced at Michaux. That race report will come. Soon.
In the meantime, here's what I've learned lately. My emotional well-being directly impacts my marriage and my training. Whew, there, I said it. Doesn't matter how tough I was prettending to be. I think I was really frustrated about the setback in training from being sick and even more overwhelmed dealing with a dying pet. I took it out on my husband, my coach, my other dog, perhaps most of all, myself. Some days, I took it out on the bike and got good training in. Other days, I wound up sitting in the grass on the side of the road, crying about not wanting to ride. One day, I nearly did that mountain biking even though I was with good friends at one of my favorite places to ride.
I got some of it back at Fair Hill. Had a good day on the bike where my body didn't revolt. Got a bit of confidence back. I've had a few great days on the bike plus a few really crappy ones thrown in since then.
I don't quite have my edge back for racing. The "killer instinct". The feeling of always being chased and chasing. But I'm getting there. I trust my body again. I'm starting to trust my head. The rest will come. Which is especially good because cross season is approaching quickly.
I'm keeping my weight down (sometimes, you should look a gift horse in the mouth!) because it feels good. But getting my legs back took longer than I expected and I was pissed about it. Just about two weeks ago, I started to feel pep in my step again. Two weeks ago we said goodbye to my dog, sending him to puppy heaven if there is such a place and if there isn't, letting him rest forever on a farm in Pennsylvania without the pain of a huge tumor in his head.
Sunday, we raced at Michaux. That race report will come. Soon.
In the meantime, here's what I've learned lately. My emotional well-being directly impacts my marriage and my training. Whew, there, I said it. Doesn't matter how tough I was prettending to be. I think I was really frustrated about the setback in training from being sick and even more overwhelmed dealing with a dying pet. I took it out on my husband, my coach, my other dog, perhaps most of all, myself. Some days, I took it out on the bike and got good training in. Other days, I wound up sitting in the grass on the side of the road, crying about not wanting to ride. One day, I nearly did that mountain biking even though I was with good friends at one of my favorite places to ride.
I got some of it back at Fair Hill. Had a good day on the bike where my body didn't revolt. Got a bit of confidence back. I've had a few great days on the bike plus a few really crappy ones thrown in since then.
I don't quite have my edge back for racing. The "killer instinct". The feeling of always being chased and chasing. But I'm getting there. I trust my body again. I'm starting to trust my head. The rest will come. Which is especially good because cross season is approaching quickly.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
anxious... excited...
I've been anxious for this cross season since last December. I am stronger, have more base fitness, have spent some coach-prescribed time during the summer running and yoga-ing... but am I faster? I have a sweet new ride outfitted with awesome green bar tape, tubulars on new-to-me wheels, a spare bike... but am I faster? Six cx skills sessions with intervals in the past 15 days, a new flow to my remount, some tweaks to my carries, a couple changes to my uphill dismount... but am I faster?
Saturday. Saturday starts cross. I'm anxious. Excited. Can't wait for the cowbells and friends. The red-line efforts. The crashing frustration. The mud (there won't be any mud on Saturday, but I want some mud). The dewy morning pre-rides. The trainer warm-ups under a tent with my i-pod. The night before nerves that often yield baked goods to share. The bruised right shoulder. The crisp air that lets us bring the dogs for some hatchback-based socialization. Did I mention the mud?
How will I tell if I'm faster? What if everyone else around me is too? I'll just have to know. To believe. To know that I love this crazy endeavor as much as anyone else out there. That I've put the time in. And will continue to. To enjoy the adrenaline rush of a good start or a strong pass. Appreciate the precision of a good set of barriers, earned through many many preseason repetitions. Know that even on the worst days, I showed up.
I'll bring what I have. Put it out there. Race smart and hard. Let the results fall where they may. It's easy to trap myself into goals that are numbers. Results. Upgrades. Don't ask me what those goals are. They aren't the ones that matter.
And yes, this is my pre-first-race-of-the-year pep-talk to myself. Here's hoping it works and I have more fun than ever out there.
Saturday. Saturday starts cross. I'm anxious. Excited. Can't wait for the cowbells and friends. The red-line efforts. The crashing frustration. The mud (there won't be any mud on Saturday, but I want some mud). The dewy morning pre-rides. The trainer warm-ups under a tent with my i-pod. The night before nerves that often yield baked goods to share. The bruised right shoulder. The crisp air that lets us bring the dogs for some hatchback-based socialization. Did I mention the mud?
