velogirl
10-15-2006, 08:33 PM
Today was a bittersweet day. I love the Surf City races because they're put on by Velo Bella so they're always fun. They're also typically the hardest courses in the area, with super-technical sections and lots of climbing or run-ups.
I was feeling a bit off the past few days -- kinda like I had a cold without the sniffles. I slept about 12 hours last night and still woke up tired. So, when Erin showed up at my house to go to the race, I suggested we get a coffee (and I don't drink coffee). We then picked up Dani and headed to Soquel.
We arrived in plenty of time to check out the course (and the cute boys) and relax a bit before the race. I had planned to race Bs (what the heck) but changed my mind to race Cs. At the reg table, I felt so guilty that I signed up for Bs afterall.
Velo Bella always has a fun "theme" race and this one was tiki cross, where you rode under the barricades (ala limbo). We decided to enter that (the prizes were pie and beer) and use it as our pre-ride. Well, we missed the start by just about a minute and were riding hard to make-up ground the whole time.
The course was fairly flat, with a few technical sections. Start on a gravel uphill with a sharp right switchback onto sandy dirt followed by a sandy descent, and off-camber uphill section, switchbacks, double barricades, flat to a run-up, immediately followed with a sandy downhill switchback around a tree with a run-up, more flat, another short run-up, a flat power section followed by a super-steep sandy descent (that scared me), more flat, a longer run-up, a fast descent to the pavement, a couple more short steep ups and then a super-fast rough descent and do it all again! How the heck do I remember all that!
Back to our preride....
So, it's me, Yvonne, Kim, and Erin (Dani and Sarah are MIA) and we get to the super-steep sandy descent and I'm leading the group. I stop and just look at it. I know I should be able to ride it, but it scared me. A lot. Yvonne (who's scared of descending since a couple of bad crashes and almost always walks steep downhills) rode it. Well, shoot! If Yvonne can ride it, I can ride it. Still too scared. Kim, also not a great descender rides it. And then Erin. I stand at the top looking at it and tell them to go ahead. I finally shoulder my bike and run down it. Dangnabbit!
Lap two -- same thing -- I run down the descent. Racers I know who are also on the course are trying to convince me I can do it, but I'm scared. Lap three, again, frozen at the top. Finally, on my fourth lap I see my friend Elizabeth standing at the top. We chat and I tell her that I'm nervous with her watching, so she turns around and I nail it (thanks Elizabeth). I want to do it again, so I do a fifth lap (still in my pre-ride mind you). After five laps, and about 50 minutes, I decide I need water and GU and head back to the tent (with only 15 minutes before our race).
I'm not feeling great. I didn't ride hard, but I did run the run-ups during warm-up and my HR was through the roof. I'm a little worried about the race, but figure I'll just ride it if I don't feel well.
We get to the start, line up, and they send the As off 30 seconds before the Bs and 35+ women. I get a great start and I'm 3rd wheel up the hill. I lose a couple places heading into the off-camber section, but thought I'd make it back. Racers who I know are stronger than me are behind me. What the heck? And I'm still with the leaders.
Well, about 3/4s of the way through the 1st lap, that all ends. I can't breathe. I'm having an asthma attack like nobody's business. I can't get any air in and I start slowing down and women start passing me. Shoot! I recover a bit and think I'll go hard again and it's worse this time. I look at my bike computer and it's only 22 minutes into the race -- only halfway through. I think about DNFing. And I think about stopping to lay down on the side of the trail. I keep rolling, but everytime I run I think I'm going to throw up or die. I don't know how I'll ever finish. Of course, I eventually do and I'm kinda bummed, but it's just another race, right?
Funny thing is that my time wasn't actually too bad. I felt super-strong and I was riding really well technically. I was able to pass women on the technical sections but didn't have the lungs to run or keep my power up on the flats. Women who've always been faster than me were behind me for a good portion of the race. My lungs are still foggy six hours later.....
Not sure why I had an asthma attack. It may be the little cold I've been feeling this week. Or the coffee? Or the fact that I took one of my thyroid meds this morning that I don't usually take on race day. Or that I didn't get my hard efforts in during my warm-up because I was so intent on nailing the course. I guess I won't ever know. But, I'm pretty confident that my legs are coming around and I'll be able to hang with the Bs this year.
