First, I was trying to find a training plan for the winter that would work well for me. I've tried just riding on the trainer with some sufferfest videos; that didn't work. I've done Pedal's spin class in the winter, and that helped a lot but towards the spring time, like March and April-ish, I ran out of time to be going to Pedal on Monday and Thursday nights with things to do for school and whatever else. This year, I bought a smart trainer and I started using that! I bought a Bkool smart trainer and it has been wonderful! I tried using the Bkool software for a while but I just thought it was a little too slow or laggy and it wasn't quite interactive enough as far as being able to ride with other people. I then tried Zwift and it was awesome! I would follow training plans that Zwift had set up and I would follow it very religiously, like I would write which workout I'm doing on which day on my desk calendar, and I stuck with it for a long time and I feel like it set me up for a faster than average Spring, which ultimately led to me feeling pretty fast this summer.
In March, my mother, sisters, and I went out to California, and it was the best of times! We drove around most of the state and saw most of the cool things. We went to Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, L.A., San Fransisco, the Pacific coast up near my Aunt Nancy's house, and we had a fantastic time. I think we all got along very well the entire trip, I feel like I have a very good relationship with both my sisters (which I haven't always had), and I drove the entire trip in a SUV w/ four wheel drive (which proved pretty daunting driving through L.A. traffic, not to mention up and down the sides of mountains).
We got back from Cali and I raced on a tandem with Tim, my old boss at Pedal at Melting Mann in Vandalia. We got second in the tandem category of the 32 mile race and it was a lot of fun. It's very interesting to be on a bike and be moving but not having to think about anything else but pedal, pedal, pedal. I used all my horsepower to push us up hills and we were cruising along the entire race. We never actually saw the tandem that got 1st place, I think they started way in front of us as we started the race in pretty much the back of the mass start in downtown Vandalia. I also learned a fun thing about tandems; when you are riding in the back, the ride is much smoother and much less sketchy when you 'let go' and try not to control the back. As soon as the person in the back tries to control the bike and hold on to the handlebars real tight, the frame begins to 'whip' and flying down a hill at 35 mph with a bike that isn't going straight isn't the best feeling in the world!
4/14 Eagle Creek Crit, Indianapolis, IN 12th Cat 4/5 (29)
4/22 Notre Dame Crit, South Bend, IN 12th Cat 4/5 (29)
4/29 Ann Arbor Spring Training Series Ann Arbor, MI 22nd Cat 4/5 (40)
5/6 Kalamazoo Half Marathon Kalamazoo, MI 13th (27) AG (M 19-24) / 249th (1392) Overall
5/7 131 Racing Series, Martin, MI 1st 'B race' (9)
5/12 Tiger Lane Crit, Memphis, TN DNF Cat 3/4
5/20 Ann Arbor Spring Training Series Ann Arbor, MI 6th Cat 4/5 (25)
5/28 Waterford Hills Circuit Race, Clarkston, MI 13th Cat 4/5 (38)
6/3 Cobb Park Crit, Kankakee, IL 18th Cat 4/5 (36)
6/4 131 Racing Series, Matin, MI 2nd 'B race' (6)
6/9 BTR Crit, Kalamazoo, MI 8th Cat 4 (16) 20th Cat 3/4 (32) $30
6/10 Race for Wishes, Lawton, MI DNS
6/15 Zeeland Crit, Zeeland, MI 26th Cat 3/4 (43)
6/18 131 Racing Series, Martin, MI 1st 'B race' (9)
6/24 131 Racing Series, Martin, MI 1st 'B race' (10)
7/1 Great Lakes State Classic, Marne, MI 4th Cat 4/5 (11)
7/14 Detroit Cycling Championship, Detroit, MI
7/15 Corktown Crit, Detroit, MI
7/21 Whiskey City Twilight Challenge, Lawrenceburg, IN
7/22 Tour of Port Sheldon, West Olive, MI
7/29 Muncie Grand Prix, Muncie, IN
8/19 Gaslight Crit, Grand Rapids, MI
8/26 54th Annual Debaets-Devos Pro-Am, Detroit, MI
After Melting Mann, the real racing began. I started by driving down to Indianapolis for probably one of the coolest races I've done this year. It was at Eagle Creek Park and it was circle course, so it had no turns and I don't think I touched my brakes at all the entire race. It was fast and I stayed towards the front and followed most every attack and I burned all my matches chasing people and I didn't have any sprint left. There was an attack that I didn't follow with like 3 or 4 guys and it actually stuck until the end, so we were only sprinting for 5th place but again I just followed the wheel in front of me and didn't really have any punch to my run-in at the end. 12th wasn't so bad though in the first race of the year, and I was hopeful that the year would be full of learning and experience; which it very much has been.
