2009 Road Racing Goals

[RoadRaven]

This forum hasn't been very active... I was thinking maybe if those of us here who race posted our race dreams and/or goals for 2009, we might encourage each other to post more here again.

I thought to make it road specific, as there always seem to be race threads in the specific forums for mountain biking, cyclocross and triathalon... but what about us roadies...?

I love to read about others race goals, attempts, accomplishments and even those events that don't go so well...

They motivate and inspire me, as well as give me reality checks (that is... not everything goes as you envisage all the time...).

So lets set out our aspirations for the year, lets ask each other how things went, let's have more race report threads started in 2009...

[RoadRaven]

January: Tour de Beautiful (50km hilly)... 1hour45mins (PB 1:53)
(This will be my first race back after 11 weeks of base training and a few weeks of transition)

February: Hawkes Bay Masters - first time entering this. A 2 day tour for riders 35+. I want to ride all events and I want to be top 3 in the 20km ITT.

March: Tremain Tri, cycling leg only. Average speed of 34.5kph (PB 34.02kph).

April-ish: Interclub - ride all events and win Masters 2 women.

Sept/October-ish: Club Champs - ride both events, winning the Masters 2 women's ITT.

October: If in good enough form, enter the National Road Race ITT.

Year-round Club racing:
Win an F grade road race!!!
Dartmoor ITT - 32.5kph (PB 30.72kph)
Moteo/Swamp ITT - 33kph (PB 32.22kph)
Dump ITT - 33.5kph (PB 33.30kph)
Middle Road ITT - 32.5kph (PB31.53kph)
Bridge Pa ITT - 33kph (PB 32.6kph)

[SheFly]

Leave it to you to start the goals thread for the year! You always keep us honest . Happy New Year to you!

I will admit to being very bad about posting racing results/goals/reports this year. It seemed that I never had time to post with all of the training and racing...

So, 2008 was a good year for me all around - first wins, upgraded in both MTB (Sport to Expert) and on the road (Cat 3 to Cat 2), and finished 57 races (road, MTB, TT and 'cross). After the upgrades, though, my season was really not as stellar. I term it my year of upgrading to mediocrity . Gives me something to shoot for this year!

So, goals for 2009? I'm changing my focus after renewing my primary love - MTB racing. Hired a new coach, and will be focusing on a series here in the Northeast, hoping to not get my butt kicked quite as badly as last year! The TTs will remain a focus - while DH and I did achieve the goal of the course tandem record last year, I didn't meet my own goal of besting my PR (23:56 for 9.75 miles).

Mostly, I want to have as much fun as I did last year!

Good luck, Raven, with your goals! Knowing you, you will knock them all off the chart this year. I wish you the best, and look forward to reading your progress.

SheFly

[RoadRaven]

I will admit to being very bad about posting racing results/goals/reports this year. It seemed that I never had time to post with all of the training and racing...

"all of the training and racing" is an excellent excuse for not having time to post

I don't think your list says mediocrity at for 2008... some great achievements and so glad you have rekindled love for mountain biking! Although I will miss your time trial reports. And no worries if you you didn't meet that TT goal because besting your PB... you have been off-road my dear!

I'll certainly be following your race reports and discussions in the mountain bike forum

[dirtygirl1]

So inspiring - thanks for starting this. I love this time of year ... sitting back to reflect on 2008 and plan out 2009 ... I am pretty excited about 2009.

So ... I am not a road racer but I thought it would be ok if I posted my Mtb racing goals here i don't have goals for each race

1. To retain my title for the 24hr Solo NW champs
2. To do more 'shorter' races around the area so that i can meet more local riders (Seattle area)
3. To have a good race at 24hr Solo Worlds this year (past 2 years weren't stellar)
4. Test of Metal (first time - very excited)
5. 8 hr solo in Philomath, OR
6. Cascade Cream Puff (first time - very excited!)
7. 100 mile race in Bend, OR
8. La Ruta - VERY excited - I did this race back in 2003 with a goal of finishing ... and this year I am back to RACE it!

OK, that about sums up my summer ... can't wait!!!

Thanks girls for sharing!

