Time Trialing To The End Of My Race Season

The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a mans determination
-Tommy Thea 

 

In the time trial, there are no games,” Amber Neben said. “It is just a measure of physical and mental strength on the day. The time trial is actually very similar to a cross country running race or a long-distance track race where you have to pace out your effort over the course of a certain distance or estimated time length.”

Ah, season is complete! I always love this time of year to reflect on the season and what I learn and what things I would do differently, and what was learned.

This year I learned not just how to race my bike better and how to work on a women's team but I learned that there are more things in life than racing and riding my bike every day and weekend. I've been there and done that, where I have raced 53 races in one yr and raced back to back weekends and doubling up on races. Sure it was alot and I love it.  I learned a lot and loved doing that but this yr was different. Maximizing my racing was important to not just me but family, my health and mental well being. A coach told me" Kim it takes a lot to race just one race, and its not just about racing the race, its the preparation days prior to the race and the time to get ready and drive to and from the races. It's the whole thing, not just the race"  Ofcourse I made mistakes this yr but I believe we learn from those mistakes and take from them. 

So to end my season, I had planned on going down to gateway cup and racing the criterium series which I LOVE so much! So, the last day before I leave, I had this gut feeling that I personally didn't think going down there would be a good thing for me to do with knowing there would be a potential  for rain all 3 days and knowing that my mother in law is very ill and I was going to leave my son with her was just a very non-positive feeling in my heart.  Knowing what I knew, I made the decision not to race gateway and turned it into a positive and decided to race up North and TT my heart out!!!!... Yah!!  I think TT for some people are either you hate them or you love them. For me it is the ultimate test of your fitness and mental game. It's not like criterium racing where you can draft off of people and maybe wait for the sprint or get in a break away but in a TT it is all about you and the clock. The race of truth. Personally, I feel that if I can time trail, I will perform much better in my road races and criteriums.

Going into Saturday's time trial in Harvard ,IL which was the IL State Championship TT, I felt well rested but I wasnt sure I was really in TT mode fitness and havent really been training with my bars at all.  I was more criterium ready than anything so I put that behind me and gave it my all in the TT.  I started my TT feeling really relaxed and almost zen like when I got into my flow of cadence. On the back portion of the race course, the wind really hit hard. I slowed taking one corner with gravel on it and then back on my cadence mode I went hard. To my surprise, I felt more earo and relaxed in my drops then anything so I stayed with it and as the wind hit harder I seemed to have a better cadence/power output down in my drops. To my surprise, I had placed 3rd in the TT overall for women, even though the turnout was slim for women. It was fun and pleased with my effort. 

Cherry Valley TT ABR.

 Cherry Valley is one of my favorite TT 's I was happy they brought it back. In the spring, it is a 40K but this was a 20K, I think the course was a bit longer I heard from others. Good to see my team mate Leah Sanda there. It was funny because I told her I was feeling like I needed TT equipment seeing all these great TT bikes, decked out with top equipment and then there is me with my road bike and slapped on eao bars.. Leah 's repsone was..... I had "Bike Envy."  Yes, I was. Thanks Leah. Race started  I couldnt beleive how amazing it was to be in the TT zone.  I pushed that last few miles and finished fairly strong. I knew I had lost some time getting around the turnaround.  Then I had about a 15min rest time til my next start time. I got on the course again and felt a lot more tire for my second race. But I had a good effort made and that's what I was shooting for. My results where 4th overall and I was happy with that knowing I had put for a big effort the day prior.


Thanks to Psimet http://www.psimet.com/  for providing me with racing wheels all summer. I love them!!!

and Thanks to Enzo  http://www.enzoscyclingproducts.com/ products for keeping me going all summer. Esp on those long rides and stage races. 

   
Lastly, most of all I want to thank my family, friends  and my coach for there support. This year, was truly challenging on the health side of things for me. It's not secret I was struggling a bit with my health being in the ER a few times and then healing my AC shoulder joint.  My mother in law was also diagnosis with a rear blood disorder. It has been painful for me to see her in the hospital in tears, but at the same time I knows she wants me to be out there.  I'm setting new goals and new horizons for next yr.  Really super excited! 

       

Sammy's St. Charles Prairie State Champ.

Chi-power: = Zen Meditation " develop fluid, powerful and effortless motion by helping you enter the state of relaxed concentration, also known as ‘the zone’ or flow-state."

I was really looking forward to getting out and racing again. The course was a 4 corner flat course with a slight grade after the last corner then a slight down grade into the sprint. Nothing to technical. When driving to the race, I was practicing my Chi or shall I say relaxed concentration. This is something I personally feel as an athlete that it is something I need to work on. If I can develop good chi power and practice it, this will help develop into improved performance.I see that being strong and having good technical skills is not all one needs to be successful at a sport. The mental toughness as I say is also key.

Reaching my potential as an athlete is about doing less not more. Keeping my thoughts quiet, my body relaxed and paying attention to my breathing that will help enhance the quality of my mind~body connection in the moments of stillness before motion begins.

Before the race, I practiced some mediation and then got in the trainer and really listened to my body/mind and cleared the mind. Then I got off the trainer and did the rest of my warm up on the road, using my breathing techniques, and again clearing the mind of any negative thoughts, letting go of fears etc. 

