Racer Ex 

That's so awesome.

And as much so the interest in folks giving the TTT thing a shot.

sarals 

@Heathpack, keep changing those attitudes!! You should join the SCNCA and start a Women's Committee down there. Right on, girl!

Sweet, sweet podium!!!

sarals 

Rolled out for a 2X10 at over FTP on the TT bike this morning, early - 0545. I was feeling pretty good, and was sure I'd have a decent ride. The warmup felt good, really good, and then I started the intervals. The first three or four minutes were going well, power was on target, and then.... I started feeling these really stingy lactic burns, and my power started to sag. I couldn't dig and I couldn't get my HR up. The second ten minute interval was much the same, and when I finished it I felt like I'd ridden a 40K TT. I was below target and feeling pretty tired. Well, I have been pretty well slammed by work and travel other life stuff over the last few days, and I think it caught me. Ex has me going into rest mode later this week for the the two races this coming weekend. That should do it. Mentally I'm in a good place. And, I want, badly, to do well on the BtC course. So, I will.

Heathpack 

Nice coffee ride today with a friend, 30 miles with some climbing, finished by 6am. We had a little wind but nothing too bad. Nice to finish in daylight for once, now we can add back in a favorite short climb that is in a park on a closed road but the park doesn't open until sunrise (although we sometimes still sneak in there ihere dark mornings of the dead of winter).

I think Strava must be broken because I felt like I was putting out some decent effort, yet no bling for me today. Too much chatting, I guess.

valygrl

Second/final track certification l last night. They cut out the racing discussion in order for us all to get more time practicing various things and just riding. Pacelines, riding with one hand, looking around, reviewing the rules & parts of the track. then we did a follow-the-leader game to get used to different parts of the track, and our leader wasn't very adventurous, i ended up (oops) yelling "go to the rail" at one point but she never did. I got to go do a flying effort on my own later, and then practice standing (different on a fixed gear), and some not-quite-sprint efforts. Super fun. I think i was the most aggro/ready to go for it person there, which is an unusual experience for me.

I'm certified!

There's a weekly women's coached session with two pro coaches, and they will help the of us interested in racing to learn more about that one on one. I'm so lucky to live where i do, with such great support.

Heathpack 

(This makes me a little sick to read.)

But good for you- have fun with it!

sarals 

JRA was scheduled for today, so I got the trusty Look out of the stable at 0545 and headed out. I had already decided I needed climbing (especially after Florida), so I headed for the hills. I kept it down some, I need to conserve for this weekend. I did a short, steep climb on Jack's Road, known as Black Death in these parts, and got very close to my PR on it. I actually did PR the bottom section, and got some more bling on the way there. Those aren't quite like a podium (which I've not done this season), but I'll take them. For my last climb, the one mile long Eucalyptus Road effort, I tried to be s m o o t h. I think I was. 30 seconds slower to the top, though.

Oh, well.

Fun morning. I followed it with Heathie's oatmeal/egg recipe for breakfast!

Heathpack 

Wed I did 1.5 hours in the wind on the TT bike. Just time on the bike, but the wind was good experience. I was planning on heading through my favorite local canyon, but the winds can get squirrelly back in there & I was riding solo. I figured it would be safer to stick to the bike paths. When I got home, I saw a FB post- the police were looking for a car that killed a cyclist back in that canyon. Hit & run, the cyclist died on the scene. Very sad. I did not know him, but he was a much-beloved local math teacher. There is excellent surveillance footage of the car as it passed a house exiting the canyon- complete with a cracked windshield & front end damage. Hopefully between the video footage & witness accounts, they will be able to catch & successful prosecute the driver. Late model Lexus, so it's not like there's going to be zillions of them out there.

Thursday night group ride last night. I was not as fast as the fast guys but was faster than the slow guys. It was fun. There was a 13 yr old Lux development kid who has ridden the NCNCA State course (well, a shorter version of it) up in Loyalton. I was briefly excited by this, until I learned that he did not have a data file. He was telling me how much he hates TTs, how hard they are, OMG the hardest thing ever would be a 40K. Then he promptly dropped me on the next hill. Lol.

