crit advise?

[Pink Kona]

How cool to have the racing spark back in your life. You can do it! That's a great goal of being in racing shape by the end of the season. There's a woman on my team who has a 12 month old, is still breast feeding and also has a three year old. She and her husband had "the talk" and decided it was her time to pursue athletics because she last year was his turn. He brings the kids to all of her races - and right after she's done ripping it up on the course she breastfeeds her baby. Amazing. Where there's a will there's a way.

Gearing wise - I was maybe a gear or two off from where I would have liked to be. I spun up the hill and immediately switched to 53-19 and could/should have been in 53-13. I spun out a little but now I know what to expect for next time. And yes, we raced in a down pour. It was fun - and I'm pleased with the experience. Those girls better watch out - I learn fast. (BTW - your assumption is correct - Cat 4 for none other than Starbucks Duetto Visa.)

[Pink Kona]

I just found out about this picture today. That's me in the front with the big cheesy grin my face - loving every minute of it.

http://www.bikecafe.net/pa/PAViewPhoto.asp?ID=8222

[SadieKate]

That's really terrific picture. Worthy of framing!

[Bike Goddess]

Pink Kona- You are AWESOME! If I were about 25years younger I might be willing to take you on You go girl!

Bike Momma- Where were you when I was riding the McClane century this year?... and.. watching the crits when I got back to Merced that afternoon! Great century! Did we pass your little town? Atwater sounds familiar!

[spazzdog]

You wanna do some internet coaching?

I'm just getting started; the Cinderella was my "kick me in the a$$" ride.

Monday I start at the gym with strength training. My bike will probably be home by the next Monday with its new crank.

My tentative schedule will then be alternating 3 days in the gym with 3 days on the bike for about 7 weeks. Then I'll cut to 2 days in the gym and 4 days on the bike, gradually increasing my bike time from 2 to 4-5 hrs (on long ride days).

At what point do I enter my first race? Suggestions? Take this off-line unless the group is interested. You can email me at spazzdog@comcast.net

Goal: to race at the 2006 Gay Games in Chicago (Jul 15-22, 2006 in case anybody is interested) Check out http://www.gaygameschicago.org/ for more info.

And Pink... great job grrl. I am impressed! Good pic too. Frame that one!

spazz

[Bike Goddess]

Hey Spazz- Great goal and Great training workout. Have you got someone who can design a program for you at the gym? I have a woman who is a former racer as well as trainer at my gym (we often ride together). She has designed a workout for me that is just right

I am soooo excited for you! 2006 Gay Olympics in Chicago. We better get our schedules in order so TE can come support you en masse.

[spazzdog]

Support my A$$... I better see a passal of y'all competing.

One needn't by gay to participate. It's open enrollment and all the sports are sanctioned by the associated sport governing bodies.

Your registration fee gets you free admission to most of the other sports, free public trans., participation in both Opening and Closing Ceremonies (for those of us wanting to experience that "Olympics feeling") and your participation medal. The sport fee lets you participate in up to 4 events within cycling. Medals (yes, I said medals) are usually awarded to the top 3 overall, as well as the top 3 within the specific age groups.

Within cycling, there is a road race, a crit, an ind time trial and a team time trial. For mtn, there is a Cross Country Race. In a different division, there is a Triathlon. For you Multi-sport grrls, theres also Track and Field, something I competed in both in '90 and '94... actually chaired T&F for the '94 games.

I'm thinking a TE Team is in order...

my 25 cents

[BikeMomma]

Hey Pink! Great picture - look at you, all smilin' & stuff!!! We need to change your name to CritGoddess, now! I'd love to see & hear more about your racing experiences, and glad I could help you out!

Spazz, you can do it! That training program sounds ok - the main thing is to pay close attention to what your body is telling you. If you feel yourself starting to drag a little, ease up on the intensity or length of your rides/workouts. You don't want to overtrain and push yourself too hard. Build up to it.

I recently picked up Chris Carmichael's book, "The Lance Armstrong Performance Program". Although I'm just too flippin' busy to even hope to read it yet (my college night class is taking up all my reading time!!), it does have what he calls the "7-week Success Plan". Again, the idea is to build slowly. I suggest following this program, from start to finish, including the assessment section at the beginning to see where you are fitness-wise to start. The book also has chapters about cornering, descending, sprinting, etc. that, Pink, you may find helpful, as well. A friend of mine went through Chris's program through the book and highly recommends it, which is why I purchased it. Again, I haven't had a chance to sit down and read it thoroughly, so I don't have personal results as of yet.

