Sunday, August 5, 2007

Sisquoc ramblings

After a couple weeks with no real bike racing to report on, there was finally a race! I kind of think my legs thought the season was over, though, and decided not to show up! At least that's what it felt like....

So I did the women's 4's. I was hoping it would be my last race in the 4's, and I was hoping for a good result. Unfortuantely life sometimes throws punches we don't expect....and the week ended up involving a lot more stress, and a lot more driving (and a lot less riding) than I would have hoped for. I had not ridden MOnday, did a brisk group ride (40ish miles) Tuesday, and then didn't get on the bike at all Wednesday or Thursday, and Friday was so smoky/ashy that all I did was 40 minutes easy, with a couple of sprints in there to remind the old legs what to do.

So Saturday comes around, and off I go to the bike race. It was a womens 1/2/3/4 race, witht he 4s scored separately. I have been riding strong lately, so my goal was to hang with the lead pack as long as I could, and try to get in a break with some other 3's if there were any. That plan was derailed though, when I realized that the numbers were not different for the 3s or 4s or 1/2's, so there was no way of knowing who was who (and since I'm still a 4, I don't know that many of the 3's racers yet)... So the race starts and I sit in and ride. And that lasts for about 1 lap! Ack. The second time around, I just did a stupid move on the first descent into a corner. I was too far back, and I got caught behind one of the many many girls who wants to slow down to turn corners. I was mentally kicking myself, as descending and cornering is one of my favorite things, and I'm pretty confident in my ability to push the envelope with out violating CL rules... Anyway, someone attacked out of the turn, going into the windy flat section, and I was dropped. Sigh. I kept on motoring, and caught on with 2 other girls of a similar fate. They wanted to work together, so we rotated through, and rode hard, and ended up catching back on the leaders when going through the feed zone. That was nice. However, the next time around, I again get shelled. My brain was just not with me today--i was thinking about other things, and was just not riding aggressivly. I had poor positioning and it showed, and I was pretty mad at myself. This lap, there were then 5 of us in our little group. We got organized, and did a pretty good job of working together. On this lap, I finally was feeling strong, and I pulled the whole group up the long climb. My climbing legs finally showed up ( a little late!)... Then it was the final lap. We were all 4s in my group, and I didn't think there were more than 2-3 4s up the road, so this was going to be a race! We pacelined through the windy backside, and then we climbed. I held someone's wheel up the climb this time..time to start chilling and recovering for whatever sprint was going to happen in this little chase group. I was starting to cramp at this point (I think it was from not drinking enough--I didn't have a feeder so I was stuck with the water I could carry), and was really worried, as I've never cramped before in a race!

So...we start to come up to the finish and of course no one wants to be in front. I was nicely tucked in on a good wheel, and I thought she would make a move, I could take her wheel, and then pop around at the finish. But when it got to 150m to go, she wasn't going! Now I know I've got a pretty good sprint, so I decide its now or never, and make the move and go for broke. I jump and get around her easy, and pull away. Looks like I pulled it off. I stand up out of the saddle to crank, and my calf completely cramps up! The bike bobbles, and I feel the intense pain, but I was like, I"m not losing this sprint after all that work! So i will my leg to keep working and I push it over the line, about 6 inches in front of the next girl. Whew! So although I had a completely crappy race, at least I got to work with some nice girls, and get a good workout! I ended up getting 4th (I think...the results took so long that I gave up and went home!). Not the result I was after, but oh well. Some days are like that.

Today, I woke up and went down to Sunday Worlds (our local brisk sunday ride) and rode strong. My legs had come back! And I was able to hang with the guys, and do work, and push, and do just fine! So who knows what was up yesterday....

On a good note, my friend Carissa (who is super strong and almost never races) won the 4s race, and hung with the 1/2/3's the whole race yesterday! So all was not lost. And my teammate Susie also had a great first race as a 3, and finished top 10.

Maybe next weekend in San Luis my legs will show up....we can see!

Ciao!!

10 comments:

Chris said...

Great job. Cramps can be a mutha. I used to get them bad in my calves but have learned to drink enough to keep that from happening.

Steve Weixel said...

Good job. Sounds like a lot of people cramped yesterday! I sacrificed myself to get Chester in a good position, nearly crashed in the feed zone, and and came in 18th. I wrote a full report of my race.

Lorri Lee Lown -- velogirl said...

the cramps could very likely be caused by the lack of intensity lately. it' not uncommon early season or if you take an extended break or if you do more than your body is prepared for, to have some cramping.

good race, doc! next week you'll probably find your legs are back.

EB said...

Nice work! I'm glad to hear that your legs came back on Sunday; I had the exact opposite thing happen (legs felt great on Saturday, and Sunday I could barely hobble out of bed).

And somehow I missed the puppy photos from the last post -- what little sweeties! I'm going to be thinking about fuzz therapy all day now :).

Kimberly (aka. DrKim) said...

velogirl: Thanks for that idea...I really hope it is that very thing, as that would be an explanation I could get my head around! I have never cramped in a race before...and so it was frustrating! I hope my legs are back this weekend! I should have a normal training week ahead of me, so we'll see!

panda: glad you liked the puppy photos. I'm hoping to have more today..they just turned 3 weeks! :-)
Fuzz therapy is the best!!!!

chatterbox said...

Yay for Carissa!

kim - good job sticking with a tough race. Like Velogirl says, your legs will likely be back for next weekend. Good luck in SLO town!

Itinerant Rick said...

Good job working through the cramps. Perhaps not where you wanted to finish, but still a good placing. And the true measure: did you have fun despite the cramps? SLO should be fun; sorry we will miss it (though Ms. Chatterbox is not sorry; not her type of course). Hope to see you at San Ardo in a couple of weeks.

dr-nitro said...

It was the bad air. The air is cleaner up here.

Steve Weixel said...

Are you doing SLO? I didn't see your name on the registration list...

Unknown said...

Hey whats up Doc,

Sounds like a killer race. Way to push through the cramps. Thats why the mental game is so important. It is encredible how the brain works. I had a Japanese Butoh dance teacher who always used to pose the question asking us what we had left in us, after we had given everything we had. "NOW, what do you have!" He would say it over and over and over again. After 8 hour clases. I guess thats what character is huh? that and mowing the lawn on saturday while your dad watches golf. greawt race again Kim... We'll see you sunday