I'll let Erin tell you about her race......
I was feeling a bit off the past few days -- kinda like I had a cold without the sniffles. I slept about 12 hours last night and still woke up tired. So, when Erin showed up at my house to go to the race, I suggested we get a coffee (and I don't drink coffee). We then picked up Dani and headed to Soquel.
We arrived in plenty of time to check out the course (and the cute boys) and relax a bit before the race. I had planned to race Bs (what the heck) but changed my mind to race Cs. At the reg table, I felt so guilty that I signed up for Bs afterall.
Velo Bella always has a fun "theme" race and this one was tiki cross, where you rode under the barricades (ala limbo). We decided to enter that (the prizes were pie and beer) and use it as our pre-ride. Well, we missed the start by just about a minute and were riding hard to make-up ground the whole time.
The course was fairly flat, with a few technical sections. Start on a gravel uphill with a sharp right switchback onto sandy dirt followed by a sandy descent, and off-camber uphill section, switchbacks, double barricades, flat to a run-up, immediately followed with a sandy downhill switchback around a tree with a run-up, more flat, another short run-up, a flat power section followed by a super-steep sandy descent (that scared me), more flat, a longer run-up, a fast descent to the pavement, a couple more short steep ups and then a super-fast rough descent and do it all again! How the heck do I remember all that!
Back to our preride....
So, it's me, Yvonne, Kim, and Erin (Dani and Sarah are MIA) and we get to the super-steep sandy descent and I'm leading the group. I stop and just look at it. I know I should be able to ride it, but it scared me. A lot. Yvonne (who's scared of descending since a couple of bad crashes and almost always walks steep downhills) rode it. Well, shoot! If Yvonne can ride it, I can ride it. Still too scared. Kim, also not a great descender rides it. And then Erin. I stand at the top looking at it and tell them to go ahead. I finally shoulder my bike and run down it. Dangnabbit!
Lap two -- same thing -- I run down the descent. Racers I know who are also on the course are trying to convince me I can do it, but I'm scared. Lap three, again, frozen at the top. Finally, on my fourth lap I see my friend Elizabeth standing at the top. We chat and I tell her that I'm nervous with her watching, so she turns around and I nail it (thanks Elizabeth). I want to do it again, so I do a fifth lap (still in my pre-ride mind you). After five laps, and about 50 minutes, I decide I need water and GU and head back to the tent (with only 15 minutes before our race).
I'm not feeling great. I didn't ride hard, but I did run the run-ups during warm-up and my HR was through the roof. I'm a little worried about the race, but figure I'll just ride it if I don't feel well.
We get to the start, line up, and they send the As off 30 seconds before the Bs and 35+ women. I get a great start and I'm 3rd wheel up the hill. I lose a couple places heading into the off-camber section, but thought I'd make it back. Racers who I know are stronger than me are behind me. What the heck? And I'm still with the leaders.
Well, about 3/4s of the way through the 1st lap, that all ends. I can't breathe. I'm having an asthma attack like nobody's business. I can't get any air in and I start slowing down and women start passing me. Shoot! I recover a bit and think I'll go hard again and it's worse this time. I look at my bike computer and it's only 22 minutes into the race -- only halfway through. I think about DNFing. And I think about stopping to lay down on the side of the trail. I keep rolling, but everytime I run I think I'm going to throw up or die. I don't know how I'll ever finish. Of course, I eventually do and I'm kinda bummed, but it's just another race, right?
Funny thing is that my time wasn't actually too bad. I felt super-strong and I was riding really well technically. I was able to pass women on the technical sections but didn't have the lungs to run or keep my power up on the flats. Women who've always been faster than me were behind me for a good portion of the race. My lungs are still foggy six hours later.....
Not sure why I had an asthma attack. It may be the little cold I've been feeling this week. Or the coffee? Or the fact that I took one of my thyroid meds this morning that I don't usually take on race day. Or that I didn't get my hard efforts in during my warm-up because I was so intent on nailing the course. I guess I won't ever know. But, I'm pretty confident that my legs are coming around and I'll be able to hang with the Bs this year.
I'll let Erin tell you about her race......