Nancy - oops! BikeGoddess (heehee) - I was there at the McClane!!! I watched the crit and some of the road race the next day (my mom watched the kids). I did the century, as well (100k). After I was done with the century, which was about around 2pm I think, I hung around with a biker guy-friend of mine, mainly near the finish line, but I was over by the bbq area for a while too, getting my free lunch (well, we DID make a run over to Starbuck real quick...guilty!!).

I got back from my ride just in time to see the women's race finish, then they had the tots race, then the pros started. What an awesome show, eh?? The McClane Pac. has gotten so huge through the years, it's unbelievable. Now it's the race the teams talk about coming to - they really like the course. It's generally smooth roads, especially down M St where the finish is, and fast. The race has become big with Merced residents, also. I notice much more interest from the average citizen then from years' past (I work in Merced, at City Hall). Whenever I mention to someone that I cycle, a good majority of the time one of the questions I get it is "Do you ride in that race they have downtown??" They forget the name, but remember the event, which is better than nothing. There is actually two race weekends, though, that are held in Merced. The McClane has by far outgrown the other though (Merced Criterium and RR - it was actually the original race in Merced, started in 1988/89).

Atwater is about 7 miles northwest of Merced, and actually, some of the roads used in the century are just north of Atwater. So yes, BG, you were in my neck o' the woods! Most of the time, I drive to Merced for my rides when I meet up with someone or a group. Until I have enough endurance to ride over there and then keep up with them, I'll just load the bike on the rack and drive over. There's a group that meets at the Raley's supermarket Saturday mornings that I ride with. We passed the supermarket on the century too. Also, you would have passed Atwater on Hwy 99 to get to Merced from the Bay Area. Hope you didn't blink! hehe Actually, about 10/12 years ago, Atwater was much more of a bustling town compared to what it is now. The Castle Air Force Base being closed down by the government really was a blow to Atwater's economy, and it's still struggling. We moved here because the price of housing is just a tiny bit cheaper than Merced's. We got more house for our money. I'm hoping some of the benefits of Merced's growth, spawned by the acquisition of the next University of California campus (UC Merced), come Atwater's way.

Sorry for the book, you guys...got kinda wordy!!

[BikeMomma]

At what point do I enter my first race? Suggestions?

Hey Spazz -

I realized I never answered this particular question. Sorry!

What I would do (and am doing) is when you feel you're ready, find out where and when some of the racers do their training rides, and see if you can join them. They can be male or female, but generally-speaking, the guys are faster which will tend to make you push yourself harder. Don't give up and don't get discouraged when or if they drop you. Just continue your training ride at your own pace, and then set a goal to stay with them just a wee bit longer next time. Baby steps! Set the small goals for the short-term, meet them, and then work your way up to the bigger long-term ones, like staying with them for the WHOLE ride.

When you get to that point (finishing the ride with the group) and you're feeling good and competitive, maybe even out-sprinting one or three of them on interval sprints, then I would say that you're ready to race. Even before that point, actually, you can enter a race if you think you can hang on for a while. One of the best ways to train for racing is to race, believe it or not.

Hope that helps! Go for it, Spazz - you can do it! The Games sound wonderful, and we're all rooting for you!
-Kim

[spazzdog]

Thanks BikeMomma!

[Pink Kona]

Completed my third crit on Sunday and did much better. I was able to read the pack a lot more than before - and put the hurt on! Those poor girls. It's really fun setting the pace. Now I just need a teammate to be with to launch constant attacks.
From the start line, I geared down and took off like a bandit. A teammate followed me and said - "Jen, we're off the front - let's go for it." And low and behold, once we got going, our own teammates free-rode the peloton to us. Whoops! Hopefully that won't happen again.
I did pull a rookie move though. They rang the cow bell to signify a preme and I sprinted to be the first across the finish line, only to find out it was the following lap. What a dork. You have to start somewhere though. And that won't happen again. I placed 6th overall - impressive considering the previous day was 62 miles in 3.5 hours and 5,000 feet elevation gain. (I am not satisfied though - that stinkin' competitive gene in me!)
This upcoming weekend we are racing at the Tour of Walla Walla. It incorporates a individual time trial, road race and crit in two days. I'll let you know how it goes.

Spazzdog - excellent posts! You are a fantastic resource for me - thank you for your thoughtful and researched answers. I share them with my entire team.