Sail trip for us this weekend. No bike, lots of lounging.

sarals 

Openers ride yesterday and today for the Beat the Clock ITT tomorrow. I've had some great discussions around TT's with a couple of the folks on here off line. It's been very beneficial. I was shooting for sub 30 minutes on the course, but after yet another discussion with a former racer/coach LBS owner (and good friend) locally, I've decided to go for an incremental approach to bettering my time. My goal is 31 minutes. I have a target for the outbound leg, and the inbound, of course, will define what I've done. I've identified slow/problem areas for me on the course, and I have a strategy in place. I just need to execute. This is training race, a tune up for the Districts in two weeks, but that doesn't mean I won't do my best for the day.

Monday, Cat 3/4 crit. I've not thought about that, and my pack skills and speed are lacking right now. I just haven't had the reps.

So what. I'll give it my best.

Good weekend, all - stay safe!

Heathpack 

Good luck @sarals!

shovelhd

Have a great weekend Sara!

sarals 

Thanks, you guys!!

sarals 

Yesterday, short recovery spin to check the legs. Other than some cramping in the legs the night before, all felt fine. I did throw in an "openers sprint" for good measure, felt good. Today, a 3/4 combined crit in an industrial park. Flat, probably warm, with a bunch of twenty and thirty somethings. Game plan? Work at staying near, or even at, the front for as much/long as I can. Read the race. Try to stay in.

And, stay safe and have fun!

Heathpack 

Weekend was too much everything- alcohol, food, inactivity. I did re-read Michael Hutchinson's Faster, which was interesting, given that I initially read it before I ever raced a TT. It was all a little more relate-able now.

Sweet to be back on the bike, if only JRA on the TT bike. Got 25ish miles in around dawn with a friend who had technical issues with all three of her lights. And she managed to drop her chain too. So I rode hard for a bit, realized she was off the back, then rode easy or in circles waiting for her. We went through that process a few times.

Did I mention that it felt good to be back on the bike??

I signed up for a century ride with some friends for this weekend. Just realized yesterday that I haven't ridden 100 miles in a single ride since last Oct, and that was a pretty lackluster effort. My biggest ride YTD is 70 miles. Should be interesting, because this one ends with an easy 8 mile climb- its only 3%. But it will be very hot this weekend and I'm going to try to make time early in the day. No way around it though, I'll be climbing that last hill with 90 miles in my legs in the heat of the day. Haha, we will see if I get defeated by an easy-ish century ride.

valygrl

First real track workout last night (post-certification).

15 of us in a coached group session. We did a 30 lap warmup paceline (rotating paceline! on the track! with 15 people!), and then a double paceline, then a pseudo points race (smaller groups, with attacks every lap), then a 'muddle' with attacks whenever we wanted in the full group. scary and fun. tired legs this morning.

happybday29475

Monthly training update:
June 1: CTL 75. Last year I raced in the 75-85 range.

Since starting to train again this year, my power numbers across most durations have generally improved by 5% per month. That's not too shabby! And I'm generally feeling pretty good on the bike.

However, my power numbers are still down a lot from last year. In May I entered two 50/Open races and got shelled both times on the very first hill. I'm just not competitive; not only am I re-building but also it's a big step from 50/4's to 50/Open. So I've decided to call an end to my 2016 road race season.

I'll continue to train, as I'm enjoying the workouts, including the hard intervals. To the extent I race this summer, I think it will be mostly track and MTB. (I might sneak in one or two more road races if for some reason I am feeling like I need the humble pie.)

Right now my goals are to get back to where I was last summer. Maybe I'll develop some race goals around that...TBD.

Racer Ex 

Took today off. Was going to race the local crit but got an email that the course was under construction and not to bring the good wheels.

Couple of rest days in a row. There goes the race season

sarals 

I fell over at 2 MPH last evening trying to clip out just as I was clipping in. I toppled over to my left, and my left elbow took the brunt. Nothing serious happened, at least so far, but the loss of hide of pretty dramatic. The wound to my pride was even more dramatic! I'm from New York, and I know some salty language.

The irony is that I avoided going down at 30 MPH in that crit Sunday when I had that pedal strike, so I do something stupid instead and loose skin in a senseless fall coming out of a parking lot. I count my blessings that I didn't go down in the crit, the outcome there would have been nothing but bad, but still - I sure don't need this!

