sarals 

Day off today. I sat through an eight hour "Team Building" seminar at work today. It was actually quite good.

Tomorrow morning, adaption drills before work. The CAAD is set up and ready. Oh - yes, I will warm up completely before I do them.

Racer Ex 

I know a fabulous instructor if you're willing to travel.

caloso

3(3'+3') = pain

Esteban58

I'm pretty sure those aren't allowed in the same discussion

chasm54

Thanks for pointing that out, because I'm just about to go out and do just that session...

revchuck 

Did a set of five of three minutes at LT segueing into a minute at VO2 max, four minutes RBI. The last one made me feel like I do when I get dropped - guess that's an indicator of what I need.

VanceMac

I heard that place is a dump! But seriously, not bad right? Still, the contrast between Carson and Encino is ripe for country club vs trailer park stereotypes. And cue Rocky IV training montage:

Racer Ex 

It's fine. I've ridden much worse.

sarals 

Gym rat time this morning instead of adaption drills (gym schedule forced me to go there today rather than tomorrow). 20 minute spin trainer warmup followed by 2X reps of coach's strength training regimen. I was able to hold the side planks for the full minute, and the full plank for a minute forty. There has to be something wrong...

AzTallRider

You are doing better than I am on them thar planks, Sara, that's fer sure.

shovelhd

No comment Nice work Sara. The time to failure will increase as you get stronger. AZT, keep working on it.

sarals 

AzT, remember that I'm tiny and you're a bit larger? I'm certain you're quite strong!

sarals 

Thanks, Shovel!

AzTallRider

I love flattery, but in this case... NOT!

sarals 

Aww, come on - you're a "magnificent specimen"

revchuck 

My doctor asked me for a specimen once...wonder if this is related?

sarals 

I'd like to enter the Modesto Road Race taking place on the 19th. It's a flat course, looks pretty fast, but there is a catch. There are NO women's races, but "Women are welcome to compete in their respective men category". W4 = C5. It's also 60 miles. Of chasing. Perhaps I should reconsider?

chasm54

Can you hang with a male group? If the answer is "maybe", then perhaps it's worth giving it a go. If the answer is "probably not" then I wouldn't bother. I don't see much point in entering a race only to ride alone, personally.

shovelhd

It's interesting that they call this a road race. It looks like a long, technical criterium. I bet you could hang with 7 laps of surges. It's the 10 turns where you'd have to be very careful not to get spit out the back. If you pay close attention to keeping yourself in the pocket, conserve, coast as much as you can, and save the efforts for the corners to hold position, I bet you could finish this in the field.

sarals 

Shovel, I don't know. It's a flat course, yes, and that does play to me. However, me in a group of men - Cat 4 and 5 - which means "young and strong", stronger than the women their age for the most part, and I don't know how long I'd last. Chas makes a good argument, however I may give it a go.

caloso

I've raced Modesto RR a few times. It is pancake flat and totally exposed to the wind. If it's calm, it's fast but easy to sit in and it comes down to a field sprint. Get to Corner 11 in the top 10 and you're in good shape. If it's windy, it's likely to shatter and you may very well end up riding by yourself.

I was considering it and asked a teammate if he was racing it. "Why do Modesto? You can do the River Ride for free."

So, yeah.

sarals 

Caluso, I put a feeler out to my Team, and they said what you said about Modesto. However, I want to remind you fellas that I'm a 60+ woman, and I'm not as strong (I may be as fit, but strength is another matter) as you all are. The relativity theory as it applies to me is that what is easy for you can be darn near max for me! I can sit in at 23 to 25 MPH all day, but faster than that, even sheltered, and I start eating into reserves. Then there is recovery. A strong acceleration coming off of a corner I can cope with, and maybe even match, but the recovery time from that effort I CANNOT match. That's where I start to get into trouble. I loose some ground, have to chase back on, then loose again - and pretty soon I'm shelled. Now, I am NOT talking myself out of this, I'm just giving you all my realities. I may very well do the race, just for the experience, which I need probably more than anything.

sarals 

Oh - the River Ride looks like fun (and free is good)! I didn't read the blog, does it run from Old Town to Folsom along the trail, or is elsewhere along the delta?

caloso

The Saturday ride starts in Midtown, in the alley behind City Bike Works and heads to the Garden Highway northwest of downtown. It is neutral until it passes the city limit and then it is full gas from there to the Sutter County line, which is the first of two sprints. It comes back on the same road, except the second half is longer and includes some good crosswind sections. It may be a little fast. During this time of the year, cruising speed is around 27-28 mph.

There is also a B ride option that leaves 15 minutes early; I've never been on that one but I hear that it's less surgey than the A ride.

sarals 

I just had a look at the River Ride on Strava, Facebook, and I read Bev's notes. It looks like fun, and it looks fast, like race pace (a lot like our Saturday Morning Ride, but without the climbing). I may have to try that sometime!