Next was the Notre Dame Crit. This race was just about the opposite of the one I had done previously in Indianapolis. There were 7 very tight corners that required a lot of stopping and starting again. I started in the back of the pack at the beginning, a mistake I haven't made since, but it proved costly. I break got away at the very beginning of the race and I never actually saw them go or saw the move at all. So I stayed with the people I was with and in the second or third group on the road, I came in 12th and to be honest I was a bit disappointed. I was more disappointed with my tactics, letting a move get away without any effort to be with them. I felt at this point in the season, and for the rest of the year and still currently, I've had the fitness to stay on anyone's wheel, its just been poor decision making that is keeping me away from the podium.
Next, I went over to Ann Arbor and it was a very cold morning! I honestly don't remember much from this race. I think coming down the back stretch of the course I found myself in first place (which is the absolute last place you want to be with one turn to go) and everyone just flew around me on the last corner and I didn't have any matches left to have a go with anyone. This race was pretty disappointing for me as I thought I had pretty good positioning the last couple laps, although there were points in the race where I was just trying to hang on at the back of main field. 22nd was not a great finish for a bunch sprint at the end, particularly when I consider myself a pretty fine sprinter. This is probably the race I wish I could have back and try again, because if I knew what I know now, the result would have been much better.
I ran for the next week and ran the Kalamazoo Half Marathon the following Sunday and that was a silly thing to do. I sprained my ankle and actually took a week off the bike to get that feeling better. It was probably best I took a week off for other reasons as well, but I'll probably never run again in my life, although it was pretty fun to compete in front of all those people. The pain was not worth it though (:
The next day I went up to Martin Speedway for the inaugural 131 racing series race and walked away with 1st place and a medal! I don't remember hardly anything from this race, only that there weren't that many people left on the lead lap and it was very close at the end! It was so close we couldn't determine a winner that night so Dan took the picture home and blew it up and texted me the next day to tell me I had won! I did most of the pace-making that night if I remember correctly and the guy who got second sat in the entire time, and Hayden is pretty fast so it boosted my confidence quite a lot to get the victory that night!
The next weekend I drove down to Tennessee to see my sweet, sweet friend Sarah Noe. It was so lovely to see her and I miss her so dearly and can't wait until she comes back up to Michigan, and she is coming back up pretty soon I believe, I should text her! I spent Friday night with Sarah then drove down to Memphis, a 4 hour drive, early Saturday morning to race, which was quite possibly the dumbest move I've made this year. In Michigan the weather had been pretty rainy and we may have had a day or two in the 70's but not much warmer than that. I got down to Memphis, and of course it is about 95 degrees, it is super humid, my ankle still absolutely kills to put any pressure on it, but I decide to race without any sort of warm up. I made it two laps I believe trying to stay on wheels, which ultimately I did, but I felt like I just might suffocate so I pulled myself from the race and drove back up to Nashville with my head hanging pretty low, that was rough. I spent Saturday night with Clay and Madi, we went to a few bars downtown Nashville and it was probably the greatest night of my life. Sunday morning I drove over to Knoxville to spend the day with my cousins and other Aunt Nancy. As soon as I got to their house, Aunt Nancy says, "I'm sorry to put this on you right when we get here but put some nicer clothes on, we are going to Haley and Parker's baccelaureate (sp) service." So we go to that then we go to dinner together, pick up Parker's girlfriend and go get ice cream! It was very nice to see my two cousins, they have grown so much since I saw them last in 2014! Drove home to Michigan Monday morning, and back to work the next day!
The next Sunday, I drove back over to Ann Arbor and did the same race on the same course I had done previously in the year. I went for a nice warm-up ride, but I can't remember much else from this race. I believe I did a good job at keeping myself towards the front of the group. Coming around the last corner I think somebody went away solo and it was absolutely marvelous move and nobody went after him because I think he caught every one off their guard. He ended up winning the race solo and I cruised comfortably to a sixth place finish. Again, if I had known what I know now of sprinting, I think I would have finished on the podium, but alas, a good result!
Well, it is 9:30, I'm awfully tired, I don't want to talk about the rest of the races right now and I think it is time for bed! I didn't race this weekend, but I have been riding a lot and my legs feel very tired, I think I either need to change my sleep pattern, diet, stress level, or all of the above. Big things are happening in my life, which I am super stoked for, I can't seem to keep a girlfriend for more than a couple weeks which is concerning, but I am happy, I am riding bikes, I am thankful, and I am tired! I'll probably throw in a mid-week blog post finishing up the recap of this year, but for now, adieu!
Cheers! CE
No comments:
Post a Comment