Today the elbow is sore, the wound is starting to heal, it's pink and seems to be okay. The joint is fine. It won't deter me from the District TT next Sunday, I don't care if my arm is about to fall off, I'm going to race in that TT.

valygrl

OK that totally sucks to hurt your elbow right before a TT. I did that a few months ago - fell on ice fat-biking two weeks before a time trial. Pretty deep cut, it would have been bad if I only had a week to heal. Yours looks more painful but less deep. Hope it doesn't bother you on the aero bars too much.

beatlebee 

Did the Palisades Gran Fondo. It was a very nice ride: 72 miles total. I started a break with one other at mile 5, he pulled away after a climb at mile 30 and I soloed the rest for 2nd. (Not a race!) The scenery is beautiful out here; it is my first time in this part of CO.

valygrl

Oh awesome, Rob... make sure you ride Grand Mesa, the Colorado National Monument and Unaweep Canyon while you are there.

I might have posted this before for you, but if not, here's lots of area bike maps:
https://sites.google.com/site/grandj...-junction-area

shovelhd

First century of 2016 today with the club. 5K feet, around 375 TSS. Felt great. Had some pop at the end.

revchuck 

375 TSS? You obviously weren't lollygagging.

I was supposed to do a charity ride century today. It was canceled yesterday due to the probable torrential rain that in fact did come to east Texas. I substituted a solo half-century from the house...and I lollygagged a bit. TSS 147, IF .73, 1721 kj.

Hermes

35 riders showed up for the Saturday beginner session. I was supposed to have help but no one showed up. Fortunately, only eight riders had not ridden the track before and those eight did very well learning to ride fixed gear on the track.

After the warmup, they did contact drills and then team pursuit with on team starting on the back stretch and one on the home stretch. Since the group was rather large, I put the entire group on the track and then launched individual riders off the front to take a lap on the field.

The final drill was flying 200 meters. I took a vote if they wanted to do them from a pace line at the rail or in a more formal race setting. Everyone wanted the race setting so we launched one rider at a time and he had two laps to complete the race. I was official and timer.

It was a fun session but we really need another person to assist and in fact two more would even be better.

Heathpack 

@robabeatle, sweet on the 2nd place. Even if it wasn't a race.
@shovelhd, funny- first century for me in 6 months. Also 5000 ft, with a TSS of 380. I was popless at the end of mine, for sure.

A friend of mine messaged me a month or so ago, did I want to ride the Ojai Valley Century? We did it last year and had fun. Sure, so we put together a little group and signed up. This one has an easy 9 mile climb towards the end that is only an average 2% grade. But the issue if that its from mile 83-92 and its in a windless box canyon, last year when we did this climb it was triple digit temps and pretty miserable. Forecast was for really hot temps today too. So my dilemma was: do I stick with my friends and try to work with them and conserve energy since I'm not really trained to the 100 mile distance any more (but almost certainly will go slower with them and stop longer that I'd want to)? Or do I forge ahead on my own and pick up various pace lines as I go and try to get to the climb as early as possible to beat the heat? I made no decision before we started, just wanted to see how it went.

In the first 7-8 miles, I was having no success in anyone pulling through when I'd try to rotate off the front- elbow flick, arm waving, nothing worked. So I decided screw it, I'd just do my thing. Last year there was just continuous pace lines to join, I really did not think it would be a problem.

Nope, I wound up riding 85 miles solo, TT style. For much of the ride, I didn't even see another soul out on the route. It was weird, but I think I wound up ahead of most people. I did catch a very fast 22-24 mph pace line coming down the PCH which I didn't realize until I'd been in it for a few miles was a local club ride, not part of the century. I rode that gravy train as long as I could, but then some fredly types tried to join in and were opening big gaps and screwing up the rotations and the club guys got annoyed. I was the only one that noticed that and bowed out, but it was a good thing while it lasted.

I made really good time for the first 60 miles with something like 8 min of stopped time. The last 40 miles, I was dragging. Lol, definitely went out too hard. But how do you know what's too hard until you try pushing things a little? It was worth testing the waters.

When I started up that last climb, I was thinking how the temps didn't really seem that bad but it got beastly back in that canyon. Triple digits temps again and this is the first hot weekend we've had, so I've got zero heat acclimation right now. I had to stop at top of the hill and take my helmet off and sit in the shade, pouring water over my head, I was getting pretty over-heated.

Rolled to the finish about an hour ahead of the first of my friends. It turns out one guy had a defective tire which took a while to trouble shoot. This year I was 1 mph slower than last year on this same course, but last year I was in some kind of paceline for probably 75 miles of the route. Way different thing to ride it TT style. It was pretty fun, even if I was questioning my own sanity on that final climb.