Now that my racing season is over for 2014 I am finding a
bit of time to reflect on it all. This
reflection gives me an opportunity to complete my resume for the year, and to
plan ahead for 2015. Looking at this
“big picture” I again realize how lucky I am to be able to do this and to
remember what a gift my good health really is.
Whether it is nature or nurture, we bike racers are an unusually
fortunate bunch.
My goals this year were two-fold: To win my age group in the BUMPS series of
hill climbs and to win my age group at the Leadville Trail 100 Mountain bike
race. I was successful on both counts,
and these victories did not come without an obstacle or two. My husband and I
were sick with some kind of sinus issue for the entire month of February. We got to watch a LOT of Olympics, but the
fitness that I had worked so hard to build seemed to melt away. Yikes!
The challenge, then, was to build up and get myself back
to where I could enjoy the racing that I had planned for the season. With the enlightened help of my long-time
coach Mark Fasczewski I got back on track when my symptoms finally subsided, and
I worked at regaining both power and endurance. After a couple of weeks back on the bike Mark
encouraged me to register for my favorite race – Austin Rattler – assuring me that
I’d be ready for the 100 km. Making the
trip from snowy Central New York to sunny and warm Texas was a huge treat, and
mind and body transformed with his change in locale. I had a super time at that race, winning my
age group and an entry to the Leadville Trail 100 MTB.
Once I had qualified for Leadville it was time to put my
focus on the particular training needed for that kind of racing. My needs for Leadville are many, though, and
getting to the start line with a high (for me) FTP, good endurance, and
enhanced bike handling skills is mandatory.
And so the spring progressed and summer commenced. I raced gravel grinders in Western New York
and West Virginia. I participated in a
Strava climbing challenge and placed 11th overall for the women. I
raced the Wilmington/Whiteface 100 KM on the Summer Solstice. And while racing the hill climbs was also
perfect Leadville training races conflicted and I was only able to do one
before it was time to head to Colorado.
This Leadville was my third, and I chose to spend even
more time at altitude in order to acclimate.
One of our daughters lives in Durango and I was super lucky to be able
to spend over a week riding up and down the many dirt roads in the area. Fun!
Durango is a great place to visit even if one does not want to ride a
bike, but was a perfect venue for me to acclimate and to keep polishing my dirt
road descending skills. Not to mention
the fun I had on the long climbs. Thank
you MK and Drew!
In years past MK and I have camped in Leadville, but this
year we banded together with some good friends and rented a home near the aid
station at Twin Lakes. To all of our
collective delights this house overlooked the lakes and gazed out at an array
of mountains. We spent so much time just
looking at them that, in short order, we rearranged the furniture so that we
could comfortably gaze out of the windows from any seat in the living
room. What a great relaxing way to get
ready for a big race.
Leadville day dawned chilly and clear and the weather
report looked to be in our favor.
Hooray! The gun went off and I
fought hard to maintain my position in the giant glob of racers. Another hooray! However, as I was descending the famous Power
Line descent I was clipped from the side by a guy who’s ability to thread the
needle was not very good, and down we both went. My stuff scattered all over the place and I
hurt, but aside from a swollen and scraped up hip (I found this out later) I
was OK. I lost time and, eventually,
lost energy. Still, I finished the race
and collected another awesome Leadville finisher’s medal. And I was first in my age group. Another hooray!
After spending so much time in Colorado it was really
hard to say goodbye, but I needed to get home.
I missed Phil terribly, and I needed to be at the base of Mt. Washington
in 6 days to be part of the pre-race “meet and greet.” My hip was sore, I was tired, and I had a
not-so-welcomed five hour layover in the middle of the night at O’Hare. Flights were smooth, though, and when I did
arrive home on Wednesday I simply went to bed.
Ahhh, sleep!
Thursday dawned and it was time to pack for New
Hampshire. I installed a 12x36 cassette
on my Power Tap hub, adjusted the shifting, and my trusty Specialized Roubaix
was ready to race the Mt. Washington Auto Road Hill climb on Saturday. Now this is not a race schedule that I would
recommend to anyone, but one cannot dictate the dates of races. My hip was a little sore and my power was
lacking, but my climb up Mt. Washington was rewarding just the same. I won my age group and set a new age group
record in the process. It was 40 degrees
and hellishly windy at the top – you know, like Mt. Washington! – but at times
the clouds parted and the glorious view was there for the eyes to feast on. I
missed Colorado just a little less.
After that weekend some real rest was in order and then
it was time to put my mountain bike back together and get ready for the ADK80K,
in Lake Placid. I retired from cross
country ski racing after the 2003 season, but I’ve not lost my love for the
trails on Mt. Van Hoevenberg. This time
it was camping with good friends and teammates and racing four laps of the
amazingly fun double and singletrack. I
love this race, and to prove it I was 35 minutes faster than my time from last
year. I’ll take that!
The fall featured a couple more hill climbs and I was
able to wrap up my season. The focus of
my training continues toward the ever-important task of keeping/building
threshold power and maintaining and improving my handling skills. Building power works for me on the trainer,
but I am outside in the wind and cold as much as I can just to keep myself on
an even keel. Fun rides with long climbs
are in order.
Phil and I have done some traveling as well, visiting MK
in Durango last week. We worked with her
on a construction project, and I got some good riding and hiking in as
well. Later this week I will fly to
California to visit with Melissa. I
might get to jump on a bike and climb a few of the hills in Oakland while I’m
there!
All of this racing takes training and all of the training
takes fuel and equipment. I’d like to
thank my sponsors Hammer Nutrition, Dick Sonne’s Cycling, and SpecializedBicycles