Got to the race start line and felt pretty relaxed and ready to go. As soon as the race started it was fast from the start and team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies and Team Columbia dominated a majority of the race. However, this race was a breakthrough for me. I stayed focused and was on every attack that went off. I stayed confident in riding strong and tried to get in a break a few times that never did stick but I knew that a break had to be something very special that happened in this kind of race. It had to be timed just right with the right people and it just wasn't happening. 

Last 3 laps, I was confident and knew what I was going to do. I wasn't changing my plan, I was going for it. 

At 1.5 laps to go, I made my move and decided to take a flyer. I knew it was risky and I just let it go and as I turned corner 4, I did break slightly and went out far left. Jeannie stated she thought for a minute the field was going to let me go then they started chasing hard the Optum and Colombian Team,  When they caught up to me I jumped on the strung out field and went hard to the finish.  I have no shame in how I placed, for it was a fun race and I felt that I had accomplished so much more by being a player. 

As a wise person told me "Don't be pack fill, get in the game and play" 

  

     

 

2012 Superweek: "Just Go Race Your Bike!"

After Tour of Galena, I realized that I needed to back off and heal my shoulder. In my opinion, I felt like I had hit the wall pre-say. Racing Toad was not going happen. So, I decided to race Superweek. Honestly, I love Superweek. It has a place in my heart for many reasons and it always will. With all the stuff going around about Superweek,  I wanted to " Just Go Race My Bike".

Wood Dale:  At first, my heart sunk, when I got to the 1st race of Supwerweek " Wood Dale and finding only a few women racing. I was just about to jump in the men's cat3 race when I saw the Columbia and Costa Rica Team. I got my wish for a good competitive race even though the field was small, who cares, its a RACE, close to HOME and it was FUN! I loved the Wood Dale course. I was excited when I got to the start line and was ready to go. I shot out and took pulls, staying with the top group.  I even tried to go for sprint points! That's right, something I never do. I went for it but the Colombians really had some great sprinters. I didn't care, I was having fun and ended up taking 9th place.

Then, there was Geneva. I felt pretty good but was not mentally in it when I took corner 2 and 3. I lost my confidence and fear set in, which I am working on this. I lost the field pretty early and rode with a few other riders and then decided to chase one of the Costa Rica women whom had got dropped and we rode for a while and I finished.

Moving on to Richton Park. This was my 1st Superweek race I won last yr as a cat3. It's a great course, not to technical, flat.  Race started, and someone yells out "WATCH IT" pace car!!! It wasn't moving and  I almost rode into it!! We started our race w/out the pace car. So,we had a neutral lap around the course and started. Attacks went off and I took 1 or 2 attacks that didn't really stick to well. Then Stacey had a nice attack. Then one of the Colombians countered (I think) and then a break formed. Stacy and I where chasing HARD. I just remember feeling the lactic acid starting to build as I push so hard to get into the break. I blew up and stayed in the field. At 5 laps to go a Firetruck came on the course. They stopped our race and  then restarted it. I finish in the field sprint 8th.

WillowSprings Short course RR.
Again I love racing close to home esp when its right in my backyard. I was feeling kind of tired. I wasn't sleeping through the night for some reason. Race started and just about every time we hit the climb the Colombians/Costa Rica Team attacked. I was right on it though. One attack was made right after the climb as you enter the corner which was a smart move too.Long story short, came down to a field sprint. Came in 10th. I was still sitting 9th overall.

Willow Spring Long Course RR:
I had made a HUGE mistake and taught 5:30 a.m. spin class the same morning I was doing this race. On top of losing sleep, my energy level was low. I really didn't know how long I was going to last. Race started. I basically sat in most of it, only taking a few pulls. I started to feel sick and wanted ......well.... A fig newton. Out of all things, I wanted a fig newton. Last lap, my legs finally started to feel somewhat better.  Kristen was leading the pack up the climb, this was my opportunity. I waited patiently. I decided not to attack first. I had a clue on who might attack first and I was right! She went off, I gunned it HARD as I could up the climb and pulled in a solid 6th place. I was happy with that. Moved me to 8th place overall.

Beloit Race: Knowing that Kristen wasn't planning on racing I was a bit bummed. So, it was just me against the Columbian/Costa Rica Team and the 4 Canadain women joined in too this time. This course was VERY fun. Flat, 4 corners with long straight aways. Race started, attacks went off right away. I chase down 3 of them from the gun. More attacks came one after the other. This race was non-stop attacks. One would attack then a counter attack. One got away half way through the race. I jumped into a 2 person break half way in and the 2 riders I was with decided to sit up not work and so I tried to ride away and 2 few others had caught us and then the field wasn't to far behind. Then I got in another 2nd person break and same thing happened. A bit frustrated I was and I had burned alot of matches By 4 laps to go. the leader picked up the pace and it was down to a field sprint again. Came in 10th.  Although I didn't podium I felt much more aggressive and confident in this race and had a great time.

When I got home, I had gotten a phone call from my mother in law that she was going for a blood transfusion in the hospital. I wasn't about to leave my son with my in laws. So I decided not to race and spend time with family. As much as my heart wanted to race the entire series I knew deep down that the right thing to do is family first and nothing is more important than that. None of this would be possible if it wasn't for my in laws and there love for my son Shane. As I was told by one of my team mates " Kim, racing will always be there for you" and that is true.              
         

Iowa Races: Snake Alley, Melon City and Quad City

Once Again, I have fallen behind on blogging so here is our team report:  Click on link below:
http://www.psimetracing.com/news/2012/memorial-weekend-racing-in-iowa-womens-races/