How will I tell if I'm faster? What if everyone else around me is too? I'll just have to know. To believe. To know that I love this crazy endeavor as much as anyone else out there. That I've put the time in. And will continue to. To enjoy the adrenaline rush of a good start or a strong pass. Appreciate the precision of a good set of barriers, earned through many many preseason repetitions. Know that even on the worst days, I showed up.
I'll bring what I have. Put it out there. Race smart and hard. Let the results fall where they may. It's easy to trap myself into goals that are numbers. Results. Upgrades. Don't ask me what those goals are. They aren't the ones that matter.
And yes, this is my pre-first-race-of-the-year pep-talk to myself. Here's hoping it works and I have more fun than ever out there.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Race weight
Apparently I'm back at that mysterious thing known as "race weight"... I've been turning ski muscles into bike muscle and losing a few pounds of winter beer fat since getting back on the bike in mid-March, but finally, three days in a row my $7 scale has proclaimed I'm at last year's cross race weight. And I'm not even dehydrated.
This begs the question - am I aiming too high - or is it low? It was easier to get where I was headed this year - perhaps the 10lb head start helped or maybe just knowing how it worked last year... but it gets me to thinking, should I revise my target race weight to no longer include the last bit of belly roll that seems to be part of getting older?
Of course, I celebrated by declaring it a muffin morning.
This begs the question - am I aiming too high - or is it low? It was easier to get where I was headed this year - perhaps the 10lb head start helped or maybe just knowing how it worked last year... but it gets me to thinking, should I revise my target race weight to no longer include the last bit of belly roll that seems to be part of getting older?
Of course, I celebrated by declaring it a muffin morning.
Friday, December 18, 2009
How my goals for cross season turned out
For some reason, I announced my cross season goals on my blog. Perhaps this was an attempt at accountability. I'm not sure that it worked, but here's how they worked out.
Achieved:
Continue having fun. Especially true when I stopped caring so much about how I finished and rode more for myself.
Ride the muddy lines whenever it's smart. There were plenty of muddy lines this year. I have some clothes that may never recover.
Learn to settle into my own pace within the first two laps. Important because, as counted over beers last night, I had the hole shot or was second onto the grass in 8 of 13 races this year. 2 had combined fields with 1/2/3's for the start, so they almost don't count. I checked my lap times on my watch at Taneytown and Reston - I don't slow down, everyone else just speeds up.
Finish top 5 in a 3/4 MAC race. I surprised myself by doing this on the last race of the season. Perhaps the small field and technical course helped, but comments from a bunch of people came in later about how strong I looked, so I'll take it.
Incorporate some weekly core training and stretching. I was a bit more hit or miss about this than I should be, but also included some hill interval running and a few long runs, so certainly better than last year.
On the fence:
Clean my own bike at least once. Shea and I disagree whether I've fulfilled this. In the freezing cold rain at Granogue, I spent at least 4 minutes at the bike wash removing the bulk of the mud. But he's done the cleaning of all the minutia during the week between races.
Get rid of the double hop on my remount. This depends entirely on whether the remount occurs on the first lap or the last.
Keep my training hours as high as they are now for the latter half of the season. I didn't keep a training log. Therefore I don't know. The weather was not conducive to late season road training. If I had to guess, this belongs in the FAIL column.
'Failed':
Win. Twice. Then I won't have to waffle about when I'm ready to go up to the 1/2/3's. I didn't win. After writing that I had a great race at DCCX and took 2nd. But I'm not waffling about going up. I got the upgrade. Next year I'll just have to get faster.
Achieved:
Continue having fun. Especially true when I stopped caring so much about how I finished and rode more for myself.
Ride the muddy lines whenever it's smart. There were plenty of muddy lines this year. I have some clothes that may never recover.
Learn to settle into my own pace within the first two laps. Important because, as counted over beers last night, I had the hole shot or was second onto the grass in 8 of 13 races this year. 2 had combined fields with 1/2/3's for the start, so they almost don't count. I checked my lap times on my watch at Taneytown and Reston - I don't slow down, everyone else just speeds up.
Finish top 5 in a 3/4 MAC race. I surprised myself by doing this on the last race of the season. Perhaps the small field and technical course helped, but comments from a bunch of people came in later about how strong I looked, so I'll take it.
Incorporate some weekly core training and stretching. I was a bit more hit or miss about this than I should be, but also included some hill interval running and a few long runs, so certainly better than last year.