[Andrea]

Well, 2009 is going to be a lot of hard work but it should be a lot of fun as well. I'm lucky enough to be on a team (Metro Volkswagen) of young riders (at 27, I'm 5 years older than the next oldest!) who are all incredibly talented. My job is to help them win some really big races and qualify to participate in USA Cycling's U23 "Go to Europe" program. So my goal is to do something a lot like this (me being like the person in the back):



Other than giving leadouts and carrying bottles, I'll be filling in the space between big races with occasional regional races, where I might occasionally race in the cat3 men's fields.

[dirtygirl1]

Love the photo ... I'd give a lot to be the person at the back

[RoadRaven]

Love the photo ... I'd give a lot to be the person at the back

Oh my goodness... so would I...

[RoadRaven]

January: Tour de Beautiful (50km hilly)... 1hour45mins (PB 1:53)
(This will be my first race back after 11 weeks of base training and a few weeks of transition)

Great ride... my partner rode with me and was my domestique and as a result I rode with someone the whole way (I am usually dropped on hills and have to ride on my own). I want to write a race report, but in the meantime - my time was 1:33:17 - 20 minutes faster than my PB. I was the fastest Vet woman (35+yrs) and had a great day. I was tired for about 4 days, but it was fantastic fun and I felt most excellent!

Year-round Club racing:
Moteo/Swamp ITT - 33kph (PB 32.22kph)

First attempt this afternoon. Wish me luck

[LBTC]

First attempt this afternoon. Wish me luck

Good luck, RR, may the butterflies help you be FAST!

H&B
~T~

[Eden]

First TT of the my year coming up in about 2 weeks too. It mostly lets me see where I am starting at compared to the year before (well - if they can remember to put the turn around in the right spot....)

[RoadRaven]

Good luck, RR, may the butterflies help you be FAST!

H&B
~T~

Those butterflies must have been working hard in the unhelpful cross and head winds... because, although official results are not up yet, according to my bike comp I have a new PB, though not quite the 33kph average I was hunting for. The day was hard and many seemed slower than they should (that didn't stop home-grown Olympian Westly Gough averaging almost 47kph over the 20km though!)



Hey Eden, I look forward to hearing how this goes for you. With seemingly not many racers on the forum, I really look forward to your posts

[Andrea]

So yesterday was the crit for the Valley of the Sun Stage Race. We weren't in the top 10 GC, so we decided we'd go for a stage win. After a blistering first few laps, one of my teammates got away to bridge to another rider who was off the front. One by one, the other 4 of us got to the front of the pack and drove the pace just hard enough to discourage anyone else from trying to bridge. After my few laps up front, I finally succumbed to an attack and ended up hanging on to the back of the pack like a booger for the last 5 laps. It was good enough, though. My teammate won the sprint/race... I couldn't see it because we were on the back side of the course, but it was sooooo freaking awesome to hear the team manager over the radio yelling "HANDS UP! HANDS UP!" when she was finishing

I never even looked to see how I finished- maybe somewhere in the top 30?

[Susan Otcenas]

RR - congrats on the new PB! That's fantastic, especially in the wind. Wind can be soooo soul-sucking.

As for my goals for the year:
Sandy (one of the gals here in the office) and I have made it a goal to win the state championship time trial (40K) on my tandem this year. Truthfully, the competition won't be too steep in the 2-women category, but so what! We think we'll have a ton of fun doing it.

She and I have pretty aggressive goals in other events this year (her in ultraracing, me in several triathlons & duathlons) and between us we've dropped almost 60 pounds, so we figured we'll leverage all that fitness and weightloss to win the time trial. We shall see.....

We also plan to be rocking some of the new TE jerseys from the design competition during the event. Even if we don't win, we'll *look* amazing

[SheFly]

Raven - you are on a roll, my friend! I am so excited to hear that you are doing well. Do you think it was a change to the formal "training plan" that has helped? Can't wait to hear more...

Susan - woohoo on the tandem TT goal! DH and I reclaimed the course record on our tandem last season. One of these days I'll post a pic of the rocketship - it's a TT-specific setup on a tandem! Clearly, we have a few too many bikes . Also can't wait to hear how this goes.

Personally, while it is only Feb (and we are in the Northeast where it snowed overnight), I am already into my self-doubt, I suck phase (I know, Raven, I DO NOT SUCK! ). Went out on a training ride this weekend, after two hard days, and had to put my tail between my legs coming home.... Still just under 2 months to racing season though, so I'm hoping to get some mojo back!

And congrats, Andrea, on contributing to your team's win! Everyone is already having successful seasons...

SheFly