On the fence:
Clean my own bike at least once. Shea and I disagree whether I've fulfilled this. In the freezing cold rain at Granogue, I spent at least 4 minutes at the bike wash removing the bulk of the mud. But he's done the cleaning of all the minutia during the week between races.
Get rid of the double hop on my remount. This depends entirely on whether the remount occurs on the first lap or the last.
Keep my training hours as high as they are now for the latter half of the season. I didn't keep a training log. Therefore I don't know. The weather was not conducive to late season road training. If I had to guess, this belongs in the FAIL column.
'Failed':
Win. Twice. Then I won't have to waffle about when I'm ready to go up to the 1/2/3's. I didn't win. After writing that I had a great race at DCCX and took 2nd. But I'm not waffling about going up. I got the upgrade. Next year I'll just have to get faster.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Catching up
The gap between ski season and cross season is the perfect chance to catch up. And I have some serious catching up to do - beer, coffee, bread and chocolate. Bad tv. A push in lab to get some things going before my weekends are gone again.
But I'm also getting behind. On studying for ski teaching. On my blog (yes, I know, I owe myself two race reports and have a few other posts in the works... they're coming, really...). Maybe even on keeping up with Facebook. Definitely on core work and other such calorie-burning nonsense.
There are a number of others who've spent time this week reflecting on cross season. I think I'm still recovering. Realizing that I too have the bug that is cross. The love of going out to push myself to painful limits every Sunday. I wouldn't have expected that from myself. I never really thought I was an athlete until becoming a competitive cyclist. Maybe it's because I never before treated my body as an athlete should.
The funny thing is, gym class brought my GPA down. Maybe it's better that way - the high school athletes I knew are now, based on their Facebook pages anyway, more sedentary. In a few cases, college and high school buds have turned out to be accomplished triathletes. Perhaps team sports aren't all they are cracked up to be?
But I'm also getting behind. On studying for ski teaching. On my blog (yes, I know, I owe myself two race reports and have a few other posts in the works... they're coming, really...). Maybe even on keeping up with Facebook. Definitely on core work and other such calorie-burning nonsense.
There are a number of others who've spent time this week reflecting on cross season. I think I'm still recovering. Realizing that I too have the bug that is cross. The love of going out to push myself to painful limits every Sunday. I wouldn't have expected that from myself. I never really thought I was an athlete until becoming a competitive cyclist. Maybe it's because I never before treated my body as an athlete should.
The funny thing is, gym class brought my GPA down. Maybe it's better that way - the high school athletes I knew are now, based on their Facebook pages anyway, more sedentary. In a few cases, college and high school buds have turned out to be accomplished triathletes. Perhaps team sports aren't all they are cracked up to be?
Friday, December 4, 2009
No more sandbagging...
After a good bit of success this year as a Cat 4 cyclocrosser, I did it. I applied for what should be an automatic upgrade to Cat 3.
It's a scary step - I didn't make all my goals this year (more on that next week, I think), but have had a lot of fun and gotten way better on the bike. And I believe at the core that Cat 4 is a development category... staying there would be sandbagging. But, there are some really fast Cat 3's... like LH and Crossy and Ms. Rock. And I'll race in the 1/2/3 Elite field at the local MABRA races. This means I've gotta get faster next year. A lot faster.
For now, I'll race Sunday, maybe as a Cat 3, maybe not depending on when that upgrade goes through - it's a 3/4 field so it doesn't matter. In the snow?
I'm more than halfway checked out - it's been a long season of racing, starting last March at Rockburn with a dismal mountain biking effort. This weekend, I'm just out to have some fun. Maybe I should arrange for hot toddy handups...
It's a scary step - I didn't make all my goals this year (more on that next week, I think), but have had a lot of fun and gotten way better on the bike. And I believe at the core that Cat 4 is a development category... staying there would be sandbagging. But, there are some really fast Cat 3's... like LH and Crossy and Ms. Rock. And I'll race in the 1/2/3 Elite field at the local MABRA races. This means I've gotta get faster next year. A lot faster.
For now, I'll race Sunday, maybe as a Cat 3, maybe not depending on when that upgrade goes through - it's a 3/4 field so it doesn't matter. In the snow?
I'm more than halfway checked out - it's been a long season of racing, starting last March at Rockburn with a dismal mountain biking effort. This weekend, I'm just out to have some fun. Maybe I should arrange for hot toddy handups...
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Divas blog about skiing...
Woohoo. The DivaSkiTips blog is up. It's been up, but I finally feel justified announcing it since I finally finished a post for it. Put together by a few divas, it's meant for the ski instructor who's bored at work, studying for an exam, or (as we all are, I hope) a perpetual learner. We all learn by doing, and part of that for the divas is writing about it. So there ya go. Our tech tips, teaching strategies, even a few exam hints. So head on over and check out what I think about how you should set your goals for ski season. Funny enough, it feels a bit like how I set my own goals for 'cross and skiing this fall.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Mmmmm.... ski season is coming part 2...
Returning instructors' meeting. Those of you out there who teach know, this is not always the best use of one's time. But I've managed to teach for some 14 years and only gone to 1 of these prior to now. A few years of being in college, a few times of moving, and a few well-timed weddings kept me away from the fun. But seriously, it's not that bad.
Sunday was ours - led by a former educator, it's short and sweet and full of props for people who've been doing good stuff. Last year I made the list because I'd taught 110+ hours. That landed me in the top 5 of part time instructors. As a testament to how busy we were last year, I logged some 118 or so hours of teaching and clinic leading and didn't make the top 10. crazy stuff. But I did get props for making the Dev Team at the end of the season on my first attempt. Lots of fellow instructors already knew this - I spent most of the day receiving hugs, hearty handshakes and shoulder nudging/grabbing/shaking as well as some charges to "fix" their skiing.
The question... can I live up to their expectations? What about my own expectations? I'm coming into the season fitter than I've ever been so I've got no excuse. There are some definite finesse-type improvements I'd like to incorporate into my movement patterns this year. A challenging task when I spend most of my time on the hill teaching or leading clinics. At the exam in March, I struggled with acheiving a round turn shape and mightily bombed the one footed skiing tasks - a testament to a lack of flow and finesse when my balance is altered a bit. I'm also not thrilled with the quality of my average demo maneuver right now.
There are some teaching goals I have as well, but as I'll be experimenting with a few of the people that might read this eventually, I'll keep those quiet for now.
In less than a month, the ski season rolls...
Sunday was ours - led by a former educator, it's short and sweet and full of props for people who've been doing good stuff. Last year I made the list because I'd taught 110+ hours. That landed me in the top 5 of part time instructors. As a testament to how busy we were last year, I logged some 118 or so hours of teaching and clinic leading and didn't make the top 10. crazy stuff. But I did get props for making the Dev Team at the end of the season on my first attempt. Lots of fellow instructors already knew this - I spent most of the day receiving hugs, hearty handshakes and shoulder nudging/grabbing/shaking as well as some charges to "fix" their skiing.
The question... can I live up to their expectations? What about my own expectations? I'm coming into the season fitter than I've ever been so I've got no excuse. There are some definite finesse-type improvements I'd like to incorporate into my movement patterns this year. A challenging task when I spend most of my time on the hill teaching or leading clinics. At the exam in March, I struggled with acheiving a round turn shape and mightily bombed the one footed skiing tasks - a testament to a lack of flow and finesse when my balance is altered a bit. I'm also not thrilled with the quality of my average demo maneuver right now.
There are some teaching goals I have as well, but as I'll be experimenting with a few of the people that might read this eventually, I'll keep those quiet for now.
In less than a month, the ski season rolls...
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Uh-oh, time to set some goals...
I told myself I could wait until after my first three cross races to set goals for the season. And now I'm putting it off... but time to put what I've been mulling over in writing so I can commit to it officially. In no particular order, here are some things I'm shooting for the race season...
Continue having fun. Ride the muddy lines whenever it's smart. Clean my own bike at least once. Learn to settle into my own pace within the first two laps.
Win. Twice. Then I won't have to waffle about when I'm ready to go up to the 1/2/3's.
Finish top 5 in a 3/4 MAC race - I might only have 3 chances at this one and those cat 3 women are strong.
Keep my training hours as high as they are now for the latter half of the season, even when it's dark after normal work hours. I have no excuse - I have the flexibility to leave lab midday for a ride and come back.
Incorporate some weekly core training and stretching. Else, those hip flexors are gonna hurt come ski season.
Get rid of the double hop on my remount. Yeah, if you read my blog, you might think that I did that already. But apparently I only did for remounts at practice. At races, arg, it's there. I'm sure it's faster to slow down for half a step and mount smoothly onto the pedal.
Continue having fun. Ride the muddy lines whenever it's smart. Clean my own bike at least once. Learn to settle into my own pace within the first two laps.
Win. Twice. Then I won't have to waffle about when I'm ready to go up to the 1/2/3's.
Finish top 5 in a 3/4 MAC race - I might only have 3 chances at this one and those cat 3 women are strong.
Keep my training hours as high as they are now for the latter half of the season, even when it's dark after normal work hours. I have no excuse - I have the flexibility to leave lab midday for a ride and come back.
Incorporate some weekly core training and stretching. Else, those hip flexors are gonna hurt come ski season.
Get rid of the double hop on my remount. Yeah, if you read my blog, you might think that I did that already. But apparently I only did for remounts at practice. At races, arg, it's there. I'm sure it's faster to slow down for half a step and mount smoothly onto the pedal.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Not one of the cool kids...
I never was one of the cool kids. But this weekend, I'm still not. Over 600 (yes, 600!) people are racing cyclocross within 2 miles of my house, including some people who are sleeping here tonight, but I'm not one of them. I'm a bit sad - Charm City was my first cross race and I was immediately hooked. It's been a year - I know I'm still addicted but have to wait a week to join the 'in' crowd.
Tomorrow (Sunday), I'll be taking the Superfly out for a little spin that we'll call the Michaux Terror of Teaberry. I'm racing the 10 miler still - if I finish, I'll be the only female to do so for all three races and therefore will win the series. A bit of a hollow victory if it happens, but I'm hoping for a good race. And really, I'm the only one who came back for more after the mud and rain soaked fest that was Michaux Maximus this year - I probably deserve it just for finishing that one.
Anyway, we pre-rode there a couple weeks ago, so I have a good idea (barring mechanicals) of a goal time. No, I'm not telling. Sometimes, I just don't want to broadcast my failures. Or my own mental sandbagging by setting goals that are too easily achievable.
Speaking of goals - I'm having trouble setting some for cross. I know I'm a ton more fit than I was last year going into the season and my skills are way better. I've even mostly deleted the double-hop from my remounts - last year I barely even had a remount. But where to set my season goals?
I'm planning to race the local series, which has a Cat 4 only women's field. Can I make it consistently into the top 10? Do I shoot for the earned upgrade to Cat 3? Then I'd have to race with the big girls next year... will I be ready for that if I do? Will I even want to? Does that mean I'll have to take this bike racing thing more seriously - like, get a proper training plan and such? Is it even realistic to think that I can podium in a reasonable field of Cat 4 women on a good day? I'd like to think so, and hot laps at practice the other night with some other Cat 4's were encouraging, but I tend to think they were not pushing as hard as I was. So in all this nebulousness, I'm forced to be patient. I won't know a reasonable goal until I go out and have a decent race. Or two. Or three. I'm not good at patience...
Tomorrow (Sunday), I'll be taking the Superfly out for a little spin that we'll call the Michaux Terror of Teaberry. I'm racing the 10 miler still - if I finish, I'll be the only female to do so for all three races and therefore will win the series. A bit of a hollow victory if it happens, but I'm hoping for a good race. And really, I'm the only one who came back for more after the mud and rain soaked fest that was Michaux Maximus this year - I probably deserve it just for finishing that one.
Anyway, we pre-rode there a couple weeks ago, so I have a good idea (barring mechanicals) of a goal time. No, I'm not telling. Sometimes, I just don't want to broadcast my failures. Or my own mental sandbagging by setting goals that are too easily achievable.
Speaking of goals - I'm having trouble setting some for cross. I know I'm a ton more fit than I was last year going into the season and my skills are way better. I've even mostly deleted the double-hop from my remounts - last year I barely even had a remount. But where to set my season goals?
I'm planning to race the local series, which has a Cat 4 only women's field. Can I make it consistently into the top 10? Do I shoot for the earned upgrade to Cat 3? Then I'd have to race with the big girls next year... will I be ready for that if I do? Will I even want to? Does that mean I'll have to take this bike racing thing more seriously - like, get a proper training plan and such? Is it even realistic to think that I can podium in a reasonable field of Cat 4 women on a good day? I'd like to think so, and hot laps at practice the other night with some other Cat 4's were encouraging, but I tend to think they were not pushing as hard as I was. So in all this nebulousness, I'm forced to be patient. I won't know a reasonable goal until I go out and have a decent race. Or two. Or three. I'm not good at patience...
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